Archive of Our Own ^beta

Midoriya feels someone watching him.

It is not a common occurrence, especially when it happens during school.

He always felt eyes watching him because he's Quirkless. The gazes of his classmates and the other students at Aldera Middle School, along with the teachers and principal.

It makes him uneasy, wondering who keeps watching him.

He turns around whenever he feels eyes on his back, but he finds no one. This unnerves him.

Someone had been following him for the past week.

His senses heighten, and he hears laughter and whispers when he walks the hallway. When he looks at the students, their faces are morphed into a grin, distorted into something unusual and frightening to his eyes.

He turns away from them while tightly gripping the straps of his bag, hoping the day will end sooner.

His shoulders are tense as he walks into the classroom, moving to sit in his seat. He makes himself as small as possible, hiding away from the prying eyes.

To pass the time while waiting for the teacher to arrive, he grabs his notebook and writes down any sign of clues or hints as to why he is being followed around. He writes down what he was doing and the time when he started feeling like he was being watched.

He writes and writes, his thoughts drowning out the noise around him until he can hear nothing but the sound of soft scratching from his pencil against the paper. He gets in his zone, too busy trying to figure out who has been watching him to realize the teacher has arrived.

His muttering stops when he feels his head being bonked and he looks up to see the teacher staring at him. Embarrassment creeps through him and he sinks to his chair when he gets reprimanded by the teacher and hears the laughter of his classmates.

He nods slowly to whatever his teacher tells him, his face burning in shame as he sinks lower into his chair.

The teacher turns away from him and he almost lets out a sigh of relief until he feels someone watching him again.

Midoriya turns around quickly enough to see Katsuki turn his head away from him and look at the window.

Kacchan?

Is he the reason why he feels someone is watching him all the time?

…

No–

Kacchan wouldn't do that.

Why would he be watching him?

… Unless Kacchan planned something with his friends to do something to him after class.

…

He hopes that's not the case.

He doesn't want it to be true.

He wouldn't know how to react if Kacchan approached him.

Midoriya ignored Katsuki and bolted from the classroom when the teacher dismissed the class. He didn't care whether the contents of his bag were a mess because he shoved all the items in.

All he knew was that he needed to get away from Katsuki.

He doesn't know his motives. He doesn't know why he is being watched.

He just ran back to his home and ignored anyone that gave him an odd look.

He slammed the door shut the moment he got inside and sighed in relief. The feeling of being watched is gone.

"Izuku?" His mother calls and Midoriya flinches. He turns around, and she looks at him with worry while holding the plates. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, Mom." He nods while removing his shoes before fully stepping inside their apartment. He ignores how shaky his hands are. "Everything's fine."

Inko nods with a smile, and she turns to continue washing the dishes.

Midoriya heads over to his room and slams the door shut. He sets his backpack on his bed to open and grab his notebook. He sits at the edge of his bed as he opens the notebook to analyze what he knows so far.

He noted down someone has been watching him for the past week or so. It was a different kind of feeling, unlike all the other times.

It was… strange.

It puts him on edge at all times, like he's in danger.

The most common place where he felt like he was being watched was inside the school. Sometimes he would feel them outside too, but he could never pinpoint where he is being watched.

His main suspect is his childhood friend and classmate, Bakugou Katsuki.

It makes sense — Kacchan is his classmate and bully. Not only that, their residences are nearby and would sometimes pass by each other.

He thinks of his past encounters with Katsuki and realizes he is being watched in every single one of them. The bullying has also stopped. They were at best hurtful remarks towards him—never physical.

Kacchan's friends continue with the hurtful remarks, but Kacchan either stays quiet or makes a half-hearted hurtful remark. Except, it never hurt him.

Kacchan's remarks are weak and quiet. There's no bite to them compared to the previous remarks. There's also a different feeling to Katsuki's gaze whenever they make eye contact. However, he can never figure out what it means because Katsuki turns away with a grunt.

Midoriya wonders when Kacchan had a sudden change of heart.

He wonders if it's permanent.

…

Perhaps he is hoping too much.

Midoriya encircles Katsuki's name with a red pen and writes the word main suspect with several question marks beside it. Below Katsuki's name, he wrote the names of Katsuki's two other friends and wrote 'accomplice' beside it.

He writes about the places where he feels being watched and an estimated time of when it happened.

On the next page, he wrote the possible motives for why he's being watched. They're waiting for the perfect time and day to jump on him. They want something from him. They're going to make him do something that he regrets.

He taps the notebook with his pen, wondering what else he can add.

…

Nothing. There's nothing else he can add when he doesn't know the reason why he's being watched. He doesn't have enough evidence that Katsuki is the one who's been watching him for the past week or so.

He can't shake the feeling there's something more to this.

And yet, he's afraid to investigate more about it.

Midoriya sighs as he closes his notebook, closing his investigations for the day.

"Dinner's ready, Izuku!" his mom says behind the door and Midoriya smiles.

"Coming, Mom!" he replies as he stands up and heads over to the closet for a quick change of outfit.

He hopes this will be the last time he feels like he's being watched.

He is being watched again.

And it makes him feel uncomfortable.

He thought it would be over when he didn't feel someone watching him for the following week, but he was wrong.

It's back.

And it feels worse.

The watchful eye never leaves him throughout the day, constantly watching his every movement. He would constantly look around and he found no one watching him.

He is scared. He doesn't understand what is happening.

He hunches his shoulders to make himself feel smaller to avoid being looked at, but it doesn't work.

He tries to make it seem like he isn't affected by it, but it doesn't work.

He tried not to go to school for a day, but it didn't work.

Everywhere he goes, he is being watched.

No matter where he is, he feels like he's being watched.

It's scaring him.

His gaze flickers everywhere constantly, hoping he can find out who has been watching him, and ask why they are watching him.

He hears whispers around him and he holds himself back from whimpering in fear, the mind too clouded to understand what they are saying. He looks at his feet as he walks down the hallway, his shaky grip on the strap of his bag tightening the longer the whispers continue.

He sits on his chair once he arrives in the classroom and immediately makes himself as small as possible.

The constant paranoia has not helped him get any rest—he has only gotten over two hours of sleep, maybe an hour since he felt someone watching him again. The bags under his eyes are dark and he knows his mom is worried about him. Her constant worries and questions, along with the almost permanent frown on her lips, are proof of it.

He closes his eyes, hoping he can get a few minutes of rest before class starts, but he feels it.

There is a piercing gaze burning through his back and he has to stop himself from bolting the classroom.

Midoriya opens his eyes and turns around to see Katsuki turn towards the windows.

And he freezes.

It has been Kacchan who's been watching him?

He was hoping for it to be a lie, but it wasn't.

Midoriya could feel his hands shake, his vision clouding with tears the longer he stared at Katsuki's stoic gaze towards the windows.

Is Kacchan the reason why he's been paranoid? What does Kaachan want from him?

Why does Kacchan keep watching him?

And why won't he stop?

He flinches hard when he feels a tap on his shoulder and falls off his chair, landing on the floor with a hard thud.

He groans at the pain he's feeling when he lands on his butt.

"Are you okay?" a student asks—a female student who tapped his shoulder. She looks at him while pursing her lips.

"I'm—" he says and winces when his voice croaks. He nods weakly, instead.

She continues staring at him, then nods before walking back towards her group of friends.

He hadn't moved since she left, an unshed tear rolling down his cheek as he stared at the floor.

He hears his classmate's whispers and laughter but he ignores them. His mind is still processing that Kacchan has been the reason why he hadn't gotten any proper rest. He is the reason why he feels like he is constantly being watched.

He can't figure out why Kacchan has been watching him.

He doesn't know if he wants to know the reason why.

But now that he knows who it is, he can avoid them.

Midoriya achingly stands up and sits back in his chair. He grabs the notebook inside his bag and opens it to heavily underline Katsuki's name and writes the confirmation that Kacchan is the one who's been watching him.

But the motives behind it remain unknown. He frowned at it.

He closes the notebook once the teacher arrives and tries his best to pay attention to what the teacher is talking about.

However, he can't stop himself from glancing over at Katsuki now and then, his thoughts on a constant mess of theories about why Katsuki has been watching him.

Midoriya shoves his notebooks and pens inside the bag once his final class ends. He is on high alert, body tensing when Katsuki stands up.

"Deku—"

Midoriya runs out of the classroom with his bag on his shoulder. He runs past different students while constantly bumping into them.

His breaths are shaky and erratic as he runs. His eyes are wide with fear with unshed tears. His hands are trembling and clammy as he grips on the straps of his bag.

He leaves the school, ignoring the footsteps that are getting closer and closer to him and the shouts of a familiar voice shouting at him to stop.

He doesn't listen.

He continues to run for his life.

He is far from Aldera Middle School by now. He finds himself stopping at the playground where he and Kacchan used to play.

His heart aches at the reminder of the good time he had with him.

He turns around and notices Katsuki getting nearer. His eyes are narrowed, his brows pulled together while his lips are formed into a snarl with his teeth showing. There are small explosion sparks at the palms of his hands.

Midoriya freezes.

He opens his mouth to ask fearfully why Kacchan has been watching him —

— And Midoriya wakes up to his head hurting and ears ringing.

He is being shaken by someone.

It worsens the pounding feeling on his head and he tells them to stop. Except his voice sounds different. His words are slurred and barely comprehensible. He doesn't understand what he said even though he knows what he wants to say.

His vision is blurry, but he can make out the familiar spiky blonde hair from anywhere.

Fear spikes through him, and yet he can't make his body move away.

He whimpers in pain, and he hears a soft shushing sound and an incomprehensible mutter.

"St…y….s…ll…..ku….'ll…g..t…u….t…of…h…e…"

He doesn't know what Katsuki is trying to tell him. He can barely make out the words or understand what he's mouthing.

He blinks, trying to get the haziness of his vision away and it slowly clears, giving him a view of Katsuki's expression.

Katsuki looks at him with a mournful yet resigned expression instead of the hateful rage he saw a few moments ago. This expression has been the softest he's seen from Katsuki. There are unshed tears, eyes shaking while his lips tremble.

Katsuki looks frustrated, but it feels different.

He can't figure out the reason why, but he knows it's different.

"...Deku…" Katsuki whispers and Midoriya's breath hitches at how soft it is.

He looks Katsuki in the eyes and he doesn't feel scared anymore. He feels safe. He wonders for a moment why he ever felt scared of him.

He doesn't respond, but his breath hitching is the only response Katsuki needs because he says, "...'ll f..x thi…"

The words are still not complete, but he can form them himself. And he doesn't understand what Kacchan means by it.

He opens his mouth, ignoring how sore his throat feels to ask, "…Wha…o…y..u…mea…Ka…an..?"

He feels Katsuki's grip on him tighten and that is when he realizes he is being held by Katsuki. His head is lying on Katsuki's lap, callous hands cradling his face. He can't feel his lower body.

He sees the hesitation on Kacchan's face to answer his question.

He lowers his gaze, turning his head to look at the surroundings, but the hands on his face are preventing him from doing so. He turns his gaze back to Katsuki.

"....Kacchan…?"

Katsuki looks at Midoriya. His eyes flicker everywhere, possibly surveying the physical state of his body.

"... I'm…stu…..a…ime…lo…p…" Katsuki confesses after a few seconds of silence.

The words are slowly becoming comprehensible, but Midoriya understands them without needing to hear the full sentence.

'I'm stuck on a time loop.'

And—

He doesn't know why Katsuki told him this. He thought he would be the last one to be told of this.

The analytical part of him wants to ask how Katsuki is stuck on a time loop and what happened to have caused it. He wonders how many times he has looped before this one.

He thinks of the constant staring he got from Katsuki to the point it was unsettling. He thinks of the strange expressions that crossed his face or his weak, half-hearted remarks and—

Oh.

Oh.

He must be the reason why Kacchan is stuck on a time loop.

He misunderstood the situation.

He just thought he did or said something wrong for Katsuki to watch him constantly.

Midoriya frowns when he feels Katsuki shake him lightly, bringing him away from his chaotic thoughts.

"....do…wr..ng?" Katsuki asked.

Midoriya heard only part of the sentence. "...What..?"

Katsuki suppresses a sigh. "…What did….I….do…wrong?..."

The corner of his vision darkens. "You…" He hesitates. "... You kept…on…watching…me…" His breath hitches. "... I couldn't… it was everywhere…"

Katsuki frowns at his response. Then grits his teeth, his lips forming into a snarl.

"... I see…" he says through gritted teeth.

Katsuki mutters something, but it's too low for Midoriya to understand.

He closes his eyes and feels a repeated slap on his cheek after a few seconds. He groans weakly and opens them once again.

"Keep your eyes open…!" Katsuki huffed.

"... But…!" he weakly protests, finding it harder to keep his eyes open longer. He moves his upper body and flinches at the intense pain throughout his body.

What happened to him?

Midoriya doesn't ask. He knows Kacchan won't answer if he questions him.

"Just…" Katsuki stuttered, his expression faltering to something vulnerable. "Keep them open… just as long as you can…"

Midoriya's expression softens and whispers, "...Okay…"

And that's what he does.

Midoriya keeps his eyes open for as long as he can. He listens as Katsuki tells him about the previous loops. Katsuki is vague when it comes to talking about him from the previous loops. He doesn't question it.

He feels his body growing heavier, a feeling of detachment from it.

He is struggling to listen to Katsuki talk; the words getting muffled once again.

Short, shaky breaths.

Vision darkening.

Muffled shouts.

Hard shaking.

Midoriya closes his eyes.