On the Run

Breakthrough

Hey... It's been awhile. CW: Depictions of depression

It's been hard, watching you lay there. It's almost like you don't exist like you were a figment of their imagination. Others have tried to visit you since Maya did. Jirou tried to coax you under the guise of listening to music you both enjoyed, Yaoyorozu tried with books, Kirishima with TV. Everyone tried their luck and each time it failed. You didn't respond to any of them. You blinked, turned away, and didn't even move. It was heartbreaking.

You were a shell of your former glory, and as you sunk deeper, they could not help but feel the guilt of it all.

It was their fault, they concluded. You wouldn't be where you are now if not for them. You wouldn't feel like this. You wouldn't be like this. 

Nomu was probably looking for them, they rationalized, and you got caught in the crosshairs. The guilt ate at them slowly, and soon no one ventured toward your room again.

...

Kirishima was in the living room, cleaning up after the kids came home from school. He hummed quietly as he picked up toys.

"Hi!" Kya giggled, looking up at Kirishima.

"Hiya Kya," he replied, smiling down at her.

"I like your hair. I wish I had red hair. And I like your teeth. They're like sharks' and sharks are cool," she chattered, raising her hands.

Kirishima chuckled. He hears her say the exact sentence every time he sees her. Kirishima lifted her on his shoulders.

"Wow! You're so tall! I can see everything from here!"

Kirishima laughed, remembering that she'd said that before too."I know! What did you do today?"

"Me and Oliver went to school and I learned about am- amphi—"

"Amphibians?"

She nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Those."

"What else did you do?"

Kya went on to tell Kirishima every detail of her day, rocking happily on his shoulders. Kirishima answered accordingly, nodding and reacting correctly. He was surprisingly able to keep up with her conversation, even as she jumped from topic to topic and circled back to previous ones.

"Hey, Kya? Where's your brother?" Kirishima asked in a lull of conversation.

"Oh! He's with Mama."

"And Aria?"

"I think she's in my room sleeping. She was tired today."

Kirishima nodded, making a note to check on her. He wandered around the living, Kya squealing in excitement.

He's glad she's in better spirits despite her mother still being holed up in her room. Out of the three of them, Kya has been the more outgoing one, talking to the adults. She still goes to her mom's room sometimes, but she's never quiet. She always talks about her day or whatever she gets up to.

There was a day when Bakugo asked her why she talked so much when her mother barely responded. "Because I know she's listening, she's just taking her time. Mama always said to be patient."

The adults were shocked by her response, but not surprised.

Aria had been so confused, preferring to keep her distance and hang out more with the adults. If she was antsy or seemed overwhelmed, Maya always came by to take her to the agency. She seemed to be most comfortable there, especially with your growing lack of presence. Nothing kept her anchored here except the other children.