Izuku's teeth ground together as the black lightning around his hands flared in response to being forced back. A burst of pain, so intense that it felt cold, surged through his hands, and he let out a watery cry as the Blackwhip dissipated. He fell to his knees, tears staining his face as he clutched his hands together in a vain attempt to drown out his own screaming nerve endings.
Angry red lines webbed across his hands like lightning burns. They would fade before long, but for now agony pulsed hot along them.
As Izuku grit his teeth in pain and anger, Kamui Woods knelt next to him. The Arbor Hero glanced at Izuku's reddened hands with narrowed eyes. “You said you'd be honest about what your Quirk was doing to you, Midoriya,” he said, watching Izuku with stern eyes. “But these burns, you're letting them build up. You kept them from me.”
It was an unpleasantly familiar experience, having Kamui Woods look at him with such reproach. Izuku had hoped to leave that part of the Sludge Villain incident behind him, but no such luck. He felt bad, truly, about causing this much trouble for the Hero after he'd taken a day off from the Lurkers to help instruct Izuku.
(All Might had cashed in a favor, and evidently Kamui Woods had been thrilled to say yes. He probably wasn't so excited now.)
Izuku gritted his teeth and swallowed back as much of his tears as he could. “S-sorry. I just...thought I was close enough to keep going,” he said. He turned his wrists around, checking to make sure that the pain had subsided at least a bit. “I think I'm okay now, though.”
Kamui Woods huffed and rose to his full height. “Like hell we are. We're taking a break.”
Izuku bit his lip as the Hero turned and walked over to the bench at the edge of the field, picking up a thermos and drinking deep from it. That was...probably called for, honestly. Who would enjoy teaching someone who'd lie about their own well-being?
He stood up and followed his instructor for the day, who handed him a water bottle. Izuku twisted it open and drank from it, wincing as his hands stung against the plastic bottle cap.
When Izuku felt better, he noticed Kamui Woods watching him; his eyes were kept neutral and his perpetually masked face was all the more inscrutable. Nothing about Izuku's conduct had slipped by him, it seemed. What little good there was had surely been drowned by all the bad.
“I-I'm sorry,” Izuku stammered. “I just...I wasn't ready to give up yet. I really do think I'm figuring it out. I just need a little more time.”
After a pause, the Arbor Hero sighed beneath his helmet. “This isn't gonna work if you lie to me, kid. You have to tell me how you feel, when you're really hitting a wall. Otherwise, you'll hurt yourself, and I'm positive the school will put that on me.”
Izuku hadn't thought of that. “I'm...I'm sorry,” he repeated, knowing how lame it sounded.
Kamui Woods shook his head and set his thermos back onto the bench. “Look, I know you were excited to learn something from me, but I think we might have to call it here. You've got Eraserhead, right? Maybe he can teach you more.”
Izuku's stomach twisted with horror. “No!” He shouted, catching himself as Kamui Woods winced slightly. “I-I mean, no. I'm sorry! I promise, I can do better! I-I don't want it to end like this, I swear! Please, just give me one more chance, I'm really close. I can do this, I know I can!”
“Do you?” Kamui Woods said. “Nothing personal kid, but this hasn't been the greatest showing I've ever seen. Think maybe you just need more time-”
“I don't have more time!” Izuku yelled. His eyes prickled with tears again as the Arbor Hero stepped back this time. “I'm supposed to know this already! I tried so hard, and it hurt me so much, but I knew how to use my power! I finally, finally got it! I can't...” He shook his head furiously. “I can do this! I HAVE to do this! Please, just give me one more chance! I just need one more chance to figure this all out...!”
He started crying, and forced himself not to look Kamui Woods in the eye. He didn't want to imagine how the Hero who'd agreed to teach him was looking at him now.
Izuku didn't know how long Kamui Woods let him cry, but eventually he saw through blurred vision the Hero kneeling down next to him again. He squeezed his eyes shut, expecting another scolding...only to feel a hand on his shoulder that shocked his eyes back open.
“Hey, hey, it's all right,” said Kamui Woods. Izuku chanced a look at his face, and his gaze had softened to something that Izuku hadn't seen from him before, not personally. “It's okay, just let it out for a minute. I'll be here.”
The hand on Izuku's shoulder gripped him a little awkwardly, but Izuku didn't mind as he let himself be wracked with sobs for a few more minutes. Once he felt himself calm down, Izuku rubbed his eyes and took a shaky breath. “I...I'm okay now. Sorry you, uh, had to see that.”
Kamui Woods shook him gently. “It's okay, don't worry,” he said. He seemed to think for a moment before speaking next. “Look, All Might told me about what happened with your Quirk recently. How you've found this whole other aspect to it that you never saw coming, and how it's been tough to figure out. I...”
He sighed again. “I'm sorry you've been having a tough time, Midoriya. I know it sucks, having to play a bad hand like that. I should've been a little more empathetic.” His grip on Izuku's shoulder slid into something more comfortable, not as awkward as before. Kamui Woods didn't notice, but Izuku did in a corner of his mind. “But you...when you hit a wall, the trick's not to keep hitting it. You'll just break something doing that. It's okay to step back and take a breather before you get back at it. Does any of this make sense?”
Izuku sniffled. “Yeah, it does. Thank you. I'm sorry I lied to you. I just...”
“...Wanted to figure it out ASAP,” Kamui Woods finished. “I get it. But you've still got time even with a good rest or two. Sometimes that's just what you need.” The Arbor Hero sighed to himself. Maybe he'd been...colored by his biases of Midoriya Izuku. He hadn't endeared himself to anyone in the Sludge Villain incident, and he'd come out of the Sports Festival without a lot of firm supporters after he shattered his own limbs. That was all Kamui Woods had really seen of him for a while.
But he wasn't a bad kid. Just under a lot of pressure, a lot of which he put upon himself. Maybe it drove him to grow, but eventually it'd crush him without the right support. All Might couldn't shut up about how proud he was about the kid – maybe Shinji just needed to have some faith in that, and in Midoriya himself.
Kamui Woods patted Izuku on the shoulder, more naturally than he'd expected, and got the boy's attention. “Look, you can't lie to me anymore. Not if you want this to work. But I promise I'm not going anywhere for a while. Let's take a break and talk about this before we get back at it. I wanna hear more about how you feel it's coming along. That okay?”
Izuku smiled, tentative but genuine. “I'd like that. Thank you, Kamui Woods.”
The Hero chuckled for the first time in a while. Maybe this kid wasn't so bad. He could see him going places once he graduated. If everything went well, who knew – maybe he'd become a sidekick with the Lurkers, or Kamui Woods himself?
For now, they had a lesson to get through. And Shinji had to remember to give the kid an autograph or two; he'd practically begged for it before they got started.
