HEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA PUPPIES!~ Hehe, so here is the first chapter of the revised version of my fanfic!~ It was previously named 'Only You', but now as I've progressed, there have been a number of things I've wanted to change, so, HERE IS THE REVISED VERSION OF IT!~
Also, at this point, this is second year in Middle School (For Ai).
This first chapter is revolving more around some scenes before the timeline - during the second year of middle school. It'll take a few chapters to reach the beginning point of the cannon-verse X'D. There might be some things that'll be changed in the cannon-verse, by the way.
NOW GO ON READ IT~
Chapter 1:
"Woah! You guys have condoms now?" Looking at them in fascination, she made no reaction when the high-school part-timer at the register shushed her.
"Hey, you're lucky there's no other customer here right now, those old hags would badger you to death for that," she said to Ai, face-palming.
Ai grinned at her. "C'mon, they won't do that, when they don't even know me." She looked at the Mars and Snickers section, picking the former in less than a heartbeat.
"You'd be surprised."
"Uh huh," said Ai, unconvinced, grabbing a packet of chips. "I doubt I'll find someone as invasive like that as my mother in my lifetime another time, so I wouldn't be worried, Kotori-san."
Kotori deadpanned. "Well, more like you look like a dunce so they'll just judgmentally laugh it off."
Ai furrowed her eyebrows. "What is that supposed tomean?!" She placed the few packets in her hands at the counter.
"Exactly how it sounds like, dunce," saying that, Kotori began scanning her products.
The moment Ai saw black and green through the window, her eyes jumped to focus there.
"Again…" Ai stared at the large bright eyed boy in a gakuran zooming past the convenience store, his curly dark green hair – that were almost black – jostling with his movements. Ever since she moved here around 2 months ago, whenever she visited the convenience store after school she would usually see him passing by.
"520 yen would be your total." The ginger-headed employee took out the packet of condoms and placed them at the side. "Don't you think you're a little young." Kotori raised an eyebrow at the 13 year old.
"Hey! I'm just curious as to how they work!" Ai gave an indignant pout.
Kotori looked unconvinced. "Sure, buddy."
"Look, it's really cause I'm curious, I go to an all-girls school, where on Earth would I even find a penis?!"
"AI! Don't be so loud!"
Ai stared at her. "You don't get to say that."
Kotori gave an exasperated sigh.
"Oh –" Staring at the entrance of an unexpected dark green haired, freckled boy, Ai's eyes sparkled.
When he went in her direction, towards the magazines behind her, Ai immediately returned her attention back to the ice-creams within the freezer. Almost discreetly, she peeked over her shoulder at him as debated over two magazines – both with the face of All Might on their covers. "So he's an All Might fan," she muttered under her breath; well, no surprise there. In fact, it would be rarer to find someone who wasn't a fan of All Might.
Glancing back at the ice-creams, she smiled giddily as she opened the freezer and took them out. When she looked up and made eye contact with a smirking Kotori, Ai sent her a glare.
When the boy paid her with a nervous and antsy smile and headed outside, Ai quickly ran up to the counter. "HURRY," she said, flustered – before he leaves for good.
"Got it got it," Kotori sang as she scanned the ice-cream and leisurely took the money from Ai just as she dashed out.
"Wait! WAIT!" Running after him, Ai barely balanced the two ice-cream packets in her hands. Finally, when she got close enough did he turn around – confused – and immediately his confused eyes filled with slight panic.
"U-Uh," he said. "Are you talking to me –"
"ICE-CREAM!" She shoved one of the All Might ice-cream packets right into his face. "DO YOU." She panted. "WANT TO…" She looked up at him with flared up nostrils – terrifying the heck out of him. "EAT ICE-CREAM WITH ME?"
He stared at her, half terrified, and half confused. "H-huh?"
She smiled at him while opening up her own ice-cream. "Okay good! WE'RE FRIENDS NOW!"
Frustrated and hurt to the point of tears, Ai clutched onto the edge of her writing table. Breathing in and out, she attempted to stabilize her racing mind – but it kept on running on unlimited tracks, rushing through thoughts and tangents.
Her heart echoed out desperate yells – asking to be saved – yet what came out was a hoarse whimper, escaping the ears of all around her.
Those calls were useless anyways, when the one dealing the damage was supposed to be on the saving side.
She didn't understand it – wasn't she supposed to be a hero? Then why – how? How could she save people and then destroy Ai?
Unclenching the edge of the table, Ai soundlessly slid down; the only voice of her unstoppable weeping was the heavy heaving of her back. Although the room was locked, she could not bare for a single sound of her tears to escape it.
A hero that woman was hailed as, though she was far less than one. A hero to all those she would be, but to her – to Ai – she would only remain as a deceitful abuser.
Her right cheek barely ached, as if a reminder of all her experiences; the words she heard only a while ago in the car where she pushed through with forced indifference, tormented her mind.
'Your father never wanted you, I had you because I wanted to – but I was wrong – I shouldn't have had a brat like you!'
Those words tormented her exactly because they were true.
But so what, so what if he didn't want her. It was not as if she loved her father – she doesn't care if he didn't love or thought of her as an unnecessary appendage.
… But then why did those words repeat themselves over and over?
… Because she pitied him?
She felt obligated to him, obligated to that sad, sad man. Obligated to not be an empty burden.
… But wasn't that all she was?
Her mother was right; she shouldn't have had her.
Glancing at Ai, Izuku stopped, letting his hair shield his face. "… Igarashi-san, can I ask you something?"
Halting jovially, Ai looked at him curiously with an open smile – which fell upon his nervous demeanor. "Yeah, of course."
He shuffled his feet and tilted his gaze further downwards. "Why… Do you think I would make a good hero?"
"… What do you mean why, Midoriya-kun?" She blinked and furrowed her eyebrows at him.
With a conflicted expression and pursed lips, he brought his gaze up to meet hers. "I-I mean, I'm quirkless and I have no abilities to deal with villains…" He turned his eyes away. He needed to understand why she supported him, why?... If it was out of pity then he didn't need such a thing -
"A quirk isn't all it takes to be a good hero, you know."
Izuku's eyes once more flashed up to meet hers, taken aback by the intensity and seriousness in them.
"At core, a hero is someone who saves and helps people. Gives those in need their hand – and sure, without a quirk you might be a bit limited when it comes to the practicalities of it, but it's not impossible. Even at the expense of yourself, even if you're afraid, you're someone who would go miles out of his way to help someone even a little bit. You're someone who's already a true hero at core," Ai elaborated.
Looking up at the sky, she allowed a melancholy smile to slip on her face. "Being a hero… It doesn't necessarily have to come in the form of a career that it does these days. Now, it is mostly a shallow concept – another celebrity parade. Those who're heroes now, are they really fundamentally so?"
Izuku took a step forward. "I… I disagree!" He remained silent for a moment, staring into her unsurprised eyes. "Even if the concept of heroes has changed a bit in these times now, even if there are some heroes who're doing it for the fame or the wealth – there are still people being saved! If there are people being saved by them – by all this, then in the end, isn't it… Fine?" He gazed at her almost – almost hopefully.
This time, it was her who turned her eyes down – though a disconsolate smile was still present on her face. "Mmh, perhaps so. If a right action is being taken by wrong emotions, then… It is still a rightful action, that isn't changed…" Ai lifted her gaze, her smile turning bitter. "But, something wrong is coming out of actions being taken by such causes, the person being saved or helped is only an add on to that consequence in reality… A person who is a hero to someone, may just be the devil to someone else."
Izuku made a move to speak, but she gave him her back, saying, "I do believe though, that you're a hero. Whether it is in the traditional meaning, or in todays, my belief in you will not shatter, I want you to remember that."
A beat of silence passed, before she looked back at him with a goofy grin. "Besides, a quirk isn't the only way to fight a villain. You can cultivate your fighting skills and use all sorts of gimmicks and battle accessories like chains and stuff! You have the determination and smarts needed for it."
Izuku blushed a bit at that, and looked away; what was he to do, when confronted with such a strong-held belief of hers in him?... And what was he to do, when confronted with such stormy yet not exactly false views of the current hero society?
"Anyways, let's talk about the rest on our way home!" She skipped onwards, her tone light again.
"W-Wait!" He pushed out, his cheeks flaming as he followed after her. "What do you mean by the rest?..." Were they going to continue the tangent of that conversation?
Ai winked at him. "Of course, about our training! We gotta up our fighting skills if you want to become a modern day hero after all!"
"We?..."
"Well, I mean it's one way to deal with the upcoming aggression of puberty, for me at least. Plus, that way I can support you more, Izuku!" She winked at him again.
...
"D-DID YOU JUS-JUST CALL ME BY MY?!..."
Ai stuck out her tongue.
"Ai! Call me Ai!" Pouting, Ai leaned in; the summer homework disregarded to the side of the bed at last.
"Even if you say that…" Izuku mumbled with an awkward smile, his eyes flitted to the side as he sweated.
"C'mon! It can't be that hard, I've already been calling you Izuku for like two whole weeks - and you're totally used to hearing that by now!" Ai huffed out and threw her hands up in exasperation as she turned away from him.
"I wouldn't say I'm used to it," he said, his cheeks blossoming with a flush that validated his response.
She faced him with a pout that contrasted her glare. "Whatever. You just don't like me enough to call me by my first name."
"You know it's not like that!" Izuku exclaimed, his tone frantic.
"Hmp!" Crossing her arms, Ai turned away facing him with her back.
He knew she was just playing around, but still!...
"Come on," Izuku said as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "You know how important you are to me, I really like you and you're my best friend. Please, you know that, right?"
For a second, there was no response and then she shifted so that her guilty eyes were visible from under her honey brown hair. "You don't have to take me so seriously when you know I'm joking… Ahh, I feel bad now – of course I know all that!" She ruffled up her own hair in slight embarrassment.
Sheepishly smiling at last, Ai placed her left hand on his side on the bed and leaned closer to him. "You don't have to call me Ai, okay?"
Izuku blushed at the proximity, but held it in. "Okay…" He looked away from her as his cheeks darkened. "… A-Ai-san."
He slowly glanced back at her. Ai was completely still for a moment, her expression rid of everything but surprise – and then!...
They were sitting on his bed - homework long forgotten – and they were so, so close. She could feel his warm breath fanning her, his doe eyes such a lovely green; his adorable flushed cheeks decorated with dorky freckles that made her stomach do lumber jacks, and his lips oh the lips that called her name! So soft looking and inviting!...
It all came to her at once.
With wide shimmering eyes and a face completely scarlet, she swiftly pulled back. Izuku felt his heart throb harder seeing her with an expression like that.
Not meeting his eyes, she said, "Let's go back to studying, Izuku…"
Izuku glanced at their work, and then at her. "Yeah, okay… Ai-san."
Ai cursed herself and her flaming cheeks – of course, damned 'puberty' too.
She knew how Izuku felt now.
Ai impatiently dialed a number.
The phone rung, and kept ringing, until there was a beep; and then a voice telling her that her call was not received.
… How irresponsible.
Her lips quivered for a moment, but sealing them shut just like the house phone she walked back to her room.
"Is it a Halloween party?" Surprise was clear on Ai's face. October the sixteenth. A little early, but it's not entirely unlikely.
Her father placed down his newspaper. "Of course not," he said. "It's an engagement banquet between the Suzukis and Yoshidas."
"Oh." That made sense, of course it wouldn't a Halloween party, at least not within the scope of what her father was often invited to. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Who and who exactly coming?..."
He thought for a moment. "Other than the Iidas and Watanabes, your elder aunt and the Nakajimas, the others you probably don't know."
Ai's smile twitched. "Ahaha…" She only remembered the Iidas and her aunt, and only vaguely the Watanabes. Too many people damn!
Memories; part 1
Purposely striding up to the entrance door, an eight or nine years old Ai pushed on it, allowing the chilly air to tingle her senses.
The night sky was predominant with an enlightening darkness, only outdone by the multitudes of stars twinkling in it; in the backdrop of where such a sky met her garden, sat her father on a lawn chair, smoking as he looked off into the distance.
"Dad!" Ai went up to him, her large eyes shining as bright with curiosity as the stars; enduring the unpleasant smell of the smoke, Ai stood by his side as he watched her, waiting.
Inquisitively, Ai cocked her head. "Dad, do you love us because we're your kids? Did you have us because you love us?" She looked at him expectantly, her large eyes glittering with curiosity.
Taking a puff of his cigarette, he moved it away from his face as he blew it out. "… No, not really."
"Oh, okay." And that was that.
Just like that, Ai turned back to the entrance door and walked towards it. Her mouth remained shut, and although she thought she didn't particularly feel anything… There was something that weighed down upon her.
From then onwards, till the future, it stuck to her; her father had never told her that he loved her.
AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!~ WHAT SCENES DID YOU ENJOY, WHAT DID THEY MAKE YOU FEEL, ETC? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT CONVO BETWEEN AI AND IZUKU, AND THEIR RELATIONS IN GENERAL? TELL ME ANYTHING YOU WANT TO, HEHE!~
ANYWAYS, SEE Y'ALL IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!~
P.S THEY'LL BE UPLOADED IN A LITTLE BULK SINCE I NEED TO CATCH UP TILL THE POINT I HAD POSTED BEFORE!