#izuku route — well now i have to fall in love (entangledheroes)

[hxlfsoul]

@entangledheroes

ANOTHER DREARY DAY OF WRITING HAD COME TO AN END, albeit it was midnight, much too late for him to care for daily life. The only thing on his mind was getting home soon, considering he’d ventured from his isolated home in order to seek nutrients in the form of takeout, yeung chow rice and curry to be specific, something to satisfy his craving for protein, spice and carbs. In reality, it was only chosen because the restaurant selling his favourite zaru soba was closed and Shoto didn’t possess the energy to cook after eight hours of furious typing, not even stopping when his throat ran dry and his fingers began to cramp. 

Sometimes, he wondered if his writing habits were perhaps unhealthy, if only from the fact he’d had to put on his compression gloves yet again to quell the swelling and provide much needed relief to aching joints.

He was, however, caught off guard when there was a hand on his shoulder, spinning around to stare at the darkness of a shadowed street, empty except for himself and the silhouette at the end of the street, barely lit by the streetlight the other was under. However, he saw no identifiable features, simply the shadow that moved as he stepped towards it, never close enough to see them in detail, only enough to follow. Perhaps he shouldn’t be foolish, following strangers at the twilight hours, beneath the moon. No one would see if he were to disappear, they’d simply be searching for a ghost, for the lost boy they called a friend or a sibling or a son, but he’d be vanished, never to appear again, in an endless game of escaping and solitude, unable to return to the life he had built for himself out of fear he would tarnish the few good memories he had.

❝Wait!❞ He called out, although his words were drowned by the rain, the bag containing his food resting on his elbow as he reached out, his hand nearly touching the hood of their jacket as he ran closer, but it escaped his reach, a failed attempt to discern what was happening and whether this situation was worth following or if it would simply lead him to be another murdered soul on the news, a poor man who made a bad decision and paid the price with his life. 

Soon enough, the figure stopped in front of a building. It wasn’t old, not by any means, but the door still creaked as he opened it, having walked through the garden filled with green grass, more vibrant than anything he’d ever seen, and flowers of all variations, from pure white to deep purples that reminded me of the inky darkness of space, speckled colours like the stars he’d stared at every night, or perhaps they were bright, too bright, almost iridescent in the way they changed each time he looked back at the garden, much too beautiful to be associated with something such as this, with darkness and ominous figures, with silence and the eerie sound of footsteps across wooden floors.

The garden was soon forgotten as he entered the building, one he recognised as an apartment building in what was a high end of town, if only from the fact his father had mentioned a friend of his owned the building in an attempt to convince Shoto to live there rather than on the outskirts of town in a detached house he’d had built from his own design. However, his father had never been happy with it, with the fact it was humble and did not speak of extortionate quantities of money that one did not need to enjoy the simplicity life offered, especially not when Shoto had grown tired of unnecessary extravagance when it pertained to the way the rest of his family had grown accustomed to living as they grew up.

After a while of walking down the halls, attempting to be quiet as not to wake any of the current residents from their slumber, he reached a door, watching the figure slip inside before he pushed it open further, staring at the figure that stood in front of the computer, a phone connected with a wire and an app up on it. Arcade, read the words glaring on the screen in bright blue, lighter than one would expect, on a dark background. However, he didn’t stare at it for too long, turning his attention to the figure standing on the balcony railings, hesitantly moving closer.

❝Who are you?❞ He questioned, although the only answer was a manic laugh ringing out through the entire apartment. He didn’t receive an answer, not vocally anyway, simply the disappearance as they jumped from the balcony and the computer screen that had booted up an email software. Hesitantly, he pulled shut the balcony doors, if only because it was raining, and sat down in the computer chair, picking up the phone and tapping the screen.

[ enter username ] ________ [ add a profile picture ]

The picture he added was simply one of himself smiling, something he’d been told was wonderful by his siblings, albeit he wasn’t too sure how biased they were, as they’d never gotten to see Shoto smile as children. His only expressions back then had been pained, tears shed in his room, illuminated only by the moon for night was the only safe time to cry. However, he didn’t want to think of those days now, not those memories of a life he’d rather forget, tales of fearful words and the loss of a mother, of uncertain identities and rebellious attempts to find himself in the rubble of what could have been a family, but never quite was.

[ username Kadupul has entered the chatroom ]

His lips pressed into a thin line at the message, scrutinising it with confusion. A chatroom, was that was this was? He wasn’t sure if he wished to engage, however he didn’t see how it could harm him, considering his pen name was more well known than his face, albeit he was still in the media from time to time, hyped up as the prodigy son of Enji, holed up within his home constantly, assumed to be taking Endeavor Inc to higher levels in future. What they thought was plotting to take over the markets, to become the best businessman to exist, was simply Shoto’s attempt to write novels, to garner nothing but his own joy rather than the adoration of people, unlike what his father may believe.

[Kadupul] Hello...? [Kadupul] Is anyone here? [Kadupul] What’s going on?

He felt uneasy, as if there were some sort of malicious presence around, but he was alone, in the end. Simply himself and the words blaring on the computer screen, warning him not to leave. Black on a bright red, straining to read, if he were being honest. 

[ WARNING: SECURITY SYSTEM MALFUNCTION. DO NOT LEAVE THE PREMISES. ] 

The words alternated, only one of those sentences on the screen at a time, and perhaps he’d have brought himself to care if he weren’t already exhausted and confused. Considering it was half one by now, he didn’t see any appeal in leaving the building, nevermind taking the two hour trek home from where he’d been lead to. As much as he’d rather sleep in his own bed, it seemed he had no choice but to remain here and see how his future would end up, forever altered by the decision he’d made today.

[Kadupul] ... Why am I here and what do you want from me? [Kadupul] Explain yourselves or I’m leaving wherever you’ve lead me.

( for once, he thought, perhaps i’ll have a little bit of adventure in my life. it couldn’t hurt, could it? if only he knew what was to come, perhaps he’d not have thought so lightly of the situation he’d put himself in that day. )

[hxlfsoul]

                        IZUKU ROUTE TIMELINE (ENTANGLEDHEROES)

Prologue - A Dreary Night