{MHA} The Lonely Pyromaniac

26

-Ikemoto-

I was jolted out of my stupor when Izuku found me and shook my shoulder. "Ike-kun, are you okay? Where's Jiro?"

"She uh, she went home."

Izuku didn't look satisfied with that answer, but thankfully he didn't pry. "Let's just go home, okay?"

The walk home was quiet, the only sound keeping us from silence was the sound of Izuku's ugly red shoes hitting the pavement as he walked. It wasn't his fault; the shoes were loud because the soles had to be more durable and wide to accommodate for his extra toe joint. The ugly, bright red was to mark him as lesser.

"Ike-kun? Are you sure you're okay?"

"Huh?" I asked in confusion.

"It's just... you looked really angry again."

"Nothing. I was just thinking that it's not fair," I grumbled. Izuku tilted his head, shoes still clacking irritatingly against the pavement. "It's not fair that you were treated differently."

Izuku's laugh and grin caught me off guard. "You're right, Ike-kun, but it's fine now! I've got my own quirk, and I wouldn't have gotten it if I wasn't quirkless before. Nothing bad's gonna happen to me now."

"But your shoes!" I protested.

Izuku stopped smiling. "The shoes are important to me, Ike-kun. As long as I have them, I'm gonna remember where I came from, and where I want to be someday. I'm gonna be the greatest hero of all time, and once that happens, maybe the quirkless kids in the world will see my shoes and know what they mean."

I looked at him in awe. His bright green eyes betrayed no sign of doubt in his goals– only a strict determination to become what he said he wanted to be. "When you become a hero," I blurted, "You'll remember me, right?"

His grin came back in full force. "Of course I will, Ike-kun! You're my brother; how could I forget you?"

I opened my mouth to respond but was cut off by All Might suddenly skidding around the corner in front of us. "YOUNG MIDORIYA!!"

"ALL MIGHT!!" Izuku yelled, half shocked, half ecstatic. "What are you doing here?"

All Might fixed me with a pointed look. "If I may, I'd like to speak with young Midoriya alone?"

I swallowed hard. Couldn't the hero see that we were having an important moment? "Yeah whatever. See you at home, Nii-san."

I pushed past the number one pro and stormed back home. I shouldn't have been angry; Izuku was All Might's protégé and it made sense that they'd need time to themselves. It was just... frustrating that we had been interrupted that's all.

I opened the door to the apartment. The place was dark and it was cold.

-Izuku-

No matter how many times it happened, talking to All Might one-on-one was still a surreal experience. "What do you need?" I asked eagerly, following behind him as we made our way to Takoba Municipal Beach.

All Might was uncharacteristically hushed. When we got there, he sat down on the bench and wrung his hands as I stood in front of him. "Well, young Midoriya... What I'm about to tell you is going to require a very difficult decision on your part. In fact, I don't think I'd have the guts to accept this offer myself," he said shakily.

I was instantly on high alert. "What's the matter? Is your time limit getting shorter? How can I help? Are you going to be okay?"

"I think I'll be okay, but I don't know if you will be," he said darkly. He produced a sheet of paper that had been clipped onto his belt. "My former trainer, Gran Torino, offered you an internship."