#Honenuki in a ponytail save me

[sour-cherrii]

I’m insane chat

[mavericksy]

Seeing Red

TW: Detailed descriptions of menstruation, gender dysphoria

Summary: Tsuburaba gets his period, and Class 1B try to make him feel better, with varying degrees of success. 

AO3 link (text is also below): https://archiveofourown.org/works/28285605

A/N: Sweet comfort fic- I got my period a a few days ago and it was really bothering me this morning. also, there is a major lack of trans tsuburaba content. how could you do this to dysphoria hoodie boy. 

SEEING RED

Vlad King shouldered into the locker room and clapped his hands.

“Alright, boys, time to get to the gym!”

At once, the gathered male students looked up and nodded, their conversations dropping to a hush as they hurried to fix their costumes.

He held the door open for them, counting each student as they went into the corridor. As Honenuki left the room, Vlad spotted Monoma loitering at the back, wearing a concerned expression.

“Is everything alright, son?” he asked. Monoma looked behind himself.

“It’s Tsuburaba, sir.”

“Oh?” Thinking on it, Vlad hadn’t spotted the short boy among the rest of the group. “Did he come in today?”

Monoma nodded. “Yes, sir. He’s in the bathroom. He’s having a few…issues.”

“Oh. Should I get the Imodium?” 

“It’s not that! Sir, it’s that time of the month.” Vlad continued to frown at him. Monoma sighed. “He’s on his period.” 

“He is?”

“I think he got it while he was getting changed in the back- it caught him by surprise. He’s upset.”

“I can imagine. Poor kid. Sometimes I forget he’s…you know.”

“Sir, permission to go to the girl’s locker room. He says he needs a sanitary towel.”

“Permission granted, son.” Monoma nodded and prepared to leave the room. “No funny business when you get there, mind!”

The boy rolled as his eyes as he left. Steeling himself for an awkward discussion, Vlad tip-toed towards the bathroom at the back of the changing room. It was a small, tiled annex, with two closed stalls, two urinals, and a pair of porcelain sinks. A passage to the right led towards the showers. Underneath the gap of one of the toilet cubicles, he spotted shadows moving on the floor. Muffled noises were coming from inside.

He coughed and knocked on the wall next to him. “Tsuburaba? You in here, son?”

The muffled noise suddenly stopped. A moment later, a croaky voice replied, “Yeah.”

“Monoma tells me you’re in a bit of an awkward situation.”

Tsuburaba laughed ruefully, a single sardonic bark that rattled around the walls.

“Do you want to come out and talk about it?”

“I can’t really move right now, sir.”

Drat. There went Vlad King’s patented ‘give them a comforting yet manly hug’ maneuver. Now he’d actually have to make conversation.

“Is everything OK?”

From inside the dim stall, Tsuburaba looked in the direction of Vlad King’s deep voice. His hands were full of wadded-up toilet paper, which he had been using to try and pat his crotch and briefs dry.

“Could be better, sir,” he admitted, squinting at the rust-colored marks across the tissue after he had scuffed it across his bloody underwear. He sighed and threw it between his legs, into the toilet.

“Are you having...cramps or anything?” 

“Not right now, no. I’ll probably end up getting them later tonight, though.” He unrolled another strip of tissue. “Sometimes they make it hard to sleep.”

“You got enough painkillers back in the dorms?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Good. Midnight’s on call tonight, if you need her. Do you want me to tell her what’s going on?”

“No, I…” Tsuburaba squeezed his eyes shut and pinched his forehead with his free hand, trying to control his voice as a lump began to rise in his throat. Vlad King’s voice kept coming, over and over, giving him no time to settle. “I’d rather keep this private, sir. If you don’t mind.”

“I get you. Are you going to be OK in class today?”

“I’ll be fine, sir, just so long as I’m not bleeding into my pants all morning!” Tsuburaba snapped. There was silence from outside. He exhaled shakily and placed his head in his hands, feeling another string of blood ooze out of him. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be, son. You’re going through a lot right now.”

“It’s such a weird feeling,” Tsuburaba said quietly, shivering as he crossed his arms. “I can feel the blood on my skin as it’s coming out, but…it’s like there’s not enough skin, you know? I can feel that something else is supposed to be there, but…it’s not. It’s just flat.” He swallowed. “Sorry, again. That’s TMI.”

“It…” Vlad King didn’t disagree, but Tsuburaba could tell from his careful, measured tone of voice that he was sympathetic. “It’s good to talk about this kind of thing, sometimes- to have a level of awareness about your body. Did I ever tell you about the time I got infected by a parasite?”

Tsuburaba’s eyes widened. He shook his head, then remembered that Vlad couldn’t see him.

“No, sir.”

“Well, there’s not much to tell,” Vlad King laughed. “I was out in the field, fighting off a group of your standard hoodlums. One of them went in for a close-combat attack from behind, and managed to hit my back. I swung him away from me and finished the fight without making too much of it. Then, over the next few days, I had this awful aching sensation in my right shoulder, like I’d thrown it while training.”

“I’ve had that kind of thing all week,” said Tsuburaba, feeling an ache prickle down his own back. “Should have known it was coming from that. Anyway, you were saying?”

“The pain lasted for weeks. I thought I was going nuts- I was tired, I was cranky, but I couldn’t work out what was wrong for the life of me. It wasn’t until I rolled over in bed one night and my wife noticed this golf ball sized protrusion sticking out of my back. We got to an emergency doctor, and she put me under for surgery that same evening- a few hours later, I wake up in her office, and there’s this giant insect squirming around a glass jar next to her computer.”

Tsuburaba choked back a gasp. Always prone to feeling pain as other people described it, he clutched his shoulder, wincing in sympathy.

“That’s crazy, sir!”

“Uh-huh. Turns out it had been part of a plan to put me out of commission- to change up the patrol routes so the gang could launch an attack without me being there. Oh- here’s Monoma.”

“I got a sanitary towel from Kendou,” Monoma’s voice said. Plastic packaging crinkled.

“You’re a lifesaver, bro,” said Tsuburaba, inching towards the door. He looked down at himself and sighed. “Can you push it under the door?”

He saw Monoma’s feet approaching.

“Is everything OK, now, Tsuburaba?” Vlad King asked.

“Yeah, everything should be fine now, thanks,” said Tsuburaba, grabbing the square piece of packaging from Monoma’s hand. “I’ll join everyone in a minute.”

“I’ll see you in the gym, then.”

“Cool. Oh, and sorry for snapping.”

There was a pause. Tsuburaba assumed that Vlad King and Monoma were eyeing each other.

“Don’t worry about it, son,” Vlad said reassuringly. His footsteps began retreating. “I’ll see you boys soon.”

“Do you want me to leave, Tsuba?” asked Monoma. He mulled it over.

“That’s OK,” he said. “Just give me a minute.”

With an apology to his friend, Monoma occupied himself at the urinals while he waited. From inside the stall, there was a tearing noise, followed by a high-pitched rustle. As Monoma went to wash his hands, the stall door clanked open, and Tsuburaba joined him at the sinks. He noticed how he stood with his legs a little apart, trying to rock his hips into a more comfortable position.

“Better?”

“Much better.”

They dried their hands and returned to the changing room. Tsuburaba stopped him before he left.

“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done today,” he said.

“It’s not a problem- it’s basic decency, really. Besides, Kendou’s the one you should be thanking.”

“I know, but…you didn’t have to do all this for me, you know?” He looked down at his feet. “I’ve got one more favour to ask, by the way. If you don’t mind.”

“Name it.”

“Could you tell me if I get a stain on my pants? Please? They’re pretty thick material, but the colour is light, so…”

“Are you asking if I’ll look at your butt for the rest of the lesson? That’s more than fine by me.” Monoma laughed as Tsuburaba scowled, though he could tell he was biting back a smile. The shorter guy swiped at him.

“Shuddup, will you?”

“I’m sorry!” They both laughed as they emerged into the hallway.

“But seriously, thanks.”

“No problem.”

Class went normally, for the most part. There was definitely a vague knowledge among the group that something was wrong with Tsuburaba, but he couldn’t complain too much about the various sympathetic glances that were being sent in his direction.

Tetsutetsu leaned forward and shook his shoulder.

“You’re the man, bro,” he whispered.

“Heh, thanks,” Tsuburaba said awkwardly, trying to disappear into the back corner of the benches. Tetsutetsu flinched as Kendou shoved him roughly.

“Would you leave him alone?” she hissed.

“I was only trying to-”

“It’s OK!” he said quickly. “Thanks, both of you. I appreciate it.” 

Kendou turned to him and nodded, retreating from Tetsutetsu, who gave him a grateful thumbs-up.

The number of students on the benches dwindled as Vlad King organised them into groups, with only ten students on the court at any one time. Finding that he and Kendou were alone together- save for a few other students scattered a little further away- he slid next to her.

“Monoma says you helped me out today,” he said.

“Did he? Oh, with the…”

“Yeah. I just wanted to say thanks.”

“It’s no big deal, really! I’m just glad that we could get everything in order.”

“You and me both.”

“How do you feel now?”

“Swampy.”

With a glance in the other students’ direction, Kendou leaned in. Tsuburaba blushed as she came close, her ponytail brushing his shoulder.

“I got mine too, yesterday evening. I’ve stocked up on chocolate and sad movies if you wanted to hang out later.”

Tsuburaba shook his head. “I can’t do sad things when I’m like this. I’d be a mess. But thanks for the offer.” 

“Any time.”

There was a chorus of groans as Kaibara hit the floor, a dodgeball bouncing away from him. On the opposite side of the court, Yanagi stood proudly to one side with her arms half-raised, her teammates screaming praise at her.

As Kaibara had been the last man standing on his team, Vlad King blew his whistle to signal the end of the match. 

“Next team, Team B vs Team D!”

Tsuburaba took a moment to check his trousers before standing. He turned to Kendou.

“You’re clean,” she said, before he had even fully opened his mouth. “Good luck!”  

He smiled and gave her a thumbs up, heading towards the court. Also up from the benches, Kuroiro joined him as they strode to their side of the court.

“I am so glad we have you,” he said to Tsuburaba. “You’re one of the best players.”

“Tsuburaba vs Yanagi and Monoma,” added Awase, who was making his way to the back of the room, ready to use his quirk to fuse as many accumulated dodgeballs as he could. “It’s a clash of the titans.

The shorter boy offered a quick smile to them both, before focussing his gaze on the opposing team. He began to breathe in deeply, preparing to unleash a slew of defensive walls.

Monoma caught his eye and grinned. He was stood in between Yanagi and Honenuki, which probably meant that Tsuburaba could expect strikes that came from nowhere, and for the ground to suddenly disappear beneath him- if Honenuki went out.

“Are you OK?” Monoma mouthed at him.

“I’m fine,” he mouthed back, watching Monoma’s concern fade and be replaced with a self-assured expression.

Tsuburaba grinned wickedly and fixed his eyes on the line of balls in front of him. He could use his quirk to shunt the balls at Team B before they had time to react, or wait for one of them to lurch forwards, only to slam into an invisible wall of air. 

Monoma didn’t know just how closely he was going to have to watch his ass. 

Disclaimer (?): 

while periods suck, please remember that they are natural and you shouldn't be made to feel ashamed of them!

taking male hormones is *not* a 'cure' for menstruation. i've been on t for two years and had my period come back after a year of not having it, hence why i'm sad and wanted to write a comfort fic.

please don't feel like you need to medically transition just because you don't like having a period- there's a risk of you developing real gender dysphoria due to other side effects, and needing to detransition later. i'm saying this because there's not a lot of menstruation-themed content out there, and i don't want people to equate 'periods are annoying' with 'i must be transgender'. please speak to your doctor if you're worried about your cycle or any unusual symptoms.

with that said, godspeed to anybody dealing with their time of the month right now! i hope you have all the chocolate you need!