Freeze Frame

Chapter 53

Third person pov

Lillian, Hitoshi, and Neito all got up that morning like normal. The blonde had insisted on staying the night again, and Mihoko hadn't cared. Hajime cared even less. Lillian finally had proper clothing to train in, and didn't have to roll the hem of her bottoms to keep them from slipping down like she had with Mihoko's. Not that she wasn't grateful, of course! She wasn't sure what she'd do without the Shinso family. Die?

Training returned to normal. Lillian was glad Mr. Aizawa didn't try to make it easier or anything of that sort. She really just... wanted things to be as normal as possible right now, if that made sense. Going back to their usual training routine was an extreme relief. It felt like a weight had been taken off her shoulders, even if her eyes did itch so bad she was ready to claw them out of her eye sockets.

Today she was holding up three basket balls. It was only near the end of their training that a sharp pain exploded in her stomach, causing her to stop running completely and pause. Both her friends had stopped as well, turning to look at her as her expression twisted uncomfortably. They watched her hands come to rest on her stomach, and immediately seemed to become nervous and unsure.

"...I can't tell if it's her quirk or her period." Hitoshi sounded like he himself was in pain as he whispered it. Neito also looked lost, shaking out his hands as Lillian brought a hand up to cover her mouth. She was feeling pretty sick all of a sudden, her eyes shifting back to the suspended basketballs as they began to itch again.

"What's wrong now?" Aizawa sighed heavily as he approached, eyes going to Lillian. The girl squeaked, and the objects she'd been keeping frozen dropped as another jab of pain squeezed at her lungs and made her wheeze. The two boys shared a look, and Aizawa took a deep breath as memories from the USJ flashed back before his very eyes. She was fine. This was just a part of training.

"Seems we've caught your limit." Aizawa noted as the girl rubbed at her eyes, grimacing. Hitoshi passed her a bottle of water silently, letting her pop it open and chug it. Neito muttered something teasing about an 'indirect kiss' that got him an elbow to the gut from his purple haired boy.

"S-Sorry." Lillian frowned, wiping more sweat from her brow.

"Don't apologize for something you can't control." Aizawa said flippantly. "Now, class is going to be starting in twenty minutes. I suggest you two boys go get cleaned up; Lillian, I do need to speak with you."

"Yes, sir." Hitoshi and Neito chorused. Lillian held up a hand and let them slap theirs against it as they passed, offering a shy smile to them as reassurance. Neito seemed hesitant to leave her, but Hitoshi had complete and total faith in Aizawa and trotted off without a care in the world. The blonde stopped only to narrow his eyes at the dark haired man in a silent threat.

Aizawa sighed heavily as they went, his gaze shifting back to the nervous Lillian. "Your eyes are bothering you, aren't they?" He asked. She flinched in surprise, raising her bloodshot eyes to meet his own.

"Y-Yeah... I-I didn't really n-notice during th-the USJ, o-or entrance e-exam. I think... I-I think I was to-too panicked to notice..." She trailed off, her cheeks flaming red as she admitted it. Heroes weren't supposed to let their emotions get the better of them. And they were especially supposed to stay calm during a crisis.

"Don't worry about it. You're here to work on stuff like that, alright, kid?" He waited for her to nod before slipping his arm out of his sling and into his pocket. Fishing out a small bottle of eye drops, he offered it to her. Hesitantly, she took it, her eyes shining with question. "Try those and tell me what you think."

Lillian peered at the bottle before unscrewing it. Aizawa watched her carefully as she tilted her head back, seeming embarrassed as she dropped some of the liquid in her left eye, and then her right. Aizawa watched her blink a few times, her shoulders sagging with relief and her expression brightened considerably.