Fallen Hero (Rewritten)

Hopes and Dreams

(After an eternity of fandom hopping and deep pondering, I hath returned.

New words have come and gone from my brain but I shall persevere.

But anywho, here's another chapter. Enjoy!)

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Asriel, despite his age and distaste for learning, was not stupid.

After the nightmare that made Izuku remember his fall, his friend had been acting weird. Izuku was super smart, always wanting to learn something new, and liked showing off his knowledge every chance he got. That's not to say he thought everyone else was stupid- quite the opposite, actually. Izuku would sometimes tease Asriel about his need to practice magic over lessons, but he was still super supportive and often joined in on most if not all of Asriel's hobbies and interests. Heck, Izuku was the reason Asriel built up the courage to ask Mom to teach him. Sure he was going to learn when he was nine anyway, all monsters did, but it was still Izuku who put the idea in his head.

Izuku had a funny way of bringing out the best in people.

And it was because of this that Asriel knew something was wrong. Izuku had been less focused on his studies lately, which would have been okay if it was just the first day or two after the nightmare when he was having trouble sleeping, but it had been a week and his mood had only gotten worse. He kept burying himself in books on human magic and staring at Asriel during his training. What gave it away was his hands. He kept flexing them as if he expected something to happen. He'd keep doing it until Asriel's training was finished and then he'd be sad for a while.

And he'd continue like that for the rest of the day, even when Asriel dragged him outside to play with him in the garden. And that was another thing that bothered him. Whenever they played Izuku would study Asriel like a bug and then try to copy his moves. And then there was the tree-climbing thing that he just wouldn't give up on. He kept climbing up to the branches and trying to pull himself up, and every time he'd get stuck. He was getting better though, and Asriel made sure to remind him of that.

That always seemed to make Izuku feel a bit better.

Asriel considered this when he went to his mom about the issue. "Hey, mom?" he meekly called from her doorway. She was doing paperwork and he didn't want to break her focus, but he thought this felt important enough to ask about, even if he was going to get in trouble for it. "Yes, Asriel? Did you need something, dear?" she said calmly, assuring him that her work wasn't important enough to stress over. He walked into her room and closed the door. "I was - um.. I have a question but I don't really know how to ask..." he explained. Toriel nodded and set down her pen. It was a gesture to indicate focus and attention on the other person, something that one should do in any conversation. That's what mom always said, anyway.

"I'm listening, Asriel dear. What is it?" Asriel was silent for a moment as his brain tried its hardest to form the words in his head. "Um. Izuku's been acting weird for a while. I-I thought it was 'cause of his nightmare, but I'm not so sure anymore.." he confessed. Toriel hummed with an expression he couldn't quite identify. She looked serious like she was in deep thought. "Yes, I had been thinking the same as well. However, I'm glad to know you think the same. Perhaps that will make it easier to explain." Toriel stood up and moved to her bed, gesturing for him to follow. He did.

"I do believe that Izuku's nightmare does have much to do with his current behavior, however, the fact that it was a buried memory is also a large factor in the current predicament. His memories of the surface are important in the sense that they can help us understand what happened so we can help him better. But if his memories are as bad as that nightmare was, there's a good chance he won't want to talk about it. Do you understand?" Toriel explained. She had a solemn look in her eyes that Asriel had only seen during her stories of the surface. It reminded him of Izuku.