Two days had passed since the death of the villain Solvent's group. After providing proof of the completed work in the form of photos, I received the money from the "businessman's" intermediary and had been resting these past days. During the search for this Yakushi, I had to spend a lot of energy; even though he worked in the same district, he chose completely different targets. For all his caution, he was caught in an embarrassingly stupid way. Having gotten dead drunk in a bar and falling asleep at a table, he accidentally dissolved half the table and crashed to the floor. While I was talking to people hoping to find traces of Solvent, I heard about this incident from a swearing bartender. I decided to check it out since Yakushi was a regular there. Basically, it was dumb.
Whatever, I'll just listen to some music and wait for an acquaintance to arrive. I'll look for a track I haven't heard yet in a Hatsune Miku album. Sitting on a bench near the park, I scroll through song titles on my new smartphone. My gaze lingered on one title. "Hatsune Miku – Inochi ni Kirawarete iru." Hated by Life Itself. Heh. Once again, my eyes wandered over the surrounding buildings and passersby.
"Don't wish for death upon yourself!"
"Don't give up, just keep living on!"
The foolish lyrics of so many songs
Are presented as the norm.
It's strange: I don't care if I die,
But the deaths of others make me sad.
"What broke inside you, tell me?"
The voice of my ego shouted out.
Stopping my gaze on an advertising banner, I listened to the lyrics of the song.
We breathe indifference to the lives of other people,
Hating everyone and everything is the fashion of our days.
"Let's be friends!"—no phrase is more hypocritical,
Though it caresses the ears at times.
On the screen before us, people are dying,
And a sad song is sung for them.
A boy, immediately inspired by this,
Instantly reaches for his knife.
The TV reported a brutal murder of five people in Hosu City.
Life is bitter and every time
It hates us so!
Once again, ignoring ourselves and morality.
As always, we long to kill someone.
This motive will intoxicate us again.
Life is bitter and every time
It hates us so!
But will we receive as a reward an hour of easy death,
If we don't value this life right now,
That is bitter and every time
Hates us so?
Listening to the catchy rhythm of the song, I looked at my empty palms.
The wallet is empty, and today again
I'll lose myself in a captivating sleep all day.
I find no meaning in living on
And realize that I breathe in vain.
"I'm lonely"—just two words.
How much pain and wounds are hidden in them!
To spite the world, I'll lie down again
In bed alone, falling fast asleep.
I clenched my palms, remembering my search for Aika Kaiyoshi. My mother.
Childhood will remain in those past days,
But now we live in adult bodies.
In old age, we'll crumble like fallen leaves...
I know for sure, our world won't notice it.
If I attain immortality,
Where is the guarantee I can live fully?
In this sci-fi nonsense
I lack the strength to believe.
A monotonous voice sounded from the phone's speakers. "...I regret to inform you that Aika Kaiyoshi died three months ago. If you are interested..."
I haven't cared for a long time if I die,
I only want others to live—that is my wish.
Why then does such a contradiction
Fuel the anger within me?
"We must not doubt the right things,"
"Can't meet death? Then just live!"
And it doesn't matter, even if you are alone and in grief,
Laugh through the tears to your heart's content!
A smirk stretched my lips. Something inside responded with an unclear feeling.
Life is bitter and every time
It hates us so!
I never found joy in it,
I harbored hatred for my own birth,
And only cursed the past.
Life is bitter and every time
It hates us so!
I really want to say goodbye to it right now,
It's hard to bear all this at times...
Life is bitter and every time
It hates us so!
The memory of her face stood before my eyes. And the smile that was no longer there after he left.
I no longer need tomorrow or dreams.
My listener, I only ask that you live.
Exactly...
About this,
I want it to be sung!
Life every time
It hates us so!
Someday the hour of our death will come...
I one day,
And you the same—
We will all crumble like leaves, becoming dust.
And even if the end is unavoidable, I want to live,
I still desperately cling to such a life.
To kill, to forgive, to make laugh, to love,
And to live, and to live, and to live, live...
You are alive!
A sharp clap and a cry made me pay attention to the surrounding reality. I looked at a group of four school students standing out. Two of them were looking with smirks at a fallen boy with green hair who was clearly panicking, while the last of the four—a blonde with the face of a villain—was saying something to him. Having finished speaking, he left with his two lackeys. With a sigh, I stood up and approached the boy who was brushing off his pants.
"Izuku, I understand that this is between you and Bakugo, but this disgrace is very annoying. If you always let him bully you, it won't end well."
His eyes went wide as he looked at me, which was quite amusing, and Midoriya started waving his hands frantically.
"Hello, Iori-kun. I didn't expect you to be here already. And as for Kacchan, he's just in a bad mood today."
Looking at him skeptically, I decided to change the subject. Let him deal with it himself; I'm not his nanny.
"Alright. By the way, I've told you more than once that you can address me without a suffix. We've been talking for a long time. And you wrote to me that you found a good place for training. Are we going there today?"
Midoriya, his eyes lighting up with enthusiasm, nodded his head quickly.
"Yes, Iori-kun... oh, Iori. It's a great place for training. A beach on the outskirts of the city, quite popular before. Though I went there yesterday to check and saw that it's all covered in trash. But cleaning it up can be considered part of the training. As the American hero Tank-Top Master said, 'any intense work can be turned into training.' You'll have to excuse me though, I need to go home for some spare clothes. And did you see the news this morning about..."
Listening to Midoriya, who had retreated into himself again, I began to remember how I met him as we walked toward his house. We met about a year and a half ago near a battle between a villain and a hero. I think it was the hero Death Arms fighting a villain with a bull's head. I was amused then by his resemblance to the Minotaur from Greek myths. But the fight itself quickly became boring. I decided to scan the crowd that had gathered nearby, as always. Some had even decided to eat hamburgers. Truly "panem et circenses!" Centuries pass, but the people don't change. Then I noticed a boy writing something quickly in a notebook. Out of curiosity, I decided to approach and ask what he was doing. He started listing Death Arms' features, the presumed strengths and weaknesses of his Quirk, and the same for his opponent. Slightly stunned by my companion's intensity, I continued the conversation, and later exchanged social media contacts with a panicking Izuku. In the future, we talked often and discussed his analyses of heroes and villains. His emotional nature and energy, combined with a total lack of self-confidence, surprised me quite a bit at first.
Until I found out he had no Quirk.
In the first moment I learned this, I felt confused. I began to think about whether I could have become just like him. Then I realized we were different. He was able to hold onto his naivety and faith in his dream of becoming a hero, but I couldn't have. Even then, I didn't believe I could become a hero and started studying Support Course material, assuring myself that this was what I wanted. I wanted to sink through the floor from the shame that gripped my whole body for the weakness of my will. The decision to support Midoriya came immediately. I knew he didn't need pity or sympathy. He needed faith in him and his dreams. I didn't really want him to become a hero and wasn't sure if he could even succeed. But I decided to support him, because no one had supported me.
"We're here, Iori."
Noting in passing that I've been getting lost in my thoughts too often, I looked ahead. We stood near a stone staircase leading to a beach covered with mountains of trash, abandoned appliances, and furniture. But my eyes were not fixed on this trash, but on the sea. Slowly rocking waves shimmered with reflections of the sun, bringing a feeling of something bright and warm. A light breeze cooled the air after the warm day. Casting a glance over the trash-filled beach itself, I thought that by cleaning it up, I could become at least a little like the hero I once wanted to be.