Chapter 4: Page 4 - Chapter 1 END
Newborn Resolve Tested
"Hey nerd, how long are you going to be in there?" asked a young Katsuki, hastily knocking on the door of the bathroom as he rubbed his sluggish eyes, "You've been in there ever since I woke up, what are you doing in there?"
At first, no reply was given from beyond the locked door.
"...Nothing," Izuku finally answered.
"What? Then get out if you're already done in there!" Katsuki told him, puzzled as to why he was hogging the entire bathroom to himself.
"I-...still want-...need…" a solemn sigh came from beyond the door, "I just need to stay here...just a little longer."
"...Whatever, can I at least come in and brush my teeth?"
"..."
"Oi, my toothbrush is in there. I already had to use my damn mom's shower, I'm not using her toothbrush as well! Argh, now look at what you made me do, my mom will chew my ear off if she heard me swear!"
"..."
When Katsuki heard the door's lock make a clicking sound, he took it as an invitation, opening the door and entering the bathroom. As he walked in, he spotted the green-haired boy, he was sitting in the bathtub with his knees hugging his chest and his head hanging low. The blond was quite surprised to see Izuku the way he was, the fox boy was never one who walked around with his head held high by a mountain of confidence, despite the hardships he faced Izuku managed to keep his head on a leveled ground before now. Seeing him so gloomy like this out of nowhere felt unusual, it's the early morning and they haven't gone to school yet, what could've happened to make him so upset?
Questions that he would like to ask flooded Katsuki's mind yet, there was a feeling dwelling in his stomach that told him not to. Besides, as his mother instructed, his job was to protect him from harm by the outside world, he doesn't need to get involved with all his affairs. Walking by the bathtub, the blond approached the mirror, collecting his toothbrush and paste from the cabinet to start his morning routine. As he brushed his teeth, he took repeated looks through the mirror at Izuku, watching him. The greenet didn't move an inch the entire time, the grief he was suffering made him sit still like a statue. While it was unnecessary, Katsuki decided he was going to ask a few questions, convincing himself that it was only out of curiosity.
"Alright, I'll bite, why the hell are you sitting in the bathtub?"
"...it's nothing."
"It's definitely something, you're defective but not senseless."
"How would you know?"
"My mom said that people only sit in the bathtubs when they're not bathing to sulk, like my dad when my mom played something called a 'break-up' prank on him...well she initially said two reasons but then never mentioned the second one. Anyways, there's obviously something on your mind, spill it."
"I don't wanna talk about it."
"Why?"
"It's just...personal."
"...Fine, whatever!" the blonde responded, spitting into the sink. Unscrewing the cap for the mouthwash, he prepared to rinse out the remaining bacteria from his mouth, not before telling Izuku "I just don't want this to be a daily thing, going into my parent's bathroom made me find out way too much about my parents!"
With Katsuki being on his way out and the dawn of solitude steadily approaching, Izuku finally called out to him, "Hey!... Kacchan."
"What!?" Katsuki replied, pouring in some mouthwash.
"D-do feel like you should've been born?"
"...eh?"
This was a potent question for two ten-year-olds to ask each other, a hard contrast to what society would think kids of such a young age would be thinking about. The underbelly of humanity will always be dark and ugly, yet, it's an unavoidable trail many must face one day. Izuku had just encountered his own the night before.
"I mean, you ever just...I don't know, realize how much your parents have to do for you? When things started clicking about how horribly uncaring the world can be and how you've only been ignorant about it for so long because your parents used their well-being to shield it from you. Like how many things need to be done to stay alive, the amount of time they have to spend to raise us well, or how much your existence negatively impacted their life?-"
"-Almost as if things would've been better had you not been born."
Silence quickly filled the room after that statement, both kids were in their own distressed state from the questions it brought, and it tormented them with their inability to come up with a solution. What can one say about a situation they know exists and recognize how devastating it can be yet, they don't know enough about the world to find an answer? For kids this age, they only had a few options of what they could do. Not being one to let such an existential dilemma slow him down, Katsuki spat out the solution before stating how he saw the issue.
"Eh, hell if I know."
"Yeah...I thought so."
"Cause I'm not dumb enough to try to find out!"
"What?"
"There's no point in figuring out all that junk, it won't do me any good even if I get an answer anyways."
"Yeah but, what if-"
"What if what!? We're kids! We're not going to do anything important with that information and we can't fix anything with it! Not a lot can be done about it, may as well not waste the time thinking about it."
"Kacchan…." Izuku silently muttered under his breath, while understanding the intent behind those words, they were not enough to lift his sorrowful head. Regardless he still gave an obligatory response to assure his friend, "I guess you're right."
Taking one last look at Izuku, Katsumi gritted his teeth in annoyance before heading out, "We got a test today at school, so don't be late."
…
"Ok."
The unanswered problems from youth are usually the scars that last the longest.
"HEY! HEY!" called out a very mighty voice.
Opening his eyes Izuku would find himself with the perfect view of the city...
...over two hundred feet in the air.
Freaking out from his frightening circumstance, Izuku started screaming at the top of his lungs, "AHHHH! I'M FALLING!?"
"Calm Down Young One!" the voice called out to him again, "You're not falling, you're holding onto my leg!"
Looking up, Izuku saw that his arms were tightly wrapped around an extremely muscular leg, his nails were intensely inserted into the fabric of the person's jeans. His eyes trailed up the limb to see who it was he was clinging to, surprised when he saw it was none other than the number one hero, All Might! His signature blonde hair, those white teeth, his manly jawline, and that iconic smile, they were all right there!
"A-a-all Might!" shrieked Izuku, his grip began to loosen as the shock of this revelation took over his body.
"DON'T LET GO!" All Might shouted back at him, if the boy slipped off at this height, he might not be able to save him in the condition he's in. He did however wish Izuku trimmed his nails, though they weren't breaking the skin, they were digging pretty deep into his leg.
Hanging on for his life, Izuku tried to remember what had led to his current situation. The last thing he can remember was being suffocated by the slime villain while he was moping about earlier events. He was saved by someone, most likely All Might, so how did it escalate to this?
If anything, the first thing that should've happened was him waking up and asking All Might for an autograph!
'Oh wait that did happen!'
That was when it hit him! He did wake up from his near-death experience with the slime villain, his face was burning from accidentally scratching his fight from the fight but he put that pain aside. Having recognized the extremely popular pro-hero, he asked for an autograph only to find out that he already got it...on his school's jacket. His torn, battered, soaked, and burnt from being twice over exploded school jacket. He wished he had something better to get signed, like a notebook or any of his other items, sadly almost all of them, except for his necklace, was in the backpack he left behind at the scene of the explosion.
'It wasn't my fault I was underprepared, I didn't expect to be saved by the number one hero, much less meet him.'
Shaking his head from these thoughts, Izuku knew he had to get back on track. The main question he should be trying to answer.
How did he get here?
The question, a single question he wanted to answer.
It was that mindset of retelling himself about the question he needed to solve that he got the answer. He ended up here because he wanted to ask All Might a question, an extremely important and personal question for him. Unfortunately, the pro hero seemed eager to leave as soon as he confirmed the young boy wasn't harmed, maybe a bit too eager as he didn't take the time to make sure an ambitious and slightly reckless fox boy didn't grab onto his leg before launching into the air.
He must've fainted from skyrocketing into the air, his chagrin made him want to curl up into a ball for being so faint of heart in front of his idol. Why did he choose NOW to show off his mother's side of his genetics?
When they finally landed, All Might again tried to run off after ensuring the young boy would have safe passage back down but Izuku stopped him with a question.
"Is it possible for someone like me to become a hero, the way I am?"
Not stopping in his exit, All Might quickly turn his torso around with his signature smile and told him, "Of course you can! I've known many cat-based quirk users who worked hard into becoming wonderful heroes! If you train hard enough you might even be able to join the Wild, Wild Pussycats!"
"But my quirk isn't cat-based," Izuku corrected, a weird feeling of glee hit him by doing so, but also a bit of humiliation that his idol thought he had a cat quirk. After taking a deep breath he explained to him, "I don't have any kind of quirk, I'm quirkless."
This stopped the pro in his tracks. In a moment of confusion and instinctive curiosity, he gave the young boy that defied everything he knew of the world his full attention, both mentally and physically by turning his whole body toward him. He needed to be somewhere, anywhere that wasn't here, yet he stayed as it seemed like pure luck that he might've stumbled upon one of the many mysteries this world held.
For once in Izuku's life, he willingly revealed himself, his true self, to another human being. He reached into his hair, undoing the string on his ears and letting them pop out of his hair. They still weren't that big, they barely even stuck out from his curly hair.
As he showed them off Izuku said, "I know my FOX fangs, nails, ears, and tail can throw you off-"
'He has a tail!?' All Might thought to himself, not saying it out loud as to not discourage the boy. He already called him the wrong animal, anything more and he'll risk demoralizing the young boy, which is a cardinal sin for a hero to do in his mind.
"I was born inheriting an abnormal recessive gene from my father that gave me these fox limbs," as the green-haired boy explained this, he unbuckled the belt he used to hold his tail, letting the lifeless limb flop out, "It's apparently a mutation that's not related to quirks, I don't get it either and we're unable to find my dad's files to see if his families' medical history might have an explanation-"
All Might seemed to stare intensely as he listened, letting the boy know he was listening to every word.
"-Though honestly, I don't even think I want to know anymore, not like it'll change much. I can't hear out of my ears...my fox ears, and any sounds I do pick up with them are painful. I can't wiggle my ears, wag my tail, naturally retract my claws, or have a good sense of smell. Nothing was enhanced by having these... these cursive parts. Because of my defective parts, I've only hurt and burdened everyone that cared enough to take care of me. I want to pay them all back, for everything they sacrificed for me by trying to fulfill my dream of being a hero! Which is why I want to know, could I ever hope to be someone like you?"
…
The high altitude wind blowing kept the rooftop from becoming too quiet as the two looked toward one another. This meeting with All Might, a miracle a boy like him could only dream of, was one that can turn his entire life around. Izuku thought someone with his experience and knowledge should know exactly what to say in his situation, something that can invigorate him on the right path. He just needs to hear those words, a statement that no one has ever said to them before, not after finding out about his condition.
"I-"
Right as the tall muscular man was about to speak, he suddenly spewed blood out of his mouth and became a small skeletal man.
Freaking out, Izuku screamed in terror, "WAAAAAAH! WAS IT BECAUSE YOU SAW MY TAIL!? OH NO, I DID IT AGAIN!"
"What? No! How would a tail even- What kind of life did you live to think that!?" All Might asked, coughing up a storm from his little blood spewed.
Elsewhere in the city, a white hooded person was watching over a scene where an explosion happened at a distance from the rooftop. She smiled when she saw the criminal being carried off by the police and heroes, jumping into a nearby alleyway.
A few hundred yards away from her, a certain blonde had quickly broken off from his circle of friends, going off on his own. Not that he was very chatty with them, the earlier events of that day have put him in the worst mood then he's usually in and now more current ones just turned things from aggravating to concerning.
'Why does that Deku have to cause so many problems?' he thought to himself as he hurriedly spent a considerate amount of time looking through the streets, he had just gotten off a phone call with his mom and found out that Izuku has yet to return home. Reminding him of a time the boy frightened his entire family with similar antics. He remembered it perfectly as that day Izuku randomly locked himself in the bathroom, a few periods before school ended he got over a dozen texts from both their parents asking if Izuku was with him at school. They didn't even leave at the same time nor was he sure if the guy was even going to go to school that day, yet all of the sudden, he was looked as his caretaker for someone he didn't even know went out the house. He could not forget what he felt that day, it was a feeling he preferred making others think he didn't have. This was why he was searching so seriously to find Izuku, he didn't even notice the bottle on the ground that had just a few minutes prior been dropped right out of the sky.
As the bottle cap slowly twisted itself open, Katsuki was in his thoughts, 'Please don't tell me he actually-'
...
A Few Minutes Earlier!
Walking down the streets of the city, a much more solemn Izuku held his head low, his ears and tails were hidden again. Recounting the events that happened on that rooftop after the little misunderstanding. It took a while for the blonde man to convince him both, that he was truly All Might and the fact that it wasn't showing him his tail that caused his sudden transformation. The image of that scar on his body haunted Izuku's mind, someone with a golden body and the strengths of hercules could end up like that, it was unbelievable. He lost the composure of his hair, his muscles, those chiseled pecs, his damn near perfect jawline, and his trillion yen smile. All gone, leaving only a husk of the idol he thought he knew. What he said to him was what followed him the most.
"Pro heroes are always having to risk their lives in order to protect society. Some villains just can't be bitten without powers and being ill-equipped to face a threat will not only hinder other heroes but put the civilians in danger as well. So no, I honestly don't think you can be a hero without a quirk."
"...I see."
"If you want to help people, there's plenty of other ways to do it. You can become a police officer. They aren't noticed and get a lot of crap because the heroes take the spotlight for the process of capturing most of the villains, but it's a fine profession that's just as necessary. If your fox limbs ever start working, you'll become a key aspect to the entire force. Though the usage of quirks in public are held only to heroes, cases like yours, where your fox traits can be considered as a mutation quirk, can get some leeway since you can't 'help' if your nose picks up scents better, or if your ears can pick up sounds easier, or even if your nails become pretty useful in a situation where you're low on equipment!" it wasn't until later that Izuku became impressed how quickly All might caught on to the shame he felt about his extra parts.
"Ok…." looking back he felt like he was too negative with his reaction, considering what he's been told in his life, this was the only time someone actually gave him some positive alternative to his situation. Though like everyone else, no one believed he could be a hero.
"Look young man, I get what you're feeling right now. Trust me, you don't need to do anything special for your family to make up for them raising you with all your faults growing, you being able to grow up and live a happy normal life is all your loved ones want from you. You don't need to get yourself maimed trying to reach for something clearly out of your capabilities as an apology to them. It's not bad to have a dream, just... make sure to dream for yourself, that your dreams are attainable and realistic, understand?"
"..Yeah."
"Come on, I'm going to stop by the police station to drop off the villain, you can come to watch and maybe after I can take you out for ice cream before getting you home."
"No, I'm fine."
"You sure, I know a place tha-"
"I'm sure!"
Before All Might could get another word out Izuku had rushed past him.
Izuku facepalmed himself into blindness for how he acted, thinking to himself, 'Why am I such a baby about things!? I just missed out on seeing All Might turn in a villain first hand and getting ice cream with him after! What is wrong with me! Most kids would kill, like literally kill someone for something like that and I just threw it away because I was upset that he didn't think a man whose only traits are defective fox ears could become a hero that fights dangerous villains! What kind of-'
Before he finished that thought, his forehead smack against something soft but resistant like a bouncy ball, springing him back with enough force to knock him off his feet. This being too self-absorbed into his own mental self-defecation was becoming really unhealthy for him, one day he's going to be hit by a car or get caught in the middle of an explosion again. Recovering from his humiliating fall, he noticed a pair of shoes in front of him, meaning he bumped into someone.
As usual, whenever anyone bumps into another on the streets, some apologetic banter begins.
"I-i'm so sorry mi-"
"Oi watch what you bump into unless you want me to kick your ass thir-"
Though this time was different. While the two had polar opposite initial reactions, they shared the same look of shock when they saw each other, instantly recognizing each other.
"Bunny ears…" Izuku silently muttered under his breath.
"Broccoli head!" a familiar dark-skinned bunny girl exclaimed.
Astounded by what stars must've aligned for the two to meet again so soon, Izuku's eyes widened as he looked like he just saw his favorite video game character come to life. His lips quivered, legs felt like spaghetti, heart was pounding, arms were shaky, body felt giddy with excitement, and he was speechless. He couldn't imagine what she was thinking because his mind was pulling blanks on him.
On the other side, the bunny girl was just blinking at him nonchalantly thinking, 'huh, didn't expect to see him here.'
…
"You didn't have to do this Miss," Izuku told her. They were currently sitting at the sidewalk of a cafe, waiting to be served three scoops of refreshing frozen treats to enjoy on this bizarre day.
Waving off his gratitude the dark-skinned woman replied, "I already told you to call me Miruko and don't worry about it, call it your reward for keeping our little promise. Hopefully, it'll be enough for you...because I don't have enough money for something else at the moment."
"N-no no it's fine! I just wish you didn't trick me into accepting it by saying you were gonna force-feed me garlic flavor."
"Ha! I don't play tricks, I'm just very persuasive."
"It's borderline threatening."
"Oh trust me, that's not a threat. When I give a threat, ex-cons cry!"
"I can...terrifyingly see that."
The chilling vibe he felt was ironically complemented with the waitress serving them their frosty desserts. From his pressured choice, Izuku had ordered by pointing at the flavors he remembers he liked individually and prayed he'll like it together, he got two scopes of a green color ice cream and a scoop of a yellow color one on top. Miruko had gotten something she referred to the waitress as 'her usual'. Two scoops of a white color ice cream and one scoop of a pinkish color one with red flakes over it. Picking up a spoon, Miruko waited for no one to start enjoying her servings as the greenet was hesitant in eating his.
"What?" Miruko asked after seeing him be reluctant with his own, "You made a bad combination?"
"N-no, I was wondering about the flavors you picked out," Izuku replied, picking up his spoon to stop the questioning.
"It's not any stranger than what you got. What even is that lime colored one you got?"
"...It's lime, I got lemon and lime. What's wrong with lemon and lime!?"
"You might as well be injecting citrus into your bloodstream, at least then you'll save yourself the risk of brain freeze and a few bucks."
"I don't think that's how this works- anyways, I was mostly referring to the red one on top."
"This is plain vanilla, the one on top is a raspberry flavor with red cinnamon sprinkles. Got an issue with cinnamon? Did you fail the cinnamon challenge before?"
"No!...and no, I've never tried the challenge before. It just seems weird for someone like you to eat that."
"Let me guess, you expected me to get 'carrot' flavor?"
"N- maybe!"
"..."
"..."
"..." Miruko raised an eyebrow at him, staring at Izuku with her unphased interrogating eyes.
"Yes."
"Thought so!"
A small blush came across Izuku's face, "You wouldn't think the same!? I thought most people with an animal base mutation quirk would consider it if they like the same food as the animal they're based on. Especially if it's in ice cream form!"
"Ha, you're not wrong. I wished there was a carrot flavor, that'll be something to try."
"But...there is a carrot flavor."
"...You're joking!"
"N-no, it's been a thing for a while now."
"Damn it dad! I swear we had a two-hour argument about this last week, I think he just wanted to win his stupid game night!"
This caused Izuku to let out a chuckle, he wasn't sure why, but hearing that sort of slow day hijinks between a father and his daughter seemed wholesomely entertaining to him. He didn't have many memories of his father but the few he did remember usually involved some silly shenanigans that looked like they belonged in a sitcom.
"You're laughing now?" Miruko commented with a smile of her own, "That's good, you looked like you had a long day and need something to cheer you up. Bet you're now happy I dragged you here."
Izuku nodded his head, "Yeah, thank you." he said, taking a spoonful of his frozen treat in his mouth and relishing in its fruitful flavors.
With the pair eating and chatting with each other, it served to soothe the wounded spirit of the fox boy. Opening up his heart just enough to ask a few particular questions, "So, do you want to be a hero?"
Drastically slowing down on her eating, Miruko sternly said, "I guess, why?" readying her free hand just in case the boy says a little too much.
"Was just thinking about it earlier when, well you know, you were so skilled then. It looked like you were practicing to be a hero."
Relaxing her hand as the boy showed to be discreet about her actions, Miruko replied "More so, that guy was a major scumbag and I like beating up scum. Lost a favorite store of mine because of him."
"When your quirk first manifested, were you confident in your ability to be a hero? Did you ever doubt that you can become a hero?"
"Pfft, of course not!" Miruko confidently exclaimed.
'That's probably because her quirk was strong from the beginning.' Izuku thought to himself before saying, "Would you still think that, if your quirk weren't as strong as it was now?"
The bunny girl scoffed, "I mean yeah, whatever quirk I got, even if it was a weak one wasn't going to stop me from training my body to be that of a hero. That'll be stupid."
That line hit Izuku weird, his heart irregularly beat afterward as if he was suddenly smacked with an unexpected object. He asked her, "But if you have a weak quirk, won't that only put yourself and others in danger if you go against a strong villain."
"Sure, I guess that's a possibility," Miruko shrugged, her eyes wandered a bit as she thought it over before stating, "That's kinda the point of training your body. Have you seen the quirks most heroes have? A good amount of them are really niche abilities that only work in certain situations. To me, what makes a difference between a regular guy and a hero is how someone can use their capabilities to be as effective as possible in turning a situation to their favor with their niche."
Izuku scooted his body forward, seating at the edge of his seat as he asked more questions. He was getting more intrigued by the second, the kind of attitude she had was a polar opposite of what he usually gets whenever he asks these kinds of questions and it perplexed him on how he should feel. Was she just being overconfident and naive, or just more optimistic and determined. He needed to ask her an important question.
"I have...a quirk that's not that strong, to the point where I'm basically quirkless outside of my nails. Do you think I have a chance at being a hero?"
…
"How the fuck should I know?"
Izuku blinked, his eyes were wide and his jaw dropped low from the unexpected reaction the dark-skinned girl gave. He remembered getting that kind of response to a question once before, the memory seemed too distant to properly remember. Only the feeling of not knowing how to feel about that kind of answer remained, how half completed it felt to hear. As Izuku tried to speak, he stammered with his words.
"Eh?"
"I don't know who you are, what you can do, or what you can grow to be!? No one does, it's only you who can truly bring out what you can do with your own effort! My quirk wasn't that strong either when it first manifested, I'm a fucking rabbit, when was the last time humanity was threatened by a rabbit! Regardless of that, I was prepared to kick ass without using a quirk at all, it was only a coincidence that it became something useful later on. My old man said it was because of some super smart science crap but I say it's because of how badass I was training! So just do that." Miruko casually said.
"Me? I don't think I can get like that!"
"Why not? You may not look like much but I don't see anything that'll prevent you from trying to be more."
"I just...think my quirk is too def- detrimental to grow into something. Almost as if things would be better if I never had this quirk to begin with...or if I was never born." he wished he was brave enough to say that last part.
Miruko abruptly slammed the table with her hand as she rolled her eyes, groaning in annoyance, "Ugh! I hate those kinds of philosophical questions, they're utterly horrendous to hear, take a considerate amount of time to think through, and mean nothing in the end!"
"They mean nothing?" Izuku repeated, feeling a bit skeptical about what she meant. He was pretty sure questioning if his life had a positive meaning meant something, if not to anyone then himself.
"Yeah, they mean nothing in the end, which is why I never wasted my time with them. Think about most of those kinds of questions, they're extremely vast and too vague. What is the point of life, what is the role of humans, is the sky blue, should we blah blah blah blah blah!" she said mockingly, exaggerating her expressions in a way that'll make the ancient greek philosophers rage, "I'm so sick of hearing them! What are you going to do if you get an answer? Not a lot because that's all you got, an answer. Nothing more, nothing less, just something that can't change what already is, which was the point of people searching for an answer to begin with. You're not going to change the world or make anyone's life better by trying to answer some rhetorical questions! It's like asking if my day would've been perfect if that villain attack didn't happen. Sure it may have been better if my favorite store wasn't destroyed, of course, something has a chance of being better if something negative didn't happen! Water is wet! That doesn't solve anything and me moping about it isn't going to fix it either. I just take what happens to me with what I got and try to get where I want. If I can do something then I do the best I can, if I can't then I see if I improve myself into being able to do that thing before moving on!-"
Before she continued any further, she paused with an enlightening look on her face, as if she had a revelation of her own from the speech she said. Facepalming herself, she grumbled, "Blah, I sound like my fucking dad!-"
She pointed a finger at the young fox boy before stating, "Point is, stop holding yourself back by thinking about stupid shit and do something! Life always throws challenges at you, start learning how to improve so you can kick their ass! You want something done, instead of crying to your lucky star hoping for a miracle, you just do it and become that miracle!"
A drop of sweat dripped down Izuku's face, her simple way of doing things was problematic since it clashes against the usual meticulous lifestyle he used to live. She makes life sound so much easier than what it really is, which could be beneficial if used in the right situation but for someone like him, this wasn't something he can take in one sitting. Was he really being stupid thinking about half the stuff he does? The best way to find out was to look into the other side and see what results he can yield.
"Where would I start doing something like that?" the fox boy asked, his curiosity growing exponentially from wanting to explore this new way of life.
"Typically anywhere, from your own room to like a junkyard, that's where I started out. But if you really suck at training yourself," she reached into her back pocket to get out a business card, writing on the back of it an address and two numbers before handing it over to him, "Try this place. If you're having trouble finding the place, the bottom number is mine."
As Izuku accepted the card, his hand began shaking. An overwhelming amount of joy filled his body, causing him to get a wide smile, and his eyes began glittering; if he could move his tail right now, he'll probably be wagging it like a dog despite being a fox. Miruko didn't know it yet, but she had just helped him achieve a great thing in his life.
'I finally got a girl's number!' he cheered in his head.
It was now Miruko's turn to have a sweat drop from her head, she doesn't know what his life might be like but she wasn't going to lie about how his reaction seemed a bit too creepy. His excitement soon died out when he turned to the front of the card and saw it was the business card to a pet shop, looking up at her with an ambitious questioning look to know the reason she had this.
Sensing the speculation of a stereotype flooding his mind, Miruko quickly stated, "Don't ask, it's a long story!"
Knowing how complicated situations can be when one is living under special circumstances, Izuku chose to leave it there, "O-ok."
BOOM!
They recognized that sound, an explosion must've happened not too far from them. With both of them having their curiosity in the cause, they both went together to see what was happening. On the way there, Izuku thought about how fortunate he was that all these things were happening in such proximity to him. For better or worse, his luck stat has been the all-star of his day.
When they finally reached the site, Izuku was met with a horrifying sight. Blazing bright red flames had consumed most of the shopping district, slowly burning down the cherished buildings around them and their cherished decorations. The flames lit up the area to look like a scorching orange inferno had appeared out of nowhere, pure contrast to the calm shiny blue scene that the rest of the city had. A piece of hell had replaced the streets that Izuku once knew for years, it was no longer the peaceful place that people came to cheerfully enjoy their lives, but a disastrous space that no man can walkthrough.
All the heroes that were currently there had their hands filled protecting the other civilians or were trying to control the ever-growing fire. Their only saving graces were the three high ranking heroes that were on the scene but even then there was trouble, Mt Lady couldn't assist as her giant form was too big to fit in the narrow streets without completely destroying every building in her path, Death Arms abilities in this situation weren't any good outside of making sure the civilians didn't get hurt, and Kamui Wood couldn't fight as well because the flames kept destroying the wood he'll create which only ended up adding fuel to the fire. They were utterly overwhelmed and helpless to detain the villain that caused all that.
That was the worst part of this entire situation, the slime villain, he was back. Just seeing him struck fear in Izuku, he still remembers the crushing feeling of how the villain tried to slowly suffocate him less than an hour ago. It was the first time ever that he didn't want to watch a villain attack and go straight home, the only thing that kept him there was the lack of strength his legs had; too petrified from his fear to move. That fear grew into a complete nightmare when he saw who was unfortunately caught in the dastardly villain's hands.
"Kacchan…" Izuku softly said, it was supposed to be a yell but his fright stole all the power in his lungs. He was watching someone slowly getting asphyxiated, yet the one feeling helpless was him, the one safely behind the line that's being protected by multiple heroes.
Seeing the situation and noticing Izuku's reaction, Miruko already knew she was going to do something about it. She patted Izuku on the shoulder, assuring him, "I'll save your friend, just sit tight!" she ran away from the crowd, trying to find an alleyway she could change in to hide her identity.
Despite Miruko trying to ease Izuku's nerves that someone was going to come save Katsuki, a single thought filled his mind, 'How is he here!? All Might captured him, he showed me! Why isn't All Might stopping him again!? And why of all people was Kacchan the one the slime villain captured? This isn't even a street Katsuki usually goes to in his free time! This is-"
Izuku's eyes widened as in a single moment, he dreadfully solved all of his own questions. He didn't need to hear mutters of the surrounding civilians to know what truly happened.
"What happened!?"
"I was here from the beginning, that villain came out of a bottle like some kind of genie! That poor boy was the closest one to it."
"This is where Bakugo went!? What made him run out on us!"
"I overheard part of a phone call he got from his mom. Apparently, he was looking for someone here."
"You're telling me he got into this mess just because he was looking for someone? That's rough buddy."
'THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!'
A single thought that cleared out everything else, his heart sank when he realized this and held his hand over his mouth mortified.
'It's because of me that the villain escaped… I remember now, when I grabbed onto All Might's leg my nails during his attempt to leave….they ripped up his pants as I grip for my life letting the bottle slip out, he must've not noticed because he was too busy making sure I was safe. Kachan was here looking for me! Probably being forced too from his mom since I haven't returned home yet and didn't call! Now he could die! And All Might, he can't help us and no one knows it yet! He wasted all his time and energy helping me! Now there's no hero whose quirk can stop this villain! I don't even think Miruko's would help if she jumped in. This is all my fault! Kacchan is getting hurt because of me again!'
It has always been like this to Izuku, no matter what he does, or where he goes, he always ends up causing irreparable damage to everyone around him. First his mother with her internal scars, then the Bakugos' who work extra hard to take care of his family, even his idol All Might can't fulfill his heroic duty in a time of desperate need, and now Katsuki might even die because he was trying to make sure he got home safely.
This wasn't the first time Katsuki has been horribly hurt because of him.
"Stop it, let me go it hurts!" was the cry of a younger Izuku.
A group of three older kids had cornered him on his way back from school, one of them had gotten extremely jealous when a girl he liked started fawning over Izuku after she caught a rare sight of him with his young fox ears and tail out. It was a simple mistake that happened only because Izuku had carelessly rushed himself to get to PE and didn't properly tie down his fox parts, leading to them slipping out unexpectedly on his way back to the locker room after the class. He thought everything would be fine since only one girl saw, he did feel a bit uncomfortable with her interest in him, especially when she asked to show him her tail but he managed to get through it since it wasn't the first time an older female showed intense interest in his fox parts.
How wrong he was?
"Fucking brat, you really thought you were special because of these little things." one of the boys said as he pulled on his ears harder, Izuku couldn't fight back as the other boys were holding his arms keeping him still.
"N-no! Please stop, you're going to tear them off!"
"Stop being a baby, I just want to see them properly! I want to see what all the fuss was about and your hair is in the way, you're lucky I don't just give you a much-needed haircut.
Those boys were pulling on his ears so hard that the delicate skin on his still-developing ears began to tear, tears began to stream down his face as a bit of blood started leaking down the top of his head.
Despite his outward distaste for all his fox parts, he strangely didn't want to lose any of them. They were the only things he had to remind himself that he was his father's son, it was a paradox of self-hating with a want to preserve them but it was one of the few reasons why he never did something as drastic as cutting off his fox ears and tail. Now a couple of random teens were going to do it for him.
"STOP!"
"Why don't you make me?"
"He's not able to do that, but I can." a third voice rang out.
It took a second for the kid bullying Izuku to realize that line wasn't said by one of his friends, as soon as he turned behind him to see who it was, his face was met with an explosion! Shocked, the bully let Izuku go and tended to his burning face, screaming in pain.
"Oi, who the hell are you kid!?" one of the bully's friends shouted at the person who assaulted him.
That person was also met with an explosive blast, this time to the stomach, throwing him onto his back as he released the defenseless fox boy. The other boy didn't even get a chance to say anything before he was blasted off of Izuku as well. Standing there was Katsuki, his hands were crackling with tiny sparks as he stared down the older kids.
"I'm the one responsible for that crybaby, and you all fucked up by going this far," he told them. Looking back, Katsuki might've tried a bit too hard to look cool but at that moment he may as well have looked like a superhero.
Recovering from the initial sneak attack, the bully who started this managed to move past the burning sensation on his face and glared at the boy, "You little punk, I'll kick your ass!"
"I'd like to see you try!" Katsuki taunted, readying himself for a fight.
"Don't get too cocky, you're not the only one with a quirk!" the bully replied, his hands slowly turned into the hooves of a donkey. His friend began to get back up as well, activating their quirks as well. This wouldn't be a fair one vs one fight one would expect, but what should you expect from teenagers who'll do this over a girl.
In spite of this, Katsuki's confidence never wavered as he declared, "Bring it!"
The fight lasted for a few minutes and ended with the bullies running away, their clothes shredded with embers and their bodies covered in cinders and bruises. As expected Katsuki stood tall in the direction the bullies ran, taking in the glory of his win and the older boys completely lost. The young fox boy's eyes glowed with admiration seeing him there...until he turned around and showed his battered face. His lips were inflated from the bruises to the point of being comically big and one of his eyes was swollen shut, it later became a black eye.
"You good Deku?" he asked casually as if nothing was wrong.
"You're asking if I'm good!?" Izuku shouted back, surprised the concern was on him.
More than once had Katsuki put his livelihood under great stress for Izuku's sake, now he's the one in danger. He hated seeing Katsuki hurt because of him yet all Izuku can do about it is wallowing in self-pity and angst, on the verge of tears.
'How cowardly!' he thought to himself, 'I'm sorry! I'M SORRY! Please, someone, anyone! Help him! Save Kacchan!'
Like every other time, he didn't know what to do, Izuku prayed, hoping for a change of fate-
-but nothing happened.
Katsuki was still in the crushing grip of the slime villain, Izuku could see the life drain out of his face from the lack of air, he wasn't going to last much longer. As always Katsuki did his best to struggle free to no avail, he was as helpless as Izuku was in this situation-
-and for the first time, there was pure fear in his eyes.
It was that horrified look on his face that made something inside of Izuku awaken once again and a single thought filled his mind again.
'SAVE KACCHAN!'
Without a second thought, Izuku felt his body dash forward, charging through the civilian line the heroes tried to maintain toward the villain. His actions shocked the heroes that were trying to keep the civilians back and the ones watching from behind. They tried to call out to him.
"No you idiot!-"
"Hey, kid get back here!"
"It's too dangerous for you!"
"-Stop before you get yourself killed!"
The screams caught the attention of Miruko who turned back to see a familiar green-haired kid had dropped all forms of sense and had rushed straight toward the villain. Even though she was surprised that the boy would take such an action, she thought, `What the hell is he doing!?'
'What am I doing!?' Izuku thought to himself, despite his mental objection he didn't stop charging at full speed, 'Why did I run? Why can't I stop!?'
"You want something done, instead of crying to your lucky star hoping for a miracle, you just do it and become that miracle!"
'This voice' Izuku thought to himself, remembering the voice. Like before his body seemed to be acting based on the words being told to him.
"Point is, stop holding yourself back by thinking about stupid shit and do something!"
He wasn't even sure what he was doing but he was doing something! The slime villain noticed this as well and didn't hesitate to extend out one of his slimy tendril hands!
'He's going to do something! What do I do?' the greenet remembered a piece of advice that was in his notebook, 'That's right, I need to stun the enemy by- ARGH I don't have anything on me I can throw!'
In the split second of him being distracted by his thoughts, the villain had used his tendrils to pick up a broken shard of glass and swung it at the rushing boy. Izuku didn't know what to do and he was scared of the obvious threat of death that had just approached him.
'He's going to kill me!' Izuku thought as the jagged shard drew closer to him.
"Life always throws challenges at you,-"
"Pro heroes are always having to risk their lives in order to protect society."
Twitch
That strange instinctive feeling Izuku felt before erupted again, the moment must've pushed his senses to the limit as his entire body was shaking, and he swore there was a twitching signal in his head that warned of the incoming attack. It was thanks to that feeling snapping his body out of its suicidal charge that he was able to backstep the villain attack-
-possibly a bit too late as the glass edge tore through Izuku's shirt and slashed at him diagonally.
For a moment, everyone held their breath as they wondered if they just saw the boy get cut down. Everyone except for Izuku, who as soon as the blade passed by his body, he immediately continued his charge forward. He was unharmed, his shirt was ripped off, the remaining scraps of his already barely held together uniform had fallen off as he ran but he didn't have a scratch on him. Thank god for the belt that tied his tail to his back, it had luckily blocked the cut from actually hitting him and gave him the fraction of a second he needed to dodge.
With his belt and shirt gone, his tail was now flying in the wind as he ran, he was so close to Katsuki but with the threat the villain posed it kept him too far away. If he stopped and thought, one of the heroes would surely come in to save him but then that'll leave Katsuki completely alone to die. He can't stop moving, only he can do something to help Katsuki, he just doesn't know what. He barely evaded the first attack that could've mortally wounded him if he didn't have that lucky dodge. Should he pray for that kind of luck a second time? He's been on a lucky streak already today, it was going to run dry soon and it would not be favorable to Izuku if it did now. He needed to know what he could do!
"-start learning how to improve so you can kick their ass!"
'Learn…improve,' he repeated those words in his head. On the spot without time to stop and prepare, he was going to improve his untrained self. He was going to create a miracle of his own! Was it crazy? Yes, but it's not like there was much of a choice. Katsuki only had a few more moments left before the worst could happen.
He wasn't dumb enough to think that he can make himself into a perfect fighter in a second, instead he quickly analyze the situation with three quick facts that he was going to use to survive this.
1. The slime villain's moves are predictable and sloppy, probably from overly relying on his malleable state making him immune to most attacks and thinking Izuku can't do much.
2. The slime villain can't do anything else besides swinging his slimy arms, meaning his attacks are heavily limited.
3. If Izuku can get that twitchy feeling he felt before, he can use that as an indicator when he needs to dodge.
"Stupid brat, you won't get that lucky again!" the villain shouted.
Izuku had barely established those facts in his head before the slime villain threw another slash his way, there's no turning back now, either he'll be able to dodge or he's going to go down as the suicidal fox boy who one day finally had enough and death charged at a villain. He tried to clear his mind to concentrate, trying to listen to his body, he needed to notice when it gave him a sign.
…
Twitch
There it was!
Remembering how he barely avoided the earlier attack when he dodged with a back step, Izuku knew he needed a different way, this time choosing to duck below the strike. He felt the sharp glass glide through the curls of his green hair, strands of his hair were blown away into the air by the gust of wind; he eluded the attack by a literal hair!
But the trouble didn't end there.
While he had ducked the initial attack, the still crouching Izuku would look up to see that a second attack was heading his way. He hadn't even recovered from dodging the first strike, now a low aiming one was coming at him and he didn't know what to do. His senses alerted of the attack but he was in a bad position to dodge like he did before and there wasn't time to think of an alternative.
He was stuck!
"Jump dumbass!"
A recognizable voice shouted through the sea of concerned voices behind Izuku, he couldn't turn around to see who it was but he assumed it was the same person whose advice he's been following during this entire idiotic charge of his. Bending his knees, he converted his body from an awkward crouching position to one preparing itself for a leap. There was only one issue he realized.
'My legs! They're too slow on their own to get me off the ground before he hits me! I won't make it if I keep this pace, I need to do something to speed myself up! Think! THINK!'
From his hunker down position, he slammed his two hands onto the hard ground! As he tightens his hands, his nails grinded against the concrete of the streets, and he synced his arms with his legs. Like a canine, he used the strength in all four of his limbs to thrust himself off the ground! He might've used a bit too much power in his jump, as his leap that was supposed to be enough to go over one attack ended up becoming a full-on daring lunge toward the villain.
The wind was blowing in Izuku's face making it hard to see, his tail was aimlessly fluttering around, and his father's memento was whirling in the air from the gust; only staying in his possession thanks to its chain. He was freaking out as this wasn't part of his barely thought-out plan! It was unexpected but his action seemed to surprise the villain and got him even closer to Katsuki. With a heavy chest, Izuku shouted out his name.
"Kacchan!"
The struggling Katsuki, whose body was going limp, heard his name being called, his dreary eyes drifted in the direction it came from. A bit of life was ignited in him as he spotted a wild fox boy flying toward him. His nails were fully extended, his teeth were keen, and his green eyes had pupils that were sharp. The tail he usually hid under his clothes was now freely hovering behind him and the string that usually held down his ears had snapped off from the previous attack, letting them flow out of his hair! All of Izuku, human or fox, was on display for everyone to see. The boy who once was cautious of everyone seeing him this way now didn't care what anyone thought of him, he only had his one goal in mind.
Save Kacchan!
'What do I do now!?' Izuku thought to himself, 'That's right!'
As the distance between him and the villain was close, Izuku clawed at the slime villain's eyes, blinding him and releasing his hold on Katsuki.
'Stun him!'
Landing on his feet, the greenet wasted no time tearing away the gunk that was covering his friend's mouth so he could breathe. As soon he could open his mouth, Katsuki took a deep breath of much-needed air and to revivify his body. Panting, he immediately yelled.
"Deku? What the hell are you doing here!?"
"I don't know, I just started doing stupid things!" Izuku told him as he continued scraping away other parts of his body.
"Get away from me, I don't need to be saved by you! You're just going to get in the way and get killed!"
"I can't!"
"Why? I don't even like you!"
Izuku couldn't help but smile, not even he truly knew why he did what he did. Life without Katsuki there to constantly put him down sounded great and this was a situation where no one expected him to do anything or would blame him if he was helpless. Yet, he was still here! Was it fate, his will, or pure stupidity, either one would be fitting for this situation. The best he told Katsuki was something he felt he learned from him after all these years.
"Honestly, I don't know if I hate you or not myself, but I don't think that should matter when your responsibility is saving someone! I can't just sit back and let you die!?-" after freeing Katsuki's shoulder, he grabbed on it and pulled with all his might to get his friend out of there, letting out a roar.
"-WE'RE GOING HOME TOGETHER!"
The statement stunned Katsuki into silence, echoes of a distant memory lingered on his mind.
"Uh...thank you for saving me Kacchan-"
"Whatever Deku, it's not like I had much of a choice! Mom made you my responsibility so I couldn't sit back and watch you get hurt even if I wanted to."
Despite Izuku's best effort, he couldn't get Katsuki free by himself, the slime villain while blinded still got a grip on his lower body. His fox ears were in pain from the villain's painful yell, that didn't deter Izuku's resolution to continue to pry the blonde away, bit by bit. With enough of the slime around his arms having been torn away, Katsuki could move his hand, just enough for him to use his quirk to blast one of his hands free.
"You fucking idiot," Katsuki spat, as Izuku grabbed his other arm and he turned his free hand in the direction of his trapped one he yelled, "That was my plan from the start of this mess!"
Releasing another explosion that blasted away enough slime so they can pull out his other arm. With both hands free and Izuku pulling him out, Katsuki managed to turn his torso to face the villain. Lucky for him, the slime didn't completely dissipate his nitroglycerin, and with the stress of the situation causing him to uncontrollably sweat, the villain was chock full of ammunition for his quirk.
"Hold on!" Katsuki ordered Izuku who had no issues obeying in this situation.
Then there was a spark.
A spark that ignited the chemical substance that covered the villain and a fiery red explosion erupted that rumbled the street.
The shockwave of the explosion sent the two kids back onto the ground hard and the force broke the chain holding his necklace, Izuku lost track where it flew off to. The kids looked at their handy work, the smoke had engulfed the area, and burning embers floated in the sky. It might be a bit early to call it but they got him.
For a split second, the two boys shared a moment where they were both amazed at what happened.
Then Katsuki turned around, his usual anger in his eyes as he looked like he was about to shout, "You-"
But then he suddenly stopped.
"What?" Izuku asked, wondering what prevented him from yelling at him.
Too stunned to say anything Katsuki continued to stare at Izuku, amazed at what he was seeing.
Unbeknown to the smiling Izuku, his ears, his cursed fox ears were twitching! Not only that but his tail was wagging back and forth on the ground as well. The parts of him that they all once thought were dead weight was now moving with life. They weren't moving much and from the crowd perspective nothing was happening but Katsuki swears he saw them moving, he knew something had surely awakened in the boy to have caused this.
Neither knew that this small victory was the fruitful results of Izuku's changed fate and a new resolve for life.
"LOOK OUT!" a voice called out.
Coming from the direction of the crowd, something zipped past them at high speed into the cloud of smoke, clearing out enough to expose a recovering slime villain planning to pull a sneak attack on the unexpecting boys.
"Die you damn brats!" declared the villain, reeling back his hand to give one last effort to enact his revenge on the kids that ruined his glorious return.
"Save the kids!" Deatharms shouted as they all charged in to try to save the boys, Miruko wanted to go in as well but found her sprinting path blocked off by the crowd, having to take a quick detour that could result in deadly effects. Katsuki quickly kneeled in front of Izuku, readied his hand in an attempt to muster up enough sweat for another explosion but his slime-covered hands dampened it. Izuku's senses were going crazy about the oncoming attack. Having run out of ideas and strength, Izuku sat down with tears of acceptance in his eyes; still smiling. He only had time for one final thought.
'We're dead, should've run while we had the chance!'
SLAM!
As the villain lifted his grimy hand expecting to see two mangled boys bodies, he was surprised to see that he only hit the street.
Standing in front of him was a proud All Might in his signature buff form, both the boys were safely tucked in one of his muscular arms. At this point, Izuku, after making peace with dying for that brief moment, was barely even conscious to see what was going on.
All he knew was All Might has saved them and that's all he needed to know.
No doubt All Might was saying some kind of inspirational speech right now but his hearing had checked out long again. Most of it was just a buzzing mess. To everyone else, they heard the final attack to put an end to this nightmare scene.
DETROIT SMASH!
…
"You two were so brave." one of the heroes said once the mess got settled, praising the young kids that showed true courage in the face of danger.
That compliment was given to Bakugo and Miruko.
Apparently, Miruko was the one that alerted everyone of the slime villain's plan to attack while everyone thought it was over and kicked that rock to expose it. She also saved a few civilians from getting hurt when she destroyed some rumble that fell after Bakugo's explosion while the heroes were too distracted watching the boys. Katsuki was getting praised for being able to blast himself free from the villain's hold on him and for remaining calm through most of it.
Izuku on the other hand received a severe scolding from the heroes for being reckless and every synonym to that word. Not surprisingly, almost saving someone and not getting yourself killed doesn't count for much in the face of rules and the only thing he got that wasn't him being berated was a sorta compliment where Kamui Wood said his lunge at the villain was impressive for a kid to do and that he was lucky his claws were sharp enough pry apart the villain's slime grip. He was honestly happy this was the worst that he got considering what he did, it could've been worse but he guessed both of them getting out of there alive and surprisingly unharmed is what saved him from something worse. Though it might've killed the little bit of life his fox parts had as they didn't move after being saved. He was chastised for almost half an hour, at least he hoped it was only half an hour, he wasn't going to lie that his sense of time was off for a multitude of reasons.
He was only saved when Katsuki grabbed the back of his neck collar and began dragging him away despite the heroes' protest.
"Hey kid, we're not-"
"We get it already, he's a dumbass! We can all agree on that. Now we need to get home soon or else our moms will both kill me and then die of a heart attack!"
The heroes didn't object any more as the blonde's statement left them questioning the particular relationship between their mothers and didn't want to step on that topic-
-in public.
Miruko watched as the pair walked off, smiling as she mumbled to herself, "Interesting kid."
The walk back home was mostly silent between the two of them. Izuku had gotten a free Wild, Wild Pussycats t-shirt from one of the shopkeepers so he didn't have to go home shirtless, his only reward for his efforts.
'It's a bit embarrassing to wear but at least it's something of a souven- oh crap!'
He finally realized that his black fox tail, his father's memento, the only material thing he had to remember him by had fallen off! Right as the fear struck his face, he found his prized possession dangling in front of him. Looking to the side he saw that it was Katsuki that was holding it out to him.
"Took you long enough to notice, some bunny girl found it and I had her give it to me," he mumbled quietly, he wasn't able to look Izuku in the eyes, "I got it fixed, this time with a metal chain so it'll be durable and won't look like a gift from a grandma gives to a five-year-old. If it breaks again, you're on your own!"
Taking the necklace and putting it on, Izuku let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you."
"Whatever, I just didn't want to hear you crying about it once we got home."
"..."
"..."
As the two walked Katsuki's pace continued to rapidly slow down, lagging behind Izuku.
"And I'm sorry."
Izuku immediately turned back to him, he swore he just heard him whisper something, "What!?"
"I said you're such a sorry weakling Deku! Geez, you'll always be a defective brat and I'll never ask you for help ever!" Katsuki shouted at him, his eyes lit back up with rage as he gritted his fist, "So careless, where would you be without me!?"
Izuku stared blankly for a minute before giving a soft smile and replying, "I have no idea, I can't imagine a life without you."
The explosive blonde's eyes widened, that wasn't an expected response, to hide his reaction to it he turned his face away from the greenet, giving off a grunt. Mumbling something about 'never looking down on him'.
While it may be flattering to hear, Izuku was being serious, despite the highs and lows of their relationship, he couldn't say for certain how his life will be without his childhood friend. So many moments were heavily influenced by him.
Like that day all those years ago when he was ten.
He was crying under an underpass and was seriously considering running away from home. That was until a certain blond walked by him, at first they just stared at each other as they were both surprised to find the other there.
"You were here of all places?"
"K-kacchan?"
"..."
"..."
The awkward silence tensed up the air. Scratching his cheek as he thought of what to say, a smile came upon Katsuki's face as he jabbed a thumb behind him and asked, "So there's this new Vigilante game that came out at the arcade but it's stupidly two players only. So uh, you wanna be my partner?"
"..." at first the fox boy stared back at him like he was crazy, then he said, "Ok."
That became the day Izuku didn't run away from home because of video games.
To Izuku's knowledge, it was by pure chance that Katsuki walked past him that day, he had yet to find out what he was doing there in the first place. It only made one thing clear to Izuku, too many things were affected for him to tell for certain how his life would be if he wasn't in his life. He was going to take Miruko's advice and not waste his life thinking about it. Katsuki was alive, nothing was going to change that and he felt like their relationship had changed in some way today.
Then Katsuki suddenly blasted himself with his quirk.
Screaming, Izuku asked, "KACCHAN! Why!?"
Getting up on his feet, the blonde had the look of a crazed man as he says, "I realized that I'm way too ok to go home!"
"What!?"
"Izuku look at you! You're not even wearing the same clothes you left the house in anymore! They're in tatters and that's not even mentioning all your scrapes and bruises! If we walk in, and you're like that, and I come in perfectly fine, my mom will annihilate me! Don't even get me started if he finds out about the villain attacks!"
"So you're going to blow yourself up?"
"YES! If I look busted up as well, then she'll believe I tried my best!"
"Can't we just tell the truth?"
"FUCK NO! She won't believe it!" Katsuki says, running off down the street, "I'll be back, meet me by the house but don't go in ok!?"
…
Sometimes Izuku forgets that you can't reason with Katsuki on certain things. As told of him, the greenet walked home by himself, on the way he heard a voice he didn't expect to hear again today.
"I AM HERE!"
It was strange chatting with the current number one hero, especially in the form he was currently in. They spent a few moments catching up before All Might got to the reason he was here for.
"Young Midoriya, I wanted to talk to you about your question earlier! I-"
Something Izuku never expected to do in his life was interrupt his idol mid-sentence, "Actually All Might, thank you for your concern but that won't be necessary."
"...What?"
"I've decided to continue working toward my dream of being a hero!"
"You are!?"
Nodding Izuku told him, "If there was one thing I learned today it's that this world can be cold and cruel, constantly throwing challenges your way, that's the reason you can't let others decide what you're capable of, so you can grow to overcome those challenges no matter what condition you're in. Which is why I no longer need anyone to tell me if I can be a hero, I'm not sure if I'll actually become one but I'm going to work hard from now on towards it! I'll see if I can make myself into a true hero!"
"So then, was that daring attempt to save your friend trying to be that hero?" All Might asked, raising an eyebrow.
Immediately Izuku's confident look crumbled to one where he was about to cry, "NO! I wasn't trying to be a hero then are you crazy, in fact, I didn't even plan on doing anything it just sorta happened! I almost died there oh my god what was I thinking! I just saw my friend in trouble and really wanted to save him! Next thing I knew, I was running in, did I mention that I almost died more than once!?"
All Might crack a smile, "That's a relief then, I might've been worried if you had acted only out of some kind of self-validation. You see, there are stories about every hero, how they became great. Most have one thing in common. Their bodies moved before they had a chance to think, almost on their own as if they had some kind of instinct about it. And today, that's what happened to you. Despite your flaws and what holds you back, you seemed to have awakened that special instinct on your own."
The green eyes of Izuku sparkled as he was listening to his idol, 'Is he?'
"Young man, I'm glad you'll no longer wait for someone to tell you what you can be. Because you too can become a hero and I'll be the first one to wholeheartedly say that I believe it!"
Never in Izuku's life did anyone ever say he can be something as grand as a hero and completely meant it, every time there was always a bit of pity, doubt, or lack of sincerity because of his condition. He knows he just said that he didn't need to get that from anyone anymore but it still felt unbelievable to actually hear it from someone's mouth. There was only one other time where he felt like someone truly meant the encouragement they gave him about being strong.
"You are both a kind soul and a powerful person, Izuku Midoriya; never forget that and never be ashamed of your body, especially of those ears of yours!"
Filled with joy, Izuku couldn't help but break into tears, trying his best to wipe them away. He wanted to stay strong but was overcome with emotion that the tears kept coming despite his efforts. As the number one hero looked down at the tearful eye, he couldn't help but feel his heart warm up a bit, when he started seeing the boy's ear twitch and his tail wag a bit.
Life will always be hard, nothing can stop it. That doesn't mean that those with bad luck are destined to suffer forever, dreams can become reality! Sometimes all it takes is a little luck and the world is full of different ways for that to come, we may not even know it when we pass by it! Just like how Izuku has yet to find out that his ill fate was changed thanks to an encounter with a certain hare, and it's those moments that'll forever change the world.
Who knew so much can happen because of a pair of fox ears?