Cigarettes and Smoke - Tododeku A.U

Chapter 11

~Shoto~ 

No matter how much I wanted to rest, I had training the next day. My feet and legs were still sore from so much walking over the past three days, and the few hours I had in the evening to rest did nothing. When I showed up I was expecting the usual intense training, but Izuku shocked me by saying, "We're going to take things easy. Let's start with a refresher course since it's been three days. You've probably forgotten everything." I haven't forgotten anything, but I'm fine with a refresher course. It'll be easy. And it was very easy.

After the refresher course, we started sparring. I noticed that Izuku was moving much slower and stiffer than before. He seemed to be favoring his left side, only hitting or kicking with his right side. I wonder what happened over the past three days?  I thought, landing a punch right to the stomach. "Good." Izuku said, though his voice sounded strained. Is he injured? Well, even if he's injured aim for his left side. He's always told you to target your opponent's weak spots, right? When I saw an opening, I swung my leg out, hitting his left side. His eyes widened and he bent over slightly, holding his hand to his side. "That- You've been listening to my advice, haven't you? You noticed me favoring my left and attacked it."

I was about to answer, but I noticed blood blooming across his white shirt. "You're bleeding." I pointed out. "Do you need medical attention?" Izuku was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "I'll grab the first aid kit. You'll need it." He didn't protest, so I ran over to cabinet on the wall, grabbing the kit before running back to him. "Take your shirt off."

Izuku raised an eyebrow at me and smirked. "You want me to undress?" he asked. "At least take me on a date first." I rolled my eyes at him, which just made his smirk wider. He pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it onto the ground. There was already a bandage wrapped around his torso, the blood soaking through the left side. "A meeting went bad the other day and I ended up getting stabbed. The knife didn't go in far, but I still needed stitches. I probably just tore them."

"Then why are you sparring with me?" I asked, carefully unwrapping the bandages, "Why not have one of your people spar with me and you watch?" Under the bandage was another, this one was square and taped around the edges. I tried to be as gentle as possible as I pulled it away, but it still stuck to the wound.

"It's just a little cut, I'm fine." Izuku snapped. Wow, I thought when I looked at the wound. It was covered in blood, so I took an antiseptic wipe and cleaned it off. With all that blood out of the way, I saw that the wound was small, with only four stitches, two of which had torn. I redressed the wound as best I could, wrapping the bandage tight around his torso. "What are you, my nurse?" he asked, his tone snarky. I didn't reply since I wasn't in the mood to argue.

I had been so focused on his wound that I hadn't actually looked at him. He was well built, which I expected, but what surprised me were the scars that littered his torso. My eyes traveled down his body, from his chest to the waistband of his pants. "Like what you see?" he jeered. I couldn't stop the blush that spread across my face, which only made Izuku laugh. "I think you do."

"I was looking at your scars." I said hastily, closing up the kit and returning it to the wall. "You have a lot of them." Izuku held his shirt, frowning at the bloodstain.

"Yeah I do." he muttered, still frowning at his shirt. He was silent for a moment before asking absentmindedly, "Can I just not wear my shirt? I don't like wearing things that have blood on them."

"Uh, sure." I said, "Whatever you're comfortable with." Izuku cast the soiled shirt aside and stepped back onto the mat. "How does the bandage feel?"

"It's tight, but that's good. You did a pretty good job. Have you done it before?" Izuku asked. Only a thousand times.

Memories of my childhood flooded back, overwhelming me. I didn't even realize that I had dropped to the ground until Izuku was crouched by my side. "Shoto!" he said sharply, shaking me slightly. "What happen- Are you crying?" Am I? I brought my hand to my right eye, feeling the wetness of tears. I am. "Why are you crying?" Why am I crying? Is it because, for a moment, I was a little kid again?

"I-It's nothing." I said, wiping the tears from my face, "Just some bad memories. And to answer your question, I have wrapped people in bandages before. Specifically myself. And I will not tell you why." Izuku held his hands up in surrender, then placed one on my back. I shoved his hand off and stood up. "Let's just continue on with training." 

My mood had turned sour quickly and stayed sour for the rest of the day. I didn't even bother responding to Izuku's jeers, and he soon stopped. He cut training short by a few hours, telling me to go home and come back with a better attitude. "Fine by me."  I had snapped and stormed out of the gym. 

That night, my dreams were filled with one person: My father.