𝙱𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚠𝚗 - 𝚃. 𝚃𝚘𝚢𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚜𝚞 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

Chapter Six

Wednesday.

It was only fucking Wednesday and yet Izumiya felt that surely enough time had passed to have torn off every page of the ridiculous Mickey Mouse calendar that Itsuo had hung above her bed the day she moved in. As someone who hardly ever had a home to speak of for years, some nights she felt like a caged bird, and even on nights like tonight where she was seated on the roof of their building, Ivy still felt as if her wings had been clipped.

Sure, she could go out wherever she wanted – Itsuo had never told her she couldn't, and if he did then she would have likely refused his offer – but she knew the temptation would be there. Izumiya knew that if she were to wander Esuha streets at night she would end up throwing up a piece or a simple tag, yearning to add something permanent to such a temporary world, something that proved she had lived in this world at all.

Tightening her grip on her black fine tip marker, Izumiya tried to focus on the strip of real estate she was drawing despite it having practically become muscle memory at this point. She was frustrated in so many ways but she couldn't even begin to comprehend what those ways were because they were all so jumbled together in her mind and hoped that maybe her new routine of drawing out pieces she'd have liked to paint on the large metal shutter pulled down to cover the door to the karaoke bar across the street would help her process whatever the fuck it was that was upsetting her today.

Crisp wind licked at her skin, tousling her unruly locks and threatening to bend the corners of the last page in her sketchbook. Damning herself for continuously putting off replacing the set of hair ties she'd worked her way through, Izumiya ran a hand through her chocolate tresses to try and keep them out of her face while she worked. After finishing the outline of the buildings, she tapped the cap of her marker against the corner of the page and stared at the blank slate she desperately wanted to paint.

Following what felt like a goddamn eternity of creative block, Izumiya set down her art supplies and stood up to stretch her legs, thinking maybe if she moved around, her mind would also move with her body. Of course, that was just wishful thinking and before long she let out a groan of frustration and laid down instead, choosing to stare up at the night sky.

Though her frustrated groan wasn't particularly loud, to a trained ear on a relatively quiet night, it was enough to gain attention. Toyomitsu, who had recently included Itsuo's block on his usual route, had just turned the corner onto their street and hearing the sound, his eyes darted up to the roof where he saw the shadow of a moving figure that suddenly disappeared. The hero's face paled as he quickly surveyed his surroundings, realizing which building this threat was occupying – Itsuo's apartment above the gym.

With bounding steps, Toyomitsu checked the perimeter before finding the fire escape and climbing up cautiously as it bent with his weight. The sound of his shoes tapping against each bar and his hands sliding up the handles were warning enough to Izumiya that someone was approaching, but she trusted her instincts, and right now they didn't seem bothered. Frankly, she was too busy trying to figure out why she was feeling so out of sorts to care. If she was wrong, then so be it.

Toyomitsu scratched his cheek as he stood on the roof staring at someone splayed out like a starfish, a hood pulled over their eyes. He cleared his throat to alert the stranger to his presence, but when they didn't bother to move, his confusion grew into concern. "Are you okay? Do you need medical attention?"

A smile flickered across Izumiya's face at the sound of Toyomitsu's voice – of course, it'd be him; he did mention the other day how he'd been changing up his route to include this area.

"No doctor necessary, Mitsy," lifted up her arm and gave a small wave. "Just contemplating the enigma that is my fucked up brain."

Toyomitsu let out a long breath, relieved that at least it was Izumiya up here and not some thug, although now he had new worries beginning to plague his mind. Why was she up on the roof? And so late at night? Why had she been walking around? Was she thinking about doing something drastic? Was she safe? "Somethin' goin' on, 'Miya? Are you sure you don't need to see a doctor? I know a great counsellor an-"