ʜᴇʀᴏᴇs | ʙɴʜᴀ

↳ chapter 21

  I felt my face twist into a smile. Then I started to laugh. It wasn't the maniacal laughter, but more of the sane kind of laughter. The laughter when someone tells you something funny. For a second, I broke. My whole self shattered. I was like a glass someone mended together with school glue. Once one part fell off, the whole glass fell apart. I laughed. And laughed. My laughter filling the alleyway.

  Stain turned around to look at me. No, as a matter of fact, everyone turned to look at me. In my eyes, there was this crazy glint, a deranged part of me, showing. I teleported in front of Tenya, still frozen, and gave him a look that said 'I dare you to'. Nonetheless, he moved around me and brought his katana up. As he brought it down, I teleported in front of Tenya.

  Before I knew it, blood seeped out of my abdomen. I overestimated the stab area too much to the left. Screams could be heard, but in my head, I heard a faint buzzing noise. I watched as the blood seeped out of the wound. I felt a white-hot searing pain, as though I was being burnt alive. But I didn't scream. I couldn't. I opened my mouth, but words wouldn't come out.

Now smile for me, okay? Even when daddy isn't here, I want you to smile every day, because I will be right here.

Tears threatened to fall as those words echoed through my mind again. Stain's eyes widened. He didn't mean to get this child caught up in it. But what was done, was done. Izuku was screaming in shock that his friend was bleeding out in front of him. Iida was spitting words of resentment towards me for getting involved. And me?

I was smiling. And everything turned black.

••

  Todoroki turned the corner. He hoped that Midoriya was still managing. What he didn't expect, was to see Native, Iida and Midoriya frozen, and Sakura bleeding out, smiling. It didn't take Stain's quirk for him to be frozen. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't this. But he knew he had to do something. He couldn't just sit there and watch as the person he admired bled out and his class president die in front of his eyes. He immediately jumped into battle, shooting his ice at Stain.

  And to Midoriya's surprise, Todoroki was using his fire.

••

  My world was black. Was I dead? Most probably. But I was still... Breathing? I could feel the oxygen rush into my lungs, and the carbon dioxide rushing out. My brain was still functioning, so what was going on? I felt myself being lifted, something tight wrapped around my wound. Wait, my wound! How was I not dead?

  The searing hot pain came back, making me wince. Panicked voices filled my ears, which were soon replaced by voices of people rushing around. I slowly opened my eyes through the pain, cringing as light flooded into my vision.

  I was very considerably alive, much to my dismay. The voices of the people surrounding me got louder. I shifted uncomfortably in my position. Perhaps if I shut my eyes, it wouldn't be so bad...

Just for a minute or two.

•

  I jolted up in my position, hooked to an IV. The white walls surrounded me. I was all alone in the room. How dangerous would I be to rip out an IV? I considered it for a moment, before deciding against it. I would probably lose a lot of blood since it was directly connected to my vein. I sat there patiently and waited for the nurse to arrive, tapping my foot impatiently, wanting to see my friends.

  A nurse holding a clipboard immediately came in. They gave me a check-up, before discharging me. Hawks was waiting for me in the lobby, giving me a long lecture about getting myself stabbed.

"How many times did I tell you, do not teleport in front of the knife, even if someone is in danger!" he chided, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation.

"But... It was Tenya-kun! He's my friend, isn't that what heroes do?" I protested.

"There were probably 3 million different ways you could have handled the situation better, but noooo, you had to just go ahead and get stabbed, " he exaggerated.

  I huffed at his attitude, but deep down I knew that he was right. And either way, he was just saying this because he cared about me. According to him, if Shoto hadn't turned up, all of us would have been dead. Shoto turned up? I guess there was a lot I missed out on.

"Also, if I hadn't given you permission to fight, then you also have to face the consequences! Do you know how serious this is?" he continued, flailing his arms.

  I bowed my head. It was incredibly irresponsible of me to teleport in front of Iida. Hawks was right. I could have come up with a better plan. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my head, patting it gently. I looked up to see Hawks smiling at me.

"But... I did like how you heroically jumped in to save him, even though you could have died. And that's why I said you'll be a fine hero someday, " he said, ruffling my hair.

  I grinned up at the winged man. The number 3 hero just said I would be a fine hero! My heart practically exploded at his words, because unlike the last time he complimented me, he actually said in from the heart, and not out of pride.

  For the rest of the day, we patrolled the city together in our hero costumes, joking around pleasantly. The empty void that had once taken all of the space in my heart had finally been filled. I looked up at Hawks who was flying overhead, while I jumped from roof to roof.

He was like a father to me.