Chapter 7: Age 11

                                    

                                          
C/TW: Mention of blood and bullying, minor burns, mentioned (rhetorical) abuse
I'm so sorry about the impromptu hiatus. This chapter is short, and it's purpose is more to get me back into the groove of writing than to add any actual plot.
I'm going to try to not go incognito for such a long time next time I need a break, but I can't make any promises. Enjoy!
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Izuku wakes up in his bed, safe and warm. He blinks up at the ceiling, stretching his fingers and toes slowly, trying to get his blood flowing again.
He massages his jaw a bit, frowning when it doesn't seem to open as wide as it usually does. Which is weird because Izuku's quirk has nothing to with his mouth. He has a minor pyrokinesis quirk, the perfect example of a combination between his mom and dad.
Ignoring the small warning bells and sense of this isn't right, Izuku clambers out of bed and gets ready for school. The boy does his daily stretches and walks to the bathroom, stifling a yawn.
One shower later, Izuku let's his mind wander, trusting muscle memory to accomplish his daily tasks. Maybe today he'll sit under the tree near the school gates for lunch.
It's supposed to be hot today, or so Mom told him. The shade would feel really nice—Izuku startles back to the present when something cold touches his shoulder.
A thick white substance is smeared on the pads of his fingers and he sees a roll of white bandages and a tube of, what he assumes to be, the white stuff on his fingers. He picks up the tube and reads the label. Why would he ever need burn cream and bandages?
The smell of burnt caramel, strobing flashes of yellow and orange and white, and red, red ruby eyes assaults his senses. Kacchan is the only person Izuku knows who has a fire based quirk, besides his dad, but Kacchan would never hurt him.
They're Best Friends.
Shaking his head, Izuku puts the cream and bandages away and continues his morning routine. He carefully washes his hands and pushes all thoughts of burns and injury out of his mind.
Once he's back in his room, Izuku puts his uniform on and surveys his array of hair pins and clips. He's tried to make a habit of pinning his hair back because it can get really annoying to have to constantly bush back his bangs. He settles for something simple; a thin black headband.
He hears his mom call him for breakfast and double checks that no bandages are  visible—okay, these odd thoughts have to stop. Bandages? Burn cream? Maybe he was hit with a quirk that made him delusional on his way home yesterday? Kacchan with knock some sense into him. He always does.
He switches his lights off and hurries to the kitchen. His mother is finishing spooning rice into a bowl with some steamed vegetables. He snatches it from her with a smile and shovels the food into his mouth.
Inko laughs at the face her son makes when he burns his tongue on the rice and packs a bento into Izuku's garishly yellow bag. She smoothes a knuckle across his forehead.
"I'm going to be home tonight, so make sure to be here in time for dinner. I know you tend to lose track of time when you're with Katsuki," she tells him. Izuku "mmphs!" his agreement and then he's out the door and racing for school.
He slides into his seat right as his teacher starts calling roll, flashing a grin at Kacchan when he rolls his eyes at his lateness. Class passes in a flash and soon the school day is over, his belly still full from the grilled fish his mom had packed for lunch.
He bounces over to where Kacchan stands by the gate, talking to Tsubasa-kun. Izuku only catches the trail end of their conversation.
"—my house this weekend. Do you think you can make it?" That was Tsubasa-kun.