The Flap of a Butterfly's Wings

The Name That Means Hope

Now that his mind had finally gotten a chance to process everything, Izuku was finally starting to feel the panic. As he laid on the cold cement floor (the cage was too familiar to his liking and only seemed to increase his panic) with it being to dark to barely see, struggling to breathe. Everyone was sleeping -or at least, pretending too-, and Tomura was hunched against the wall across the small cell. He remembered back to the old Tomura and how he always seemed slightly too childish for his age. Izuku finally understood that it was because he never had the chance to be a child, and to Izuku, that was really sad. He probably never experienced childlike curiosity, or the feeling like everything's going to be okay, no matter what happens.

Izuku promised that he would save him in the next life and he attends to keep it. He hoped that whenever they escape this place (he wants it to be soon, but feels as though it's going to be a lot longer), that he will be able to take Tomura with him, to his mother. So he can experience love and warmth for possibly the first time. He never wants him to gain the name "Shigaraki" in this life, because that'll just mean he'll be in the clutches of All For One again. Then it'll just be so much harder than it already was.

He wondered how his mother was doing. She's probably gotten word of his kidnapping and is probably worrying and stressing about him. What if she starts losing sleep? Or stops eating healthily? Aunt Mitsuki will be there for her, so she won't be alone. Hato finds some comfort in that, because he knows how much his mother craves company. He's the same after all. Izuku tells himself that before he knows it, he'll be out of here. So will everybody else trapped here. Yes, he'll probably have a little bit more trauma, but he already has so much of it, so what's the harm in adding some more?

Izuku, most of all, wants his Kacchan. Katsuki better not be feeling guilty about what happened, because he simply shouldn't. It wasn't his fault, and it never will be. Izuku wishes desperately to tell him that, to hug him, and cuddle with him like they always do when one of them -or both- are having a bad day.

Izuku won't even pretend this isn't a bad day. It'd be stupid.

Thinking about Kacchan and his mom makes his breathing calm, even though thinking about them just causes him to worry about what they're doing right now. He tells himself that he can do this, that he'll beat every single level no matter how injured or scared he gets.

(He ignores the inevitable future where he will have to kill someone because right now that's too much for his brain to handle and it's starting to get harder to breath again and he just needs to ignore everything and go to sleep.

But he can't, because than he'll have nightmares, and Izuku is smart enough to know that the prisoners and guards won't be happy with his screaming, even though he's starting to get better at staying completely silent when asleep; just some nightmares will always need to be screamed. So he won't fall asleep, even though he desperately needs it, he won't. He can't.

But he's exhausted and ends up falling asleep anyways.)

__________

"Wake up you piece of shit." Keres bites out as Izuku snaps his eyes open and quickly looks around, forgetting where he was for a second. Soon enough, he remembers his new reality and forces himself to look at the man. "It's your turn, kid. Now get your ass up and don't you dare complain or I'll make you regret it."

Hato takes a quick glance at Tomura to see him looking the entirely different direction. Izuku sighs, and gets up to get whatever is going to happen over with. Keres roughly grabs Izuku by his shirt and pulls him out of cell. He locks the door behind them and then continues to drag Izuku down the dimly lit dungeon.