Shoto POV:

As Ochako and the others explained the situation to Katsuki and Eijiro, my wooziness from the medicine I took earlier was slowly taking effect. Izuku was sitting next to me writing in his journal.

I fiddled with the top of the water bottle I was holding, and started biting on my lip to try and stop my twitching.

"So you're on a quest to find 'child of scales', who is apparently Ei, and dethrone this extra's shitty dad?" Katsuki finally summarizes. "Sounds fun, but isn't it obvious who the second 'child' is?"

Ochako raises an eyebrow. "Who do you think?"

Katsuki scoffs. "It's green hair other there." He said, tipping his head in Izuku's direction. "He lives out away from the village and out in the forest. And his hair is green. Forest Green. And he was the one to first meet Icy-hot, it's obvious."

Tsu taps her chin. "It does make sense." She says.

"Is the medicine working?" Izuku whispers in my ear. "You look tired."

I nod. "And also it's still the middle of the night." I say. Izuku hums in agreement and flips a page on his book. I glance down at the papers. It was filled with tons and tons of words in a beautiful cursive writing. But then the journal gets slammed close, and Izuku gives me a nervous smile.

The sleepiness grows and I lean sideways, and then my head falls on Izuku's shoulder. He gasps, but I was already dreaming.

...

"Shoto, you're too weak for any real damage." My father growled down at me as I coughed from the latest hit. "I'm holding back, you can't be this fragile!"

The world around me crumbles like dust as my surroundings change.

"Don't worry, it'll get better." My mother whispered, stroking my head as I cried again.

My mother turns to mist and I change settings again.

My eldest brother secretly handing me a piece of paper, shushing me when I asked him what it was. He gave me a mischievous smile behind his pointer finger as he holds it up to his lips.

A shifting sunlight envelopes him and he disappears.

My sister was pulling me through the sunny courtyard, our 5 and 12 year old feet pattering on the hot cement. "Come on, Sho!" She cheers, smiling back at me. "We're almost at the pond I told you about!"

The sun becomes so bright, I close my eyes.

My other brother sits next to me in the library. "You're not supposed to talk to me." I say, hushed to not get him in trouble.

"Don't worry, he won't find us." He says. He points to the book I was holding. "You like this one don't you?"

Everything crumbles down, revealing a completely white space that went on and on in each direction.

I turn around a few times. But there was nothing but the white angel-like area.

"Don't worry." An airy male voice says, sounding like it was whispered right in my ear. "You will be rid of this soon." I swung around and was met with a bright light. Someone was holding the brightest white light I've ever seen right in front of my forehead, and then they pressed the middle with their pointer finger.

The painful headache erupted from the inside of my skull, eating its way outward. I choked on my own scream and slump against the floor, where I realized it was covered in a layer of white mist an inch high.

My vision goes haywire. I see three different perspectives at once, and they all were moving sluggishly. A red and purple rim wobble on the outside. My eyes pulsed painfully inside my head.

"Don't fight it." The voice says. "It will help your friends."

I wanted to say I wasn't fighting anything, I currently was having the most painful headache I've ever had in my entire life, not fighting whatever this man was talking about.

"Oh, don't you think you're being too hard on him?" Another female voice says. "He's just a child."

"Just because you represent mercy doesn't mean I have to use it." The first voice says. I blink slowly, but my vision doesn't return to normal.

"How about we redo then?" A third female voice asks, this one is even lighter than the first. It had a tinge of sadness in it. "Hurting does no good."

I felt two fingers press my temple. A calming sensation passes over me before I black out.

.Izuku.

For a while after Shoto passed out on my shoulder, I continued writing. I heard talking from the others as I write. After a few minutes, I realize that my writing has spiraled into Shoto talk. I quickly scratch that out.

Shoto mumbled something incoherent and I smile.

I close my book and place it in my bag. Sighing, I turn slightly to look at Shoto's face.

His eyebrows were furrowed and his lips were closed tightly, like his was concentrating. A bead of sweat rolled down his cheekbone. I raise an eyebrow. It didn't look like he was having a nightmare, those were usually more shaky and tear filled. But it didn't look like he was sleeping peacefully either.

Then a moment later, his face froze, and then he relaxed completely. He went deadly still and sunk against my shoulder.

I frowned. "Shoto?" I whisper. He doesn't respond.

He could just be asleep. Half of me thinks. I shake my head.

A flash of red enters my vision and I turn to see that Eijiro had switched back to his dragon form. He breathes a plume of fire onto the sticks that Ochako and Tsu collected, before laying and putting his head down on the grass next to Katsuki.

I turn back to Shoto just as he slips off my shoulder and into my lap. I make a small squeak before my face flushes red. I glance away from him and grab my journal again. Rapid fire, I write down words and sentences.

After a few minutes, I start writing slower. I had filled three and a half pages in my fit.

I take a deep breath and look back down at Shoto. He was still laying his head on my lap, with his face pointing away from me.

"My gods." I whisper. "You're driving me crazy."

Shoto only responded with a deep sigh.

<^> To Be Continued

(1k words)

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