Flowers
Midoriya Izuku stood at the edges of the enormous, bright-green hedge that had risen from the soil surrounding the outskirts of Musutafu Local Park. As he looked upwards, he saw the hedge start to fall inwards, as if forming a protective dome around the entire park. He had been informed as such as well, by a few agents working with him and the other local heroes. He turned his gaze back to the hedge section in front of him as he stepped closer to inspect it.
He found himself staring in astonishment as he took in the sight of the beautiful flowers that lined the hedge- hibiscus, lupine, amaryllis, and so many more- bright colors of every sort, mixed in with darker colored ones. Someone may as well have splashed paint all across the hedge, with the paint being the amazing flowers before him instead of just ordinary liquid.
Despite his shock, he shook his head as he examined it with a more critical eye, spotting the varying lengths and thicknesses of the countless thorns on the stems of the flowers, thorns which reportedly had the capability to inject venom into those who made contact with it. He even spotted a few poisonous flowers present, such as Monkshood.
He took a step back, gazing at the beautiful scene once again as he was left dumbfounded at the absurd yet undeniable fact that this same assortment of the world's most beautiful flowers was equally deadly as it was attracting.
He took a deep breath, inwardly regretting the fact that he would have to break through this hedge as he cocked his fist back.
"Stay away everyone", he said, briefly switching his eyes to survey his teammates and mentors, "I'm about to make a path."
They nodded as they took a few steps back.
Izuku returned his focus to the structure in front of him as he called upon One for All, channeling the Quirk through his arms as his signature green electric bolts crackled across his now glowing skin.
"One for All: Air Force!"
As he was about to unleash the power of his Quirk to blow a hole through the hedge, it suddenly gave way, wide and tall enough just for one person.
Eyes widening in surprise, he instantly called off the attack as the glow around him faded, his teammates also similarly taken aback by the change in events. Izuku examined the pathway created.
"...It's only tall and wide enough for someone like me to pass through…", he remarked, "This person… Setsei Kojo… she wants me to pass through but only me."
He turns to his teammates.
"Eraserhead, everyone, I'm going in. I think she will only allow me to enter given that the dimensions of this path seem to be fit specifically for me… how she knows, I can only take a few guesses."
His teacher narrowed his eyes.
"Deku, it's too dangerous. You know she has the capability to tear apart even A-class combatants."
Izuku nods.
"Yes, I do but, Eraserhead, this situation is not one of an attack nor are we necessarily retaliating. This is a negotiation and she isn't making any aggressive moves."
The pro hero ruminated upon his student's observations before sighing.
"Go in but keep us updated. You say the word and I'll have Todoroki torch this entire thing down, fires be damned."
Izuku nods, going in as the hedge closed behind him.
He walked a significant amount, observing that the hedge was significantly thick.
"Todoroki would have to concentrate his fire to get through this thing", he thought, "And even then, she could just regenerate the plants/hedge quickly."
After some more walking, he finally arrived within the dome, One for All activated as green electricity sparked across his body. However, as he saw the new nature of the park, he realized he had no need whatsoever for his Quirk.
All around him were flowers- ones like those outside yet here many had luminosity, glowing softly in the otherwise mostly dark dome. In some places, beams of sunlight peeked through the top of the hedge, where Setsei Kojo had reinforced her barriers less. Izuku trudged through the scenery, careful to not crush any plants.
However, that wasn't a problem as he noticed that they'd part way for him every time he'd come close to crushing them.
"She's watching me no doubt… incredible… she seems to be able to very accurately and deeply perceive the environment around her plants as if they were her own two eyes…"
He continued to be awestruck by the sheer beauty of his surroundings, a gentle breeze passing by him as the flowers, grass, and surrounding trees moved with the wind.
"This combined with her offensive and defensive capabilities… and apparent mastery of control… she would make a tremendously good hero…"
He then came to a stop as he saw the girl who was Setsei Kojo herself a few meters away from him.
She sat high up in a tree larger than any other Izuku had seen, whether in the countryside or in cities. Its trunk alone was at least 10 times thicker than the average tree and it was almost as tall as the dome itself. Kojo sat all the way at the top, wearing a white dress that swayed with the breeze that passed over Izuku. From where he was, he saw that her skin was unnaturally pale. Her hair seemed to be brown, adorned with many of the flowers that he'd seen everywhere around.
She opened her eyes- light brown with specks of green and pink and looked down at him, gesturing him to come up to join her with a small smile.
Izuku jogged towards the tree and was about to start climbing it when he felt a thick branch wrap around his waist and pull him up, depositing him right next to the girl as he became slightly more on-guard.
She noticed then and gently shook her head. She then spoke to him, her voice light and delicate.
"There is no need for violence. I come in peace, however unbelievable that might seem from whatever information you've been given."
Izuku, against his better judgement, dropped Full Cowling, sensing that there was truth in her words.
"…What are you doing here, Ms. Setsei Kojo?", he asked.
She turned away and gestured to the expanse below them.
Izuku looked out below as well, as his breath hitched.
As much as everything seemed enchanting below, looking at it from above was like looking at a sea of little, bright lights in a darkness permeated by rays of light- as if a representation of the hopes and dreams of the people from a world otherwise filled with darkness.
"Enjoying."
For a moment all was silent as the two continued to gaze at the expanse below them. Izuku's ear felt a buzz as he felt Aizawa get through to him.
'Midoriya, what's the situation?'
He tapped his device and said, "No hostility. I'll get back to you after some time. You don't need to worry about me."
'…Alright.'
Izuku then returned his focus to the girl next to him.
She seemed to be around the same age as him, but he couldn't be sure. Whereas her appearance conveyed her being in the prime of her youth, her eyes seemed far too old.
"…Setsei, why did you do this?", he asked, "Enjoying this all couldn't have been the only reason to do something like this."
She focused her gaze upon him.
"Yes, you're right", she replied, "It isn't…"
She leaned back on the tree, looking upwards as she opened a hole in the roof, gazing at the clear blue sky.
"…I assume you already know of the organization called 'Asylum'", she said, "You know them as peacekeepers- a taskforce of strong individuals who specialize in undercover missions, spy networks, that sort of thing…"
She sighed, rising.
She was getting paler with every passing moment.
"But what you don't know is that they are secretly creating more Quirked people, like you and me", she said, locking eyes with him.
Izuku realized what that entailed.
After all, the only other two people whom he knew were capable of bestowing Quirks on others were a psychopathic megalomaniac called All for One and an equally monstrous doctor called Kyudai.
"I was one of their experiments", she continued, showing a brand on her neck- a cross with dots in the empty spaces between the lines, "And so… they trained me."
Izuku then understood how she had such enormous control over an equally large power.
"But… my Quirk had an unforeseen effect- it is killing me as you can see by my rapidly paling skin", she continued, laying a hand on her arm, "Because my Quirk? It is fueled by my blood."
Izuku's own ran cold.
"She's… she's dying due to her own Quirk…"
He immediately rose.
"Then stop this!", he said, "Drop all of this! Why would you do this to yourself, Setsei?"
She smiled at him once more, his concern warming her heart.
"…It's been a long time since someone's shown this type of concern for me…"
She rose as well.
"Because I'm on a limited date anyway- two months", she said, "I just decided I wanted to die on my own terms and so I broke out of there."
Izuku felt despair beginning to claw at him once more, grabbing his heart as it has so many times before.
She gently pushed him down as the two were sitting again.
"…And my terms were to see the most beautiful aspects of my Quirk even after all the horrible things that have happened to me because of it", she said, "…Ironic yes but it is all I have."
She turned to Izuku.
"So… could you please do a dying girl one last favor?"
Izuku nodded before he even realized it.
"…. Just…", she said, her voice getting smaller, more afraid, "Stay? Just for a while?"
"She… she's scared", he thought, "Of course she is! She's going to die! And all after what must have been a hellish life!"
He smiled warmly at her as he shifted slightly closer.
"Of course- till the end."
She held out her hand, her eyes pleading.
Izuku took off his right hand's glove, the hand which he had used to help save so many others, the same hand which was now scarred horribly, and took her hand.
Her eyes widened, surprised both by the fact that he accepted and by his scars.
However, she shifted closer to him, closing her eyes as she leaned against his shoulder, grateful to have a warm, comforting presence for once in her 12 years of hell, since the day she turned 5.
They stayed there as the flowers slowly lost their glow.
Almost half an hour later, Izuku having sent a message to Aizawa he was alright beforehand, the heroes and hero proteges stepped back, startled, as the dome began to fall. Soon, almost nothing remained of the beautiful, dangerous land that Kojo had created.
However, one blessing remained- the tallest tree in the middle of the park, their eyes instinctively drawn to it.
And then to the figure walking in front of it.
Izuku was returning, his face downcast, shadowed. He momentarily looked at his right hand before putting his glove back on, remaining downtrodden, shoulders sagging.
As he reached them, Eraserhead asked, "What happened?"
Izuku gave him a brief glance and Aizawa was shocked to the core by the sheer grief that was in the boy's eyes.
"Her Quirk… killed her", he said, "…She's dead. I tried to stop her, but her Quirk was going to kill her soon anyway."
He then brushed by his teacher.
"I'm going… somewhere. Don't follow. I'll do a de-briefing later. Incident is resolved."
He then paused, turning to Aizawa.
"And Eraserhead?"
His teacher looked him in the eyes.
"…I'm going to tear apart Asylum", he growled, killing intent emanating from him for a moment paralyzing everyone onsite before it faded away, as the boy activated his Quirk and disappeared from sight.
Aizawa's heart sank as he put two together.
"Shit."
Izuku found himself in front of his father's gravestone as he fell to his knees, head facing the ground.
And for the first time since he himself had passed, Izuku cried, tears slipping down his face as he silently wallowed in grief.
In grief because, for all his selflessness, he had failed another person yet again.
In grief because, for all his power, he couldn't heal or help Kojo.
In grief because, at the end of the day, he had been helpless yet again as someone's life slipped out from his fingers.
He cried and cried, prone on the ground.
For the parting gift Kojo had left her hero was getting rid of his scars- those on his arms and on his back, where now only a small imprint of a rose surrounded by irises lay.