Later that day found Izuku sitting on the couch next to Tomura, watching him play another game. There was only one controller so he couldn't play too. That was alright, Izuku wasn't very good at console games. The man did offer to take turns, but Izuku declined with a shy smile.
He was still trying to figure Tomura out. He seemed explosive and caustic one moment and then friendly the next. It was a little scary, being similar to how Hisashi Midoriya acted. But so far he hadn't hurt Izuku in one of his outbursts. Seeing the greenette flinch seemed to actually curb the tantrums.
At some point Kurogiri disappeared into the back rooms, emerging a short time later with a stack of folded clothes. "Izuku-san, you may bathe if you wish. I am doing laundry, so please fetch your soiled garments as well."
The greenette sprang to his feet and snagged his backpack, setting it on the couch to dig through more easily. He had to pull out the analysis notebooks he'd saved from his father's wrath, numbers 7, 9, and 12. Tomura had kept ahold of 13 and Izuku didn't know where it was. He set them aside to access the clothes before taking the bundle to Kurogiri.
The man offered him the clean stack in turn, nodding towards the bathroom. "Go bathe. Leave your garments outside the door so I can wash them too."
Izuku didn't need to be told again. He didn't know how Tomura could stand to touch his hair, it was filthy, tangled, and his scalp crawled. Retreating into the wash room, he disrobed and handed the items to Kurogiri through the door. He tried to keep the shower quick, but ended up loitering under the hot spray while letting conditioner sit in his curls. He wouldn't be able to brush it otherwise. The green-black strands touched his shoulders while slicked down and turned into a frizzy mess when dry.
After stepping out and drying off, he regarded the clothes with dismay. A simple, black v-neck t-shirt like Tomura's and grey drawstring shorts. They would leave some of his scars and injuries on display. Normally he favored long sleeves and pants to hide them. Until laundry was done they would have to do, however.
They were a bit too big on his scrawny frame, the neck trying to slip off his shoulder and revealing more scars and bruises. He was just thankful Tomura wasn't much taller than him or he would completely swim in the fabric. Realizing he forgot his comb, he crept out to grab it from his bag. Tomura was absorbed in his game and Kurogiri was in the kitchen, so they didn't see the marks yet, some still fresh from school.
Once his hair was tamed it took all of his courage to head back out. Padding over to the couch, he curled up small, tucking his legs beneath him and hugging himself to hide his arms from view. Side-eye from Tomura made him shrink even more, causing a frown to form on the man's face. Izuku fidgeted when he paused his game and turned to him.
"Stop cowering like a dog. What are those?" He gestured towards the notebooks that were still on display.
Izuku winced at the tone, reluctantly uncurling to pick up one of the books. He fussed with it a moment before offering it to the man with a blush. "Um… t-they're notes. O-on hero quirks." He ducked his head, not wanting to see Tomura's reaction to the childish scrawls.
Several minutes passed, paper rustling occasionally as Tomura read some of the entries. Finally the man paused. "You're so cool, Izuku!" There was an obvious grin behind the words. They startled him into looking up.
"Huh? T-they're n-not that good..." That was definitely not what he was expecting.
The man eagerly paged through more entries, ignoring Izuku's stuttered protests. "I think Sensei will really want to meet you. Kurogiri!" He raised his voice to get the shadowy man's attention. "Go see if Sensei is up for visitors today!"
"As you wish, Master Shigaraki." One of his own warp gates opened beneath his feet and he sank through.
Tomura turned his attention to Izuku with a smile. "I'm glad I didn't kill you, shrimp."
Most people would be unnerved by the statement. Izuku felt warmth bloom in his chest. It was the first time anyone had ever genuinely praised his hobby. Most who found out about it called him a creepy stalker. But Tomura thought it was good and useful enough to introduce him to his sensei!
The realization gave him a small boost of confidence. "U-um… c-can I ask what your quirk is?"
The smile took on a slightly manic edge, but the man nodded. He flipped to a blank page in the notebook and carefully ripped it out. He held it up for Izuku to see before placing all five fingers on it. It crumbled to dust in under a second. Green eyes widened at the display.
"That's amazing!" Izuku's fingers twitched, wishing he had a pen. "Does it dehydrate the object? Does it work with water? Can you control the spread?" The litany of questions was cut off by Tomura's laughter. The greenette covered his own mouth with an apologetic expression, belatedly recalling the man's irritation from the previous night.
Tomura waved it off this time. "I call it Decay. I don't know how exactly it works, but it only works on solid objects. I can't control it… Maybe you could give me pointers." He offered the book back to Izuku, pinky raised to avoid destroying it.
The vote of confidence made tears well up. He ducked his head to hide them, wiping his eyes with a forearm. "I-I'll try my best to help." A couple sniffles escaped before he forcibly changed gears. "D-do you have gloves? I-I mean, I notice you're careful when you touch things, but… there are these special gloves artists use that only cover two fingers..."
The man blinked and stared for a long moment. Izuku fidgeted nervously, hoping he didn't overstep with the suggestion. Finally he spoke. "You know, that never occurred to me." He sounded stunned.
A giggle escaped Izuku before he could stop it. His hand went over his mouth again and he hunched over, hoping Tomura wouldn't think he was mocking him. There was a tense pause before fingers threaded through his hair, kneading lightly.
"I'll ask Kurogiri to get a pair when he gets back. For now, let's have lunch."
Izuku reheated his leftovers while Tomura prepared sandwiches. It felt oddly domestic for a villain, but he supposed they had to eat too. They ate in comfortable silence. The greenette managed to eat all of his leftover breakfast and half a sandwich this time, before the nausea came back.
As he wrapped the sandwich for later, Tomura spoke up. "Do any of those need treated?" He gestured to a burn on Izuku's wrist.
The attention made him shuffle in place anxiously. When he tried to hide his arm Tomura grabbed it with a ginger touch. A reflexive flinch made the man frown but he didn't let go, leaning closer to get a better look. Careful fingers prodded the edges of the burn.
"This is second degree… Come on." Tomura tugged him to his feet, ignoring his stuttered protests as he pulled Izuku down the hallway and into one of the bedrooms.
From the messy state of the room, it was Tomura's. Dirty clothes littered the floor despite Kurogiri doing laundry earlier. Manga, magazines, and clean clothes took up most of the surfaces. The only furniture was a desk and chair, nightstand, and a mattress on the floor. The lack of a dresser at least explained the clothes.
Izuku found himself pressed to sit on the mattress while the man dug through a drawer on the desk. He fussed and fidgeted nervously with the hem of his shirt while he waited. The situation left him embarrassed and he wished Tomura wouldn't bother. There was no reason to waste supplies on him.
"Fuck!" The greenette startled and peered over in time to see a folder disintegrate from where Tomura accidentally touched it. More curses followed before he finally seemed to find what he was looking for.
Seeing the ire on the man's face, Izuku couldn't repress a cringe when he stalked over and slumped to the bed next to him. A first aid kit was dropped between them before Tomura speared him with a glare. It softened the tiniest bit when the greenette shivered and tried to curl in on himself.
"Take off your shirt, shrimp. I doubt your arm's the worst of it." His tone left no room for argument. A stern stare was still required before Izuku stopped fidgeting and drew the fabric over his head.
It took a bit of fussing with the shirt and one impatient frown from Tomura before Izuku finally dropped his arms to his sides to let the man see the extent of his injuries. Blue, yellow, and greenish bruises littered his chest and back, most indistinct but some tracing the vague shapes of shoes. A couple easily visible ribs were clearly broken, canted at unnatural angles - there wasn't much that could be done for those. A few more second and first degree burns stood out on his upper arms, with a leathery, black, third degree burn on one shoulder blade. Interspersed throughout his exposed skin were scars, most notably burn scars and clear whip marks across his back.
There was a tense silence as Tomura took it all in, during which Izuku slowly curled in on himself while unable to lift his gaze from the floor. Finally the man seemed to shake himself, pulling the kit into his lap to dig around for what he'd need for the burns. Several moments later he got to work applying antibiotic ointment and gauze to the worst of them. After an initial startle at his touch, Izuku docilely let himself be posed to make the process easier, still avoiding eye contact.
The blackened patch gave Tomura pause. He examined it carefully for a few moments before muttering and pulling out this phone to look up how to proceed. A curse made Izuku twitch away and finally glance at the man.
"We'll need to wait for Kurogiri to deal with this one." Tomura explained with a scowl. "The dead junk needs scraped off. He'll know how to do it painlessly."
Biting his lip, Izuku shifted in place with an uncomfortable expression. "I-it's ok. What you've done already is enough… Thank you." The last was said with clear gratitude. But he shrank under a disapproving frown.
"All of it is getting healed." The tone Tomura used was threatening despite the topic. It was as if the burn had personally offended him. The greenette chose not to argue.
Wrapping his arms around himself, Izuku tried to make himself as small as possible. The man ignored him for a few minutes as he put the kit back together and threw away used packaging. Once that was done he settled back on the bed. They sat in tense silence before he scrubbed a hand through his hair, agitated.
"No one is going to hurt you here. Unless I kill you. And even then I'll make it painless."
The words had the intended effect. Izuku relaxed in slow increments, uncurling after several minutes. After some fussing he pulled the shirt back on. A knock on the door interrupted any more discussion.
Tomura called out and Kurogiri poked his head in a second later. "Master Shigaraki, Izuku-san. Sensei would like to meet with you."