"Izuku… Its Izuku Midroya" Izuku spoke his voice laced with confusion
"Don't be so afraid little Izuku, you have nothing to fear. I won't hurt you" replied Nana with a smile.
Like most small children; Izuku took her word at face value. Lucky for him, Nana was a person who would never in a million years dream of harming of a child.
She stood at her full height and gazed at Izuku, she was bemused. She was going to ask what a kid like him was doing out so late and that his parents are most likely worried sick about him. However, she remembered how frantically Izuku ran towards her shouting Mama. Putting two and two together she realized this kid was most likely an orphan. But even so shouldn't he have some sort of guardian?
"Little Izuku, what are you doing out so late. You probably have school and someone waiting for you no?"
Izuku look at his feet, his shoulders dropped down and gently whispered as tears started to leak out.
"No.. No I don't think I do"
Nana once again dropped to face level. Her hand reaching for Izuku's chin and lifting it to her own face. Using her thumb she brushed away the tears.
"What do you mean?"
Izuku stared into her eyes. They were so full of compassion and patience. But even more powerful for him was her smile.
Izuku didn't know how or why. But the smile filled him with a very familiar warmth. A warmth he hasn't felt since his mother passed.
More tears started to fall and he spilled his life story. The bullying, the isolation, the death of his mom, the neglected home life due to his father. How no one believes that he has a quirk and how this made no one really care about him. All the pain all the strife all of it he said he poured his heart out. Midway through the story he started crying harder and harder. He began hiccupping and stuttering through his story.
Even so Nana listen, her smile never wavered. She believed that smiling could mend people's hearts and in the most difficult moments you need the best smiles. After he finished his story he said.
"That's why I'm here…. because my friends are here"
Nana understood now. He was lonely. She wanted to comfort him, she wanted to make him feel happy and that he was important.
But she couldn't find the words.
There was a long silence before Izuku broke it.
"Why. Why are you here?"
"Excellent question." Nana thought to herself. All she remembers was her final showdown with All for One. And then she woke up on top of the mausoleum. She did die right? She looked at her hands and received an answer.
Yep she's dead alright. Her hands were translucent.
Why she was here she didn't know. All she had were some feelings. A feeling that made her feel hollow and sad.
She began to introspect and thought about all the major events in her life. Her friendship with Gran Torino, meeting and training Toshinori. Her husband and his death. Her battle with All for one.
Thinking about these events did trigger emotions. Yet the original void in her gut remained.
But then it hit her. Her baby. The one she had left behind due to her life has a hero.
Remembering her son flooded her with emotions. Every emotion from sad to furious enamored her being.
Izuku was looking at Nana, and to him she appeared like all ghosts. She was transparent. But less so than other ghosts but transparent still. However, in the moment where she was thinking about her son. She did something Izuku had never seen before. For the briefest of moments, she wasn't transparent.
She materialized.
Nana felt it too. As a ghost, her body always felt just slightly chilly and lighter than she remembered.
But in the heated moment of thinking about her son the chill and lightness disappear. Yet shortly came back.
" What…. What did you just do. How did you flicker like that?" Izuku asked bewildered.
"Honestly, I have no idea" Nana answered back while looking at her hands.
Silence once again ruled over them.
This time Nana broke it.
"You should head home little Izuku, its very late and growing kids need sleep yeah? You wanna be big and strong when you group up right?"
This sparked Izuku "OH YEAH. I WILL BE. IM GONNA BE THE GREATEST HERO JUST LIKE ALL MIGHT"
"All might?" Nana questioned remembering Toshinori's Hero name
Izuku replied with haste, his eyes shining, his voice happy and cheerful.
"All Might! He's the greatest hero. He a super cool hero that saves everyone with a great big smile. He's the best and I wanna be just like him"
Izuku went on rambling about how great All Might was and how he's gonna be the next All Might.
Nana was stuck in thought. And soon a smile bloomed across her face.
The crazy kid actually did it. A quirkless kid with his head in the clouds managed to become a symbol of peace.
He absolutely succeeded, Nana thought. If a kid with terrible circumstances like Izuku can find happiness from him. Toshinori did end up becoming that symbol he was talking about.
"Well done Toshinori. And thank you for filling your promising Gran Torino" she whispered softly into the night sky.
"Hey! Are you even listening" Izuku said while pouting.
She looked down and said while giggling "Sorry Sorry, I was just thinking about my life has a hero before I passed away"
Izuku froze
"You were a hero?"
"Yep I was a h.." Nana spoke before she was cut off
" Peoplesaymyquirkisn't anygoodandIcan'tdoanythingandandand" Izuku spoke quickly without taking a breathe inbetween.
"Hold on their chatterbox, speak slowly so I can understand you." Jeez this kid was as big of a nonsense prince as Toshinori. Nana thought to herself.
"Sorry its just.. if you were a hero then.. then you would know… Can I be a hero too?"
Nana look at Izuku. His eyes were hopefully and yet anxious at the same time. She remembered what she told Toshinori all those years ago.
"When you have to save someone, they're usually in a scary situation. A true hero saves not only their lives, but also their spirits... That's what I believe. So no matter how scary things get, give 'em a smile, as if to say, "I'm a-ok". The people in this world who can smile are always the strongest"
She said this because people needed something to help them pull through when times are tough. People can only continue if they had hope. She believed that if heroes can smile then people can have something that gives them a reason to power on.
But she also realized that a smile was not enough for little Izuku. He was alone, young, scared. While All Might's work did give him hope; Nana knew he needed something more. He just like Toshinori all those years Izuku has a big goal. And for a goal this big a smile isn't enough.
He needs someone to support him and his dreams.
A true hero saves not only their lives, but also their spirits... That's what I believe
Yes. She would save little Izuku's spirit
Because even in death, Nana Shimura is a hero.
She replied; her voice kind yet filled with authority
"Yes, Izuku. You too can become a hero"
