No Help Is Wanted (It's Needed)

Joy

Glistening yet shattering emeralds fixated on the older man, they watched in shock. At first, neither of them even dared to pronounce a word, the penetrating silence was too thick to cut through. Yet, mustering large courage, Izuku muttered a faint mumble: "How... do you know... my name?"

"I know much more than your name, Midoriya". Both of them stayed silent for a few torturous seconds, staring and analyzing each other's souls. "I'm sorry for you, kid. You shouldn't have gone through something like that. Not at this age, not at any age". Midoriya took a shaky breath before responding, "Doesn't matter anymore." he sniffled, "Don't worry."

Aizawa's heart clenched as his skin slowly lost color, he had seen those dulling eyes many times before. People may think that the worst part of being a hero is fighting villains, people who want to destroy everything around them. Yet, at least for Aizawa, that wasn't the case. The most difficult thing about his job was dealing with people who wanted to destroy themselves.

He'd been stuck on this stressful scenery more than once before, been sent to missions to rescue not only someone's life, but someone's soul too. There were times he succeeded, there were times he failed. Yet, compared to all previous missions, he was the youngest of them all. That agonizing youth was what the pro hero condemned himself to protect.

"It's okay, little one. Now that I know your struggle, I can help you. If you let me, I can pay for your mom's surgery. How about that?" He suggested calmly, his open and gently raised hands indicating his non-hazardousness. "Pay for it?" Midoriya scoffed in disbelief, "There's no way a stupid hero like you would do that".

"Yes, they would. I would." Aizawa replied sternly, yet his presumably incoming reply never arrived. Everything left was pure silence, left to simmer in the abundant beams of ruthless toxicity coming from the boy's eyes. "Why do you hate heroes so much, Midoriya?"

"How could I not hate them? They're the reason I'm here in the first place. THEY'RE THE REASON MY MOM IS GONE!" Within the echoes of his cracking voice, rattled despair so deep and corruptive that burned through his vocal chords. His agonizing emeralds shined in the pool of salt water they were profusely drowning in. Through his blurry vision, Izuku could still see the flaming beard on the other side of the truck window. Those apathetic blue eyes, who grew distant as the truck backed away to never be found again.

Aizawa fell silent once again, a tight knot preventing him from breathing. Yet, as hard as it was, he kept his composure. "Alright... maybe the hero you encountered wasn't the best. But that doesn't mean that all of us are that way. Some of us really want to help." Izuku looked at the swirling blur the man had become, he blinked hard. Tears fell slowly down his reddened face, leaving an invisible trail of moisture behind. Details began to gradually come back to him, he could now see that those tired eyes had no signal of a threat.

"Why... do you want to help me so badly? Why am I so special? Just leave me, it's a lost cause" Izuku assured, his voice weak and miserable. It was unreal how a child of such a young age could hold such dead, broken eyes. After Aizawa observed with anguish the darkening dullness inside the teen, he responded. "I want you to get out of this horrible situation. Not only you, but all the people that may be joining you in your journey." Izuku looked up in utter dismay, which was buried under a thick layer of soul-crushing numbness. "I'm going to report this place, so I want to assure you're in good hands when this horrid place gets taken down."

Izuku gasped under his breath, "No... you can't do that! How am I going to survive? This place, although it's the worst, is the only one that'll give me a job! You can't do that!" His teary face reflected the most haunting heartache Aizawa had ever seen. Aizawa kneeled down before the child, he could see with more detail how his little body trembled at every fiber. "That is why I am going to help you. Just let yourself be saved this time, we both know you need it."