BNHA: Lessons Learned

Chapter 9

After Homeroom officially broke up, the students filed out and headed to their actual lesson. Today's was being taught by Midnight, meaning that Sasha and Aizawa were now free.
Aizawa went to have a nap, as usual, and Sasha decided to put in a few more hours of patrol before procuring some dinner, and then wanting to go out.
A place she could be alone with her thoughts, preferably somewhere idyllic and peaceful...was there a place like that around here? Most of the area was just concrete buildings.
A quick search on the internet with her phone soon revealed a strip of beach that was quite popular, so she headed there and walked along a low wooden bridge that jutted out from the gently-surging shore like a miniature pier.
Yep, this is the place, she thought. Definitely peaceful.
That setting Sun is just gorgeous...and now I feel alone.
She then remembered that she'd not spoken much to Izuku over the past couple of days, and she did say that they'd hang out again at some point soon...out came her phone.
   'Hope you're doing ok.' She wrote. 'Wanna chill?'
   'Sure! Where are you?' Came the reply.
She explained it, and he met her on the pier not long after.

   "I come here all the time." He explained. "This is a pretty special place for me and Toshi."
   "Really? How so?"
   "This was where I took my first step to becoming a hero."
He explained it all; meeting All Might, the words that were said...right the way through to the ten months of hellish training at this very beach to clean it up. And swallowing that hair, of course, he'd never forget that either.
   "So that's how it is." Sasha smiled.
   "Yeah. I go running here every couple of days, or sometimes, I'll just walk along the shore. It's relaxing, and it helps to remind me of how far I've come."
Chip off the old shoulder. "That's a great memory." She smiled. "I hope you were okay after Homeroom today."
He nodded. "It was real good of him to come and say all that to us. I think it's what we needed to hear. Even me, and I always knew that he'd be back when it's the right time."
   "So do you think him doing a lesson would've been wrong?"
   "Uhh...well, I think he'd still want to, he always enjoyed teaching us. He wasn't exactly great at it, he...had to write notes down and read 'em back to us, heh. But, he loved it. I reckon he'd always want another shot."
That proved it, then. She'd been right. Self-sacrifice.

It made her thoughtful, and it easily showed on her face as she looked out towards the setting Sun.
   "You really care for him, don't you?" Izuku then asked.
She looked at him briefly, then looked away.
   "It's okay," he added, "we're not at school now. I won't say anythin' to anyone, just like I've always done with him."
She then sighed. "...yeah." She admitted. "I do."
   "So he's not the burden that he thinks he is."
   "He's got a very good point. I am sposed to be lookin' out for the rest of the world too. But lately...all I've focused on is trying to help him realise that he's the same as he ever was."
   "You mean without the body? Hmm." He said. "I see."
   "He seems utterly convinced that he's a totally different person, and not seen in the same light without that frame." She then said, feeling the sudden need to vent. "But that's not the first time I've caught him doing and saying the exact, same, fucking, things. I mean, God, he'd rather not even fucking kiss me unless he's..." She then stopped.
Izuku grew a smile. "...oh really? Do tell."
   "I, uh, I m-meant that-" What could she say?
   "Sorry, I can't unhear that one. You've started, so you might as well finish it now. I have got to hear this."

And so, it all came out. Everything from the past two days, right up until last night. Izuku listened carefully as she explained each event and her theories behind it, and it became very, very apparent that she'd done a lot of thinking.
   "You know he likes you too, right?" Izuku asked.
   "Course I do, it's easy to see- but that may be part of the problem." Sasha worried. "I've been encouraging him but I dunno if his sudden case of 'second life' is a natural thing due to my words, or if he's tryin' to...impress me or somethin'. To draw me to him in that way."
   "...is it working?"
   "Hey!" She grinned as he laughed. "I'm being serious!"
   "I know you are, I was only teasing."
   "I get enough of that from Aizawa." She grumbled.
   "So you're holding back cos' you'd rather that he regained the desire to return on his own, then?"
   "Exactly." She nodded. "That's exactly it. To be honest, I could fully restore him in the blink of an eye. I'm quite surprised that nobody's thought of that yet...but the point is, he has to believe in it himself first, not just cos' of me."
   "Cos' if he doesn't, then it won't mean as much to him."
   "Yes." She said firmly. "But at the same time, everyone has to have something- or someone- to fight for. He hasn't."
   "And neither have you." He pointed out. "So, why not give him both?" He shrugged. "You can do that too, right?"