Once More (My Hero Academia)

4: Home

The moment Izuku arrived home, he noticed his mother's expression.

"Izuku, I need to talk to you."

"Yeah... I kinda wanted to talk as well." Izuku took a seat on the couch.

"Well let me speak first." His mom clasped her hands together, "I've been really worried about you lately. Are you OK?"

"I'm --" He stopped himself and looked away.

"No," he whispered.

"Izuku, baby, look at me." His mom gently lifted his face to meet her gaze, "It's ok. Whatever you're going through, know that I'm always here for you."

That's when Izuku realized, sometimes, when people were locked in a cage, no amount of sheer force can break through-- it was the most simple key that unlocked it.

Tears flowed uncontrollably, and before Izuku knew it, he was bawling his eyes out in his mother's embrace. He cried like a 5-year-old, while his mom just gently patted him on the back.

When he was finally cried out, his mom handed him a cup of warm tea.

He drank it, feeling relieved for the first time since he traveled back in time.

•••

February 26.

The day of the U.A. entrance exam.

Izuku wiped the sweat off his face, stood up straight, and looked proudly at the result of his hard work.

The beach was spotless. The early rays of sunshine peeked from the horizon, casting a long glow across the gentle waves.

He did it. Again.

Then suddenly Izuku heard a distant voice behind him shouting, "OH MY GOODNESS". He turned back to see muscular All Might sprinting towards him at full speed. If it were for anyone else this would be a very intimidating moment.

"Midoriya my boy," All Might said once he skidded to a stop in front of Izuku, "I've only been gone for a few days and now the beach is absolutely clean! You did it!"

"Yeah, but I still have a long way to go," Izuku said as he threw away the garbage bag filled with the last tiny pieces of garbage he cleaned up this morning. When he turned back to All Might, the hero was looking very serious.

Wordlessly, the hero plucked a piece of golden hair from his head and dramatically held it in front of Izuku.

The boy stared at it for a moment, then looked up at the hero with determination.

He carefully took the hair. "I won't let you down, All Might."

"You deserved it." The hero nodded, "I now know why I chose you as my successor. You just don't give up. However, you really should listen to me and stop overworking yourself!"

"If I don't, there will be people I can't save," Izuku said.

"You will become a great hero. Well, if you aren't already one." All Might said, "now eat it."

Then a breeze flowed past the two and they both shrieked when the hair slipped from Izuku's fingers and disappeared after falling on the sand.

"Uh... I think I dropped it." Izuku blinked, "can I have another one?"

Then they both burst out laughing while All Might plucked another hair for Izuku, and the boy choked it down.

•••

8:40 AM

Izuku arrived at U.A. and started crying.

"What the hell's wrong with that guy?" Someone whispered, staring at Izuku like he was some kind of lunatic.

"Shh! Look away!" Someone else hissed.

Izuku ignored them. They didn't know that he hasn't seen U.A. in more than 10 months. The last time he came here, he was leaving all his friends and family in search of the villains.

The blue glass building, the trees, the road...

"Get outta my way, Deku!"

Izuku bounced out of the way instinctively.

Bakugou scoffed and walked past Izuku.

"Hey, uh..." Izuku said, "You probably don't need it but... Good luck."

"Ha," Bakugou sneered, "As if I want your pathetic luck."

Izuku just sighed as his childhood friend walked away into the building.

Then out of the corner of his eye, Izuku spotted a familiar figure, and he almost started crying again.

The brunette was wearing a pink scarf, her cheeks pink. She noticed Izuku looking at her and smiled.

"Really nerve-wracking, right?" Uraraka stopped in her tracks next to Izuku and said.

"Ye-yeah," Izuku stuttered.

"Well, I guess I'll see you inside!" Uraraka waved and walked away.

"Good luck!" Izuku beamed.

Izuku sat next to Bakugou for the orientation. He listened to Present Mic's explanation of the robot exam, but he already knew about it and had been planning strategies for weeks.

And soon Izuku was standing in front of the large entrance gate to the battle center.

The entrance exam will start in a few minutes.