Lost in the Fog

Cursed with Empathy

Izuku made it to another gen within the hell that was Midwich Middle school. He was able to repair it to half progress when David went down yet again. Today is not his day. He was then dragged to the hook he was right next to and outright sacrificed. Shit, it's just me and Jake now... if he gets caught... A gen popped. Good, Jake got his gen done... and then he heard Jake scream. He got downed quickly, and what happened next explained why he did. His aura showed that he had accumulated enough curse to be killed, just like Elodie. Shit... what do I do, what do I do...? He then decided that completing the gen wasn't worth it, and spent time hiding, looking out for her. It was then that he heard a whistling sound. It was what he'd been told the hatch had made. It was in the courtyard, because it was dampened by the wall. He poked his head outside, and turned to look in the corner, and to his horror, the Onryo had found it first. She was demanifested, so he couldn't hear her terror radius. As he was about to leave, she actually spoke in Japanese to him. "Wait."

He stopped, and walked out. She had all the power here.

Nervous, he replied... "Y-yes?"
What she said next surprised him. "You're the only one not afraid of me. Not of my power. Why?"
He didn't know what to say, and so he said nothing. The grey clouds rained down tears, matching the somber moment right now. However, she tilted her head, the mass of black hair continuing to flow down, and moving with her movements. The Onryo expected an answer.

Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself that he was not in danger right now. While she could hurt him, she didn't want to. That was the big difference here. "It's... well... you remind me of where I'm from."
That surprised the spirit. "I... was always seen as a curse. Even when alive. All because of my power."
"Well, in my world, power like yours wouldn't be seen that way. It's telekinesis, right?"
She nodded.
"My mom had the same power you do. And when I saw your fingers... the... the nails ripped from them, I couldn't help but sympathize. You must've been hurting a lot. I want to be a hero, and heroes help everyone. And you do need help."

She remained unresponsive, and Izuku didn't want to push his luck. The killer, for once, didn't seem to want him dead. Not immediately. Although she did have the power position, so he had to be extremely careful.

She spoke, "You think of me like that? Honestly?"
"Yes."

She walked forward with her undead gait, manifesting while she did so, and reached out to him. It wasn't the same action as casting her rune of death, but a gentle action. Completely different to before. She was as short as he was, and embraced him in a hug. Her hair ran down his back, and that was when he felt her tears drip onto his shoulder. Letting go after a second, she demanifested, walking through him. "Thank you." The rain continued to patter down, soaking both of them. "Go, before my rage overtakes me."

He sighed, and said, even though he didn't feel like he'd helped her that much. "I'm glad I could help a lost girl like you..."
What she said next shocked him to the core, and flustered slightly. "You do realize I'm 19 right?"
"What?!" He was genuinely shocked at that, She's older than me?!

She laughed, gentle and contradictory, and allowing him to see her face, which turned out to be rather cute, before rounding the corner and vanishing from sight.

Izuku then turned to and approached the hatch, jumping in, the dark wisps of fog engulfing and obscuring his vision.

It was then that he felt the warmth of the campfire. Opening his eyes, he found the others applauding him for his escape. "You went against the Onryo and lived. Great job!"
He didn't feel like he won, but tried to smile. It looked more like a grimace. "..."

Laurie was the first to notice his expression. "Are you ok?"
He turned to her, smiling slightly, "Yes. I'm fine. It's just, she let me go because I told her she reminded me of home."

Elodie was shocked at that. As far as they knew, they never let survivors go. "She did?"
Izuku nodded, "Her power. Not the curse or anything, but the telekinesis reminded me of Mom. She had the same power."

That made things more understandable for everyone. "Oh..."
He asked her, "How many killers still have their humanity?"

"I don't know. Most of them are sadistic anyway. I can't say, because none of us know about them."Izuku thought for a moment, then came to an epiphany. "I know who has the answer to that."She knew who he was referring to. "The Observer."They both went away from the celebration. Apparently, nobody had survived the Onryo since she arrived, keeping in line with what Yoichi explained of what he knew, which, frankly, wasn't much.

Arriving at the Observer's tower yet again, Izuku immediately asked him a question. "You've mentioned this to me before... but these books contain everything about the survivors and killers here?"
He nodded, confirming his understanding. "Yes. Is there someone who has peaked your interest?"
Izuku went over all of the books. "I wish to understand where the Onryo came from."
Of course, the man knew why he searched for that topic. Nothing escaped his notice, even if he never left his tower. "Ah. Her. Is... this related to the last trial?"
"Yes."
Stroking his beard, as he was want to do, he replied. "Hm... there are some killers where not much is known... she is one of them. There is a record of the things she can use to alter her power, perhaps viewing those could shed some light?"
This, of course, peaked Izuku's curiosity more. "Well, which ones do you have here?"
"Well, many of the killers and survivors are considered "fictional characters" in other worlds. Miss Strode and The Shape are such examples." He nodded to her, and she scowled at that. He continued. "Sadako is another. There is less about them in this tower. Then again, they tend to have a higher rate of escapes due to their past experiences. However, they are still here. Their books are just harder to access."
Izuku asked, "What about Jules Kostenko?"
"The Legionnaire. She is right..." he scanned the shelves. He pulled out a blue, worn book. "Here." He handed it to him. "I can search for Sadako's book, as I have seen it once before, but this place constantly shifts and changes."
"I see..." Laurie watched as he flipped through, skimming the book. He noted, "The different Legion accounts change the perspective of past events..."
The Observer nodded to that, "Indeed. That may be due to the Entity... or..."
"Or?" Izuku looked into his eyes. Laurie did too.
"Have you met two of the same person in a trial?"
Confused, he responded, "No..."
Laurie, however, nodded, "I have."
Izuku looked at her with surprise, and the Observer continued, "Yes, it's rare, but the entity does often pull the same people from different worlds. The David from your last trial was brand new, while Elodie knew exactly who you were and what was going on."
"That... wow..." That... basically proves the multiverse theory... wait, the Observer already said that before! He basically hit himself mentally for forgetting that detail.
The Observer lectured the two of them as they read Jules' account of things. "A few individuals are unique. You are one of them. The only Izuku Midoriya. It is probably due to your world's fractured state, but it's likely you'll never meet yourself."
That made things clearer. "I see. That would explain the discrepancy between accounts. Different worlds are being recorded at once. The first of each prefer to show their experience by proudly wearing the blood they have shed. It's why the Executioner you met was bloody. It was the original."
Izuku nodded. "I need some time to digest this, but I'll borrow this book in the meantime. If you can find... Sadako's... that's her name?"
He nodded, "Yes. Sadako Yamamura."
"If you can find her book, I'll read that too. And all of them." He looked up at the towering shelves. "I have my work cut out for me."
The Observer laughed. "That you do, Izuku. That you do..."