"Hello, children!" The teacher, Asai, chirped as she looked around the preschool class. A new batch of kids, who hopefully won't be as loud as the others but that's just a fool's dream. They all formed a large circle, each child holding hands with each other.
"We will be doing our first activity! Are you excited?" A loud cheer rose from the kids.
"Awesome! Our first activity is that we will introduce each other." The teacher said "Say your name and something about you. I'll go first, I'm Asai-sensei and I like flowers.
"Now, who wants to go first?"
"I will!" A blonde kid gave a wide smile and shouted: "I'm Bakugou Katsuki and Ima be the number 1 hero!"
"That's great Bakugou! Now let's have you go next," The teacher smiled at the green-haired child next to Bakugou.
"I'm Midoriya Izuku!"Midoriya blushed before giving an energetic smile "And I wanna be a hero like All-Might!"
Bakugou looked shocked before giving a wide innocent smile. Great, seems like the kids are gonna be good friends in no time.
"Great! Now then, it's your turn!" The teacher turned to the next child.
"Hi!" A little girl with a shiny grin and chirped "I'm Temako Mirikuta! Ima be a heroine!"
-0-
Within 2 weeks of preschool, the three of them immediately bonded together. They made a good group despite their diverse personalities. There was Bakugou, the self-proclaimed leader. Midoriya, the fanboy follower. And Mirikuta, the 'glue' of the group. The one who makes the atmosphere lighter by just being there. It was strange that kids with different personalities become best friends just by their intense infatuation with pro heroes.
At first, all they talked about was heroes, quirks, and All-Might, but as they grew closer they moved onto other topics. They soon became inseparable, working together in class, frequently having playdates, even their parents became close. Everyone expected this to go on forever. But the same thing that they bonded over will be the thing that separates them. And it all started when Bakugou got his quirk.
-0-
One of their favorite activities were hiking in the forest near the community park. It became popular since Bakugou loved hiking while Mirikuta liked the views. Midoriya soon joined them when he got tired of being left behind all the time.
"Izu! Miri! C'mere, I found a new path today!" Bakugou waved his small arms around calling out for his friends.
"Really Kacchan? I tried to look yesterday but couldn't find any new ones." Midoriya said as he skipped over with Mirikuta in hand.
"Ma! Pa!" Mirikuta yelled to the group of parents behind her. "We are gonna go to a new path that Kacchan found!"
"Remember to hold hands okay?" One of them yelled back before engaging in the conversation.
"And come back quickly, the sun is going to set soon!" Another one shouted and waved.
"Of course!" The kids chirped in unison. Midoriya and Mirikuta slowed down to a stop near Bakugou.
"My pops told me about the path yesterday!" Bakugou said as he went to grab Midoriya's hand.
"Hurry! Let's go," Mirikuta pouted, "I wanna see the forest when the sunset. It's really, really pretty!
"Okay! Leggo!" As per usual, Bakugou marched forward as the leader, tugging at Midoriya and Mirikuta to follow.
As they entered the forest, it felt like going to another world. Gone was the loud chatter of kids or the repetitive clanging of the metal swings. No babies crying or parents cooing. That was all replaced with the soft, rhythmic footsteps of the three children, the tweets from birds, and a slight rustle from the trees.
Mirikuta let her feet follow Bakugou as she stared at the sky. Next to her, Bakugou and Midoriya chattered but she easily tuned it out.
Admiring the views and tranquil silence, Mirikuta closed her eyes for a brief moment to just take it all in. The sound intensified and she felt happiness as she let it take over her. Until she heard a repetitive sound, getting louder and louder by the second. Opening her eyes, she sees Midoriya shaking her hand in an effort to get her attention while Bakugou shouted for her. Albeit irritated, she asks; "What is it?"
"Look! Over there!" Midoriya nudged in a direction with his chin. Mirikuta looked over, trying to spot what they were talking about. A pink shimmer caught her attention and on closer inspection, it looked like a small vibrant pink flower. She practically dragged the boys across towards the flower.
"Woah!" She yelled excitedly as she crouched down to examine the flower. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to remember what her dad taught her about analyzing flowers. The other two curiously peered over her shoulder in silence to let her think. "It's a pink moss. It's only April and there is already one blooming!"
"That means…" She got up and looked at the area next to the flower. "All of this green here, it's actually flower buds!"
Midoriya looked surprised, as he was about to crouch down for a better look, Mirikuta ran ahead.
"Woah- Miri!" Bakugou yelled as he almost tripped. "Slow down a bit!"
Mirikuta took a moment to look behind her and yell. "Just a bit further! I think I saw another flow-"
Until she took another step, only to meet air.
"Ack-eeeeppp!" She shrieked as she went tumbling down, pulling Bakugou and Midoriya along with her. Two strangled cries ringed behind her as she fell face first. Instinctively opening her eyes, she only saw the ground rapidly approaching.
Mirikuta tightened her grip on their hands as she felt them do the same. Midoriya's nails deeply dug into her palm but she barely felt it. The wind lashed out at her and she felt her heart drop to the bottom of her stomach.
She couldn't twist her body to see them. Whether it was cause she didn't want to see the faces of fear that she caused or that she just wasn't physically able to, she didn't know or care. All she heard was two loud screams from behind.
She braced herself for the impact, her arms tensed up, hands clutched even tighter. Her ear thumped in sync with the rhythm of her heartbeat.
BOOM
A deafeningly loud explosion snapped her out of her prayers. And for just a moment, she felt weightless. She felt a sudden warmth as the back of her hair singed. Her body felt light, the wind wasn't blasting on her face anymore, and she wasn't free falling. In fact, it felt like she was about to fly up.
But in just a second, it was all gone. She fell like a rag doll as she hit the grass, her limbs flailing out of her control as she lost her grip on Midoriya's hand. There wasn't a big 'splatz' nor any cracking sounds like in the cartoons she watched. The air knocked out of her as she stared up at the sky in shock. Groggily, she turned over to the side, immediately focusing on Midoirya's crumpled figure next to her.
"...Izu? Kacchan?" Mirikuta whispered, still dazed by the fall. She turned towards the sound of panting to see Midoriya lying on his side, eyebrows scrunched as he blinked his eyes open.
"Haa haa,"Mirikuta huffed from the adrenaline rush. "Are you okay?"
"Uh yeah..." Midoriya pushed himself up to a sitting position. He was free from any injuries as far as Mirikuta could tell. "But.. what was that explosion?"
Mirikuta could only shrug as she also climbed to her feet. "Kacchan? You okay?" She asked when she couldn't hear his usual angry screaming. She half expected him to be the first up to yell at Mirikuta's carelessness.
"Kacch-" She choked, her eyes widening as she peered around Midoriya's figure, to see Bakugou cradling his arm. Midoriya whipped his head over to check on Bakugou when he saw her aghast expression. He let out an unrecognizable sound as he saw Bakugou's red arm. Gray smoke rose from his bloody, blistered arm as his fingers twitched uncontrollably. A disgusting mix of caramel and burnt steak suddenly assaulted their nostrils.
"Kacchan!" Midoriya shouted in horror as Mirikuta started to feel nauseous. Her stomach lurched at the sickening sight while Midoriya just strived on, ignoring his own queasy stomach to tend to his friend. He quickly turned in surprise as he heard a retching sound from behind. Mirikuta sat next to the pile of bile as her face rapidly became paler as she weakly covered her mouth in shock.
Before Midoriya could even ask if Mirikuta was okay, a loud shout came from the top of the cliff.
"Mirikuta! Izuku! Katsuki! Are you alright?" A blurry figure shouted from atop of precipice.
"Ma!" Mirikuta snapped out of her stupor as she recognized their voice.
"Don't worry! I'm coming now!" Mirikuta's mom sighed in relief as she used her quirk— Solid—to walk down towards them. Her quirk was to make anything solid by stepping on it. Even with her mastery over her quirk, the fastest she could go down was the same speed as walking.
"Ma!" Mirikuta immediately ran towards her as soon as she stepped on the ground. She stuffed her face in her mom's shirt.
"My baby! You had us so worried! Everyone was looking for you guys." Mirikuta's mom tightly held Miriukta. She cried in relief as she finally felt safe but she quickly shook herself out of it.
"Ma! H-help Kacchan! H-he's—" Mirikuta's mom rushed towards Bakugou. Her expression didn't budge as she laid Bakugou down on his back and examined his arm.
"Deep red, blisters, twitching...must be a second degree burn then.." She nodded to herself as she muttered under her breath. "I'm going to carry you, okay Katsuki?"
Bakugou gave a minuscule nod as he bit his lip in pain. Sweat poured down his face and his eyes were screwed shut. She slowly lifted him up, careful from touching his burnt arm.
"I'm going to take Katsuki up to get help. The police should be here soon. Don't worry, I'll be back soon." She gave a confident smile before walking back up the cliff.
The kids stared up in silence, watching her take each step.
"Miri...?" Midoriya quietly asks, as if his voice could send the two tumbling back down. "Do you think Kacchan will be okay?"
Mirikuta looked back down at her friend. And realized that Midoriya, the cry baby of the group, was the one who immediately sprung into action. The one who desperately helped them while Mirikuta was the helpless one despite not even being injured. She was the cause of the situation!
"Izu." Mirikuta lunged at Midoriya, pulling him into a hug. "You're definitely gonna be an awesome hero."
"What? That came out of nowhere!" Midoriya yelped in a daze. Mirikuta just giggled as the somberness of the situation finally lifted.
"And don't worry! Kacchan will be just fine thanks to you!" She gave a wide smile. "You're my hero!"
She ignored Izuku's stutters as she finally saw her mom coming back down. A group of cops and paramedics crowded the top of the cliff.
Finally, they are safe now.