Ello everyone, welcome back to the story! I don't own Genshin Impact or My Hero Academia. I do own this story though!
Thanks for all the follows and favorites! I really appreciate it! I also might go back and change some chapters, if/when I have the time.
I'm trying my best with the festival. Hope I'm executing it well.
Wow... we're approaching the six-month anniversary of this story! Wow... I feel like I began it yesterday...
Also, I saw a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was COOL :D
And uh... yeah! Let's begin!
BEHOLD:
Pizza Mozzarella!
...Part 7 fans?...
THE STORY! :D
"Nice!"= Speaking
"NICE!"=Shouting
"Nice!"= Thinking/ Flashback/ Emphasizing a Word
"Nice."= Whispering
A Heroic Impact: Chapter 22
Izuku waited patiently, scuffing his dirt red shoe against the pavement as he sat on a bench in front of some bushes, a nearby certain archer hassling a man running a stand regarding the price of a specific delicacy.
It had been about two hours since the fight with the orb, and he and Amber were now alone at the festival. The group had been broken up due to the goals everyone had. Klee had practically dragged Paimon along with her, much against the white-haired girl's wishes, who had wanted to spend some time with the man who had saved her life multiple times at this point. Meanwhile, Venti had practically vanished when they reached town, feverish to start storytelling to the public once more.
"I had a few ideas while I was injured on the ground, the events going on inspired me." Venti stated proudly as the group walked back to Mondstadt, Izuku trying his best to not deadpan at this sudden reveal while the others did.
"And while he was doing that, I was fighting for my life against a monster." Izuku thought, now feeling slightly miffed as the man running the nearby stand Amber was currently at had begun to raise his voice at the hungry Outrider, who had been trying to haggle the price of a meat kabob from the man.
There had also been... Ven. Izuku didn't know what was wrong with her, but she had been oddly quiet on their walk back. When they had finally reached the partying city, she had disappeared completely.
"She probably went to go collect her money, or maybe talk to Jean..." Izuku thought to himself, frowning. He couldn't blame Jean for the whole slave situation, as much as he wanted to change it. Jean believed there was nothing wrong with it, maybe possibly because it was how she was raised? That had to be it, as she came off as a very respectable and well-mannered woman.
Whatever the reason, Izuku knew he had to wait and gain all of Jean's trust before he would try to even attempt to point out where she might be wrong, still remembering Jean's entrance when Klee had been talking.
"There was also the whole situation with the masked woman before Ven had taken off." Izuku pondered this, now ignoring Amber's rising voice as she began to return the man's yelling with her own. Who was that woman, and what was her problem with Jean? The atmosphere had seemed really tense, and he had refrained from making any comment at the time, in case any of his words might had served the masked girl's point. She had seemed quite observant, and might have turned the tide of the conversation had he said anything. And there had been Noelle as well, who had positively made the situation worse...
He couldn't blame the maid, as the masked girl... Anastasia had been her name... seemed to have been baiting her, knowing that she was nearby, unbeknownst to Jean. She had purposely started rebuking Jean more when she had seen Noelle. A crafty method on her part, to say the least, but Jean had seemed a little concerned, the boy could tell that despite the Grandmaster's impassive expression during the whole conversation. Who was Anastasia and what were her goals, exactly?
"FINALLY! Sorry, for taking so long. The man running the stand was a real you-know-what.
Izuku looked up from where he sat to see Amber, smirking victoriously as she held two sticks of the meat. "I was able to get 'em at a forty-percent discount too!" The archer exclaimed happily as she plopped down next to Izuku on the bench, her bow on top of her head bobbing slightly as she did so. She turned a little red as she held out her hand with one of the kabobs in it, presenting it to her soon-to-be partner. "F-For you."
Izuku allowed a small smile on his face as he gently took the stick from the blushing Amber and gave her a grateful look. "Thanks, this looks delicious! Kinda how mom used to-"
Izuku's eyes had widened slightly at his accidental reveal at his mother. He quickly removed some of the meat off of his stick and popped it into his mouth, giving a quick thanks in his head as he did so. But he had unfortunately snagged the brown-haired girl's attention who was now staring at him, her blush having gone as fast as it came.
"T-This is perfect! I have him alone, so I can start to learn more about him!" She thought happily as she pulled her trusty notebook from her bag and placed it next to herself as she pulled a quill pen out of her bag as well, just in case the subject of her interest said anything noteworthy. "I gotta try and sneak a few notes about him, to give to Jean as well!"
"Your... mom?" Amber asked curiously as she stared at the eating Izuku, who had a look of panic on his freckled face when he heard the subject he had been desperately trying to aviod popped before him. There was no way out of this. He gulped as Amber flipped the notebook open to a random page and equipped her quill pen in her "Yeah... where are your parents anyway, and where is Wap-Japan? I've been doing some late-night reading, and I haven't found anything about that place."
"Crap!" Izuku looked ahead of himself, unable to meet Amber's questioning gaze. "Just gotta make something up... Yeah... I just gotta think..."
"W-Well, I don't have a father." Izuku admitted truthfully before deciding to lie. "My mom... d-died a few years ago, and I have no siblings. As for Japan, it's... uh..."
"Yeah?" Amber asked her hand moved so quickly while writing that her hand almost appeared as a blur.
"Uhh... FOREIGN LAND! Japan's a foreign land to the South from here."
"You mean east, right?" Amber slyly asked him as she continued to write, trying to see if he were attempting to trick her.
"Yup! I mean-" He cut himself off as Amber paused from her writing, raising an eyebrow and looking suspiciously at the boy sitting next to her as a group of cheering kids passed them, celebrating the festival as Izuku tried his best to keep his freckled face blank. She had tried to trick him, to see if he had been lying! A smart maneuver on her part, he had to admit, but he was able to sop himself before it had been too late. "Nope! I know it's South of here!" He said finally, ignoring Amber's gaze penetrating his skull.
"He's still hiding something..." Amber thought as she ate some of the food on her stick, chewing slowly with her amber eyes now fixated on the blue sky above as Izuku blushed a little. She looked cute when eating.
Amber then gulped down her meal as she grabbed her notebook once more, quickly jotting something down that Izuku couldn't see. An idea then popped into Izuku's head. "What about you Amber? You're still very young, so where is your family?"
The moment Izuku had uttered the question, he had regretted it. The atmosphere around them seemed to thicken as Amber said nothing as she continued to write, although now her eyes seemed distant, as she stared down at the notebook she was currently writing in. Izuku quickly realized he had strayed into business that he had no right being in and quickly tried to dismiss it. "Forget it, it's fine. We can talk about it later, or nev-"
"I don't know who my parents were." Amber said simply as she stopped writing, letting her notebook fall into her lap as she stared up at a passing bird. "My grandpa raised me when I was little. I also joined the Knights to make him proud."
Izuku couldn't help but look a little surprised. He had assumed that Amber had joined because of helping others, as she has said. He had also assumed that a little bit of greed for fame had been in play as well. He felt a bit guilty as he realized this, but quickly got rid of the thoughts as Amber took a small breath and continued, her right index finger now playing with a strand of her long, brown hair.
"Amber, get down from there before you get hurt!" A man yelled up to a little brown-haired girl, who seemed to be around 7 or 8 years old, and was perched in a tall tree in the middle of an older-looking Mondstadt, who huffed in annoyance as a familiar red bow upon her head bounced slightly as she shook her head indignantly.
"Awww, you're no fun, grandpa! Imma stay up here!" The little Amber teased as she poked her tongue out at the man, who now looked both annoyed and resigned.
"I don't care about my parents, but I loved my grandfather." Amber said as she smiled, her hand closing the notebook on her lap as she grinned at the sky. "He was always there for me, even when I caused trouble."
"Why did you set a Dendro slime's leaves on fire Amber? I get that you just learned magic, but you'll be killed if you do something like that again!" The grown, older man had exclaimed at the little girl, who just laughed as she waved him off, swinging a stick that she had found in the woods like a sword.
"Relax grandpa, I didn't hurt anyone. Well, the slime got a little hurt, but it was a slime, it deserved it! That means I'm a true Knight of Favionus like you! Right grandpa?"
"He was also a well-known knight, an Outider like myself. I'm proud to be in his place." She said proudly as she ate another piece of meat, her chest swelling with a familiar feeling of pride.
"I'm sorry, but was?" Izuku asked, his curiosity now outweighing his sense of what was right to ask and what wasn't right to ask as he continued to talk to the currently chewing archer. "What happene-"
Izuku immediately stopped himself from speaking, nearly shoving his hand over his mouth after realizing how inconsiderate and ill-mannered he was currently being. But it had been too late, as Amber had heard the potential question, and knew what he had been asking as she tensed slightly.
"I don't want to talk about it." Amber said briskly as swallowed her food and clapped her hands together, now done with her meal as an unwanted memory came back to her, much to her displeasure.
"He's still not here!" Yelled a Knight emerging from headquarters doors as Amber walked towards the place where her grandpa worked. "Where did he go? He said that we would be leaving for patrol nearly a day ago!"
The young to-be archer looked confused at the group of Knights, usually so calm and level-headed, panicking like this as she approached the man who had made the exclamation, who was now talking with two other knights.
"You ask the townsfolk, ask if they saw him leave. And you," He said, turning to the second knight as the first one walked away with his orders. "check the outer walls. He has to be nearby, he has to be! He has no reason to go anywhere else!"
He sighed as he turned around, tensing slightly at the sight of the curious brown-haired girl. "Excuse me," The little Amber began, knowing to address the Knights properly from her grandpa's lessons. "Where's my grandpa?"
The knight looked at the girl with an unreadable expression as many other knights ran about in different directions. "He... went for a walk, kid. Don't worry, he'll come back soon..."
Amber forced a smile onto her face as Izuku gazed at her, the feeling of regret visible in his gaze. She immediately dropped the expression the moment the green-haired boy popped another piece of meat into his mouth and looked away towards a shouting group of kids, his eyes still signifying the guilt he was now feeling. The memory playing in Amber's head played so clearly it were as though the events had occured yesterday rather than nearly a decade previous.
"Where is he?" The tiny Amber asked the same knight in a demanding fashion, but was now wearing different clothes, signifying that time had passed. "He should be back by now, it's been a week!"
"We're trying Amber." The knight responded with a tired smile, bags under his eyes from the sleepless nights of extra patrols and search parties. "He'll come back, it must've been urgent..."
The present-day Amber inhaled shakily before she made her way to stand up, only to find herself unable to do so. Her legs were shaking slightly and refused to listen to her commands. The archer looked over at Izuku, who, like her, had also finished his meal, to see if he was staring at her. He wasn't, was now bowing his head so she couldn't see his eyes, signifying that the action of apology he was about to do. The hero felt terrible for being so rude and blunt. He was supposed to be a hero, and yet here he was, ruining a girl's day because of his own selfish questions.
"I shouldn't have asked that kind of question. I'm sorry. I bet he's a good man." He mumbled in shame as nearby citizens passed them, laughing about something going on in the festival and a bard with new stories. The citizens' voices were unheard by Amber and Izuku, who only seemed to hear what the other was saying, as they were both lost in thought and emotions. Amber looked at Izuku as the boy, for a moment, thought she was going to slap him for being so inconsiderate. He raised his head, preparing himself for the action that he had deserved through his words.
She smiled.
But it wasn't a smile of pride or victory that he had seen on her face before. It was a genuine smile, a smile he had only seen a limited number of times before today. A beautiful, shining smile met his green eyes as he couldn't help but give a tiny smile back, albeit of the guilt he was still feeling to some extent.
"You know," Amber began, her smile still sat on her face, as she cocked her head, her amber eyes reflecting some of the clouds she was now currently staring at as the white bow on her head tilted slightly, her eyes watering slightly. Whenever someone brings up my grandpa, they usually do so in passing, as though he were nothing but a memory." She now spoke from her heart, from how she had felt and what she couldn't tell anyone, she was finally releasing. It didn't matter if it were Izuku, Jean, or any random knight, she had to talk and she needed someone to listen.
"He'll come back!" The little Amber shouted at the same tired knight, although now her shouts held more worry and fear rather than a demanding tone that she had used previously. "I know he will! He wouldn't leave unless something happened to him!"
"But you..." She tilted her head back towards him, so he could now see her smile again. "You said he's. He's a good man. Not he was, but he is. And I completely agree with you. People who don't know my grandpa thinks he left of his own free will, or that he died. I don't think either of those happened. He's too stubborn to die and why would he just leave? It doesn't make sense!"
"He's gone." One of the knights said emotionlessly to the group of knights, the darkness of night surrounding the house and visible through the windows. "Vanished. He must've given up, as the reports say there was no blood or body found on any of the trails."
"He wouldn't!" A teary-eyed Amber exclaimed, who had been standing with the group, eager to hear news about her family member. "He wouldn't give up! I know he wouldn't!"
"But y'know," Amber said, her gaze once more focused on the puffy clouds and blue sky above as Izuku continued to gaze at the archer, despite another noisy crowd of people . "no matter what happened to him, whether he ran away of his own free will or was kidnapped, that doesn't change one thing..."
"I'll take his place! I'll do it!" The little brown-haired girl girl demanded, much to the surprise of the knights. "I'll grow up and become an Outrider, the best Outrider, just like he was! And once I've done that-
"I'll find him. I want to see him again, even if he doesn't want to see me." Amber said, albeit the sadness in her voice was unmissable when she had said the last part.
Izuku nodded as he continued to stare at his surroundings, but he was unaware of them all. All that mattered, at the moment, was the fact that she needed someone. Amber stayed quiet for a moment, as though she were pondering something, before she finally spoke. "I have a question Izuku, and please, answer me honestly."
Amber moved her gaze from its previous location to the ground, where a family of ants were moving across the pavement sluggishly. She stared at them for a moment before asking the question she had been wondering her whole life, that she was too afraid to ask, in case someone would say the thing that she didn't want to hear.
"D-Does that make me... selfish? It probably does, doesn't it?" She asked, not caring what he might think of her showing this much emotion. She needed to know the answer.
Was she a bad person?
Izuku had to refrain from immediately denying such a wild claim, as it would make him look as though he wouldn't care and had put no thought into his response. Hearing Amber like this, rather than being prideful or annoying, was quite sad, but she had every right to be so. But... the question she had asked rung a bell. Where had he heard question like it before...?
"You should probably give it up."
A kid Izuku sat stunned in a doctor's office, not believing what he had just heard from the doctor who had just carelessly crushed his dreams of helping others and being a hero. "W-W-What?"
"You're not getting a quirk, sorry kid."
"Is something wrong with him doctor?" A much younger, slimmer Inko Midoryia sat next to Izuku, frowning. She was not pleased with this doctor and this so called "quirk exam" that he was giving her son, who had basically demanded it when she had picked him up from school, refusing to tell her why he was covered in burns and cuts the previous day. "Most of the other kindergartners' quirks have manifested, but he, for some reason..."
"Excuse me ma'am," The doctor interrupted the kind mother's words as Izuku now stared out the window, just barely managing to hear the present conversation. "Pardon me for asking ma'am, but you're fourth generation, correct? Can you tell me about you and your husband's quirks?"
"W-Well, my husband can breathe fire," She paused as she rubbed Izuku's head tenderly as tears had finally begun to sting Izuku's eyes as the doctor's words had seemed to finally slam into him. "And I can pull small objects towards myself."
"Ah, I see. Well, allow me to explain." The doctor cleared his throat before beginning his short speech, one of which he had given to specific previous patients of his as well. "Normally, by the age of four, he would have manifested one of those quirks, or perhaps have inherited a quirk that resembles both of your quirks, to some extent. But he doesn't."
The doctor folded his hands, sitting down in his chair before continuing with his speech. "This is because he has two joints in his pinky toe. You see, when superpowers first began to show up, the results of an early research study were published. It stated that when certain parts of the body go unused, the body deems it unnecessary. The people who didn't have the joint went under a certain process of natural selection, or your body adapting to its surroundings and causing their offspring to reproduce more commonly. The body, in this current age and time, does not need an extra pinky toe joint, so the more advanced and common humans, the ones with quirks, underwent this... I suppose you can call it an evolution, and their joint disappeared, while quirkless ones did not. And, as shown through the x-ray..."
The doctor paused, before walking over to his computer and typing in a certain set of numbers and letters, pulled up the x-ray of Izuku's foot. To the boy's horror he saw not one, but two toe joints in his pinky toe.
The doctor now saw the horrified look on Izuku's face and felt sympathetic towards the young boy. "N-Now kid, cheer up! There are still many ways you can live life, like being a police officer, or a newsman. Don't let this bring you down!"
"HAHAHA!!"
Time had passed between when Izuku had gone to the doctor's office and when he had gotten home. He had cried the whole way home, much to his mother's sadness and displeasure. He was now huddled up in a blanket on the computer, watching his favorite hero in the world. But now, he would never be like him, never be able to join him. What would the others say when he would go to school, when they would find out that he will never get a quirk?
"It's fine now! Why? Because I AM HERE!"
Inko Midoryia walked into the dark room with her hands full with a tray of cookies, although thetray and her hands were shaking slightly. She looked up at her only son, sitting in front of the computer, not saying a word...
"Look m-m-mom." The poor mother's heart broke when she heard the boy talk, it sounded as though every word that left his mouth were forced, that every word that he spoke hurt dearly and left a scar. "He saves e-everyone, no m-matter what, he looks a-at it all a-a-and smiles."
The young green-haired boy finally turned around, tears falling down his check onto the carpet below, leaving tear-stains in the rug as his small body trembled.
"D-D-Do you think m-mom," He asked, a sad smile on his face as a mix of tears and snot dripped from his nose and eyes. "That I-I could be a h-h-hero too?"
Inko Midoryia couldn't take it any longer, as she dropped the tray of cookies onto the floor as the tray hit the floor with a *clang* and flung herself onto her beloved child, tears now falling rapidly from her eyes as she embraced him.
"I'm sorry Izuku! I'm s-so sorry!" She sobbed, Izuku's face still frozen in a smile, tears leaving his eyes as his mother held him with all of her love, her crying echoing around the room.
That was the question. The question Izuku had asked himself when he found out he was quirkless. Could he be a hero? He unknowingly hurt his mom by his dream being crushed. Was he selfish for wanting to become the world's greatest hero?
"S-Sorry. I know you probably don't care much, I shouldn't have said that much..."
Izuku snapped back to reality as Amber got up from the bench from where they sat, her face unseeable from Izuku's current position.
"I'm sorry I bothered you Izuku. I need to go to Jean. I'll see you later." She stated rather quietly as she began to walk away, her pace quick and fast, as though she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. She had been foolish and had shown too much. She had just wanted a simple answer and had wanted him to answer more questions. But here she was, on the verge of tears, awaiting the answer of a boy she had only met some time ago, wondering if she was a bad person.
And then, Izuku spoke his mind.
"Yes."
Amber froze in the middle of the sidewalk, the answer to her question finally presenting itself as a few birds flew overhead as she stayed in her mid-walk position. Many civilians passed the frozen archer without a second thought, laughing, talking, and eating as Izuku stayed where he sat on the bench as he gazed upon the archer.
Amber then slightly shook in place as she nodded, putting her foot down in order to get out of her walking position. Izuku was still unable to see her face as she spoke once more, although her voice was a little shaky. "I...how...w-well, I suppose th-"
"Yup." Izuku interrupted her, his green eyes gleaming as they reflected the sunlight coming from above. "You are completely selfish wanting to achieve your goal. But then again, aren't we all a little selfish in some way?"
Amber stayed where she was but turned around to look at the to-be knight, her wet eyes now holding confusion rather than disappointment as the last citizen of the town passed between them, so now she could see Izuku clearly.
"W-What?" Amber stuttered as she stared at Izuku, awaiting an answer. But instead of an answer or an explanation of what he meant, he answered her question with another question.
"Paimon and I want to become knights. We're doing so because we want to, and because we want to help others. Does it make me selfish for wanting to be a knight?"
Amber stared at him before responding. "Well, no. But how does that make you self-
"Technically, wasn't Klee being selfish when she took Paimon, in order to show how much better she is? But does that make her a bad person? Does it make her a selfish person?"
Amber titled her head a little, so that her hair fell off a little to one side. But the truth of his words had begun to sink in a little...
"Having a personal goal, whether it's wanting to save someone or wanting to complete something, it makes us selfish, in some regard or some way. But Amber, being selfish doesn't make you a bad person, nor is being selfish necessarily a bad thing." Izuku grinned as he closed his eyes, thinking of his goal of becoming the number-one hero. It was a selfish goal, there was no denying it, even if it was to help others. "People who have selfish natures are overly selfish, and that's bad. But some selfishness is good, it can help you and it can even help save lives. So, yes. You are selfish wanting to see your grandpa again. But no, you aren't a bad person, especially if you want to complete a personal goal, that's fine!" Izuku reassured her as his eyes were still closed, unable to see anything. "It's fine to want to see someone you love." Amber now stared at him, tears still brimming on the sides of her eyes before she spoke once more, but her voice sounded a little more hopeful when she spoke.
"But, even if he's alive, w-what if he doesn't want to see me?" Amber croaked out, but Izuku's smile didn't falter.
"So what? We'll leave then. It'll be his fault if he can't see how much better you've become. Even if he's dead, that's okay too. If he is, then it's proof that he really did love you, there's no need to feel as though you failed him."
For a brief moment, Izuku could've sworn he had heard a noise coming from the bushes behind him. He was unable to investigate, however, when he felt two soft arms embrace him, squeezing him so tightly he felt as though All Might in his muscle form was giving him a hug. When the arms let up a little, he cracked open his right eye to see the archer, who had been attempting o interrogate him mere minutes before, was now hugging him. She suddenly blushed before she jumped back, nearly running into a crowd of hungry people as she remembered her pride and place.
"I-Izuku, I'm-" She clenched her fist as a few more memories came back to her, but she remained standing tall and proud.
"Did he kill himself?"
"No, he ran away. Couldn't handle the responsibilities.
"He left a little girl on her own? The bastard!"
"They're wrong. I want to find him! That's my goal! I need to know what happened!" The brown-haired Outrider thought to herself before looking back up at him, a look of determination on her face that was not unlike his own when the hero before her was focused and determined. "I'm going to find my grandpa! It's my goal, I'm going to see him. I don't care if he's dead or not, I have to know why! I SWEAR, I WILL FIND HIM!"
Her proclamation echoed throughout the area as she breathed deeply, her face reddening as she had realized that she had announced this to the world, and Izuku was still sitting in front of her. But strangely, she felt much better rather than embarrassed, as though proclaiming this to the world had finally made her focused on her goal, rather than trying to avoid it because of the ghosts of her past.
"There you go!" Izuku said cheerfully as he got up off the bench as he looked into the sky. The sun had finally begun to fall slightly, causing their shadows to become longer and stretch over the pavement. "I know you will. I'll help you along the way t-"
Izuku then stopped mid-sentence as he saw his shadow before turning slightly, seeing the sun beginning to sink. The day was almost over, and the real party was going to begin soon, as he remembered two things that he had promised to himself to do today. It was almost sunset already, and he still had work to do! "OH NO! I LOST TRACK OF TIME!" The boy screamed as he towards a cluster of buildings, preparing himself to run down the roads. "I have to go run an errand! Thanks for the food Amber and we'll meet up later ton-
"Hold on!"
The voice of the archer made him pause. Turning around, he looked slightly panicked, thinking she was going to force him to stay. After all, he had left her earlier the same day. "I'm sorry Amber, but I have to go for now-
But before he could finish Amber walked up to him, her face an atomic red like she was about to explode as she stared at him. For a moment, Izuku thought that she had forgotten to mention something.
And then archer leaned forward she kissed him on the cheek.
"Nothing serious or anything, just as a little thank you." she thought to herself, but was still progressively turning more red at the action she had just played out. Just a quick peck. That was all.
Nothing to freak out about or anything. Right?
Izuku blinked. Once, twice, three times, just as Amber had once done when the boy had seen in the bathroom. Amber was still bright red for embarrassment, but looked somewhat happier as she stared at the ground, looking more like a schoolgirl from an anime rather than an archer that could kill monsters with a single well-aimed shot as her finger played with a stray strand of her hair. "T-Thanks for listening to m-
Izuku shot off like a rocket, running in the direction he needed to go as he shouted a jumble of words back at Amber, his entire face a shade of crimson. "THANKSWAITIMEANSORRYIMEANTHANKSFORTHEKIS-FOODOKBYE!"
The still slightly red-faced Amber couldn't help but snort at the sight of the boy, who could be so brave and determined, turn into such a nervous wreck. Thank god she wasn't like that when near him. Nope, never!
She then turned around and began to walk, not noticing the bushes shaking slightly from behind where she and Izuku had sat. She continued her way as she squeezed past a gaggle of civilians, all of whom seemed to be wearing a separate color from the other. The outrider had begun patrolling for troublemakers, a good pastime that she had acquired through being a knight, a newfound determination surging through her with each step she took. As she walked onwards, one final memory came to her, although this one wasn't as bad.
A young Amber lay alone on her bed at headquarters during the dead of night, staring at the stars and moon through the window as more tears continued to leave her eyes, thinking of her lost family member.
"I'm sorry grandpa." Amber cried into her pillow, unable to control her emotions as sadness overtook her once more. "Did I do something wrong? I swear I'll do better, just please come back!"
"I heard what happened."
The little Amber sniffled as she turned towards where the voice had come from. Standing in the doorway which had just opened a few moments prior, was a little girl, probably a year or so younger than Amber at the time. She had blonde hair which came just above her shoulders, and a soft expression as she walked up to the sad girl before her.
"W-Why do you care?" Sobbed the little archer as she pushed her face deeper into her pillow. "Go away!"
But the blonde girl didn't move as she sat down on Amber's bed. Amber at this point didn't care in the slightest and just glanced over at the littler girl, her eyes red from crying.
"I care." The girl stated this while she put her hand on Amber's back, which had stopped shaking as much when the hand had made contact. "Someone you loved left you, it hurts a lot, right?"
The little Amber turned to her, puffy-eyed and genuinely angry at this girl, whose grey-blue eyes looked on at her with sympathy. How dare her? What gave her any right to understand? She didn't understand anything!
"You don't care." The brown-haired girl spat, unleashing some of the many feelings she was currently feeling through her words. "After all, what does the heir of the Gunnhildr clan care if my grandpas's gone?!"
"He was a huge asset to the knights, mother told me." The girl stated, taking her hand off of Amber's back before placing it once more on the mattress. "She also-
"She probably told you lots of things! It doesn't matter! You only care because he served you, otherwise you wouldn't care at all!" Amber snarled vehemently as she tightened her grip on her bedsheet. The more this girl talked, the more angry it made her!
The heir looked on at her for a moment, something behind her eyes moved for a moment, as though she were reliving a bad experience. The girl then spoke in an unnaturally serious tone for a girl of her age. "I care because I've lost too. My father left with my sister a few months ago, I miss her and him really badly."
Amber was quiet, all the venom and anger she held towards the girl vanishing instantly as both her and the girl were silent. She had said all of that in the heat of the moment, she hadn't meant it. She did care, but the to-be archer's feelings had gotten the better of her, and yet this girl didn't seemed bothered by the criticisms in the slightest.
Amber stayed silent for another moment, still shaking slightly, before she wipe another tear from her eyes, sitting up on her bed next to the younger girl as she cast her eyes downwards. "I'm s-sorry. I shouldn't have ask-"
"It's fine." The younger blonde girl said rather quickly, as though she wanted to talk about something else rather than the subject she had just brought up. "But I'm here for you, so I understand a little."
Amber felt some of the weight holding her down leave her as she turned back to the little girl, who was now trying to get a hangnail off her index finger, huffing slightly in annoyance.
"What's your n-name?" Amber almost demanded, already wanting to know the heir's name despite only knowing her for a few minutes at this point. Having someone to understand what she was going through felt relieving.
"Jean. Jean Gunnhildr." The to-be headmaster of the Knights of Favionus stated simply, the little girl letting out a relieved exhale as the little annoying nail was finally pulled out using her other hand. "You're... Amber, right? I want to let you know that I get it. But that doesn't mean I'm not sorry. So, that being said, allow me to say something, something that you've heard a million times before tonight, but I have to say it."
The little Jean got up from the bed she was currently sitting on faced Amber, and then immediately went into a bow. "I'm sorry."
Amber, for the first time since her grandpa had left her, felt... happy. Someone had apologized to her, but it wasn't a half-assed apology, or an apology that had no meaning behind it. This one was full of the the thing she craved the most beside her grandpa at the moment: understanding. The person that she wanted beside her at the moment wasn't someone to comfort or console her, but someone rather to acknowledge the pain she was going through. And this girl... Jean... had acknowledged her pain.
"Do you want to be f-friends Jean?" Amber asked suddenly and bluntly to the bowing girl before her, blushing slightly. "Err... is it alright if I call you Jean?"
Amber couldn't see Jean's face at first, as she stayed in her bowing position. The blonde-haired child stayed there for another moment before bringing up her head, her grey-blue eyes shining with a kind of wonder that all children should have at her age, a feeling she hadn't seen in her when they had talked a few moments ago.
"F-Friends?" Jean asked Amber, in both curiosity and shock. "I-I've never had one of those before, I mean there was... YEAH!" Jean exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly before she stopped after a jump, quickly coughing and reassuming her previous character. "I-I mean, I would be honored to have you as my friend. And... you may call me Jean." Jean stated once more, bowing to the archer before her, both of who were now filled with a new kind of happiness.
The grown Amber paused in her steps as she turned around, gazing back at where she and Izuku had sat a few minutesbefore he had run to take care of his business, another smile spreading across her lips. She stared up at the dimming sky, tightening her fist.
"I promise that I'll find you, whether you want to see me or not! And Izuku, thank you."
And with that thought out of her head, she continued through the streets, prepping herself for the trouble she would face when the children would go home for the night.
When the real party would begin.
DONE! WOOOOO!!!! I HAVE BEEN RUNNING ON NOTHING BUT DR. PEPPER, SNAPPLE, AND FRITOS! (The writer of this story does not recommend this diet).
I'm also making an announcement: I'M GOING TO BE RELEASING MORE STORIES SOON! I have a great Demon Slayer idea ( I just started it) and a good Jujutsu Kaisen one as well.
I hope ya'll are enjoying the story too! With summer up and coming, I'll probably be able to start writing more as well.
Anyway, thanks for reading! Don't forget to read, review, and enjoy!
Adios amigos! See you next chapter!