Remnants of a Hero

Chapter 5

~ 1 day before Toshi's birthday ~

Izuku was out patrolling again after having given Detective Tsukauchi his report. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue with whisps of white cloud dotting the vast expanse. It was in stark contrast to his current mood, however. Worry and frustration had gripped him like a vice, with each passing day resulting in hardly any progress. It was around lunchtime when Izuku came across a small boy, crying in an alley. His knees were oozing blood and he had dirt all over his body. Izuku immediately went over to the boy and hunched over to come face to face with him. Slowly taking his hands which were covering his face, Izuku gave him a reassuring smile as he said in his most soothing voice, "Hello there. Don't cry. Would you tell me what's the matter?"

The boy slowly looked at him and his eyes widened in recognition. "Deku! Y-you're Hero Deku right?"

"That's me," he answered as he took out his handkerchief and wiped away the boy's tears. "Here let me treat your wounds first. It's not too deep but we better disinfect it."Izuku opened the small first aid kit he always carried around with him and took out some antiseptic and bandages. The boy grit his teeth in pain as Izuku applied the antiseptic after washing his wounds, muttering encouraging words while doing so. He put some bandages over the wound and patted the boy on his head. "You're a brave boy. Why were your crying? Did something happen?"

The boy stifled his sobs as he gripped Izuku's costume. "I w-was playing b-by myself in t-t-the park near my house...a-a-and M-Matssukun s-started bullying me again. H-He was chasing me and I j-just ran without l-looking where I was going." The boy looked up at Izuku with tear filled eyes. "I g-got lost."

Izuku gently hugged the boy and patted his back. He thought back to all the times he had run away from Kacchan and his group when he was a kid. Ahhh those were some days, huh... Focusing his attention back to the sniffling kid, Izuku lifted him in his arms. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Haru...Haru Sinozaki"

"Alright Haru-kun, would you like me to accompany you home? Your parents are probably worried about you now. Do you know any landmark from where you can remember your way back home?" enquired Izuku.

"I only know the Musutafu National Park where I go play."

"Musutafu National Park? That's not far from my place. Alright let's go then."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Gran'ma, you missed the balloons on the table! Here let me get them." Toshi was almost bursting with energy as he and Midoriya Inko started decorating the apartment with balloons and streamers. Toshi's birthday was only about nine hours away and the little boy couldn't sit still. He was a bundle of energy as he went about putting up balloons and helping his grandmother with the cooking. When they were almost done with the decorations, Toshi went to his room and took out the thing he had been working on for so long. Taking the piece of paper with him he placed it on the table upside down.

"Toshi, is that the surprise you want to show everyone?" asked Inko.

"Yes!" nodded the boy. "I'm going to show this to everyone when they come to my party!" Toshi then noticed the little bundle in his grandmother's hand. It looked a bit heavy and was wrapped in a gifting wrapper.

Seeing his eyes on it, Inko smiled at the boy. "This is a gift from your father. I noticed it was left on the table in his room. He left a note for me saying that if by any chance he could not make it in time for the party, you could open your present whenever you feel like it."

Toshi's smile faltered a bit. He knew there was a high possibility of his father and the other pro heroes not making it to his party with the recent fiasco but he tried to stay positive. There was no way his father would miss his birthday. He'll just win against the villains in no time like he always did and they'll have a wonderful time surrounded by Uncle Katsuki, Tosoroki, Iida and the others. His mother would be returning in the evening after completing her job and Toshi couldn't be more excited.