●~Not All There Anymore~● |BEING REWRITTEN|

|8| Didn't Expect You To Love Me Anyways

Izuku was currently in cemetery, sitting in front of a simple but elegant gravestone. The carved rock read Inko Midoriya, age 38. June 22, 1992- November 12, 2032. Those were the only words on it, just simple bits of information. It was currently the middle of the night, a fat half moon resting behind dark black clouds, sending small beams of light through proud willow trees. It was a nice cemetery, not creepy or dead like other ones, but rather calm and well kept. Izuku hadn't bothered to pay a dime, having carved the words onto the grave the best he could.

Katsuki Bakugou stood off to the side, looking at Izuku's stoic expression with concern. Izuku had slowly become closed off, never giving away his emotions and simply holding small talk. At least, with everyone except Katsuki. The male had the ability to see through any mask Izuku tried to put on, so he didn't try. Izuku told him everything, just like he promised, never watering it down. It was refreshing, he thought, to not have to lie and say he was perfectly fine. In turn, Katsuki told him everything about his own feelings, and made him feel better with jokes or a light sparring match.

"Hey, Izuku." Katsuki walked over to the boy on the ground and crouched down. The boy in question didn't bat an eye, keeping his gaze focused on the rock in front of him. There was practically zero emotion in his sewer green eyes, with the exception of regret. "You... you do know it's okay to cry about this, right? You're worrying me. I- I don't need you going insane or hurting yourself again, so please, talk to me."

Ah yes. After Katsuki had seen some of the recent scars on Izuku's wrist and chest, he had demanded to know where they came from. Izuku had told him about the gangster, and Katsuki immediately wanted to kill the criminal. That want quickly evaporated when he found out about the voices that rested in Izuku's head. The ones that whispered that he should laugh instead of cry. Saying he should cut instead of talk. Screaming that he was worth nothing, and everything was his fault. After a talk with Katsuki, Izuku was horrified to find that he was showing signs of going insane and was already slightly demented. So Katsuki did everything he could to prevent Izuku from actually going insane for real.

"Grandmother doesn't like it when I cry. She says it makes me weak. I'm not weak." Izuku mumbled bitterly, still not making eye contact. He just continued to stare at the gravestone, regret and self blame swirling in his bleak eyes. Katsuki grabbed Izuku and pulled him into a hug, forcing the smaller's fave into his chest, away from the gravestone, away from the world.

"She's wrong. Crying doesn't make you weak, and you aren't. You're impossibly strong, and feeling sad over this won't change that. It's okay to let it all out, Izuku. If you bottle it up, those voices are going to come back. They're going to try and make you hurt yourself." Katsuki pulled away and held Izuku by his shoulders, staring into his eyes. The boy in question gained a small spark as his chin trembled.

"Kacchan... I can't. I can't cry anymore. The tears don't come, no matter how much I want them to. Do I just not care anymore? I want to care, so how come I don't?" Izuku stared up at Katsuki, looking for answers. Bakugou shook his head and carded his hand through Izuku's newly trimmed hair. Izuku was definitely a lot less messy now that he had a proper shower. One of the only perks, he supposed.

"No, Izuku. You do care, it's just that sometimes.... when you stop showing a certain emotion for a long time, it's hard to do it again. Like crying. Or if you act the same for a long time, it's hard to stop acting the same way. You just need some time, kay?" Izuku nodded, shuffling up to Katsuki and laying against his side, a green head on the other male's shoulder. Katsuki wrapped his head around the boy's shoukder as they sat there, in complete silence for about an hour. Izuku continued to stare at the gravestone.