My Hero Academia: Hell is a Mess

A Slap Means More 2

Prompt: This is a continuation of 'A Slap Means More.' Read that before this.SO yeah, I was requested to make a part two and to make it super angsty.

But first, I would like to preface this by saying this: IRL, this is not likely to happen. Most people are not going to address the fact because they won't notice anything wrong (they could, but they are likely to shove it aside to), and the person suffering is not going to say anything about it.

Moving on, this chapter is in third POV. If you are wondering why I use third POV for the more intense chapters, it allows you, the reader, to see all perspectives from all parties to some extent. In addition, I can include Izuku's facial expressions, something I can't do in first POV because Izuku has no fucking clue what face he is making. It also wouldn't make sense for Izuku to talk to himself if he is overly emotional like he will be here. That part is starting to come out a little bit in the fic itself with the recent chapters, but third POV will still happen.

Without further ado now, let's go.

Warnings: Breakdowns, Anxiety, Anger Issues, Eating Disorder, Grammar Mistakes

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3rd POV

Izuku is not okay. Shouta knows that for sure.

Shouta has no clue what triggered it. What he does know is that it started a couple of days before the court trial.

Izuku became overall withdrawn. Not in an obvious way. If someone wasn't used to Izuku, it would have easily slipped under the radar. Hell, even someone close to him might not notice like his mother.

However, Shouta is close to Izuku, and he is an underground hero. He is meant to pick up on these things.

Shouta does not have a clear time of when it started, but the night before the court, he wanted Izuku to sleep. And Izuku, being the kind of kid he is, needs company. Izuku tried to argue against it, but he forced him to bed anyway because he has been working his ass off for his court case. When Shouta laid down and pulled Izuku to his chest, Izuku became stiff. Unusually stiff. It didn't ease Shouta when he felt Izuku's heart racing as if he was having a panic attack or when he noticed how shallow Izuku's breathing was.

Of course, Shouta assumed that it was because Izuku was worried about the case and gave him words of advice. It didn't calm Izuku down, but the kid eventually slept. He thought so anyway.

Either way, Shouta decided to keep a closer eye on him just in case.

The court day came and went and Izuku got his license back. Shouta expected Izuku to revert back to his troublesome self because he is a prohero again.

Except that isn't the case. Rather, it seemed like Izuku became more withdrawn. That isn't the exact wording he can use when Izuku is still being himself for the most part. He still talks to everyone and everything, but Shouta notices minor things.

It's the minor things that add up.

Izuku's voice is not longer boisterous. It's still loud, but there is a hesitance in it that Shouta has never heard before.

Izuku's fidgeting is worse. Sure, Izuku is a fidgety kid in general with his excess amounts of energy, but, in most cases, he's able to keep them in check. Now, Shouta sees how he constantly wants to be doing some type of work. His eyes bounce around the room, sharp on even the smallest of details that he wouldn't usually pick up. When he sees something wrong, Izuku goes to fix it without a second thought, even if it didn't need to be.

He holds a great distance between them. Izuku likes his space, but Shouta can usually stand pretty close without any problems. Izuku stiffens up if he is too close. He tries to put space in between them.