𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 | 𝙈𝙔 𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙊 𝘼𝘾𝘼𝘿𝙀𝙈𝙄𝘼

35

          A FEW DAYS AGO

          Cough, cough!

          "You've been up early these past few days. And that cough," Aizawa commented as he entered the common area of the dorms where only Arisa occupied. It was early in the morning, the sun had not risen yet. Arisa couldn't sleep. The male quirked an eyebrow at her as he stared at the girl who hovered over the sink, staring at the crimson before her, "You've been coughing a lot these days."

          She let the water run. Quickly. Before Aizawa noticed. She felt a slight relief when the crimson washed away, disappearing from sight. She wiped her mouth, mumbling, "Maybe it's a cold. A lot has happened recently after all."

          That wasn't exactly a lie.

          Arisa was exhausted. The incident with All For One, the kidnapping, seeing her mother. She was shoved through the wringer these days. It was the perfect lie.

          Coughing blood. It had only happened recently. Nobody knew of it yet. They didn't need to. Especially not Aizawa. She didn't want to worry him. He had enough on his plate as it was. She didn't need to add on to that.

          "Eat some medicine, won't you? And have enough rest. Do you want anything to eat? I can make you some soup right now."

          She paused for a moment, making sure she didn't have any remaining crimson on her lips and turned around with a smile, "Sure. That'd be great. Thanks, Aizawa-san."

          "Yeah, yeah," he moved further into the kitchen area and touched his palm on her forehead, "Hmm, you do feel warm. Go rest on that sofa over there. Don't even think about trying to help."

          "Yeah," she easily relented. Arisa was incredibly tired but she wouldn't admit it aloud. The girl dragged herself towards the sofa and plopped on it, sighing loudly when her head hit the soft cushioning. Her expression darkened for a moment — why was she coughing blood? Had her quirk progressed again?

          She recalled All For One's words.

          "Your body, it won't be able to hold your quirk anymore and then, you die."

          Arisa reached up, grasping lightly at air.

          Death.

          She had thought of it for a while. Death was something inevitable, especially for her.

          It was funny. Long ago, she prayed for it to come but it never did. Now, when she had everything to lose, it seemed, her prayers were belatedly answered.  She didn't know for sure but she knew her body enough to know that she wasn't well.

          "Here," Aizawa appeared beside her after a while with a steaming bowl of soup in hand. He kneeled down beside her, "Eat up."

          He set it down on the coffee table and she sat up, finally realizing how exhausted she was. The girl exhaled tiredly and picked up the spoon, noticing the man's stare. He watched her as she ate but she didn't mind. It wasn't anything strange. He was worried. She could tell.

          "You look pale."

          She snorted amusedly, "I'm always pale."

          He ignored her attempt at humour and stood up, "I'll get you some paracetamol. Stay put."

          "I can just go to Recovery Girl later, ya' know?"

          He ignored her. He quickly disappeared down the hallway but just as quickly as he left, he returned with the promised medicine. He dropped the round tablets on her palm and handed her a glass of water. The girl made a face but downed it anyway.