Hey, guys! BD and GOTA, here, with the third installment of 'Sixteen.' Sixteen is a bittersweet romance-drama between Izuku and Itsuka. It focuses on their relationships and their struggles of survival. Izuku and Itsuka's friends, Shouto, Tsuyu, and Minoru are introduced as his closest friends.
A/N: Be advised that this story contains implied/referenced sexual content and abuse. If reading this story isn't your cup of tea, then please refrain from reading this. Stay tuned for more lemon and vanilla stories soon. As of now, I am reverting back to writing drama (which is my first love) for this particular story.
"Deku, get the molasses out of your ass, the bus is arriving," Itsuka told him as she hurried him to get to the stop.
Izuku managed to make it to the bus stop on time. The hardness of the sidewalk didn't help his balance as he was struggling to stay awake. He didn't get much sleep last night. His mother had company. He couldn't tell whether it was a straggler from the drink bar where she works or a stranger she had met online for some outcall work. Just the sound of loud music, clinking of boose, and arguments filled the tiny, corrugated shack that he forcibly calls home.
Before he could make a yawn, Itsuka shoved a can of Red Bull in his mouth. He kept still as he tasted the piss of Chuck Norris into his throat and sighed after the taste. It helped. Itsuka knew when he had one of those days.
"You should thank God I have these things. It is like when girls have periods and it is synchronized," she told him while grinning. She, too, got another can of Red Bull and partook.
"You watch too much The Young and the Restless," he told her without looking. "Better yet, do you still have cable at your house?"
"You are already talking too much this morning, Deku," she told him while punching him in the shoulder. "You never complain when you come over and watch with me."
"Amazing that we are still friends after this long."
He looked around and saw the bus approaching in its direction. It began to make a U-turn before displaying its brake lights to alert the others. Where they lived was a one-lane dead-end street. Surrounded by vines, poinsettias, crapes, and the mysterious river behind them. Itsuka patted him on his neck and they began their trek to the bus.
He greeted his bus driver as he made his way to the back. He saw the look of hopelessness from the others - students, salarymen, and the general population as they stared into the abyss. Izuku, too, felt the same way. Unlike them, their future has already been determined to judge by their home life. He could smell the tar, charcoal, and lighter fluid from someone's kitchen. He wouldn't be surprised to hear the sounds of an ambulance coming up soon to pick up the dearly departed. Hasn't been the first, wouldn't be the last.
He took a seat at his usual spot, the last row in the back. The redhead followed. She wanted the window seat and he let her. He took his seat and put his backpack in between his lap as they made their way to the school.
Meanwhile, Itsuka put on her earbuds and rested her head on his shoulder. Feeling her warmth comforts him, a glimmer of love. A silver lining in the stitch of life.
"For some reason, you run my mind."
"Izuku, you wouldn't question me if we explore one another?"
"Would you allow me to do this?"
"Izuku?"
"Just be gentle."
Izuku was feeling conflicted. There was a spot in his heart where there was an elephant in the room but he would avert, avoid, or overlook. The love he had for his best friend and the love for Itsuka as a woman was like charging horses pulling in opposite directions. It would have been different if this interaction was nothing more than casual sex with a stranger. A stranger could blend into a blank wall, never to be noticed. However, with Itsuka, it is a work of art that couldn't be missed.
He couldn't abandon the love for Itsuka as a friend than he could as a woman. To see her blossoming into a woman was nothing more than a privilege to the emerald-haired teen. Since their early days when she had those dorky glasses, metallic braces, and the refusal of wearing a training bra, the redhead has been an impact in his young life. Everything about Itsuka was important. Their days of watching television together, hanging out at the rock quarry, getting drunk, and sharing their love on his bed were now part of his soul.
Itsuka Kendou was his first kiss and his first time. However, that was the first time Izuku gave permission for someone to take his innocence. It was in a not-too-distant past. His mother was in-between jobs. Feeling that he was a contributing member of the household, he aided her with some jobs.
They were allegedly his aunties. They have always met at night, specifically in the midnight hour. Every time, he would always wear his starched clothes. Those clothes weren't everyday clothes. His mother wouldn't even bother bargain shopping for him on their average days. He could never forget his first encounter with a certain aunt. Long hair that slithered down to her shoulders. It looked like a river of wheat. Eyes that were entrancing, deep pools that could easily trap an individual when staring at it too long. She wore dark lipstick. He couldn't forget it as that lipstick left marks on him. He watched as his mother allowed this aunt to do whatever she pleased. After all, if he wanted love and affection from his mother dearest, then he would do whatever to keep her happy.
He could still taste the alcohol on his breath. He could still feel the cold, hard floor as he was sandwiched by her bare flesh. He screamed for his father. He screamed for his grandmother. He even screamed for his mother. The latter was hopeless. He could still see the decrepit, detritus emerald-haired woman smoking her filter tips as she counted the money as that auntie took advantage of me.
He decided to cast those thoughts aside. Situating himself as he kept his eye on the bus driver, he knew that the only option was to find a way for each of his feelings about Itsuka to charge in the same direction, to pull together. However, the problem was he didn't know how.
Itsuka was an angel in his eyesight. Indeed, a true friend to the emerald-haired teen. Probably a soulmate. However, with being sixteen, the mindset is very fragile. Or, that was what his therapist once told him after spending a few days in a psychiatric hospital.
A few months ago, Izuku was close to leaving this town, this desolate place, this world for good.
Just like Itsuka's mother before him, he, too, wanted to lay down his burdens to the cool and mysterious riverside behind their home. He wasn't angry. He didn't feel depressed. In actuality, he didn't feel anything. He consumed enough Vicodin and three-fifths of Wild Turkey to quell and numb the pain. He didn't leave anything to document his reasoning of leaving. Wearing nothing but his jogging suit, he slowly edged into the dark and murky waters of the river. It felt riveting, it felt peaceful. It felt like he, for once, was in charge of his own destiny. No more being in shackles, no more being in pain in this hurtful Earth. He felt free.
Itsuka was the first to find him floating in the river banks. She was fortunate to retrieve him before the river currents claimed him into the deep. She fought her tears to return him to this world. She kept him close, keeping him warm until the ambulance came. She was there from the ambulance to the hospital. She was there to bring me homework and to feed me. She was there from the beginning to the end. There was no one in this world compared to the love he had for his Itsuka.
But how can Itsuka love a man that couldn't even love himself?
Even now, the thoughts still linger on his brain like a burn hole on his hoodies after smoking marijuana. The river still calls his name. It spoke to him, telling him that it was okay to come back and try again. It wanted to bring him revelation to his genesis. It wanted to clothe him and return him to the dust he came in. Resting alongside with the others that the mysterious river hid. Izuku decided to forbid those thoughts. Regardless of the matter, he still has to report to my counselor once a week.
The bus stopped at the corner near the entrance of a housing development. Another boy entered into the fray. He combed his hair and spat at the ground before fully entering the bus. He quietly spoke to the bus driver before making his way to the back. He overlooked the others before nodding his head at Izuku and Itsuka.
When it came to Shouto Todoroki, there was always a hard look about him. Like Izuku, he didn't come from the best of living arrangements. Unlike him, he has been sent from home to home since he was put into foster care at the age of nine. The product of an absentee father and mentally ill mother.
He and Izuku became friends since he moved into town a few years ago. Many can call him an enforcer or a bodyguard if one would refer to him as such. A contradiction since he was sort of the neighborhood bully. Many in this town feared him because he was a living contradiction. Standing at over five feet, but a body made of pure muscle, Shouto was a force to be reckoned with. Despite numerous invitations to pursue basketball or baseball, his true passion was hustling.
Shouto slapped hands with Izuku before he put on his music and lied against the window seat across from Izuku and Itsuka. He knew it wouldn't be long before his partner in crime comes. Once again, another girl who is a part of Izuku's circle.
A tiny shack surrounded by crape myrtles and sakura trees was home to a girl who was hard in the face, but at the same time, one of the sweetest girls in town. A dreamer, a woman who vies for a better life more than Izuku. A woman who deserved it better more than he did. There were things that she had encountered that he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy.
Tsuyu Asui spoke to the bus driver as she came inside. Her green hair covered her almond-shaped eyes. She never liked showing her entire face. Wearing a sweatshirt, "Reality Kills," didn't compare, but Asui was a true warrior. She silently greeted Izuku before shoving Shouto to the side. He didn't flinch. He offered an earbud to Tsuyu before returning to his stance on the window.
If Izuku can have a nickname for his friends, then he would refer to them as the Unspoken Heard. Their decision to adopt that moniker because they were one of the few kids in their town that honestly have an obtuse view of living there. They sought more but found it hard to reach.
"Abandon all hope, all ye who enter." That was the catchphrase of Shouto when he knew they were arriving at their school. He shook Itsuka to wake her up. He took a look at the gray sky before seeing the tall glass building in their eyesights. The bus came to a halt. He allowed the others to lead the way before making his way into the sea of destitute.
It wasn't two minutes stepping their soles onto school grounds as the group heard the bellowing sounds of Minoru Mineta. A stout and short individual, he just made his proper introduction to a cheerleader next to the water fountain. Gnashing his teeth and wiping his tiring eyes, Mineta proudly displays his trademark by lifting the skirt of their cheerleading classmate.
"Typical," said Tsuyu flatly as she looked at her watch. "At least give her some warning, eh, ribbit!"
Itsuka popped her gum. "Yaoyorozu today." She whistled at their perverted and deluded friend. "Ballsy!"
"Wow," spat Mineta. Izuku knew it was quite literal of Minoru when he spits. Minoru had a lisp and was very heavy tongued. One should be very cautious when meeting him. One should wear a raincoat and sunglasses. Even so, one should hope that raincoat was embedded with tough skin protection along with a sense of humor. "These are some butt-ugly panties, Yaoyorozu! I can also see a skid mark. Are you running tracks with moves or with your bowels?"
The result ended with a slap to the face from the embarrassed vice-president. Her harrowing eyes were fumed with anger, wanting to further attack Minoru. Before Izuku and his friends could intervene, their school enforcement officer did. He used the cheerleader as a distraction by pushing her toward the guard and ran, better yet, skipped away from trouble. A slow-witted individual, it wouldn't be long until they found him in detention.
Until then, they watched the show already in progress.
"All I want to be is a rescue ranger. To act like an ass and live my life in danger." The lispy, singsong voice caroled the hallway, beelining through the crowd as the student broke away from becoming part of Minoru's storm. Gawkers, mostly jocks, laughed at his charade. Izuku stood next to my locker, shaking his head at his lovable, pitiful friend.
"It means we get to stay after school to watch over him," said Izuku. "Yaoyorozu's dude will be waiting for him."
Shouto nodded his head with approval. He, too, knew as they stared silently.
Izuku and Minoru met a year ago when Minoru returned home after spending a couple of years with his grandparents overseas. Returning home wasn't a choice. His grandparents were elderly and were at the point of no longer could he take care of them as they couldn't take care of themselves. Minoru returned to live with his mother. The group honestly couldn't stand his mother. An artist, she would rather dedicate her time to her work then to tend to the needs of her son. Minoru has a disability and they were unsure of what it was. Itsuka knew Minoru from elementary school and she was one of the few people through time who tolerated him. Izuku knew that the word itself was a compliment. Because not many people can handle being with Itsuka, let alone pissing her off.
Minoru continued shouting through the backdoors of the outside quad. The laughing charade died down. The warning bell rang as Izuku prepared for homeroom. Itsuka pecked him on the cheek as a sign of goodbye before walking off to class. Shouto tilted his head as a farewell before going to class. Tsuyu stayed behind. Izuku knew the reason and he waited until the crowd died down. He gathered his things and closed his locker.
She and Izuku walked a few paces into the side hallway that was barely used. He looked around before reaching into my backpack. He gave her a file folder.
"Ok, Asui, I typed the work based on how you would write it. I applied it to your lexicon and background. So, at least, you will get an 80 on this assignment."
"How come I can't get a 90 or better," she asked him with a hint of disappointment.
"With a 65 in the class, if the teacher sees you with an A paper, then that is your ass in the grass," he explained to her. "Plus, I have the same teacher as you and it is going to catch on if you don't do this work."
"I know," she said while rubbing her shoulder. "I am sorry once again for disturbing you the other night, but it has been hard at home, ribbit."
"Tell me about it, Tsuyu," He told her with signs of empathy. He kneeled to the floor as he didn't want to attract attention. She pulled out a few dollars out of her skirt pocket and handed it to him. "Here is ten bucks," she told him with a disappointing tone. "If I had more than that, I would give more. Thanks, ribbit!"
He counted the singles, but it was never the money he cared for. He returned it to her, but she halted him with her hand.
"Keep it," she told him. "I refuse to be a charity case. I want to thank you for doing my work. Thank you for covering for me these last few weeks." She stopped, wrapping her arms around herself. She wanted to shake but trying her hardest to keep her composure.
Tsuyu Asui was his other best friend. Interestingly enough, Izuku met her a few weeks before he met Itsuka. She and Izuku were in the same class together in the seventh grade. Her personality then was the same now - very sweet-spirited, a dreamer. A woman of inner strength.
Just like Itsuka, Tsuyu watched over Izuku. He remembered the time in the eighth grade when he was pinned to the wall by the neighborhood bully. That hulk of strength was hustling and harassing him for lunch money. When he refused, the bully punched him in the stomach. As he wallowed in the pain, he heard another shriek of pain from him. Tsuyu stood over the giant with a branch in her hand. She struck him a few times before Izuku urged her to stop. She went into his pocket and retrieved the money he took from Izuku. Her coup de grace was her spit to his face. She took Izuku's hand as they darted away from the scene. That night, she called him crying when she told him that the bully called her mother and was returned with a beating of her own. Izuku stayed on the line with her, singing a song they liked before she fell asleep. She missed school for a couple of days. When she did come back, her skin displayed different patches of purple and blue. Despite the shiner in her eye, she had the same picturesque smile as they played at P.E.
Tsuyu is also a self-trained musician, playing the piano at the age of four and learning to play the violin at the age of eight. She never took classes prior to junior high; she learned to play by ear. By the time she entered high school, she was an accomplished musician. Her musical talent shows as she is first chair in their school's orchestra. Her skills allowed her to play at Keio, University of Tokyo, and the University of Hokkaido. Of course, the proceeds were provided by the school because her mother couldn't give a damn about her daughter's sense of talent. Speaking of her convoluted mother, who is a manager at a hotel, she considered her daughter as useless since the day she conceived the poor girl.
What makes Izuku and the others happy about Tsuyu was that she recently received an invitation from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. If she goes, she plans to major in Performance. She told Izuku and the others that she always wanted to perform in Broadway or Carnegie Hall or the Hollywood Bowl, anywhere that would appreciate her talent. And of course, she will give them backstage passes as her roadies. She always told them she couldn't imagine doing a show without them being there for support.
Izuku put the money in his pocket because he knew Itsuka was going to take it when she wanted to buy marijuana from Kirishima or any other school dealer after school. Tsuyu turned around to put the paper in her backpack. Izuku's face turned sour as he saw the concealed makeup covering the bruise on her neck.
It reminded him of seventh grade.
The purple dinosaur attacked me, she told him on the phone those many years ago. Izuku rubbed himself roughly as he could share her pain on bruises and scars. Izuku looked at his wrist, kissing it as it reminded him of the time at the river. The time where he wanted to quit. The time even now in which he still had thoughts.
But those are thoughts. Thoughts can produce from the synapse of the brain; but as long you don't ponder on it, no idea can be born. Or so those were the words of the school counselor.
Later that day….
"Let's get a smoke," Itsuka told him with her gentle smile. It was near the end of their lunch break and the courtyard where he and the others were residing. She knew that he didn't regularly smoke, but she didn't like smoking alone. The moment she spoke, the heads of Shouto and Tsuyu turned around. They too agreed for a smoke break. It was a blessing that they shared the same gym class and he knew that a pervert of a gym coach wasn't going to take attendance. As the students were going in the direction of their classes, they took another route where it led to the back of the campus. The off-the-grid part of the school was under construction.
They are making renovations. I question that because the ordinance of the dedication of the renovation was over three years ago. Our tax dollars at work.
It was no surprise that they found Minoru sitting on a chair in the old shed. He had his feet kicked up on a dusted balance beam. The school hasn't had gymnastics in years. He turned the radio low enough to not alert the others. What others, Izuku thought to myself.
Izuku and his friends have used the old shed since the middle of their first year. They have yet to get caught. What amazed Izuku was the amount of trust my teachers had on him. If he were to ditch class, he must have a good reason. Yet again, he was seeing a counselor. He was making a decent grade in all of his classes. Yet again, It took no surprise that his teachers were aware that a kid like him didn't come from the best of environments. It was evident from the absentee meetings at parent-teacher conferences. Even so a phone call involving his mother resulted in a violation.
Izuku got a reminder of the piercing pain the moment Minoru hit his back.
"Ouch," he hissed. "Shit, Mineta, you know I am tender there."
His goofy, but lovable smile faded away. "I am sorry, Izuku, I forget."
He shrugged his shoulders. "Relax, Minoru. No pressure, just don't forget." He felt better when Izuku returned his slap to the back. Shouto shook his head as he kneeled on the floor. Tsuyu found a seat and sat next to the balance beam. Itsuka sat next to the door. She stared into the hole where a knob used to be. It was her turn to keep watch. Every now and again, security came through. They have yet to discover them, but they didn't take their chances.
"Have a seat with me, Deku," Itsuka whined. Like a puppet, he went to the puppetmaster. She smiled, glaring with her pearly white smile. A smile that belonged in the pictures. A smile that didn't last too long before punching a photographer for staring at her goods too long.
Shouto was responsible for this week's cigarettes. He got his favorite unfiltered Mavius. Crafty, he lit the cigarette in the same hand he was holding. He took a puff and passed it to Tsuyu. She slid the cigarettes to the floor to Itsuka where she partook. She threw them back to Shouto where he returned them to his pocket.
Minoru's eyes widened when he didn't get his share of the loot. "Hey, hey," he boasted. "Where is my take of the loot?"
The white redhead coughed, wanting to spit, but not in front of them. "I thought you gave up smoking, Mineta."
"I gave them up yesterday. Not today," said Minoru.
"Let him," said Tsuyu. "If the kid wants to die from something, let him have it, ribbit."
Izuku turned his head to see Itsuka bobbing her head to the music, keeping her head on his shoulder. Tsuyu was lighting another cigarette before she looked into her notebook to do her drawing. Minoru enjoyed doing nothing, but loved the fact of their company. Shouto, on the other hand, gave Izuku a look. Todoroki didn't talk much. However, if he gives one a look, he has something serious to say.
"Hey, Midoriya," said Shouto. "I want to apologize for last week with your mother. I didn't know you didn't take company at a certain time."
Izuku shook his head. "No, no, don't apologize. It wasn't your fault." He scoffed for a moment. "My mom enjoys being a bitch. She didn't take her meds that day and her check was delayed. So, what you were seeing was a sober beast."
"No, man" he interjected. "She didn't have to hit you like that. That was wrong and I come from a place where we are used to having ass whoopings." He took a smoke. "The way she hit you. And with a broomstick, too?" He whistled. "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. What can I do for you?"
Izuku wavered his hand in disagreement. The only conviction he had afflicted was being a good friend. What he did for Tsuyu and Itsuka, he would do the same with the others when they acquired his assistance. The piercing back pain was another tab added to the abuse from Mother Dearest. A few nights, Shouto visited his home because he needed help with Precalculus. Since Izuku was good with numbers since he used to help his father with baseball stats when he was younger, he didn't mind helping out Todoroki, his best friend number three.
Shouto and Izuku were in the kitchen when the incident occurred. Prior to the beating, they were listening to Chicago drill music, drinking soda, and took occasional YouTube breaks. Suddenly, the door burst open and in came the woman in black. Her body was stiff. The effects of lack of medication, lack of sleep, and without consumption of alcohol over the last 48 hours. She closed the door, dropping her things from whatever she came from. She went into the living room. At first, they didn't give it any thought. She didn't acknowledge them. So, he felt that there wasn't an issue to worry, or so he thought.
She returned to the living room a few minutes later with a broomstick in her hand. At the time, he took a glance, for he was focusing on Shouto mouthing something. When he turned to see the broomstick coming for him, Izuku turned, hitting his back.
She was silent. Just hitting his back. Maybe five or six times, give or take. Each hit, each grunt came a worse blow, a worse noise. When she was finished, she kicked his side. While Izuku was lying in agony, she looked at Shouto. From the position, she had a knife in her hand.
Todoroki kept his guard, but backed away. Deep down, there was guilt. If he could, he would. But, it was his word against hers if he defended himself to protect Izuku. Shouto has prior engagements with law enforcement and they would take priority over a woman in her own home versus himself.
He gathered his things and left. Izuku didn't come to school for a couple of days. Itsuka checked in on me. Minoru sent some baseball cards. Tsuyu sent him positive texts. Shouto, on the other hand, felt guilty. He didn't do anything. Despite his tough demeanor, he had fear that day. According to his reputation, he never backs away from a challenge. But that day in front of mother hindered him.
He told Shouto that he was no longer worried about that day. He was still sore, but in good spirits. The cracks were healing. The color was slowly returning to his skin. He still had some splinters.
His mother dearest did break the broom into four or five different pieces.
"I feel as though like fuck it. Let's us just ditch this fucking place." Shouto stood up and shook the dust from his creased, starched slacks. "I say we should take whatever cash we can grab and leave this damned city. I mean, fuck, this prefecture."
It was something on how he stood. Prim, proper, ready to preach. It got the attention of the others.
"I say we just go somewhere that people don't know us. Go somewhere to find our plans in life," he said with absoluteness in his voice.
"Where in the hell can we go," asks Tsuyu. "Listen, babe. We are underaged, broke as hell, and neither of us has a car, ribbit."
"I know. But, we can jack our parents' money and just take a bus. I don't know, like Portland or Seattle."
"I love Seattle," said Itsuka. "I remember going there as a child. I have family in Rainier Beach."
"Why those places," asked Minoru. "We can barely leave the town, let alone going thousands of miles away." He placed down his cigarette. He made a quick reminder to not put it on the balance beam. "Who knows us over there?"
"Nobody, that's who," interjected Shouto. "Who would miss us? My father is nowhere to be found and my mother is painting pictures of sunflowers during group therapy." He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. "Toya or Natsuo couldn't give a damn and Fuyumi always looks at the rose-colored glass. You would think there would be an occupancy next in the looney bin with my mother!"
"Don't think negative things about your mother," interjected Itsuka. One of her earbuds was out when hearing that comment. "Your mother couldn't help it. She was a product of an abusive relationship. At least you have a mother, Todoroki."
Shouto turned away from Itsuka. It was no secret about his trademark scar that was a parting gift from his mother. Nevertheless, Itsuka always believed in redemption. She always felt that even in the darkness of the devil, a flicker of light exists in the soul.
Minoru put his finger to his lip. "Todoroki may have something here. Go away and head out east. Find our freedom and live free from the detriments of this fucked up society." He snapped his fingers. "Heck, maybe Okinawa!"
"We can be like Easy Rider, but with four others," said Itsuka.
Tsuyu shook her head. "It seems promisable, but it is such a dream. I can't even think about leaving Satsuki and Samidare behind with my parents, ribbit!"
Shouto heavily sighed. "Shit, you're right. I wouldn't leave Fuyumi either." He cracked his knuckles. "Damn, this is messed up."
Minoru let out a smile. "Dreamers we are, but it doesn't hurt that one day it could change. I mean, my preacher always tells me, "trouble don't last always.""
Is that true, Mineta I can't think of a time in which I ever felt peace unless I have gone to sleep or have passed out. I thought my time at the river was the finalization of my ending troubles. The times I can remember my mother hitting me and abusing me. There were other incidents, but I am yet ready to discuss.
"Time for you to find a new church," interjected Tsuyu with a slight scoff. "Or a new God, ribbit!" She looked at her watch. "Gym class is almost over."
Minoru rushed out of the old shed. It was around that time to see the cheerleaders walking through the pavilion for cheering practice. Shouto and Tsuyu held hands as they exited the shed.
As always, Itsuka and Izuku were the last ones.
Izuku wasn't ready to head back. It was Ectoplasm-sensei's class and he knew it was review week for their midterm.
"Aren't you going to join Todoroki and Asui," asked Itsuka while she was gathering her things.
Izuku nodded in refusing to head back to class. Plus, he was still enjoying his temporary oasis before heading back home this evening. He adjusted himself to the floor. "Just gonna spend time collecting my thoughts before heading back."
Itsuka lightly scoffed at Izuku's demeanor. "You always reside in your thoughts."
"Keeps me at bay," he retorted while crossing his legs.
Itsuka appeared perplexed. It didn't take a genius to know that Izuku had certain reservations. She pushed the door back. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you." This was the Itsuka he knew whenever she wasn't with the others. Blockading her hidden emotions behind the music. Always keeping a calm demeanor to combat her tears.
"It's okay," replied Izuku. She knew that he was lying. She could tell from the position of how he was sitting.
"Take off your shirt. I have some cream for the sores," she told him.
The emerald-haired teen turned away while pulling off his coat and his shirt. He placed it on the balance beam so it wouldn't collect any dust.
He didn't have to see her expressions. Her cracked voice revealed the surrealness of the inflicted pain from his Mother Dearest. Itsuka found a mat for Izuku to lay on his stomach.
"This topical ointment may sting at first," said Itsuka in a warning manner.
He didn't answer as he heard the squirting of the ointment. He wasn't fazed as she positioned her body on top of his. He felt her hips propped onto his butt while she was rubbing the ointment onto her hands. "Just relax for me and allow the ointment to numb some of the pain." Upon contact with her soft hands, the wincing pain shot through his back.
Itsuka told him to relax, silencing him. She guided her hands from the top of his back, careful to not apply any more pressure to the wound. This was the kind of wound she had witnessed to POWs during the Vietnam War. She bit into her lip, cursing the mother that gave him life. "Izuku, if you are not going to see a doctor, then come by my house so I can get my first aid kit."
Izuku didn't answer. His nodding and sighing through his nose confirmed the severity of his wounds. She had gauzes to wrap the wound until it could heal or risk infection. Safely applying the ointment to the wound, she decided to give him a massage.
She felt the heavy breaths through his back as she used her hands to ease any burdens stored in this teenager. It hurt her heart about a boy she dearly cared for to be in this position.
"Thanks!" It melted Itsuka's heart when hearing those words come from his mouth. She could tell his body was getting less tense as he lied his face to the side and allowed his arms to lay to his side.
"When is your mother leaving for this camping trip with one of your many uncles?" Itsuka wasn't being mean when stating the facts of Inko Midoriya. It detested the redhead that could leave with a random guy she met at the drink bar and can be gone for days at a time without leaving Izuku a single meal or a single dollar. Even through this storm, Izuku always defended and loved his mother.
There was a time, Izzy, that she wasn't like this. She was full of life. Happy, prospering. A beautiful woman. I don't know what happened to Mom. Life changed her. Or, maybe I changed her. She was never the same after my father split from her and learned that her mother, my grandmother became catatonic after her latest stroke.
Itsuka can have a hat filled with the notes of excuses he had about his mother. Never once did he call the police or contacted Child Protection Services.
"She is leaving the day after tomorrow," answered Izuku. The pregnant silence indicated that he had to check for certainty.
"Can I come over and spend time with you? You know my father doesn't mind."
"Yeah. Sure you can come."
"Can I cook for you?"
"Please, do. I love it when you cook."
"Can you make your world-famous cinnamon rolls, Deku?!"
"As long as you make it with your milk tea, Izzy!"
She lowered her body to his back. She applied the ointment to his hands, rubbing gently, creating noise as her skin was met with his. Izuku didn't resist while keeping himself vulnerable to Itsuka. Izuku was feeling the hot tears pelting onto his back. She continued rubbing through his fingers tenderly. She stopped when seeing his hands. She could recognize the defensive marks. She closed her eyes as she kissed his hand softly with her lips.
Her warmth was aiding with his cool fingertips.
It was giving her memories of that day at the river.
Izuku! Izuku! Wake up! Wake up!
Don't leave me, Deku! Don't you leave me alone in this world!
Somebody help me!
Somebody help me!
Itsuka pursed her lips when resting his fingers gently on the mat. She was careful as she lowered herself without aiding further injury to his back. She lowered her head where his head was resting.
Her lips were met with his once again.
Later that evening….
Itsuka and Izuku were one of the few left as the bus came to their stop. She took his hand and they got off the bus. He coughed as he began inhaling the fumes of their lovely, dilapidated bus as it departed.
"You can wrap your own gauze," she said when applying saliva in his ear with her finger. "I am your friend, not your nurse."
Izuku lightly scoffed. "That was you that volunteered your services."
She giggled. "I can leave it on the windowsill this evening." She paused when seeing the empty driveway of his home.
"She has gone to work. For how long, I am not sure," said Izuku while holding onto his backpack.
"It is a good thing your room and hers are at the direct opposite," said Itsuka.
"And out of sight. But, remember the routine. Keep it in the dark!"
She nodded. "Are you sure you can't chill for a little while. My brother can watch and distract your mother."
"No need to bother. But, thanks!"
She pouted. As he left, she took his hand. "Izuku."
He turned to her. His face remained absent. She knew this. She knew him too well. She knew he could easily come to her house, but he didn't want to trouble her. Her, or her father, or her siblings. He knew that the Kendou family were good people. A family he really wanted to be a part of.
"I wanted to know do you want katsudon or something Americano," asked Itsuka as she rubbed her feet on the gravel.
Izuku recognized her fake smile. This was not what she wanted to say to him. There was something else. He felt that chill the day she and Izuku were listening to Frank Ocean. The day when they made love for the first time. She wanted something beyond that. Like a pet who seeks comfort from their owner. Or better yet, a mother who seeks comfort from their child. Or a child who seeks comfort from their mother.
"Just like your moves, Battle Fist, surprise me," answered Izuku.
She giggled. "Just making sure." She kissed him on his cheek. "Well, I see you later." She turned. He saw her skirt shake in the process, showing her panties. She walked to her house. He made his way toward his home. If she knew that he could sense something was off, she would have made the guess that he noticed her turning to make another glance at him. He kept walking because he knew what she wanted.
As Izuku pondered while entering his home, she was like a mother who seeks comfort from her child. Despite his love for her, he couldn't forgive himself about his difficulty of returning her love. How can Itsuka love a man that couldn't even love himself?
She, too, has scars. She just wore it better than he could.
To be continued….