The Flap of a Butterfly's Wings

The Purpose of a Friend

    "Where did you get all of those bruises, Deku?" It's been six months since Izuku was declared quirkless again and five months since the bullying has started. Izuku thought that ignoring the words would be easy -it was easy for him last time so why should he be having a harder time now? He remembered that in his last life, he had a lot more difficulty getting over the punches that were thrown at him than the cruel words that people had spit at him. The punches were no big deal, in fact, they distracted him from the whirlwind that was beginning to form in his mind.

    Perhaps it was because he was a lot more optimistic and cheerful last time than he was now. He never believed them when they told him that he was worthless, useless, a waste of space. But now... It was harder. Sure, he had been telling himself how useless he was for awhile now, but when you actually hear it from other people it makes it seem so much more real and true.

    So yes, he was struggling, but he was doing okay and that was the truth. He had his mom and Kacchan to help him get through it even if they didn't know they were. Izuku tried to cheer himself up when the words got to him a little too much by thinking that he had almost mastered his new quirk. All of his senses were always slightly enchanted now so he could always be alert. Izuku still gets shocked by the sheer intensity of it when he chooses to focus his quirk on a single sense at full power, but he was slowly getting used to it. He hardly ever focused solely on his hearing unless he absolutely he had to. The screams he would hear just became too much especially since he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

    He hasn't told anyone about this quirk, not even his mother. He knew that this wasn't normal, and could scare people. This could mean he might be experimented on and Midoriya didn't think he could go through that again.

    "Hey, Nerd?! Are you even listening to me?!" Kacchan and him were at the park when Katsuki noticed some of the bruises that adorned Izuku's arms. Something he had tried so hard to hide.

    "Oh! Sorry Kacchan. I guess I spaced out. What were you saying?" Izuku knew that Katsuki hated the promise that they made half a year ago, and that he was slowly losing his patience. Izuku really wanted to keep him from finding out about the truth behind the bruises, but it was only a matter of time and he knew it.

    "I said where the hell did you get those bruises!"

    Izuku frantically waved his hands through the air and looked anywhere but Katsuki, a bad habit when he was lying. "Oh you know! I was just being my clumsy self. Nothing to worry about!" Izuku internally winced at how obvious the lie was and just hoped that Bakugou would let go.

    Of course, he didn't, "Stop lying, idiot. You're not even good at it... most of the time. And who said I was worried! I'm just wondering..." Izuku saw Kacchan's eyes widen before he spoke (more like yelled) again, "Don't tell me someone is doing this to you?! Just tell me who and I'll beat them to a pulp!"

    "N-no one did this to me I s-swear! It doesn't matter anymore." He tried desperately to make Kacchan forget about this and move onto something else, but he knew that Katsuki wasn't going to let it go no matter how much he wanted him to.

    "Izu why aren't you telling me the truth? Do you not trust me anymore?"

    Izuku gasped at the statement and frantically shook his head, "W-what? No, of course not! Kacchan, I trust you with my life!" Some things were just better left unsaid, that's all.

    "Then why aren't you telling me the truth?" Izuku was now at a lost for words. Bakugou had him backed in to a corner with no way out. He just stood there, refusing to tell the truth because he couldn't risk his friend's reputation over his own selfishness. There's no way. "Tch. Fine, don't talk to me until you tell me the truth." Izuku could only desperately watch as his only friend turned around and walked away from him.