| Warnings |
• Profanity

| Words |
1441

I nearly jumped out of my skin. The voice that came from behind me startled me so bad, it sent chills down my spine and goosebumps to rise over my entire body. Quickly turning on my heel, I discovered the source of the voice.

It was a man. By taking a few moments to study his facial features, I could tell that he was about my age. He had ash-blonde, spiky-looking hair and he wore all black with maybe a few splashes of red. Black tuxedo, white undershirt, red tie, black dress pants, black shoes, and a gold ring with a ruby in the middle glistening from his right thumb.

But what captivated me the most were his eyes. His amazing, crimson red were unlike any other eyes I'd ever seen. They weren't even close to Kirishima's, no. They had their own special glow to them. It left me breathless, and I had to blink a few times to pull myself out of the hypnotic trance, only to be reminded of something.

There's a stranger standing in my bedroom.

I wanted to scream, but I knew I'd wake up mom if I tried, and so far, this person doesn't seem like an immediate threat. If that were the case, I would've been dead by now. According to how swiftly he just slipped into my room, killing me would be no problem if he wanted. So screaming wasn't an option.

Use weapons? Force? No. I have a baseball bat in my closet for safety, and I'd have to get passed him to reach it. Not to mention, my mom and I live on the 7th floor. It's unknown to me how this stranger was able to intrude through my window.

Well.. I guess I'd have to try and reason.

Taking a deep breath, trying to pull myself together, I began to question him, but I couldn't seem to get my words out. "... W - Who.. Where -"

"I know you have it," he rudely interrupted with an annoyed grunt, "Give it to me."

As if I wasn't already confused. "I.. Don't understand what you mean..." I clarified, "What.. What do you want that I have..?"

"Stop playing dumb, human. The stone. Give me the fucking stone."

... Human? Stone? For starters, why is he referring to me as a human, as if he isn't the same? I mean, granted, any normal human can't climb seven stories with such ease, but come on.

On another note... The stone? I don't get it. But I didn't want to anger him any further, either. He's already sneering at me. So, I spoke the only thing that came to mind.

"... I - I don't have it."

That seemed to shift his mood in a very negative way.

Smacking his lips together, he began to growl under his breath, making me take a few steps back, fearing for my life. "What do you mean, 'you don't have it'?? I know you do. I'm getting tired of this petty shit."

With that, he lifted one of his hands from the pocket of his pants, little sparks and explosions that sounded like popping fireworks igniting within it. Whatever this man was, he wasn't human. No human can do that.

Gasping, I held my own, fairly smaller hands out in defense, small tears beginning to slowly flood my vision. "W - Wait! Please don't kill me!" I pleaded, my voice cracking slightly. He paused, extinguishing his fireworks by simply stopping them altogether, but he kept his hand up as an intimidating warning.

Think, Izuku, think!! What stone could he-

OH! The stone my father gave me when I was six!! I had forgotten all about it!

He must've noticed the recognition on my face, because he went from menacing to slightly disoriented.

"That little b - blue stone? Is that what you want?"

Retracting his hand, he simply sighed with a curt nod. "Yeah, whatever. That stone."

"... I'm sorry, but I can't give that to you."

It didn't take long at all for his expression to quickly shift once again, his growling returning. "You what?"

"I said I can't give it to you," I repeated with a little more confidence. "It shouldn't matter if I'm dreaming anyway, right? There's no way this is real."

And that's what had locked into my mind. This wasn't real. Just a figment of my weird imagination. I've had freaky dreams for so long, I might have been beginning to confuse them with reality. Even if that were the case, still.. Why did I feel so afraid? My hands couldn't stop shaking, and my legs felt like they were going to give out any second. The fear felt real, but this scenario didn't. It didn't make any -

My train of thought was halted abruptly when, all of a sudden, I blinked and the man was closer than a foot away from me. He had a hand around my throat, his nails pressing into the sides of my neck. They were pretty sharp, and it hurt, maybe even drew some blood. I deep gasp escaped from me as I was rendered helpless, unable to do anything but stare into the depths of his fiery orbs.

If this was just a dream, would it hurt like this?

There were a few moments of silence before the stranger broke them. "I don't have to prove shit to you, but I will kill you. You humans, you're so fragile and easy to exterminate. With a simple clamp of my hand, I could crush your windpipe. In other words, if you don't give me that goddamn stone, I'll make sure you don't live to see daylight."

Even if this was a dream, I don't want to die. I'm sorry for breaking my promise, dad.

I swallowed the large lump that formed in my throat, hesitantly asking, "W - What... What are you..?"

Upon receiving the question, a devious smirk formed on his features; something other than a scowl.

"Your worst nightmare." His hand tightened around my neck, not only beginning to cut off my air supply, but heating said hand up as well. It was painful to say the least, and if I didn't give him that stone, I was surely done for. My voice was higher in pitch and more strained. "Okay.. Okay, okay! I'll give it! Just please stop choking me!"

With that, he released me, taking a step back to give me a bit of space. Dropping to my hands and sitting on my calves, I wheezed a little and coughed, taking deep breaths. Feeling something trickle down the sides of my neck, where his hand just was, I touched one side before examining it. Blood. I wasn't surprised.

After regaining my composure, I slowly stood to my feet, shooting a glance toward the taller male. He had his arms crossed over his chest, eyeing me cautiously as if he were waiting for me to make one wrong move.

This was crazy. All of this was crazy. It's nearly 3am and there was some... entity standing in the middle of my room, demanding either my stone, or my life. I was scared. Who wouldn't be? Who, and most importantly, what was he? And why did he want my stone so badly?

Just breathe, Izuku. You'll be fine as long as you give him what he wants.

I walked over to my dresser, opening the top drawer by pulling the handles attached to it. I tried to stay calm, my shaky hands rummaging through my clothing to reach the very back. After some shifting, I found what I was desperately searching for.

The small, glass-like object looked exactly how I left it. Shiny, smooth, slightly glowing, illuminating a portion of my dresser drawer with its turquoise hue. It looked as if it had water in it, or a small galaxy circulating, even though I knew it was neither. The vortex of color and faint air bubbles swirling around slowly on the inside. Absolutely beautiful.

Sighing, I scooped it up and closed my drawer, keeping it in the palm of my hand and curling my fingers delicately around it. This was it. I didn't want to, but I was breaking my promise. Dad would probably be disappointed in me if he were here.

I turned to face the other in my room, his smirk growing wider as he held out his hand, ready to take my most prized possession without an ounce of remorse. "Saves me the trouble," he said.

Just as I was about to uncoil my hand, a sharp pain began to ruthlessly sting into my palm.