Stars, what is this chapter? 2 weeks late? I'm so sorry for the delay! Work caught up to me and I fell really behind on my stories. I think I'm going to have to start updating every other week, instead of every week. It's been cutting into a lot of time for the other stories that I write, and for the things I want to do on my free time. I'll try to upload another chapter this week to make up for the delay, but otherwise, I'm gonna stick to every other week for updates. Sorry for the wait, and I hope you all enjoy!
After his friend left for school, Midoriya went through the day in a daze. He'd been trying to avoid this day for so long, but of course, Kacchan had figured out where the shop was. The shopkeeper plopped himself onto his bed and covered himself with his blankets. Maybe if he just stayed in bed, he wouldn't have to see him again. Maybe he'd walk in and think the shop is empty or abandoned and just go home. Yeah. Yeah, that sounded possible, right? Midoriya curled in on himself, still entirely covered by his blankets. He'd just stay in here with the door locked, and then he wouldn't have to talk to Kacchan at all. The teen didn't know how long he'd spent wallowing in his bed, but eventually, he heard knocking at the front door. Midoriya tightened his grip on his blankets. 'Please, go away. Please!' The knocking stopped for a moment.
"Midoriya! I need to talk with you!" Oh, geez. Uraraka was back, and she sounded mad. Midoriya figured that she had found out about Shinsou's memory loss. He had wanted to tell her, but she wouldn't understand. There was no way to prevent it. Uraraka was a kind and determined person. She probably would've tried to come up with ways for Shinsou to remember him, and that would've made everything so much harder. And it was so hard already. It was hard making friends and then losing them the moment their wish was granted. There was nothing they could do about it either. Everyone forgot him eventually. "Midoriya! Open up! I know you're home!" Moments later, he heard the front door open. Right… Uraraka had her own house key.
"Are you sure we should be walking through Midoriya's shop like this?" Midoriya's heart stopped. She had brought Shinsou with her? But he wouldn't remember him or the shop, and he wouldn't even remember making a wish! His thoughts swirled violently in his mind, and he was quickly feeling overwhelmed. He needed to feel safe. He needed to feel like he wasn't trapped in his room. It didn't matter that the bedroom door was locked; the green-haired teen needed to be somewhere that didn't feel like he was out in the open. Midoriya quietly crept off the bed and kneeled on the floor. There was just enough space under his bed for him to fit. The small boy kept himself covered as he crawled under the bed, making sure no blankets stuck out. Already the darkness of the confined space and the feeling of something firm above and below made him breathe easier.
No longer pressured by his thoughts, he could hear footsteps in the hallway and the frustrated voice of his roommate. "-irya owes us answers, and I'm not letting this go until you two are friends again!" Eventually, the footsteps stopped in front of his door. "Midoriya? Are you in there?" When he didn't reply, she tried the doorknob. "Midoriya! You are in there, aren't you?"
"Uraraka, I think he doesn't want to see us." Shoot, Midoriya could hear the hurt in Shinsou's voice.
"Midoriya! I have an idea, but I need you to confirm it before I yell at you! Do we forget you after our wish is granted?" Midoriya winced. So, Uraraka had figured it out then. He kinda knew she would since Shinsou and her were in the Hero Course. Still, he had hoped that she would just let it drop. However, that wasn't like Uraraka, and it was a long shot to think she wouldn't be upset.
"Yes… It's true. Once your wish is granted, you'll forget you ever met me." Midoriya quietly called out. He twisted around under the bed to face the door, so he could be heard better. There was no avoiding it, especially since Uraraka lived with him. He couldn't hide from her forever. He just needed to hide for now.
The doorknob jiggled again. "Can you unlock the door? I want to actually talk to you."
"No! I'm not coming out. Not yet!" The jiggling paused, and then he heard his friend sigh.
"Fine. Why didn't you tell us that we would forget you once our wishes were granted? How come I haven't forgotten you yet?" Midoriya blinked in surprise. He thought she knew?
Midoriya removed the blankets from his head so that she could hear him better. "You didn't realize? On the day we met, you told me that you had a couple of wishes. Your wish for your parents' company to do better, your wish to become a hero, and your wish for a cheap place to stay while attending UA. That day, I granted two of your three wishes, but only one is still being fulfilled." The terms of that wish had been confusing. His quirk gave him a sort of omniscience, but it wasn't perfect. He could see the conditions necessary for granting a wish, and his quirk showed that Uraraka's wish would be granted before the year ended. UA would be building dorms soon, but he couldn't see why. "You'll forget me once you no longer need a place to stay. Then, I'll be alone again. That's why I didn't tell you. There is nothing you can do. Everyone forgets me, and it's… it's hard, okay?" Midoriya's breath hitched as tears welled up in his eyes. "I-It's hard to know that I'll be alone a-again! But I can't make it stop!"
He heard Uraraka gasp. "Midoriya…" Suddenly, he heard the doorknob jiggle again. Seconds later, the door swung open. Midoriya quickly covered his head, but he could see the two walk over to the bed. "You're gonna have to teach me how to do that later, Shinsou. Right now, you need to think of a wish."
"Huh?" He heard more shuffling as two bodies plopped down onto the wooden floor. "Why?"
Uraraka peered under the bed and sighed when she saw Midoriya's shaking form. He was still quietly sniffling under the blankets. "Tell me, what's going on right now?"
Shinsou tilted his head curiously. "We came over to your friend's shop to help him because he was keeping a secret from you."
The girl narrowed her eyes. "What was the secret?"
The purple-haired opened his mouth to tell her, then paused in confusion. "I don't actually know. Why are you mad at him?"
"Shinsou. Come up with a wish! Think of something you really want, but don't say it! You have to think a wish!" Uraraka sent him a pleading look. She was desperate to have Shinsou remember Midoriya. If he had a wish, then at least he would remember the conversation they were having. Maybe that would buy them enough time to come up with something to fix this.
Shinsou looked down at the small teen hiding under the bed. He felt bad. The bushy-haired boy was sniffling under the bed, and it reminded him of when he was little. When Shinsou had first been spurned by his peers for having a 'villains' quirk. 'What could I wish for, though?' Shinsou hummed in thought. He closed his eyes. 'I wish I could learn why this bracelet is so special to me.' The teen grabbed the multi-colored bracelet with his opposite hand. 'I wish I could learn why this bracelet is so special to me.' He opened his eyes and saw a pair of brown eyes looking at him hopefully.
"Midoriya runs a wish shop. He granted your wish to get into the hero course, and then you forgot about him." Shinsou blinked in surprise at Uraraka's words. The girl was watching him expectantly, trying to see if Shinsou knew what was going on now.
The purple-haired teen looked down at the shivering mass of blankets, then back to Uraraka. "My wish was to get into the hero course? That's how I got in?" Was it by his own merit then? Shinsou thought back to the letter he got. He was the one who got the rescue and villain points. Looking back at the teen under the blankets, Shinsou frowned. That would be a conversation for another day.
His classmate grinned. "Yes! You remembered that!" Uraraka felt proud. Maybe he didn't remember meeting Midoriya before, but he remembered what she said. They could work out the details of the wish another time.
"That's not going to work for long," Midoriya mumbled from under the bed. Both teens looked at him with wide eyes. "Shinsou has a wish right now, but if I grant it or if he stops wishing for it, then he'll forget me again. People usually move on from their ungranted wishes eventually." The small teen's voice hitched. "Please. I'll be okay. I've dealt with this for ten years. You don't have to go to these lengths for me."
Uraraka pursed her lips in frustration. "You're our friend. Of course, we'd want you to be happy! And forgetting your friends has been hurting you for a long time. We'll find a way to fix this!" The bubbly teen grinned determinedly.
Shinsou frowned. "Can't we just wish for you to remember us?" Midoriya flinched; however, Uraraka didn't notice.
She was too busy looking at Shinsou with starry eyes. "Shinsou! That's a great idea! Midoriya!" She turned back to her friend. "I wish that your friends remember you, even after you grant their wishes."
"I can't grant a wish if it cancels out another wish. The first wish takes precedence." Midoriya whispered it so quietly that the others almost didn't hear him. Almost. Shinsou and Uraraka blinked in surprise.
"Eh?!" Uraraka blanched as she realized what Midoriya admitted. "You mean, everyone forgetting about you was a wish?" Ten years. Ten years of being forgotten were because of a freaking wish? The teen puffed her cheeks out in righteous anger for her friend. All of his suffering, his sadness, and loneliness were because of a stupid wish! "Who would make such a horrible wish?"
Midoriya didn't say anything and just retreated further into himself. She was just trying to help him. He told her not to do it, Midoriya begged her not to, but she had insisted. She had insisted with tears running down her face, knowing the price of the wish, for his sake. And he couldn't stop himself from granting it. "It doesn't matter. I knew it was a bad wish, but I can't refuse a wish if the wisher is willing to pay the price."
"Well, that makes things easy."
At the new voice in the room, Uraraka and Shinsou spun around in surprise. There, standing in the bedroom doorway, was their classmate Bakugou Katsuki.
Bakugou couldn't believe how easy it was to follow his classmates to the shop. The explosive teen didn't need to stay far back as he did because the two extras didn't once check their surroundings as they walked. They were supposed to be hero students? He scoffed as the extras turned a final corner and passed through the wooden fence surrounding a wooden house. After waiting a few minutes, to make sure they weren't going to leave, Bakugou walked up to the fence gate. It was weird. The whole shop was weird. On both sides of the building were modern-looking stores, making the wooden shop stand out. However, everyone passed by like the building didn't exist. Bakugou looked up at the small wooden shop. If Izuku really did grant wishes, then it made sense to have some kind of protection surrounding the shop. The strangest thing was that Bakugou had never seen the shop before. How had he lived in Musutafu for so long without ever encountering it? This tiny ass shop was on the edge of downtown Musutafu. He was sure he'd been in this area several times in his life. Maybe it was some stupid requirement that he never fulfilled until now? With a chuff of annoyance, Bakugou walked up to the front door and opened it. No one was in the shop's lobby, but he could hear Round Face talking to someone somewhere on the left side of the house. Heart pounding, Bakugou followed her voice, ultimately leading him right outside of a bedroom.
"-eat idea! Midoriya! I wish that your friends remember you, even after you grant their wishes!" The blond scoffed. Did she really think it'd be that simple? If Izuku had been dealing with being forgotten for years, wouldn't he have already tried that? "Eh? You mean, everyone forgetting about you was a wish?" He almost laughed when he heard that. So, people forgetting Midoriya was a wish? Sounded like he had refused, so he probably can't override a granted wish… Huh. "Who would make such a horrible wish?" He partially agreed with Round Face. Why wish for that? To prevent exploitation of Izu's quirk, maybe?
"It doesn't matter. I knew it was a bad wish, but I can't refuse a wish if the wisher is willing to pay the price." An unknown voice spoke, slightly muffled by something. It certainly wasn't Eyebags or Round Face.
Bakugou couldn't remember what Izu sounded like. It'd been too long. However, it didn't matter if he'd actually found Izu or not. There was someone here who would be forced to help him. "Well, that makes things easy." The best way to find out had literally been revealed to him. Bakugou stepped into the doorway, smirking at the blatant surprise on his classmates' faces. He didn't see Midoriya right away, but a quiet sob from under the bed made him realize that the fucker was hiding. "You can't deny a wish, right? Then stop hiding like a coward. I need you to grant my wish."
Uraraka glared at Bakugou. "You can't just demand he grant your wish! That's so rude!"
The voice under the blankets spoke up, "Your wish is to find your childhood friend, but you don't understand the consequences of your wish. Don't say it, please!"
Bakugou growled, tiny explosions sparking from his palms. Consequences? Fuck that! Bakugou was going to find his friend, and nothing was going to stop him. "I've been searching for Izuku for ten years! And you said it yourself. You have to grant my wish. So, I wish I could find my childhood friend!"
The blanketed figure flinched before shaking his head. Suddenly, he gasped in pain. Uraraka and Shinsou looked at the person with worry as he began trembling under the blankets. "P-please! Take it back! I ow-! I don't want to grant it!" The shopkeeper gasped again, and his trembling increased.
Even Bakugou was worried now. Guess pain was a drawback of refusing a wish. Bakugou felt guilty as the boy whimpered in pain but shoved it back down. It wasn't his fault! He just wanted to find his friend, but this fucker wouldn't grant the wish. If he just granted his wish, then his quirk would stop hurting him.
"Bakugou! Take your wish back! It's hurting him!" Uraraka pleaded with her classmate. She knelt beside the bed and tried to pull the teen closer, but the bundle just pushed himself further under the bed.
"No way, Round Face! I'm not leaving till he grants my wish!" Bakugou knelt beside the bed and reached under. When he felt Midoriya's arm, he grabbed him and hauled the shopkeeper out from under the bed.
"Please! You don't understand!" Midoriya cried out as he scrambled to keep himself covered. Bakugou had reached down and was about to rip the blanket away, when suddenly-. "IF I GRANT YOUR WISH, YOU'RE JUST GOING TO FORGET HIM AGAIN!" Bakugou paused, hand gripping the blanket tightly. Forget again? What? Uraraka and Shinsou exchanged a look of shock, which slowly morphed into horror. "Please… Ka-, Bakugou. I can't keep doing this." The bundle of blankets shook as Midoriya sobbed. "I've granted your wish so many times. And every time you forget. I can't do this anymore. Please, take your wish back."
So, who guessed it? :3c Congrats to Navarone, Dragonjek, and Fencer29 for guessing that Bakugou would forget after getting his wish granted as the main reason that Midoriya was scared to see him. How many times do you think they went through this song and dance? I like to think this happens every 1-2 years, and Midoriya has only just now snapped because of Uraraka's interference with Shinsou, and due to the friendships he is making with her, Shinsou, and Yagi. It's fresh in his heart right now, and dealing with Bakugou's wish again at this moment is why he finally broke.