'I'm worried… which by default means something has gone quite wrong. I never worry.' Aizawa rubbed his temples as he glanced at Midoriya. She'd walked back with her team and was standing off to the side. She ignored her team when they tried to talk to her. She hadn't let her hair down, and her expression was plain to read. What worried him was her eyes… she had that thousand yard stare. He surveyed the class. Many were trying to hide their curious looks at Midoriya. She didn't seem to notice or care.
"Groups two and Four, it's time for your battle exercise. Team two will be the villains. Go to your positions and wait for my signal to start. Go." He sighed as the ten students left the observation room. He waited a few minutes, before muttering 'Begin.' into a microphone. As the rest of the students were distracted by the start of the second match, he walked over to the girl in question. "Midoriya, how are you?" He waited a few moments for a reply. She gave no indication she'd heard him. "Midoriya." He tried again. No response.
He took out his phone and started tapping away on it. Just as Aizawa was about to call for a medical team to check out the girl, she spoke. "Can I leave?" Was all she said.
This gave Aizawa pause. 'She should stay here to watch the other match and listen to the group discussion…' He tried to make eye contact, but she was looking through him. A slight chill went down his spine. He'd seen that look before. Aizawa reached up and rubbed his face, sighing in defeat. "Yes you can return to your dorm room. But you must come see me next Monday to catch up on what you miss."
She turned towards the exit without a second thought. A few watched her leave. Two had particularly concerned expressions… a certain redhead and frog.
Izu stumbled into her room, her breathing threatening to turn to hyperventilation at any moment. 'I… I have to… I need to.' She trudged over to her dresser, kicking her trashcan over as she did. She ripped open the bottom drawer and reached towards the back. She felt the small object she was looking for. The small box jingled with the sound of metal as she half-fell onto her bed. She opened the box with shaky hands, a frantic energy coursing through her all the while.
The small girl stripped out of her clothes with surprising efficiency, down to just her undergarments. She shivered slightly as she sat on her bed. She paused as her eyes landed on the many small razor blades. She sat on her bed simply looking down at them, waiting for her body to automatically take over, as it always did. A small part of her brain made itself known. It reminded her of an annoying itch she couldn't scratch. 'You shouldn't do this…' The quiet voice said. It sounded… oddly similar to… her? She continued to stare at the blades in her hands, unable to form any coherent thoughts.
The itch chirped up again. 'Izu… this can't be what you want to do. This isn't good for you.' Her anger flared. She grabbed a blade and hiked her boxers upwards, revealing her upper thighs. The sight stopped her. She usually ignored the organized scars whenever she had to strip down. Too many lines to count dotted her upper thighs, on both legs. Each line held guilt, and a memory. Some particularly unsavory moments flashed before her eyes as she traced over the lines of scar tissue with her free hand. She was always careful to ensure they would never be seen, under any circumstances. Upper thigh was a good place for this. No one would ever that part of her body. She'd promised herself that many years ago.
Her eyes darted over her marred legs, searching for a free spot. 'You know this is wrong…' The voice came again. It sounded like her this time. "I know…" She said aloud. "But I need… I deserve it. I did something bad again." She continued. She cocked an eyebrow, hearing herself speak out loud.
Izu leaned back on her bed, lifting her legs into the air. Her free hand traced the back of her legs, just below her butt. A checkerboard of lines could be felt. No room. She sighed. A part of her could tell her desire for this was waning as it took more and more prep time. She was getting more and more impatient.
'You could go talk to someone…' The voice told her. Frustrated, she fell back into a sitting position. She seriously debated cutting over an existing line. But… those were never clean cuts. The last time she did that it got infected. She'd almost been discovered. "Too risky…" she quietly spoke into the empty room. 'Your phone is close. Call someone.' She grimaced. "Who would I even call? I feel like I'd fall apart if I had to talk to someone… right now." Her thoughts betrayed what her body wanted. Needed. She continued to speak out loud, not entirely sure which part of her was forming the words.
Her hands were shaking now. The nervous energy within her was threatening to bubble over. The anticipation of the rush… The rush she hadn't felt for months. Was so tantalizing. So close. All she had to do was find a spot. She quickly stood up and went over to her bathroom mirror. She leaned in close, looking for some spot elsewhere on her body she could keep hidden easily. The back of her neck? No. She had to put her hair up occasionally. The side of her hips? That had promise. She moved the waistband of her boxers down slightly. She frowned as a problem came to mind. "It probably wouldn't heal right… if I have to have a waistband on it all day." She made a frustrated sound, almost a shout, as she headed back to her bed and sat down.
She glanced at the box to her right, then to the small blade in her hand. She hesitantly placed the razor back in the box, hand shaking all the while. 'Good, Izu. Good.' She flinched at the sound of the voice in her head, causing many of the razors to spill out onto her bed. A violent shiver wracked through her small frame. She could feel it coming soon. This happened whenever the damn voice started talking. It dominated her thoughts and didn't allow her to process anything. Her head hurt, and she couldn't control her breathing. She was no stranger to full blown panic attacks. Doesn't mean she'd ever gotten used to them, however.
"I have to hurry…" She fiddled with the pile of spilled razors, but wasn't able to grab one. Tears slowly fell down her face, blurring her vision slightly. Her hands flew up to cover her eyes, and her back heaved as each uneven breath came and went. 'If you want to be a hero…' Instantly her whole body tensed as the word 'hero' went through her mind. Her breathing stopped, but her heart was beating painfully fast. '...then you need to overcome this part of you.'
Anger. Hatred. Guilt. Confusion. Uncertainty. Desire. All this and more flooded through her as she registered what the voice had said. For the first time in years, she yelled. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW, STUPID BRAIN?! WHEN HAVE YOU EVER BEEN RIGHT?" Without a second thought she grabbed two blades between her fingers and raked them across her stomach. She felt a rush of pain, before quickly repeating the action again, slightly higher this time. Another rush, her eyes fluttered in bliss.
The cuts were clean and shallow. She fell back on her bed, her stomach stung with a burning pain she was familiar with. She closed her eyes as she spread her arms out on either side of her, simply relishing the feeling. 'This is… how its supposed to be. What I deserve…' She could think clearly now, no longer needing to speak out loud to think. The voice was quashed, she swore she could feel it retreating down into herself as she regained control.
'I regained control…' The thought rested on her conscious for some times. 'What did I regain control from… the voice? What is… it? Why did it sound like me this time… I sounded so young.'
She laid on her bed for some time, just enjoying the feeling fluttering through her. She was vaguely aware of the blood covering her stomach. The four cuts were long, going from one side of her nearly to the other. Five minutes turned to ten, ten to twenty, and… slowly but surely the aftermath set in. The enjoyable sensation of receiving her comeuppance slowly vanished, and was replaced with a deep burning sensation. Izu tried to ignore it, but this always happened. The euphoria was always short lived, and what followed was a long and regretful healing process.
Tears flowed freely down either side of her head, but her mouth formed into a small smile. She barked out a bitter laugh. 'I did it again…' She glanced at her blood covered hands, still smiling.
Aizawa strode through the halls of UA with a pissed off look on his face. No one dared try to stop him as he marched his way towards Nezu's office. He'd let him know he was coming, so he didn't bother knocking and simply wrenched the door open as soon as he arrived.
"Hello Shota" Nezu said from his desk, glancing at the abruptly opened door. "Please have a seat. What did you want to talk about?"
Aizawa chose to remain standing, leaning against a wall and crossing his arms. "Izu Midoriya, class 1-A hero course. I want to read her file."
"Oh? That's unlike you. What about her has caught your interest?" The animal said while fishing through a cabinet.
"Her Quirk. And..." He shook his head. "Other stuff. She's so incredibly strong. I know she's a recommended student, but I've never seen a student on her level before. She lacks experience, but she's already far above many pro's in terms of combat ability." He scratched the back of his neck in slight annoyance. "She's making it hard to have proper training lessons. She is constantly soloing everything in team exercises. But… she succeeds, so I can't exactly fault her for it. But also..." He looked at Nezu, who'd produced a manilla folder from his desk.
"So you want to know more about her Quirk to better plan lessons that she can benefit from, without her denying her classmates a chance to practice. Is that right?" Aizawa nodded. "What else then, Shota? You had something else to say." Nezu's voice was a tone darker as he pushed the folder across his desk towards Aizawa.
Aizawa walked over, grabbing the folder and opening it up. Inside was a picture of the girl, the same one that was on her ID. He scanned over the information, scrutinizing the "private observations" section. 'So her father is out of the picture. And… she was thought to be Quirkless until two years ago? Is… is that even possible? So that means she got to this level of power and control over her Quirk in only two years? What is she? A monster?' He flipped a page, hoping to find more information.
His eyes scanned the page with impressive speed. 'An accumulation-type enhancement Quirk? I've… never heard of such a thing. She's clearly in the upper echelon when it comes to enhancement powers. In fact the only individual I can think of that could surpass her in power would probably be All Might. Maybe Fatgum, but he can only do powerful attacks once.' Her Quirk acquisition also struck him as interesting, but it wasn't what he was had the patience for right now.
"Interesting, but this isn't what I was after, Nezu." Aizawa closed the folder, placing it back on the desk. He sighed, then finally revealed what he'd actually wanted to talk about. "She's so… sensitive?" His hand went to his chin. "That's not the right word. She seems to… always think she's doing something wrong. That's what it feels like at least." Aizawa didn't miss Nezu's expression darken. 'So there is more to this girl.'
"Shota, that girl… will serve as a true test of UA's teaching potential, and how much we can offer our students. She has the power within her to easily best almost any foe. But she is… limited."
"Limited? Explain."
"Limited. Caged. However you want to interpret it. It's as you've seen. She is a troubled young girl." Nezu paused, debating if he should tell the man. Eventually, he decided it was for the best if Shota knew. Aizawa didn't miss the shift in atmosphere as Nezu said "Shota, what I am going to tell you cannot be repeated outside of this room. You are not to take any notes of this conversation, do you understand?"
'This is what I was looking for.' Aizawa quickly composed himself. "Yes, Sir. I understand."
Nezu took a deep breath, sighing to himself before beginning. "That girl, Izu Midoriya, was born Quirkless. It was confirmed when she was four years old. But… she always wanted to be a hero despite this. I've known her father for quite some time, and he would always tell me of her endless desire to help people." Nezu's voice was heavy with emotion. He paused for a moment to gather himself. Aizawa was locked onto the principle, listening closely to every word. He'd never seen the principle like this…
Nezu coughed before continuing his story. "Her father… had an extremely… problematic Quirk. His Quirk could force someone he was in contact with to believe anything he said. Naturally, you can see how destructive this could have been. Thankfully, he was a good man." Nezu paused again, his eyes looking down at Izu's folder. A heavy darkness covered his eyes. "Even good men… make mistakes however. Hisashi Midoriya made his four year old daughter believe… Well. He said to her simply 'You can never be a hero.' and… this had a devastating effect on her psyche."
Aizawa's eyes widened as he started to connect the dots in his mind. "So then she developed an extremely late Quirk. Why is she even at UA then if she believes she can't be a hero?"
"I was wondering that too, but the girls mother came forward and revealed more information to me very recently. Apparently her fathers Quirk reduces in power over time. It's been… just about eleven years since it was used on her. She spent nearly all of her growing years with conflicting mindsets and emotions inside her. Her father's Quirk won the battle, and repressed her true nature, since it was so closely tied to what she was forced to believe. Now that it's hold on her is weakening, she… is trying to claw her way back to the surface. She is trying to reach for her dream she thought impossible-."
Nezu paused, his voice was unsteady. He closed his eyes and took a moment to right himself. "But… I fear she is more vulnerable now more than ever, as the battle that already broke her once... is again raging in her mind."
Aizawa remained silent, unsure of how to react to the information. 'What a sad story. I… so many of her actions during the first week have a different air to them now. With context…' The man glanced at his superior. "Well, what do you say the best course of action is to deal with her situation?"
The rodent began. "I've been seeing her for some basic therapeutic sessions for a while now, but she will need a more permanent solution than me." He rubbed his chin in thought. "What about the other students? Has she made friends?"
"Not in the traditional sense. She's hung out with two groups of people from what I've seen. Can't say how close she is to friendship, however." Aizawa responded
"Mmm. Well I expected this. I will... take the weekend to think on this and get back to you. I will be in touch with her mother as well, in case there is anything she can tell us that might be helpful."
Aizawa simply mumbled in response, not quite liking that nothing could be done to address the issue immediately. He put up a hand to serve as a goodbye, stepping out of Nezu's office with a clouded mind. That, and he still had to come up with lesson designs that she could equally participate in.
With Shota gone, Nezu leaned back in his specially-made chair, staring at the ceiling with clouded eyes. "Oh Midoriya… what are we going to do with you?" He wondered aloud. 'I need to get into contact with Toshinori. He's been weakening far faster than we anticipated. He is nowhere near his pre-injury strength. If anything… he should devote himself to teaching while he still has powers.' Nezu made a disapproving face, not liking the reality that he was currently facing. He brought his hands up and rubbed his eyes. 'How do we train Midoriya at this point? She could easily overwhelm most Pro's at her current level. Speed, power, durability. Is there another hero that can match her in any two of these? If so then they could serve as… a decent sparring partner.'
Nezu pulled out a large binder and began to thumb (paw?) through images of heroes, humming to himself as he searched.
Izu's eyes had adjusted to the pitch-blackness of her room. She'd been staring at the dark ceiling for a while now. Her arms and shoulders ached from the position she'd been in for so long. Her abdomen felt like someone had burned her. She'd regained her senses, but still hadn't found the strength to move. A knock came on her door, and her panic returned full force.
She stood up and took two full steps towards the door before she realized what she looked like. Only wearing a bra and underwear, with most of her stomach and the top part of her boxers covered in a thin layer of dried blood. Not a good look. She took another hesitant step towards the door, and asked it "W-Wh-Who's there?"
"It's Kirishima" The voice on the other side said. "Are you alright, Midoriya? You looked pretty shaken up after your match."
"I'm f-fine." Was her quick reply. 'He came to see me…?'
"Yeah… You've said that before. Can I come in? To talk?" The redhead asked.
That gave her pause. 'He wants to… come in?' Izu did a visual sweep of her room. Trash spilled on the floor. Blood on her bed. Razors… "N-No! You can't… come in." For some time she didn't hear anything. 'Did… did he finally give up? I… I've denied him so many times.' A strange feeling washed over her. She didn't quite know how to place it. Guilt? Not exactly. She waited another few seconds, before taking a seat against her door. She rested her head against her knees and sighed, her abdomen still burned…
"Then, can we talk like this?" Came the unexpected reply.
Her head popped up as his reply registered. She wasn't sure how to respond to that. 'He's going to… sit out there? Why is he… Why would...' Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt the door move slightly as something shifted against the other side of it. 'He's sitting against the door…'
"So… I'm not exactly… the best with feelings. But... What do you wanna talk about, Midoriya?" His voice was much quieter than before.
'Why are you doing this?' Was the first thing that crossed her mind.
"I uh… I don't like seeing people upset. Especially a classmate."
Her breath hitched. 'Did I say that out loud?!'
Kirishima continued. "So rough day today, yeah? You did win… but you didn't seem too happy about that."
'H-How do I want to respond? What can I even tell him? Will I be oversharing? I don't… I don't want to burden him…'
The boy pressed on, despite still not receiving an actual reply. "I'm gonna take a shot in the dark, Midoriya. Let me know if I'm wrong. Are… are you upset because you're too strong? It sure doesn't feel like we've seen 'your best', and you've been destroying everyone."
She made a noise somewhere between 'Yes' and "Uh Huh'.
"So you're worried about how your actions are affecting the rest of us, yeah? Yeah… that can be a tough thing to deal with. But you kno-" He quickly cut himself off as he heard her speak.
"W-What kind of hero d-does what I do? Denying my class… the chance to practice..." Her voice trailed off.
He waited a moment to see if she would continue. "You… you know no one is angry with you, right?"
"You should be."
"Why?" Was his simple reply.
"W-w-w-wuh, I've been! And the lesson! So f-fast, not being able to…" She word vomited. She trailed off as it dawned on her…
"So you don't even know why." He voiced her thoughts exactly. "How can you expect us to be angry with you, if you don't even know why?" He questioned. There was a long pause. 'I haven't heard her move… is she still there?'
"B-buh. Because… I'm... not meant to be... a hero." She struggled to speak properly, sniffling in between words.
"That's bullshit and you know it, Midoriya. No one is 'meant' to be a hero. They get to decide for themselves."
"But-"
"No buts. How could it be any different? Only you get to decide what you're going to be." A bead of sweat fell down the side of his head. 'I… I hope I'm making sense… or at least making… her feel better? I'm not too sure what I'm after right now.' Another long silence descended upon the two, neither said anything. The door moved slightly, and he heard some shuffling from inside. He waited a minute, but the shuffling continued. "M-Midoriya?" He called out. No reply.
He stood up and turned to face her door. He moved his hand to knock on her door, however he hit nothing but air. The door was open. He could see her peeking around the side, looking at him with one eye. They remained like this for some time, before she finally spoke. "W-would you c-c-come in?"
He wanted to smile, but managed to stop himself. He could tell… 'She seems awful. What… what happened, really?' He took a step forward, and she mirrored him by taking a step back. Neither of them had a hand on the door, so he hesitantly asked. "You're sure?"
She said nothing in response, instead opting to take another step backwards. Kirishima followed suit. The two continued this back-and-forth until Kirishima was fully inside. He shut the door behind him, his eyes struggling to adjust. The first thing he noticed… 'It… it smells. What is this? Blood?' He tried to scan around the room but could barely see anything past Midoriya. 'That's right, she always keeps her light off, and draws the curtains…'
The girl wordlessly walked deeper into her room, sitting on her bed. She leaned forward, arms resting on her knees, head in her hands. Kirishima hesitated, still uneasy about his limited vision. He took a few cautious steps forward. 'I… where should I sit? I feel like she'd explode if I sat on the bed with her.' His eyes were slowly adjusting, and he was able to make out the outline of her desk chair on the other side of her room. He walked over, dragging the chair to be a few feet across from Midoriya. He sat in front of her, leaning forward as she was. 'The smell of blood…' He noted again. It was stronger now.
"Midoriya…" He couldn't think of anything else to say. 'I… she's in such bad shape. What about the training exercise made her react like this?'
She stood up quickly as he spoke. He noticed her slump forward slightly, wincing at the sudden movement. "I'm… sorry this was a stupid idea."
'She's going to ask me to leave again! I… quick say something!' "Midoriya… please." She stilled at his words. "I can't help you if you don't let me." He stood up and made a show of reaching towards her, doing his best to not surprise her. She leaned back slightly. But… his hand met her shoulder. He heard her breathing become more erratic. 'I… I'll take a risk. If she hates me then so be it. I need to try and help her, or I can't call myself a hero candidate.' He took a step closer, and in one fluid motion pulled her into a hug. One arm wrapped around her back, the other holding her head close.
He felt her instantly tense up, and she let out a quiet "eep". Kirishima wrenched his eyes shut, still unsure if he'd made a catastrophic mistake. They remained like this for a number of seconds. The only audible sound in the room was her sniffling. Her head only reached up to his shoulder. He wasn't sure how much time passed. But he slowly realized her small arms shakily wrapped around him at some point. Her sniffling got louder and more intense, until she was full on bawling into his shoulder.
All of Kirishima's senses went into overload. Having a crying girl in his arms… certainly awakened something in him. 'Protect.' So many other thoughts crossed his mind as he tried to decipher the situation he found himself in. 'I need to… find out what's wrong with her. She doesn't believe she can be a hero… yet she's so incredibly strong. Plus…' He glanced down at her crying form. 'I can't stand seeing anyone like this.' His mind was still a jumble, but he managed to focus himself briefly.
He slowly led them both towards her bed, arms still wrapped around each other. He paused, knees half bent in an effort to coax her to sit on the bed with him. Slowly but surely they'd settled down, but her top half wouldn't budge, still locked to him as she cried. He sat down first, while she ended up sitting half on top of his lap. He blustered slightly, embarrassed by their positions. She unconsciously moved her right leg, twisting her lower half to continue facing him as she fully sat across his lap now. His cheeks burned.
Kirishima simply remained like this, letting her release everything she wanted to as he awkwardly rubbed her back. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but eventually her crying subsided. She quietly sniffled into his shoulder, resting her forehead on him. One thing still bugged him. 'I… why do I still smell blood? I figured it was just me being crazy. Is… is she okay?' An odd thought crossed his mind, and he flinched, catching her attention. 'There's… no way right? I've been around girls for my whole life. If they… smelled like blood once a month... I would notice. Right? This can't be that…' Kirishima's blush intensified, but his wandering thoughts were interrupted as he noticed her calming down.
Her breathing returned to a more normal state, but she still sniffled occasionally. His hand was still awkwardly moving up and down on her back. As time ticked on he became more and more aware of their positions. He'd… only ever had his little sister sit on his lap.
"Sorry… for your shirt." Was the first thing she said after regaining some composure. Her head was still resting against his shoulder, muffling her voice slightly.
'My shirt? Oh… right. Crying. What do I say now? Ahhh this always seems so much easier in books!'
Another silence descended upon the duo. This one felt different, however. A much more calming silence.
'He's… very warm.'
Kirishima's back was starting to tire. Sitting on the edge of her bed meant he didn't have anything to lean against. And Midoriya was leaning into him. He had to keep his back straight or risk falling backwards. If that happened they'd… be in a much more compromising position.
'Come on, Eijiro. Tough it out. No way can I ask her to move right now. I can handle this for longer. I think.' He shifted slightly, hoping to not disturb the green girl in his arms. 'I should say something to her though… she did just finish crying…'
The silence was broken as her stomach rumbled. It was dinner time after all. "S-Sorry." she mumbled.
"You don't have to apologize. Would you… let me bring you some food? I figure you don't want to go downst-"
"I… that would be… nice." Izu interjected. She leaned back, no longer leaning on his shoulder. Kirishima removed his hands from around her as she did this. He sighed quietly, glad he no longer had to worry about falling backwards. She shifted slightly on his lap, then froze abruptly.
Her head was tilted downward, hiding her furious blush. 'I… WHAT AM I DOING?! Why am I sitting on him!? Why is he... allowing this!' She practically jumped up off of him in an instant, aggravating her stomach in the process. She winced, bending over slightly. She still hadn't had a chance to address her earlier actions. Kirishima followed suit, standing up rather awkwardly and rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well… I'm going to go grab some basic stuff to eat from my room, okay? I'll knock on your door again in a few minutes…" He explained. An unspoken 'please don't ignore my knock' reverberated throughout the room. He hadn't said it, but he hoped she picked up on his meaning.
She made a small noise of acknowledgement, nodding slightly. She walked towards the bathroom and closed the door behind her without another word. Now alone, Kirishima took a moment to look around her room. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and he could see much clearer now. 'I shouldn't snoop, but I have so many questions… Not just about her but also what I sensed earlier… when I walked in.'
He had no idea how long she would be in the bathroom for, so he did a five second walk around. A pile of sheets in a corner aroused some suspicion. He leaned down slightly. 'They smell like she does… blood.' Decided he'd lingered too long, he went over to his room to grab some ready-to-eat dinner.
Izu stripped out of the clothes she'd thrown on lightning fast. 'I need to shower quickly… and probably wrap a bandage or something. The bleeding has mostly stopped… but if I keep moving excessively that could change.' She jumped into the shower after ensuring the water pressure was slightly lower than usual.
Muscle memory took over as she showered, allowing her mind to wander. 'Why is he… going so far out of his way to help me? More importantly, why am I going along with this? Why… did I let him get so close? How do I want to handle… him? He's supposed to be coming back soon. I… for his sake I shouldn't let him get… too close. I don't want to bring down more of my classmates than I already have.' She let out a dejected sigh. Turning off the water, she stepped out of the shower and looked at herself in the mirror, still dripping wet.
Her fingers traced along the aftermath of her recent… fit. They'd stop bleeding by now, but their length was alarming. 'I was stupid. This is in a really bad spot. These will definitely form a noticeable scar on my stomach…' She glanced down at her thighs, which were dotted with dozens of smaller straight scars, much more organized and easy to deal with. 'These are… easy to hide with the longer underwear I use. What am I going to do about changing in the locker room… other girls will notice…'
She shivered, as she'd still yet to dry herself off. She grabbed a towel and started the simple task. She got halfway through drying her hair when a knock came on her front door. She panicked. 'Crap. I haven't gotten a chance to fully clean my room still… and I still have to finish drying myself.' Her eyes widened as she realized another problem. 'And I don't have a change of clothes with me in the bathroom!'
Izu wrapped the towel around herself and hurriedly stepped out of the bathroom, moving towards her dresser, dripping water on the floor all the while. She called out to Kirishima. "One second, please!" She wasn't able to pick up on his response, but heard some shuffling from the other side of the door. She dug through her dresser and grabbed some stuff to put on, barely giving it a second thought.
All dressed, she glanced around the room. Hey eyes landed on the bundle of sheets in the corner of her room. The box of razors was still hidden under it. She bit her lip in indecision, debating on the quickest way to deal with the problem. She elected to scoop the entire heap up and push it out onto the balcony. It wasn't too windy today, so she hoped it wouldn't be a problem.
Her hair was still wet, it annoyingly clung to her shoulders and neck, getting her shirt wet as well. She reached for a hairband on her desk and quickly wrapped her hair up, hoping to casually dry it after letting Kirishima in. Izu closed her eyes and took a deep breath, a meek attempt to calm herself after the chaotic day. At least food was promised.
She threw her towel on the floor and moved it with her feet to mop up all the water, as she walked towards the door. Finally, she threw the towel into her bathroom laundry hamper and turned to face the door. She waited for a moment, simply listening. She reached for the door handle slowly and opened it. She peered through the crack and saw a familiar redhead looking back. In his hand he had a plastic bag filled with food(?) she assumed.
"Hi-." was all he said, looking at her through the crack of the door. As she opened the door wider he asked "Can I come in?" The green girl simply nodded instead of voicing a reply, as she turned back into her room. To his surprise, she went over to her desk and turned on the small lamp. No doubt so he would feel more comfortable. She then moved to the far end of her chabudai (each room came with one) while Kirishima mirrored her, kneeling to take a seat across from her.
"I hope you don't mind leftovers. I had pork yesterday." Kirishima said as he began unloading each item from his bag. He didn't miss the way her eyes perked up as 'pork' left his mouth. A small smile crept onto his face. He passed her a small paper plate as he moved a tin of pork to the center of the small table, alongside some rice. Nothing fancy.
"T-Thank you. For the food, I mean." She bowed her head. A moment went by, before she looked up and waved a hand in the air frantically. "I-I-I mean I'm thankful for everything, but you know? Right now I meant to thank you for the food. Of course I-"
He cut her off. "No need. It's a pleasure to share food with someone." He smiled at her as he dug in. Izu paused, unsure how to take his reply. Her stomach acted for her though, after seeing him begin eating. She followed suit, and they ate in comfortable silence for some time.
'I-… isn't he going to ask about what happened earlier? Why I was crying?' She wasn't sure how to feel about him simply coming in and eating with her after what just happened. She still hasn't gotten over the embarrassment of sitting on his lap of all things. Let alone crying into his shoulder. 'I guess… I'm actually glad he isn't prying. It gives me a chance to think through all of this. What just happened and… how I feel.'
"So… do you have any plans for this weekend, Midoriya?" He asked as they neared the end of their meal. She coughed on her mouthful of food, sputtering as she tried to calm her surprise. The redhead quickly continued. "I was wondering cuz… me and Bakugo reserved a gym room for Quirk training and sparring tomorrow. Do you want to join us? I find it really helps me take my mind off everything and relax. Ya know?"
Izu regained her composure, replying "Uh. What kind of... Quirk training?" She was still focused on the food in front of her, despite having finished eating.
"Well me and Bakugo have been talking about what kind of Quirk training we'll eventually be doing here at UA. We figured that they'd have a hard time teaching technique and fighting styles because of how much those vary from person to person. UA, with all their knowledge of Quirks, probably knows how we can increase our limits or output. We were going to focus on what UA likely can't teach us. What do you think?"
'Well… it makes sense. Plus it wasn't… so bad last time. Doing Quirk training with others sounds potentially dangerous, though.' Her mind drifted to images of Bakugo's explosions. She shivered slightly before looking up at the redhead. "C-Couldn't that be dangerous?"
He smirked. "Could it? Definitely. It wouldn't be fun training without a little danger, right?" She didn't know how to respond to that. She just shrugged in response. Kirishima continued, asking "So you'll come?" He leaned forward slightly, eyebrows raised while wearing an expectant smile.
She fidgeted as she sat, still unsure what she wanted to do. "Uh. What… time?" She probed.
He didn't miss a beat. "12 to 3pm is when we have a room reserved."
She cocked her head to one side, shrugging her shoulders. "O-Okay?"
Immediately Kirishima's face lit up. "Great! I'm sure Bakugo will be glad. Meet us on the first floor at 11:45, sound good?" She gave a nervous nod in reply. "Cool. You wont regret this, Midoriya." He began to clean up the food they'd eaten, shoving plates and tins in the plastic bag he'd brought.
With everything cleaned up, the two teens sat at the small table facing one another. Each waiting for the other to say something. Izu wrung her hands with nervous energy, unsure whether the current silence was a good one or not. Eventually, Kirishima spoke. "Midoriya… I know you had a rough day today, and I want to help you. But… I also know that letting people work through things on their own is important. I've… always been told that the best way to overcome a problem is to come up with my own solution." He paused, looking up at her. She gave a small, almost imperceptible nod at what he said.
He continued, "So… I don't want to pry. But, I'm always here if you ever want to talk. I'm always willing to lend an ear." He flashed the green girl a smile. So genuine and pure, it almost hurt to look at.
Her eyes watered slightly. She brought her wrist up to wipe them. She managed to keep her voice surprisingly stable as she spoke. "Thank you, Kirishima. I… I don't know… I can't promise future me will listen to reason. But here and now? Thank you, for what you've done. Even if you don't realize… what you did." She blushed and looked down at her lap.
Kirishima's eyes blazed with renewed determination. He stood up fully and gave a slight bow in the green girls direction, one arm crossing his chest. "That's what friends are for. Helping even when we don't realize it! You can count on me, Midoriya! I know you'd do the same for me." He shot her a thumbs up. He was positively beaming with confidence and optimism. The redhead pulled out his phone and glanced at the time. "Well, I should probably get going. I have some small things I need to take care of in the morning tomorrow. I'll see you downstairs at 11:45, Midoriya. I'm gonna check in for tonight."
"O-Okay yeah. Have a… good one-" Her head was still pointed downwards, and her last word was especially quiet. "-kirishima…" His ears perked up as he swore he heard his name.
"You too!" He opened her door, plastic bag in hand, and headed out.
Izu's hands rested in her lap, unmoving. She stared at them, flexing them open and closed repeatedly. "Friends…" She questioned. "Is that what we are, now?"
Authors Note:
Shorter chapter. I already have 4k-ish words of the next chapter written. I was going to combine them into one bigger chapter, but this felt like a good stopping point.
Please leave feedback or suggestions!
Also, I plan to rewrite the first chapter. It feels like a weak start. Definitely my least favorite chapter so far.
~Till next time!