Izuku Midoriya and the Philosopher's Stone

CHAPTER THREE

I don't know how long I sat up on top of the building before I made my way down. The roof access door was unlocked, so I was able to make my way down to the street. The sun was setting.

I walked a ways before I remembered that it had to be well past 6, and my mom was probably having a panic attack by now. She probably wouldn't be opposed to a cell phone now.

I found an empty alleyway and pulled out my quill to write mom a message. "Sorry, I got caught up. I'll be home in a half hour. -Izuku."

I watched the letters disappear, then turned to make my way back out to the street. As I walked back into the sunlight, I heard screaming and shouting. It was coming from around the block.

My feet carried me to the corner quickly. The street was crowded with people, scattered along the sidewalk and roads. They were all staring in the same direction-- toward the cloud of black smoke swirling in the center of the street.

"What the hell is that?" a man screamed.

"There's a boy in there!" I heard a woman screech.

I heard police sirens coming. But I knew that whatever was happening involved dark magic, and the police wouldn't be much help. I ran forward to get a closer look.

"Someone needs to help that boy! There's a schoolboy in there!" I heard a man shout beside me.

Everyone around me was frozen with fear and white as sheets. When I got up near the front, I could see why.

The smoke was almost like water. It moved fast and rippled. I caught a glimpse inside it and saw the outlines of a small figure on all fours. My heart stopped. Whoever it was looked to be going through the same painful experience I had gone through less than an hour earlier...

But that would mean...

OH NO. My stomach plummeted so fast I thought I would throw up. If All Might had dropped the watch, that meant...

This is my fault.

Then I caught sight of two people standing nearby who looked familiar. It was Crabbe and Goyle. They were staring into the smoke with paperwhite faces and trembling hands and knees. But where was Katsuki?

NO. I looked back at the figure in the smoke. I could make out the features more. Spiky hair... Athletic build...

"M-Midoriya?"

I jumped in surprise and looked over to see that Goyle was speaking to me. He and Crabbe had noticed me and come over.

"It's Katsuki," he said, pressing his lips together. "H-he picked up a watch, and we told him not to put it on, but... but he didn't listen."

I gulped and nodded. How could I tell them that this was my fault? That Katsuki could die because of me.

Aurors will come. Aurors will come. AURORS WILL COME.

I kept thinking it over and over, but it did nothing to steady my breathing and calm my heart and end my nausea.

Then I decided I could take it not longer.

Well, it was less of a decision than it was a spontaneous, illogical reaction.

I ran in. Straight. Into. The. Fog.

I cannot emphasize enough how little I was thinking at that moment.

I remember hearing yells and screams. I recall hearing Crabbe's and Goyle's voices shouting my name. But most of all I remember the chilling jolt that shot through my body the moment I stepped into the fog. It was like an icy electric shock.