Notes: Back from hiatus, with my head full of ideas though I admit, chapters will start to come out once/twice per week. Not because I experienced a burnout but currently college is kicking my ass. Despite all this, I hope you will enjoy the story as much as you were before, my dear reader. Now let's dive into the story.
TW: discrimination, PTSD, dead bodies, body horror (this chapter is like super heavy, so beware).
Chapter Summary: Iris experiences a trauma flashback after seeing a mangled body thrown away into a trash can. Izuku remembers the massacre at the bridge and has a nightmare. Then Shouto prepares for his first patrol.
Iris PoV
After we rescued the lady, we continued to apprehend the criminals and report them to the local police stations. It felt like I was back in the game, even though so much changed - first of all, I had my own team. Back in my times, I was always alone - many organizations wanted me dead so paranoia was just common sense. Hero Commission, League of Villains, Meta Liberation Army and list went on - the most important task was to take out All for One, or rather his empire. Without this his plans would crumble and that would definetly push him to make rash decisions. Just enough for All Might and Izuku to take him out - those were my original plans.
But I got stuck in the past, and I had to work with a completely different situation. AFO's influence was just beginning to grow but the bastard was smart in doing so - he made sure, that non - one would touch him until he was strong, overpowered enough to crush him enemies like one kills flies. That was at least what Kudo or rather the Second told me along with Yoichi - in other words, I had to act like an informal spy master. Unconvering any plots that would make for foundations of AFO's future empire and spill blood of those who were useful for him. No, not important - AFO only cared for his younger brother. And his sickening way, he also cared for me. Because of my cursed heritage.
And I hated it with every fiber of my being.
I checked the time from the watch I stole from one criminal - it was 4 A.M. We had to get back to the motel soon, but then we heard some screams. We rushed in but we were too late - the criminals have already escaped and we stumbled upon a bloody mess. Guts, gore and all the whole ugly shit covered the corner of the alley.
I gritted my teeth to withold my vomit, but Izuku wasn't strong enough. He turned around, took a few steps back and promply threw up the dinner. Not that I was surprised - while he was throwing up, I checked the scene. A noticed a bloody handprint on the trash can - I opened it and I saw a body of a middle aged woman.
Her eyes were goged out, on her stomach the words were carved out -"SINNER". The woman's nails were ripped out of her fingers - she was also naked, with blood covering the crotch and streaming down her legs. Her face remained in a state of fear, pain and suffering. Shakily, I turned the corpse around and saw I message pinned down on her back with a small kitchen knife.
"Repent for being born tainted, for having a Meta - Ability. Dirty demon, may your seed don't spread around anymore. Only then, the purity of this world will be brought back again".
Then I saw Izuku, eyeing the body. He held his stomach, tears running down his cheeks. He climbed the wall, without sparing a second look - but the note was like seared into my mind. Filthish, born tainted with sin - those words...sounded like when I was a kid.
"You demon, why were you born with such a Quirk?"
Stop.
I clutched a piece of bloody white shirt to my chest - my eyes were hurting from all the crying. I hugged myself and glanced upon a man in a brown trench coat. His eyes were icy cold, full with clear disgust and disappointment. He shook his head in contempt.
-" What a failure you're, Kanai" - the man hissed -"You should be grateful and be a obedient little soldier like you were supposed to be".
-"I-I'm s-sorry" - I sobbed quietly
Stop it, damnit!
-"Sorry won't fix a thing. Take a good look at the body" - the man ordered -"Do not make me repeat myself".
Slowly, I turned my head and saw the body. The man was innocent, he begged for mercy and cried out to god, to his mother or to his wife to spare him. I couldn't afford it - but I messed up. It wasn't a clean kill - because I hesitated.
-"You messed up, Kanai. You've shown the man that you have a weakness - and what's the rule number two, Kanai?" - the man pushed on
-"H-Having a w-weakness m-means t-that y-you're a-a f-failure" - I replied shakingly
-"Exactly. And now, what have you done?" - the man didn't spare any mercy for me
-"I-I've shown him my weakness. That I'm a f-f-failure...n-not a s-soldier" - I admitted
-"Do it again, and I'll withold your meals for a week. You must be a perfect soldier, to compesate for that villainous Quirk of yours. Now I'll let that slide because in the end, you killed the target. But the punishment must be executed - and that means, the White Room" - the man decided
-"No,no, no, no! NOT THE WHITE ROOM!"
-"That's your punishment for showing a weakness, soldier. You've failed and you must face what you've done" - the man in the trench coat knocked me out with a single punch
Pathetic.
I started trembling - terrified, I turned away and followed Izuku onto the rooftop. Those memories - why then out of all times?! I clenched my fists, and a quiet sob escaped my lips.
-"Iris...what was that?" - Yoichi asked worried and horrified at the same time -"Who did this to you?"
ᏼꭺꭰ ꮲꭼꮎꮲꮮꭼ. T̵h̵o̵s̵e̵ ̵w̵h̵o̵ ̵I̵ ̵c̵o̵n̵s̵i̵d̵e̵r̵e̵d̵ ̵m̵y̵ ̵l̵o̵v̵e̵d̵ ̵o̵n̵e̵s̵.̵ ̵A̵n̵d̵ ̵a̵t̵ ̵t̵h̵e̵ ̵s̵a̵m̵e̵ ̵t̵i̵m̵e̵s̵,̵ ̵t̵h̵o̵s̵e̵ ̵w̵h̵o̵ ̵I̵ ̵k̵n̵e̵w̵ ̵w̵e̵r̵e̵ ̵m̵y̵ ̵e̵n̵e̵m̵i̵e̵s̵.̵
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Izuku's PoV
After what we saw, we didn't have guts to bury the woman. The body was mangled in similar manner as back at the train station. Iris saw it first, and that's when she started to dissociate. The fear on her face, the distant eyes - like she remembered something horrifying. I took the lead and we went back to the motel - I promised to tell Shouto what happened but after we sleep through with it. He reluctantly agreed and then I took a shower, brushed my teeth and went to sleep.
But even in the sleep, pain and guilt couldn't stop haunting me.
I stood at the river bank - the water there was muddy and crimson red from all the gore. I knew where I was - I was back at the bridge. Shaken, I turned around to see the sky all red and sun disappearing on the horizon. I looked at my shoes in fear and shame. Then I noticed an arm grabbing my leg. Then another - and then another, but that time it was a baby's hand.
I tried to escape but the fingers covered in a black ooze and dried blood leeched onto me - then from the waters of river, hundreds of heads rose - they didn't have any skin on them, only rotting bones and missing eyeballs. Those corpses differed from each other in terms of age - middle aged, youngs adults, elders and children. Even newborns.
The hands picked me up by the collar of my shirt and pulled me into the dark depths of the river. I reached out with my free hand towards the surface, trying to grasp the light. But it started to fade away, as the dead were drowning me deeper and deeper.
-"WhY yOu GeT tO LiVe?!" - the voices cried in unison
-"W-What are you talking about?!" - I screamed in response
-"WhY DiD YoU AbAnDoN uS? WhY yOu LeFt Us To DiE?!"
I didn't reply and just focused on escaping the corpses grasp on me. But their pull, their strength was too strong to break out of. I closed my eyes, awaiting a slow and painful death by drowning in the river.
But I was still seeing the silhouettes of the dead - their haunting look, the despair in their voice. Nothing could make the sight go away, it was seered into my mind.
-"PaIn aNd FeAr Is ThE fUeL oF aLl LiViNg CrEaTuReS" - the voices echoed in the red waters of the river, diluted blood flowing all around me
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Shouto's PoV
It didn't take a genius to figure out that both Izuku and Iris saw something haunting during their first night on the patrol. Izuku tried to avoid the topic as much as he could while Iris just completely ignored my questions and immediately went to sleep, followed by Izuku after he pulled himself together. Kouji was asleep when they came back, I woke up 15 minutes before their arrival.
To clear my head, I went for a small jogging when Izuku and Iris came back but I couldn't help but starting to think about my friends at UA. My siblings - Fuyumi, Natsuo...were they alright? Probably not, I admitted. That flaming shitbag was probably beyond livid about my disappearance - we were supposed to go on a summer training camp. Not to get transported to the past. He was beyond his lengths to find me, which was pretty much impossible.
After a one hour of jogging, I came back and out of boredom, started to think about my vigilante costume. I made a list on a spare piece of paper that I found - black or blue balaclava, a bike helmet to avoid getting knocked out plus a pair of fingerless gloves. Additionally, a navy blue hoodie with pockets and black cargo pants with solid leather military shoes. It wasn't perfect, especially combined with my Qui-Meta but it was also the only thing I could afford for.
Iris advised me before going out with Izuku to think about weaponary and to do not solely rely on my powers. She was somewhat trusted so I went to such lengths to research types of weapons - but then I remembered the swords the Hero Killer used. If I could train with them to such extent, it would become my precious asset. Yes, swordsmanship was the anwser - quite ironic that I got inspiration for a manic serial killer who went on a killing spree.
But life was full suprises, wasn't it?