A State of Decay

Chapter 4

This chapter contains Manga spoilers for stuff that hasn't come out in the Anime yet. The scene is from Vol. 36ish - 37. If you choose to skip this, find the next set of asterisks and start from there. 

* * * (These are asterisks for those of you who don't know)

This wasn't a typical dream--Izuku knew that much as he wandered around. 

He stands in that weird in-between place again, but Shigaraki is nowhere to be seen this time. The only sounds he can hear are his breathing and his steady pulse behind his eardrums. 

Suddenly, a loud ringing fills his ears. He covers them with the palms of his hands, his face scrunching in displeasure, but the covering does nothing. The empty landscape around him is shifting and changing, and all he can do is squeeze his eyes shut as everything swirls and makes him feel nauseous. 

Then, there's a hand on his shoulder. 

"You look like shit," someone says behind him. He already knows it's Shigaraki before he even turns his head and opens his eyes. The ringing in his ears has subsided a little, but his stomach is in knots, and his vision is a little blurry. 

"I feel like shit," Izuku says as he tries to stand up. His legs are failing him now, and he drops to his knees. Shigaraki does nothing but watch as Izuku struggles to gain his footing. 

Once on his feet, he takes a second to look around at the new landscape that formed while he was down. 

It's UA. 

It's not just any memory of UA—it's where he was when he faced Shigaraki for that second time when the school was lifted into the sky. His heart is racing now as he takes in the scenery around him. 

Everything has been paused. No sounds come from the open mouths of his former mentors and heroes. There's some rubble frozen in the sky, and-

Bakugou. Best Jeanist kneeling over him. The blood. There was so much blood on his childhood best friend's face and body. 

The awful churning Izuku feels in his gut only increases when he sees this. He doubles over, only realizing now that he's in his old, tattered hero costume, back when he still wore green. 

He opted for black now. More stealthy. 

He looks back at Shigaraki, who appears to be taking in the scene around them. They seem to be the only moving parts of the dream. 

Shigaraki's eyes find Izuku's, and for a moment, the green-haired vigilante can see the panic in his eyes.

Izuku tries to calm himself, but he feels like he's going to throw up. He doesn't know why he's having this dream; he hadn't been trying to connect with Shigaraki before he went to sleep or anything, so he had no idea why the connection was open now. He wants out. He wants to wake up. 

He tries the methods that usually help him wake up from lucid dreams, but nothing seems to work. 

"You're muttering under your breath," Shigaraki states.

"Shut up," Izuku wheezes. 

"You're a lot less agreeable than you used to be," Shigaraki says, stepping closer to the doubled-over hero. 

"Agreeable? You want me to be agreeable? Sweet and doe-eyed and nice, like I always used to be?" Izuku spits. 

No. 

He couldn't be that kid anymore. 

That kid was so naive. The kid that used to idolize the life of a hero was no longer him. He'd always had such hope in his heart, but it was memories like this that caused him to falter and shy away from the light.