Weak [BNHA Fanfiction]

Chapter 12

@ the like five people actually reading this shit

you're the bomb

especially you, andrew. you're awesome.

Charlie dropped her bag into her room and changed into her workout clothes. She had abandoned her usual routine over the weekend but it if she continued this way it would be even harder to get back into the habit of exercising every day.

Her ponytail was beginning to fall out when she took a sort break in the park to take a sip from the water fountain. She checked her phone to find a text from Ojiro. They had exchanged phone numbers after her conversation with Aizawa, promising that they'd figure out a schedule over text that night.

Mashirao Ojiro: Hello, Charlotte. This is Ojiro. I was just wondering if Tuesdays and Thursdays were alright. I noticed you are often at school early anyways so perhaps meeting in the morning would be easiest.

Charlotte Wright: sounds good (: we can meet an hour or so before school and ill help you with english whenever we have homework or a test or whatever. that can be in the afternoons i guess.

Charlotte Wright: also you can call me charlie if you'd like

Mashirao Ojiro: Alright, Charlie it is :)

Charlie couldn't stop herself from flushing as she shoved her phone back into her pockets and continued on her run.

When she finally got to Nemuri's apartment that day she found the woman standing in front of the stove in the kitchen. "Hey, you're making dinner today?"

"Yep!" She chirped, turning to reveal a pot of instant noodles. "Just ramen–something simple."

Charlie nodded, pulling out a textbook and checking the assigned questions before setting the table for two and sitting down just as Nemuri placed the steaming pot of ramen down for the to share from.

"How was school?"

"Not bad. I asked Aizawa to find me someone who could teach me hand to hand combat and he paired me up with Ojiro. We're going to meet up before school twice a week so he can teach martial arts and I'm going to help him with his English homework." She took a moment to blow on her noodles and take a bite. "What about you?"

"Not bad," Nemuri answered simply before putting her chopsticks back down on the table. "So, want to tell me why you picked up your bad habit again?"

Charlie felt her gut twist as a wave of anxiety hit her, making her feel dizzy and numb. Her hands went cold as she kept her face impassive, finishing her food and swallowing. "What do you mean?"

"Don't lie to me." There was a pleading undertone to Nemuri's voice that tugged Charlie's brows into a frown. "I noticed dried blood on the sleeves of your costume while I was washing it this weekend. So unless you somehow got injured in battle without ripping your sleeves then..."

Charlie didn't want to shut down. She didn't want to shut her closest friend out, but she did anyways. "Sorry." She got to her feet suddenly, chopsticks clattering onto the table.

"Charlie." Nemuri stood up with her. "Charlie!" She grabbed her wrist. Charlie didn't flinch in pain but Nemuri pulled her hand back as if she had been burned nonetheless. "Sorry, I..." Her hand landed on Charlie's shoulder, rubbing up and down as she chewed on her lip.

Charlie felt tears prick her eyes as Nemuri pulled her into a hug.

"I'm just worried about you. Do you want me to take you to see Linda again? Or should I make an appointment with Hound Dog?" Nemuri whispered, pressing her nose into Charlie's head as the teen took a shuddering breath.

"No. Ah, no." Charlie pushed away gently, swiping at her eyes. "It was just one small slip up. Had a bad day and a panic attack and yeah."

"Alright," Nemuri cooed, cupping Charlie's face and giving her a swift kiss on the forehead. "Just make sure they don't get infected or anything. And please, please, tell me about what's bothering you next time instead of taking your stress out on yourself. And there is no shame in asking for help when you need it. However," Nemuri's blue eyes became stern, "I will be setting up an appointment with Hound Dog for you, just to talk some things out–it'll be good if our school guidance counsellor at least knows a bit about this. And if you don't want to talk to me I can always call Linda. There's nothing wrong with checking in with your old therapist every once in a while."

Charlie nodded. Mumbling something about homework, she took her things and headed to the office. She left the rest of her food untouched and Nemuri without an appetite.

The next day, a Tuesday, Charlie woke up an hour earlier than usual and was out the door rather quickly. She wore a pair of workout clothes rather than her uniform, leaving her uniform in her backpack to change into later.

The sun was just starting to rise above the buildings and trees when Charlie arrived at UA. She was almost always early to plans she made and today she had arrived a little more than 15 minutes before their agreed upon time.

Charlotte Wright: lets meet on training ground c

She briefly considered pulling out her books and reviewing her notes but instead chose to lay on the grass beside the training grounds.

Charlie was in a foul mood. She wasn't quite sure why, but she was. Maybe it was the conversation she had with Nemuri the night before.

Foul wasn't the right word for it. There was an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach and a certain unease in her throat. She felt restless and numb and through all the fog in her head there was one thing that stood out–a craving.

A craving for lines and dots and the colour red.

She thoughtlessly reached into her bag and pulled out her pencil case, rummaging through it for her scissors before realizing she no longer carried anything sharp with her. Maybe I could go to the teachers lounge and just ask to borrow a pair of scissors. They wouldn't suspect anything, right? But I doubt many teachers will be around this early in the morning. Should I use–

"Hey, I got your text! What are you looking for?"

Charlie jolted out of her thoughts and stared at Ojiro for a couple moments before finding her voice. "Ah, uh, nothing."

Ojiro tilted his head and frowned at her expression but didn't press. Like her, he was dressed in workout clothes consisting of a loose t-shirt and sweats. "It's a bit early, but do you want to get started?"

Charlie nodded and scrambled to her feet, shoving her pencil case back into her backpack and following him onto the training ground.

"I've seen in gym class that you're pretty physically fit, so I guess it's just a matter of teaching you the techniques rather than getting you in shape, huh? Have you ever learned any martial arts?"

Charlie shook her head.

Ojiro rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright so I use my tail a lot in combat so I can only teach you so much, but we'll start with the basics... Like how to form a proper fist." He curled his fingers in, demonstrating. "You want your fist to be tight, but not too tense. Keep your thumb wrapped the front of your fingers. If you punch with your thumb inside your fist or sticking out, you could break it." He grabbed Charlie's hand and molded it into what he wanted before nodded contently. "Now, let me show you how to punch."

They spent the next hour going over very basic techniques. Charlie could feel the boredom on the outskirts of her mind but stayed focused and attentive as Ojiro tried his best to teach her stances and punches. He encouraged her to use her hips in her punches, which confused her to no end. It didn't help that she was finding Ojiro to be a rather touchy person. Not in a way that was strange or creepy–it was natural and without hesitation, just a quick correction of her hip or shoulder positions. She didn't hate it.

At the end of the hour, Ojiro ruffled her hair and gave her a one armed hug before going off to change into his uniform. Charlie also went to the bathroom, finding that her muscles were actually a bit sore and her mind was much clearer than it had been before.

She was looking forward to Thursday.