Ch. 10
Izuku felt irritated. Sora's sudden appearance and cryptic messages were not his ideal way of dreaming his night away. It was absurd. This was a dream and he was running around his subconscious against his own will. He could come up with dozens of better dreams – being named the new number one hero; hanging out with Ochaco; actually having a conversation with Kacchan – but he had to be stuck with this one. His hands clenched as he stared into the mural beneath his feet. His mother's plump face was lined with worry and sadness. Her green hair enshrined her head. The light coming from the platform just a little dimmer than it had been on All Might's. Worry gripped his lungs and squeezed the breath out of his lungs. Having his buried feelings towards his hero dragged before him was unpleasant on a level he could have never imagined. He feared what he would be faced with here.
"Ok Sora," Izuku started with a growl, "I need to clear up some things before we continue. Why am I dreaming this? How do you know me? Why are you really here and how did you know that my mom was attacked today?"
Sora folded his hands over the hilt of the keyblade and tilted his head. He screwed up his eyes in concentration and stood silent for several seconds before he answered Izuku's questions.
"We don't have tons of time but here goes: This isn't a dream. You know that. You just can't accept it yet 'cause it's weird and a little scary. Besides, you would have woken up when the Heartless attacked you or when I bonked you on the head earlier if this was a dream. I don't really know you. I just know you are on Gaol's list and I found you first."
"And I'm really here to help you with your heart problem. You won't get stronger with your Quirk if your heart keeps getting tangled up or distracting you. It's your greatest weapon but also your biggest obstacle. I also mentioned that we are currently in your heart. We are standing with your memories and stuff. I can read you loud and clear as well as your memories. So that's how I know your mom was attacked."
Sora huffed and narrowed his eyes at Izuku. With a raised eyebrow he asked the young hero if there were any more questions. The green haired boy crossed his arms unsatisfied and pondering the answers he was given. The thought that this was real bothered him greatly. Worse was that he was an open book to Sora. If he could read his memories and emotions then he could read his thoughts, anticipating any attacks he might attempt. His thoughts were interrupted by Sora's bright voice puncturing his own dark mood.
"So now we need to talk about how your light affects those around you. Do you know who your mom's favorite hero is?"
Izuku blanked out for a moment. That was not the question he had been anticipating. He furrowed his brow in concentration before taking an educated guess.
"Well she never really mentioned it but she always supported me in my admiration of All Might. So I'm going to stick with that: All Might is her favorite."
Sora gave him a blank look, his eyebrows hung low over his eyes. His body arched towards the keyblade as he sized up Izuku. He walked over to the young hero, casually slinging the keyblade over his right shoulder. After he closed the gap between the two of them Sora leaned in close to Izuku's face and gave him a sharp look before striking him upside the head with the keyblade. The young man jumped back with a yelp and rubbed his head. This really was not a dream as the harsh thump proved. Sora turned around and walked away with a sardonic air in his step. With a sigh he faced Izuku and began to reason out the answer to him.
"So you think your favorite hero is your mom's? Uh huh. Look I know you haven't had this power of yours for long and that you were bullied a lot – especially by your angry friend. And now that you have this Quirk, you keep getting into all kinds of trouble but you always manage to come out on top. You have strength in you, Deku. You really don't think you are your mom's favorite hero?"
The green haired boy felt tears well up in his eyes. A flash of memory crossed his mind. He was looking to his mother and pointing to a video of All Might that was displayed on the computer monitor, asking if she thought he could be a hero. She rushed to him and profusely apologize as she embraced his tiny frame. The scene changed, melting in a cacophony of colors and sound. Izuku found himself faced with his mother who looked more like she did in the present. Her kind round face gave him an uncertain smile as she held up the bright green jumpsuit that was his first costume. She voiced her determination to support his dream and the flood gates broke, washing his face with a river of tears. Izuku fell to his knees and clutched at his chest as he wept.
"But she-she warned All Might-" he stammered through his heaving sobs. Sora interrupted with a kind voice.
"And then you showed her that letter from that kid. She's not the only one who looks up to you is she?"
Izuku looked up and saw Sora holding two papers, one in each hand. He waved the one on his right and then began to shake the left when he spoke again.
"There is also that little girl you saved. You haven't seen this yet have you?"
The young hero stood up and wiped his face. He walked towards his dream guide slowly. His feet felt heavy with the weight of his grief. Sora gave him an encouraging before handing him the paper. On it was a crude drawing made in crayon. Two figures stood hand in hand before what looked like UA. The taller figure had a mop of scribbled green on top of its head and blocky red shapes at the feet. The smaller half of the picture had a small brown horn poking through a curtain of grey sketching. Izuku looked up to Sora with astonishment plastered on his face. Sora grinned and apologized as he tilted his head.
"Yeah I should have probably warned you about that but I think you needed to see it."
"Why?" was all he could manage to choke out. Sora waved off the papers and crossed his arms in thought. He stood in silence for a few moments before giving Izuku an honest shrug.
"Because you needed to be reminded of why you wanted to be a hero. Do you remember?"
Izuku turned to look at his mother on the mural beneath them. His face grew determined and he clenched his fist. He turned back to face Sora with a nod before he spoke.
"They need me to be a hero. I need to be their hero. They believe in me and I can't let them down."
"Ok," Sora retorted, "But do you believe in yourself?"
The young hero's brave face faltered under the spiky haired boy's curious glance. He hung his head, burying his face in cascade of messy green curls, and shook his head shamefully. Sora let out a soft noise and clapped Izuku's shoulder.
"Well you should. You've got so many people who trust you. Maybe go easier on yourself?"
He looked up to another toothy grin. Sora gave a gentle squeeze and dropped his hand back to his side. A thought popped into Izuku's mind which spawned a few questions.
"How come you know some things but not everything? And you mentioned a door earlier. Are you actually here with me or are you still wherever you are?"
Sora scratched his head in exasperation. He whined about Midoriya's incessant questions before laughing it off.
"It's like this: if I gave you the answers, would you have learned anything? And I'm sort of here but...not? It's weird. This is the first time I've guided someone else in their own heart. My story is kind of long but the long-and-short of it is this: I gave up myself to the darkness to save someone very special to me."
He took a moment to reflect upon a thought to himself. His left hand crept into one of his many baggy pockets and quietly dug around before pulling out a large charm. Even in the distance, Izuku could see that it was shaped like a star, made of shells and held together by twine. Izuku watched the older boy look forlornly at the charm, his eyes downcast in cloudy thought. Their eyes met again when Sora looked up. A fire burned in his irises as he spoke.
"Not to bore you with the details but I'm determined to get back to her," was all he gave.
"But you're not in the dark anymore?" cautioned Izuku. Sora gave a shake of his head and explained again that the door was opened, allowing him to escape. Questions swam through Midoriya's head but he decided to not press anymore. Taking his cue, Sora stepped aside and motioned to a new set of stairs that appeared. Izuku groaned and began to trek upwards. As he reached the next platform he began to complain.
"How many more of these are there?"
"Only two more. It'll be a breeze," Sora gave with a hearty laugh. Izuku gave a small smile at his guide's vibe and turned his attention to the new mural. He choked on his breath as it caught in his throat. The fiery glare of beady red eyes behind a veil of blond hair homed in on him. Bakugo's unmistakable mug, full of pride and contempt, lay prominently on the platform. He was in his school uniform, the tie missing, the dress shirt untucked, his hands shoved deeply into his sagging pants. To his right facing away was the stern visage of Iida. He was dressed in his Ingenium regalia, the plate mail shining with a proud gleam. To Kacchan's left was Todoroki dressed in UA's gym uniform. The silver half of his cascaded down, partially concealing his cool eye. In smaller portraits that enshrined the platform were his fellow classmates and rivals from Class 1-B or Shiketsu. Izuku walked over to Kacchan's head and knelt on one knee. He stared deeply into his best friend's face which glared back with an ugly expression. Sora spoke once more, breaking through the tumultuous fog that had fallen over Izuku.
"Hope you're ready for this one," Sora started, "This station is going to be tricky."
They met each other's eyes and Izuku sighed with a determined nod. Sora went into a small back-and-forth with him regarding his Quirk. Izuku was alarmed at how much the older boy knew but remembered that he could read his memories. They stopped at the newest development with One for All. Sora summoned his keyblade and pointed it towards the darkness. A light shot out to an invisible object a couple of yards away. The light began to bounce and spin in circles. The rotations became wider with each pass and soon enough a large pale disc of yellow light hung in midair. Izuku was curious about how Sora managed to make something so large with just a single light but many of the boy's hidden powers baffled him. With a toothy grin the keyblader spoke.
"So this new power you've got - what's it called again? Black licorice?"
"Whip," corrected Izuku with an annoyed pull at his eyebrow. For someone who could read his memories, Sora did not seem to have a handle on names.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So remember when you first got it?"
As if on cue, the hazy memory of facing Shinzo began to play on the hanging yellow disc. The picture was slightly grainy and chopped. Sora commented on the quality of the 'footage' with a brief nod to what Izuku must have been feeling at the time. The two of them watched as black tendrils exploded out of the bottom right corner and pulled the focus wildly. Buildings, pipes and scaffolding passed by in a blur of speed. Izuku touched his arm involuntarily as the memory of the pain came back with a phantom touch. Sora gave a quick twist of the keyblade, pausing the image.
"Well that looks like it could have gone better," Sora said with an apologetic arc of his eyebrows. Izuku rubbed his arm defensively as his only response. His guide continued speaking with a stronger voice.
"And that's why I brought you here. You're gonna learn to start using this thing without getting hurt. Now, remember how that guy from your power told you to control your heart? It's not just anger that's blocking your focus. You don't think you're worth of your power; you've seen things from different angles, upsetting your foundation of beliefs; and now you've got to get a handle on your feelings towards your friends."
Sora gave him a sharp look before commanding him to summon Black Whip. Izuku balked at the absurd request. Sora ignored the young hero's continued objections, yawning and fiddling with the key chain the hung loosely at the end of his keyblade. He looked at the green haired boy when at last it seemed he had exhausted all of his arguments. Sora lifted up his keyblade and pointed it at Izuku with an uncanny gleam in his eyes.
"You better bring it out now or this'll hurt worse than a quick tap to your head!" he shouted.
Sora ran at Izuku. His movements were not subtle and the young hero predicted that he would try to get in at mid-range to take a swing to the left. Activating Full Cowl, Midoriya dashed at his attacker in a flash of green lightning. He kicked out with his right leg only to catch air. Surprised colored his bright green eyes. Sora was not there. A blunt strike to his spine made Izuku cry out in pain. He flew a few feet in the air and rolled to a stop near the edge of the platform. He pushed himself up with gritted teeth as he heard Sora taunt him.
"You know, for the 'smart guy' hero you really are kind of dumb. I can read your memories, Deku. I know your moves. Now hurry up with 'Black Whip' already."
Deku zipped to Sora's flank in a breath's speed as he pushed his legs a little harder This time it was Sora with surprise in his eyes. The older boy moved his blade as if to parry an incoming kick but was decked in the face by quick right hook from Izuku. With One for All fully under his control, Midoriya gave his opponent an eight percent Texas Smash.
Sora flew back with a sharp cry of pain and quickly flipped backwards to recover himself. He hung in the air for a moment as he took aim with his keyblade. A burst of fire shot out from the tip and shot its way to Izuku who extinguished the flames with a quick roundhouse kick, the blast of air blowing the light out. Undeterred, Sora shout out a large shard of ice as he landed nimbly. He continued to cast various spells at the young hero for several moments. Perspiration dripped from his hair as he pushed his magic ability to its limit.
Deku knew he needed to get in close. It appeared that Sora was an all-around fighter, utilizing his long range attacks to keep away from another Texas Smash. Midoriya hardened his focus on the magical key that his opponent held and then assessed Sora. He was a little lanky - scrawny the first word that came to mind - and not much in the muscles department. It appeared that his power and confidence all lay in his keyblade. Annoyance gnawed at the back of his mind as he dodged another blast of ice shards. As he landed and clenched his fist, Izuku begrudgingly gave Sora respect for how the fight was turning out.
With a concentrated effort he summoned the dark energy of Black Whip to his clenched hand. Pain rippled throughout his arm but he ignored it as he reeled his arm back and flung out a black tendril towards Sora. For a moment, Izuku had the distinct feeling that the painted eyes on the mural were scrutinizing his every movement.
The end of the tendril wrapped around the keyblade's tip. Izuku grabbed the whip with both hands and pulled with a little help from One for All's power. Sora lost his grip due to the force and the key drifted away from him. Deku gave a smug grin. This fight was over.
"Not so fast, Izuku," barked Sora with a hearty guffaw. The keyblader lifted his left arm and his fingers twitched. The weapon secured in Black Whip's grip disappeared in a show of stars and light only to reappear in Sora's outreached hand.
Frustration burned through Deku as he pulled in the empty handed tendril. As it retracted he felt a searing pain blaze across his forearm. He clutched his arm and cried out. Izuku fell to his knees as his sight blinked into darkness for a brief second. A new sensation washed over his body. It was cool and soothing, seeping into his nerves to stymie the pain. He took a moment to catch his breath and looked at his arm. Unlike the last time he had accidentally summoned his new Quirk, his exposed skin looked like it had been undisturbed. The scars from his previous uses of One for All were there but there was no deep bruising or scuffing. A gloved hand shot out into his peripheral, snapping him out of his observations.
"You ok?" asked Sora. His face was full of genuine concern and his eyebrows were knit together in worry. Izuku took his hand with a grumble and stood back up. He brushed himself off and jumped back a step, taking a fighting stance. He was met with Sora's confused expression. It took him longer than Deku would have liked to put it together.
"Oh. Oh! No no no," Sora said waving his hands defensively, "No, we're done fighting for right now. I just wanted you to summon Black Whip. Looked like it hurt?"
"Yeah," Deku responded with a frustrated grunt, "I don't get why I can't get a handle on this. And it hurts so much. I'm sick of being so weak."
"That! That right there! You can't expect yourself to be able to master your power overnight. You've had it for what? Six months? Seven?" Izuku shrugged lamely. Sora ran a hand through his spiky hair only to pull it out quickly and flick it in disgust.
"Yuck! Forgot how sweaty spell-casting makes me. Anyway, where do you think you went wrong there? Seemed like you were fine when you first brought it out."
Deku held his chin and thought for a moment. His eyes darted to Kacchan's rage-red eyes several feet away. Sora followed his gaze and pried about the blond. Izuku gave a nervous shrug and said that Bakugo was his best friend from his childhood. The spikey haired boy's eyes bulged in disbelief and sputtered out several more questions.
"Him? Him? Are-are you sure that he's best friend? I mean, I've read your memories and he isn't exactly friend material. Does he even want to be a hero?"
"Hey, I know Kacchan can be kind of abrasive but he will be a great hero one day!" Izuku shot out. Sora gave him a leveled look and pointed back to the hanging disc. Clips of a younger Kacchan hitting the camera played. Izuku turned away at his younger memories but still defended his best friend. Sora's face fell a little flat, his bottom lip jutting upward in annoyance. He flicked his keyblade and another clip began to roll on the disc. This one was their fight at the UA training grounds. Izuku made no effort to look up into the grainy picture of Kacchan's enraged face shout out at the camera. Deku once more gave a lame excuse for the boy's behavior at which Sora grabbed a few tufts of hair with his free hand and tugged harshly.
"You mean to tell me," Sora began with no patience in his voice left, "that this guy is your best friend. This one? Who did this?"
The memory of Kacchan confronting Izuku at the end of their classes began to play. He was in his all-black middle school uniform and towered over a shaking camera. It cut ahead to where Bakugo pulled Deku's hero journal and set a blaze before tossing it out the window. The camera panned down to the view of the outside courtyard. From out of the darkness came Kacchan's voice. It echoed all around the two young men and dripped with contempt.
"Why don't you jump off a roof!"
Tears stung out at the corners of Deku's eyes as he turned his back to Sora. From behind he heard the older boy speak his name quietly and felt a hand fall gently on his shoulder. Half heartedly he turned to look at the young keyblader's blue eyes brimming with their own tears.
"Friends don't say things like that. And they don't let those closest to them think that they're not worthwhile."
Sora sighed and stepped back. He gave a quick word of encouragement before diving into the heart of the lesson.
"Your classmates and friends look up to both you and Bakugo. But they admire his strength. Know what they like about you?"
Izuku shook his head and glumly turned around to look at Sora. The spiky haired boy poked at Deku's chest with his index finger sharply. He smiled, a small tear dropping from his left eye.
"Your heart, man. You're strong in a way that he will never be. Your heart is just… good. Does that make sense? You have this ability to make everyone around you want to do their best, to be better. Its rarer and you should be proud of it. You were given that power because of your heart!"
Izuku fell to his knees once more as he clutched his chest. He was overwhelmed by the swell of emotions that rushed through him. Sora gently spoke about how Deku's actions and words inspired those around him.
"You leave light in your wake. That's special. You can't be worried about what others are going to think of you. I don't think there's a soul out there that can say a bad thing about you - not even Kacchan."
Midoriya rubbed his eyes with a forearm and nodded. He had been so isolated because of his quirkless state for so long that the concept of comrades and friends who looked up to him felt wrong to the point of pain. A determined shine came to his eyes as he gazed into Bakugo's fiery glare. They may not be close but they were still in each other's lives for one major reason: to overcome the other as the greatest. It could not be called friendship but at least he could count on Kacchan to be a constant in his life.
Sora coughed in the distance. Deku looked up and saw a new set of stairs had appeared. He pushed himself to stand and began to walk towards the new path but was stopped by his guide. Sora wore a curious expression on his face. He could not meet the young hero's suspicious glance and twiddled with the keychain of his blade.
"Sora?" Izuku asked. Still the keyblader would not look him in the eye but spoke with a diminished voice.
"Remember how I said that these last two would be a breeze?"
"Yeah…" Midorya answered, apprehension gluing his feet to the glass beneath them.
"Well that may have been a little misleading. This last one's the hardest. I'd understand if you'd not finish this…"
Izuku scoffed. He had managed to open up to this stranger in this weird dream-like place with little resistance. Of course it did not help that he was completely transparent to his guide but to be insulted with the option to quit was too much.
"I can't believe you don't think I can do this," he spat out. Izuku crossed his arms defensively and turned his head away. Sora scratched his head with a sheepish look creeping on his face.
"Its not that at all, man. You've managed to admit you that you're starting to see your mentor with real respect, not just admiration; you also confronted your lack of self-esteem; and now you know that you shouldn't worry too much about what others think about you. But this next one…" he gave a low whistle and shook his head, "This is beyond all of that. You could say 'Plus Ultra,' I guess."
"I'm not afraid," Izuku said with a balled fist gripped in a show of boldness. Sora slowly raised his gaze to his, trepidation swimming in his irises.
"You will be," was all he said.
The two boys walked side by side up the stairs, an unusual change of pace from how the entire dream had preceded. Sora attempted some small talk as they climbed the stained glass. Deku felt it was a feeble distraction from the looming lesson that awaited him at the end of the road. He could not help but feel his stomach tighten in anticipation. Whatever was coming was enough to shake Sora who seemed pretty unflappable.
They had reached the top of the stairs and the spiky haired boy stepped in front of his companion. He held his right elbow and seemed to shrink before the strange glow of the next station. The light was different here. The ones before seemed to glow with a mellow white light but this one seemed tinted with a pale coral.
"Last chance," Sora offered. Deku shook his head firmly and steeled himself for whatever lay beyond. His guide sighed in resignation and stepped aside to allow him through.
"Don't say I didn't warn you…"
Izuku gave a side glance to Sora's cryptic message and stepped forward. His face dropped in horror and he stumbled to his knees as he looked at the last station's mural.