I'm updating twice today for no reason. I just want to. Also, in regards to Thirteen in chapter 25, I've changed the pronouns used to they/them because I've had conflicting gender identities. In the manga male pronouns are used on their character introduction page, then I searched it up and the wiki said they were female then I saw an article that said they were androgynous so, yeah. I'm just gonna use they/them pronouns. Without further ado, chapter 27.
I tossed and turned all night, trying in vain to catch even a tiny bit of rest. My attempts proved fruitless when golden sunlight shone through a crack in my curtains and alerted me to the fact that morning had come. I didn't move from my position sprawled across my blankets as the sun climbed higher and higher into the sky. My mind was full of swirling images of Hisashi and my dad's crippled and bloody body. I could have helped him. Maybe I could have pushed that creature off of him and prevented his body from sustaining so much damage. If only I had been brave enough to stand up to Hisashi. I could have gotten to my dad faster. I could have stopped him from escaping. I could have done more. But I was pathetic and couldn't do anything to help the people I loved the most. My classmates weren't injured too bad, but the guilt I felt when I saw Tsuyu with blood flowing from a cut across her brow. Or when I saw Ojiro's tail with burns on it. I even felt guilty when I saw paramedics lifting Thirteen onto a stretcher, their entire back was ripped apart. Even though they were a pro hero, I still felt as if I was the one who failed to protect them. The sense of guilt that I felt knowing I couldn't protect them was pointless, I was only 15, I had only been in the hero course for a short amount of time, nether the less, I was guilt-ridden.
"Izu? Buddy?" A soft voice whispered as my bedroom door slowly creaked open. I raised my feline head, for I had changed into a cat to try and calm myself, and looked through the gloom of my bedroom to see Kayama's head poking into my room. "You have the next three days off of school in light of recent events. Would you like to go and see your dad? He's been asking for you since last night." Auntie Nemuri spoke in a soft voice that made me feel like she thought I was fragile. I thought I didn't deserve to be treated with such care. I couldn't save my dad from getting injured. Everyone who I loved always ended up in peril. I meowed as I nodded my head. I wanted to apologise to my dad for letting him get hurt. Nemuri walked over to my bed and scooped me up into her arms, clearly realising I had no intention of transforming into my human form. I didn't deserve to be on level ground with everyone else.
"We're nearly there Izu. Yamada is with Shota, he's not as badly injured as you might think. I'm sure you know that head wounds can look worse than they actually are. Plus, the doctors said that his arms will heal fine." Auntie Nemuri reassured me as we wandered through pristine white corridors before we came to a stop before a sliding white door with the words 'Aizawa, Shota' on a plaque. Nemuri yanked the door open without hesitation and stepped into the room. I felt tears bead in my small eyes at the sight of my mummified father laid on a hospital bed. I launched myself out of Kayama's arms and landed nimbly on my dad's bed. I meowed sorrowfully as I gently nuzzled Shota's head with my own. I heard my dad chuckle softly, though it was muffled by the layers of bandages wrapped around his head. I didn't understand how he could laugh so freely, I had failed to protect my family once again. I was useless. "Hey Izu, I can tell your beating yourself up," Shota whispered softly, "You couldn't have done anything. You stood up to Hisashi and defended yourself against him, that's all I could have asked from you. I'm the pro hero. I should be able to protect myself.". I listened to my dad speak, his words soothed me ever so slightly, but I still felt awful for not being able to get to him.
I was so lost in thought that I didn't realise that Papa and Auntie Nemuri had left the room to give us privacy. "Izuku, change back into a human for me please." Dad said, his tone left no room for argument. Reluctantly, I shifted into my human form and stood by my Dad's bedside, my eyes were filled with tears.
*Shota's POV*
I watched as my son's eyes filled with tears. I couldn't even begin to imagine the sheer amount of guilt he probably felt seeing me bedridden and injured. I watched as the tears which had been building up in his eyes traced lines down his cheeks as he began to sob into my blanket. He muttered non-stop about it being his fault and that he was too weak to save her. It was clear to me that Izuku's fight with Hisashi at the USJ had refreshed his memories of his mother's death. I wanted to stroke my hand through his hair in the way I knew always soothed him, but unfortunately, my arms had been shattered. Since I couldn't actually touch him, I hummed a tune which used to calm Izuku from his nightmares when he was younger. It took a moment for him to notice over the sounds of his own sobs, but once Izuku heard me humming lowly his sobs turned to the occasional sniffle. He looked up at me with wide eyes, he seemed to have forgotten about the little tune. "Y-y-your still not v-very good at s-s-singing." He chuckled through his sniffles. I smiled, not that he could see it, and made a noise of agreement. I was glad that I had managed to calm him down, I hated seeing my son in such a condition.
We sat in silence for a while, Izuku's was clearly mulling over his thought and I just didn't have the energy to talk. The silence was finally broken when Izuku spoke up hesitantly, "Dad? Something weird happened when I was fighting Hisashi. I got angry and stomped on the floor but loads of the sand grains turned into snakes. Then Hisashi threw a knife at me and I caught it but it transformed into a roll of bandages. I think it did that because I cut my hand. Don't look so worried, all my injuries have been healed. Anyway, is it possible that my quirk evolved?" Izuku, like he usually did when he got nervous, spoke at a rapid speed which made it hard to keep up with what he was saying. But after years of having to understand his ramblings, I just about managed to decipher what Izuku was trying to say. I paused to think about what he was asking. Of course, it was a possibility, it was rare but there were recorded instances where somebody's quirk suddenly gets more powerful or gains extra abilities. "Its... possible for quirks to do that. I'll speak to Nezu, he knows a lot more about quirk theory than me. Seeing as this has happened, be more careful with your quirk. Maybe see if you can do it again at home, just don't damage anything too much." I instructed I was sure to add emphasis on not damaging anything. Izuku destroyed things very easily and I didn't want to go home and find my house practically falling apart. I saw Izu nod his head through the tiny slits in the bandages for my eyes. We spoke some more until a nurse came in and told us visiting hours were over. It didn't seem like Izuku wanted to leave, he cried silently as he left, I think some of his guilt was still weighing heavy on his chest. I made Hizashi swear to keep my son safe before I let him take Izu home. I guess you could say seeing Izuku's biological dad had made me more protective, but I had a good reason.
That night, I found it hard to sleep. I had too much energy pent up in me. I thrived at night. I wanted to be swinging around the city, stopping crimes and kicking ass. My mind wandered to The Crawler and his friends. I had told them to stop multiple times but it didn't look like they were going to. Then my mind bounced to Izuku's quirk evolving. I knew that Izuku would use his quirk responsibly, but I truly wondered what the extent of his quirk was.
More of a filler chapter but I feel like it's best to get the filler out of the way so that next week we can get to the good stuff! I'm reading quite a few books by lyzard_fan_fics and they are all amazing. Especially '5,000 Miles From You'. It's a kiribakudeku book but has really good fucking angst. I love angst and the angst in that book is just *chef kisses* perfect. I suggest you read it, but I will warn you that a very beloved character is not the nicest in the book. I don't want to spoil anything to do with the book so I'll just leave it at that. Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are.