27
Fireflies
It was still lunch and everyone was hanging around.
"For the record, I think you're a bad boy too." Todoroki added.
Izuku almost choked on his spit. "Wha-, Todoroki, th-thanks but I don't know how to feel about that." Izuku had horrid cringed eyes. 'He said it as if I was being naughty!' And that was too conflicting for Midoriya to acknowledge.
Buzz, buzz. Before they could continue the shenanigans, Izuku felt his phone vibrate, he pulled out his phone under the table and looked down at the text message. His eyes grew slightly wide, he lifted his head to her.
"Yo, Izuku have a minute?" Kyouka asked, keeping it subtle after having sent him a message.
"Um, y-yeah." He cleared his throat. "I mean, sure." He took a quick glance to Momo. "Um, we'll be right back guys." Although he was talking mostly to her.
She let out a trusting sigh. It was as if they had developed a silent form of communication and that made Momo's heart flutter at the thought. 'Something else, that's just for us.'
Kyouka and Izuku walked to a quiet corner by one of the windows in the cafeteria hall. "So, what's up?" Izuku casually asked. "Is this about Friday?" Because he had been meaning to talk about it too.
"Observant as always." She sighed. She knew he had a knack for picking up on those insights. "Well, yeah but like, there's more to it and if it's cool with you I was hoping we could talk after school at the park?"
He subconsciously checked his watch thinking about his time frames for today. "Um, yeah, around sunset though? I'm working at the shop a little after school."
"Sounds good, dude." She gave out her causal smirk or at least tried to.
Izuku noticed her lips curve into a genuine smile and she was twirling her earjack around her finger. He furrowed his eyes brows, worried. "Kyouka, it doesn't have to do with us, right?"
Her expression caught itself. "Like I said, observant as always. Look dude, we can talk after school, okay? Let's just go back to the group." She pointed with her thumb, nudging her head to them.
"S-Sure Kyouka. We can talk later."
Feel good inc
They were walking down a path that circled around the park's pond as the sun was setting. Kyouka took a lazy lean back, looking up at the clouds. They were a mesmerizing swirl of orange and purple. She smiled and rested her head against his supportive arm. "Tell me, again." She sighed out that chord.
"Again? Really, Kyouka? You know I thought you weren't the mushy type." He joked, throwing his head back with a chuckle.
"Oh, shut it, you know it's different when it's just you and me." She backed up and punched his shoulder before resting her head on it again.
He still had a laugh even after being hit. "Alright, alright." He glanced at a bench they were coming up on. "It was early in the morning and I wanted to go out for a jog." A natural smile began to pull up on his lips. "And as I was jogging to the park, I was beginning to use the path we're walking on right now." A natural pause.
She smirked against his sleeve. "And then what?"
He dropped his head, looking down, fondly recalling. They reached the bench and he sat them down on it. "And then I began to slow down because I was hearing the sweetest sound, and I came to a full stop after I realized it was because of you, sitting on this bench."
She continued from his stopping point. "I was so lost in my playing that I didn't realize you were staring. God, I was so embarrassed."
"I liked the way your earjacks knotted up. It was cute."
"Agh, why do you have to like that about me?" She playfully groaned, crossing her arms, and looking away with a pout.
"They're curling up again, huh?" He teased.
"Agh, shut up!" She uncrossed her arms to grab her jacks, forcibly stopping them.
They chilled and relaxed on the bench as the sunset. She was comfortably leaning on him, staring at the reflection of the sky on the pond. "Hey, Izuku?" With a somber note.
"Yeah, Kyouka?"
"Tell me, again?" She giggled, knowing she was being annoying at this point.
"You really don't get tired of it, huh?"
"Nope!"
And so he told her again, but this time Kyouka noticed a weakness in his voice. She interrupted him. "Yo, Izuku what is it? You're not really here, you're off in your own world right now, aren't you?"
He caught a breath, being surprised. "I guess you would catch it if something was wrong. I was hoping you wouldn't notice, guess I slipped up." Izuku scratched the back of his head, before sighing and telling her. "Um, it's where I'm interning, I just found out about a little girl... I was right there Kyouka, I could have..!" He let out frustrated. "I'm sorry I can't tell you the specifics but..." He outstretched his right arm, clenching his fist shut. "We still have a chance to save her." With pure determination.
"You will, dude, totally!" She lapped her arms around his torso, laying her head on his shoulder with the best support she could muster with her cool demeanor.
All alone
Izuku was sitting on that same bench. His stomach had some anxiety brewing. He figured this was the spot she would want to meet him.
His eyelids began to lower as he had nothing to focus on, sleep trying to catch up to him. 'I guess it wouldn't hurt to get a quick nap while I wait for her.' He struggled to form that conscious thought, as his head rolled back on the bench, slowly reaching dreamland.
Midoriya, after what happened... you still don't talk about it and if you do, all you do is play it off with a smile.
Deku, you're always thinking like that. You're always trying to help others.
Young man, being busy is no excuse to not take care of yourself! Seriously, you are constantly wasting this young girl's time and worry. It's always something with you.
We're here... That's what we are, aren't we?
Midoriya, please get some rest. We're worried, I'm worried, for you.
Damm it Deku!
Save me.
I just wanted to say, Deku... Jeez, I don't know why this is so hard. I just wanted to say, I thought you were really cool today!
All-Might... I want... I want to be a hero, again!..
You're Izuku, not Deku, just Izuku... My Izuku. And I worry, I want to for your sake. So please let me worry.
I'm serious. You're someone I know I can always rely on. I hope you feel the same towards me?
All-Might kept his head held high no matter what.
You can pretend I'm her.
You know, nostalgia always leaves a bitter after taste in my mouth.
Can't you be honest with at least me..?
Midoriya, I just can't keep seeing you do this to yourself, over and over again.
There's this other you, the you with baggy eyes who goes off on his own and... and I don't know who he is.
How about you and all the self-loathing fuel you have towards destroying yourself!
Izuku had leaned forward with furrowed eyebrows, clutching his temples with his left hand, squeezing his eyes shut. He removed his own grip and cupped his hands over his face, letting out a muffled cry of frustration. He rubbed his hands up and down his face vigorously before giving up and dropping them. "Sleep, huh? Yeah, right." He added a weak laugh of pity towards himself. 'And that's just a fraction of these past three years...' His bloodshot baggy eyes stared off across the pond, a small lily pad floated past his view. He dropped his shoulders and head, looking down and away.
"Yo, I-Izuku?" Kyouka had been approaching him until she saw his distressed actions.
He stiffened. He quickly lifted his head, snapping his eyes to her. "K-Kyouka?!" He stuttered with wide eyes before they sheepishly lowered. He rubbed the back of his hair, chewing on his lip. "You weren't... You weren't supposed to see that."
She tried to lighten the mood. "I've seen worse from you." She sat beside him and bumped his side with her elbow.
"You have, huh." He mumbled with a smile, it was a small one but it was there. He shook his head, trying to refocus his thoughts and himself. "So, what did you wanted to talk about, it's about what happened Friday, right?"
"Sorta... But there's more to it. First I gotta say thanks for saving my ass back there."
"Er, don't mention it. It was just a lucky coincidence."
"I know, but still." She took a deep breath. "Izuku there's something you should know. A-And it has to do with Overhaul. H-He's been set free... for a while now."
Busted and blue
"Hurry, we need to get him on the operating table, we need to prepare for a blood transfusion as well!" The doctors and nurses busted through the doors, pushing a stretcher through the white halls of the hospital.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck! Izuku what were you thinking?!" Kyouka screeched, following alongside him. Her eyes bloodshot, her cheeks stained with salty trails and a dry throat tired of screaming out her lungs. Her eyes kept drifting to his right arm, it was swollen purple with blood seeping out. Completely shattered.
"Where... Where's Eri?" He struggled to ask.
"For fuck's sake, worry about yourself, right now!" She was clutching his left hand trying to show her support.
"That's why I got you..." He breathed with a smile before passing back out, but he made sure to leave her with a final squeeze.
"I'm sorry, you can't follow." A nurse halted Kyouka as they raced Izuku into an operating room.
"No, you don't understand-" She pleaded but to no avail.
"He's going to be fine... Physically, I mean." Togata was with her. He placed his hand on her shoulder.
She harshly shoved herself away from his comfort. "Physically? Didn't you see his fucking arm!" She turned to him, glaring with her earphone jacks aimed directly at him until she saw the serious implications in his black marbles. "W-Wait, what did you mean physically..?"
And the burden Mirio carried was told to Jirou.
"His quirk? N-No-, that can't-, you're lying!" She snapped her head to the silent person leaning on the corner of the medical hall, her eyes stinging bloodshot with distress. "This is bullshit right, Sir Nighteye? Right!.. Don't just stand there! Say something!"
Nighteye's glasses had a glare hiding his eyes. With a quiet voice, yet still echoed in the hall. "That boy changed the future I had saw..." And he didn't know what to make of it. 'I was supposed to have...' He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses, clearing the glare. "Mirio, I'm heading back to the office, there's still work to do. Stay here with Midoriya, update me periodically."
Mirio rubbed his nose with his thumb to stop a sniffle. "Sir!"
"You're just abandoning him!?" She thrusted her arms and earphone jacks down, crying out to the retreating figure.
He almost stopped, almost.
All she could hear was the hollow steps of his shoes as he left her and Mirio there.
She scurried to one of those chairs people use to wait. "This can't be happening... This can't be, I-, we had plans of starting an agency together. And now you're telling me... This is bullshit. You can't do this to us!.. He finally had a quirk and you take it away..." She cried out that last sentence with a whisper so quiet nobody heard it.
He didn't know if she was yelling at him or the situation she and Midoriya were facing. Mirio was still standing in the same spot but all he could do was stare at the hysterical girl who knew Izuku's world was falling apart right in front of her.
And Mirio couldn't do a thing. He could only stand with his head bowed resonating utter failure as he heard her cry the saddest lullaby with her tears.
Souk eye
"What... Kyouka? You're joking, right? You got to be joking." But neither of their voices had an ounce of humor.
"Izuku..." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She opened them and let out the breath at the same time. "I was only allowed to tell you because Eri is coming. Don't worry everything is going to be fine we're keeping tabs on him and his former associates... That's what Friday was all about."
Izuku's emerald orbs were vivid, not able to believe what was coming out of her mouth. "What... But-... But what he did to Eri!" Izuku's voice was hoarse with dryness but stern, needing answers.
"I-Izuku, he got leverage because of his information and the resources he had. He was an essential part of taking down the league."
"That's bullshit and you know it!" Izuku had gritted teeth. "How long has he been out?"
"Izuku..."
"How long, Kyouka."
"For almost a year and a half." She let out strained. "Look Izuku I swear I wanted to tell you but..."
"A year and a half..." His eyes grew, staring at her and the meaning behind those words. "A year and a half... That's when we-, wait, th-that means you-..." It dawned on him. He stood up, off the bench, walking closer to the pond, not able to face her.
She followed after him. "The guilt was killing me when we were... I couldn't look you in the eye because of what I knew. That's why I... But I waited for so long to tell you... I really wanted to. You have to believe that... And now that I did that means we can you know, try again?" She lifted her shoulders hopefully.
Izuku extended his right arm over the pond, staring at it with somber eyes. The chrome sleeve was reflecting the sunset sky. An orange hue over the purple swirling clouds. He dropped his arm, sagging his shoulder. "I kept thinking it was because of me, I thought you were tired of dealing with this..." He shrugged his right arm. "And now you're telling me... I don't even know what to think about Overhaul or you, about this." Kyouka was telling him she wanted to try again but he had something with Momo already, her best friend. And he didn't want to believe it could be broken so easily.
"I-Izuku, do you think, when Eri comes, maybe we can go see her together?"
Izuku narrowed his eyes before turning back around, facing her. "What, no. Kyouka what we had is over." Finding resolve because spending time with Eri was already promised to Momo. His Momo.
"But maybe it doesn't have to be." Her voice scratched over the vinyl. "I still, you know, the love thing."
Izuku closed eyes, taking a pause, he opened his eyes, staring back at her hopeful orbs. "You abandoned me for your hero work." He pointed out, his voice was quiet but harsh with the truth. "Even if we tried again, there's always going to be a fear in me that you'd do it again... And I can't trust you anymore for that."
"Wh-What but Izuku? You're... You know how much you mean to me. Even if we do just play it off in front of everyone, you can't tell me you don't feel the same!" Her voice cracked, off note. Her bottom lip was trembling and her eyes were glistening but she was standing her ground for the past they had. The past that didn't matter to anyone except her. Her eyes winced seeing his expression almost falter but remain.
"...Even after you told me everything about you and All-Might?"
That got to Izuku. His subconscious anger was replaced with conscious sympathy. "Kyouka..." He clenched his jaw taking back a gulp. He stepped to her, he lifted his left hand up to her cheek, rubbing away a tear that was threatening to spill. "...I still, um, that love thing, I do still for you too... But I can't. You know we can't."
She lifted her hand up to his, placing it over his, holding it dearly, leaning her cheek into his palm. "I know... It just sucks, you know?" She sniffled before a desperate chuckle escaped. "See? I hate thinking about the past..."
"I know Kyouka, I know."
Submission
The sky was a gray blanket of nothing, a hollow breeze echoed through the leaves of trees, causing some to flutter away.
The heavy bells rang, ringing in my ears. The day itself was a blur to me. I don't remember if I cried. I don't remember what I said when it was my turn to speak of him.
But I vividly remember the moment they began to lower his casket down. Maybe she noticed my lack of physical attention to the reality in front of me.
But she reached out and held my hand.
And she continued to throughout the ordeal.
Little by little the massive crowd began to dwindle away. A few of our classmates stayed but ultimately everyone had left.
Leaving me and her. I remember wishing, hoping it would rain, to at least feel something.
I didn't want to feel hollow anymore. I just wanted to feel something.
I think she realized that too. I don't know how but I remember sitting on her bed as she locked the door to her room. She made some absent excuse about her parents touring in memory of All-Might but I didn't bother to pay attention.
My eyes were only able to stare past her.
I stared past as she advanced towards me. She crested my head into her embrace, singing sweet nothings, softly.
But I needed her. My arms slowly found the strength to curl around her waist, bringing her closer. She was running her hand through locks of my hair.
"Kyouka..." It came out muffled from the fabric of her funeral dress. "I... I-,"
"I-It's okay... I can take care of it, you know?" I pretended not to hear the insecurity in her voice.
I lifted my head up to the maiden smiling down at me. A droplet splashed on my cheek. "K-Kyouka..?"
Her cold hands slid down my hair to cup my cheeks. I subconsciously gulped, seeing her bring her lips down to mine. My lips parted in anticipation, my grip around her tensed.
"K-... Kyouka?" I panted, unsure of her actions. Unsure of the step I knew she was taking.
"It's okay, Izuku. I want to, for you. I want to see that shine in your eyes again, even if it's just for a moment..."
I also remember that her lips... they tasted like tears.
My first time was with Kyouka, the day of All-Might's funeral...