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Chapter Text

Izuku
May 17, 1983

His screams were simultaneously the best and worst thing I've ever heard. And god did I love the burst of adrenaline that coursed through me when hearing them, but they needed to stop.

I examined the blood that was covering my hand, and slowly pulled it away from the fork, looking at my hand in fascination. The blood was warm, and my fingers stuck together when I parted them. But he was still screaming. He needed to shut up. I needed to shut him up.

I scanned the room, reaching to grab my pillow. Without hesitation, I grasped the ends with both hands, placing the pillow firmly on his head. I let all of my weight travel to the front of my body, putting extra pressure on the soft object.

I felt Kota's limbs struggling to push me off, and I couldn't help the malicious smile that spread across my face at the action. So this is what those assholes feel when they're picking on me? Well, guess who has the power now? I'm finally in control, I finally understand.

But he isn't moving anymore. Why isn't he moving? Why the fuck isn't he moving?

I slowly lift the pillow away from my brother, examining his stillness. My smile was no longer present, the euphoric feeling gone. It was as if my heart suddenly turned to rock, plummeting into my stomach. My hands started to sweat, my vision blurred. I couldn't feel anything at that moment except blind panic and remorse. He's not dead, he can't be dead.

"Kota?" I whispered, and that's when I felt hot tears start to well up and cloud my vision. I grabbed his shoulders and shook him vigorously. "Kota, w-wake up."

I pulled him into my arms, praying to feel the familiarity of his small arms around my torso, but I felt nothing besides his blood beginning to soak into my shirt.

"I-I'm s-sorry, I didn't m-mean to." I cried more, knowing he wouldn't hug back. I knew he wouldn't accept my apology. I knew he was dead.

"I'm s-sorry, Kota."

Chapter Text

Izuku
June 5, 1983
Tuesday~Games

"Wait, aren't you supposed to stop liking girls? Not just fall for more?" I asked as we went down just about the longest flight of stairs I've ever seen. They find a way to make you feel like you're descending into Hell, not the first floor of a mental asylum. The paint is chipping and every single stair creaks, making you feel like you're starring in a cliche horror film. I hate them, truly, but probably not as much as Mina does.

"If only it were that easy. You could be the last person on Earth and I'd still refuse to reproduce. I'd rather the human species go extinct than go within five feet of you," she spoke nonchalantly but held a look of amusement, making me roll my eyes.

"Wow, thanks. So-" I was abruptly cut off, everyone's heads simultaneously snapping towards the front entrance as screams erupted. They were high-pitched and manic, seemingly coming from a girl, judging by the pitch. Mina and I tried desperately to get a look at whoever was screaming, but we couldn't see past everyone else.

Once we finally got to the bottom of the stairs, they were in the office and slightly calmed down, allowing us a good look. To my surprise, this clearly wasn't a girl, but a boy. We got a good look at him now, and I'm honestly not sure what I was supposed to feel about it.

"What the hell? I've never seen hair like that before, Izuku, have you?" Mina asked quietly as she turned to look at me with a shocked expression, her eyes blown wide. Judging by her expression, I think she was hoping I'd give her some kind of explanation as to why there was a small boy with blond and red hair sitting in the office. I couldn't provide one, though, I could barely think of a reply.

"I mean, n-neither have I." I shrugged slightly, looking away from her out of embarrassment. I never stuttered before all of this happened. Ever since I killed him, I've stuttered in certain situations that trigger it, like when I hear manic screams like I just did. Mina hasn't commented on it yet, which I'm thankful for. Then again, none of my friends have. Probably out of common courtesy.

"I wonder what the hell prompted a hairstyle like that," her voice was laced with confusion, her remark causing me to shrug once again.

"Maybe he just...h-has weird parents?" My voice gained in pitch near the end of my sentence, making her chuckle lightly. Her bright hazel eyes shifted back over to me and away from the boy as we entered the common room, making me let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

Screams put me on edge; every single scream I hear just twists and morphs into Kota's screams. I can't escape it and it's driving me insane, considering how often you hear people screaming in a place like this. But now Mina is talking again, and I have no time to get lost in my thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm sure his parents would do that for no reason." She scoffs a bit with sarcasm as she grabs my hand, rushing me to a nearby table, then sitting across from me and staring at me intently. "Why do I have a feeling his colored hair is one of the reasons he's in here?" She shrugs nonchalantly at her idea and sits back in her chair, blatantly staring out the door and into the office. "Messing with my hair is what made my parents snap."

I look at her with raised eyebrows, but before I get to ask her anything, she gets up to retrieve a game. And before I know it, I'm lost in my thoughts again, but this time I'm thinking about all the possibilities as to why that boy could be in here. Is Mina right? Does his poorly dyed hair have to do with it? It was clearly meant to be split down the middle, but it looks poorly done, especially in the back.

Before I can come up with anything truly good, I'm once again brought back by Mina, only this time she's dropping a pack of Uno cards on the table. I remember when I first met her, she approached me and offered to play Uno with me, claiming that it's her favorite game. So we usually resort to this, aside from any of the old board games they have.

"Maybe it is," I finally answer her question, making her look up at me with furrowed eyebrows. She sits down fully, obviously backtracking in our conversation. She soon gains a look of accomplishment, pointing at me and nodding quickly. She then reaches down and opens the worn-out Uno box, dumping the cards onto the table. "Maybe he dyed his own hair, and they threw him in here for being too rebellious. In a place like this, I feel like that's pretty possible." I shrugged a bit, earning a shrug back as she began shuffling the cards like an expert.

Mina fascinates me sometimes, but she won't allow me to ask questions about her life before she got here. She claims she 'can't trust me yet', which I think is bullshit. But I'd never tell her that, she'd probably backhand me across the face.

"Still doesn't explain the scream he let out randomly," she says as she starts to deal out the cards. I now watch her intently, noticing how precise she is when simply placing the cards into two piles. Once she was done, she started laughing all of a sudden, which made me furrow my eyebrows at her. "It sounded like someone was murdering him or something." She laughs as if it's funny, then shakes her head lightly. I laugh along with her a bit, but not a meaningful laugh, now looking down at my cards nervously.

My heart dropped down into my stomach as I started to remember Kota's screams. I feel my stomach start to churn, but I then remember that I'm playing a game and focus on my cards as best as I can. I blink a few times to shake this feeling in my stomach, then I look up quickly, taking in a deep breath. I smile lightly at Mina, making sure she doesn't see that I'm thinking about how I murdered my brother in cold blood. Or, more realistically, making sure she doesn't realize my drop in mood.

We're only a few turns into the game when she puts down a wild draw four card. I raise my eyebrows at her, and she smirks with a wicked glint in her eye. "Step up your game, Izuku. How do you expect to survive Rockhaven if you can't even survive a game of Uno?" She teases, making me roll my eyes. I've been here for almost three weeks already and I happen to think I'm surviving fine.

"Shut up, I can easily beat you," I declared proudly, making her chuckle deeply. She then proceeded to beat me in seven games, fanning out throughout the period. They gave us the ten-minute warning just as she beat me for the eighth and final time, shrugging at me as my mouth fell open.

"Just lucky." Her smirk still shown brightly.

"'Just lucky' my ass."