Kumo

Chapter 12

Guilt was a strange feeling. It was nerve-wracking. It was ugly. It was. . . annoying as well.

Logically, Izuku knew he did the best he could to protect everyone during the USJ event. The students got out with only minimal bruising, if they got any at all. The facility stayed standing. No teachers were hurt.

Well. Not all of them.

Saying Izuku was surprised to see Aizawa walking through the front door covered in bandages was an understatement. From what Yamada had told him, Aizawa could have lost his sight if the fight went on any longer than it did. And if that didn't send guilt shooting through Izuku's veins.

Aizawa shouldn't have gotten anywhere near that point.

Izuku internally cursed at himself. He should have done what detective Tsukauchi wondered, and contacted the police. Looking back on it, they probably would have believed him as Kumo. He could have spared a few minutes of sleep, and police could have gotten to U.A. or at least told them to cancel the trip.

If he hadn't been so stupid none of it wouldn't have happened. Kids wouldn't have nearly died or even been exposed to the cruel realities of the world, Aizawa wouldn't have been injured.

Speaking of Aizawa, even though he was practically a walking mummy at this point, it seemed like he could pinpoint Izuku's location in the house at any given time. Even if Izuku walked as quietly as he could with fuzzy socks, the man's head would spin around the moment he entered the room. It was a reflex from his patrol, and it wouldn't be so unnerving if it wasn't for one thing.

Aizawa.

Wouldn't.

Stop.

Staring .

Sometimes he'd stare for a few seconds before going back to whatever he was doing before. Sometimes it was a few minutes. Sometimes he wouldn't stop until Izuku had enough and left the room.

The boy wasn't quite sure what the older man's problem was. Yamada didn't seem to have the same reaction. Maybe Aizawa was just lost in thought and Izuku just happened to be in the way.

No, that wasn't it. He caught Aizawa's head turning slightly whenever Izuku moved.

Izuku was currently pacing his room. He tossed and turned around every possible reason for Aizawa's weird behavior and came up with nothing. Unless.

He turned his attention towards his desk. It stood empty except his recently refilled shooters and recently repaired mask. Mei really worked fast.

Izuku paused his pacing, eyes blowing wide into saucers. Wait.

The mask. The one that had been repaired. The one that broke during the attack. Izuku raced over to it and picked it up, examining it thoroughly.

Of course. No wonder Aizawa hadn't straight up approached Izuku about it. He probably thought he had been imagining things due to the severe trauma. Shit. Either way, that wasn't good. Aizawa heard his voice whether he knew it or not and that spilled trouble everywhere.

As much as he wanted to, Izuku couldn't risk changing the sound of the voice that came from his mask when it was on. Not only would that overwork Mei, but Aizawa would definitely suspect something when he returned to his patrols.

Speaking of which, Izuku should head out on his own. It was getting late, everyone was asleep, and he had to get his mind off of the explosion it just had.

He quickly threw on his gear, not really caring if it was straight or backwards or whatever. He just needed to get out.

He slipped out of his open window and took off down the street. He wanted to spend as much time as possible patrolling now. Not just because Aizawa was out of commission, but ever since the USJ incident had been publicized (leaving out the names of students and injured hero, thankfully), villains and petty criminals have started popping up more.