Aizawa's Cat (Old)

Chapter 34

Izuku still hadn't looked beneath his bandages.

For two days he had been sticking religiously to his physiotherapy every three hours, had done the strange humming vocal exercises he had been advised and his stutter had improved, if only slightly.

Now, it was the day before the training camp, the last day he had to see Recovery Girl. He found himself in the bathroom that morning, leaning with his palms against the sinks as he stared at the bandages in the mirror.

'It will be fine Izu,' Shin soothed, 'Recovery Girl said you could take them off yesterday but take your time, don't rush yourself.'

'Thanks,' Izuku's lip twitched, 'I j-just.....It's r-really bad, Kacchan and Sho w-won't even look at me when the b-bandages are off and I feel.....Vulnerable, w-without them.'

'One of us could take them off and have a look, you don't have to.'

*Stop mollycoddling him! It's just a scar, there's nothing to be afraid of! Just take them off!*
He couldn't understand why it was so difficult. Why, the moment he pulled at the soft cloth his heart began to race and his palms became slick with sweat. Yes, he had been attacked. Yes, it was traumatizing, but how was he supposed to be a hero when he couldn't win even this small battle?

Huffing in agitation, he tried again for the fourth time that morning. Ignoring his shaky hands, he grabbed the strip of fabric and pulled, unwinding the bandage from around his neck once before freezing,

'Keep going! Take. It. Off!'

His hands were trembling so much he almost dropped the part he was holding, but he managed to unravel it twice more, eyes falling to the pink skin that was barely exposed at the top of the bandages.

A hand around his neck-

The brush of skin-

Pain! Pain! It hurts! Help me!-

Throwing himself back and away from the mirror, Izuku huddled with his back against the wall, both his hands clamped over his mouth as he tried to stifle his screams. It felt like he was back there, pain racing up his neck, he could feel blood on his hands as he struggled to breathe. Shin and Batsu screaming, pounding against the wall but they couldn't do anything! They were dying! We don't want to die! Blood, pain, help me! Can't breathe! Ran through Izuku's head before he couldn't cope, retreating deep into his mind.

Shin was pushed forwards, gasping as the world was thrown into focus, everything spinning in sickly swirls that made them dig their fingers into the cold floor to ground themselves.
'Ugh, damn, right, I need to calm down.'

It took longer than Shin wanted until their breathing steadied, even longer before they could stand reliably, staring at their face in the mirror with a grimace.
'Goddamn, we look like shit.'
Their eyes fell to the bandages still half wrapped and wondered if they should keep going or if that would affect Izuku?
On one hand, if they unwrapped it now, there wouldn't be any bandages for Izuku to hide behind when he returned. On the other, Izuku had just had a massive panic attack and flashback, so seeing the scars might just throw any recovery made so far out the window.

*Just choose already, fucking pussyfooting around ain't gonna make us better.*
A frown pulled at Shin's mouth,
'I don't know what to do though, I'm meant to protect Izuku to the best of my abilities and that includes taking his mental health into account.'