Heroics or Villainy

Attempting to Broach Topics

            The end of the day came quickly enough. Fumiko left to go to her club and Hotaru had to get to her part-time job, that she totally didn't have. As for me, well, I stood out front and waited for the gangly form of my father to approached the school. He seemed to be running late though, probably rescuing people as All Might or attempting to give the press the slip.

I was patient though, so I waited. However, while remaining in my post of standing in front of the school, I had unwittingly caught the attention of one of my teachers. My homeroom teacher to be specific. The sound of his footsteps coming from behind me greeted my ears before his voice carried through the empty space. "Yagi? What are you doing out here? Aren't you heading home?"

I whipped myself around on my heels before giving a half-hearted shrug and a shake of my head. My hair swayed with the motion. "Just waiting for my dad to get here. He seems to be running late."

The teacher gave me a perplexed look at my response. "Unusually for you to be waiting for your father to pick you up Yagi. Don't you normally walk home with Hanazaki and Kamijo?"

My eyes glanced off to the side as my lips went into a tight and awkward line. "Yeah, but Fumi is in her club and Taru had to rush home to help her mom with something. I'm sure my dad will be here soon, probably just being held up at work as usual."

A wide grin came across my teacher's face at my last remark before he rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean you father does work for All Might, Yagi. I imagine he has quite the workload on his shoulders." After a moment, he lowered his hand and gave me a nod. "Well, stay safe Yagi. I'll see you tomorrow."

With that he started walking off to do whatever it is teachers do and I gave a wave as he went. After a second of waving, I spun back to my post of scanning the area past the school gate only to see that my father was finally approaching. A beaming smile as bright as the sun came across my face as I bolted past the gates and straight to him. My long golden pigtails trailing behind me as I jumped into his unsuspecting frame.

He stumbled a bit as he caught me in his lanky arms. A strangled cough left his mouth as he patted my head gingerly. "Careful my Sunflower."

I continued to beam up at him as I saw the light trickle of blood at the corner of his lips. At that I released him, my timidity taking over as I rubbed my arm nervously. "S-Sorry Dad."

He gave a struggled sigh before he hugged me lovingly and released me once more. "Come along, before your mother thinks I'm stretching my time limit again."

With a subtle laugh and a nod, I followed behind him. He did tend to overexert himself with his Quirk to rescue people. He was the Number One Hero and Symbol of Peace after all. He didn't gain those titles for nothing. And soon...I would carry those titles for him. I would take up that mantle. Take up the call to action. The call for heroes! I was talking that stride...by entering into U.A.

U.A....I still needed to talk to my parents about it. I gave a quick glance at my father's back as he walked ahead of me. He made his way into the market near our house and I followed calmly, thinking of a way to broach the subject. Discuss this matter. It was better to do it now than to wait for it to be brought up around Mom. "Dad?"

As he started making his way down the aisles of groceries with a list in hand, my mother's scribbled handwriting visible, he glanced over his shoulder towards me. "Yes, my Sunflower?"

"Can...Can I talk to you about something?" I was starting to anxiously fidget with the strap of my schoolbag, my All Might keychain attacked to it moving with the anxious motion.

Piercing blue eyes caught mine as they took on a gentle appearance before returning to the task at hand. "Of course, Sunshine. You can always talk to me about anything." As he spoke, he began looking through the shelves for whatever it was Mom was requesting.

I hesitated to begin. I wasn't sure where to begin, so I started fidgeting more. "Um...well...you know how I-I will be leaving m-middle school soon to...to go to h-high school?"

He didn't turn to face me this time. His focus was on finding whatever items Mom had assigned him to get and getting home. However, he did respond to me as he started grabbing groceries off the shelves and carrying them. "Yes." There was a slight cough that left him and alerted me to hurrying over and taking some of the items he was carrying from his arms. He conceded to let me carry stuff before he continued. "If this is about your graduation, I pride myself in not having missed one and I don't intend on ruining that now."

I struggled to find a comfortable position to carry groceries and follow my father's large strides as he went to continue the shopping. "This...this isn't a-about grad...g-graduation. Um...i-it's actually about–"

I stopped dead in my speech when I heard the sound of liquid blood coughing. I nearly dropped everything I was carrying to rush over to his side. With effort and force, I shifted the items to my right arm as I placed my now free left hand on his lanky arm. "D-Dad...?"

There were more items in his hands. I reached over him to take them and surprisingly, he didn't put up a fuss. He willingly handed them over to me as he wiped his mouth of blood. "S-Sorry my Sunflower." It was a dejected apology...as though his own inabilities angered him. I knew they did. He hated relying on Mom and me. He hated what happened five years ago. I knew...and it's why I vowed to help him in any way I could. I vowed I would carry as much weight as I could for him to prove to him there was no need for him to worry over me anymore. I would carry the world on my shoulders for him.

He noticed the gleam of concern in my eyes as I watched him. Those warm, blue eyes Mom said I inherited from him. They watched me diligently before a weak smile came across his face. "Come on my Sunflower. Let's go pay for those and get home before your mother starts worrying."

She'd be worried when he walked in the door after having a hemorrhage like that. I could already envision her cussing as she reprimanded him and then hugged him tightly. I could also envision the sunken depression of my father's expression before a gentle, affectionate grin came over him as he enveloped my overly tense mother into a hug.

That was probably going to be the situation when we arrived home later than Mom probably expected. However, I knew Dad was probably thinking the same thing as well. I walked behind him, carrying the rest of the groceries as we proceeded to check out at the front of the store. As Dad paid for everything, I hurried around him and picked up the bags before he could get a chance. Out of consideration though, I did leave one kind of heavy bag, make him feel important! Like he was!

He took the bag and walked with me out of the store, giving me a bit of a smirk as he placed his hand on my head. "So, you wanted to talk to me about something, Sunshine?"

We started making out way home as I resolved to talk to him about my application to U.A. "Yes! U-U-Um...I-I mean...yes. I...I want to talk to you about h-high schools."

He seemed surprised by my outburst, but the smile I grew up knowing and loving came over him as he lowered his hand from my head and continued walking. "Is there a particular school you've been looking at? You know that your mother and I will happily agree to any school you choose, my Sunflower. No matter how far it is. Now, we'll miss you of course, but–"

He stopped. I glanced up at him confused as to why he had stopped his rambling so abruptly. Dad usually rambled for at least fifteen minutes. This time though, as I gazed up at him, my father wasn't being his usually goofy self...he was looking around...alert. I shifted my feet, starting to lift my heel out of my shoe before I heard the sternness of authority leave my father, "Go home Hana."

I turned my attention back to him, preparing myself for a fight as I noticed the steam leaving his body. "Huh?"

Those blue eyes gazed down at me with protective intent, "Run home. Now. Tell Ayano I'll be right behind you."

With that, he turned into All Might and bounded off. Leaving me alone to run home as fast as my legs would carry me. Confusion about what was going on.