Before my heart gives out (My hero academia)

Dangerous things

The curtains add an orange glow to the morning light, a perfect sunrise goes unseen by the teen still curled up on his futon. In the soft golden hue of a new day, Izuku takes a moment to shed the last remnants of sleep from his body. His mind replaying hazy fragments of dreams he can't get himself to remember.

The darkness persists even through his slumber, yet on rare occasions, his mind conjures up images of a time long past. A time of color and light. It's almost cruel, waking up from those dreams.

He takes in the silence around him, relishing for a moment in the slow, rhythmic flow of the world surrounding him. He feels his heart beat at the same slow pace, reminding him that he was in fact, alive and breathing.

He wonders what woke him up, he doesn't have to focus his senses before the answer is presented to him.

It comes in the form of a loud crunching sound coming from the space behind him.

"Finally, you're awake." A voice drawls out, barely concealed annoyance in his tone. Dimly Izuku registers the smell of salty chips. "They told me to let you sleep because you were sick, but I was getting bored so..." Another crunching sound follows his words almost mockingly.

His sleep-addled mind takes a moment to take in his surroundings, however, his senses stretch enough to make out the vague outline of a small body.

"Uh," Is the very articulate response he, in turn, musters.

"Pathetic." The kid practically snarls as he gets up from his crouched position. Crushing the bag of chips in his hand, he tosses it to Izuku's left, as if emphasizing his opinion on the vigilante. "Get dressed or whatever, they're all outside. I'm supposed to lead you there."

What's up with this kid?

"Who are you?" He asks instead, his curiosity winning over the slight pang he feels at the boy's harsh tone.

"None of your-"

"Kota!" A female voice interrupts him before he gets to finish his sentence. Her presence is slightly familiar. Although he can't be quite sure yet, he thinks it's Ragdoll. "Why don't you go play outside while I show Midoriya around?" The boy, Kota, his mind supplies, only scuffs loudly at that, running off before the cat-themed hero can admonish his behavior. He can feel the moment her gaze switches from the kid to his own. He senses the moment her whole body seems to freeze, eyes boring into him with an intensity he can't quite decipher.

A sharp intake of breath makes her chest expand and rise before she seems to relax a moment later, as if willing her body to go back to its previous unconcerned state. It leaves him feeling strangely unsettled and a little bit confused.

"I'm sorry about him, he's always been prickly around new people, and the fact that you came with the hero course students doesn't help." She says not unkindly, her voice apologetic. No indication of the surprise and shock he felt oozing out of her just a few seconds ago.

"Is he your-"He begins, but gets interrupted.

"No," She says, already knowing what he was going to ask. "He's actually Mandalay's nephew. His parents were both heroes, they were killed in the line of duty and she's been looking after him ever since."

"Oh." and he understood now, he really did, the anger that seemed to pool out of that little boy in waves. "I'm sorry to hear that."

The rescue hero only hums at that, letting the silence settles between them as Izuku gathers his stuff to get dressed.

A quick trip to the locker room later, he finds her waiting for him, one arm held out to lead him outside.

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