Chapter Text
It was as irreversible as the cycle of day and night. One moment Izuku was there, the next he was gone.
The world spun. He couldn't make sense of anything, no up or down, colors swirling in a head splitting mish mash, both an eternity and a single moment until Izuku screamed and the world slammed to a stop.
A small un-freckled hand stopped his motion forward before he could stumble off the treehouse he had somehow found himself in by hitting the frame of the exit.
A gasp shook his small frame, panting for air and desperately holding back the nausea.
" Hello? " A small voice that could only belong to a little girl called out in surprise. " Wait, why-? My body won't move! " The little girl panicked and so did Izuku as he realised the cry did not come from his surroundings but rather from his own mind.
"Where are you? Are you okay?"
" N-no! I'm right here but you shouldn't be! "
"W-what do you-?" And just like that the swirl took him again albeit on a shorter trip than before. Like being pushed on the ground but without the pain. This time, his lips moved without his consent and Izuku had the terrible feeling he finally understood what the girl had meant.
"I feel sick... "
" I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I didn't even mean to get here. "
"Who are you? How are you in my body?"
" My name is Izuku. As for how I'm here… I was- "
The spits and hisses of a walkie-talkie interrupt him.
"Clementine?!"
"Sandra!" Clementine picked the walkie with haste. "The monster didn't get you?" And suddenly the situation became infinitely scarier to Izuku.
"I'm fine. That thing bit me but I managed to push it out the door. But Clementine. I think you should stay in the tree house for now, just in case."
"What?! But-!"
"Listen to me, Clementine. If one of them reaches the backyard you can just lift the ladder up and then they can't get you."
"...Fine."
"Good girl. I'll bring you some food and bed things in a minute, alright?"
"Hm."
"See you in a minute."
Clementine sat in silence, obviously unhappy about the situation. Izuku wasn't quite sure what to do.
" ...Clementine, right? What did you mean by monsters? "
Clementine startled, having forgotten about the voice in her head.
"They look like people. The TV said they were sick but I think they're lying… Sick people don't eat other people."
Oh.
Oh SHIT.
"Swear."
" ...You could hear that? "
"Uhuh."
" Sorry. I'll try not to swear. "
"Good. What did you say your name was? I think you told me but I forgot."
" That's fine. I'm Izuku. "
"Izuku", She stretched each syllable around her tongue. "That's a weird name."
" That's probably because you don't hear a lot of japanese names. "
"You're from Japan?"
" Yeah. Actually, where are we right now? I don't think I recognise these kinds of homes. " He says, prompting Clementine to take a look at the row of houses. " Oh wait! Are we… somewhere in USA! "
"That's right! I live in Atlanta! We're in my treehouse. Next door, that's Miss Carper!..." she looks into the neighbour's backyard from the treehouse's makeshift balcony and Izuku gasps as her expression falls. "That's her…" she answers the silent question.
A vision from nightmares stumbles against the fence separating both backyards, hissing and growling as it attempts to get through, most likely having heard Clementine’s voice.
What must have once been a perfectly charming old lady was now a rotting mess, her pink cardigan stained in old crusted blood.
“ Is that what you meant by monsters? ”
“Hm.”
“ I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with that. ”
“It’s okay. You’re pretty nice for a… uh….”
" Body snatcher? ”
“That! How did you do that? Are you a ghost?”
“ Honestly, Clementine? I don’t know. I was at school and then suddenly I was here. ”
Of course he wouldn’t tell her someone had most likely killed him. She must have already been freaked out enough with all the monsters and the accidental body-snatching and Izuku didn’t want to add to her plate. There were more pressing matters such as finding a way back to his body if at all possible and even more importantly, he realised, making sure Clementine was safe before leaving.
There was no way he’d leave her to fend for herself.