Cigarettes and Smoke - Tododeku A.U

Chapter 12

~Shoto~ 

When I woke up in the morning I was covered in sweat. My bedsheets were tangled around me and my pillows were on the floor. I guess I had some bad nightmares, I thought, And they're always him. I grabbed my phone, going through my normal morning routine of checking for text messages. There were no texts or calls, as per usual. I don't even know why I check. It's not like I have friends.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, standing slowly. My legs shook slightly but supported my weight. It's been a while since I've had a restless night filled with nightmares of father, and to top it off I was still exhausted from training. I didn't even bother with a shower, fearing that I might fall and not be able to get up. Who would I even call? Izuku? He'd probably laugh at me and tell me it's my problem.

Other than not taking a shower, I went through everything else in my routine before leaving for training. As usual, the car ride was completely silent, and the driver said nothing after I thanked him. Everything seemed normal until I entered the gym. Izuku was there, as usual, but so was Tenya. And instead of Izuku being in training clothes, Iida was. 

"Good to see you again, Shoto!" Tenya said brightly, waving to me. I waved back to him, looking over at Izuku."I'll be helping train you since Izuku is hurt." He followed my advice, huh? I can't believe it. 

"Oh, don't look so shocked." Izuku snapped, crossing his arms. "My doctor told me if I rip those stitches again, she won't fix them. I want to be the one, but the old hag is stubborn. So, I thought about it and the only person I trust to do a good job is Tenya."

Unable to help myself, I started to laugh. Iida looked confused and Izuku just looked annoyed. "What are you laughing at?" Tenya asked, genuinely confused. 

I calmed my laughter enough to say, "He was always Mr. 'I'm the only one that can teach you', and now he's letting someone else." and continued to laugh. I'm not sure why I was laughing so hard, but I know I haven't laughed like this ever.  Izuku grunted in annoyance, glaring at me. 

"Shut up." he growled. "It's not that funny." When I wouldn't stop, he punched my in the gut, right where I had a healing bruise. All the air was pushed from my lungs, and I doubled over in pain. "I think I liked you better when you were in a bad mood. This mood is annoying me." I stood up straight as Izuku turned to Tenya. "I need a smoke, so you start. I trust you know what to do." Stopping just outside the door, Izuku pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his jacket pocket, placing it between his lips and lighting it. He took a long drag on it, coughing slightly. It must have hurt to cough since he winced and placed a hand on his left side.

"Come on, let's start." Tenya said, gently pulling me to the mat. "He'll be even angrier if we just stand here watching him." I nodded in agreement, ignoring the pain from where Izuku punched me. 

For the first hour of training, it was just Tenya and me as Izuku was still smoking outside. You'll end up with lung cancer if you keep smoking like that, I thought when I glanced at him, but I prefer Tenya teaching me, so you can stay out as long as you need. Tenya was a much nicer teacher, gently correcting me instead of Izuku's harsh words and tone. He didn't hit me as hard, either. 

When Izuku finally came back in, he seemed to be in a better mood. He watched us very closely but didn't do much correcting. Either we were doing things right, or he just didn't feel like correcting us. Without his constant barking of orders, I was able to focus more. Plus, I wasn't in pain by the end of training.

~~~

Tenya ended up training me for the next six days, which also marked the end of two weeks, making the seventh day my last day of training. I was in an incredible mood when I arrived, and both Tenya and Izuku noticed.