Chapter 5: Kacchan. Katsuki Part 2
Izuku stood over the faucet, using his handkerchief as a makeshift rag to rub the stains off his jacket sleeve.
"You do this often, don't ya?"
The green-haired teen tensed up. "I-I d-don't know what you're talking about, Mirko—"
"-Cut the crap."
The jacket scrunched up under his hands. His heart beating rapidly in his chest.
He turned to face her, opening his mouth and then closing it.
"Well? Fucking get on with it." She gestured with her palm, leaning against the entrance to the underpass while crossing her arms together.
Izuku lowered his gaze sheepishly, his voice barely louder than a squeak. "No disrespect intended, Mirko-san, but I don't know you."
All he got in return was dead silence. The greenette could feel a pit building in his stomach, but he pushed it down, forcing himself to continue. He raised his head to look at her. "Thank you for saving me, but I..."
It wasn't anger. It wasn't disappointment: Rumi just looked sad, her ears drooping. She unfolded her arms and walked over to the frozen teen. She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Just know that you won't like what you find at the end of this road, I know."
"I-"
The rabbit heroine moved her hand to his head - ruffling it with a slight smile. "No worries, Izuku, I get it." Before walking over to All Might, leaving him to his thoughts.
The older man greeted her in passing, having secured the sludge villain.
"Do ya need me to hand that overgrown jello to Tsukauchi?" She jutted with her chin.
"No need, Rumi-shoujo!" All Might chortled. "I need to give my first-respondent report to Tsukauchi-kun anyways." And follow up on those eyewitness testimonies.
"You sure?" She glanced back at Izuku. "What about your — you know?" She asked in a lowered voice.
The blonde-haired hero went silent for a moment. "...half an hour or so."
Mirko frowned, glaring at All Might with narrowed eyes.
"It'll be fine." He assured her, meeting her head-on.
The rabbit heroine was the first to break, clicking her tongue in annoyance. "You can fuck off then." She waved him off. "I'll get Izuku's statement for ya lazy ass."
"Izuku, huh?" Her mentor grinned, sending a meaningful look her way. Which she unceremoniously ignored.
Pouting in disappointment, he walked past her over to Izuku. "Midoriya Izuku, right?" He questioned the startled teen, holding out his hand.
"My notebook!" Izuku gasped, taking it into his hands.
"It's a bit damaged, but I did sign my name onto one of the better pages. I'm impressed, Midoriya-shounen!"
"You're impressed with me?" He asked, feeling somewhat dubious.
"OF COURSE!" All Might's voice boomed. "The information you've managed to gather would put some of the top hero analysts I know to shame!" He said with genuine admiration.
Izuku looked down at his book, wondering if it was really that special.
"Are you aiming to be a journalist or an analyst, my boy?"
"No." Izuku denied, his grip tightening. "I want to be a hero, just like you."
Toshinori paused for a second before brightly smiling at the troubled teen. "That's a wonderful goal to have." He patted him on the back before crouching down to his heels. Compressing the air beneath his feet. "Well then, since you and Rumi-shoujo happen to be acquaintances, I'll leave the rest to-"
"WAIT!" The greenette called out to his idol.
All Might relaxed his posture, standing back up. "Is there something else, Midoriya-shounen?"
Rumi watched over the scene, ears perked up, wondering what all the fuss was about.
It's now or never. "I just have a quick question for you, All Might-san — it won't take up much of your time! I promise."
Toshinori subtly glanced at Mirko through the corner of his eyes, who shook her head in response.
"As long as it's not about my alter ego, I'll do my best to answer your question then, hahahaha!"
"I-It's not!" Izuku was quick to deny. "I-It's a-about my dream."
All Might raised his brows. "You want to be a hero just like me, right?"
The teen inclined his head. "Yes, but that's only one half of the story." Izuku rubbed his thumbs against the front cover of his notebook. He didn't dare to match the gaze of the man he admired so much. "The truth is: I'm quirkless."
"I see." It seems he kept that from Rumi-shoujo as well. His eyes flicked back to the anxious greenette. He could deal with his former protege later. "That's quite the question indeed, haha."
Izuku curled further in.
"But," All Might began, catching the teen's attention. "Would you believe me if I said you're not the 1st person to ask me that?"
"Really?"
"You're the 3rd, actually." Toshinori smiled softly. "And I'll tell you the same thing I told them - why not? Why can't you be a hero too?"
"Do you...do you really mean that?" The greenette choked, full of emotion. He wiped the tears away with the back of his hand.
"Of course I do. It's just a matter of-"
"-Not to be a dickhead." Rumi cut in, having walked up to them at some point. "But you still have to turn that freak into police custody, uncle." She stared at him pointedly.
"Ah, yes. I do, indeed." The older man laughed somewhat awkwardly, staring into the rabbit heroine's eyes. Mirko stared right back - eliciting a nod from him.
All Might leveled himself with Izuku. "I hate to cut this short, Midoriya-shounen, but I do have to go." He said, messing the teen's curly hair up.
He stood up, placing a hand on Rumi's shoulder, before bypassing the two for clearance. He crouched down once more before launching himself into the sky.
"Hey, Izuku," Mirko said, drawing his attention to her — her tanned skin dyed in the orange hue of the evening sky. She looked at him over her shoulder, a strand of her silky white hair coming loose. Her ruby-red eyes reflected in his turquoise-green ones.
His throat felt dry all of a sudden.
"Just know that I feel the same way."
"Huh?" His eyes bulging.
"Not in that way, dumbass." She rolled her eyes, her pink lips curling into a soft smile as she turned to face him. "If all quirks were so overpowered, then there'd be more than one All Might. People underestimate a good fucking punch or kick!" She said, mimicking the actions in front of him. She blew her hair from her face. "So find your own way."
Izuku bowed his head, his face hidden by his bangs.
Rumi sighed, placing a hand on her hip. "You're not gonna cry again, are you? Cause that's just gonna lose points with me."
"W-WHAT? No! Wait, what did you mean by that last part?"
Mirko grinned, flashing her canines. "I'll let you figure that out on your own. By the way, stammering is also a deductible offense." She said, walking ahead of him. "I'm headin' over to the arcade — you coming?"
"I want to, but-"
"Are you really gonna give up a chance to hang out with me?" She cast a sidelong glance at him. "Your loss." She continued walking without waiting for a reply.
Izuku weighed his options before gritting his teeth. Fuck it. "Hey, wait up!"
…
Inko paced worriedly back and forth in the living room, glancing at the clock for the umpteenth time in the past hour. She plopped down on the sofa. "Izuku..."
She switched on the TV before reaching into the unfolded pile of clothes.
"...Earlier today, the up-and-coming heroine Mirko made a surprise appearance, leading to much speculation. What do you think, Hina-san — could she be 1 of the two new hires UA announced they would be receiving from the press conference on Monday?"
"Without a doubt! I also think the sighting of All Might wasn't a-"
A pair of loud voices outside her front door caught Inko's attention. They were arguing over something, but more importantly, one of them sounded extremely familiar.
She immediately dropped what she was doing, sprinting to the door and flinging it open.
"H-Hey, Mom." Izuku awkwardly smiled. "I'm sorry for-"
The shorter woman pulled him into a bear hug, forcing him into a half crouch.
"Do you know how worried I was?" Her voice quivered.
"Yeah, that was my bad Miss Midoriya! We were having so much fun that I lost track of the time."
Inko dislodged herself from her son. "Oh, we have a guest — where are my manners? Izuku, who is..."
She froze, turning back at the TV.
"...Look at the kick! What a beatdown!"
She compared the details with the young woman in front of her. "I-I-Izuku is this-"
"MOM?"
Fainting, before she could even finish her sentence.
To respond to warrior of six blade's review of prologue 1: yessir!
I'll switch between miss and san if there's more than 1 chick in a scene talking to one other like this one.
Once again thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and followed so far.