The neglected but loved hero

Chapter 25: Family

(A/N: Alright, I've decided that I can't currently write 2000 words for each chapter. It just kicks my ass to the point it just takes so long to write a chapter. For right now, I'm going back to about 1000 to 1200 words and slowly increase it from there.

Izumi POV

I was sitting up in my bed, writing in a journal I had started with all the things Ms Mirko taught me, when my room door opened. I expected it to be Izuku or Ms Mirko or maybe one of my friends but instead... it was someone I didn't want to see. Dad.

"Izumi, I heard what happened. Are you okay?"

I just looked down at my closed journal, angry. "Yeah. I'm fine."

He walked up to the side of my bed. "Hey, what's wrong? You haven't been acting yourself for a while now."

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong."

He didn't seem to believe me. "Please. I know you and this isn't you."

"Do you dad?" He looked at me confused. "Do you really know me? How I feel? I'm fucking tired dad! Tired of you always saying how I'm the strongest or the best or anything like that! At one point, I fucking believed that bullshit! But now?! Now... I know the truth. I'm normal. I'm not above anyone else. I was just a normal, scared girl who just wanted yours and mom's approval.

You kept putting me on this damn pedestal. Saying that no one will stand in my way. Well you know what? Izuku does. He's far stronger than me. I can't even be sure I'll ever be on his level. He had no reason to... to help me. To save me from going down the road I was headed in. He humbled me the day we fought. I was completely outmatched. And at the sports festival? I couldn't even scratch him with all of my power.

He could have just left me behind, moved on with his life and left me to continue being the terrible person I was. The terrible person you were pushing me into being. The terrible things I did to him I could have done to so many others. But I'll always be indebted to Izuku for what he did. For just giving me a chance. A chance to change. So, dad, I am being myself. And there's nothing you can do to change that."

He remained silent for a second before walking out of the room, not sparing a glance at me.

——

Izuku POV

I walked into the private room, taking an empty seat while Kaina sat next to me and Ryuko sat across from me, next to Rumi. I sat there, thinking this had something to do with Izumi.

"Izuku." Ryuko started. "Do you remember that day we found you?"

——

I was huddled against a trash can, shivering, my stomach growling loudly. I had been living on the streets for months now. My eighth birthday had come and gone.

I felt all alone. It made me wonder if leaving was really the right choice. I cried, feeling all alone, abandoned, forgotten. I feel so weak. I can barely even stand up right now.

I tried calling out for help, but my voice barely made a sound. I laid there, thinking that no one was coming. No one ever does for the quirkless kid.

My eyes slowly began to close, but before they did, I heard something land nearby. I tried to look over and all I could see was a giant figure with large wings and someone with rabbit ears. Then, my eyes closed, thinking that they wouldn't open again.

——

"Yeah, I... remember."

Ryuko nodded, looking at me worriedly. "Well, back then, Rumi and I were discussing something... important." I looked at her, wondering what it was. "We were discussing if... one of us should adopt you. We never ended up going through with it, thinking you didn't want that."

Rumi spoke up. "We didn't want to make you feel like you were about to go through the same thing again, feeling like you would be abandoned or forgotten at any moment. So... we never signed the paperwork, keeping it a guardianship until you came of age to live on your own."

"Uh, okay. What... does this have to do with what you want to talk to me about?"

Ryuko and Rumi looked at each other, nodding. "Izuku, I think it's about time."

"Time for what?" I looked over at Kaina, who just smiled at me as she was resting her head in her hand.

"We've talked about this for a while and... we want to officially adopt you."

"B-but I'm eighteen."

"We don't care," Rumi said. "You've basically been our son since you moved in with Ryuko all those years ago. We've loved and cared for you like you were our son. None of that is ever going to change."

Ryuko then spoke. "We want to give you a proper family, Izuku. Not just people who are looking after you but people who will always love you."

I couldn't speak. I felt tears building in my eyes. I tried wiping my eyes, as I could only nod to them. I was pulled out of my seat and into a hug by them.

Ryuko POV

We had pulled Izuku into a hug after seeing how emotional he got. I saw Kaina smiling at him and spotted tears in her eyes. I reached out and pulled her into the hug. "You're a part of this family too, Tsutsumi."

——

No One POV

Everyone was walking back into the dorms, their internships completed. Many were exhausted while others were pumped up to get back into school. When Izumi walked in, she was immediately bombarded with people surrounding her, asking if she was okay and how it felt to fight Stain.

She was feeling slightly overwhelmed but felt a hand touch her shoulder. She turned around to see Izuku behind her. "Calm down, everyone. She's still recovering from her fight so give her some space."

Everyone did, saying sorry and they'll catch up later and wishing for her to get better soon. Izumi looked at Izuku. "Th-thanks. You didn't have to do that, you know."

"Yeah, I know. But I also know how Rumi gets when she trains someone. You should go relax. Your body will need it when school is back." Izuku walked off, Kaina walking up to him and kissing him on his cheek.

Izumi stood there, thinking about what he said and remembered back to her training with Miruko. She had increased the weight Izumi wore to a thousand pounds. Izumi felt a shiver run up her spine as she remembered how hard her jogs in the mornings were after that.

She went and sat down on the couch, holding her shoulder. 'I can't slow down.'

——

Kaina had led Izuku into the woods, onto a trail he didn't recognize. "So what did you want to talk about?" Izuku asked her.

"Well... while I was at Ryukyu's, I got a message from the hero commission. They said they wanted to recruit me after I graduated and I wanted to get your opinion on it."

Izuku rubbed the back of his head. "Honestly, I don't trust the commission. I don't know why but something in me is just shouting that they're bad news. I think you should do what you want. But, if you think they'll help you be a great hero, I'll support you fully in it."

Kaina nodded, smiling at him. "Ryukyu and Miruko both told me something similar. I think it's your animal instincts. So if that's what you think, I'll just turn them down." She walked up to him, hugging herself into his chest. "You're really soft in a weird way. Hey Mr Tatsuma, could you fly us back to your room? I wanna lay down."

Izuku smiled hearing his new last name. "Heh, yeah. Sure." Izuku wrapped his arms around her, flying up into the air and back towards the dorms.

(A/N: I hope you enjoyed!)