KiriDeku: Smile for Me

Chapter 1

I once heard that friendship was like fishing. Just like sitting there and waiting for the good catches, it's the same when it comes to meeting and forming relationships with people. Someone may come at first, but that friendship might not necessarily last long. Other times it may not even be a person that you're looking for, because both of you differ too much from each other.

In the fishing metaphor, the line represents a connection and the fish, a possible friend. How fast you reel it in will effect the outcome of the friendship. Reel it in too fast and it could break, too slow and you lose their interest. What makes it even harder is that there's no perfect method that will work for all. Each fish or person is different. They move at their own paces. It almost seems impossible for it to work, but in some miraculous way it does. The fish makes it into the boat.

Depending on how good the catch is, determines what kind of friendship it'll be. Something common may bring a lot of friends, but they may not be the close kind. Something unique could bring a special kind of friendship you rarely experience. All catches will affect the fisherman differently. Just like meeting all sorts of people shape your personality and who you become. I myself, Izuku Midoriya, haven't had the chance to meet someone like that yet, but I hope that one day I will.

Growing up, I wasn't fortunate to make genuine connections, let alone to call someone my friend. Most of the time I faced rejection, especially in my early elementary years. Kids simply weren't interested in claiming me as their playmate. Although once in a while, if luck came my way, I'd manage to have some good moments with a person. We'd play together for a bit and hang out. It'd only last for a few days and then we'd lose the spark. They would go on to find others and I would eventually be alone all over again.

As time passed on I got used to it. What was bothersome at first, became accepted and expected. It wasn't always like this. At one point I did have someone. Although it was a long time ago.

Back in kindergarten, there was a boy who always chased me around, he was from a different classroom. I remember his excitement every time we saw each other outside. It would be just the two of us, most of time on the playground. We'd laugh and talk about anything. Each time, each day, each moment. They all flew by. Our fun times together never felt too long. Like it was always cut short unexpectedly, leaving us wishing that we had more.

That time in my life was probably one of the happiest for me. It was a light for my heart. A light that would shine on the darker days to come. As much as my loneliness ate away at my soul, those memories provided me with enough strength to keep going. In my heart, I cherished that boy, yet I hardly remember him now. His face comes to me as a blank. All I know of him is his smile, something I could never forget. However that's all in the past.

After kindergarten I never saw him again. Because I found someone so great like him, it deepened the emptiness I felt inside during my elementary years. My heart could not open up to anyone since then. It's been six years. And now I'm starting middle school. I don't know what is to come my way, but I hope, no I know something will change. Something will.

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In the spring, the cherry blossoms bloom, like fireworks going off, one after the other. Their petals chase each other in the wind, bending to its command. Altogether it forms a flurry that gives off the guise of a flowing pink sea. In the midst, the birds take flight, leaving behind their nests. Some have eggs, that have been hatched, while others still patiently wait for new life to inhabit its space. These signs are the effects of the season. They call forth the age of new beginnings.

From down below, the walkways are packed with many students. Their chatter fills the early morning atmosphere as they pass through. Groups of girls stroll together, giggling and teasing each other. They're the more livelier bunch compared to the boys. Many of the guys stick to their causal pods of twos or threes. Some are too tired to speak, yet others remain quiet and shift their attention to the girls' conversations. Despite the wide range of emotions openly displayed, the wave that rushes out from all of them, is the excitement and curiosity that comes with the new school year.