Zero Hero ||MHA||

18. Panic! At the Festival

The shrill sounds of a firecracker echoed in the air as a tiny orb soared into the sky. It erupted into little pieces of blue, sparkling stars. After a few seconds, they glittered away and disappeared into the night. I stared expecting more, but nothing happened. People around us were confused too. Talking amidst themselves, a tadpole kid asked the girl next to her what was happening. The girl, who I'm assuming was her sister, shrugged. She croaked that maybe they fired it off on accident. That made sense, it must've been a mistake. It's not the time for the fireworks display either—that happened after the parade and the meet-and-greet.

"Ph-phew! That scared me," Midoriya remarked, clutching his chest. Midoriya turned to me. "I'm sorry that I appeared out of the blue. You must've been surprised. It looked like you were in trouble with Kacchan, so..."

I reassured him that what he did helped. I thanked him. Being the humble guy he was, he said he didn't do much.

"No... I really mean it," I told him, Bakugo's fiery eyes flashing in my mind. "I'm not sure what would've happened if you hadn't come."

He called him Kacchan again. When I asked about it, Midoriya told me that they'd known each other since they were kids. "I guess I still call him that out of habit," he remarked, rubbing the back of his head.

Is that why he went to save him from the sludge monster? Because he was his childhood friend?

He was quiet for a moment. He stood there, his eyes glued to his red high-tops. He looked a bit guilty for some reason, and I didn't understand why. It's not his fault that Bakugo's such a jerk. I decided to break the silence. Noticing his All Might t-shirt, I asked him if he came to see the heroes.

"O-oh! Yeah. I came to watch the parade. I was hoping that I could maybe meet with some of the heroes that are coming. I really wanted to see Endeavor and maybe get his autograph, but he's kind of intimidating..."

If I'm right, Endeavor was the hero who had a strong fire-based Quirk. He's the second-best hero after All Might, and some people say he's salty over that. Well, that's what Static claimed. I don't know if that's true though, since she tended to stretch the truth.

Midoriya asked me if I was here to see them too. I told him was gonna meet with a friend, but my plans changed when I lost my brother.

"Your brother's gone? That sounds like bad news," he nervously said. "W-we should get help."

He started to run off when one of the festival employees told him he couldn't cross the street since the parade was starting. Pushing my way through the crowd that had formed, I made my way back to Midoriya. Noticing me, he let out a small shriek.

"Eek! You scared me!" he exclaimed. "I tried explaining to the man that somebody's missing, but he just ignored me..."

The pounding of drums vibrated through the air as excited chatter rose among the crowd. Looking to the right, a line of drummers marched down the street wearing elaborate outfits. Their hat, their shirt, their pants, everything about them was sparkly; they were practically twinkling like stars. Men with red face paint blew fire at us with their Quirks. Costumed heroes on floats passed by, waving. I recognized a few of them, particularly Midnight and Gunhead. Gunhead, who noticed me, gave me a wave and I waved back awkwardly. Most people would be ecstatic if that were to happen to them, but I was a bit embarrassed. I've gotten into so much trouble that heroes recognize me...

People clapped and cheered as more heroes walked by.

"Woo!!"

"Thank you for everything, heroes!"