Chapter 39
It had been Jaku. Of course it had to be Jaku. Izuku could not think of a more horrible place to stage the end of his relationship. Granted the hospital building itself looked a lot better than it was the last time he had visited, but the neighborhood around the building still felt dirty and stagnant with all of the discarded piles of brick and mortar and the closed off roads reserved for construction, like the area of a festering wound. Amaya was right. This area really had gone to hell- and that was what Izuku had felt like. He felt like he had experienced his own personal hell and come out the other side a changed man.
When it all came down to it, Izuku thought he had done the right thing. He thought Alyssa would have been relieved to see him that day, that visiting his girlfriend while her mother was in the hospital was what a good boyfriend did. He thought that by finally explaining to Alyssa who he was, they could move forward with their relationship with full honesty. That was not how things had went at all. He couldn't figure out where he had gone wrong, how he could fix things. The first mistake was probably coming straight from work in his hero costume, but he had been so caught up in trying to find her- any texts he had sent her asking her about which hospital she was at appeared to be unread -that it had never occurred to him that she might be distressed by his outfit.
He spent hours trying to understand where he had went wrong. So many factors had been kept from him, like Alyssa's daily struggles with caring for her mother and the fact that Alyssa kept their relationship a secret from her. They'd only known each other for little over a month and it was still the beginning of their relationship, so it's not like he expected to know everything about her right away. Alyssa didn't even know about One for All, or that he too was Quirkless a large portion of his life, that he understood what it felt like to feel powerless. But her reaction to the news of who he was ended up being such an overreaction that it had completely blindsided him and made him wonder if there was something else he had overlooked that she was angry at him for. How had everything gone down in flames so quickly? Was their relationship over now or was she just mad at him? It felt pretty final. You didn't easily comeback from calling someone a liar, and trust was such a fragile thing, especially for Alyssa apparently, because she appeared so betrayed when she found out.
After having a good cry about it, Izuku woke up to a tear-stained pillow, blood-shot eyes, and a phone that still didn't have any new messages from her. Then he got up and resolved to do what he always did: his job. He threw himself into his work more than ever, especially after seeing the state of Jaku City. He couldn't sleep, the tea in his teacup had no taste, and his chest just felt so heavy. He was like an absolute zombie, just shuffling from one thing to the next, never stopping to take a break. If he stopped, he would have to think about it, and then he would break down crying again. Izuku was haunted by the look Alyssa had given him. In all the time he had known her, he had never seen her look that hurt before, and he couldn't get over the guilt that he was the one who caused that. He did that to her. What kind of boyfriend made his girlfriend cry? Granted, Alyssa hadn't actually cried- she'd been angry, spiteful, even cruel towards the end of their fight -but her face appeared like she was about to collapse onto the ground sobbing, like she was just barely holding it together. He wanted to reach out to her, to save her, but she was too closed off, buried behind too many walls. She didn't want to be saved; she'd told him so. How could he save someone that didn't want to be saved? What kind of hero did that make him?
He had started a few apology texts to her before deleting them, most of them after the first few he had sent sounded redundant; there was nothing really more he could say that hadn't already been said Friday night. Alyssa didn't want to talk to him, clearly wanting to be left alone, and Izuku couldn't figure out how to talk to her. Frankly the whole endeavor just left him exhausted. How ironic was it that the hero with one of the strongest Quirks in the world didn't have the strength to face his Quirkless girlfriend.
He glanced longingly at the #1 Hero medal on his desk that he had won with Alyssa at the hero museum, feeling more undeserving of it than ever. He spent so much time staring at that medal that his fellow heroes were starting to worry about him. He hadn't told them anything about what had happened with Alyssa but they knew something was up. A few approached his desk to ask, and he would just shrug and deflect by saying he was fine before continuing his work. Telling them about Alyssa had gotten them involved with his relationship, something Alyssa had been furious about. Perhaps that was where he had failed in their relationship, by making it too public and involving other people in something that was supposed to be private.
Izuku had never felt pain like this before. The only thing on par with it was when All Might had died or how he had failed to save Eri when they had first met. It made him feel so helpless and frustrated and angry at himself. Maybe it would have been better if they had never started dating at all. It was starting to affect his work, something he had been concerned about from the beginning. Maybe this had been the universe telling him that he hadn't earned the right to be in a relationship. He had screwed up from the beginning, so what was the point?
A deep sigh escaped his lips. He needed to clear his head. Not really sure where he wanted to go, Izuku just picked a direction and started walking. He passed by office buildings and museums and parks that lined the streets, stopping only at crosswalks for cars. A nearby playground reminded him of the one that Alyssa had taken him to, the one that she had comforted him while he broke down about his struggling hero agency, though it wasn't the same park. A sort of numbness set in as he watched the couples walking through it, smiling and holding hands under the cherry trees even though the sakura blossoms were long gone. He felt another pang as he watched the dead petals drifting on the sidewalk like fallen ash. Alyssa often showed up wearing a jacket covered with a few stray petals, though she didn't notice unless he pointed them out. She was just so carefree, swept up in whatever she was talking or thinking about, like nothing in the world could bring her down. It turned that wasn't true at all.
So caught up in his own thoughts, the can-do hero hadn't even realized where he was until he was standing outside of the Irumu rec center. Oh, that was right. Today was Tuesday, Izuku realized with vacant clarity. He'd been so much in the habit of meeting up with Alyssa after her lightsaber practice that he must have walked here on reflex to see her. Panic and regret already began filling him like a glass of water about to overflow. He missed her, but it hurt too much to think about her and the words that she had said. He couldn't face her again, not if he was going to upset her by just being there.
He was just about to turn around when he spotted Kacchan walking out of the rec center dressed in his civvies. That fact that he was so far away from his hero agency wasn't inherently unusual, since he sometimes liked to experiment with different facilities to adjust his workout routine. What was really unusual was that he was accompanied by a girl, a brunette that currently had her arm wrapped around his and wore black sweats- sweats, Izuku recognized, that Alyssa liked to wear. His heart plummeted about fifty stories when he saw her hand lace with his before he realized, much to his relief, that the brunette was much too short and petite to be Alyssa. Upon closer inspection, he did register the girl as familiar, though he had yet to place as to why. Her hair was up though her face was covered by a white facial mask. It wasn't until he saw a faint glimmer of a red, rounded cheek that he discerned who she was.
"Ochako..?" Izuku let slip from his mouth before he could stop it. The girl froze on sight while Bakugou flinched, dropping the girl's hand like it had caught fire. The crimson orbs glared at the offending voice that had called her name out before they locked onto his. Then they narrowed even further.
"O-Oh! H-Hey Deku..." Ochako giggled nervously. "Didn't expect to see you here."
"What the hell are you doing here, Deku? Shouldn't you be off catching bike thieves in Koreria?" Bakugou snapped. His hair was obscured by a black beanie and he wore a light overcoat, but in lieu of disguises he looked about the same if somewhat hiding his wild, explosive cowlick.
"I could ask you the same thing, Kacchan," Izuku said before recognizing that he had only pissed off the blonde further as the latter snarled angrily in place like a car with a stalling engine. If he didn't know any better, he would have almost thought they were...
"W-Wait... are you two... d-dating?!"
"What?! No! What are you talking about!? Dating!? Baiting?! What's that? Ahahahaha!" Ochako laughed awkwardly, voice suddenly louder than the passerby white noise of cars and the evening crowd.
"The jig's up, mochi-face," Kacchan grumbled, rubbing the back of his buzz-cut. The heroine paused for a moment to deny it before sighing.
"...Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag. We've been trying to keep it under wraps from the press, but you know tabloids will talk no matter what," said the zero-gravity hero before taking Bakugou's arm again. "Don't mind Katsuki here. He's just being a grump-"
"I AM NOT BEING A GRUMP!"
"-'cause he's not used to being out in public together." That gave Izuku some pause, looking back and forth between the bubbly brunette and the blushing blonde that looked equal parts pissed and embarrassed.
So the rumors were true... He should have seen the signs. Kacchan had been more passive lately, not screaming as much as he usually did. His rival was pretty private about his personal life, even to him, but lately he had been more closed off than usual. He thought about but then it made sense. If they went public, the pro-hero forums were going to go nuts. Alyssa is going to be so thrilled-! The thought gave him some pause. Then the heaviness came back with a vengeance.
"What?" Bakugou hissed in mild irritation. "You've got something to say?"
"N-Nothing!" Izuku stammered, unsure of how to exactly voice his feelings. His head was spinning. He had never seen this coming, yet all the signs had been there. A strange sensation overtook him at the sight of his mochi-faced high school sweetheart and his rival together. What was this feeling? It was wholly unsettling. It wasn't like he still had feelings for her. No that wasn't it. It was... "I just didn't think you were, well... the kind of person that wanted to date or that you even had time to date."
"Idiot. It's not like hero work is all I want to do with my life," he grumbled.
"But I thought it was important to you to become the Number One Hero."
"I can have a girlfriend if I want! There's no rule that says I can't do both," Bakugou scoffed. "If you haven't figured that out, then you're more pathetic than I thought." His words, though harsh, lacked the bite they had almost a decade ago. Izuku learned that after a few years that there was a difference from his friend being genuinely hurtful and being blunt.
"I guess but..." Izuku trailed off. To his knowledge, All Might had never had a long standing relationship with someone. He was successful because he could devote a hundred and ten percent into his job. "Ochako, what about your career? I thought you said you didn't have time for a relationship."
"I'm still focused on my job as a pro-hero, but I realized that sometimes relationships are worth the risk. Some things in life are worth doing over others," Ochako explained, her cheeks glowing a bright vermilion. "My parents worked hard all of their lives to make sure I could reach my dreams, but their jobs didn't make them happy. They made each other happy. I mean, what's the point of working hard if you can't be happy in the end?"
Izuku's brow furrowed at her words, his eyes shifting back towards Bakugou who appeared antsy and impatient the longer they stood out in the open. Someone as amazing as Kacchan, who was currently above him in rankings, had it all. He had a successful agency, was one of the top pro-heroes, and apparently he now had a love life. How could he still be so far ahead of him and find time to run an agency and have a steady girlfriend? If he had one weakness, it was his public image when it came to the press, but if his relationship with Uravity got out, there would be a media storm of good publicity for the two agencies. People loved hearing about pro-heroes getting together. It made team-up missions that much more exciting, especially if their Quirk combination complimented each other like Ochako and Kacchan's did.
In an instant, Izuku realized the full extent of what he had done and why Alyssa had reacted the way that she had. Was her mother finding out about them as scary as the public finding out about Kacchan and Ochako? He didn't know much about Alyssa's mother, but their relationship had to be incredibly complex. Maybe her mother didn't like heroes and he had just made things worse by showing up in full costume. It's not like he could have known and it wasn't fair to say that it excused her behavior, but he understood a little better where Alyssa was coming from.
"If you tell anyone, I'll kick your ass! You got that, you damned nerd?!" Bakugou threatened.
"Uhh sure! Whatever you say, Kacchan..." Izuku trailed off. He watched the couple leave discreetly down a side-road, away from the public's prying eyes, leaving Izuku alone with his thoughts. He glanced back at the rec center and the time the analog clock said at the top of the entrance. 18:20pm. Alyssa's lightsaber class would be starting soon. He'd just stop by and check to see if she was there. If she was, he would apologize to her- properly, this time. If she wanted to wail on him with her sword during practice, he would let her. He deserved it. He mentally winced at the memory of the carbon-fiber blade smacking the side of his jaw.
"Hey Deku!" Caught, he turned and smiled awkwardly at the short girl behind him.
"Hey... Chise, right?"
"Wow, I can't believe you remembered my name," Chise said in disbelief before beaming up at him. "What are you doing here?"
"O-Oh, I was just uh..."
"You looking for Blake-san?"
"Umm... y-yeah. Is she here?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen her. She hasn't come to practice over a week. If you want, you can stick around for a little while. We're about to watch the first Star Wars movie, if you'd like to stick around, and she might still show up. Miki doesn't charge anybody for lessons on Star Wars Day, since we're not doing any actual training."
"Come on, Chise," said Ishikami, who had followed up behind her with a large golf-club bag of lightsabers that resembled claymores. "He's probably too busy."
"Actually... yeah, I can hangout for a bit," Izuku admitted with a shrug. He couldn't go to Alyssa's house and he didn't know where she worked, so this was the only place he was guaranteed to run into her. That or the subway, but what were the chances of that happening again? Plus, maybe if he stuck around and watched the movie, maybe he would finally understand what was all the fuss about.
The moment he stepped into the classroom, it was like his hackles had been raised. Everyone was staring at him, but not in the typical way like recognition when he normally came to pick up Alyssa. Did they know? Did Alyssa already tell them what happened? It was entirely possible, but the stares didn't appear like they warranted hostility. It was almost like... they were teasing him, like they held some sort of untold secret everyone else had kept from him.
"What?"
"Have you seen the latest pictures Alyssa posted for Star Wars Day on the class Facebook page?" Another girl asked- Uruki, he thought her name was. Izuku shook his head. "You might want to." Curious, he got out his phone and tapped on the Facebook app and pulled up the TLLA Enclave page- even though he hadn't really attended classes since his first lesson, the group had been excited to invite him to their private Facebook page. So far, he hadn't really delved that far into it, receiving updates about cancelled classes and the occasional Star Wars joke that went right over his head. Today, however, there was a massive post, one that came with photos. He recognized them to be some of Alyssa's drawings that he had seen glimpses of that day at the cantina, but these were much more detailed and fleshed out than what he had seen before. One he focused on in particular was of him drawn with the other Form Is, wearing a tiny little braid and what looked like to be monk robes. He gazed in awe at the little details sketched intricately into his outfit and hair, almost envisioning Alyssa pouring them onto the page with the etch of her pencil.
"These are really nice-" Izuku managed to choke out, swallowing the lump in his throat as tears began blurring his vision before he blinked them back.
"Keep going. That's not even the best one."
Izuku continued scrolling over the photos, glancing over many different portraits and group shots of the students before he stopped on the photo in question and felt his blood go cold. Displayed on his screen for the whole group to see was a rough sketch of two people wrapped around each other, lips intimately locked together as they stood on the ocean shore. It was their beach. Their kiss. He knew it was their kiss because he recognized the pier she had sketched into the background, the one he had nearly kissed her under the gazebo.
He assumed that picture of them was what the group had been excited to ask him about. What actually caught his eye was the comic next to it. Not just any comic. A hand-drawn comic. A Vigilante Knights comic. With lightning speed, the pro-hero flipped onto his Patre0n app and almost dropped his phone at the sight, risking yet another broken phone. On the screen was a pair of images. One of them appeared to be part of a two-page spread of an action scene involving Hareraiser and another figure attacking the main antagonist of the arc. Instead of completing the comic spread, the other page instead had an unrelated drawing of two people kissing on the seashore, matching the pictures that he had glimpsed on Facebook. It wasn't just a repost or a piracy post of someone stealing another artist's art. This sketch had a signature, a watermark that Izuku recognized all too well.
Alyssa was Muse-Musume.
Author's Note: Okay guys, we are in the endgame now, so I expect this hopefully to round out into about forty five chapters, so stay tuned!
