Author's Note:
Here is Chapter 5!
This might be the last chapter I'll be working on since I'll be busy with college next week. It gives me more time to think about how I'll handle Bruce's story when I get the chance.
Thanks to ChampionOfBlastium for helping me with this fic.
Enjoy reading!
Chapter 5: Boy Of Tomorrow, Part2
"Like I said, didn't buy any magazine like you told me to," Nagai said as the trio exited the convenience store. Nagai and Kemuri bought cans of soda and some snacks for each of them.
"You better not," Katsuki said with a grumble. "I don't want to deal with your gross shit."
"Whatever, dad," Nagai said sarcastically.
Katsuki was so close to using his quirk on Long Fingers' stupid face. His one eye began to twitch. His teeth are gritting hard. His hands are popping with super tiny explosions.
"Um, guys?" Kemuri spoke. "Where's Izuku?"
Katsuki flinched out of his rage and began to look around to find no Deku in sight. Long Fingers and Sharp Tooth had also begun looking around with confusion written on their faces. As Katsuki continued to look around, he caught a glimpse of a black smoke. His eyes widened in realization.
"You gotta be shitting me," Katsuki uttered. "You better fucking not, Deku!" He shouted as he ran towards the source of the black smoke.
"He did, didn't he?" Kemuri asked as he stared at the huge smoke with a grim realization.
"Positive," Nagai replied.
The two of them started running after Katsuki as quickly as they could.
Clark was now on the third floor of the building. There are fires everywhere in the hallway. The heat was intense. He could feel the sweat running down all over his body. But the only thing on his mind was to find the kid stuck on this floor. He heard crying from down the hallway. He ran quickly towards the sound while avoiding flames and falling debris from the wooden ceiling. As he got closer, he heard the cry getting louder from a door on the right side of the hallway. Clark quickly moved towards the door's handle and twisted it to open, but it was locked.
"Don't worry!" Clark shouted. "I'm coming!"
Clark rammed his shoulders to the door. The door did not budge. Clark recoiled in pain and started rubbing his shoulders in painful grunts. He almost forgot that he wasn't invincible yet. As Clark recovered, he backed away a few inches from the door. He took a step forward, raised his other leg, and kicked down the door. With enough momentum, the door broke away from its hinges and fell down to the floor.
Clark quickly rushed inside the room and noticed that the apartment's floors are made of tatami matts. He needed to find the child quickly before the whole room was engulfed in flames. Clark heard a cry behind the closet door nearby. He ran towards the door and slid it open, revealing a little girl, no older than four, with tears running down her face. She jumped a bit from the sudden intrusion.
"It's okay," Clark said softly. "I'm here to help."
Clark gently reached for the girl. She immediately latched to him, still whimpering in fear. Clark tried to console her, gently patting her back, and reassuring her that everything was okay. Clark quickly ran out of the room as held the child tight with him.
As he got to the stairwell, it began to creak as it was engulfed in flames. It suddenly collapsed which caused Clark to back away and startled the little girl. Clark began to hear loud creaks above him. As he looked up, he saw a few, ablaze debris falling from the wooden ceiling. It was about to collapse. As soon as Clark heard the loud crack, he bolted back down the hallway as the ceiling kept collapsing behind them. Clark could hear the panicked cries from the little girl in his arms. He kept running until he reached the doorway where he found the little girl. Within a split second as entered the room, the blazing ceiling collapsed completely blocking their only way of escape.
As the little girl continued to whimper, Clark was figuring out his next move. There was nowhere to go, they were trapped inside a burning room. Clark looked around for any possible way to escape until his eyes focused on the window.
Katsuki pushed his way through the crowd of people in front of the burning building. He looked everywhere to see if he could spot Deku among the spectators.
"Where are the heroes?!"
"Did somebody call for an emergency yet?!"
"Is the green haired kid still up there?!"
Katsuki halted completely as soon as he heard it. He stared up at the burning building in horror and asked himself why would Deku do this? Katsuki knew the answer, he was just so stubborn to admit it. He should've talked to him. He had every chance to do it, but he didn't. All because he has his head up in his ass.
"Look up there!"
Katsuki heard a collective gasp from the crowd. As he followed where some of the people were pointing at, he saw a window being slid open revealing Deku covered in sweat and soot. Katsuki also noticed that Deku was holding a child in his arms.
"Kira! My baby!" A woman from somewhere shouted.
"Mama!" Kira shouted, trying to reach out for her mother.
Clark looked out of the window for a possible escape. They were pretty high up. Jumping down was out of the question. It'll just hurt Clark and possibly Kira in the long run. There were no ledges outside of the building. Suddenly, a fire roared right in front of them forcing Clark to back away on instinct. Kira cried and clung tightly to him. They have nowhere to go.
"What's happening?!" Nagai shouted at Katsuki as he ran up to him.
"Deku's still up there," Katsuki said as he continued to stare up the window where he last saw Deku. "But they're stuck."
"Shit," Kemuri cussed. "What do we do? We need to do something right?"
Damn Sharp Tooth was right. They needed to do something, but he couldn't. His quirk would just make things worse. He remembered when that damn Sludge Villain took him hostage. That bastard used his quirk to blow up some of the stalls. What's worse was he started a fire in a building. Even Though everyone managed to evacuate on time, he still remembered their faces riddled with fear. He was so useless. Couldn't do a damn thing.
Nagai stared at the burning building. He saw Izuku by the window, but the fire kept growing and blocking their only way out. He looked down at hands. The only thing that they're good for was to just extend his damn fingers. Deep down he knew we weren't cut out to be a hero. He wasn't as powerful as Katsuki. He wasn't as brave and smart as Izuku.
What would Izuku do?, Nagai suddenly thought. He recalled what happened when they tried to save Katsuki. Then his eyes widened in realization.
"The hose!" He shouted, startling everyone around him. "Does somebody know where the nearest fire hose box is?!" Nagai shouted at the crowd.
"I think it's across the street!" Someone at the back shouted.
Nagai quickly pushed through the crowd. As he got to the open street, he looked around and tried to find what he was looking for. He spotted a red box with a glass casing, showing the rolled up hose, and with words written on the glass "Fire Hose".
Nagai quickly ran towards the bow. He tried to budge it open, but it was locked with a padlock. Nagai used his elbow to smash the glass, but only to hurt himself instead. He grunted in pain as he rubbed his elbow.
"Move outta the way!"
Nagai quickly turned around to see Katsuki running at him, with his hands popping with miniature explosions. Nagai quickly moved out of the way. Katsuki pulled back his right hand then quickly extended towards the glass unleashing his quirk. He immediately smashed the box open. Nagai took cover for a moment as glass shards flew everywhere. As Nagai regained his composure, he quickly moved over to the box. He quickly attached the hose to the faucet inside the box. He then grabbed the head of the hose and quickly ran back towards the burning building while Katsuki followed saw Kemuri was running towards them.
"Kemuri!" Nagai shouted. "Get to the red box. I'll shout for you when I need you to open it."
"Right!" Kemuri replied.
Kemuri ran towards the red box while Nagai and Katsuki ran towards the burning building. The crowd around them suddenly made way for the two boys. As Nagai stood in the right distance of the burning building, he shifted the nozzle to the maximum.
"Do it now!" Nagai shouted.
He waited for a moment until he felt the slight rumbling from the hose. He braced himself as he felt water pressure build up. As the water sprayed out of the hose, Nagai struggled to control it. Katsuki grabbed hold of the hose and helped Nagai aim at where Izuku was last seen. They continue to douse the flames around the window. Izuku peeked out the window along with the little girl in his arms. Both were a bit damped from the splashes of the water.
"Now what?" Kemuri asked as he rushed beside Nagai and Katsuki. "How are they gonna get down from there?"
"Hold on!"
Everyone turned towards the source of the voice. Hoshi ran as he dragged a large, black tarp that he used to cover his cargo in the back of his pick-up truck. As he got near to the crowd, he whipped the tarp into its full shape letting it spread all over the ground.
"We'll use the tarp to catch the kids," Hoshi explained to the bystanders. "I need somebody to help me to hold the tarp together."
Kemuri was the first one to rush in, grabbing one edge of the tarp. One random bystander grabbed the other edge of the tarp, until more people grabbed hold of the tarp to make an impromptu safety net. Hoshi led the group near the burning building, close enough for Izuku to reach.
"You have to jump down, kid!" Hoshi shouted. "We'll catch you."
Clark nodded. He then stepped up to the window sill and perched out right on the edge. Kira whimpered as she saw how far down they'll have to fall. She clung tight to Clark, shaking her head.
"It's okay," Clark reassured her. "We have to do this. You're braver than you realized."
Clark looked directly at Kira, her eyes still watery from her tears. He gave her a reassuring smile.
"You're brave right?" He asked.
Kira looked at the kind boy's face for a moment and nodded. She began to hold tight to the kind boy and all her trust in him. Clark looked back down at the people holding the tarp, anticipating to catch them. He was psyching himself as he prepared himself to jump. If he was being honest, he was scared. But all of that wouldn't matter to him now. There was a life on the line.
Take a leap of faith, he thought. Clark jumped out from the window sill. He held Kira tight while she screamed throughout the fall. The people holding up the tarp braced for Clark's fall. They gripped and held the tarp tight. Clark landed on the tarp back first, bouncing a bit until he settled within the tarp. The group placed the tarp gently to the ground. The bystanders cheered victoriously while clapping their hands as they saw the two kids were safe.
Kira's mother rushed towards the coughing Clark who handed Kira back to her. The mother and daughter were reunited at last, both crying and hugging in joy. Clark's coughs began to subside as breathes in fresh air. He felt a hand on his shoulder. As he looked up he saw Mr. Hoshi who was smiling down at him.
"You did good, kid," Hoshi said.
Nagai switched the nozzle of the hose to a low setting, but kept watering down the fire on the building. He looked over to Izuku, who was being thanked by the mother of the child he saved, Kemuri was talking to some of the people who helped catch Izuku, and Katsuki just stood near Izuku while being complemented by the crowd how strong his quirk was. Nagai looked back at the hose he was holding.
Yeah… This kinda feels right, he thought.
Clark sat at the back of the ambulance. He folded his blazer and placed it on his lap while he breathed in from an emergency oxygen tank. The Pro Heroes along with the fire department and EMTs arrived quickly after he saved little Kira from the burning building. The fire department set up a blockade, ushering the people who had helped him to back away further from the building with its fires already extinguished.
Clark looked back inside of the ambulance to find Kira lying on the stretcher with an oxygen mask over her face while her mother sat beside her caressing her daughter's head. Kira noticed Clark's gaze and waved at him. Clark smiled and returned the wave. He suddenly heard large footsteps increasingly getting louder behind him. As he turned around, he was met with a hulking figure of Death Arms. Behind him was Kamui Woods and the new heroine, Mt. Lady.
"So, we meet again huh, kid?" Death Arms started with a stern tone.
"You proved to be more of a troublemaker," Kamui Woods commented.
"Seriously, kid. Do you have like a death wish?" Mt. Lady asked with a raised brow.
Clark let out a light-hearted chuckle.
"Not really planning to die," Clark said. "But not really planning to let someone die either."
"As much as I find that very noble," Kamui Woods started. "It is still very irresponsible to run into danger like that. What happens if you get hurt or worse?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't regret what I did today," Clark said with a smile.
"We know you won't," Death Arms said. "As much as we berate you about your acts of stupidity, you still did good today, kid."
Clark raised a brow in surprise.
"Without your help, a mother would've lost a child today," Death Arms said with a smile. "I still find you stupid for what you did earlier, but you still did good out there."
"Thanks," Clark said with a smile.
"Rest easy, kid," Kamui Woods said as he and Death Arms walked away from Clark.
"You better not run into any trouble again next week," Mt. Lady said with a sarcastic smile.
"We'll see," Clark said jokingly.
Mt. Lady shook her head as she chuckled and followed behind Death Arms and Kamui Woods. Clark continued to place his oxygen mask over his mouth. He heard another set of footsteps going towards him.
"Excuse me!"
Clark turned to his left and saw a woman with brunette hair tied to a ponytail, wearing a navy blue suit with a white, buttoned-up shirt, and a yellow arm sleeve with green letters "NHA" written on it. Following behind her was a woman holding a camera over her shoulder. She has blonde hair with a cap over it with the words "HODO" written on it. She wore a white, spaghetti strap top, with loose green cargo pants, and black crocs.
"My name is Tanaka, Robin from NHA News Station," Robin said without missing a beat. "You're Midoriya, Izuku, right? The same boy who encountered the Slime Villain, correct?"
Clark was stunned a bit from Ms. Tanaka's relentlessness as she pointed the microphone at him. She kind of reminded him of Lois in a way. He shook off the thought and looked at the snappy reporter with a smile.
"That's correct," he said. Then Ms. Tanaka turned the microphone towards her.
"And is it true that you are quirkless?" She asked as she pointed the mic back at him.
"Yes, it's true," Clark replied.
"Then why did you run into a burning building or ran into the Slime Villain?" She asked without missing a beat. "Are you trying to prove something?" She then points the mic back at Clark.
"Not necessarily trying to prove something," Clark started. "I just saw someone who needed help. I just couldn't stay on the sidelines."
"Why not just let the professionals handle it?" Ms. Tanaka asked.
"I just couldn't," Clark simply said. "Besides, if you think about it, heroes are just ordinary people who find the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming odds." He said as he looked over to the group of heroes who were talking to some of the firefighters. He also looked over at the crowd that helped him rescue little Kira from the fire. Clark looked back at Ms. Tanaka with a proud smile. "And by that, I believe that anyone can be a hero in their own right. They just need to find the strength within themselves and use it for the good of others."
Clark stood up and slung his folded blazer on his shoulder.
"That's all I have to say," Clark finally said.
Ms. Tanaka and her camerawoman stared at Clark for a brief moment. In all of Robin's years of field reporting, she was no stranger to interviewing various Pro Heroes, enthusiastic students, and attention-seeking bystanders. But she never met someone who carried so much charisma and wisdom, from a middle schooler no less! She then shook her head to break from her stupor.
"T-thank you for your time," Ms. Tanaka said. "It was nice to talk to you."
"It was nice to talk to you, too," Clark said with a soft smile.
He then walked away from the journalist and moved towards the crowd. As he got near, the crowd began to cheer for him to his surprise. Even Kemuri and Nagai started whistling at him. Katsuki merely gave him a smirk. Clark waved at them, a bit embarrassed from their display. He felt a small vibration from his pocket. He reached down to his pocket and grabbed his phone. He had received a few messages from Mr. Yagi.
Mr. Yagi:
Alright, we'll double your training tomorrow
(sent 20 minutes ago)
MIDORIYA
I JUST SAW THE NEWS
WHAT'RE YOU THINKING?!
I'M PROUD OF YOU
BUT WHAT'RE YOU THINKING?!
(just now)
Clark winced nervously. He then received more notification from his phone. It was from his mother, sending twenty plus messages waiting to be read.
Oh boy, Clark thought as he dreaded the idea of going home.
"I know that you lot had already gotten an earful from your parents yesterday," Mr. Yagi said with a stern tone. He had his arms crossed and wore a slight frown on his face talking to Clark, Katsuki, Nagai, and Kemuri who were lined up by the stairway down to Takoba Beach Park. "I hope that yesterday's incident will be the last."
"You know what they say, third time's a charm?" Kemuri said lightheartedly while showing his sharp canines in a smile with a mix of embarrassment.
Mr. Yagi did not look impressed. Nagai punched Kemuri's shoulder, earning an "ow" from the boy. Mr. Yagi released a tired sigh while shaking his head.
"Alright, enough standing around," Mr. Yagi finally said. "Now scram!"
Katsuki stormed off down to the beach park, mumbling something to himself while Nagai and Kemuri followed behind. Clark stayed behind as he watched the three boys walking down the steps. Clark looked back at Mr. Yagi.
"I'm really sorry that I made you worry, Yagi-san," Clark said.
"No worries, my boy," Mr. Yagi replied. "I would've done the same if I were in your shoes," he said with a smile.
Clark returned a smile to his mentor.
"Now then," Mr. Yagi clapped his hands as his smile widened in excitement. "We have to catch up on your training, my boy!"
"There he is!"
Both Mr. Yagi and Clark flinched at the sudden voice. As they turned around, they were surprised to find a large number of people waiting by the entrance to the park. Clark recognized a few faces from the crowd. Ayane walked towards Clark, along with some of his classmates from Aldera.
"Hey, Midoriya," she greeted.
"Akari-san?" Clark asked in confusion. "What're guys doing here?"
"First of all, drop the honorifics," Ayane said as he placed a hand on her hip. "As for your question, we just wanna help out." She said with a smirk.
"But why?" Clark asked, genuinely curious.
"Is it bad not to help a friend out?" Ayane said with a soft smile.
Clark was dumbfounded by her response. He then smiled at her and let out a chuckle.
"Plus, it's my way of saying thank you for… you know… your help," Ayane said a bit embarrassed. "I asked some of the people from class if they wanted to help out. Your little inspirational speech on the news really inspired them."
Clark's classmates began looking away from embarrassment. Clark noticed another person walking up to him. It was Mr. Hoshi and behind him were some of the people from yesterday.
"That's right, kid," Mr. Hoshi said. "Like you said, us ordinary folks can become heroes. Why not help you out with your community project of yours?"
Again, Clark found himself dumbfounded at the amount of people that came just to help him. At the corner of his eye, he saw someone running up at him. It was little Shinji and behind him was his kindergarten class, along with his teacher and the kids' parents.
"I wanna help you too, Oni-chan!" Shinji said cheerfully. "I wanna be brave just like you!"
Clark gave Shinji a gentle smile. He kneeled down and placed his hand on Shinji's shoulder.
"You're already braver than you think, Shinji," he said. He then looked at the people who came here. He then stood up. "Thank you, all of you. Your help means a lot to me."
People that volunteered for the clean-up started going down the steps towards the beach park. Clark and Mr. Yagi stayed up, overlooking the trash-littered beach. The new volunteers are being ushered by Nagai and Kemuri, even the very reluctant Katsuki.
"So much for cleaning up the beach single handedly," Toshinori said with a slight frustration. "I just have to say, it's interesting to see people take interest in helping you clean all this up just because you've inspired them." He continued as he felt amazed at the sight before him.
"Isn't this why we do it?" Midoriya asked, making Toshinori turn to his protege with a raised brow. "All those people down there have at one point experienced hardships in their lives. Odds that they can't seem to overcome. I want to help them realize that they are stronger than they think they are and find the strength to help themselves. To lift each other up. To build a sense of community. That is the dream I want to fight for."
Clark continued to watch the volunteers as they continued to pick up some trash. He saw a group of people helping each other in hauling a large refrigerator. The kindergarten teacher, along some of his classmates from Aldera help teach the little kids how to organize the trash.
"A better tomorrow," Clark said longingly.
Toshinori stared at Midoriya in awe as the boy looked up at the afternoon sun set. He really was lucky. I couldn't have picked a better successor. Young Midoriya has proved that he was worthy of One For All. Deep in Toshinori's gut, he knew the boy would change the world. He looked towards the sun set with a proud smile.
"That's one hell of a dream, my boy," Toshinori finally said.
"Then I'm a proud dreamer," Clark replied with a smile.
Toshinori let out a chuckle.
"Me too, kid," Toshinori simply said.
Katsuki looked over at the people around him. People from all ages get together to help clean up Takoba, all because of one person. He looked up by the entrance of the beach and saw Deku and the skeleton guy stood and watched the sun set. Katsuki stared at them with a blank expression then walked away towards a trash heap.
A day has passed and classes have ended. Everyone in the classroom began to pack their belongings, except for Clark and Katsuki. It was their turn to clean the classroom. It was another culture shock for Clark when he first heard about it. The idea of it was to instill good values to the students by teaching them the importance of cleanliness, which Clark wholeheartedly respected.
"We'll see you at Takoba!" Ayane said as left the classroom along with her friends.
Clark's other classmates that helped clean-up yesterday also waved him farewell, prompting him to wave in response at them as well. As their classmates left the classroom, Clark began to erase the chalk from the chalkboard while Katsuki started sweeping the floor. After erasing the writings on the board, Clark took a cloth and started wiping the chalkboard.
"Deku."
Clark paused for a bit and looked towards Katsuki who was still sweeping the floor.
"What's your deal with that Yagi guy?" Katsuku asked, still sweeping the floor.
"W-what do you mean?" Clark asked in a bit of confusion at Katsuki's sudden question.
"I'm not dumb, alright," Katsuki said as he stopped sweeping and turned towards Clark. He wasn't mad at Clark and neither was his tone. "That old man's been training you for two weeks now. What're you training for?"
Clark was lost for words. He couldn't tell Katsuki about Mr. Yagi being All Might or even about One For All. At least not right now. He planned to tell Katsuki about it after he received One For All, but right now it wasn't his secret to tell. So, Clark was in a conundrum. He was about to open his mouth.
"You don't have to tell me," Katsuki said to Clark's surprise. He has never been more curious and confused at the same time. Though, Katsuki's tone was a bit somber. "To be honest, I don't have the right to know what secret you're keeping or what you're preparing for with that kind of training."
Katsuki paused for a moment and briefly looked down to the ground. He was struggling to say the words he needed to say. Clark waited patiently to let Katsuki think about what he was going to tell him. Katsuki took a deep breath.
"All those times I've tried to push you away," Katsuki finally said. "It was because I was jealous of you. As a kid, I always wanted to be a hero just like All Might," he continued as he looked towards Clark. "You've never really shown interest in becoming a hero, you even just played along whenever we play "Heroes vs. Villains". But you act just like All Might. You smile, you're brave, and you help people whenever you can. Even when we made fun of you for being quirkless, you would still smile like nothing ever bothered you. And even though I would bully you with my quirk, you would just keep standing up."
Clark could hear Katsuki's tone begin to quiver. His eyes began to collect moisture. Katsuki looked down to the ground trying to hide his face from Clark.
"I just hate to admit it," he continued. "That you could've been a better hero than me. I mean, just look at what happened in the past week! You've managed to inspire a lot of people to help clean up Takoba. You selflessly ran into danger so you could save lives and expect nothing from it! That is the very definition of being a damn hero!" Katsuki said in a frustrated tone.
"But I'm nothing like that," Katsuki said somberly, "I have a powerful quirk, and for what? I used it to hurt people, make them fear me, and expected everyone to bow down to me…. I'm no hero. I'm a bully." He said as he closed his eyes.
"If I have the ability to give my quirk away, I would give it to you. You would've used it better than I did," Katsuki finally said. A single tear rained down on his cheek. He quickly turned around and grabbed the dustpan. "I know that this is late, but… I-I'm sorry."
Katsuki quickly walked towards the classroom door. As he was about to slide it open, a hand was placed on his shoulder. It wasn't forceful, but it was firm enough to stop on his tracks.
"You're not a bad person, Katsuki." Izuku said. Katsuki looked back at Izuku, showing tears in his eyes.. "But you're not perfect either, no one is. But you can be better. The fact that you reflected on your actions and tried to make things right? That counts for something. And don't say you're no hero. What happens to the hero that always wins every battle no matter what?" Izuku asked with a smirk. "So don't lose to your own doubts, Katsuki. You can be a hero, you just have to keep proving yourself and be a better person as well. Don't ever lose faith in yourself, because I haven't."
Katsuki stared wide-eyed at Izuku. His tears kept running down his cheeks. He looked away from Izuku, prompting him to take his hand from Katsuki's shoulder. Katsuki wiped his face with the sleeve of his blazer. As he recovered, Katsuki turned his head slightly to Izuku.
"Thank you… Izuku." He said softly.
Katsuki slid the door open and walked out of the room along with the dustpan with dirt in it. As the door slid close, Clark was all alone in the classroom. He reflected on what happened over the week. His choice to inherit One For All had proved to be one of his best decisions he ever made. In the world full of heroes, there were a lot of people out there that haven't realized their worth. Who still feel inadequate and alone. The people of this world needed someone to help them realize that they can be more. They needed a friend. A friend who fights for truth and justice.
Clark noticed the sunlight shining through the windows behind him. As he turned, he let the golden light bathe his whole frame. He stood tall, with his face filled with confidence and determination. No matter what parallel universe he was in, there will always be a job for Superman.
Author's Note:
And that's the end of Clark's journey, for now.
I love writing these chapters, especially featuring one of my favorite superhero! I want to bring focus on the important aspects of what makes Superman so special. It was his kindness and his wisdom. And I hope I gave a good representation of those aspects in my stories.
Thank you for your time and take care!