Chapter Text
He awakes suddenly.
It takes him a few moments to come to focus, and then a few more to take in his surroundings.
He’s sitting in a chair in the center of a room bathed with a gentle blue light. How did he fall asleep sitting up? It didn't matter. Aside from the chair and a small bag by his feet, the room is completely empty. He supposed it should be eerie, but at the same time, it feels almost… Familiar. Like he was here before once in a dream. There’s a window with a stunning blue moon. It looks perfect. It looks fake. Either way, he can't stay here. He has to get back to Mom and Dad.
He takes the bag, gets up, and walks to the door, but when he opens it, he can't recognize his surroundings. Wasn’t he at a hospital before? He looks around and notices a security camera on the wall. It's somewhat comforting -- if he can't get out, he can always try to get attention through that. He leaves the room, gently shutting the door behind him.
He passes by a gate -- it looks like he needs a card key of sorts. Is this a puzzle? He’s always been good at those. He keeps walking until he notices writing on the wall. It’s in English, which is odd, but he’s fluent.
Who really are you?
You should ask yourself.
Who am I?
The real myself or the one I believe to be?
An angel? Or a sacrifice?
Know yourself and new doors will open.
Know himself? He knows who he is. But he doesn't know why he's here, so maybe that's it? There's a door up ahead, so he goes to it.
There's a powered-down computer, some sort of dispenser, and a wall of mirrors. Know yourself… He goes up to the mirror and looks at his reflection.
The computer turns on.
He turns away, heading over to investigate. Words are on the screen, once again in English.
What is your name?
His… Name?
“Midoriya Izuku.”
More words appear.
How old are you?
“Fifteen.”
What is your quirk?
“I don't have one,” he answers sheepishly.
Where did you come from?
“I was at the hospital…”
Why?
What?
Why?
“Huh?”
Why the hospital?
“Because I… I saw people die. I saw them get killed, so I was sent here for therapy.”
Authentication complete. Please take card key.
So that's what the dispenser was for. Izuku takes the card -- he assumes that it will open the gate, but there's only one way to find out. He heads back.
He places his card key into the slot. The gate opens, but he doesn't get the card back. Hopefully he doesn't need it anymore. Past the gate is an elevator. Will this take him home? He hopes so.
The doors shut behind him. A voice comes out from the speakers.
“The boy on the bottom floor has been selected as a sacrifice. All floors, begin preparations.”
Sacrifice? What did that mean? As the elevator moves up from B7 to B6, he ponders over the message. Was this some religious cult? He finds himself folding his hands in a prayer for safety.
After what feels like an eternity, the doors open to what appears to be a city.
“Beyond here is the play area.”
The message says nothing else, so Izuku cautiously steps out of the elevator. It closes as soon as he's out. There goes the escape route. He takes a deep breath, sends a quick prayer, and starts walking.
---
“I should search for a way out… This is the play area, right? So it's a game -- there's gotta be a way to win,” he mumbles. Izuku glances around the street, noticing a piece of paper on the wall. He takes a closer look.
It's… an article about a murder.
Izuku shudders, but keeps walking. There are alleyways, but he avoids those. And when he sees a fenced-off crime scene directly ahead of him, well. He just takes a left.
His avoidance of the crime scene leads him to a building. Since the city seems to be abandoned, nobody will mind if he enters the building, right?
It appears to be a storage room of some sort. Which reminds him -- he should check his bag to see what he has with him.
It's not much -- a needle, some thread, and something wrapped in a handkerchief. He knows he should unwrap it, but…
It feels wrong to do so.
Instead, he looks around the room. There's a huge box -- if he wanted to, Izuku could fit in it with room to spare. He opens the lid -- all that's in it is a bag of snacks. What a waste of space! Still, he takes the bag. He’s not hungry now, but he might be later. There's nothing else in the room he can use, so he leaves.
As much as he doesn't want to go into the alleyway, it looks like he has no choice. So, clasping his hands together, he walks in.
It's dark, but luckily not as dark as he expected. Izuku thanks God that he can at least see his surroundings.
Ever so slowly, he walks down the alleyway. His eyes dart back and forth in an attempt to scan for both danger and a way out. Brick wall, lamp post, something white...
Wait.
Izuku turns back towards the white. There, on a window, is a dove. Is it trapped? He takes out the bag of snacks and opens it. Sure, he might be wasting his own food, but it's not like they have much nutrients anyways. The bird jumps down from the window, but instead of flying, it just hits the ground. Is it injured? At closer inspection, there's a tear in its wing. Poor bird…
Izuku holds out one of the snacks, and the bird eagerly eats it.
“That’s right, eat it all. Get healthy, okay? But we have to do something about that wing…”
After he’s satisfied with the amount the little bird has eaten, Izuku reaches into his bag for the needle and thread. It’s a good thing he had it with him.
The bird struggles, but Izuku just holds it tighter. And at the end, its wing is patched together again.
“There we go. You still can't fly, can you? Here, you can come with me.”
Izuku pets his bird before gently placing it into the bag. There doesn't seem to be anything else here, so maybe he missed something? He walks back to the main street, constantly checking to make sure his bird is comfortable. It seems to be.
At least, until he's in front of a boarded room.
His bird starts struggling, flopping out of the bag and onto the ground.
“Little bird, no!”
He bends down to grab it, but it hops away.
“Birdie…”
He chases it a bit more until it tires itself out in front of the room.
“It's okay,” he smiles, crouching down and holding out his hand. “We’ll get out of here together, okay?”
As soon as he says those words, the boards are sliced open.
Izuku can only stare in horror as a blade hits his bird and blood flies everywhere. A boot slams down in front of him, followed by a laugh that can be described only as maniacal.
“You sure looked happy, huh? Where’d that smile go?” The man leans down directly in Izuku’s face, and his blue eyes look downright predatory. Directly under his eyes, bandages are wrapped around his nose and mouth like a mask -- except a mask wouldn’t show that mad grin. Behind him, Izuku can catch a glint of metal.
“I’m a nice guy, so I’m going to give you three seconds to run.” The man holds up three fingers to go with the statement, the sickening smile still on his face. Izuku continues staring at him in horror, until the countdown snaps him out of his thoughts.
“Three!”
Izuku gets up and starts to run towards the room from earlier. Years of bullying had its perks, in that it made him fast.
“Two!”
There was a box in the storage room, right? Maybe he could hide -- or at least, find a weapon of some sort.
“One!”
He slams the door shut behind him, diving into the box and shutting the lid on top. He takes whatever time he has before the man shows up to even out his breathing. He hears a crash, followed by a slam.
“Where are you, little bastard? Are you in here?”
A blade comes down through the roof of the box.
“Fuck, I missed.”
The blade pulls out, and Izuku closes his eyes and prays. The blade comes down again.
“...”
“I guess he’s not in there.”
Izuku fights the urge to sob as he sees the blade pull out again. If he had been a little bit closer to the center, he would have lost a lot more than a lock of hair. Instead, he sits quietly, hand covering his mouth.
It feels like hours later when Izuku finally finds the courage to peek out, although he realistically knows it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. The bandaged man is gone -- Izuku doesn’t want to think of what would have happened if he wasn’t. He climbs out of the container. He needs to get out of here, and fast. But… His bird…
Against his better judgement, he goes back to check.
It’s not pretty. His bird has been sliced completely in half, and Izuku finds himself praying for it.
“No…” He murmurs. “You’re not my bird.” His bird didn’t look so… broken. But that’s okay. He reaches into his bag.
“I can fix you.”
---
Izuku is inspecting a sign that says “elevator room” when he hears the laugh.
“So that’s where you went! This time, you don’t get a head start!”
Izuku starts sprinting. No, no, he’s so close! He hears the laughter get farther, but elevators take time -- he needs to put as much distance between himself and the man as possible. There! He reaches the elevator, practically slamming the button to get in. While the doors open, he turns to look behind him.
The man is gaining on him. Fast. He keeps laughing, seemingly oblivious to the way his red hair falls in front of his eyes. And that manic grin is wider than ever.
Izuku practically throws himself into the now-open elevator, pressing the up button repeatedly.
“Come on, please, please! ”
The man swings his scythe...
...And hits the closed door.
Izuku allows himself to fall to the floor, tears springing to his eyes. He made it. He made it. But what now? Was he out? Somehow, he doubted it -- there was probably more. But for now, he could rest.
After a while, the elevator opens. Izuku stands up on shaky legs. It looks like he’s in… a hospital? It doesn’t look familiar, though. So a different one than where he was sent for therapy? Once he’s sure he can walk without falling, Izuku exits the elevator. Once again, the doors shut behind him.
He starts walking. It takes longer than he would like to admit to realize that there’s a second set of footsteps behind him. Izuku picks up the pace, and the footsteps do as well. He starts running. But he’s tired from earlier, and the other person manages to grab his arm. Izuku lets out a yelp.
“Izuku!”
The boy whips around to face whoever it was that grabbed him.
It’s a man who looks to be in his thirties. He has brown hair, and his gold eyes look at Izuku in a way that he really doesn’t like. But the most noticeable thing about him is the black surgical mask on his face.
“I finally caught up to you. I was worried.”
Izuku looks at him blankly. Why would he be worried? The older man tilts his head.
“Don’t you remember me?” Izuku shakes his head. “I’m your therapist, Doctor Kai.”
“Doctori… Kai?” That name does sound familiar… “Doctor, we have to get out of here! There was a man downstairs and-” The doctor firmly places his hand on Izuku’s shoulder.
“He won’t follow you up here. I promise.” Izuku shudders at the forcefulness of his tone. “Now, let’s look around, shall we?”
As they walk, Izuku manages to find the courage to ask a question.
“Doctor… Why didn’t you run?” Kai turns to him.
“I was waiting for you. You’re smart and resourceful, after all. I knew you would make it this far.”
That… sounded odd. Izuku isn’t quite sure he believes it. But at the same time, the doctor hasn’t tried to kill him, so he doesn’t push it any further.
Eventually, the two come across a thick wall of glass separating them from what appears to be the floor’s elevator.
“It looks like we’re trapped,” Kai says, and Izuku can hear mirth in his voice. What the heck? “I guess we’ll just have to stay together. Let’s look around some more.” Izuku hesitantly nods and starts heading towards the first door he sees.
The room is filled with hospital beds. Izuku slowly enters, looking around warily. The doctor stays close to him -- far too close, but Izuku is scared of what would happen if he told him to back off. Instead, he decides to focus on some writing he sees on the back wall.
Do you know what you really want?
Desire, do you know what it is?
There is no reason to fight against it, if it is your true desire.
There is no reason for you to be here too.
But remember, don't break the rules.
For each wish, there is a price: that's the rule.
“Rules? And desires?” Izuku doesn’t understand, but he tries to make sense of it. He turns back around, and instantly regrets it. The way Doctor Kai is looking at him… It sends a shiver down his spine. And not in a good way.
“I desire to see the world free of diseases. The world is unclean. I want to change that.” He reaches out and cups Izuku’s cheek. Is he oblivious to the boy’s discomfort, or does he just not care? Eventually, he pulls away. “On to the next room?”
It’s an operating room, and Izuku doesn’t like where this is heading.
“Izuku?”
The boy jumps.
“Y-Yes, Doctor?”
“Do you mind helping me find something? I believe I left it in here.” Izuku nods, hoping that the fear isn’t visible on his face.
“What do you need?”
“It’s a mask. It’s red, brown, and gold.”
“A… Mask?” He repeats, making sure he heard correctly. Kai is already wearing a mask. Why does he need another?
“I’ll check in here. Do you think you could check the back room? However,” Kai muses, “It might be too dark to see back there, so be careful.” Izuku nods, warily making his way to the door.
When he enters the room, he finds shelves upon shelves of masks. It’s honestly a little bit weird, although he supposes there were worse things to collect. Like eyes, for example. Now, which mask did Kai want? Red, brown, and gold… There’s a mask matching that description on the counter. It looks like the child of steampunk and a plague doctor. It’s absolutely ridiculous, and Izuku can’t help but let out a chuckle.
“Izuku, what's so funny?” Izuku jumps at the proximity of the voice.
“Nothing, Doctor! I promise!”
“It’s fine. Do you remember how I looked with that mask on?” Izuku shakes his head. “Try to remember the time you and I met outside of the hospital.”
“I don’t remember ever meeting you outside of here,” Izuku squeaks.
“You're still living inside a dream,” Kai sighs. “Would you hand that to me? I need to put it on. For both of us. Why don’t you wait outside?” Izuku nods a bit fearfully, heading to the door. “And Izuku…” He turns back to see a threatening look in the doctor’s eyes.
“Don’t try to run.”
Izuku nods again, gently closing the door behind him. This isn’t safe. He has to run! He speeds over to the door, only to find that it won’t open. The boy frantically looks around the room for something -- anything -- that can be used to escape. His eyes settle on a crowbar. He has no idea why that’s in here, but he’s not going to question it. Instead, he hoists it up and runs to the door again.
It takes a bit of work, but eventually he manages to pry the door open.
Right as he feels a presence directly behind him.
On instinct, Izuku whips around and swings the crowbar. If he were luckier, he would have hit Kai’s head and knocked him out. But as it is, the doctor raises his hand as if to catch it. The crowbar splits into a thousand pieces as it makes contact with his hand.
“I thought I told you not to run, Izuku.”
“Doctor…”
“You see, this is my floor.”
Izuku starts to sprint, but Kai grabs his arm and drags him back towards the operating table.
“Let go of me, you pedo!” The doctor shows no signs of caring. Izuku finds himself hitting the table with a thud, and the golden-eyed man soon climbs on top of him. “Get off! ” He tries to shove the larger man away, but to no avail.
“Izuku…” he murmurs, “Why must you struggle? Can’t you remember why you’re here?”
“Doctor, please! I just want to see my parents!” Kai chuckles at that.
“Oh, Izuku, is that what you’re searching for? You’ll see your parents very soon. They’re waiting for you in Hell .”
Izuku freezes.
“...Hell?”
He remembers. He remembers, and he wishes he didn’t.
“Look at that!” Kai sounds pleased. “Those green eyes are perfect like that. Dead, but alive. Perfect for a pure and clean child as yourself.” Kai climbs off of the boy. “Now, shall we-”
He’s interrupted by a blade piercing through his chest. His eyes widen in shock as a familiar maniacal laugh pierces the air. The blade pulls out.
“Hey, Chisaki, you’re so damn creepy that I couldn’t help but do the world a favor!” He laughs again. “Y’know, kid, I found you in one hell of situation! Better start running now if you want to live! Otherwise, I’m gonna…” He slams down the scythe, right next to Izuku’s neck.
“CUT YOU OPEN RIGHT HERE!”
Izuku lays still, making no effort to move. His breathing doesn’t even speed up.
“What the hell?” The bandaged man pauses before pulling the weapon back. “I’m a grown-ass man. I’m not into shredding dolls.” As if responding to him, a voice comes out from a speaker somewhere.
“A resident of B6 has attacked a resident of B5. The traitor has been selected as a sacrifice.”
“Well, fuck. Guess I should run.” He makes no effort to hurry, though. Instead, he awkwardly steps over the motionless body before calmly walking out the door. About thirty seconds later, the sound of glass shattering fills the air.
“That’s right…” Izuku murmurs. “I… I should be dead.”
He lays there for a bit longer until the air is filled with distant clanging and swears. Izuku slowly sits up. That guy… wanted to kill him, right? He slides off of the bed, slowly walking to the source of the sound.
The guy with the scythe is aggressively kicking the elevator. Izuku watches him for a bit before the man turns around and notices him.
“Huh? What the hell are you waltzing around for?” He demands.
“I, um. I have a favor to ask you.”
“What the fuck?”
Izuku doesn’t think that’s a no. He folds his hands in prayer and looks down. “I want you to…” He looks up at the other man.
“Kill me… please.”