Far Apart, Part 2
After buying two cans of coke from the vending machine, Bakugo takes them out and walks over to the bench where Izuku is sitting there with his head still down.
"Yo, take it." Bakugo said as he holds up a can to Izuku. His friend quietly turns his head to the can and takes it from his hand. Bakugo sits beside him with his own coke in his hand and they both open their cans to take a sip.
"I'm really sorry to hear what happen between you and Ochaco." Bakugo said as both friends stare down at their drinks.
"I knew the time for us to go our separate ways is inevitable." Izuku said grimly. "But I was never fully prepared for it. And maybe I would have…if I hadn't brought myself closer to her."
Izuku momentarily puts his can down on the bench and turns his head to his friend.
"Bakugo, you have to promise me one thing." Izuku said with a sad frown. "When I leave Tokyo, I want you to take good care of her. By then, she will need you more than ever."
Bakugo stares blankly at Izuku for a few moments, stunned by what he had heard from his friend.
"I…I…" Bakugo stuttered for a moment as he slowly regains his ability to speak. And soon, his look of shock instantly turns into one of rage and frustration. "You know I can't do that!"
Izuku widens his eyes and gapes his mouth open in response.
"What?" Izuku said dumbfounded. Bakugo slams his can of coke down on the bench before he stands up and glares at Izuku with his fists clenched.
"Izuku! I do care about Ochaco. But even if I am there for her, she would still be grieving over your absence no matter what! She will continue feeling sad over how she couldn't do anything back then, the same way I did when we couldn't do anything back in junior high!" Bakugo shouted. Izuku gave a soft gasp. "I know months ago, I said I wanted to get along with Ochaco. But that was when I still thought you only saw her as a friend! And why do you think back at Mount Mihara, I took a picture of just the two of you alone?! Because I know you have feelings for her, Izuku!"
Izuku could only stare wordlessly at Bakugo as he contemplates what his friend had said to him. Bakugo grits his teeth and said icily to him, "Izuku…if you make Ochaco upset for the rest of her life…I will never truly forgive you."
As Bakugo walks up to him, Izuku closes his eyes tightly, expecting a hard punch from him. But to his surprise, Bakugo places his hand firmly on his shoulder. Izuku looks back at him and sees the solemn frown on his face.
"Please make the right decision before it's too late." Bakugo said. With that, he gave a pat on Izuku's shoulder before he grabs his can from the bench and walks away.
After watching his friend leave, Izuku turns to the entrance of Toshimaen, remembering his trip inside the amusement park with Ochaco and Bakugo. It was the day when Izuku regained his courage and was able to look forward to the future again after confronting his past. But now, his entire future is in jeopardy again after the departure of his now former roommate.
Izuku knows Bakugo is right. If he does not do anything now, he would not only lose Ochaco forever, but also Bakugo, his other friends and everything he had ever accomplished until now. He would be letting everyone around down all over again, and Izuku had vowed to himself to never repeat the same mistake again.
'But how?' Izuku thought somberly. 'How can I make my mother upset?'
Sometime later, Izuku continues walking down the pavement and makes his way home while carrying the grocery bags in his hands. He eventually finds himself arriving back at his apartment, and he lets out a sigh as he lowers his head and makes a turn. Although his eyes had dried up by now, the pain inside him never left. But just as he is about to reach the entrance to the building, a calm voice calls out to him.
"Midoriya?"
Izuku came to a halt as he lifts his head up. He turns around to see a man standing just a few meters behind him on the pavement. Although his head is covered by the hood of his dark blue sweatshirt and his eyes are concealed by a pair of sunglasses, Izuku knew full well who it is just by hearing his voice.
"Good afternoon, Yagi-san." Izuku greeted dully as he simply nods his head to him.
Yagi removes his hood and sunglasses, revealing the concerned look on his face. "Why the long face, Midoriya?" He asked.
"It's a long story." Izuku replied.
"Where is your friend, Uraraka?" Yagi asked as he walks up to him.
"Again. Long story." Izuku said flatly. Yagi places his hand on his shoulder and gave him a warm smile.
"It's alright. I got all the time in the world." Yagi said. "Why don't you come inside my apartment for a while?"
Shortly after inviting Izuku into his home, Yagi tells him to take a seat at the dining area while he goes to the kitchen to prepare some tea for them. Izuku walks over to a chair at the side of the table and puts the grocery bags down on the other chair beside him. He sits down and quietly waits until Yagi emerges from the kitchen, holding two warm cups of green tea in his hands. He gently places the cup in his left hand down on the table in front of Izuku.
"Arigatou." Izuku said softly. Yagi places the other cup down before sitting down on his own chair at the end of the table. The two of them quietly take a sip of their tea and Yagi manages to persuade Izuku to tell him everything that happened between him and Ochaco last night. As he explained, Izuku also reveals the truth to Yagi that he and Inko will be leaving Tokyo within three weeks from now, and how he realized he had developed feelings for Ochaco a few days after making Yagi understand what it meant to play his most iconic role of All Might.
"I see." Yagi said as he nods his head. "Uraraka has since return back to her own home, while you and your mother will be leaving this place soon."
"Yeah." Izuku said softly, still staring at the cup of tea in front of him.
"But the problem is…you love Uraraka, and you are sad to be separated from her forever." Yagi said.
"Yes." Izuku said with pain and sorrow in his voice. "Even if we can still keep in touch with each other through our phones or computers, it just wouldn't be the same."
Yagi sighs before he moves his cup aside and places his arms on the table. "I know how you feel, kid. I know what it's like to lose someone who has helped you become the person you are today." He said.
"You do?" Izuku asked as he turns his head to his idol.
Yagi nodded and explained, "I used to have a special person in my life whom I can rely on. I can even say that it is because of him, I was able to find a job and a place in Tokyo in the first place. We were both friends ever since university, and we share the same dream of starting a life in the big city. I aspire to be an actor while he aspires to be an architect. You already know that I was still a struggling actor back then. I was doing a series of odd jobs outside of my career just so that I can continue staying here in Tokyo. There were times that I actually thought of quitting because I thought our situation was getting bad. But it was thanks to him that I decided to stay in the entertainment industry a little longer. And eventually, my dream came true when I got my chance to play as All Might in his first ever live action television series. But as the show was reaching the peak of its popularity, my relationship with my friend began to decline. I was so focus on working on the next scene and episode of the show every day until I stop caring about my friend with whatever problems he was experiencing at his own job. It's ironic that he was helping me with my problems, but I did nothing to help him in return. And eventually, we went our separate ways without having a proper farewell. And also eventually, the show ended, and my life became a wreck from there."
"So losing him was another reason why you detest your role as All Might." Izuku said. Yagi nods his head again.
"And I would have continued living my life with self-hatred if you and Uraraka hadn't shown up. It is thanks to you two, I learn to accept what had happened and move on with my life. But sometimes, I still wonder what the relationship between me and my former friend could have been now if we had continue keeping in touch with each other." Yagi said grimly. He places his hand on Izuku's shoulder and gave him a wan smile. "Izuku, I made many mistakes during my career as an actor that caused our relationship to collapse. I hope you will not make the same mistakes as I did while you still have the chance."
"So what should I do?" Izuku asked.
"Tell your mother that you are against moving away from Uraraka." Yagi said.
"But…I can't bear to make my mother upset." Izuku said frowning.
"You are only making your mother upset if you don't tell her the truth." Yagi said firmly, causing Izuku to widen his eyes. Yagi's lips formed into a broad smile. "Even if you think it's impossible, you will live your life with regret for many years to come if you don't do anything now. So go after her, before it's too late. Have faith, Izuku. I know you can do it."
Izuku heads back to his own home after leaving Yagi's apartment. When he unlocks the door and opens it, he sees his mother cleaning the floor of the living area with a vacuum cleaner. Inko lifts her head up to see her son stepping into their home and closing the door behind him.
"Izuku, what took you so long? I was beginning to think you were lost." Inko said worriedly as she turns off her vacuum cleaner and temporarily puts it aside.
"I'm sorry, mom. Here are the groceries." Izuku said as he walks over to his mother and gave all the plastic bags in his hands over to her, except one.
"Thanks." Inko said before noticing the last bag in Izuku's hand. "What's that?"
"Oh, something I got for myself." Izuku said to her, causing Inko to look at him with an arched eyebrow. "Hey, don't worry. I bought it with my own money." He chuckled and plants a kiss on Inko's cheek before they stare into each other's eyes.
"What is it?" Inko asked.
"Nothing." Izuku replied, sighing inwardly. He wanted to tell her the truth, but he still could not bring himself to do it. He turns around and makes his way into his room while Inko resumes her cleaning.
After closing the door behind him, Izuku takes out what was really inside the plastic bag in his hand and stares at it for a few moments. It is a horizontal wooden picture frame with a photo that he and Yagi took together after their conversation earlier. Inside the photo, Yagi is giving a wide and cheerful grin as he and Izuku sat together on the sofa and wrap their arms around each other's shoulders. Izuku, despite the pain and sorrow still lingering inside him, manages to give a wide smile for the sake of Yagi and the camera in front of them. And shortly after the camera took a shot of this golden moment of the two together, Yagi not only signs his autograph at the bottom half of the picture, but also a brief but heart-warming message that says, 'Stay strong and go beyond! Plus Ultra!'
Izuku smiles blissfully at the picture for a moment before he walks over to his left bookshelf and places the wooden picture frame neatly in front of the row of All Might manga books.
He turns around and sees his bed again where Ochaco originally slept. He gazes at it for a few seconds before he walks over to the area of the floor where he originally laid his futon on. He sits down on the floor with his legs crossed and stares at the bed again. As he sat where he is, a fond memory immediately came into his mind.
He vividly remembers the moment when Ochaco bows down to him with gratitude after giving up his bed to her. Afterwards, they sat in front of each other like this and talk for a while. It did not last long though due to his poor social skills back then. But Ochaco, knowing that he is a huge fan of All Might, solves the issue quickly by asking him to show her his stuff. Izuku decides to share the latest issue of The Amazing All Might he had back then with her, and they read the comic book together. As they read and converse with each other, Izuku felt like he was having the most decent moment with someone else, besides Shouto, Eliot and his mother, in an awfully long time. And after they finish reading, Izuku was able to reveal a little bit more about himself and his past to Ochaco. Afterwards, that was when Ochaco stood up from his bed and declares her mission to help him open up to others again. He never forgot the image of the determined smile she had on her face back then.
Izuku began remembering all the moments they had together after that night. Such as working together to help Jirou and Momo reconcile with each other, helping Denki overcome his writer's block, improving Tsuyu's toughness and self-confidence, reconciling with Bakugo, helping Melissa stand up against her abusive ex-boyfriend, making Yagi realize the importance of his role as All Might and moving forward with his life, and helping Shouto stand up to his strict father. Finally, her mission came to an end when he was able to confront and reason with Shouto all by himself.
Izuku wipes a small tear from his eye as he finished reminiscing all the times that he and Ochaco spent with each other, and how he loved seeing the cheerful smile she had on her face every time they accomplish something together. Not only was he happy every time they did so, but so was she.
Izuku closes his eyes and lowers his head for a moment, reminding himself of the same question he thought in his head earlier today again. Has everything he and Ochaco done together to help him open up to others again have been for nothing? Is he truly hopeless without her or anyone's help? Had he not truly changed at all?
'Hmm, Deku. It kinda sounds like 'Dekiru', doesn't it?'
'Dekiru?'
'Yup, which means 'able to achieve anything'.'
As Izuku opens his eyes and slowly lifts his head up, his look of sorrow is now replaced of one with determination. No. That is not true. Ochaco's mission never would have ended if Izuku was not able to confront and reason with Shouto by himself that day. And if he could do that, why couldn't he do the same thing again right now? Why is he suddenly letting her down now after everything they have been through? With her parents constantly busy with their jobs, Izuku knows that he is the only person who can make Ochaco happy right now. She has helped him regain his happiness, and now it is time for him to do the same for her.
He gets himself up from the floor and walks over to the side of his bed. His eyes softened as he gently places his hand on it and slides it across the sheets.
"Wait for me, Ochaco." Izuku said softly. "I won't let you down."
Later that night, after preparing dinner, Inko places all the food she cooked on the dining table. She turns her head to the direction of Izuku's room and calls out to her son, "Izuku! Dinner is ready!"
As Inko sits down on her usual chair, Izuku opens the door to his room. Inko turns her head and is relieved to see her son finally coming out of his room after all this time. But as Izuku walks over to her, Inko notices the solemn frown on his face, causing her to look back at him in confusion.
"Izuku?" Inko asked, looking flustered as her son now stands right beside her.
"Mom…" Izuku said firmly. "I don't want to leave Tokyo anymore."
Sovereign: I would like to thank AquaBluey, LayLay lives, BoiledMeat, HAIL KING DELIRIOUS, Spindash13, YellowBeetle123, Dan13l-182 and mdionekirk for reviewing, favoriting and following my story. Thanks everyone!