Fates Entwined (A TodoBaku ff) ✔

XLI

The sun reached its blessed peak in the sky and it was time for a break. Everyone walked in groups to the dining hall, tired and eager to refuel for the afternoon's training. Shoto, however, did not have the stomach for food right now. The clanging of swords on shields and the repetitive thuds of fists on the model humans made his gut clench and throat tighten. But he pushed through, giving the warriors his utmost attention right until the last of them left to go eat, silence falling upon the room at last. 

He still felt tired, and his body was colder than usual. He hoped it wasn't sickness and that it was just one of those days where the world was too much for him to handle. He had only a few more hours of training until he could retire for the evening, and he wanted nothing more than to climb into bed and shut down for the rest of the night. With a sigh, he picked up an abandoned sword and practised some simple attack sequences, wanting to get in some practice that he would most likely not have the will to do later on in the day. Even so, it lasted for only a few moments until the weapon was too heavy in his arm and he let it fall to the floor with a dull thud. Shoto hated days like these. 

Instead of practising he sat on the ground, deciding to try and focus on his energy and breathing in hopes of calming the swirling sickness in his stomach and tightness in his chest. With his legs crossed, eyes closed, and palms resting face up, he began taking long and slow breaths in and out, focusing on the movement of air and the sound each breath made. His body did not leave its tense state, but his focus was soon only on his breath and for a moment he could reach some semblance of peace.

"Shoto!" A shout pulled him from his state, his shoulders tensing and breath hitching. It caught him by surprise, as his father's booming voice often did on days like this when he would attack Shoto by surprise in training and the best he could do was dodge until he collapsed. His palms clenched into fists with the sound of footsteps coming towards him. They were not too heavy, but too quick for his liking, almost like they were running towards him. "Hey, you coming to lunch?" Sero asked, crouching in front of Shoto. "Oh," the man continued, oblivious to the tension pouring from Shoto's body, "I wanted to ask if you've gotten any replies from your letters? Iida really is a great help, ya know, if not a little stuck in his ways, and I think more help would be great for us..."

Sero continued to talk, asking question after question at such a fast pace it was like he had been possessed by Denki. It was too loud for Shoto, and he forced himself to his feet shakily before muttering an apology and turning to leave. Sero must have thought he was heading to eat with them, so continued to talk loudly with that familiar grin, each word grinding away at Shoto's nerves until he looked down to see that he was actually shaking. He hoped the door would shut behind him before Sero could follow him through, giving him a moment of reprieve where he could escape somewhere quiet. He just needed somewhere quiet, somewhere alone. 

"... plus Mina's been wondering when we're gonna have some more training with you. We totally want to see some more of your ice power so we can practise with it and know what to look out for when on the battlefield. You've not used it much lately, is everything okay?" 

And now was Sero not only loud but trying to sound sympathetic, just like Fuyumi would do when she thought she was trying to help but during times like this Shoto could not see that and only heard pity in her words. In Sero's words. In front of him, his breath formed an icy cloud, frost curling up his right hand. 

"Please leave me alone." he said, but his voice was barely a whisper, unheard beneath Sero's one-sided conversation. The ice was reaching his forearm now, spikes of cold climbing his arm and weaving into his chest. The dining room was now only one turning away, and he could see Kirishima rounding it, probably to see what Sero was doing and if Shoto was going to dinner. He had missed meals before, gone days without them without choice, so he would be fine missing one. He wasn't weak. Was Sero still talking? And Kirishima, did he have to walk so loud?