You Run and Run to Catch Up with the Sun(but it's sinking)

two

Until now.

The change is distinct. It's right there, plain and clear as day. Midoriya Izuku isn't the person he used to be, that much is clear. But what Shouta can't figure out is the why?

Why is Midoriya flinching at Bakugou's sudden movement in his chair during class? Why is Midoriya suddenly so tense around Shouta? He always did seem a bit closed off to him, but he had thought they were building a good relationship. It took a couple of weeks for the kid to come around, but when he did, he would ask Shouta for help with a hypothetical scenario or talk to him about quirks. It was odd— that out of all people, he chose Shouta to  be deemed as his therapist and parental figure. but Shouta wasn't just going to deny a kid who obviously needed someone to talk to.

He found himself getting used to the routine of Midoriya's odd questions, like "hey, Mr. Aizawa, what would happen if a villain had a quirk that created any type of dog he wanted and the hero on scene had a fear of dogs?". Which, okay, very specific question, but Shouta answered it nonetheless("well then that hero would have to get over that fear in order to save the civilians around them"). He found himself getting used to the tears that the Midoriya's brought along with them, and the mumblings of his anxiety-prone student.

But a week ago, that all stopped. Midoriya keeps to himself now, he never raises his hand in class, and he doesn't ever dare to mumble. He sits rigid in his chair, eyes darting towards the clock, like he couldn't wait to get the hell out of there. And when the bell rings, signaling the end of the day, he runs out of the room, ignoring all of his friends and Shouta.

Another thing is some... physical changes. The boy seems more petite than before, not as built. It's drastic, especially in such a short amount of time and Shouta fears an eating disorder may be coming into play. He seems younger, too, cheeks more filled with baby fat and jawline no longer as prominent.

But the most concerning thing is that he stopped using his quirk. A major red flag amongst all the smaller ones. Shouta first noticed when the class had done a training exercise where they had to capture the flag.

Midoriya is usually good at team work. He used to be a little rocky at first, which Shouta racks up to not having many friends when he was younger and deep rooted insecurity. But after attending UA for months, his teamwork was efficient and communicative. That's why Shouta was surprised when Midoriya clammed up when his team asked for a plan. Class 1A knows Midoriya as a great analyst and a good leader, so they always get his opinion— in fact, they go to him first, asking what idea he has up his sleeve. But Midoriya had seemed so shocked, like he couldn't believe they asked for his input.

Red flag number one.

He stuttered, saying he didn't have one.

The black-haired man had never been more glad that he can read lips because otherwise he wouldn't have been able to know the "and even if I did, it wouldn't be good" that the problem child had muttered under his breath.

Red flag number two.

After that, Midoriya's team made a plan without him, though the exclusion wasn't purposeful. The green-haired student strayed behind his classmates, as if scared to get involved. He almost looked like he wanted to say something, to put in his thoughts, but decided against it.

Red flag number three.

And then when the plan went through, Midoriya completely... failed. It was harsh, but it was the truth. Midoriya was supposed to take the other teams flag while Todoroki and Uraraka took care of Oijrou and Kaminari who guarded the flag. But then Bakugou showed up, and it was like the first day they did the villain vs. hero exercise all over again. Except this time, Midoriya refused to use his quirk and barely dodged a more calmed down explosion from Bakugou, who wasn't even acting like he had to kill Midoriya. Ever since their fight at ground beta, the ash-blond had started treating the green-haired boy with respect, as an equal, and Aizawa could tell they were mending their friendship.