There was lots to do in a city like Shibuya, compared to Musutafu.
On the one hand, Izuku loved his city. It was his birthplace and the place he was most accustomed to outside any district or city in Japan. It was home to U.A, so that meant that there was bound to be a lot of activity concerning heroes and villains alike, for better or for worse.
To an obsessed fanboy like him, it had just about everything that he could need. Merchandising was a big thing, and he could recount several times off of the top of his head when he saw a hero which had been patrolling a street that he walked by.
Who couldn't help but gawk at that? It was amazing! He was sure no other city came close regarding it's incredible population of heroes and villains alike.
Other than Shibuya.
When it started to rain, which was, for the record, something that the news had never forecasted, things had turned from weird to awkward, extremely fast.
"Come on, we can take shelter near the bus stop!' Melissa pulled him along through the street, not understanding why people stared at them funny.
Izuku was barely holding himself together once he acknowledged just how awkward of a sight this must have been.
"Melissa, we don't-"
"Don't what? Unless you want to get soaked, I suggest that you follow me!" She eeked as rain droplets splashed against her skin.
You don't hold hands in public like this… He wanted to say, but didn't bother to, as they were already fairly close to being safe from the rain.
After they were finally free from the sky's torment, he leaned himself up against the clear glass paneling of the bus stop.
The sounds of footsteps and the chatter of people were largely drowned out by the tiny droplets of water hitting concrete and structures alike, so there wasn't much to focus his ears on.
"We really dodged a bullet there, huh?" Melissa said, wringing out the sides to her dress.
Thankfully, most of it was dry, so she wasn't in danger of having it be see-through, like in those anime he hated to watch.
He wished he could say the same about his own outfit.
My… my limited edition All Might sweater… While not ruined, it would be a hassle trying to dry it without ruining the decals on it.
And that wasn't even the worst of it. His shoes, hair, and his pants were leaking with water. If he didn't dry off quickly, he would likely catch a cold. He was already starting to feel a chill go down his spine just focusing on how uncomfortable it felt feeling the water stick to his skin.
"You look like a wet dog," Melissa laughed. "...Maybe next time we do this, we should pack an umbrella, in case that the forecast is wrong."
"How are you not drenched?"
"Must be the straw hat. Hopefully the rain will clear up soon. The forecast didn't say anything about sudden showers.
"It didn't… but I read a report this morning saying how All Might had a fight a few hours earlier, which ended up with him generating a huge gust of wind…"
"Are you implying that he somehow changed the weather, Izuku?"
"Maybe. Most of what I know is pure speculation that I've gathered from the internet, but… it's not like it's impossible. All you need is a rising air current… I think. And considering how this is the same person who can blow away city blocks just by punching the air, I wouldn't put it past his abilities-"
"Actually… I've seen him do it myself."
"You did?"
"Yeah, as a kid…" She smiled at the memory. "Back in Texas, we had a really bad storm… far worse then the ones Japan receives, at least."
"A typhoon?"
"Try tornado," he gasped. "Category five, too. If not for him, the whole city would've been leveled. Wind speeds were estimated to be over seven hundred kilometers an hour. Fastest in recorded history."
"What did he do? Don't tell me he-"
"He punched it away… however, that worked. Even dad was shocked. He changed the weather… no, not just that… he dispersed it. All of it. The clouds, for at least a couple miles. One moment there's thunder, lightning, hail and rain, and the next… clear blue skies."
"All in one punch?"
"All in one punch."
"Wow…" He reached for his notebook. "I gotta write that one down! I'll see if I can look it up on the internet once I get back home… that had to have been his strongest punch yet!" He turned towards Melissa. "You got a pen? I left mine at home since I was in a rush, unfortunately…"
After a few moments of silence, he began to feel as if something was wrong. "Melissa?"
"Ah! Yes?!" She adjusted her glasses. "Sorry… thinking about that event made me reminisce about something…"
"Oh… I'm sorry for interrupting you."
"It's not a problem… Really, it's my fault, because I think about the memory all the time…" She opened her mouth as if to elaborate on what she meant, before closing it. "...Sorry 'zuku. I'd share it with you, but I think some things are better left unsaid. For now at least."
"It's not a problem. I respect your privacy."
Even if he was curious about what she meant, he didn't bother asking. It wasn't his place to ask about such a personal memory, even if they were close friends.
"Izuku… can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"I'm not sure if I've already asked this, but…" She leaned against the glass paneling of the bus stop. "Why do you want to become a hero?"
"I'm pretty sure you asked me that question already…"
"I know, I know! I just… forgot what your answer was," she averted her gaze and sat herself against the bench. "Was it money or fame? I forgot… you seem pretty normal, so I'd bet that you'd do it for something related to those…"
"It has nothing to do with that."
"Oh?"
"I just…" He clenched his fist, mind anchoring itself to the hell he had been forced to relive every night. "I want to save people. I don't care if I can get paid or not, even if that sounds nice. There are so many people that I could help and-" He stopped himself.
…There's so much I have to prove to you… to everyone. Even Kacchan.
"Don't tell me…" she giggled. "You want to be like All Might?"
"That's not it at all… even if he's my inspiration, I don't think I can ever live up to a title like that. Even if I had his Quirk. I'll never be Number One on my own."
"Oh… okay then." Why does he sound so upset?
"For as long as I could remember… I've wanted to save people. That's all there is to it. I don't think it has anything to do with fame or glory. If you had to ask me… I don't know, I can't provide an answer."
"Hmm…" She got up from her seat and walked over to him. "Maybe it's because you just want to help people. After all, you seem like the type of boy to want to do that…" She blushed. "I guess you're pretty sweet in that regard."
"A-Ah! T-Thanks…" His cheeks lit up like fireworks. "M-Most people think I'm stupid for doing so. Hearing you say it…" he looked into her eyes and smiled. "It really makes me happy."
Even she couldn't stop the grin which appeared on her face. Despite the blush, she didn't hesitate to smile back. "Don't sweat it… Even if no one is there to believe in you," she clasped his hands with her own. "I'll always be there for you…"
"Melissa…"
"So please promise me that you'll become a hero… I don't think I'd want to see such a beautiful dream go to waste…"
"You think it's beautiful?" He cleared his throat. "What's so special about a pipedream?" She elbowed him in the stomach. "Ow…"
"Quit putting yourself down like that… if there's one thing that I can't stand about you, it's how humble you are…" She pouted. "Be selfish for once, idiot."
He laughed. "...I'll try."
"As for your dream… I don't know… I guess I find it inspirational. I feel like we have similar backgrounds since people never really believed in me despite my achievements. I expect that it's the same for you. The fact that you're even trying, in spite of that, is incredible."
"You really think so?"
"Of course. You've already saved someone, haven't you? Don't forget, you're already a real hero…"
"W-Wow…" He sniffled. "I don't think… I've never heard something so inspirational before…" He wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "You're amazing, Melissa… I wouldn't know what to do without you."
"What… All I did was explain how I feel about you. How's that amazing?" She grinned. "Are you the type that gets pleased easily by such a casual compliment?"
"It's casual to you, but… other than my mother, nobody really believes in me."
"You've told me that your Quirk isn't that strong before. Is that tied to it?"
"It's more than that… people don't even look my way because all they see is my Quirk." Or lack thereof. "You ever go a week without talking to any of your classmates?"
"A couple times… but I do all of my education online, so that's to be expected… you though? Yeah, that's pretty concerning."
"Yes, it's… like that for me, but on a daily basis."
"If you don't mind me asking, what is your Quirk? By the way you worded it, it sounds like an Emitter type."
"It is one…" He gulped. He hoped she would forgive him for lying, if she ever found out the truth. "To tell you the truth, I'm a bit of a late bloomer… my Quirk didn't come in until a few years ago, and even then, it was so weak that nobody even knew that it existed."
"Well, what is it?"
He stayed silent for a few moments.
He had never really taken into consideration how he would get away with lying about what his Quirk was until that moment and always figured that he could've danced around the issue until he would eventually have to come clean.
If I tell her now… we won't be friends anymore… no, she'll hate me! He could hardly imagine her being comfortable with him hiding such an important detail.
For once in his life, he had a friend.
Someone who liked to talk with him. Who actually cared for him.
He wouldn't be throwing that away. At least, not yet.
"It's… whenever you feel anxious or nervous, do you ever feel super… I don't know, jumpy? Like, when all your nerves are being stimulated?"
"...Couple of times… like when I had my first cup of coffee."
"My Quirk is… it's basically like that. It only activates when my body thinks it's in danger. Whenever that happens, I'm able to focus, even in a really tough situation."
"Oh, oh! Is that how you ran into the fire a week ago? I thought you just had the balls to do it, but it seems like there was another reason behind it…"
"You could look at it that way… although, seriously, I was really scared."
"Ah, I guess it's both then. Still… that's a really cool Quirk… how do people give you mouth for that?"
"It's…" he looks away. "It's complicated."
Eventually, the rain began to die down, and by the time that it had slowed from its torrential downpour down to a light drizzle, the sun began to come out.
"...It stopped." He waved a hand out under the bus stop. "...It's not raining that hard either. I think we can go back."
Melissa got up from her seat and walked out towards the freshly drenched pavement. "Well? Which shop should we go to next?"
… There are not many places here that would grab her attention, are there?
"To tell you the truth, I'm thinking that maybe we should call it quits for today… Jump hasn't released their new magazine yet, so there's no point in visiting the book store…" she kicked the tip of her sandal against the pavement.
"Hmm…"
"I know, it blows, but I don't think we have many other options other then the arcade and karaoke, and I have a terrible singing voice." She looked towards Izuku, an idea forming in her mind. "Ah, I know, how about we get ourselves a couple of milkshakes? Does that… sound good…?"
Her suggestion fell on deaf ears as she was met with nothing but a bunch of gibberish and mumbling that she had come to recognize throughout her time spent with Izuku.
"Um, 'Zuku…"
"Melissa, I have an idea!"
"Wha-!" She nearly jumped. "...You rarely come up with an idea after you mumble… Me and your mother always have to snap you out of it because you ramble on for too long… what's with the change of pace?"
"That's the thing, it's not my idea, it was your's!"
"Huh?"
"The bookstore, of course! Ugh, I should've thought of this sooner!" He dashed from out under the bus stomp grabbing Melissa by hand. "Come on, follow me, I know were we should go next!"
"Um… alright. You're the man with the plan," she complied and walked with him towards their destination. Not having a clue about what he was referring to.
"This is not what I was expecting…"
"Yeah, pretty great, right?"
"No, I mean… doesn't it look a bit rundown?"
The windows were stained, the paint of the walls on the inside of the store, seen through the glass looked to be fading, and even worse, the front of it was beginning to be overgrown by vines and plants alike.
"I never really noticed it when I came in for the first time around," Izuku pushed open the door, holding it for Melissa. "Um… ladies first?"
"...I guess I'll see if they have anything good."
They both walked in, Melissa first before Izuku.
"U-Um, Poltergeist girl!"
"That's not my name!" Sounded a voice from the back of the store.
"Poltergeist…?" Melissa looks over his shoulder, confused.
"...It's the name of her Quirk… it'll all make sense when you see her."
Slowly, her sleek and silver hair comes into view.
She was wearing an apron and a pair of slippers, with daisy dukes and a plain white t-shirt underneath.
"Yes?"
There was a few seconds of silence, as Izuku and the mysterious girl locked eyes.
"Oh… it's you," she smiles. "Welcome back. How's the book?"
"Uh, it's great… I have a friend here who's helped me study from it, and so far, it's been pretty excellent."
"That would be me, by the way," Melissa goes for a handshake but is unsurprised when she isn't met with one back. "Oh, right… forgot that Japanese people don't do that…"
The girl chuckles. "It's quite alright… we get many foreigners who come here because of the title to our shop."
"Yes… I can see that."
Izuku walks in front of them and smiles at Melissa.
"Melissa, meet Poltergeist girl-"
"That's not my name, by the way."
He looks toward the albino-haired girl and frowns. "Then what is it then?"
"Yanagi Reiko."
"Alright, Yangai-san… meet Melissa. She's been my personal tutor for the past week."
The two stared at each other for a few seconds, before Reiko frowned.
"You're the one who gave him recommendations for what books to study from, correct?"
"Yanagi-san…?"
It didn't seem like the albino haired girl had many good things to say about the blonde. Both Izuku and Melissa could tell that her attitude was… rather sour.
"That would be correct…"
"Hm… how unnerving… why recommend such material if he's still in middle school?"
A brief silence falls on them, as Melissa tries to discover the mysterious girl's point.
"Um… because I'm tutoring him?"
"I see, I see…"
"...Why are you posing like that, Yanagi-san?" Izuku asks, unsure of how to respond to the strange girl's mannerisms.
"Because you two are… weird."
Izuku and Melissa briefly share a glance at each other. "Weird?" Melissa says.
"Indeed… the material that you recommended for him is far beyond both his and my grade level… you're smart, but… it doesn't seem like you're an effective tutor for him, with how deep your understanding of mathematics is."
"Melissa, what is she saying?"
"That I'm a no good tutor…" she growls. "It came out of nowhere too… How rude."
"I wouldn't go that far… but I do think you still have some room to grow as his teacher. The material that you teach him is… advanced."
"I-It's not too much trouble!" Izuku butts in, putting some distance between the silver-haired girl and his friend. "T-There's only been a few instances of where I feel lost… but for the most part, Melissa's amazing!"
"Is that so?"
"Izuku…"
"Yeah! I wish she could remain as my personal tutor forever… if not for her, I don't know what I'd do…" he scratches his head. "See… I'm trying to become a hero and I don't have the… Well, I don't really have the right Quirk for the job, and… well… I thought I could circumvent that with a little bit of… technology, you know?"
"In other words… Support Gear?"
"You could… say that…"
"Then I suppose that the reason you're here has little to do with studying, then… am I right, Midoriya-san?"
"Y-You'd be correct! I was, um…" he pulls out his phone from his pocket. "...I was wondering if you had this book in stock… it's quite an old one, but ever since I started thinking about Support Gear… I couldn't take my mind off of it."
"Support Item and Gear… a comprehensive look back and retrospective…"
"Um, Melissa suggested it to me! She said that it'd be nice to take a peek at it, and, well… even if I don't understand how any of this stuff works yet… it might be good reference material later on, and…"
"And…?"
"I just… love looking at the gear… it looks so cool! I think Quirks are awesome too, but Support Gear is what makes them even cooler… see, there's this hero in America that shoots webs out of his wrists… I'm not sure if it's part of his Quirk or if it's some sort of gadget, but either way, it might as well be magic! You'll understand once you see it… it looks really cool! I think his name was… the Human Spider? Oh, and he always liked to clarify that it was with a "hyphen" for some reason… whatever that means…"
Neither Melissa nor Reiko bothered to hide the deadpan that they gave him. "What…?"
"It's… it's nothing, Izuku." she stifled back a snort, before turning over to Reiko. "Just, um… see if you have this in stock."
"...He's quite the fanboy, isn't he?"
"Yes, that's… part of his charm really."
It wasn't a cheap purchase by any means, but Izuku was glad he was able to get it. Even if his wallet felt several orders of magnitude lighter.
"So…" Melissa, holding her hands behind her back, and walking besides him, begins to eye him curiously. "You've been eyeing that page for a while now, haven't you?"
"The Support Gear he wears may rely on his Quirk to function, but it seems easy to replicate," he shows her a page out of the book, with perhaps a bit too much enthusiasm, as she steps back a bit. "What do you think?"
"I think," she shoves the book out of her face with her hand. "That it'd be hard to replicate it on our own."
"But you can do it, right?"
"Of course I could… but I'm not a millionaire you know. Maybe I could pull something like this off if I was at U.A. or on I Island, with my father, but as it stands, it's nigh impossible to pull something like that off without like… heavy duty stuff."
"Heavy duty?"
"Industry standard equipment. Stuff that all the big Support Item companies work with."
"...And what do you work with?"
"Power tools, duct tape, welding, and a prayer to God, hoping that it all holds together," before he has the chance to become disappointed, she continues. "I mean, I guess I could ask my friend to help me make something like that… she's already working on a secret project of our's."
"Oh…"
And then it dawned on him.
"Oh… you mean that project?"
She smiles mischievously. "Hey, come now… I know that I told you the basics of what the suit would like, but it wouldn't be much of a secret, or a surprise for that matter, if I told you everything about it."
"But it's at least going well, right?"
"Hm… I'd say for the most part, yeah… did have some difficulty figuring out how the joints would work without crippling you for life."
"Um… Cripple…?"
"Oops! I've said too much! Forget what you've just heard!" She laughed.
Izuku begged her to tell him all about it all the way to the train station, and even into the train car itself. But she wouldn't budge. Whatever she was hiding from him, it was something big, and they both knew it.
As they boarded the train car, Melissa couldn't help but notice that something was off about the page that he had been reading.
He had stayed on that single page ever since he had bought the book after leaving the bookstore. For what reason? She didn't know. All that she did know was that his behavior wasn't… normal.
On the last stop to their city, with the evening golden hour glow of the sky to compliment the quiet and relaxed atmosphere of the train car, Melissa's curiosity finally got the better of her.
"What's the page about? You've been reading it for like… four hours."
It seems that he didn't take her prying lightly. "U-Um… hero stuff. Rescues, defeats… you know… typical hero stuff."
His hand had barely moved from his chin ever since they had gotten on the subway car. But that was hardly the alarming part. She had never seen him so focused, on a single page out of a four-hundred sheeted book.
"You aren't gonna read the rest of it?"
The only thing to fill in the silence between her sentences was the clicking of the train car's wheels and bogies against the railway track. Other than the occasional odd glance or two… he wouldn't answer.
Taking matters into her own hands, she decides to scoot herself over to where he was positioned on the train car's seat, and sneaks a glance, and is shocked at what she finds.
"...Is there a reason you've been staring at the same paragraph for like… the past half an hour? It seems like you keep rereading the entire page over and over again… why is that?"
He doesn't answer, but he does look away.
She looks a bit closer into the section that he was reading from. Suddenly, the train car began to grow quiet as she slowly realized why he focused so intensely on the page.
"There was… this incident from a few years ago… I'm not sure if you've heard about it, but it involved the um… hero Manual."
She read more into the paragraph. "He stopped a fire with his Quirk…"
"Y-Yeah… it turns out that using water to um… combat fires is really effective," he chuckled a bit. "A Quirk like that would've been useful against that fire from a week ago."
"Yeah… I guess it would."
"Do you think… can you think of any way to replicate the effect of his Quirk? It's hydrokinesis… not a fairly common power but it isn't rare either."
She peers over the page. "I… I don't think so. Not without a Quirk at least."
He sighs. "Yeah… I figured you'd say that," he turns towards the next page. "Guess I was just being delusional again, huh? If it'd be that easy to replicate the power of a Quirk, I guess I would've already had something that gave me super strength…"
"W-Well, of course, but you know, my father did develop exoskeletons, and they're, uh… pretty strong. Compact and concealable too. When we get you into U.A. I could, um… ask him to give me one."
"Really?"
"Sure!"
"Hm…" he scratches his head. "Well, if it helps me save more people, I'm all for it."
He flips through more of the book, reaching the middle point of it by the time they get off the train.
"Izuku."
"Yes, Melissa?"
"Sometimes…" she walks in front of him. "Sometimes heroes can't save everyone. You know that, right?" He doesn't say anything, so she continues. "Even All Might couldn't stop those people from dying in that fire."
"Well, but I could-"
"You couldn't. We've been over this," she sighs, and walks up to him. "It doesn't matter what type of Support Item or Gear you have on you… you'll never be able to help everyone who needs to be helped. I think you know that already, don't you?"
He dips his head down low, not offering a reply, indicating that he at least partially understood what she meant.
He hears the distant sound of the train zipping right by them, onto its next destination, as a flood of people walk up to the platform, ready to board their next ride.
"I…" he begins, but the words die in his throat. "I know that… I just know that I could've done more."
"You did enough. Doesn't that count?"
"In a situation where lives could be lost… I don't think good enough is 'enough,' Melissa."
Realizing that there wasn't much point in continuing to retort, she just settles on an agreement. "Okay… okay… I guess that's true. Just… don't beat yourself up about it, okay?" She smiles, and he smiles back.
"I'll try not to."
They walk out of the station and out onto the busy streets of Musutafu.
"Ah-"
Right outside of the station, a big crowd of people gathered at the end of the road.
"Izuku?"
Melissa cranes her head towards where she was looking, before her eyes widen as a big cloud of smoke plumes up into the air.
She looks back to Izuku, who is frozen still, unable to look away.
"Izuku…?"
"It must be… a villain attack."
The ground rumbles, as the crowd responds accordingly with a mix of shrieks and screams of tower.
A long line of police officers blockaded the edge of the street, preventing anyone from getting a closer look at the scene.
Before Melissa could even begin to ponder about what was going on, Izuku's feet began moving towards the crowd.
"I can-"
Step by step, he increases his pace.
"Fire… I can see the…"
As he gets closer to the crowd, he notices how some of the buildings are on fire. "No police or fire truck sirens… there's no heroes either, that can only mean one thing…"
Another boom, larger than the first, rocks the city block that they were on, nearly throwing everyone present to hear it off of their feet.
"I have too-"
Before he can break out into a sprint, a hand grasps onto his.
He knows who it is, but he still bothers turning around to confirm his suspicions.
"Don't."
Teal blue iris's stare into his own as her grip on him intensifies.
"Don't… please don't do this…"
She begins to glare at him.
"Don't ever try and do something like that again."
"B-But I can-"
"No… we've been over this, Izuku."
"L-Let go, I need to…"
And then the realization hits him.
He realizes what he's about to do. The possible consequences, the risk he'd be taking… his own powerlessness.
What… What can I do, exactly?
He gulps back his own saliva and steps back towards her.
"You're not a hero. Let… let the pros handle it."
She releases his grip on his hand, but instead of just letting him go, wraps her arms around his body, and squeezes. Tightly.
"You know what would've happened if I let you go into that… didn't you?"
He says nothing, barely able to release the breath he had been holding in,along with a yelp.
"You… you know what, I won't say it," She lets go of him, and wipes her eyes with her forearm. "I think you already know the outcome."
Another boom sounds out in the distance, this one being the largest one yet, as a small breeze blows over them, as well as bits and pieces of debris, soot, and ash.
"It's… happening again. Those same attacks from… before."
She nods her head. "Yeah… it is."
"People… are gonna die, aren't they?"
Her lip quivers. She doesn't want to admit it, but she nods her head. "Yeah… yeah, they will…"
He hangs his head low. "And… I can't do anything about that, can I?"
She doesn't say anything, and holds his hand.
"Wanna go home?" She smiles, trying to brighten the already grim situation.
"Will you… tell her?"
"Not if you promise to never do something like that again."
He nods his head. "Okay… let's… let's get away from all this."
She interlocks his hand with her's, as they walk back towards the residential district of the city. Neither bothering to speak of what happened along the way.
He wasn't sure how long it had taken them to get back to his apartment.
Was it minutes? Hours? He couldn't tell. All he knew was that by the time he showed up at the door, it was already sunset.
During their trip home, neither Izuku or Melissa uttered anything to each other. The same could be said for glancing or looking at one another.
When they finally got to the door, he finally spoke up.
"Do you think… Does she know about the explosions?"
Melissa shrugged. "Probably, I don't know… I haven't checked my phone to see if the media had been covering it."
He merely nods his head, in acknowledgment of her words.
He opens the door, and is not surprised when a large pair of arms is wrapped around his neck and a weight is pressed to his body.
"Izuku!" His mother cries out.
"I'm okay, mom…" he doesn't return the hug, but he does offer reassurance. "I'm… fine. I-"
"We didn't go anywhere near the side of the attack."
She lets go of her son and wipes her eyes, still sobbing. "When I saw the news…" she hiccuped. "When I saw the news, I thought…" she sighed. "You didn't text me back for over four hours…"
"Ah… I guess I forgot to charge my phone."
"Same for me… it died halfway through the train ride."
"In any case… I'm just glad the two of you are okay," slowly, she walks over to the kitchen, tears still dripping down her eyes. "I made some… I thought I'd make some pork cutlet… you want some?"
Izuku exchanges a brief look between Melissa and himself, before looking back to where she was. "In a minute. Did my classmates drop my homework off yet?"
She nods. "Just a few minutes ago, before the…" she clears her throat. "When that happened… they stopped by to drop it off."
"I see…" he looks towards the table, noticing the packets upon packets of English, mathematics, and science homework on the table. "They… sure do love giving me extra work, huh?"
"It's not extra work, it's extra credit," Inko explained, while doing the dishes, her voice still a little shaky. "Since you're not in school being taught, the teachers thought it'd be best to give you some guided notes." she explained.
Melissa hums. "Since you're going back tomorrow… I assume they're trying to cram as much information as they can into you before you show up for class this week. Smart plan, but they should've done it sooner."
He nods his head, grabbing the small packet of papers into his hands and walking towards his room.
"I can help you with those… if you want."
He stops in his tracks, and turns back to her.
For a second, she almost thinks that he is another person entirely. With his signature smile curled up on her lips, green hair, and freckles being the only thing to remind her that he is indeed the same boy that she befriended.
But his eyes…
She had never seen such a cold expression from him before. So determined and focused. Nothing like she's seen before.
"Izuku?"
"I can handle it on my own. I'll call you if I have any trouble with it," his smile falls, and he turns away to face the direction his room was in. "Just… stay away from my room for now… alright?"
She doesn't mouth anything else, as she watches him head into the hallway.
Unsure of what to say, she just sighs, and travels over to the couch, plumping herself down on it, and slumping against it.
"Inko…"
"Yes, dear?"
"Could you… put some of that katsudon in the fridge?"
The maturer of the two stops what she's doing and stares at Melissa oddly. "And why is that?"
"Izuku just went into his room, and… I don't think he's going to come out anytime soon, unfortunately."
The instant he makes it back to his room, he throws the packet of papers onto his bed, and seats himself onto his computer chair.
Homework would come later, he needed to know what was going on.
Booting up his laptop, he taps his foot against the floor, waiting for his browser to boot up.
There.
News outlets. Hundreds of them. All giving a description roughly the same across all their sources.
Another series of fires and explosions across the entire prefecture. No known cause. No culprit. No word on if this was even deliberate, or if the last attack was even an accident or not.
He clicks on a video posted to a streaming site that he frequented, and bites his lip.
He puts his headphones on, as the video begins to play.
"We are not sure if these series of fires and explosions are an accident, or a form of arson done through malicious intent. As the death toll continues to rise up into the thousands, law officials say that there is the possibility of a more deeper investigation being launch-"
He exits out of the tab, and leans back into his chair.
"You should've been doing that from the start…" he says, to no one but himself, as a heavy breathed sigh escapes his lips.
He doesn't bother checking the hero forums, knowing that nothing already being discussed was something that he didn't know.
He swivels his head to the door of his room, hearing a knock against its wood.
"Izuku?"
A hand peeks through, holding a single bowl filled with his dinner for the day.
"Melissa."
"I know you said not to bother you and stuff, but um… figured that I'd at least give you your food, you know."
He goes up to the door and opens it all the way, accepting the food, and placing it near his desk.
He goes back to her, ready to close the door shut right in her face, but she holds it open, and steps through.
He doesn't say anything as she walks around the room, putting her hands on her hips.
"I don't see all that much studying going on…" she looks towards his bed, where his homework sat.
"I figured that I'd do it later," he explained. "Got some… things to look into… you know, stuff."
She turns towards him, before looking at the laptop on his desk. "Stuff? Like what?"
He gulps.
"You know what… I don't think I really even need to know," she sighs. "I have a rough idea. I know I can't stop you from feeling guilty. I know how you feel… So, instead of going back to square one and trying to convince you on this…"
She walks up to him, and wraps her arms around his shoulders.
"I'm letting you know… that I'm here for you."
He doesn't say anything at first. He doesn't try and fight what she's doing, nor does he express any blatant disapproval.
"You're… not okay, and that's fine. That's okay too…" she wipes a tear from her eye. "Neither am I. Believe me, I feel the same way, when you're-" she stops herself from finishing the sentence. "Powerless to really do anything like me, I guess you'll always blame yourself."
They sit together for a while, none of them saying anything to each other for the remainder of Melissa's act of affection.
"Are you good now?"
She stares into his face, perhaps a little bit less troubled and stressed, with far less wrinkles, but still a degree of discomfort and frustration present.
"I'm fine."
Fine isn't good, Izuku. She sighs, watching him walk back to his computer desk, and continue fishing for information.
"At the very least," she grabs the packet of papers off from his bed, and places it onto his desk. "Do your homework. You only have a couple of hours left to finish it."
"Gotcha."
"I'm sorry that our day out with each other was… kind of ruined at the end, but you know… I had fun!" She blushed. "I hope we get to do that again sometime…" she looks away. "M-Maybe we can go to the beach, or, or…"
Go to I-Island… she wanted to say, but chose not too.
He gives her a small smile. "That would be… nice."
"Yeah," she walks back towards the door. "M-Maybe… during summer time? That'd be nice, wouldn't it?"
She walks out of the room, but not before peeking her head through. "Just call if… you know, you want to like… do stuff with me. Like play games or… read some manga.
She closes the door, mouthing a quiet but still audible 'see you later' to him, as he drowns himself in his thoughts.
"Today, over fifteen hundred confirmed fatalities and ten thousand confirmed injuries have been reported so far, across the Shizuoka Prefecture, in consequence to the recent series of explosions which have striked major cities within the Tokyo Metropolitan Area and certain parts of Shizuoka. It is suspected that these recent are not the workings of a natural disaster or a gas line failure, as many believe, but instead the work of a western extremist group, Huma-"
"Ugh, that's enough news for today," Melissa sighs, talking over the newscaster's narration, and finally changing the channel. "Seems like this one is going to be on the air for a while…" she sighs.
"You were near it… weren't you?" Inko asks. "You and Izuku… there was an explosion right near the station that I could hear all the way from here… did you go near it?" She asks calmly.
"W-Well, yeah… of course, but um, we didn't go anywhere near it, of course!"
She purposefully leaves out the part of her preventing Izuku from trying to play his part as the protagonist, knowing that she would likely react negatively to Izuku's near brush with what could be considered practically heroic induced suicide.
"He tried to help out, didn't he?"
Shit.
"Um… how do you know that?"
"I know my son, Melissa. You expect me to believe that he wouldn't after… what happened before?"
She stays silent.
"I'm not mad, dear… just… disappointed that it's come to this," she pinches the bridge of her nose, rubbing her eyes and cheeks, before sighing. "Gosh… what is this country coming to?"
"Uh… decreasing crime rates and more and more births?"
"You…" Inko chuckles. "You shouldn't be talking about that kind of stuff, for your age."
"Well, it's true, isn't it?" She sips a milkshake that Inko had made her. "Ever since All Might appeared… that's been what's happening. People feel safe now, so they're having kids, and criminals are getting smarter, so… less and less purse snatchers and petty crime all across the board."
"It's hard to believe that he's been doing it for nearly forty-years… I don't understand how he pulls it off."
"Oh, believe me, I don't either… My dad's always getting on his neck on how he should be more careful and take better care of himself. Guess what? He never listens. Sounds a lot like another reckless fool we know, doesn't it?" They share a short laugh with each other.
"Thank you… Melissa. For keeping an eye out for him in places that I can't be. I don't know how to repay you."
"I-It's fine!" She blushes. "I don't need a reward… I'm just happy that he's… you know, okay, and doesn't have a five foot metal rod sticking through his abdomen," she briefly goes silent. "Believe me… we don't want that happening again."
"Since my son is going to become a hero… or at least, is trying to become one, it's important for you to keep doing that, alright?" She wipes a tear from her eye. "He can't… he's really good at sticking up for others, but he can't stand up for himself for the life of him… it's his greatest flaw, but also the greatest thing about him."
"It's also the thing which drives me nuts about him, but it's whatever…" she whispered.
"What?"
Inko's eyes widened just as Melissa shut her mouth.
"Uh… ignore what I just said."
Inko chuckled. "Now, sweetie… you know I can't do that," she giggled. "Oh, you're telling me my Izuku is already making girls go crazy for him?"
"W-What?! N-No… no! That's… that's not what I was saying… I was just, um… I just meant that his stubbornness is annoying, you know."
Inko laughed at her fluster. "I'm just messing with you," she clears her throat. "But really, if this keeps up, he might really end up putting a ring on you…"
"I-Inko…!"
A/N: I'M ALIVE!
Five months… wow… that… that certainly has to be a record for this story… right?
So, um… a bit of an update…
Not sure if I managed to pass my exams or not, but I did manage to advance to the next grade (I think). For the past five months, I've kind of procrastinated on this fic for a while. You see…
I've kind of been writing a web novel. Or at least… the first few drafts of one at least. I've been drawing too, dealing with all sorts of other stuff that I wish not to get into… in short, I've just been busy, and unmotivated to work on this.
It's not an excuse for having not updated this in nearly five months, but the very least I could do was offer up somewhat of an explanation.
I don't have much to say about the chapter itself, or the directions that I plan on going in since, well… not much worth talking about has happened in this chapter, other than, like… Deku's stubbornness. Not that a plot point like that isn't narratively important, it's just that I'd rather leave you guys to guess what I have in store this time around.
Hopefully, the next chapter will arrive in a few short weeks, with any luck. But knowing me… I wouldn't get your hopes up. Hope you enjoyed what you read though, see you guys next chapter! Whenever I, um… update this again…