Shattered minds (My hero academia)

A helping hand

Four years ago, beginning of the fourth service year.

His entire body ached, throbbing pain seemed to radiate from every joint he possessed. His muscles were raw and burning as though every nerve in his body was exposed. He was pretty sure he had dislocated his shoulder too.

Breathing through his nose, he tried to settle his racing heart. Wanting nothing more than to fall asleep right there on the dirty mud decorating the training grounds like a foul painting. He laid there, staring at the grey, cloud-ridden sky. It would rain soon. He knew that much. He just hoped he'd be back in his cell by then.

The lieutenant had scuffed at him the moment his body had hit the ground, having fallen from the higher structures of the drill. Exhaustion and overexertion had finally won out on three weeks of intense, unyielding training.

Axel had barely spared him a glance as he marched past his fallen form. Kicking dust into his eyes as he did so. "You are to go hungry tonight Private. I will not tolerate laziness or insubordination." He'd muttered, voice rough, and tone scathing.

It almost made him want to snarl back at the man. Tell him that his so-called punishment was null anyway. Since they haven't been feeding him for days. Not that he had the energy to actually spit the words out.

He stayed there for a long time. Just trying to breathe. Regain any semblance of composure and calm. It wasn't until the first drops of rain started to fall that he decided to move. He didn't need to get sick on top of everything else.

Getting up took longer than he'd like to admit. The cold served only to amplify the soreness he felt emanating from his limbs. His shoulder pulsed with a pain he was uncomfortably used to by now. His walk back to the gates leading to his room was slow and measured. His movements felt sluggish, as though he was wading through the depth of a murky lake, legs battling against a raging current.

Two guards immediately blocked his way as he finally got there. One of them appeared to be in his late thirties. He had no visible mutation quirk he could identify, while the boy next to him looked younger. Probably just out of his teens. Scales were scattered on the skin of his face like freckles. However, his eyes were what caught his attention. A striking yellow, with piercing green slits that seemed to tear through them vertically. A reptile-related quirk, he concluded.

They were both looking anywhere but at him, as if he was an invisible figure they could just gaze right through, ignoring his existence completely.

"Please, I- I need to get to my cells."

The two continued to ignore him, although he could feel the younger one twitch as if fighting against the urge to address him.

Trying his luck differently, he tried to wedge his way past them. His attempt was met with an immediate reaction. The older guard's leg came up at a speed he would've been able to dodge if he wasn't so tired. The limb hit him straight in the chest, knocking him to the ground with the force, leaving him scrambling to draw breath as he wheezed. The rain was getting stronger now, soon enough he'd be completely soaked.

"Orders are to keep you outside. You are not allowed access to your room tonight."

Ah, so his punishment wasn't just lack of food. He'd get no shelter either. How fitting, Axel. He thought sarcastically.

That night, he slept huddled under the thin branches of a tree he'd found nearby. Hugging his limbs close to his body to gain any semblance of warmth as he warded off the crippling cold.

His stomach rumbled with a hunger he was all too used to by now. An emptiness he'd learned to live with long ago. He shivered and trembled until he felt numb. A welcome feeling, really. Something he invited wholeheartedly after a while.