Inquisitor

- Chapter: 24 -

- One Week After The Exams -

Izumi was staring blankly at a fish she had already eaten. Her eyes were pointed at the fish, but they seemed to look through it, as if she was looking at something far away. She smiled faintly at the fish, a smile one would give when they saw a relative that they just barely remembered. The type of relative that you only remembered because whenever they saw you they would speak fondly of you when you were smaller, commenting on how much you'd grown.

Needless to say, the grilled fish was not one of Izumi's relatives, far from it. Although it had been a week since she had taken the entrance exam for U.A., she had not yet received a letter from them. That was the cause of her current facial expression.

During the week that had passed since the test she had continued sparring with Katsuo. Instead of exercising like she had been, she just sparred with him everyday. She also had yet to tell Katsuo about how she failed the entrance exam. She had figured out that, even just barely, she had passed the written portion of the test.

However, that could not save her from the fact that she had scored only seventeen points in the practical. She knew that seventeen points wouldn't be enough to pass. She knew that she should tell Katsuo that she failed, but she just couldn't do it. When she thought of all the effort that Katsuo had put into helping her pass, and that it was all for nothing, she felt extremely guilty.

She could have gotten more points if she hadn't of helped the boy whose head got hurt, but she had already decided that helping him was the right choice. It wasn't like she could go back and change her decision, not that she would. Izumi just didn't know how to tell Katsuo that all the time he had put into helping her was ultimately for nothing.

All of that lead to where she currently was, staring at a fish making her mother worried for her.

"Izumi... Izumi?... Izumi?!"

When her mother raised her voice so that she was almost yelling but not quite Izumi finally was brought back to reality.

"Are you okay?! Stop smiling at the fish!"

"Ah, sorry... I'm fine...!"

Izumi focused on her dinner after that, not letting herself slip away into thought again. When she finished eating and had cleaned up her plate, she sat down on the couch and unconsciously grabbed a grip strengthener and started squeezing it. Izumi didn't even realize when she drifted back into her thoughts.

Her mother was taking care of the rest of the meal and started talking to Izumi.

"The letter... It should come today or tomorrow, right?!"

Izumi was so caught up with her thoughts that she didn't even register what her mother was saying and just automatically responded with a "Mhm"

"Oh! Your dear old mom thinks it's wonderful that you got a chance to try! You should really thank Katsuo for helping you out with your training! I can't wait to see if you got accepted!"

Once again, Izumi responded with a simple "Mhm"

Izumi had never told her mother about All Might and that he had also been training her. That's a secret she had to keep, so he could go on being the symbol of peace. She didn't even think it would be right to tell her family. Izumi's thoughts turned over to the pro hero as she changed from a grip strengthener to a dumbbell.

'All Might, I don't know what you or Katsuo saw in me. I'm sorry, I couldn't do it. But... I did what I thought was right. I did what I thought you both wan-'

"Izu-Izu-Izumi! Izumi!!"

Her mother calling her name pulled Izumi from her thoughts. She looked at her mom frantically rushing over with a letter in her hands.