SYMBOL
CHAPTER 001 – A HERO'S MELANCHOLY
A failure.
That's what he was. After everything he had done, it was all for nothing. All the hard work he had put in was just flushed down the toilet. Long hours of studying into the night. Training his body to reach new physical heights. Practicing multiple different forms of martial arts so he could better engage against villains. Mostly overcoming his bad habit of stuttering when under duress by putting himself in many uncomfortable situations. Actually being able to hold a conversation with someone else besides his mother by practicing small talk with random people whenever he could. Finally building some confidence within himself because of all the progress he made.
Worthless.
All of that hard work he put in to improve himself was worthless now. None of it mattered anymore because he had failed. This was his chance to shine, to finally be noticed as something more than just another person with silly dreams. His chance to enter one of the best schools in the world for people who had extraordinary powers, called Quirks, so they can be properly trained to use their quirks for the good of others and be called heroes. Being accepted into that school would've been his first step to truly make his dream become a reality, which was to become one of the greatest heroes of the world and save people.
But no, he botched it by failing the entrance exam and so lost his chance.
His green eyes filled with water and before he knew it, tears were running down his cheeks. He didn't bother wiping them off. He just let them come out as his gaze was fixed onto the coastline, watching the waves of the ocean collide against the shore while the gentle breeze flowed over him, causing his green hair to move with it. He didn't want to go back home immediately after failing the entrance exam for the simple reason that he couldn't face his mother and disappoint her with the awful news so soon. And so, the eighteen year old teenager, or young adult now since he was of age, subconsciously made his way to the beach. He didn't realize where his feet were taking him, so lost in his depressing thoughts that he was slightly surprised to find himself back at Takoba Municipal Beach Park, which was the place where he began his two years of harsh and unorthodox training. Deciding to sit down in the sand since he was already there, he just stared over the horizon for quite a while as he become lost in his thoughts.
And they weren't good thoughts at all. His mind kept replaying everything bad that had happened to him. It kept bringing up all of his mistakes. Reminding him of all the horrible things said to him. All the bullying he somehow endured through, from harsh words to physical abuse. His father leaving him and his mother just because he didn't have a quirk. Sometimes feeling responsible for his mother's distress. Everything. Everything that happened to him in the past and recently, his mind kept bringing it up. All because of his failure. All the hardships he endured through. All the help and support that he was given from several people who were rooting for him. All the blessings that the powers at be granted him and all the luck that life had given him recently. Everything that was practically handed to him on a silver platter these past two years. And when it was time for him to step up and use all of that to begin the life he'd always wanted, to make his dream become more of a reality, to justify all the support he was given, instead of accomplishing that, he ended up failing. He fell short of being able to take that first step.
Because of that, he now realized that what he was told before was true. He didn't want to believe that he was a failure. But that's what he was. A failure. He was such a big failure that even part of his own name was used against him as an insult. A 'Deku', from what his old childhood friend who had turned into his bully, named him that. That's why he was called that because he couldn't do anything right. Even with all that he had done in the past two years. Even with all the growth he had gone through. Physically, mentally and emotionally. It just wasn't enough. He didn't pass because he was a worthless failure who couldn't do anything.
Even when he thought of the things he had accomplished, it did little to ease his gloomy mood. Sure, when he first started training two years ago, the beach he was at used to be a dump before he cleaned it up as part of it. His grades, though were actually good, had risen to be top of the class along with one other. He went from a scrawny and lanky kid to a slightly muscular yet mostly lean athlete. Being able to overcome his shy demeanor for the most part. His heroic side coming out when he alone rushed in to help someone in need without thinking when pro heroes were frozen as to what to do. All of that did little to help him alleviate his sullen state. His thinking led him to remember about the few good changes that were brought about from his one and only heroic action.
The first was that his childhood friend, Katsuki Bakugo, who he nicknamed Kacchan, had changed a little after the green haired teenager attempted to rescue him from the sludge villain that had taken him hostage. Katsuki used to be his bully and daily tormentor for years after developing his quirk at the young age of four years old until that fateful day with the sludge villain. Since then, he no longer was picking on him, teasing him and calling him names daily. He still did those things but had eased up on them. Except for calling him 'Deku'. It seemed that would never stop since he had been calling him that practically all his life. But the green haired teenager didn't mind that much, since he didn't have to worry about the daily bullying and tormenting anymore.
Well, sort of. Of course, Katsuki's core didn't change much since he was still the same cocky, arrogant, rude, foul mouthed and short tempered hot head that he's always been. But after that day, Katsuki stopped being cruel to his childhood friend. Instead, he just ignored him for the most part but did still blow up at him every now and then with snarky remarks and comments whenever he was annoyed by him and his nerdy behavior.
The second thing to happen to him, which he believed to be the best thing to happen to him in his life so far, was his chance encounters with the greatest hero in the world; All Might, who was also known as the 'Symbol of Peace'. Just his mere existence had caused crime to plummet to all time lows as villains and evildoers were scared to even attempt committing any crimes since he showed up. Since the hero's debut, the young man had instantly become his fan and watched all of his videos online many times while collecting as many All Might merchandise and memorabilia as possible.
And why were the encounters with All Might the best thing to happen to him in his eyes? Because the second time they met, was when the number one hero answered his question differently and changed his world.
During their first chance encounter, the green haired teenager had asked the greatest hero if he too could become a hero without a quirk. At first, All Might had stated that he could not for many reasons. One such reason was that most villains, if not all, had some sort of quirk and trying to face them without one of your own, would be very dangerous and it would be better not to. Though the young man understood the world renowned hero's reply and couldn't really hold it against the pro hero, what he heard was not the answer he was looking for. Truthfully, he was kind of expecting that kind of answer but when he heard it, it had shattered his world. His dream.
And yet, ironically enough, his dream was revitalized soon afterwards by the same person who caused it to be broken. Because after witnessing the teenage boy act like a true hero, even if it was a failed attempt to rescue someone in dire need of help, while other pro heroes, including himself, stood idly by and did nothing, All Might was impressed by his heroic spirit and realized he had made a grave mistake. He wanted to rectify it and searched for him to give him a new answer to his question. It was then, during that second encounter when the young teenager was on his way home, that the Symbol of Peace had found him and told him what he had always wanted to hear; you too can become a hero!
Remembering all of that as he continued sitting in the sand and staring ahead at the ocean in front of him wasn't enough to bring him out of his funk. Instead, it made him feel even worse because he thought that even with all the luck, blessings and support given to him by All Might of all people along with several others, he still failed. Letting out a sigh, he turned to look at his smart phone that had just begun to ring. Reaching out and grabbing his phone, he answered the call. A concerned tone of voice was heard on the other end of the line. "Hello? Where are you? Are you alright? When are you coming home? I have dinner ready."
"Hey Mom," answered the young man, trying to hide his sad state by speaking as calmly as he could. "Sorry for not getting in touch. I'm gonna be a little late. Can you just keep some leftovers for me please?" he asked her.
Knowing that something was off because of his inability to keep his emotional state from appearing in his tone of voice, the boy's mother decided to not pry at the moment even though she became worried after noticing it. "Okay sweetie. But where are you by the way?" she asked him, wanting the answer to that at the very least so she could not worry too much.
"I'm at the beach," he answered.
"Oh, ok." She relaxed a bit, knowing which beach he was talking about. It was at that point that she deduced that something definitely happened during his entrance exam but once again, didn't press on it then. "Alright then. Be careful and don't be too late. I love you sweetie."
"Love you too Mom." After saying that, he hung up. His gaze lingered on the phone for a moment and contemplated calling someone else but decided against it, dropping the phone beside him onto the sand. Shifting his gaze back towards the ocean, he crossed his legs and raised his knees to wrap his arms around them, holding his hands. He let out another sigh. "I'm sorry Mom. I promised you I'd pass. But I didn't." Shaking his head, he lowered his gaze towards the ground and shook a bit as he did his best to not fully cry as more tears escaped his eyes. "And I'm sorry too All Might. After everything you did for me, I blew it big time. I don't deserve to be your successor. I hope it's not too late to find someone else. I'm so sorry." Taking in shuddering breaths, he did his best to control himself and not outright sob out in the open because he didn't want anyone to see him like this. Though the beach was practically empty right now, people had started visiting it again since he had cleaned it up as part of his two years of training.
His crying continued a little longer until he slowly stopped. Raising his gaze back to the coastline, the teenager just watched the waves hitting the shore for another minute or two as a few more stray tears flowed down his cheeks. Letting out another sigh, he unlocked his hands, grabbed his black sweater that was on the sand beside him, shook the sand off of it and wiped the dried tear marks off his cheeks with it. Lowering the sweater, he held it with both hands against his stomach as he took in a long breath with his nose. Exhaling it out through his mouth slowly afterwards, he did that a few more times to fully compose himself. There's no point in thinking about this anymore. What's done is done. I need to go home so Mom's not worried about me.
Standing up as he grabbed his phone, he shook the sand off his pants before taking one last look at the horizon in the distance. It was then that he noticed that the sun was setting and that made him widen his eyes. How long have I been here?! Shaking his head again, he turned away from the coastline and walked along it towards the stone stairs in the distance that served as the exit out of the beach.
While walking, the young man wasn't able to keep his mind distracted. Because of that, all the things that he thought about reformed in his mind and swirled around in his head. Failing the test. Disappointing his mother, All Might and the others who helped him out. His dream staying just that, a dream. Proving that he was a disappointment and worthless because of his failure. He wasn't able to break out of it. No matter what he did or what he thought, he couldn't get passed it. He regretted a lot of things he did and didn't do, which one of them was that he didn't do much of anything for himself so he too could pass.
But if there was one thing he didn't regret, was the actions he had taken to help others during the exam. And though that's what caused him to not be able to pass, he couldn't fault it. Because from what he's seen, what he's learned, is that a true hero would be able to do all that and still be able to do what he needed to do for himself. And since he wasn't able to do that, he had failed. He was a failure and unworthy of all the luck, blessings, support and everything else that was given to him.
Stuck in his endless thoughts, he didn't notice that he had reached the stone stairs until he started hearing random noises. Snapping him out of his stupor, the green haired young man looked around in confusion trying to find where the noises had come from. It was only when he heard some more noises before deducing that the sounds were coming from above. Making his way up the stairs cautiously, he began making out what the noises were. They consisted of several male voices shouting with what seemed like excitement, a lone female voice yelling in fright and several metallic clanging sounds. His heart started beating like mad as he quickened his pace up the stairs.
When he reached the top and saw what was happening, his eyes narrowed as rage erupted within, his protective and caring nature coming out at once that also pushed his sullen state aside completely. But he was still able to think clearly and assessed the situation quickly. He saw five men, with their backs towards him, had formed a half circle around a lone young woman brandishing a metal staff to defend herself with. Laughing sadistically at her while catcalling, he saw how they were toying with her as they used their quirks against her. Seeing them use their quirks and how they moved, the green haired teenager analyzed their fighting prowess within seconds. He also noticed that the five had some bruises on their bodies that he assumed were caused by the young woman using her metal staff.
Finishing with his assessment of the attackers, he moved his gaze towards the woman. He noticed her clothes in bloody tatters with parts of her undergarments visible. Though she was still fighting back the best she could with a metal staff, landing hits on her attackers, he could tell that she was on her last legs. Having decided to help her out already, he was about to enter the fray when he happened to lock his eyes with hers for a split second as she noticed him, causing her eyes to slightly widen. Within that short amount of time, even though he already assumed what was going on, her fear filled expression with teary eyes confirmed it. Without anymore delay and with no hesitation at all, the green haired young man leapt into action.
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A black haired young woman was putting up the fight of her life. She couldn't believe what she was dealing with all of a sudden. She only wanted to take a nice walk on the beach after finishing her move into town because she heard from the locals how it was so beautiful now that it was all cleaned up. But no, she ran into these scumbags on her way here who had decided to follow after her and ruin her day. The nerve of them, not leaving her alone and hounding after her while eying her up and down.
Sometimes, she hated her looks since she had developed into quite an attractive young woman with very noticeable curves and she was barely a young adult at the age of eighteen. She hated it sometimes because of all the unwanted attention she got from many. And funnily enough, even those who she wanted attention from, they only cared about her looks. Not her mind, which was what she really prided herself on since she was highly intelligent. She needed to be in order to fully utilize her quirk to the fullest. Whenever she was in a situation where she was given unwanted attention, she would tell would be suitors or perverted assholes to beat it, otherwise she would tell her father or that she would call the police. That alone was all she needed to do or say and it worked.
But that didn't help her at all this time. For the vile men in front of her didn't care who she was and didn't care at all about what laws they would be breaking. Instead, they just moved towards her, eyes filled with malicious intent. It was at that point that she realized that she was dealing with criminals. Disgusting, sadistic and lust filled criminals who were some of the absolute worst villains. Just thinking about that almost made her retch but she controlled herself. Instead, she quickly used her quirk to make herself a weapon, a metal staff, to protect herself with.
Fighting against them the best she could, she incorporated all the techniques she had learned from the many private lessons her parents had her attend. Grateful for that in her mind, she did her best to fend them off, hoping that they would give up after a few failed attempts. But unfortunately they didn't. If anything, they seemed to want her even more now. Seeing her as a tough target, they started calling her feisty and hot. Their comments towards her made her shudder with disgust but kept her focus on the fight to defend herself.
As they fought, she would periodically call out for help but every time she did, they would only chuckle evilly. Why wasn't there anyone hearing her? Wasn't there anyone around at all to help? She couldn't dwell on that and continued fighting against them. In the process, she was able to strike them multiple times and keep them off of her. But they were able to get hits on her too, which caused her to yelp and cry out in pain every time they did. Soon enough, they had her up against the ropes suffering from multiple wounds, exhaustion and the chilling air since her clothes had been torn up from the fighting and the sun was setting.
Backing away from the five, the black haired girl panted heavily while darting her eyes to each of them while thinking quickly. Though she was scared, she was doing her best to remain calm so she could fight back. But she was losing her composure as the fight prolonged and her adversaries noticed it. I can't keep this up! I'm so tired and they don't seem to be hurt or tired at all, even though I hit them many times! I need to figure out how to end this quickly and I need to do it now! Before she could even think of anything, one of the two with sharp talons on his hands lunged at her but she evaded and struck his hand away. But then the other one surprised her by lunging from the side and slashing at her arm with his talons. He ended up cutting her, making her back up while yelping in pain.
Laughing sadistically as they toyed with her for the moment, they closed in on her. Breathing heavily while her heart was beating quickly, she couldn't come up with anything to escape. Eyes filling up with water, she didn't know what to do at all. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! What am I supposed to do?! I can't think of anything and they're toying with me! I can't do it! I can't win! They're gonna hurt me! Please no! I need help! Someone! Anyone! Please help me! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! HELP!
Right when she was about to give up entirely, it was at that moment that she noticed something behind the ones leering at her with their lecherous looks. A green haired young man, possibly around her age, was standing behind the villains with his gaze looking towards her.
With her composure fading quickly, she at first thought that he was part of her assailants' group, fearing that he was going to join them in attacking her. Fortunately for her, that never came to be and she would later become ashamed for thinking that of him, even if it was during a time when she was becoming hysterical and filled with fear.
For when the two of them locked their gazes onto one another, her eyes widened slightly seeing the concern in his eyes along with the angry expression on his face. Within that split second, somehow she knew that he understood what she was going through and what she was feeling; she was afraid, she was hurt and she needed help. And then what happened next, she would never, ever, forget.
Seeing her frozen in shock and not moving made the group of villains laugh sadistically as they moved in closer to her. "You finally realized that it's pointless do you?" said one of the men with talons. "Well, time for y-ugh!"He was suddenly struck against the back of his head, interrupting his words as only a grunt of pain was left out. He was sent straight to the ground in such an angle that he went face first into the ground and was instantly knocked out from the impact.
"What the fu-" Started another from the group, the one with mucus secreting around his body, as he turned to the side to see who struck his ally. But he wasn't able to finish his words as an elbow collided against the middle of his chest with such power that he gasped for breath before falling face first towards the ground in an unconscious heap.
"You son of a bitch!" roared one from the remaining three. He shot forward with a hard right strike with his clawed hand towards his chest to pierce it. The green haired teenager evaded the strike by dodging to the left and then dodged to the right to evade another piercing strike, this time from the left. A straight jab from the clawed man was shot forward quickly but the teenager ducked underneath the punch. He then shot upwards with an uppercut landing against his attacker's chin, sending him up into the air several feet. Grabbing his legs, he then slammed him back down onto the ground with such force that the criminal's eyes bulged from the impact and he let out a soundless gasp before he too lost consciousness.
Turning to the remaining two criminals who were standing with astonished expressions on their faces at what they just saw, the new arrival furrowed his brow and his eyes narrowed with his hands clenching into fists. "You'll pay for what you did," he told them with a growl, making them snap out of it and launched themselves against the teenager.
However, the teenager didn't falter and shot forward with such speed, that they weren't even able to react. A strong punch connected against the protrusion quirk user's stomach while avoiding the bony raised areas on his body followed by a roundhouse kick against his head that sent his target flying a short distance before crashing against the stone wall near them and slid down, knocked out from the impact.
Fuckin prick is fast! The last remaining villain saw his speed and attempted to strike him with his chains by whirling them through the air in order to slow him down. "Quite moving around so much!" But it was no use because no matter what angle or trajectory he used to try and hit him, the teenager kept evading while drawing closer. Realizing the chains weren't working and that they were within arm's reach of one another, the large man tossed his chains away and began to try and punch him. Several times he threw strikes but the teenager kept dodging and evading while the annoying little do-gooder hit him back each time. However, even though the large thug got hit many times, it seemed to not faze him at all. Seeing the shocked look at the teenager, he sneered at him. "That's right you little shit! My quirk is Shock Absorption. No matter how many times you hit me, it won't do anything! Hahaha!"
So that's why! Well, if I can't beat him down, let's take the fight out of him!
Quickly formulating a plan, the teenager continued rushing him, delivering strikes against the thug's body as he continued to evade the criminal's attacks. "Give up already you annoying punk! You can't take me down!" Yelling with annoyance, the large villain attempted to crush his enemy with both his hands swinging down onto him as soon as he saw an opening.
But the teenager quickly evaded the blow by spinning around the villain. Using his speed, he leapt onto the villain's wide back and was barely able to bring his arm around his thick neck before locking it in place with his other hand while wrapping his legs as much as he could around the villain's torso. He was hoping that he would become frustrated enough to go for an all out attack that would leave him vulnerable and it worked.
Choking out some sounds at first while attempting to pry his arms off him, the criminal couldn't do so. How fuckin strong is this fuck?! He started violently shaking and swinging his body and limbs around to get free but it was no use. Rapidly losing energy and weakening from the loss of oxygen, he dropped to his knees as he continued to struggle. "Uhh…da…ah…" He couldn't speak properly and panicked as darkness began to creep into his eyes. He began elbowing the teenager with all his remaining strength several times. No matter how strongly he got elbowed though, the teenager ignored the pain. Soon enough, the last of the vile group went to sleep from the hold and fell onto the ground.
After making sure he wasn't trying to trick him, the green haired young man removed himself off the villain and stood up straight. Looking around to verify that all five criminals were out for the count, he then let out a relieved breath while pulling out his smart phone and sent a message to one of his contacts. When finished, he rubbed the areas he was elbowed with his hands. Damn it, that hurts. That's definitely gonna bruise for a bit. Turning his gaze towards the young woman who was frozen in place, he noticed that she hasn't moved at all since his involvement.
It was then that he noticed how attractive she is, even in her less than stellar appearance at the moment caused by her recent ordeal, making his cheeks redden slightly. Yet he didn't allow that to hinder him in what he needed to do, which was to make sure she was alright. And so, with his expression softening, he began walking towards the girl.
When he was closer to her, he spoke. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked her softly with concern. Seeing him move towards her didn't break her out of her stunned state. But when he spoke, that was what did it. She held up her metal rod out of instinct, fear still in her eyes. He stopped walking and held up his hands in a peaceful gesture, understanding that she was still afraid and couldn't blame her since they didn't know each other. "Hey, it's okay. I won't hurt you. I promise," he told her in the same soft tone of voice while keeping his eyes locked onto her own. He could tell that she was in rough state of mind and he honestly couldn't blame her. He didn't want to spook her or do anything that might upset her, but he knew that he had to check on her injuries and verify that she was okay.
Seeing her not answer or react in anyway, he slowly made his way closer to her with his hands still up to show her that he wasn't hiding anything. She didn't say anything as he moved even closer to her and after a few more seconds, he was standing in front of her. "Are you okay?" He asked her again in the same way; softly and with concern. "You don't have to be afraid anymore. I promise that you're safe now. Okay?"
Looking into his green eyes with her onyx colored eyes, the young black haired woman could find no hint of deceit or evil within them. Instead she noticed that they twinkled with compassion, concern, kindness and strength. And the green color for some reason made her feel...warm…and…safe. All of a sudden, the young woman let go of the metal staff she was holding and then hugged her savior as she burst into tears. Crying loudly with her face pressed into his chest, she let go of her emotions and allowed herself to finally let it out.
Her sudden action caused him to blush at first since her clothes were ripped up and she was so close to him, hugging him tightly. But after hearing her crying, he quickly pushed that aside and reciprocated the hug. Placing his left hand against the middle of her back and rubbing it, he also placed his right hand against her head and gently stroked her hair. His own actions caused him to blush even more since he could feel her body against his, making him feel many things but controlled his reactions for her sake.
"I know. It's alright. Just let it out," he advised, encouraging her to continue for he knew that she should continue until she felt better after crying it out. Her sobbing intensified afterwards, taking his words to heart. He continued rubbing her back and stroking her head softly through her hair for another minute or so until she finally calmed down. She sniffed a bit in his embrace a few times before quieting completely. "Do you feel better?" he asked her after her sniffles stopped.
Nodding in his embrace, her movements against his chest made him feel something but he couldn't dwell on it. Slowly raising her gaze towards his, she locked her eyes with his once again. "Yes. Thank you for saving me," she told him quietly but with noticeable gratitude in her tone of voice.
The way she was looking at him and the way she said her thanks in that soft tone of voice, made his heart beat a little faster. Yet he smiled a bit at her and nodded his head. "You're welcome." Separating from one another, she felt slight sadness, which surprised her at that but didn't show it. "Um, by the way, do…do you have a-any spare c-clothes with you by chance?" he asked her while he reddened a more due to her somewhat revealing state as he looked away to the side. Damn it! Curse my old habits of stuttering!
Tilting her head, she looked down at herself and realized why he asked that. Her face also reddening, she crossed her arms over her chest out of instinct to cover her up since her undergarments were visible. "No, I don't. But…" She didn't continue for a second and was about to continue when he spoke.
"I see," he said interrupting her unintentionally while still looking away. "Um…you could use my sweater if you want. You know, until we can get you to the hospital so you can get your wounds looked at and then to get you home," he offered, pulling off the sweater he had tied around his waist before fighting and held it out for her to take.
She stood there for a moment, staring at him. She was about to say she could use her quirk to make bandages and such to treat her injuries as well as make clothes for herself to replace her torn up ones. But for some reason, she didn't. She would later figure out that the reason why she didn't say anything then, even though she barely knew the green haired young man, was because she felt that if she told him that, then he would leave soon after. She didn't want him to go. At least not right now since he was the first person she met since moving into town who was treating her normally. And if she had to be honest with herself, she really did want to get to know him better. Especially after what he just did for her. Steeling herself, she reached out to take the clothing item from him. "Thank you."
"Sure, no problem," he said glancing at her before turning away from her so his back was to her. "Let me know when done. And I'm sorry if it's too big. Or not comfortable. Or if it smells. Of if the color isn't to your liking. Or…"
"It's fine, thank you," she said, interrupting his muttering which he apologized for but she told him that was alright as well while taking off her damaged clothes before putting on his sweater. Smiling a bit over his thoughtfulness and worry over the sweater being good enough for her, she thought it was rather cute of him to act that way, making her heart beat a little faster but she didn't notice that.
When she finally put on the sweater, she noticed that it was bigger than she thought, covering her up completely with it reaching down to cover part of her skirt, which thank god was in better condition. Mostly. But thanks to the sweater, she was covered up and didn't need to worry about any accidental exposure. She could smell some sweat as well as the ocean air from it. Surprisingly, it didn't bother her at all. "Okay, I'm done."
Turning around to face her again, he was momentarily stunned since he had to admit that she looked pretty good wearing his sweater. The black color went with her hair and eyes pretty well. He could feel his cheeks reddening along with his heart rate increasing again. He quickly stopped that train of thought and nodded his head, forcing himself to stay focused on the task at hand. "Okay. It's getting late and you should go to the hospital to get checked out," he told her.
She didn't miss him becoming stunned for a moment but didn't dwell on it and instead replied back to him. "You're right. It is getting late. But…um, I'm actually new in town and I don't know where the closest hospital is," she revealed, slightly embarrassed that she didn't know yet.
"Oh I see. Um, I can show you if you want?" he asked her.
She smiled at his offer to help her some more and gladly accepted it. "That would be great. Thank you," she said. She was about to take a step towards him when she remembered something. "Um, what about them?" she asked, pointing at the still unconscious villains.
"Don't worry. I already called my friend who's close with the police. They probably sent someone already to come get them," he told her. As if on cue, two police cars along with a larger police van rolled into view in the nearby parking lot. "See? Told ya," he said with a slight smirk, making her shake her head a bit in amusement.
They waited for the peace keepers to come to them led by a detective as they stood in their spots. After answering their questions and getting their statements, the two young adults were allowed to leave. After gathering information, they learned that they broke no laws, acting within reason under the self-defense and Good Samaritan laws as they began cuffing the villains and carried them to the van.
Seeing that everything was going smoothly and he wasn't really needed there, the detective turned to the two. "Hey, do you need a ride home?" he asked them.
Glancing at one another, both boy and girl shrugged. "Sure, I guess. But can you drop us off at the hospital instead?" he asked and the detective nodded, gesturing them to his squad car. Getting into the back seat as the officer sat in the driver's seat, they soon left the parking lot.
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While on their way to the hospital, both of the young adults were silent in the back seat of the police car while thinking about everything that just happened. After a little bit of time, the green haired young man tensed up slightly as he felt something. Glancing towards his side, he saw that the girl had leaned her head against his shoulder, her long black hair hiding her face somewhat. Blushing at her action, he did nothing except turn his gaze towards the window to look outside while relaxing. He didn't see that she too was blushing but didn't move from her position since she was so tired. And if she had to be honest with herself, she felt more comfortable and felt safer being so close to him.
The only person who saw both of their reactions was the one driving, who had a smile on his face as he glanced at them several times from the rearview mirror. Arriving at the hospital shortly after, the two thanked the detective for his assistance and when he left, they made their way inside.
The girl checked in and after informing the hospital staff what had happened, they marked her case as a high priority since she was attacked by villains and could see that was hurt. Ushering her in, she took a few steps to follow the staff when she glanced back at the one who saved her. "You're not coming?" she asked him with a slightly sullen tone of voice.
Before he could answer, one of the nurses did, drawing their attention onto her. "I'm sorry but he cannot come in. He would have to wait outside in the lobby if he chooses to stay. Only family and significant others are allowed with high priority cases," revealed the nurse, causing the two to become embarrassed and redden slightly over the nurse's words.
The girl recovered from that quickly though before she frowned at that, her heart skipping a beat at the thought that she would have to say goodbye to her savior. She opened her mouth to retort. "But I-"
"It's alright." She turned her gaze to her green haired savoir and saw him giving her a half smile. "You should go on ahead. I have to go back home too since my mom is waiting for me and is probably worried sick." His words made her realize that she hadn't called her parents in a while either, thinking that they would be furious with her. "You're safe now so don't be afraid anymore. And they'll take good care of you. Try not to get in trouble again alright? I'll see you around," he told her. He began walking away as he waved goodbye to her.
Seeing him leave, made the girl feel something that she never had before. It was an intense feeling and it was whirling around in her stomach that made her do something. "Wait!" she called out to him all of a sudden, making him stop and glance back at her. "I don't even know your name. My name is-"
"Its fine," he told her, stopping her from revealing her name and causing a surprised expression to form on her face.
He didn't want to learn her name because then she would ask for his and he didn't want to give it to her. Not because he didn't like her, or thought she wasn't worth it or anything like that. But he didn't want her to get to know him because he felt that she would be better off not knowing him. Because during the silent ride to the hospital courtesy of the detective, his depression filled him again and made him think about what just happened. Yes, he did something great, saving her from those horrible so called men. But that didn't change the fact that he still failed the entrance exam that he had been preparing for.
Doing his best to remain stoic in his appearance and tone of voice, he smiled a little at her. "Don't take this the wrong way, but it's better that we don't get to know each other better, especially for you. For several reasons that I cannot tell you. I'm just glad that you're safe now, miss. I wish you well and take care of yourself. Farewell." He gave her a small smile along with a nod of his head before facing away from her and walked out of the hospital.
Watching her savior walk away from her and then disappear outside the building into the dark of night, made the black haired girl become filled with many different emotions swirling around inside of her. Heart beating faster again because of it, she wanted to go after him but couldn't move.
A moment passed with her frozen still like that until the nurse who spoke earlier gently grasped her shoulder, startling her slightly that she jumped. "I'm sorry, but we really do need to get started on checking your wounds. Please, this way."
Realizing that the nurse was right and she shouldn't be wasting their precious time like this since they could be helping others, the black haired girl sighed and nodded. "No, you're right. Apologies. Please, lead the way." The nurse smiled a bit and led the way with the girl following after her. Following after the nurse, the black haired girl was quiet for the most part. Until they reached her private room to began treating her wounds that she spoke. "I never even got to learn his name," she whispered to herself, her eyes becoming watery but no tears fell.
The nurse heard her but said nothing, thinking it best to not get involved in that. She did feel a little sullen for the teenage girl though. Glancing at her patient's file, her eyes widened, realizing who the girl was. Shaking it off, she went about her usual duties as a true professional. "So, let's get started. First things first though; we have to contact your parents since you were attacked by villains. With that said, what number is the best to reach them Ms. Yaoyorozu?"
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When the green haired young man left the hospital, he shoved his hands into his pants front pockets, lowered his gaze to the ground and walked home. Lost in his thoughts once again, he began to hate himself over his situation. Even with performing a heroic deed, he still couldn't get out of his funk.
What's worse, is that he couldn't get the girl's image out of his mind. He so wanted to get to know her, to learn her name and become friends with her. But he couldn't do that. He couldn't bring another person close to him otherwise they would turn into a victim of his worthlessness. Just like the cheerful brunette he met earlier that day at the entrance exam.
Thinking about that made his mind form the image of her now in his head. Her neck length brown hair, sparkling brown eyes and pink colored cheeks. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he didn't want to remember her either. Because of failing the exam, he quickly left the area so as to not see her again because he didn't want her to feel bad for him over what he did.
And he had a feeling that she would try to take the blame onto herself but it didn't matter. It was his entire fault. He acted. He took action. Though the two had interacted with one another, they didn't exchange names or anything else important. And so he hoped that after a while, she would forget about him because he believed she deserved better. And that's what he believed would be best for this girl too that he just recently helped out. They're both better off without me. They don't need a worthless failure around them because then they'll suffer because of it too.
With depressing thoughts swirling around in his mind, he finally made his way home. As soon as he opened the door to his home, he barely placed a foot inside when he was wrapped up into a tight hug from his mother. "Oh, I was so worried about you! Why were you so late?!" she asked her son, barely holding back tears that wanted to fall but didn't.
"I'm sorry Mom," he said, reciprocating the hug, as his emotions began to overwhelm his control. "It's just…I…help…didn't…couldn't…worthless…" Unable to keep it in anymore, he began letting out tears. "Mom, I failed!" he told her finally and just started crying.
His mother's eyes widened and she felt so sullen for her son that the tears that were barely held back were suddenly let go and she too began crying. "I'm so sorry sweetie! I'm so sorry!" she cried back, while still hugging her son. She felt so horrible seeing him like this. After working so hard for the past two years, she believed he had it in the bag. But no, she was mistaken and now, she didn't know what to do.
Yet she knew that as his mother, it was her job to find out at least what happened completely and to do whatever she could to help him overcome it. And so, reeling in her own haywire emotions as well as her waterfall of tears, she composed herself and took in a breath before speaking. "I'm so sorry," she repeated before loosening her grip on him yet kept hugging him. Steering him to the couch, she had him sit down and she sat beside him. Wiping her eyes, she locked her gaze onto her son and began finding out what happened. "Now, tell me what happened. And please, start from the beginning and tell me everything Izuku…"