Izuka did not sleep at all last night. She tried. It didn't work. She wanted to run, but she felt forced to stay in the bed.
Izuka felt hollow. Not even the dullness of her quirk helps her with the feeling.
What is going on?
When it turns 6 o'clock, Izuka has to force herself out of bed even if she has been wanting out for hours. She just walks into the kitchen and starts making breakfast for the family. It quickly gets frustrating because Izuka has to look at everything she is grabbing to make sure she has a grip on it without dropping it. She keeps her complaints to herself though. She isn't sure if the anger bubbling up is better than feeling hollow or not. She hears footsteps as she gets a plate ready.
Aizawa is up at his normal time, almost always being the second to wake up. At least he actually slept. However, it doesn't help the rock in his stomach as he changes. He has to talk to Izuka today. Thank God Izuka is not Izuku today because he wouldn't torture her happy state in mind. The only reason he knows that she is Izuka is because he can hear the faint sizzling from her cooking. He doesn't expect the other members to be up for a while due to emotional weight, so maybe he can get her to talk this morning.
He steps into the kitchen to find Izuka make his plate already. She must have heard him already. The two know better than than to exchange words because Aizawa is just waking up. Izuka hated the greetings anyway so it worked out for both sides anyway. She turns around to hand him his plate and he takes a look over her figure. He doesn't think she got sleep at all from the bags under her eyes, but she is forcing herself to stay straight. Izuka also seems skinnier than the last time they saw each other, but he will need to double-check that. Aizawa accepts the plate, Izuka taking a moment before letting go and heads to fix the other plates and set them in the microwave to keep warm. Aizawa sits and Izuka sits across from him to eat. He knows she doesn't feel it, but he can feel the dark aura in the room. She barely eats. When Aizawa finishes his plate, that is when she speaks.
"I assume you read my quirk book last night?" Aizawa looks up, surprised before Izuka adds," I saw them on the coffee table last night." He seriously needs to stop underestimating Izuka, even when she is tired. The comment sliced through the aura like a knife with butter. " Did you figure out what happened?" Aizawa is secretly glad that Izuka decided to start this, however, he doesn't want the rest of the family hearing this.
"Yeah. I rather not discuss it here. Finish eating and we will discuss on the roof." Aizawa responds. Izuka just nods, moving to throw her clear her plate and put it in the sink. He will let this go for once and the two walk on the roof. Both go to sit down, looking out towards the sunrise. It's a nice moment. Too bad he is going to ruin it now, " You did your blood-bending on Stain." The second knife stabbed in the conversation. Aizawa looks over, seeing her nod. Her posture is more stiff than normal, gripping at her dress pants tightly without realizing it. There is silence for a few minutes before Izuka actually responds.
"How much did you read?"
"The introduction with your quirk and the water-bending section." There is another moment of silence until Izuka's voice fills the morning.
"I...I am sorry you had to read that. It should have been more professional at least. I know it can be...bothersome. However, I do not regret it though. I know mom and Shinso probably read to a point before you took over, huh? I am guessing at the suicide part?" The third knife slices. Aizawa nods but he hides the shock. Breaking the act further, she continues to speak, " I guess there is somethings I have to...fix. I am going to assume you are worried about my previous statement?"
"Yes. Izuka, why would you not tell us that?"
"I was not going to commit suicide at that point. There are moments I consider it, but I realize I have a family to protect along with people because I do not want anyone to go through the hell I went through. It is better now." Aizawa runs his hand through his hair. He wants to comfort her, but he knows it will piss her off, especially since she can not feel it...speaking of which...
"You are allowed to tell us if something is wrong."
"I know."
"That includes Hitoshi. I can tell you were holding back last night when he hugged you. You looked ready to break right there."
Izuka looks at him with a certain look in her eye, " I was hoping to feel something is all. That is what pissed me off. Since you read the book, you know how I describe it as."
"A torture chamber, I get it. I wish there is something I could do to help."
"I do not want to hear it Shouta. This is torture as is, I want to forget about it." He nods slowly.
"You didn't get sleep last night, did you?"
"No, but I will be fine."
"Izuka, you barely ate this morning. You get why I am starting to worry, especially since you aren't using your water-quirk to heal yourself. Can I expect you to snap out of it?" Izuka had to think for a moment before nodding. " Fine, but if I see no difference, we are talking again. Would it help if I brought you with me to train Hitoshi? You will not get to join, but you could be of help. We are doing some sneaking around."
"Light on your feet, flow like a feather." Izuka mutters the line as Aizawa nods. He remembers hearing that line sometimes whenever she is working on her air-bending quirk. He stands up, Izuka taking a moment before forcing herself up to follow him back down the apartment. When she arrived, Shinso and Yamada are already up.
"Hey Izuka, how are you feeling?" Yamada asks as the two enter, Aizawa going over to cuddle his husband for a moment.
"Could be better." Izuka states bluntly. Shinso reaches over to take her wrist to grab her attention, but she pulls back. " I would not recommend that. I can not feel anything at the moment and it pisses me off easily. Also, good morning." Shinso nods in understanding before chuckling at her afterthought, going back to eat.
"Izuka, let's go fix that wrapping. " Aizawa states, heading to her bedroom. Sighing, Izuka follows, sitting down on the bed and Aizawa grabs the bandages and other junk. "Are...you okay with this? Or will it bother you with feeling nothing."
"I do not feel pain. That is the only advantage." Izuka chuckles darkly as he sits down, removing the current bandages and changing them out. He can see times she has anger blinding her and he would pull back a moment, waiting for it to disappear before it continues. It only takes a few minutes before it is redressed. Aizawa leaves, leaving Izuka her room. She lays down, the hollow feeling back to remind her it exists.
Shinso is ready to go when Aizawa realizes Izuka has not come out of her room yet. Shinso doesn't know she is coming yet, but he assumes it will make his day better. He knocks on the door, waiting for a response. It takes a moment, but Izuka opens the door. She doesn't look like she took a nap, just more tired. Before he can ask, Izuka walks past him. He had already texted Recovery Girl not to come over because it would be a waste of time, so they didn't have to worry about that. Izuka meets up with Shinso, providing him a small smile. Aizawa is about to go to the bedroom to tell his husband he was heading out, but Yamada comes out.
"Mind if I come and watch?" Yamada asks quietly.
"You can come. I need someone there in case the kids start causing trouble." Aizawa states. Yamada chuckles softly, the two heading to the kids. The four head out, Yamada trying to fill the silence, but Izuka remains withdrawn from the group.
The four arrive in the field at UA and Yamada goes to the side to watch. Aizawa looks at the two.
"Izuka, you actually have something we can work on with Hitoshi. We are going to play a little game. Izuka go to middle of the field and put this mask on." She does as she is asked quickly, going to the middle and putting the mask on. " Hitoshi, you job is to sneak up on her and touch her. If she points you out, you lost that round. Start at the edge anywhere you want."
"Doesn't Izuka have increased senses though?" Hitoshi asks as he moves to the edge.
"Normally, yes. However, with her nerves fried meaning she can't feel a thing, even with her quirk. Izuka's quirk relies solely on touch, something she is lacking at the moment. This is training for her too in case this happens again. Just go." Hitoshi nods, starting the sneaking game. Aizawa watches Izuka bend down so she can hear his footsteps better. The first couple of tries, Hitoshi got close, but Izuka managed to point him out last minute. However, in the third round, Izuka was point him out from about twenty feet away at least. Aizawa put that up to luck, but it continued, Hitoshi not able to get any closer. Aizawa looks over at Yamada.
"Her hearing is not that good, is it?"
"No, she has to be doing something." Yamada responds. Aizawa nods, but he doesn't know what. His first guess would have been the elements, but she relies heavily on touch for all of them. Is it a quirk that she has not told them about? It better not or Aizawa will be pissed at her for hiding something. He gets up, going over to Shinso and taking his shoulder before he goes again, whispering, " Let me go, I think she is doing something." Shinso nods, stepping back. Aizawa decided to go in for himself for the main reason that he has been told by Izuka specifically that there are times that she only knows he is there because of her quirks. He starts to sneak silently toward Izuka. It takes her a little longer, but she was still able to point him out at a fair distance away, something nobody else has done unless they have some sort of hearing-enhancement quirk. Aizawa approaches Izuka, not bothering to be quiet
"Izuka, may I ask how you are doing that?"
"Doing what?" Aizawa takes note that she sounds more tired than before like she was constantly using her quirk.
"You're able to catch us from quite a bit away. I would estimate over 20 meters away from here."
"Oh, I was using my mother's quick to grab sound waves and pull them toward me, but it's a bitch to do." Aizawa can say he is impressed to an extent. She always finds a way.
"No cursing. I'm assuming you're summarizing it?"
"I have to constantly pull in every direction around me to get something before limiting it." That would take a ton of energy, especially with a quirk she rarely uses. Now that he looks at her closely, she looks uncomfortable.
" I think you overcame that limitation then. Come on, we have to update Hitoshi that he can pretty much not defeat you at this point. You can take the blind-fold off now." As soon as he said it, Izuka removes it roughly, calming down tremendously. He should have known better. If you can't feel anything, taking away her eyesight is going to cause her anxiety, " I should have known better than to put a blind-fold when you're in this state. I'm sorry, Izuka." No response, she just walks off. The two walk over to Yamada and Shinso.
Aizawa looks at Shinso," I don't think you will be able to go against her now. She figured out a way to enhance her hearing by using her mother's quirk to grab sound waves. We will just continue to game between you and me for now." The two go back to the field, Izuka sitting down on the bench unresponsive. Yamada would like to help her, but there is not much he can do in this state because it leads to touch one way or another and that will just piss her off more. He just hopes she snaps out of it soon.
