The Deku

Chapter 10: Sympathy

The television played another news story.

Nothing about what happened two nights ago. But about last night.

Hosu City had three more of those multi-Quirk monsters attack the public mindlessly. Dozens of citizens were killed.

And in the same city, completely unrelated to the attack, two heroes died. A professional hero named Native, and a student of UA.

Izuku turned to the screen and looked sadly as they read off the name: Tenya Iida.

The story they gave was that he was found dead in an alleyway with Native and that he was Native's temporary intern while his actual intern was away helping with the bigger villainous threats.

A villain by the name of Hero Killer: Stain caught Izuku's emerald eyes.

And mentions of a controversial video explaining his motives, that he was no ordinary villain.

It interested the boy enough for him to quickly search for it on his phone. Soon enough he found it and downloaded it, knowing it would most likely be taken down before his watching the video online ended.

He sat on his bed, in his designated room of his foster parents' house, with his earphones in, and pressed the play button on his phone screen.

As he watched, he began to take notes.

This villain killed that strict, but decently kind boy from UA he happened to meet, along with that cute girl. Izuku should hate him like he hates all villains. But Stain believed in something he wouldn't normally find attractive.

He recognized that hero society is corrupt. That heroes only did their jobs for money and glory and not because it was the right thing to do. The best were always heroes with flashy Quirks and sexy bodies and the rest were left in the dust.

Izuku didn't relate all too well. He could see similarities between himself and the Hero Killer. But Izuku could care less about what heroes thought. If they want to bask in the spotlight rather than help people like his mother, let them.

He put down the phone, not finishing the video. He was no villain. He never wanted to be a villain. But Stain, in a twisted and fanatic way, had a point. And Izuku couldn't be ignorant to ignore it. The police didn't try making his kidnapped mother a priority. And any heroes with Quirks that could easily track down a van that turns invisible, could have helped.

The police could just call the tracker-Quirks, assemble a SWAT team, and take out that factory.

Instead, a 15 year old boy had to do it.

That's what defines a hero. When no one else steps up to help, a real hero would risk everything to save even one person.

And yet....he failed.

Izuku felt a tear leak from his eye down his cheek again.

He picked up his phone and continued to watch the video.

Stain had a blood-related Quirk. But he relied on weapons. Swords, knives, spikes, blades of every kind on his body. And his incredible speed and agility.

If Izuku was to avenge his fallen, he needed to build himself up. Not just in guns. Guns and ammunition are hard to come by in Japan.

That moment of that morning, he dropped off the bed and started doing pushups until his arms gave out.

He laid on the ground for a moment to let his arms rest, then when he felt decently replenished, he stood up and climbed out of his window.

He spent the entire day jogging around the suburbs and continuing a routine of pushups, sit-ups, and various stretches in the park.

Passing by the beach, the boy stopped to look. The entire shoreline was covered in trash of every size. Even entire pieces of furniture.

Heroes also performed community service. And what better way to get in shape than working with heavy objects?

He hadn't smiled in a long time. But this idea almost did it.

The green-haired boy climbed down to the sand and scanned the beach with his eyes, then began to lift and carry an old rotting nightstand.

Izuku dumped it on the pavement just off the beach, then went back to pick up more heavier pieces of trash and repeat the process.

Thoughts of his mother, encouraging him as a child to become a hero flashed in his mind and pushed him through any bits of pain he was enduring.

And for some reason, the memory of his day spent walking and talking with that brunette girl and Tenya Iida flashed as well. He stopped in his tracks.

While he barely knew the student who died, he figured she knew him. She must be devastated.

Checking the time on his phone, he realized that their class would get out soon and sprinted from the beach to the train station.

Making it just in time, the train dropped him off near the gates of UA High.

At that moment, he saw the students leaving to go to their respective homes.

His green eyes searched the crowd of uniforms for the girl's curled hair. She was spotted, walking alone amidst the other students, flashing a smile here and there but keeping to herself.

Izuku's heart sank. She was clearly hurt. There were a few other classmates around her who didn't seem to be in good moods either, but none stood out more than hers.

He mustered up some courage to run to her and call after her. But he felt embarrassed because he forgot her name in that crucial moment despite already running and shouting "Hey!"

Ochako looked up slightly to watch him hesitantly rush over.

"Oh. Hi." She waved.

"I-I'm sorry, I forgot your name!" Izuku panicked as he was now standing in front of her, preventing her from walking any faster.

"I-It's fine. I'm Ochako Uraraka." She said.

"Uraraka..." Izuku felt much worse now.

"I-I heard about what happened..." He sighed sympathetically.

Ochako remained silent and kept walking. After a moment, she spoke. "He was such a good friend... The greatest example to all of us...."

Izuku lowered his head with her. "I'm sorry..." He said.

"The villain got his brother just a week before... Paralyzed him from the waist down..."

"Oh... Ingenium. That happened during your sports festival...." Izuku remembered.

Ochako fought back tears as best as she could. She had her arms folded and bit her lip but couldn't stop as they started to crawl down her rosy cheeks.

Izuku didn't know what to do. He knew, in a way, how she was feeling. Should he tell her that?

"I-I...know what it's like...to lose someone close to you... Someone who encouraged you so much that it seems like they were always there for you...." He said. Don't cry, dammit.

Ochako looked up at him and nodded.