A/N- Hey, sorry this chapter took a while, but like I mentioned before, this is a side story. I won't fully focus on this one at the moment, but once my other story is done, this one will take priority. Plus, college is a bitch, so yeah, that's fun.
And as always, please do give me your opinions on this chapter; anything helps.
Izuku was currently being scolded by the heroes for rushing in while Dabi was trying his hardest to not get into a shouting match with the useless pros in front of him. And for some reason, Bakugo was being complimented on his quirk, but he looked like he didn't even want their compliments.
Eventually, the three boys had enough of the heroes in front of them, so at the same time, they spoke their minds.
"Fuck off!" At the same time, they all said the same thing, truly a couple of single-minded delinquents.
That got the boys freedom from the heroes, and they began to walk away from the scene with Bakugo looking down while his hands were in his pockets. Dabi had his hood up and his hands in his pockets. In the middle of the group was Izuku, looking down at Inko's ring in his hand with a blank expression.
The three walked down some random street, not really knowing where to go. They arrived at the corner store, where Izuku met Dabi. Bakugo said he wanted to get something to drink to get that sludge taste out of his mouth.
Izuku and Dabi stayed outside and leaned on a wall as they waited for Bakugo to return. Izuku stared intensely at Inko's ring, and Dabi just looked up at the sky. Finally, Izuku broke the silence with a question.
"Hey Dabi, do you think you could teach me to control my flames?" Dabi was a bit surprised by the question. He looked at Izuku and scanned him to see what he was feeling, but he couldn't tell.
"Why should I? I never had any help with my quirk, and I turned out fine."
"Dude, I'm ten years out of practice. I could use the help if I'm going to do anything with my fire."
"But are you sure that's what you want? No offense, but you never used your flames till today. How can I be sure you're not going to just revert back to the little bitch that refused to use his quirk? People don't just change on a whim; it takes time."
Izuku looked down in contemplation before he breathed deeply and gave his answer. "I'm still reluctant to use my flames. I don't know how to summon or control them, especially during a situation like the one that just happened, but what you said to me at the trash beach was true. I can't run from my problems anymore. I guess I should take a page from your book and try to burn down any resistance to me achieving my goal." Izuku said the last bit with a grin.
Dabi just grinned at Izuku, 'So the little shit has finally decided to do something about the past. There's still a chance he'll flunk out, but hey, I've got nothing better to do.'
"As long as you don't run from your problems again and revert back into the miserable shell of a person, then sure, I can help you out. Just promise you will not hide from your problems again. Hiding from problems just creates more problems. I don't want to train a little bitch."
Izuku formed a frown of determination as he gripped the ring and put it back on his chain. "I have to get stronger so I can protect what matters to me, and I have to stop feeling guilty for the past. It's just like you said, no amount of guilt can change the past, and no amount of anxiety can change the future. So I have to take action and do what's right for my mom and current loved ones." Dabi laughed at Izuku's statement, making Izuku quirk an eyebrow.
"You know, I pulled that out of my ass when I told you that."
"I figured, but I don't care, you were right." Dabi just chuckled at Izuku.
"Yeah whatever, I'll help you out, but in return, you give me breakfast every day when you come to the dump for training." Izuku stiffened at that.
"You want me to go to the dump every day and get you breakfast? Isn't that a bit overkill for training?"
"You said it yourself, you're ten years out of practice. As far as I'm concerned, it's not enough. So I'll be going now. I need to go get some sleep if I'm going to have to train your punk ass every morning."
Dabi walked off back to the dump he called home. It was at this moment that Bakugo left the corner store and came over to Izuku. He had two drinks in his hand, and he tossed one to Izuku as he leaned against the wall as well. Then Bakugo had to ask what made Izuku change in the short time since he last saw him at school getting suspended again.
"Okay, spill it. What the hell happened today? First thing in the morning, you were closed off and denying your goals with tears threatening to drop from your stupid face. Then you tried to get me to pick up your slack. Next thing I know, you're using your quirk and hanging out with Scarface like nothing ever happened." Izuku stopped sipping his drink. If Izuku was being honest, he had completely forgotten about how Bakugo would react.
"Well... about that... I had a really long conversation with Dabi, and he called me out on my bullshit. But he really called me out, so he kind of helped me start to get over my past in some weird way."
Izuku could feel the anger coming off of Bakugo as he learned that some random homeless guy had helped Izuku with a problem he had been trying to solve for ten years. But then the anger just left him, almost like Bakugo was finally glad Izuku was not so down. It still pissed Bakugo off that someone beat him, but he could live with it for now, at least until he could one-up Dabi.
"It doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is that you're using your quirk again, and now that you've finally begun dealing with your stupid emotional baggage, you can start to move on. But you won't be a better hero than me!" Izuku grinned at Bakugo. He could see that Bakugo was relieved that he was doing much better.
Bakugo could still see the massive amount of doubt in Izuku's mind, but he didn't know why Izuku was doubting himself so heavily. He would need to find out soon to prevent an outburst. 'I swear to God, if that nerd gets depressed again, I will beat the shit out of him!'
It was then at this point that Izuku realized he left his school stuff at the dump with Dabi. He had finished all his homework, so technically he could leave it with Dabi, but Izuku would prefer him not to use it for target practice.
"Hey Kacchan, I forgot my bag with Dabi. I'll see you at home." Izuku began to run off right as he finished the drink Bakugo gave him. Bakugo still looked at Izuku with an intense gaze, unsure of how to address Izuku's doubts in himself, but that would have to wait for now.
Izuku ran throughout the neighborhood to get back to the dump, but he would suddenly stop. He felt eyes looking down at him. Izuku's years of getting into fights gave him pretty good instincts, so he knew someone was watching him. But there was no telling where the staring was coming from, so Izuku looked around.
Suddenly, a large gust of wind erupted from out of nowhere, and Izuku had to cover his eyes to not get dirt in them. But when he opened his eyes, they shot open in shock, because right before him was the number one hero, the Symbol of Peace: All Might!
"HAHAHAHAHA Hello there young citizen, I am All Might!"
"Yeah, I got that. What do you want?" Izuku said, with surprising disinterest. All Might was a bit taken aback by Izuku's words. He wasn't used to this dryness, and from a teen of all people, but he cleared his throat.
"Ahem, well young man, I saw what you did today with the sludge villain, and I must say that was impressive!"
"Wait, if you were there, why didn't you do anything?!" Izuku demanded as his anger rose. With frustration clear in his voice, he glared at the hero.
"Well about that, I *Cough*—" The next thing Izuku saw was a cloud of smoke before he saw a small, skinny, blonde man with sunken eyes. The two locked eyes in a stunned silence, and Izuku had a confused face, while Toshinori was sweating bullets and looking at him worried.
"Okay, am I getting punked or something? Because this is a very bad joke." Izuku said with an apathetic face.
"I assure you, this is no joke. I am All Might. This is my true form." Izuku just ran his hand across his face and sighed before looking back at Small Might.
"Well, I got to say, I was not expecting that. I'm going to guess you don't want people to know about this?"
"Yeah, I can explain it to you if you'd like?" Toshinori said, extending his hand out to a bench along the street. Izuku looked at it questioningly before speaking.
"As entertaining as that would be, I need to go get my school bag, so I guess I'll see you around?" Izuku began walking off, but Toshinori began to follow right behind him.
"If it's not too much trouble, I do have something to tell you, as well as an offer if you're interested." Izuku looked at Toshinori with a bit of interest, but sighed anyway.
"Considering you're already walking with me, sure, why the hell not, explain away."
"Thank you, but I should probably start with my name. I am Toshinori Yagi." He extended his hand out to the boy.
"Izuku Midoriya or, I guess, Izuku Bakugo now, whatever suits your fancy." Izuku shook Toshinori's hand with a friendly gesture, and they continued their walk while Toshinori explained his reasons for seeking Izuku out.
"Okay Young Midoriya, let me ask you, do you know what my quirk is?" Izuku brought his hand up to his chin and tried to think of an answer.
"I'm guessing some sort of strength enhancer given your move set and buff form, but other than that, no clue." Toshinori chuckled at the boy for a second, confusing Izuku a bit.
"Well, yes and no. My quirk does increase my strength, but that's not all it does. It's a stockpiling power, and it's been passed down for generations until it landed in my hands." Izuku stopped walking and stared at the weak hero. Izuku was completely confused about what Toshinori was suggesting. Was it possible that he really was just getting pranked? But on the off chance that this was the truth, Izuku needed to know more.
"That is ridiculous. Quirks can't be passed on like some Olympic torch. Everyone either gets a mutation in their genes or it gets passed down by the parents since they're hereditary."
"Yes, that is true, but my quirk does work like a passed-on torch, and truth be told, I'm looking for a successor to pass my quirk onto. My quirk is called One for All, and it has been passed down since quirks became a thing. It's a stockpiling power that enhances quirks when it's given to someone. So, Izuku Midoriya, will you be—"
"I'm going to stop you right there, bone bag!" Toshinori was shocked again to hear Izuku say this. "Okay dude, why me? What the hell do you see in me?" Toshinori put on a serious face.
"During the sludge villain incident, everyone was standing aside, not acting. The heroes didn't move, and as shameful as it is, that includes me. But you ran in anyways. Even if you couldn't win, you went in. Let me guess your legs moved without thinking, right?" Izuku's widening eyes showed him he was right, and he smiled a bit.
"Don't flatter yourself, gramps. Although you're correct in that I went in without thinking, there was another factor to all of that. That guy I saved was my brother."
"I see, regardless, you still went in, and even inspired someone else to help out. A hero's job is to help and protect people. You did that today. A hero is also supposed to inspire others to do good, and you did that today. Izuku Midoriya, you are capable of being a great hero, so I want to pass my quirk onto you." Izuku just stared down at Toshinori with an 'are you serious?' look on his face. Izuku just sighed heavily before addressing Toshinori.
"You're not very bright, are you?" Toshinori was shocked for a third time today. This kid sure was interesting to him.
"I don't think I understand where you're coming from?" Toshinori said, with a sweat drop. Izuku held up a few fingers before addressing the stupidity of this situation.
"One, you just met me and are offering me great power, which is the peak of naivety. Two, you have no idea what my motivations are, so how can you trust what you saw? Three, all I did was run into a fight and barely help out. I can't even control my quirk dude. Four, you're telling all this to a guy who may or may not even want to be a hero. Seriously, I have no idea if I want to be one. Five, you have to be really dense not to think this through."
"I can't believe I'm getting lectured by a middle schooler," Toshinori said, looking down in defeat.
"At least you know now." Izuku began walking back to the dump, and Toshinori began following him again, much to Izuku's displeasure.
"Well, since you brought up those good points, let me ask you. Do you want to be a hero? And why?" Izuku had a sad look on his face as he looked down and thought about it, Toshinori noticed his sad look before Izuku responded.
"To be honest, everything is… kind of hazy. I guess I want to be a hero? I don't know yet. I haven't had the drive to try in a long time. The best answer I got for 'why?' is that I just want to protect people from me and what I can do to them." Toshinori raised an eyebrow at what Izuku was implying. He could feel that there was more to this story, so his mouth moved before his brain did.
"Why do you want to protect people from yourself?" Toshinori asked innocently, unaware of the dark look Izuku had on his face as he looked down. Then Izuku grabbed the ring on his chain and pulled it out to show Toshinori.
"This ring… Belonged to my mom… I have it because... she died." Toshinori's face softened at what he heard. He felt bad for bringing it up because it clearly upset the boy.
"I'm sorry for bringing it up. You have my condolences and apologies."
"No, it's not your problem, it's mine." Izuku began walking again, with Toshinori walking beside him.
"If you want to talk about it, we can, but Young Midoriya, know that although my choice to pass my quirk onto you was hasty, I have no doubt in my mind you'll be a great hero one day, so I want to give it to you."
"And I already told you, I don't have control over my quirk, so imagine what a power booster would do. And I'm not worthy. I've got too many emotional problems to deal with. Plus, I don't even know for certain that I want to be a hero." Toshinori had a somewhat sad look on his face, but he brightened up with another idea to aid Izuku.
"I'll respect your choice to not receive the power, but at least allow me to help you control your quirk and try to help you figure out if you want to be a hero. I owe you that much. It's the least I can do." Izuku smiled a bit at his offer. Toshinori could tell the smile was wobbly and awkward, and it looked like Izuku hadn't smiled in a while, so he was even more curious and concerned.
"I found a guy to help me control my quirk, so I don't know what you can do for me."
"I can teach you what there is to know about heroics or how to fight. I have plenty of experience. Just think of me as your mentor!" Izuku chuckled at the thought of All Might trying to help him.
"Tell you what, I'll go to one of your training programs and we'll see what happens. Sound good?" Toshinori smiled at Izuku.
"If it helps you even a little bit, then it's worth it. I'll give you my number so we can stay in contact. And remember, I am your mentor now!"
"Not yet, old man." Izuku got his number and gave Toshinori his, and then he waved off the hero before going to the beach dump only to find Dabi not there. Izuku thought nothing of it. He grabbed his stuff and walked back home, thinking to himself.
No interesting thoughts were going on in Izuku's head; all he was doing was just thinking. Eventually, Izuku got to the thought of why he wanted to be a hero. If Izuku was being honest, he had forgotten long ago. Izuku didn't know why he wanted to be a hero other than to protect people from himself. It was a weird way of thinking because he didn't even know why he believed that. And after today, those ideas were starting to crumble under the realization that Izuku could genuinely help people while not being the monster he calls himself, but with that way of thinking gone, Izuku felt like a husk of who he used to be.
Sure, Izuku's quirk was dangerous, but that's what fire is, right? It just adds to the danger. And it hurt Izuku to admit it, but he did kill his mom with his fire. It didn't matter how hard he tried to forget that, he couldn't forget. Izuku knew he didn't want to hurt any more people with his fire. But if he really didn't want to hurt more people, then he shouldn't try to become a hero. That was the logical and rational way of thinking.
But why does the obvious solution of not becoming a hero feel wrong, even though he has no idea why he would want to be a hero? Izuku didn't know what to think. Today was the first day he used his quirk in ten years, and he saved Bakugo with it. But Izuku also nearly burned Bakugo alive due to the sheer heat he was giving off.
Izuku was extremely dangerous. He knew that. Bakugo knew that. Mitsuki and Masaru knew that. Dabi probably knew that the second he saw his quirk. They never told Izuku he couldn't be a hero, but they never said he could either. It was like Izuku was in some sort of thought limbo; he doesn't remember exactly why he wanted to be a hero other than the need to protect others from himself.
"I know there was another reason other than wanting to protect others from myself, but what was it? It's been so long since I've had a small spark of motivation to try to be a hero... Well, I'll think about it later. Right now I need to focus on gaining control over my quirk so I don't hurt anyone else."
Izuku walked the rest of the way home with his stuff, making sure to gaze at the horizon as the sun was getting ready to set. Watching the sun fall below the horizon calmed Izuku, which helped him settle his thoughts.
"Tomorrow everything I've known for the past ten years will change, and hopefully I can improve enough to get control over my flames."
Izuku walked the rest of the way home. He got to his house and walked in. Once Izuku got inside, he was not prepared for this. The second Izuku walked in, he was grabbed and shoved into an intense bear hug, the hugger being his mom, Mitsuki. Izuku's face was shoved into her sizable bust as she brought Izuku closer, making it hard for him to breathe. Izuku began to go blue while being squeezed into her boobs, which she didn't notice.
Mitsuki eventually put Izuku down after he went blue from lack of oxygen. He gasped for air as she just looked down at him. Izuku looked up and locked eyes with her, and she had a soft expression that made Izuku wonder what was happening. Izuku was used to Mitsuki yelling her lungs out all the time while cheering for something or disciplining Bakugo. But this was different and it scared him, but his fears were put away when she spoke.
"Good job, son. I'm proud of you." Izuku looked at Mitsuki with questioning eyes.
"What did I do to get your praise and not a swear in the ear?" That got her angry, and it showed on her face.
"Can't a mother be proud of her punk son?! Just shut up and accept the praise damn it!"
"No, it's just I have no idea what you're talking about!" Mitsuki had a vein showing on her head now, and she aggressively pulled her phone out and showed Izuku a video of him rushing in to save Bakugo. Then she pulled him into another hug, surprising Izuku again, but this time he decided to hug back.
"I'm proud that you saved Katsuki and stopped that villain. I know you'll be a good hero one day." Izuku's face saddened slightly. He was still not sure why he wanted to be a hero, but he hid it and just continued the hug, but the moment would be ruined. "By the way, I heard you got suspended again." Mitsuki said it too calmly for comfort.
Izuku tried to squirm out of the hug, but Mitsuki was too damn strong and she lifted Izuku. At this point, Izuku just accepted whatever punishment he would get this time. Whenever he got into fights, Mitsuki would make him clean his wounds with whatever medicine would sting the most.
As for suspensions, those punishments varied depending on her mood, and Izuku could only hope that Mitsuki was in a good mood today. But as she carried Izuku to his room, he saw Bakugo passed out on the couch, looking like he had been sent through the wringer. Izuku's chances of surviving Mitsuki's punishment were slim at best.
.
.
.
It was early morning, and Izuku was getting up before anyone else simply because he needed to make Dabi breakfast. Izuku figured a home-cooked meal was better than the store-bought stuff Dabi was probably expecting. Once Izuku finished cooking, he put the breakfast in a container with some plastic forks and knives.
Izuku headed upstairs to get dressed. Getting dressed, Izuku put on a pair of black joggers and a grey sweatshirt with a grey tank top under that. Izuku was about to head back downstairs to go leave, but he was stopped by Bakugo waking up.
"Where do you think you're going? We have training to do." Bakugo said, getting up from his bed and rubbing his eyes.
"I'm going out to train. I need to work on my quirk and get stronger." Bakugo narrowed his eyes at Izuku. What Izuku was saying seemed to be the truth, but Bakugo could tell that wasn't exactly the case. He didn't know what was up with Izuku, but he could see that Izuku was conflicted about something.
"Let me get dressed and I'll go with you; you still need to work out."
"Dude, it's about an hour and a half before you usually wake up. Are you sure you want to do that?" Bakugo just got an angry look on his face and glared at Izuku.
"Of course, I want to do this, idiot!" Izuku just sighed and shook his head at Bakugo.
"Fine, whatever, just hurry up, I'm leaving soon." Izuku just walked out of the room and downstairs to put his shoes on and grab Dabi's breakfast. Bakugo came down in his usual workout gear and put his shoes on. Without a word, they just left and went on their usual run.
Eventually, they arrived at the dump, and Bakugo looked at the piles of trash curiously, wondering why they were here of all places. Izuku looked at the piles of trash and scanned the area for a certain someone. Then he laid his eyes on a familiar lock of black spiky hair. Jumping over the railing of the beach and running down the steps, Izuku made his way over to Dabi, who was alerted to his presence when he heard someone running on the sand.
"Well if it isn't the punk, isn't it too early to be doing this stuff?" Izuku just held up the breakfast, and Dabi quickly changed his tune with an, "Oh hell yeah," as he grabbed it and started eating. As Dabi ate, Bakugo came down and looked at Dabi eating the food.
"Aw, come on! Don't tell me Scarface here is going to train you!" Dabi looked at an angry Bakugo and just smirked while eating his food.
"Well if it isn't the firecracker, what's it to you? My decisions are my decisions. The same goes for green over there." Dabi continued eating while Bakugo had veins appear on his face.
"Anything that concerns my brother is my business! I'll be a better trainer than you, Scarface!"
"Oh yeah, then prove it to me, firecracker," Dabi said, not even bothering to give too much attention to Bakugo. Izuku just sighed, but then he felt someone grab his sweatshirt and begin to drag him off. It was Bakugo, who was dragging him off to some other place in the dump.
"Come on, loser! I need to one-up that burnt fucker by making you stronger with my training!" Izuku just sighed again while continuing to be dragged off by Bakugo. Somehow, he felt this training would be the death of him.
.
.
.
An hour passed and Izuku was sweating like crazy as he was doing several exercises. Izuku just finished doing four sets of thirty triangle narrow-hand pushups while Bakugo was screaming his head off as he deadlifted a large piece of garbage.
"RAAAHHHHH!" Izuku just grinned as he watched Bakugo give his all with a feral face on. Dabi walked up to Izuku as he lay there catching his breath, sweating like crazy.
"Well, it looks like you're ready to start your training. Come on, follow me." Izuku got up and followed Dabi to a part of the beach that was almost completely covered in trash. He could have sworn he saw some scorch marks on the surrounding garbage, then Dabi turned to face him.
"Alright green, we need to work on the control and power of your quirk. Luckily, it looks like you're immune to being burned by your flames since they completely surround your body. But that may not be the case for your clothes and anything else you wear. The first thing we're going to do is work on your temperature control and overall control. So show me what you can do."
Izuku nodded and went to the middle of the area, where he closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and tried to summon his flames. Izuku felt nothing, so he tried again, but still, there was nothing.
"Alright dweeb stop." Izuku opened his eyes and saw Dabi with an annoyed face on. "You're trying to force the flames out. You're treating them like a foreign power when they're not. The flames are a part of you; you just have to let them out like you did yesterday."
"I get that, but they're not coming out. I don't know why they're not coming out," Izuku said, running his hand through his green and black hair.
"Don't worry if you can't get it up. Tell me, what did you feel when you used your flames yesterday?" Izuku put his hand to his chin and began thinking about what he felt yesterday.
"I felt... angry at myself for letting someone I care about get hurt. Then my legs just moved. I don't know if I moved out of anger or out of some heroic ideal, but I moved, and then my flames came out when I felt angry at letting Bakugo get hurt."
"So emotions are the catalyst for your quirk. I'm guessing that you've been emotionally closed off for so long that it prevented you from feeling your flames. Am I right?" Izuku looked down in shame. Dabi instantly dissected him in the span of a few seconds.
"Okay good to see that I'm right. Now here's what you're going to do. You're going to just let it all flow forward. Believe it or not, my emotions make my flames stronger, so I can see the issue."
Izuku looked at Dabi questioningly but decided he may as well try his advice. Izuku closed his eyes again and took a deep breath. But this time he searched for his heart inside of himself. All of a sudden, Izuku was assaulted with emotions he didn't know he had. Strangely, though, Izuku began to feel hot all over his body as painful memories began to surface. Among those memories were ones of his mom, smiling down at him, then images of his flames taking her displayed themselves.
Rage, fury, hate, sadness, grief, pain, and many other emotions that Izuku had locked away all surged forward. All of this, stemming from the wounds he had in his heart, began to come forth, and he felt hotter than ever. Izuku's face displayed all the emotions he was feeling, and Dabi could see that Izuku was feeling all his intense emotions as heat radiated off of him.
"Okay kid, now that you have all the emotions coming forth, I bet you're feeling pretty toasty right now. Now just let that heat out and boom, you've made fire."
Izuku followed instructions as his body felt like it was going to melt itself, but he eventually felt a lot of relief as he just felt warm. Opening his eyes, Izuku could see the violent torrent of black flames shrouding his entire body. Izuku felt warm, and he looked around to see Dabi's surprised face.
"What? Is something wrong? Did I mess up?" Dabi just pointed his finger up and Izuku looked up.
Izuku's eyes went wide when he looked up. He saw an incredibly tall pillar of black flames that reached higher than the mountains of trash surrounding them, it was easily close to three-stories tall. Dabi looked up, surprised, and said, "Damn kid, you're stronger than I thought. All the more reason to teach you some control."
As Dabi and Izuku looked up at the massive pillar of black flames, they failed to notice Bakugo standing there watching the flame pillar. But then the pillar died down and so did Izuku's flames, shocking Izuku back to reality.
"What the? What happened to my flames?" Izuku tried to summon them again, which Dabi clarified.
"You lost focus and you repressed your emotions again. You have to be emotional for the flames to come forth, idiot."
"What! But I don't want to always feel those things when I use my flames!"
"Sucks to suck kid, that's how your flames work, my emotions make my flame stronger, and emotions are a big aspect for fire-type quirk users. Fire is life, which means when we use it we have to experience all aspects of life, the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects. So your biggest struggle is being real and sincere with yourself." Izuku looked at Dabi confused and tried to come to his own conclusion, Dabi just facepalmed at Izuku's denseness.
"I don't get it. What are you saying?"
"I'm saying to stop lying to yourself about what you want and who you are. You have to accept who you are and not run away or deny it anymore. You finally made progress yesterday in figuring out what you want and who you are by using your quirk and being confronted with the truth. You need to stop calling yourself a bad guy and doubting your motivations Izuku, you need to accept yourself." But Bakugo, who was listening to the whole thing, couldn't deny that what Dabi was saying was not true, because it was true.
Izuku always ran from his quirk and never accepted himself after Inko's tragic death. Izuku always hid away and moved on while dragging a massive emotional weight with him, and it kept getting bigger over the years. Bakugo could see it starting to take effect on Izuku when he noticed Izuku was quieter and more reserved. But there was also the fact that Izuku started to talk about heroes less and less, and then there was the way Izuku referred to himself as a monster.
'Is that it? Does the nerd not believe he can be a hero with his quirk? Has he been repressing all these emotions for so long? I get that he doesn't want to hurt people, but he also wants to save them. He can't have that idealistic goal.'
In his usual way, Bakugo came forth and announced his presence to the two fire wielders.
"Oi Zuku, Scarface! What the fuck was that!?" The two looked at Bakugo. "I know you used your quirk nerd! So why did you stop? You were making progress!"
"The nerd doesn't like feeling angry all the time," Dabi said in a somewhat mocking tone.
"Hey, I just don't want to be pissed or sad all the time is all!" Izuku tried to defend himself, but Dabi had to ask.
"Really? The guy who beats the shit out of people with a smile or angry face doesn't like feeling angry or sad all the time. Newsflash punk, you've gone your entire life feeling those emotions. You're just conscious of them now, and you have to accept those emotions as part of yourself and let them guide you to being a true hero." Dabi said this in a tone that was practically demanding Izuku just accept himself.
"Come on, Nerd, you've made progress; don't waste it. You've gone your whole life rejecting yourself, and now's the time to accept yourself! You can't run away from who you are, not this time and not anymore! You want to be a hero, right? You have to accept yourself before you can be a hero, dumbass!" Bakugo was trying his best to push his brother forward.
"Listen to the firecracker. If you want to be a hero, you have to accept yourself. All the good and bad things about you are just who you are."
Izuku just stood there and looked at the two of them, who were trying to push him to just accept himself and use his quirk to be a hero. But Izuku just couldn't do that, and he didn't even know why. He didn't know how to process his emotions, he didn't know if he wanted to be a hero or not, he didn't know anything.
In a flash, violent black flames erupted from Izuku. Dabi and Bakugo looked up to see a pissed-off yet sad expression on Izuku's face. Izuku just took off running, deciding he had enough and that yelling at them wasn't going to fix anything. Both boys watched as a flaming boy ran off into the dump somewhere.
"Dammit, I thought pushing him to finally accept himself would do the trick. Damn him and his stupidly thick skull!" Dabi yelled in frustration.
"The nerd has always been like that; you can't convince him to do anything unless he wants to do it. I've tried for years to get him to accept himself, but yesterday we made some progress with him. And now he's trying to revert back! Damnit! What made him pussy out!" Bakugo was boiling with frustration at this point.
"My best guess is that he's hesitant to use his flames since he might hurt someone with them again. Combine that with the fact that he's been emotionally closed off for such a long time, and he has no idea how to properly control his emotions. And it's possible that he can't even remember why he wants to be a hero since he's been so closed off. Yesterday the punk told me that he just wants to protect people from himself, and he does that by rejecting himself." Dabi said, looking in the direction Izuku ran off in.
"I'm well aware of that, dumbass! I didn't ask for a fucking synopsis of his mental health! I want to know how we can fix this shit because his self-rejection is getting really fucking old!" Bakugo said, trying to think of a way to help Izuku. But unknown to them, a skinny blonde man saw it all unfold while he was looking for a place to train his new student.
'Maybe I should have a look and see if I can help that young man.'
Toshinori began heading in the direction he last saw Izuku run off in. It wasn't hard to find the frustrated Izuku since he was still on fire due to his emotions being in such a chaotic state. Izuku was sitting on a bench while on fire, trying to deal with his untrained emotions.
"Oh Young Midoriya, I had no idea the boy that ran off was you, although in hindsight the black flames should have made it obvious." Izuku noticed Toshinori and instantly his flames went out as his mood changed back to hiding his emotions.
"That's a neat trick with your quirk, so how are you doing? What made you run off like that?" Toshinori sat next to Izuku, and Izuku just looked down sad, he didn't know how to explain this to Toshinori without giving away too much information.
"Well... my flames use the oxygen in my body to keep them going, but the thing that ignites the oxygen and keeps it burning is my emotions, so that's the trick." Toshinori gave him all his attention since Izuku did interest him in some weird way. "And... negative emotions... happen to be the emotions that cause the flames." Izuku looked down in sadness, not wanting to have to face this.
"I see, and you don't want to face those emotions, do you?" Izuku just nodded his head in agreement. "Well, that certainly does suck, but if you ask me, it's a good thing." Izuku looked up at Toshinori in confusion, wondering where he was going with this.
"What do you mean? I have to be sad or angry to use my flames, and even then I can still hurt people with my flames, making them more powerful so they can hurt more people. It's a negative feedback loop!"
"Yes, that is true, but most people forget that people have emotions. Heroes do it all the time. They try to suppress their emotions and it destroys them from the inside, almost like what's happening with you, yes?" Izuku looked at Toshinori with wide eyes, "I know what internal conflict looks like, Young Midoriya. I saw it in you when we first met and I wanted to help you with it. But back on topic, most people neglect their emotions, except you. Your quirk requires you to be in touch with your emotions, and that is an amazing thing. True, they're negative emotions, and no doubt some cause tremendous pain. But those experiences and emotions make you who you are. I don't know what caused you to go through such pain and emotional stress, but I know that you would be a very different person if it weren't for those negative emotions and experiences that helped shape you into the caring young man you are."
Izuku just looked at the man in front of him with confused and conflicted eyes. What Toshinori was saying was true, but he didn't know how true those words were. Izuku just looked down and Toshinori just looked on, hoping his advice would help a little bit. But then he would hear Izuku drop a bombshell on him.
"I killed my mom," Izuku said dryly, with no emotion whatsoever. Toshinori blinked and looked at Izuku, confused and worried.
"What?" Izuku took a deep breath and looked down, hiding his face with his hair as he continued.
"When I first got my quirk, I killed my mom, and since then I have never used my quirk again. I have suppressed all my emotions ever since. I once said I wanted to be a hero, but all my quirk is good for is killing and hurting people. What kind of hero is that? I don't want to hurt people and I don't want to feel the pain of killing my mom again." Izuku covered his face with his hands and was on the verge of tears as images of his past came to his mind and Toshinori looked at him. He now understood why Izuku was hesitant to accept his offer.
'He doesn't even know if he can be a hero with a quirk like that, not to mention his past experiences make it hard for him to accept himself. Plus, he doesn't know how to handle these emotions. I wish I could have helped him sooner. Just what kind of torture has he put himself through?'
"I get it, my boy. You don't want to hurt people, and you don't want to be reminded of the past. I'm the same way. I don't take joy in fighting people, and I hate to be reminded of my greatest failure in the past." Toshinori lifted his shirt and Izuku saw the truly massive scar he had. "Five years ago, I got into a nasty fight with a villain, and I lost half my respiratory system. Honestly, me being here is a miracle. That was my greatest failure because I made it so I could only be All Might for a few hours a day. Imagine how many people need my help and I can do nothing but stand there because I'm powerless. But even when I do have the power, I can easily overdo it to the point of no return when I take a life."
"I don't think that's exactly the same thing, but maybe it's in the ballpark here." Izuku said, trying not to disregard Toshinori's experiences. Toshinori sighed and continued.
"That's not the point. The point is that my quirk can easily kill or hurt people, but I take that destructive force and use it to help people. Your flames can be a blessing to this world because there may be problems only you can solve, with or without them. And the negative emotions you have come from you running away from the problem of accidentally killing your mother. Instead of running, take responsibility for the incident and the anger that follows, and turn it into a force for good to prevent something like that from happening again. You want to be a hero, right? Then stop running away. Heroes run headlong into battle to protect everyone they can reach." Toshinori tried his best to sound motivational, but he didn't know what he could do for Izuku other than help him get over his past trauma. Izuku looked down and took a deep breath before looking at Toshinori.
"I think I get what you're saying, but what if I can't be a hero? What if I do more harm than good? What if I kill more people? What if I can't control my emotions?" Toshinori slapped his hand on Izuku's back.
"Can your quirk predict the future, Young Midoriya?" Izuku looked at him and shook his head, and Toshinori's expression softened. "Being a hero includes much more than just strength. Yes, heroes save people, but they also inspire people. Whether or not you can control your quirk or emotions is not the question. The question is, do you want to protect people, and not from yourself. But do you genuinely want to protect people regardless of circumstance?" Toshinori looked at Izuku and searched his face for an answer. Izuku looked down, trying to come up with an answer to Toshinori's question.
'Why do I want to be a hero? Is it something as simple as wanting to protect people? I honestly don't remember why I want to be a hero... but maybe I'll find the answer as I try to be a hero. But am I ready to be a hero?'
"I don't remember why I wanted to be a hero, but maybe I can find that reason again. But I do have one question, Toshinori."
"Go ahead, young Midoriya. I'm listening." Toshinori put all his attention on the troubled expression of Izuku.
"I will try to take responsibility for what happened in the past. I will try to be a hero. But how will I know when I'm ready to try?" Toshinori patted Izuku's back to reassure him.
"You won't. Anything anyone does in the world is usually a leap of faith, so you won't know when you're ready to try, it will just be a leap of faith." Toshinori finished with a grin as Izuku looked back at the ground.
"A leap of faith, huh?" Izuku closed his eyes and thought about that. He believed he had found his answer.
Then Izuku got up and walked a few feet away from Toshinori, taking a deep breath before closing his eyes. Izuku put the memory of his flames killing his mom at the forefront of his mind, and he felt the extreme sadness and anger that came from that memory overtake him. But he didn't resist it, 'Take responsibility for the incident and stop running from it.'
Izuku let the intense anger at himself flow through him as he accepted it as a part of himself. Izuku didn't latch onto anything as he felt all the raw emotions go through him when he looked at the burning image of his mom in the flaming house. Izuku felt his body get hotter than before, and it was uncomfortable, but the words, 'It's a leap of faith.' Kept ringing in his head, and so Izuku just let it all out.
All the pain, all the anger, all the violence, all the grief, all the sadness, everything flowed forward as if a dam's gate broke down.
Toshinori wondered what Izuku was doing, but then he felt a wave of intense heat hit him as violent black flames erupted from Izuku. Shielding his eyes as the flames burned in the morning air, Toshinori looked back at Izuku with amazement. Izuku stood tall, with a pillar of flame that reached into the sky like a beacon.
But Toshinori's gaze would intensify as he looked into the dark flames. Toshinori swore he saw a burning feminine figure with a soft smile on their face as they embraced Izuku in a fiery yet caring hug as he stood there engulfed in black flames.
Rubbing his eyes, Toshinori opened them and saw the figure was gone, and just chalked it up as his mind playing tricks on him. But then he saw Izuku turn around and face him when still shrouded in his black flame pillar, but strangely, Izuku had a soft yet pained smile on his face. Toshinori could see the anger and pain in Izuku's smile as clearly as day, but peculiarly, Toshinori saw that Izuku was just letting out his radical emotions as he finally accepted them and took responsibility for the accident. That sent Toshinori over the edge, and he had a wide smile plastered on his face. But Izuku wouldn't let him get the last word in.
"Hey Small Might, that leap of faith worked… I think I might be able to become a hero."