Zero Hero || MHA ||

18. Panic! At the Festival

The shrill sounds of a firecracker echoed in the air. Turning to the sky, I saw a tiny orb fly up. It erupted into little pieces of blue, sparkling stars. I watched as they glittered away and disappeared into the night.

"Ph-phew! That scared me," Midoriya remarked, clutching his chest.

I stared up at the darkness expecting another firework to appear but nothing happened. People around us were confused too. Talking amidst themselves, a young girl that resembled a tadpole 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.

Midoriya turned to me. "I'm sorry that I came so suddenly. You must've been surprised. It looked like you were in trouble with Kacchan, so..."

I reassured him that what he did was a smart move. I thanked him for helping me, yet he denied that he did anything special.

"No... I really mean it," I told him earnestly. "I...I'm not sure what would've happened if you didn't come."

He called him Kacchan again. I always wondered why he called him that and when I asked, 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 was always surrounded by flames. He had a 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 said to me. I don't know if that's true though, because she liked to exaggerate a lot.

Midoriya asked me if I was here to see them too. I told him was going to 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, because 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 sound of drums began to play as excited chatter rose in the crowd. Looking to the right, a line of drummers began marching down the street wearing elaborate outfits. Their hat, their shirt, their pants, everything about them were sparkly; they were practically twinkling like stars. Men with red face paint blew fire at us with their Quirks. Costumed heroes on floats came by and waved at us. 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...