Lost in the Fog

Home Away From Home

The remaining week passed without incident, and he even finished rewriting Vigo's notes to paper. However, he kept having the feeling like there was something he was missing, something important. But that would come later, with the research he would undoubtedly do. For now, he was busy moving into the dorm system. He could have made everything he needed with the Auris, but didn't want to. He was content with the items he had, so he made them move telekinetically. All he had to do was supervise as they all moved into place. The sight alone wouldn't surprise anyone who didn't know Izuku, and just assumed that the he had telekinesis... but his classmates, knowing his true nature, just watched with amazement. He kept referring back to the Auris, with Hagakure spilling the beans about her new hero suit's creation as a direct result of the device. All his power came from that, and Bakugo was now determined to break it, or failing that, take it away from him. Izuku knew that he would try, perhaps even to attempt to augment his own power with it, but the greenette was always a step ahead. He never let it out of his sight.

Even during a what would be a friendly competition, when all of the other students wanted to see each other's rooms. His room was one of the first, and so, he opened the door, and they were surprised that Izuku's room was so... dark. Black drapes covered the glass door to the balcony, and a bookshelf covered the wall with the bed. There was a flatscreen smart TV on the wall in front of the bed, set up with a VHS & DVD player. Behind the bed, which was covered in a dark, static themed bedsheet and a simple representation of the auris, was a banner with a single white ring, and a silhouette of Sadako. They took it as a sweet gesture for his girlfriend, which it was.

What really got them excited was when they noticed the bookshelves flanking the TV were moving. They were thin columns, one moving downward, the other moving up. They moved like this naturally, due to the Auris, which made every object in the room. There was a desk on the opposite side to the door, with a computer and Izuku's black journal. While people liked his room, in terms of consistent theme (which Denki failed), Sato ended up winning the competition by bribing the judges with cake.

After the competition, he was going to put the last object away when Bakugo grabbed it from his hand. It was his copy of Sadako's tape. He grinned maliciously, as if it was some kind of blackmail. "What the fuck is this, Deku?"

He should've just not responded, but he knew the blond irritation wouldn't let it go. "It's private."
That made it sound worse for Bakugo, who thought he could finally one-up his old victim. "Oh, so you don't want it shown to the world?"
"Preferably no. It's Sadako's, not mine."

That made him smile even more. After all, if he could make her leave, then it would hurt. "Tch, if anyone, somehow, loves you, then they must be delusional. I'll just have to put her in her place like I do with you."
"Oh really?" He smiled, amused. Like you could ever top that Onryo.

The blond grunted, moving away and into the living room, where everyone was already starting a movie. The explosive boy was nothing if not stubborn, as he would wait until the end to try to "embarrass" Sadako. Bakugo is the definition of petty...

Why they decided on a scary movie was beyond Izuku's knowledge, as Haloween was not for a few months, but they had chosen... the Ringu movie adaptation. It was certainly an amusing coincidence for Izuku as he settled down in the back, waiting for the end. He knew there was an old movie, but it seemed like he'd be finally watching it. Bakugo wanted to embarrass him, but he couldn't while everyone was focused elsewhere. Eventually, at the end, the movie Sadako appeared, in the same way that Izuku's Sadako did, and everyone was confused by the similarities. Kaminari even noted, "Doesn't that look like the Sadako that Mido introduced us to?"
"You're right, it does!"

"That is one hell of a coincidence..." Bakugo grumbled... but his expression changed to confusion once he saw Izuku smiling calmly. Before the USJ, Bakugo knew Izuku was afraid of horror movies beyond any doubt. But here he was, sitting back and enjoying it calmly. They looked at him, asking, "Why are you... happy to see this?"

"Hm? Oh, this is a cakewalk compared to what I escaped from. You have no idea... no idea..."

However, it was Bakugo who then smiled, and put in the tape he took from Izuku.

The greenette grinned: "Yeah, play that right after this movie. A great idea, Bakugo." He looked mad, and the rest of the class was worried. And then it started. The same tape as from the movie. Bakugo was bewildered, asking, "Deku, why the fuck do you have this?"
"As I said before, Bakugo. It's not mine." He continued to grin madly, now starting to hum to himself. "Hmmm... Hmmm... Hm, Hmmm..."

It was then that the TV turned to the image of the well, tortured violins playing as Sadako's white hand moved onto the top of it, gripping and climbing out. Everyone but Izuku was now scared to a degree, and it didn't help that Izuku was smiling the whole time. He was enjoying the reaction from Bakugo, but was amused by everyone else.

Sadako continued towards the screen, with her stiff, undead gait. Reaching the TV, she reached through and into the living area.

Crawling out and to the ground, she slowly got to her feet, then looked at everyone. The fear they had was palpable, and it almost made their heart stop, until they heard Izuku's gentle laughter. "That's enough, Sadako. I think you scared them enough. You're just too spooky for them."

Standing up a bit straighter, she parted her hair and showed her face. There was a devious grin on that too.

Izuku walked over and hugged her, and she hugged back. Turning to the crowd, he said, "Let me reintroduce my girlfriend, Sadako Yamamura. Otherwise known as the Onryo."

Denki was more amazed than scared at this point, "How... just how did you manage to seduce that cutie?"
He thought for a moment. "By showing kindness. Our lives were not that great before returning..."

The mood in the room slowly returned to normal as the threat of danger passed by, and everyone was talking to each other and welcoming Sadako to the group. Bakugo fumed that he was able to spin it positively, but the greenette didn't care. Izuku wished everyone a good night, and Sadako went with him, and was surprised by his room. "You... were inspired by me?"

"You mean the world to me. Why wouldn't I be? Your power looks and sounds unique."

"Thank you." She smiled as she went to the bed, running her hand along the soft sheets. It was then he noticed a change. "Your hands... you healed yourself."

"I did." She showed them to him. The nails were painted a dark red... almost black. Before, it was a representation of her suffering, the fingernails ripped off. Now, they were healed. A sign that she was changing for the better. She was a little embarassed to tell him why, but he didn't think it was that way. In fact, Izuku thought it was inspiring, "It was pointless to hold onto the past like that. With myself having something to finally look forward to... I decided to move past it. Do you like it?"

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter if I do, because you are always beautiful, and I will always stand by you, no matter what."

Smiling, Sadako made the lights flicker off for a moment. When they lit up again, only the two on the bedside tables turned on. Sadako was in bed, waiting for him to join her. And so he did.

He slept better than he had in months.