A Second Chance (IzuOcha Future Story)

A Festival Never To Be Forgotten

It didn't take long for Izuku to make it to the bottom of the hole, landing on the pile of broken wooden floorboards about a meter away from the entrance. And it didn't take long for him to find Uraraka, slumped on the edge of the pile at the bottom.

He quickly slid down the pile to reach her where his breath got cut off by the sight of her limp, unconscious body. Her hair was no longer in a bun, the visor on her helmet was cracked, and there were streaks of blood coming from her forehead and pouring down her face. Crouching next to her, he hesitantly placed two fingers at the junction of her neck. The tension in Izuku completely dissipated on feeling a pulse there.

"Oh, thank goodness..." He breathed a sigh of relief. He then checked her over to find any injuries to her.

"There's blood on her head, so definitely head injury. Could also be a concussion but since she was wearing a helmet, that's less likely." He muttered his thoughts. "Doesn't seem to be any more injuries, but I don't want to move her, in case..." As he continued with his analysis, his sight landed on her face, causing his verbal train of thought to stop.

With her unconscious expression, there was no smile present on her. Her usual bright smile was no longer there, making Izuku, once again, think back to the night 2 years ago. Where he almost lost her there like he almost lost her now. 

"Uraraka..." Izuku reached out his hand towards her, though hesitant at first, and gently cupped her face.

"I... I like you. I really like you, Uraraka."

As those words finally slipping out of his mouth, he could feel some long-lasting weight being removed from him, but it wasn't enough. The feeling of guilty was still present and that only made him frustrated, along with the entire situation at that moment.

"I-I'm sorry... If only I could correct my mistake so easily. To fix what I almost lost..." He gently caressed her check with his thumb as he spoke. "I'm almost lost you that night because of what I said. Because of this whole misunderstand that was... so easy to fix."

Soon, feelings of doubt started to accompany him. "Even so... I still don't think... I can be with you. Not with everything going on with me..." He sighed, removing his hand from her hands, but his eyes never left with her. "I don't know anymore..." Even with the adrenaline from the fight and even before still relatively present, there was a numbness to him. One that he couldn't pinpoint where it originated – Uraraka, Vanish, the whole Hero Festival.

Society itself has put you at such a pedestal, that the moment heroes collapse in this world, society will fall along with it.

Even with the capture of the villain, the damage was already done. An event meant to provide fun and security, was disrupted in an instant. Fear in society may increase, along with the distrust in heroes, which had slowly been increasing over the years. Izuku hated thinking like this, but with everything that had happened, within the silence that surrounded him, it was all he could think about. How he had to work even harder to become the hero people could look up to.

"That's why... I can't be with you..." He rubbed his face, trying to remove some of the negative thoughts swirling in him.

"He... An... He-lo?... Ca... hea....?"

Suddenly, Izuku started to hear static voices coming from his ear, instantly being reminded of the earpiece he had. He quickly pressed his finger onto the device. "H-Hello?"

"He...? I can't... ou? Wh... ere?" The voice continued to be static with no sign of improvement.

"I hope my earpiece isn't broken." Izuku worried verbally. He looked around the darkened place, before coming to realise his position was away from the gaping hole.