Boku no Hero Academia ZX

Chapter 25: Sorrow

Kouta sat alone, gazing up at the moon with his eyes half-lidded. He heard something behind the rocks across from where he was sitting. He sneaks over and sees Izuku doing pushups. 

"You little...!" Kouta quickly jumped back and glares. "How did you know about this place...?!" 

"It was the only place where it's quiet." Izuku said, getting up and wiping the sweat from his face. "Heard you punch someone in the crouch."

"Whatever, I told them, didn't I? I have no intention of hanging out with you! Get out of my hideout. Scram!" He harshly demanded.

Izuku wrapped the towel around his neck and went to grab his watch along with the Biometals. Something dropped from his jacket pocket, landing in front of Kouta's shoe. The young boy picked it up, seeing the photo was of Izuku and his mother when he was 4.

"Can I have it back?" Izuku asked. Kouta gave it back and Izuku quickly tucked inside his pocket. 

"So, it was true... You lost your mom?" 

"Yeah..." Izuku muttered. "It's the only thing I have left of her." He looks up at the moon then said. "You're parents... aren't they here with you?"

Kouta's eyes widened, before narrowing them and looked down at the ground. Infuriated at the question. "My parents are dead." He said. "They were the pro heroes, 'Water Hose'. When I was three, both of my parents were defending a village from a villain and sacrificed themselves to save the civilians. The heroes' efforts were constantly praised by others, but it ended up scarring me. Mama and Papa managed to injure villain enough to drive him away, destroying his left eye and leaving him with a deep physical scar."

"Were they killed by the villain?" Izuku asked.

"No..." Kouta bare his fangs and clenched his fist in anger. "They were killed by a damn Maverick!" He shouted then recalled the training from earlier. "Getting so fired up over strengthening your Quirk... makes me sick! You wanna show off your stupid 'power' that damn much? I still don't understand what people see in you guys!!"

"That's what I thought as well." Kouta looked up at the green-haired teen. "I wondered why people get so prideful after getting powers. I lost so much. So many who I cared about. I was so angry until I realized that anger won't bring them back. I'll become strong, so that I could stop the man responsible for the suffering and put an end to the Maverick raids. It's understandable why you hate heroes, but don't let it control your entire life." 

Kouta looked down, small tears started to fall from his eyes. Izuku gave him a small smile, wiping the tears away then grabbed something from his jacket. A small white bottle of porcelain. "Tozai Sake. From the village, 'Magome' where I first became a transporter." He sighs then hands the bottle over to Kouta, who looks and swirls it a bit.

"Magome"..." He mutters, handing the bottle back only for Izuku to push it back gently.

"For a better tomorrow." He said.

"Really?" Kouta sniffs the liquid inside. "Smells like rotten eggs. Is it still good?" He asked.

"Possibly." Was all that Izuku said. Kouta gulps down a few then gags a bit because of the taste. Izuku chuckles a bit before taking the bottle, finishing the rest before throwing it behind him.

~Meanwhile~

A few kilometers away from the training camp, Dabi and Toga along with two masked villains appeared.

"It's aching... I'm aching... Let's go early, c'mon...!" 

"No, it's still premature. Moreover, wasn't it said you don't have to do anything flashy?"

"Yeah, we don't want any sudden boss levels on our hands." Dabi said, shoving his hands down into his pockets. He gazes up at the starry sky and let out a small breath. "This time around, we're just making a beacon, that's all. And the gallant 'heroes' draped in emptiness will fall back to the earth- All for the sake of the glorious future."