Chapter 28

By the time Izuku had arrived at Sutakira Station, the streetlights were already on. The bomb threat had put everyone on high alert, so the police and heroes had combed the streets for two hours and then Izuku had to give his statement on the incident. Now, he was plain exhausted. Not only had today been a core and muscle day, on top of the hero work, but now he was in a rush to get back to Alyssa.

I'm here. Where are you?

You finish kicking ass and taking names?

Where are you?

Are you okay?

That last text from her had been sent a half-hour ago. The truth was that he wasn't okay. He'd calmed down considerably since the incident, but it was still fresh in his mind and stockpiled on top of all of the other half-dozen things he was worried about. Everything else was all a jumble inside his head. What would he do now? Had Alyssa seen the outfit? Was she angry with him? Surprised? Was she even still there waiting for him? He hadn't received any reply like 'we need to talk' or that she had decided to go home, but at this point he was so exhausted that he almost didn't care if she found out. Let her discover how much of a failure he was in real life, how much of a disappointment he was as a hero. That would destroy her idolization of him, no problem. Then he wouldn't have to deal with the anxiety of her hating him afterward. It was decided then. The instant that he saw her, he would tell her.

Izuku was panting slightly, his shirt soaked so thoroughly that it was almost like a second skin. Drops of rainwater dripped onto the arid concrete as he walked down the train station steps. Most of the blood had been washed off in the rain, but there were still rusty stains on his shirt- even if there weren't, he knew it was there. It was like he was walking down a long dark tunnel with nothing but blind hope that there was light at the end of it. His footsteps were a quiet echo in the almost vacant train station. Most people were either still at work or had already gone home for the day, so the only people that would be here were those who were coming back from a fun night out. He expected to be left only with himself and his disappointment- after all, what sane person would stay at a train station at all hours of the night? It was foolish of him to expect her to wait this long. Still, he sent her a text and began looking for her around the various pillars.

'You are not worthless, okay? Don't ever say that or let anyone tell you that! You can only try your best...'

Her words began drifting into his head along with the memory of her arms around him and felt his chest tighten. Even now, she was trying to comfort him, inspiring him even when she wasn't really there. He longed for her arms to be around him again, to feel the warmth of her soft embrace. Outside of his family, he hadn't received too many hugs in his life. Public displays of affection were normally frowned upon by Japanese society and he hadn't known anyone long enough to be comfortable with it, but there was something about Alyssa's touch that made him crave more of it. He wanted to see her. He needed to see her, even just for a moment. If he had just that, he decided he would be alright. Then, when he told her the truth and she decided she never wanted to speak to him again, he'd accept that decision. It was his own fault, after all.

Judging by how few people there were down here, it appeared like he was going to be denied even that. He was about to grab something from the vending machine on his way out when his thoughts were interrupted by a sonorous voice. Unlike the loud EDM music Izuku had been fighting against, the tune was light, melodious and full of purpose. It bounced off of the walls like a pianist pressing down on a reverb pedal. There weren't any words or lyrics spoken, just vocalizations that were distinct and precise. It was a happy sort of noise, not something you'd normally hear in a Japanese train station.

It wasn't until he was almost standing in front of the train tracks that Izuku found the source of the acapella sitting cross-legged in the corner against one of the foundation pillars and a potted plant. Alyssa's head was bent down towards the sketchbook in her lap. "Ya-da-da daa daaaaa~ Raa da da-ta taaa~" she vocalized, interchanging between whistles, hums, and musical notes without words, rocking her head and shoulders while her fingers tapped with purpose, pounding a fast paced, silent rhythm while she sketched with her right.

"Hey-" Izuku called out to her, but her head continued the steady motion, lost in her own world. Silently, he watched her, reminded of a pianist that had been caught up in playing their music, her brow furrowed in concentration as she worked on her magnum opus. It was hard to tell glancing at it upside down, but the dozens of half-hearted attempts of wild spikes and edged layers gave him the impression that she was trying to draw a bush but was failing to do so in a way she thought was acceptable.

"Ra dun dada dun ra dun dun dun dun dun~ Ra-dun-dun dun dun dun dun dun dun ra ra dun-duAHHHH!" Her breath hitched as she jolted back, shouting something in English before placing a hand on her chest with shaky laughter. "Izuku, you scared the crap outta me!"

"Sorry," was all Izuku could manage, unable to feel the usual embarrassment through the haze he was in. He still couldn't believe she was still sitting here waiting for him. He had expected her to be hurtling him with questions. Instead, he found Alyssa peering up at him with a relieved smile on her face.

"'s fine. My headphones have noise cancellation. I guess we're even now," Alyssa nervously laughed and closed her sketchbook shut before pressing it into her lap. Her cheeks flushed a rosy pink, unable to focus on anything but the pavement floor. "I figured it was you, judging from those red sh- oh my god, what happened to your feet!?" Izuku looked down and saw that his shoes, his favorite pair of high tops, were almost gone, shredded to ribbons like he thrown them into a wood-chipper. He hadn't even noticed. How long had his feet been like that?

"Oh... that must have happened when I stopped the truck. They must have been worn away from the friction." Izuku said numbly, his thoughts muddled and unfocused as a lump caught in his throat, making it hard to breathe. A dark hoodie was wrapped around her shoulders like a shawl. Had she seriously been waiting here this whole time? His eyes flitted towards the gym bag that lay down by her feet, the zipper still closed. Did she already look inside?

"That must've been some car chase. Are you okay? I mean, pardon my French, but you look like shit."

"French..?" Izuku uttered dumbly.

"It's an American saying," Alyssa shrugged without going into any explanation and picked herself up off the ground. "C'mere. You're soaked." Alyssa lifted the hoodie off of her shoulders in lieu of a towel. Rather than hand it to him, she threw it over Izuku's head and began to rub furiously.

"I-I can do that myself," Izuku managed to say through the toweling going around his face.

"I don't mind," she said, powering through it anyways with no hint of shame. "I guess that umbrella was kinda pointless in the long run, huh?" Izuku couldn't answer. He was thankful his blush couldn't be seen underneath the hoodie, feeling like she was treating him like a little brother that had gone romping through the rain and mud and had come back a mess. He could smell the scent of lavender in the fabric as he leaned his head forward, accepting his fate as she dried his hair. He had the sudden impulse to rest his forehead against her before she lifted the hoodie away. "There. All better." Alyssa looked at him appraisingly before stifling a laugh.

"...what?"

"You look like a fuzzy labradoodle that just got taken to the groomer," she snickered before trying to flatten and fix his hair. Feeling that this was a step too far into his comfort zone, Izuku half-heartedly pushed her hand away, his hair already messy to begin with.

"I got it, thanks!" Izuku flushed nervously.

Alyssa gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that. Jo-Elle says I have a tendency to mother people. Here's your stuff, by the way." She leaned down and hefted the UA exercise bag up with some effort on her part. "It's a lot heavier than I expected," she grunted before handing it over to him. "Seriously, what do you carry in there? Bricks?"

So she hadn't looked inside, Izuku thought to himself. "Weights, mostly," he said, omitting the fact that his hero gear was in there as well. Instead, he diverted to another topic he was curious about. "What were you listening to earlier, when you were drawing?" He gestured towards the earbuds that hung half-dangling from her ears.

"Camille Saint Saens- well, technically it's an arrangement from an anime that features a piece by Saint Saens, but it's still a bop though," Alyssa explained, still avoiding his gaze. For some reason, she refused to look him in the eye, either looking a different direction or down towards the ground. "What's that?" She pointed towards the dark spine that was embedded in the fabric of his black athletic shorts.

"Must've picked it up from the fight," Izuku said before going silent. He could still hear the screaming.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alyssa asked, noticing the troubled worn-down expression that no doubt was etched all over his face.

Izuku swallowed, feeling the lump from earlier stick in his throat. "Not really... not yet, anyways."

"That bad, huh?" He nodded. "Okay, I won't press you for details. I'm just glad you're okay, even if you don't feel that way right now." Izuku gave her a half-hearted smile but felt no ounce of mirth in it. Truth was that the incident had brought up some bad memories, ones that he had never fully gotten over while the rest of the world moved on. Parts of him would never be truly okay with what happened, but with her it felt nice to not have to pretend that he was. She continued on like there hadn't been this dark looming presence hanging over him and said with a thoughtful expression, "You know, that sorta looks like a porcupine quill."

"I'd say it's more like a hedgehog than a porcupine," Izuku mused while examining the fastidious barb, his mind eager to shift gears towards something more pleasant like Quirk study as a distraction from how terrible the rest of his day had been.

"Hmmm nah, hedgehogs can't launch or lose their quills like porcupines. Plus, their quills are supposed to have microscopic barbs on them like a cactus does that causes them to immobilize their attackers and make it hard to remove." Then her eyes lit up as if a thought occurred to her. "Oh please tell me this was a guy in blue who loved going fast, collecting rings, and eating chili-dogs."

"Umm no. Definitely not."

"Ah, so an edge-lord, Shadow type then. Gotcha."

"How do you know so much about porcupines?"

"My dad showed me a quill once. He found it during his work trip to South Africa on a safari and brought it back for me as a souvenir. I did research on it after that," Alyssa said before asking almost hesitantly, "I guess it's a little out of line to ask if I could keep this one too," her tone implying it more like a question than a statement.

Izuku could only imagine how shocked he must have looked in that moment. "Why on earth would you want to keep it?"

"Souvenir?" she shrugged with a sheepish smile. "Here. I'll trade you." She reached down and picked up the long bag she had resting against the pillar and pulled out the lightsaber she had lent him before.

"Oh, I don't- I couldn't take something so precious to you."

"It's alright. I want you to keep it. Consider it insurance to come back next time and a selfish reason for me not to haul it to every class by expecting you to come. Besides, it's not like I'm getting a lot of use out of it. It was collecting dust in my storage unit before I found it again- plus, it suits you. It deserves to be handed down to another new student."

When he was sure she wasn't going to take no for an answer, Izuku reached out and took the saber from her and handed the quill to her in exchange. "Thank you. That's very nice of you."

Alyssa wrapped the barb in a small plastic bag before carefully tucking it away. Then a long moment of silence fell over both of them. She bit her lip. "You sure you're okay?"

"No..." Izuku admitted before giving her another wan smile. "But I will be."

"Okay, well if you want to talk, I'm here to listen." Alyssa paused for a moment, as if she expecting him to say something else before giving him a half smile. "Well, if that's everything, I'm gonna get going. It's pretty late and I'm sure my-"

"Wait-" Izuku acted without warning, reaching out before clasping his hand over her wrist like she was about to turn into mist. In that moment, Alyssa's nonplussed expression, with her hair all mussed from a workout and the rain and her cheeks rouge and round, made him feel like all of the air had left his lungs. Even with the florescent tunnel lighting, she looked so beautiful, pretty enough that she had actually stolen his breath away.

"Y-Yeah?"

"There was... I wanted to ask you-" Izuku swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. This was it, all or nothing. He made up his mind now. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it now. "I was wondering if... This week I was wondering if... if you wanted to go to karaoke sometime?"

Alyssa's expression shifted to one of shocked to numb confusion, like he was the one who was speaking a foreign language. "Karaoke?"

Suddenly, all of his inhibitions were back and in full force as he rambled, waving his hands frantically, "I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to! I mean, my friends are doing a thing this week and I always hear you singing and you have a really nice voice, and I thought you'd like to go out and see Japan since I know you're kind of new to the area even though you've lived here for almost a year, and I wasn't sure if you had gone before and-"

"Izuku, whoa! Slow down! I can barely understand you."

"Sorry!" Izuku screwed his eyes shut, feeling like he was fourteen again.

"Are you asking me if I want to go out with you-?"

"To karaoke. Yes." Izuku nodded stiffly.

"-to karaoke?" She finished, still processing all the words that he had said to her.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Four seconds.

Still no word from her. Why was she so silent? Oh god, this was a mistake. Why had he said that?! That wasn't what he was going to say! He was supposed to tell her about who he really was, not ask her out on a date! But he had been so sure, so sure she would say-

"Umm... sure."

Izuku paused. "On second thought neverm- wait, really!? You will?"

"Yeah. Sure. Why not? Sounds like fun."

"Great! That's really great," Izuku beamed, feeling like the storm clouds had moved away for the first time all day.

"Ummm... does Friday night at eight work for you?"

"Friday...? This Friday?" Alyssa paused for a moment, her brow furrowed in thought, "I mean, I dunno... I might have to check my schedule but maybe... you know what? Yeah. Friday works."

"Great! I'll see you then."

"Awesome. See you then." They smiled awkwardly at each other until Izuku realized he was still holding her wrist. He dropped it like it was iron skillet handle that has been accidentally pushed under an open flame, his face roaring hot like a furnace. "Sorry!"

"It's okay," Alyssa giggled before shyly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Both of them were unable to meet the other's gaze or keep the stupid grins off of their faces even as they felt the whoosh of the subway train come into the station. "Oh, uh, I guess that's me, then."

"Right. I'll text you the details."

"Great. I'll see you then," Alyssa repeated like she was autopilot. She quickly scrambled for all of her belongings on the floor, dropping or nearly dropping several things before gathering them in her arms and bumping into the right side of the car doorway as she hurried in. Izuku watched her with a slight chuckle as she waved goodbye, shoving his hands in his pockets as he watched the doors closed, feeling like he had just seen a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel for the first time in ages.


Author's Note: References today are Sonic and Shadow from Sonic the Hedgehog, Young Justice, Introduction and Rondo Capricisoso by Camille Saint Saens (excerpt from Your Lie is April), and Sutakira (Starkiller) from Star Wars.