The Serpent in the Garden - [todoshindeku] - Villain Izuku

Chapter Twelve

 It was windy.

This probably wouldn't have been a problem, if not for the very pressing matter of a make or break entrance exam in just under three hours, and windy days always made Izuku jumpy.

Inko knew this too, and kept sending him pointed sidelong looks whenever she thought he wasn't looking, which, coincidentally, only made him more irritable.

He made a lame excuse to leave earlier and rushed out, waiting out the hour and a half until Shinsou's train pulled up sitting rigidly on a station bench, foot tapping along to his jagged, inconsistent breaths. Theoretically, he was having an anxiety attack, however if he concentrated very hard on ignoring it, theoretically it would go away.

Shinsou gave him a look when he stepped onto the train.

"Come here." He said, beckoning Izuku over and pushing him down on the seat he'd previously been occupying. Izuku opened his mouth to protest, but his friend levelled him with his best unimpressed stare, the type that reminded him uncomfortably of his mother.

"Stop it."

"I'm trying."

Shinsou rolled his eyes and mimed taking a breath, then another and another. Izuku tried to follow, but his throat was tightening, and it was all he could do to swallow, let alone concentrate on his friend. The guilt that he wasn't alone in this didn't help, either — that Shinsou was probably feeling just as anxious as him, and here he was, stomach tight and breaths ragged, unable to help.

The other boy reached up to grip the handrails, before leaning down over Izuku, shielding him from the prying eyes of the other passengers.

"Hey," he murmured, and Izuku could cry: he didn't deserve his friend, "focus on me, alright? What can you hear?"

Izuku chuckled wetly, knowing full well what the other boy was trying to get him to do, but complying anyway.

"The... uh, the wind outside."

"Anything else?"

"People talking. I think someone's playing a mobile game over there. And the train tracks."

Shinsou smiled, nodding encouragingly. "What about smells?"

"What about them?" Izuku muttered, mulishly.

"What can you smell?"

"Perfume." He relented, not really meaning to be snappish, but the more he wound down, the more self-conscious he got about almost crying in a carriage packed with people, "and bleach. Plastic and rubber."

"Go on," Shinsou prodded, "close your eyes, focus on what you hear and breathe. C'mon, Izuku, in and out for me."

Begrudgingly, Izuku complied, and eventually felt the clamp inside his stomach loosen. He sighed, reluctantly opening his eyes again, squinting against the harsh white light of the interior of the train.

"Thanks."

His friend only grinned crookedly at him. "Happens to the best of us. Had to talk myself down already before I got here, actually." He grimaced, before moving on. "Anyway, today am I right?"

Izuku groaned. "Today."

Shinsou's smile dropped into a more serious expression, eyebrows drawing in and his mouth pinching. "Listen, I know you can't use your quirk—"

"Not allowed." Izuku corrected, not even bothering to hide his annoyance. This had been a topic he and Shinsou had, er, discussed frequently over the last few weeks. Ever since his accident. He didn't need to look up to know his friend was glaring at him.