Nemesis To All (Male Reader RE3 × My Hero Academia)

Chapter 20: Burning Memories

You were restless.

Aizawa had gone away for the night, leaving you alone with just the crickets and moon outside to keep you company. Currently staring up at the ceiling, your covers thrown about, you blew a long raspberry. Sleep must have left hand in hand with Aizawa, as it was nowhere to be found. Your extra homework from your weeklong excursion had moved from the kitchen table to one of your night dressers, most of its contents still untouched.

You held a hand up to the sky, the moon seeping through the windows slightly catching it. Becoming a hero meant people would see Nemesis. It was something you were still trying to come to terms with but something you knew was unavoidable. The Sports Festival was a clear example of that. Looking back now, your power was broadcasted to the entirety of your class during the Battle Trials that took place earlier in the year. And you had tried so hard to conceal it. You laughed inwardly at yourself at such a thought.

At least no one had approached you and really asked about your power, save Izuku. They were nice for that, at least.

With your free hand, you poked at the wrist that held your tentacle within its depths. This thing inside you, originally made to cure brain cancer, was now being used as a tool of justice upon evildoers. Strange, how things worked out the way they did. God forbid the parasite spoke to you. Speaking of...

"You there...?" You asked the midnight air. No response. It had been a while since it had spoken anyways.

With nothing better to do, you poked your arm again. And again. With furrowing brows, you pressed into your wrist with two digits this time. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, the way the trees swayed outside your window, or some supplemental exposition, but you could swear your wrist tingled differently than before. More sensitive?

Pursing your lips, you noticed the dry state of your mouth, aching for a cool cup of water. Happy with finding any other reason than helplessly laying in bed, you sat up promptly, hefting yourself off the bed and down the hall. Scratching at the nightclothes you had thrown on, you shuffled on the hardwood floor, acutely aware of how painfully silent it was within these walls.

Swooping through the cabinets and grabbing an empty cup, with a swift yet uncoordinated movement you held the cup to the tap, flipping it on and watching the water fill to nearly the brim.

As the cup came to your lips, the first gulp felt like a cool reprieve. Then came the second. In seconds the cup was rolled back from your lips, shaky eyes staring into its emptiness. The cup was thrown to the floor, the faucet slammed on. Pushing your lips to the opening, you drank and drank for what seemed like forever until you had to pull away for air.

Your hands were shaking. Why were they shaking? The world swirled around you as well, shadows creeping from the corners, your heart feeling as though it would burst out from its bony cage. You fell to one need, straining to breathe. Why was it so hard to breathe?

On shaky hands and knees you went to the ground, the feeling of a scorching nail being pushed into the back of your head stopping you from thinking. Your hand momentarily transformed into decaying and blemished skin, digging into the tile below. It switched back into human form, the tentacle protruding from its safekeeping and whipping around the floor wildly.

This new feeling was nearly indescribable, the closest rendition being that of your rib cage starting to curve and cave into your body. Your bones felt like snapping, every small movement as hard as moving solid cement. Why of all times was this happening now?

Something flashed into your mind. It was molten in color, rippling orange like the pits of a volcano. You screamed, the molten shape transforming into two circles, side by side. Within each circle, a black pupil, small at first, but expanded into full form, staring into the depths of your mind. Only one thing came to your struggling consciousness.