Sound of Silence (Aizawa X OC)

Ch. 16: You're Not Alone

-----Shinobu's POV-----

Time was not something I was aware of at this point. The only reality I knew was the waves of pain that wracked my body. The pain had started off bad but it was more like sharp stabs in random places throughout my body. At that time, it had given me hope that I'd be okay. It was bad but not unbearable; however, as if the poison could tell I was building up resistance, the pain increased exponentially.

What had started off as a stabbing pain had turned into the feeling of being burned alive. Every inch of my body was burning relentlessly. I felt my skin melting off, but when I looked, it was still just the same as it always was. I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out. It hurt too much to make any noise above what I'm sure was a series of pathetic whimpers. The only thing keeping me somewhat grounded was the feeling of Shouta's arms wrapped protectively around me, his low tired voice muttering encouraging words and reminders that I wasn't alone, and the occasional feeling of his warm lips laying gently on the crown of my head.

The simple solution would seem to be to just cancel my own sense of feeling right? I freaking wish that's how my quirk worked; however, if I cancelled my sense of feeling, especially when I was feeling pain, my brain would simply store the memory of the pain and intensify it for when my sense of feeling returned. It was some sort of defense mechanism from my quirk that kept me from deadening myself completely. Also, my body recognized pain receptors as necessary for survival, so my quirk wasn't allowed to completely bypass that. It sucked, but if I cancelled this pain now, which already had me near my breaking point, I would feel it so much more later and I would definitely break.

The feeling of Shouta's calloused hand pushing my bangs back and his lips pressing softly to my forehead woke me up from my semi conscious state. My eyelids fluttered open to see the tired man in front of me looking at me with concern as he helped me sit up, handling me as though I were made of glass, though to be fair, at this point, that may not be too far from the truth.

"Shinobu," he called to get my attention causing me to look at him with a small, weak smile earning a frown from him, "Don't pretend to be okay right now. I brought you some miso soup and some rice. You need to try and eat something. The doctor last night said it would be important to try and keep up your strength to fight off this poison." His deep, stern voice seemed to cut through all the pain I was feeling and made my mind feel clearer than it had since the pain had gotten worse. Don't get me wrong. The pain was definitely still there, but hearing his voice helped for some reason.

I grabbed the miso soup he had put on the night side and held it as steadily as I could until I noticed him going to the door. Not wanting to spill the soup but also not wanting him to leave, I called out to him, my voice quiet and hoarse from I'm guessing the crying from all the pain I had been in.

"Sh-shouta... Please stay..." I begged softly, earning a softened expression from him as he walked back to my side, making me feel relaxed a bit as I thought he was going to stay with me. To my disappointment, he merely cupped my cheek, gently rubbing his thumb across my cheek before going back to the door and turning back to see my distressed and teary expression.

"It's okay. I'll be right back. I just need to go feed Shiro and then I'll be back. Take this time to try and eat some of that food okay? You need your strength. I'll be right back, I promise," Shouta assured. I think he could tell that I was emotionally fragile at the moment, and to be honest, I hated feeling this way. So instead of begging him to stay again, I simply nodded silently before taking a bite of the soup as Shouta left the room.

It was good, and the warm soup felt surprisingly nice on my stomach. At least I felt that way until about 4 or 5 bites in. I sat the bowl of soup on the nightstand and was going to try and eat some of the rice, but I stopped as the most excruciating wave of pain thus far hit me, causing my stomach to churn and spots to fill my vision.

"SHOUTA!" I cried out, accidentally activating my quirk. Shouta was back in the room in seconds, and as soon as he was in the room, I jumped into his arms, clinging to his chest as tears streamed down my face. Fortunately, his years as a pro hero meant his reflexes were phenomenal and he caught me with ease, pulling me protectively to his chest.

"What happened, Shinobu? I told you I was coming right back." His voice was his usual bored tone, but I could tell he was concerned and exhausted. He didn't know what to do at this point.

"Shouta, p-please stay and talk with me," I begged, needing to hear his voice and focus on it for grounding.

"Talk with you?" he asked, clearly confused and at a loss considering he wasn't a big talker by any means. I nodded.

"Your voice," I started but was interrupted by a pained cry as the feeling of melting from the inside out overcame me once again. I could just vaguely feel the sensation of Shouta tightening his arms protectively around me.

"Will it help distract you from the pain?..." he asked, and I nodded, unable to get the words out to explain exactly how it would help me, "Alright. Would you like to hear the story of how I got Shiro?" I gave him a pained smile followed by a desperate expression.

"A-anything is fine... Just please...," I tried to get more words out but they died off with another whimper. I felt Shouta lift me up gently and place me on the bed and lay with me and pull me to his chest as he began his story.

"I found Shiro when I first moved to this apartment. She was actually hiding in the closet here. The old tenants had apparently abandoned her, and she was covered in open wounds and signs that she was abused," he started with an angry scowl on his face before relaxing a bit, "Despite all of that, she immediately came up to me and purred and was friendly. She didn't seem to be scared of me at all. That cat showed no fear and a will to live life to the fullest that I hadn't seen. The vet said the same thing when I took her there. They said they'd never met such a friendly cat that had clearly been hurt by humans. Shiro's been mine ever since."

I smiled at that. Shiro was a beautiful cat inside and out apparently, and I wanted to spend more time with her. I made a mental note to prioritize that after I recovered. The distraction only lasted for moments before the pain reminded me of my predicament.

"How much longer till this poison wears off?" I inquired, somewhat afraid of the answer. Shouta looks at the clock before looking at me sympathetically.

"Another 6 hours. If you can, you should try and sleep. You didn't seem to sleep well earlier," he encouraged, his tone softer than usual as he began gently running his fingers through my hair as I tensed but nodded at his suggestion. My hand balled Shouta's shirt up in my fists as I clinged to him desperately. He pressed a firm kiss on the crown of my head, telling me he certainly noticed my anxiety spiking.

"Hey. I'll stay with you. Don't worry. You're not alone. I told you I would be here through this whole thing didn't I?" he soothed, rubbing small circles on my back. His actions combined with the kind words and the soothing tone of his voice allowed me to relax into his chest, trying to focus on the sound of his heartbeat rather than the feeling of the lava coursing through my veins. The pain was making it hard for me to remain fully conscious anymore.

"Thank you, Shou-ta," I whispered, my voice fading as everything went black and the darkness of unconsciousness overcame me, the sound of Shouta's heartbeat being the last thing I remembered as I slipped away from reality, unaware of when I would be able to return to it.

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Song: Sunrise by Our Last Night