Eat My Stomach (Quirk Deku AU)

Everlong

His breakfast that morning tasted different, yet familiar. The flavor was there in the back of his mind, swirling about like a speck of dust caught up in the wind, it would never settle. He had vague memories of a taste like this, so deep in his memories he feared it'd never resurface. It made him uncomfortable, it said something about the person that he was eating, and reminded him this was no bowl of cereal. He suddenly lost his appetite, pushing it away, and stood to change for a morning jog.

He'd been doing that recently, not finishing meals. At first he was worried his hunger would get to him, but he learned that a little at a time was ok, and that he should start getting used to being hungry, because it seemed like it overtook him way too often for him to be comfortable with it. He saw this as a form of training, so maybe one day he'd keep his rationality when starving. Though, he wouldn't lie and say he didn't enjoy avoiding "food."

It was Sunday, day three after the USJ incident. Tsukauchi had come on the friday they gave the class off to get Izuku's statement, but also to glean into his mental state. It was clear the detective had mixed feelings and suspicions about his quirk, so him coming and asking questions about how much he remembered from when he was this other side of himself, seemed nothing more than an attempt for the man to reassure himself that Izuku wasn't a danger. Needless to say, he left less sure of Izuku's innocence than he arrived. Izuku had put that interaction out of his mind, knowing that everyone would be like that once they found out. His conviction to hide his, problem, only grew.

Which brought him to his current issue, Todoroki Shoto. As Izuku ran alongside the streets of Setagaya, he contemplated his approach. He could lie, tell Todoroki something to push him off the scent of his quirk, which he'd seen in full, gorey action that day. But, Izuku could tell that Todoroki was a boy of as many secrets as him, and honestly, he didn't have it in him to come up with anything convincing enough to cover up, that. He huffed in frustration as he sat on a wooden chair placed by a bus stop, no doubt by someone in the neighborhood, probably for all the elderly whose frail bodies couldn't stand at the curb. Its wear suggested it was used often, and Izuku wondered just how many people had come to this bus stop, sat in this chair, all with different lives and different thoughts in their heads. And here Izuku was, drinking from a flask of blood, tainting such a human thing with his inhuman touch.

He was going to have to talk to Todoroki, explain himself. Tomorrow, no less, because he was sure that this wasn't going to be left alone. He clenched his fingers around his flask-careful to not crush it-and stood up to continue his jog.

It was the next day, Izuku was a little more nervous, and left a little more on his plate. All Might hadn't noticed, yet, but Izuku felt he was playing a dangerous game. He tied his red tie in that horrible unkempt knot, slipped on his sneakers, and took a deep breath at the edge of the door to the outside, closing his eyes and letting his lungs fill with air, maybe their expansion would take up all the space in his body, so he didn't have to think of silly things like coming out as a cannibal.

All Might stared at him oddly from the car, and eventually called to have him come over. Izuku couldn't put this off any longer, so he stepped forward.

When he got to class, Todoroki was sitting in his usual spot, face unassuming as his eyes drilled into Izuku's. He felt another pointed stare from Bakugou behind him, but chose to ignore it in favor of taking his seat. Izuku could taste the air on his tongue, stale yet anxious, the heartbeats of the students around him were elevated, no doubt the aftermath of the USJ left everyone tense. The bell rung, and a few jumped out of their seats startled, but were quickly composed as Aizawa shuffled in.

He reeked of hand sanitizer, sweat, and a faint background of sweet blood. Izuku had never come across someone with sweet blood before, it was odd he was distracted enough during the USJ to have not have picked up on it then, it was, tempting. He shoved those thoughts away, instead uncapping his flask and taking three long desperate gulps. He lowered his head when he pulled away, quickly wiping his lips of the red tinge undoubtedly left there. He could feel Todoroki's attention on him.