Post Vitam

Chapter 22

THWACK!

The moment Izuku left the sanctuary of the car he regretted it. The same ball he was afraid would break a nearby window hit him square in the face, Izuku heard something pop. His face looked like a battlefield. Blood running out of his broken nose.

"MIDORIYA-KUN!" Takahashi was rushing to his side of the car to check on him. "You ok there? That looks like it hurt..." Izuku gave her his best glare. "Of course it hurts! I think my nose is broken..." Izuku touched it to confirm and cursed himself for trying "OUCH! that was stupid."

He felt how it was starting to heal and a new worry came across his mind. Do bones reset or do they heal as they are?! Is he going to have a crooked nose now? Just as his panic was rising he felt a sensation he's never felt before. 

It was accompanied with a pop or crunch similar to when he broke his nose. Izuku wondered if anyone else heard it... His worry and question was answered by Miss Takahashi. "Oh! That's handy! Now all we have to deal with is cleaning you up." Izuku glared at her again...

Just then an older boy clearly part of the soccer game came running over and stopped when he saw Izuku's face covered in blood. "You... uh... have some... uh. Blood on your face" Izuku felt annoyed. "Not even an apology? You guys broke my nose! Of course there's going to be blood on my face..." Izuku rolled his eyes when the boy just stood there expressionless with no response.

"Hello anybody in there?!" Waving his hand in front of the older boy. He looked confused by what Izuku was saying like he was trying very hard to solve a math question. "But... you're fine now?" He asked tilting his head like a curious dog.

"So because I'm ok now that makes it fine to go around breaking people's noses as long as they are fine afterwards?! Are you actually this slow or are you just pretending for me?" By now two other boys were making their way over to see what was taking so long. They appeared to be older than Izuku but younger than the unresponsive boy. "YO! Jamal! Why are you taking so long to get the ball... damn dude are you okay? Your face is like just blood!" One of them said seeing Izuku.

Izuku looked at the one who spoke like he was an oasis in a desert. Someone who understood it's not ok to break noses and then pretend like nothing is wrong. "Finally. I take it this guy is your friend? You guys broke my nose with this ball" He said throwing the ball to the new boy.

"Ah shit. Sorry dude. Hmm i see it's ok now though? Healing quirk right?" He asked giving Izuku a curious look. Izuku simply nodded. "Makes sense why Jamal is like this then. He turned to the older boy and gently tapped his shoulder. Yo Jamal, he has a healing quirk that's why he's fine now." Jamal looked like he just solved the math question he was trying to do. "Oh ok." He turned to walk back to where the soccer game was being played before.

"You must be the newbie then. Midoriya right? Let's go get you cleaned up." He grabbed Izuku's forearm and started running to the front door. "Oh I'm Viktor btw, that's my little brother Ash" Izuku felt like he had whiplash from the pace everything just transpired. He agreed he needed to clean his face. It felt sticky and tight from dried blood so he went along with the brothers.

When they entered the house Viktor and Ash dragged Izuku past an adult who he assumed was in charge. They greeted her as they were running past. "Hi Miss! Bye Miss!" She was just shaking her head clearly exhausted. Izuku heard her beginning to talking to Miss Takahashi about him but was dragged round a corner towards a bathroom.

They got to the bathroom and Viktor told Izuku to sit offering the closed toilet lid. Viktor wet a washcloth and started to clean Izuku's face before he could even protest. It felt kind of nice like maybe he cared so he let him. He wondered about Jamal though. "So..." Izuku started. "You're wondering about Jamal right?" Ash interrupted.

Izuku looked at ash. "Yeah... how'd you"

"Know? part of my quirk. Still trying to control it. I can hear people's thoughts after touching them. Bare skin only and only when I'm close to them proximity wise. It also only lasts like ten minutes at the most. It's new, before I could just do it if I bit someone. Part of why we ended up here." Ash rambled but the last bit he looked sad and guilty.

Viktor saw it too and kept the conversation going while cleaning Izuku's face. "Jamal is neurodivergent. Not full on autism officially. Need a proper doctor's diagnosis for that and he falls just "short" of their tests. Whatever that means. Anyways it's not like he wasn't sorry for breaking your nose it's just you telling him he did and then you already being healed... He was trying to figure out if you lied but then where did the blood come from? So he was putting the pieces together of how he could've broken your nose and you being covered in blood but still being alright."

"Yeah it's like he gets stuck in his head sometimes ya know?" Ash piped up.

Izuku felt guilty for being so angry over something as simple as a broken nose that wasn't even an issue since he's already healed. Just slightly sticky now... "Ah okay, I'm sorry for being so harsh with him. Just a super shitty day. Didn't mean to take it out on him." 

Viktor checked his handiwork and moved to the other side of Izuku's face and continued. "No worries dude, he probably didn't even pick up on you being mad at him. That being said don't act like it didn't happen. He processes things a bit differently but he's not stupid. If you want to apologize explain to him why without talking down to him." 

Izuku nodded in agreement and made a mental note to talk to Jamal when he got the chance. He looked at Ash again and thought. "So can you hear me when like this?" Ash's eyes grew wide. He nodded excitedly. "Nobody has ever talked to me on their own before... that's so sick dude. Wait you're not freaked out by my quirk then?" Izuku gave a bitter laugh. "No Ash but for your own sanity don't go digging in my head without permission please."