"I'm sorry, is this Ms. Midoriya Inko?"
Panic, that was the only descriptor for her right now. She had got off work and got on the highway. She was going to see her son fight in some sort of tournament. She didn't like the idea of see him hurt, but she thought he'd at least be safe… It was a Hero school, after all…
"I… I regret to inform you that your son, Izuku… There's been an incident… He's in critical condition – if you'll give us your location we can arrange transport."
Wrong… just wrong… She had to resist her urge to stomp the pedal – to blaze hellfire down these roads, to him. Her son… What happened to him? They didn't tell her; couldn't tell her. Her knuckles were white, her fingers were cramping around the steering wheel, her mind buzzed, and her stomach churned. She teetered in her seat, taking deep breaths and trying to keep pace.
Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, "I-Izuku… God…" She sucked in breath, trying to hold that lump in her throat, "Please, please, please… be okay, be okay…" Inko could barely stand when she got out of the car. She brushed past the officer, stumbling into the hospital's lobby. A few Heroes were there, nursing their legs and arms.
A woman with fiery green hair was pacing before the ER's exit – her gaze snapped upward. Her expression of worry and fear shifted to something else, concern or guilt… Inko's tears pooled, dribbling down her face. A sound of impact caused her to stumble, nearly cripple her. She turned to see a towering woman with bunny ears holding a small old lady in her arms.
The elderly woman pushed out of the Hero's arms, rushing inside, "I must move quickly. Nurse, I need to sanitize myself, and inform the director that I am here."
"O-Of course, Recovery Girl."
"Ma'am!" cried an officer, stepping after Inko.
Inko looked across the waiting room, "My son… He isn't here. Where is he?"
"Ma'am, please—"
She grabbed the man's arm, "Please, take me to him, please."
"He… He, uh…"
A nurse stepped forward, offering, "He requires surgery, ma'am. He's being prepped for that as we speak. Allow me to take you to his room, where you can wait. A doctor will be in shortly to discuss details."
Inko's tears flowed as she took to the nurse, "S-Surgery!? W-What happened?"
The nurse's face contorted, deepening the pit in Inko's stomach, "There… We should discuss this in private—"
Inko's knees quaked, "No! Tell me! Just… tell me!" She tried not to yell, she tried not to scream – all she did was cry, "None of you… Why won't any of you just tell me he's okay!?" She took the nurse's hands, trying to look her in the eyes, "My son, my Izuku! Just… Please!" Her legs grew weaker and weaker, "Just… tell me he's okay… Let him be okay…"
Everything she held was released when her legs finally gave way. She cried and cried – she didn't have the strength when two nurses pulled her onto her feet. She didn't fight them as she was pulled out of the lobby and out of public space.
-XXX-
For the first time, in a very long time, Usagiyama Rumi felt weak. She felt slow; she felt dumb; she felt guilty. A part of her could've laid blame on Ingenium as shitty as that would've been. He got in that mess which got the… boy… Izuku… "No…" she thought. She really couldn't. Stain didn't land the final blow until she had arrived. Until she could've done something. She was there – the browning red that stained her white costume was evidence enough. And then, there was that part of her that was about to leave the kid for dead… Catch Stain, no matter the cost… Kid was practically dead already… She could've caught the villain….
The thought felt like bile on her tongue. Abandon the boy—Izuku just to, maybe, catch the Hero Killer? What was wrong with her? Why the hell did she even consider it in the first place? She's supposed to be protecting people, helping people. Beating up the bad guys was just the easiest way of doing it, but not the sole way. A pit burrowed its way into her stomach as she found a seat in the hospital lobby. "It's my fault… Stain got away because I wasn't fast enough… Izuku is dying because I wasn't good enough…" she thought, putting her face in her hands.
-XXX-
Each sob and cry ripped another tear into Tensei's already broken body. He was on his feet, trying to find someone to speak to – about the boy. However, all he found were cries of a mother. Failure was a natural part of life, but this made him sick. How could he call himself a Hero? He couldn't even save one boy – he was the one needed saving. He couldn't look that mother in eye as she was pulled past him. How could he? What could he even say? Would he call her son a Hero? Tell her how the child saved his life? How he couldn't do the same in return…?
Tensei found the wall, slowly skidding to the ground. "Dammit…" He needed to get up; he needed to tell that mother how brave her son was; he needed to admit his fault. To beg for her forgiveness, or to endure her wrath. To be criticized for his failure, so that he may resolve it to repair the damage he allowed. He willed his body to move, but found it still, shaking, weak… A weight held his shoulders, chained his ankles – shame. Shame was all he felt. He couldn't… he couldn't face her. "How could I face anyone…?" he thought, staring at the ceiling.
-XXX-
Midoriya Izuku laid upon a table. His head was secured while his right arm and lower body were draped in blue tarp. His bloodied torso and left arm were left exposed, and the latter was extended. Blood still pumped from exposed tissue; drained from the torso via a tube while the hand was drained into a bowled stand. IV units of varying solutions were injected into the same arm – not dripping, but waiting. Nurses monitored his failing condition. His heart rate was steadily dropping while a ventilator was used to maintain his oxygen intake.
Recovery Girl and two surgeons were brought into the room with a trio of nurses with them. All were sanitized, gloves, and covered in a suit. A surgeon stood before the patient's hand, removing a recovered thumb from a refrigeration container. The other stood at the patient's side, overlooking the torso. Recovery Girl stood at the teen's shoulder, allowing a nurse to pull down her mask.
Recovery Girl asked, "Nurse, the time?"
"1200, ma'am," he replied.
The surgery began once Recovery Girl's lips met Midoriya Izuku's shoulder.
-XXX-
Kaminari Denki sat in a classroom – all students were directed to leave the field once the police had arrived. Parents and family members were lead to the cafeteria. Mr. Haimawari stood outside the main door, pacing and waiting. The students inside were buzzing about him and Midoriya. Kaminari stared at the ground. Shinso and Jirou exchanged looks, trying to come up with something to say. Ashido was pacing around them while Yaoyorozu was trying to keep the class under control.
Ashido offered, "He could be fine." She reconsidered, "He's probably fine!" She shook her head, "He is fine!"
"Y-Yeah, Kaminari. I don't think Midoriya would get into too much trouble…", trailed off Shinso.
"He's… a smart guy! He would've avoided anything too dangerous," said Jirou.
"Yeah, he would've."
Ashido swung her arm, "He totally gonna come back and be… his… usual self…"
"He might even crack a joke about it," suggested Jirou.
Shinso patted the blond's shoulder, "If he was involved in anything, he'd be safe at the police station." He reiterated, "He's fine." His version was weaker than Ashido's.
"Yeah… Has to be. He's fine…" And, Jirou's was weaker than his.
They kept finding ways to reiterate it. To reassure themselves and each other of something that was becoming harder and harder to believe. All until they couldn't, but they kept trying all the same. They tried to will belief into themselves and hoped that belief would manifest in reality. Midoriya Izuku was fine. Midoriya Izuku was safe. Midoriya Izuku was alive. And they'd be hearing from him any time now…
Kaminari Denki sat in a classroom, staring at the ground…
-XXX-
Midoriya Izuku's life was short – he realized that as he drifted deeper into the abyss. His father left before he could even remember the man's face. His mother raised him in her lonesome. She worked hard everyday, got passed up for promotions, and slaved away to provide – to care. She was judged for losing her husband; was treated as if all the difficulties of raising him alone was her own fault… But now that burden was fading, drifting away.
Primary school and junior high were muddled together. They felt like a repeating record, the same verse over and over: Midoriya Izuku and Bakugo Katsuki – childhood friends, victim and bully. Bakugo's laughter, other's laughter, echoed and rose. Sparks of light and the rumblings of explosions ripped them all away.
"You wanna be a Hero so bad…? If you think you'll have a Quirk in your next life… go take a swan dive off the roof!"
Shiketsu… So many faces blurred and smudged. He felt as if there was a chain between them. He remembered his listless stagnation. He remembered all the useless things he carried and how it stoked the chain, making it larger and heavier. They were pulled alongside him, downward. However, as his life neared its end, the chain broke one by one, and released them from their sinking fate.
"A Pro should always be ready to risk his life. Without power, can one become a Hero? No, I should think not."
It was a strange feeling as he saw his life end. A feeling of vindication – as if everything had led up to this, to that. That moment was where he made his choice, when he found his own vindication. He saved Ingenium; delayed the Hero Killer. Him… He… The quirkless boy was a Hero… even for a short time. It remade his life before his very eyes as if it were all meant for that one moment.
It made it all worthwhile. It brought peace to him as the film of his life trailed towards its end.
And then… Midoriya Izuku opened his eyes…
There was no peace.
-\ XXX /-
AN: First, I want to give a huge thank you for everyone who's read this story. For reviewing it, favoriting, and following! I also want to give a special thank you for those who followed me over from Quirkless Hero: Deku and are still with me. Thank you so much again. It feels awesome to reach this milestone and I can't wait to continue.
Now, this chapter wasn't really meant to be about the fallout of the last. The initial idea was to make it a trailer of sorts for Season 2. But I thought about the people who'll read the chapters back to back after Season 2 started, realized how both jarring that was and thus dropped that idea. That's how we got this emotional rollercoaster.
Now, this chapter is incredibly short because it is an epilogue of the first season and more meant to act as a retrospective place. I think the largest issue for Season 1 was its pacing. While I think the length does assist in some of the storytelling, it's still too long. It was meant to only be 12 chapters, but was extended to near twenty. There is a middle ground that I just haven't found yet.
The other issue I personal have would be my noncommitment to the angsty side of things. I think that the ending portion of this story would work a lot more if I leaned into the cocktail that is depression and self-loathing for Midoriya. However, I also thought that putting too much in the story would've resulted in a story too heavy to enjoy. Or so angsty that it reaches edgelord territory. So, for those thinking I was already there, it could've been worse.
Beyond that, I thought it'd be fun to mention some stuff that was going to be included, but was ultimately cut. For example, Midoriya was initially not going to lose his thumb and get a big slash across his chest. He was actually going to lose a whole arm. This was ultimately decided against due to the recovery time for such a injury as well as therapy for the prosthetic wouldn't work in the overall timeline.
I don't know why I made it seem like a list. It's pretty much the one. A few other events were cut, but they are now on the backburner. I'm gonna use them later, so I don't want to spoil it.
Alright, so with this Season over, I'm going to take a break. Which just means I won't be posting next month. I will return the following with Season 2, Chapter 20: "What's Past is Prologue".
EDIT: Due to a recent review, I did realize that I forgot to explain why I'm treating the story as a Seasonal project. It's mostly to fix an issue I had writing Quirkless Hero: Deku. Doing a continuous, serialized story made me feel trapped down a narrative path. Breaking it up as Seasons allows me to reexamine past work and readjust the story as needed. It also allows for some narrative impact as I can leave cliffhangers like these and let readers soak it in for a time. (Also provides a good way to excuse some potential timeskips I have planned in the future.)
With that, please comment away! I'll see you in April! And thank you all again so much for entertaining this project!
Update Window: April 20th - April 30th
Intended Due Date: April 20th - 25th