A yell rips from your throat, and you lunge at Hiroto, nothing to defend yourself but your boiling anger.

That familiar feeling of betrayal, of loss, of that same helpless, hopeless throbbing you've felt for so long.

You've never been able to do anything before.

Things have been taken from you without hesitation.

Hiroto was right there.

❧

"Here he is!" You tell Midoriya, jumping at Hiroto, "Kurai is here! He's pretending to be my brother!"

You land on top of him, swinging at his face, and kicking him. You're not much of a fighter, but it's enough to keep him on the ground.

Midoriya glances at you, worry sitting heavy on his features. He can't escape the illusion though, so he can't help you.

"Hold on!" He shouts, dodging a fist, "Just stay there!"

Kurai, still wearing Hiroto's face, doesn't even put up a fight. He just lays there, grinning with a mouth that isn't his. 

You punch him, swinging your clenched fists like crazy, tears running down your face. 

It wasn't supposed to be like this. You were supposed to take him down, but apparently you aren't so much of a threat for him to even fight back. How are you supposed to avenge your brother if you're such a wimp yourself?

You always wanted to be a hero. You could've been a hero for once. But if you couldn't even protect Hiroto, then what's the point?

You stare at his gray eyes, and they only enrage you more.

With a punch to the nose, he starts to bleed, not even flinching. He coughs up a laugh through the crimson running down his face.

"Oh? So that's how you realized. Your brother's eyes." He tilts his head, "I can't duplicate anyone's eyes. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul; I'm an illusionist. I can't re-create souls."

You look back at Midoriya, who's trying to fight the fake Kurai. Anytime he touches the illusion, though, his fist passes through like he's a ghost. 

You can tell he's frustrated.

Your heart aches for him, and the anger rises again like bile in your throat.

With a stolen body, Kurai finally makes a move, reaching for the collar of your shirt. He jerks you down, catching you off guard, whispering with a raspy voice in your ear.

"Have you ever thought about," he smirks, "alternate realities?"

Before you can react, before you can flinch away from him or fight back, he pushes you to the ground, and the world goes black.

There's a pain in your chest, like a needle has pierced your heart. You gasp for air, the air knocked out of you from the force of hitting the ground.

It's dark?

Everything is pitch black.

You stand.

"Midoriya!" You yell into the darkness, "Midoriya, where are you?!"

You know it has to be another illusion. It has to be. 

It has to be.

It has to be.

Your heart pounds faster and faster as you look around.

There's nothing. Where'd Midoriya go? You're alone again?

The darkness seems to cave in, and you clutch your fists to your chest. It's like you're in a dark, shrinking box. It gets smaller, and smaller, and smaller, until your knee are pressed against you. 

You can practically hear yourself panicking; the way your heart beats like a drum of war, loud and fast and signaling danger. Your hands are shaking.

The world spins.

You clutch your forehead. Another headache. They're getting more frequent.

The drums are inside your head now. Screaming. Banging to get out.

You scream into the abyss, though it holds you like a close friend. You're a captive of the dark.

It seems like it will never end.

And then, you open your eyes.

Lights. Bright above your head.

Midoriya's worried voice greets you through the confusion.

"Are you okay, darling?"

You lean up, looking around. You're in the hospital.

Lights.

Bright lights.

You cover your eyes, barely able to see, your head still pounding.

"What happened?"

You blink, rubbing your face to find tears on your cheeks.

A doctor leans over you, his face full of concern. "Finally, you're awake."

"I said," you grumble, "what happened?  Where's Midoriya?"

"What do you mean?" He says, flipping through his clipboard, "We found you passed out in front of your apartment. Thankfully your landlady found you and brought you here. You might be experiencing some headaches, but we've prescribed a medication for that."

"M-Medication?" You stutter. "Where's Midoriya? Did he get hurt, too?"

"I'm sorry?" The doctor furrows his brows, "The only person you came with was your landlady. If there was someone else involved it'd be best for you to tell the police."

"No!" You snap.

The man shakes his head slowly. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"No, I meant . . . I'm sorry," you correct yourself, "W-We don't need to tell the police."

You grab the medicine from the doctor's hand, standing quickly. He tries to stop you, but you push him backwards.

He falls to the ground. Maybe you pushed him a little too hard.

"I-I'm sorry!" You say, running out the door.

The ground seems to waver in front of you, as if deciding to trip you or not. 

You fall on your knees, tripping over nothing. 

A sense of panic rises inside you, and another headache fills your brain. Pounding, screaming, drums trapped inside. 

You scream, clutching your head. 

People rush from inside the hospital. But you can't let them call the police. You have to find Midoriya.

You have to find Midoriya.

You manage to pick yourself up, crying out Midoriya's name.

You need him. You need him beside you.

"Midoriya!"

You stumble again, almost falling.

No, you think to yourself, I need to calm down. Get to my apartment.

You run home.

You haven't been home in so, so long. Not since Hiroto died.

You reach inside your pocket for the medicine, hoping it might calm your throbbing headache like the doctor said, but instead you find your keys.

You hold them up, still on your way to your apartment.

No way. I lost these after Hiroto died.

To your surprise, they still work, and the door clicks open. You open it slowly, your system overwhelmed with pain, confusion, and fear.

Creeping inside, you flick on the lights, only to stop.

Hiroto is laying on the couch.

You clutch the keys in your knuckles. 

That can't be him. It's not him.

He sits up suddenly, and you freeze. With a yawn he smiles at you.

"Oh, you're back! How was work?" He asks, then pauses. "Wait! What time is it?"

You don't answer.

He stands. "Oh, shit! Mom and Dad are supposed to be here in ten minutes!"

Mom and Dad . . . ?

"Hurry, go change clothes! You look disgusting!" He sticks his tongue out at you, then pulls open the fridge.

"You think Dad will want chicken or pork?"

"I love pork."

And then your parents walk through the door. Dad quickly goes to the fridge, pulling out the pork.

Your parents, who died years ago.

Your head feels like it's going to explode.

The war drums are back. 

The shadows curl around the floor, engulfing your family's faces. The only thing left is their eyes. Ghost gray, faint, lifeless.

Cold, gray eyes.

Without a soul.

And then you faint, and your head hits the ground.

❧