Chapter Twenty: Itch


"Kirishima, your ice cream is dripping."

"Oh!"

The road from the convenience store back to UA took twenty minutes on average to walk - thirty if the summer haze got to you. Ice cream in hand, red and green strolled along broken pavement, neither meeting the other's gaze for more than a second, afraid they'd get caught in the ever churning sea of emotion. Things changed, suns rose, plants wilted - everything panned out in time, returning to a state of normalcy within the tides of habit. As such, although they of course remained friendly, the light which illuminated the two at first sight and intertwined them in that cramped room in Hosu General dulled a bit, naturally. Kirishima's bold nature shrunk back behind his trademark color, while Ayumi receded into her cocoon of stoic turbulence, the wait time for another genuine smile on her part being much longer than the night which separated the hospital instance and their current stroll. They hadn't reset back to the unconfident and awkward mess they were around a month or two ago; it was more of a refresh, a realigning of reality and circumstance to match themselves much better than they did in that too bright hospital room. Needless to say, snake bites were back in and red peaks stood tall with the aid of hair gel.

The skies above the contented two were splashed with various shades of sunset, drenching them in warmth, while a chill in the back served as a reminder for the night that was to come. Looking up, Ayumi took a lick of her cone of rocky road and contemplating the beautiful yet awkward situation. She broke the ice before it melted under the dripping sun's heat: "How was your internship?"

"Fourth Kind really manhandled us! I don't think I could forget him if I tried..." Kirishima rubbed a hand bashfully on the back of his neck, eyes closed as he smiled widely. The strawberry he had chosen was running over the sides of the cone, creating a sticky situation for his hand down below. It suited him - the whole scene did. The ice cream, the sunset, the smile, the hair - if she'd had a camera on hand, Ayumi was sure it would've been a nice picture to keep. When the artwork opened his eyes, he pointed them straight ahead, as though his only choice, only option, only instinct was to move forward towards the ever unattainable future. Lightly, Kirishima exclaimed, "Tetsutetsu was there too! He's an idiot, but he sure is a good guy."

The green skinned girl to the right of him didn't know if he was speaking to the sunset or her, but, nevertheless, the always stoic Ayumi responded, with eyes on her cone, "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"That's nice to hear." Kirishima moved crimson eyes onto the girl next to him, the girl that looked down, the sun even when setting too bright for her. He could tell the future hurt her eyes, burned them enough to force her gaze away and onto the path she walked, one foot at a time. Preoccupation with the present and present issues, such as a dripping ice cream cone, got you nowhere - Kirishima knew it first hand.

Though it was technically a busy hour of the day, people driving home or to the next stop on their list, there was plenty of room on the road for multiple parties to be walking at the same time. Hence, Kirishima was shocked out his contemplation when he rammed into a large figure, nearly knocking himself down. A bit dazed, the red head went to look up at the perpetrator, stumbling backwards in the process. Almost instinctively, Ayumi quickly grabbed his right arm, steadying him, something that she seemed to do often now, whether she was aware of it or not. He lacked the time to daydream about her growing generosity, instead facing the man who'd nearly bulldozed the boy who was meant to be unbreakable. However, without warning, the ambiguous aggressor fled the scene, a low growl in the distance the only trace of the encounter left.

Kirishima, staring at the spot where the man once was, voiced his thoughts, a perplexed expression overtaking what was once determined look. "Weird. The road's almost empty, but he chose to slam into me - without an apology might I add!"

Although the trouble had passed, the bewildered hero in training felt his partner squeeze his shoulder tightly. It was brief, so brief the boy thought he had imagined it, as it also went unfollowed by words of apology or lightheartedness. Kirishima looked to his right, troubled by the panic he felt in Ayumi's actions. He was met with the same wide eyes, same neutral expression, same body language, and yet, Kirishima still couldn't get over how desperate that phantom action was. The boy assumed was meant to carry the weight which her words couldn't handle, and thus, the boy stood for her. He didn't interrogate or force anything out; it was unnecessary in her shaken state. On the contrary, the normally loud and proud boy went quiet for her, replaying the ordeal in his head.

Ayumi wished she could've said something to the patient boy, but she was too busy holding on to her rock, the only thing keeping her from panic's possessive clutches. When she steadied him, the bloodshot girl caught dark eyes of the same breed as hers, prompting her to give the rude civilian a glance over. Though she was prepared to scan his body, it wasn't necessary, as the strained scar splitting his forehead said it all. Jin - but then he was gone, not needing words to pull at the threads holding her together so easily, the wide eyed girl's insides unraveling meticulously, in a way that made it all hurt more. She was swimming - drowning - within herself, flurries of panic and questions not making it easier to tread the broken water. Was that even him? Or am I overreacting? These types of thoughts raged within her rational mind, the thought of her brother pushed aside, only to resurface at the forefront of her thoughts. Memories of Jin and wonderings about his well-being clung to her, itching every now and then, a bug bite complete with venomous consequences.

Yet, holding on to Kirishima lightened the load. A bit. Ayumi didn't know why, but it did.

They stood like that for a bit, a twenty or thirty minute walk increased to forty-five. Indigo crept into the sunset at the edges, chewing at orange and pink hues until all that was left was the night sky's blue which lurked underneath. When the sunset had been eradicated from the sky, green loosened her grip on red, a breath escaping from snake bitten lips. Sighing at the ice cream all over her hand, she softly spoke, "Sorry."

"It's no problem." The concerned red head threw a smile at the bloodshot girl, whose eyes were trained on the puddle of rocky road beneath her. Although he knew she'd avoid it, Kirishima still asked, placing a hand on her shoulder, "You wanna talk about it?"

Not sparing the boy a glance, Ayumi curtly replied, "No." She brought her eyes up to the night sky, the stars decorating it highlighting the marvelous blues and purples with ease. Blues and purples were cold, cold enough to shake her, and yet they still brought her comfort in a masochistic type of way. Like a bruise, the pain being there reminded Ayumi she was human, and she enjoyed that feeling.

"Okay then. We should probably get back to UA then. I'll drop you at the front?"

"Nah, it's fine. Go home, Kirishima." The wide eyed girl moved her pensive gaze to the boy who waited for her. His red irises were meant to pierce, the pupils within them just as disarming as he looked back at the dark eyes Ayumi had. Kirishima didn't need to speak to make the green teen want to talk -

Ayumi feared and admired that about him.

However, at such an early point in their partnership, the fear still weighed on her more heavily than what his easygoing nature could alleviate. As such, Ayumi walked on, dropping her soiled cone on the road limply, no aggression or agitation present on her features. She covered ground quickly, and, noticing a lack of footsteps on the boy's part, the brunette called out, "Good night, Kirishima!" Without a response, the brunette pushed on, ignoring the clawing feeling in her gut; treading alone was difficult, more difficult than surrendering to the raging waters and sinking, but Ayumi couldn't bring herself to depend on the rock. Rocks, no matter the quality, eroded all too often. The wide eyed girl knew she'd eventually wear away at Kirishima.

Ayumi didn't want to ruin him. And so, she walked on, hoping the venom she flashed was a warning enough to the boy who waited with her through the sunset. Although she sprayed such poisonous words at his eyes, Ayumi felt she was the one blinded, unsure of who or what or how she saw what she saw. The scar tingled in the back of her mind mockingly, the green girl beginning to wonder if she'd actually seen stitching under the melted sunset. But somehow, she knew that Jin would be following, lurking, waiting for her; no matter the drift between them, he'd await his younger sister's return.

She just knew it.

"Uwah! I missed you so much!"

"How was your internship?"

"Did you do anything cool?!"

The usual chatter and more polluted the once tranquil air in the packed classroom, a week apart somehow bringing 1-A's students closer together in the end. Ayumi wasn't surprised, her time in the rather rambunctious class giving her an idea of their extroverted tendencies from early on. Although the wide eyed student had joined only a few days after the others, she purposefully stunted her social life, her mind's apathy overpowering her heart's desire for petty friendships. From the beginning, Ayumi never intended on making friends, and she honestly thought she'd keep it that way. However, somehow the psychoactive girl found herself surrounded by the UA martyrs who took on the Hero Killer, one of them being herself.

Midoriya mumbled, Todoroki sighed, Iida grumbled - Ayumi hadn't known them long, but the mood felt so familiar to her. This is...nice.

Looking down, the one with the green hair muttered, "This is gonna be so embarrassing."

"It'll be okay, Midoriya. I'm sure everyone will just be glad we're safe!" Iida interjected, placing a scarred hand on the other boy's shoulder. The boy with glasses smiled, which did little to nothing to calm the frantic bedheaded kid down.

Wanting to try something new, Ayumi smirked at the three, placing her head in her hands over the desk. "Well, as long as we've got class rep on our side, I think we'll be fine, you wuss." To the side, the bloodshot girl whispered, just loud enough for the trio to hear, "Jeez, you'd think the kid with strength enhancement would be mentally stronger..."

Mad blush could be heard in Midoriya's voice: "Y-y-your right, I guess."

Todoroki rolled his eyes at the three, but kept his eyes trained on the brunette. With a stare so intent Ayumi could practically feel heterochromia burn into her soul, the two toned boy asserted, "He's right to think having Endeavor rescue you is embarrassing. The man is filth."

"Agreed. At least he's got a nice beard though. Not many aging men can say the same, so be happy for your blessed genes, Todoroki," retorted Ayumi. The wide eyed girl put up a strong front, but from across the room, a certain red head could see her nerves firing off in that moment, the sparks manifesting as a finger to her snake bites. From the other side of the room, he chuckled, catching the gaze of green with a bright smile meant specifically for her. Ayumi earlier had tried to avoid the boy again, fearful of lingering thoughts surrounding the night before, but quickly understood that wasn't how things worked around UA, around hero society, around the corners of the world lit by light. The brunette understood the dynamics of partnerships to an extent, so, even though it nagged at her, itching at her mind ever so subtly, she abandoned the previous night, and moved on for once. Green smirked back at red.

"I - please stop, Ayumi. My dad looks anything but blessed in his jeans."

"Oh my - No."

"Okay."

"Okay." It didn't take long for Ayumi to get used to Todoroki's blunt persona, wrapped in a cloak of utter obliviousness, as she found she operated in a similar way to her. The green teen hadn't really met Todoroki's eyes when he first introduced himself, trying to communicate this discovery to her by opening up. It took a holding each other under the face of a hungry blade for Ayumi to truly level with the turbulent boy. She wouldn't go as far to say she wanted to get to know him better (Ayumi wasn't exactly the friendly type), but she did enjoy his presence enough to make conversation. The other two the naturally stoic teen would need a bit more time with.

Light conversation followed, the four's eyes notably more mature than others, stained by the blood spilled by the Hero Killer on site. The others saw it, Aizawa saw it, the night sky saw it, and thus, nobody was shocked to hear an energetic voice about above the others, "But no one's changed more than those four!" Chatter ensued, people moving their gazes over to the group, some with side eye, others with admiration.

Ayumi didn't care. Her neck itched. The mosquito bites had never been more relentless, and although they saw their brethren die at the first taste of the toxic girl's blood, they kept coming and kept dropping.

Classmates were the same way.

"I forgot! How was it with Endeavor?"

"You guys are crazy! I think I'd cry if I met the Hero Killer..."

"Didn't Ayumi and Todoroki run to the battle? That takes guts, man."

Voices chorused, the same statements echoed over and over in different flavors, but Ayumi didn't mind so much. It felt nice to hear a mosquito buzzing every once in a while.

Above all others, however, a collection of vocal chords the brunette knew all too well spoke up, shark teeth almost louder than his actual message: "Coming to aid comrades? I think that's pretty manly." A seemingly aimless wink was thrown up into the air, but somehow, some way, Ayumi knew it was for her.

She just knew it.

"Oh? This blood? I've seen something like it before."

"You will tell us everything you know about this girl, everything you can think of involving her. Your life will pay for any of your mistakes you make here, so speak wisely!"

"Well, there's a lot to cover. But, I know one thing for sure."

"Oh?"

"We're gonna need to have a chat with her brother."