Chapter Text
4th: Let me at least say it ‘til the end
“Have I… ever told you?”
Unable to see her face right now, he lets his ears describe everything for him. The short distance between them, the fact that she’s beside him, and the pace of her breathing. She has this gentle—and fittingly adorable—voice, and he usually finds himself swaying to her chosen course.
Even in their current situation. The current scene where the crumbled earth is beneath their backs, the trails of smoke that’re thinning in the air as the ashy clouds ascend, and the bright blue sky staring at their figures lying on the war-torn ground.
There’s so much irony that he could still feel his forehead raise a brow at her question, yet the rest of his body numbs in ache. He could feel his limbs and organs scream at him, and make him miserable every waking moment. He couldn’t even crane his neck to his right side to at least get a glimpse of her.
How many broken bones and scars this time? How much blood loss?
What even happened?
He grimaces as he remembers. A dangerous invention, an inhumane experiment… The Enigma .
Izuku closes his eyes, getting rid of the thoughts that are causing jitters in his brain. His eyelids shield his sight from the sun directly watching them from above and from the other thoughts plaguing his mind.
He doesn’t need these thoughts now, not when he could feel her hand slowly grabbing his.
He forgets all the sensations of the aftermath of the battle. He forgets the pain. He forgets not being able to feel the rest of his body.
All because here she is holding onto his bruised and bloodied hand, being gentle not to hurt him further, but also being so present that he couldn’t acknowledge anything else other than her.
It’s always as if Uraraka Ochako plays a lovely melody, and he’s a willing performer.
“Wh-What… told me what?”
His voice sounds so hoarse. He’s so focused on her that he doesn’t realize how dry his throat is and how difficult it is to breathe. Or how the rest of his body is like the disarrayed limbs of some ragdoll.
Nothing else makes sense other than her.
It’s just the most natural for her to be by his side. It’s the most comforting thing in the world.
“That… I like your hands.”
Izuku’s chest swells. Yeah, his memory says they’ve never talked about this, yet he feels a surge of delight and familiar warmth.
“I… th-thanks.”
As awkward as a teenager who’s never used to compliments like that, that’s still how he is even in his 20s. Or maybe this one’s an exception, ‘cause it’s from her. Why is she saying this now, though?
“And…”
And?
Somehow, that one word sounds quite different. She sounds… hurt? Much more than him.
Something’s wrong with her.
Izuku tries his best to process what she has to say, but he feels his head spin painfully slow. It’s as if the world’s spinning and reducing his consciousness into nothingness.
Her voice… her beautiful voice lulls him, and despite all efforts to listen, his body and his limits betray him.
He feels a sense of his spirit gradually breaking, leaving every part of him. It’s as if he’s falling…but also floating…but also losing everything…
Just disappearing.
However, her hand remains holding his, and somehow that’s enough to keep a sense of himself from slipping.
Having her here is enough.
Then, he blacks out.
Despite loving her voice and using what remains of him to focus on her, he’d never hear the whimpers, the countless apologies, and the agonizing screams after.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you again.”
78th: I wish I could tell you
“You’re quite amazing yourself, Uraraka-san,” Izuku says with meaning infused in every syllable.
The sun setting is their backdrop while their little shadows dance on the cemented ground—just two middle school students having a casual conversation on the way home.
He still isn’t the best in this department, but for the longest time, he wanted her to know with grace. No stutters, no awkward wordings. Even the orange tint of the sky is his ally in hiding the slight blush on his face.
“Think so?” she asks, steps continuous though somewhat holding back on her pace.
“Of course! You’re seriously amazing! You can stand up against Kacchan even when he’s pretty much a jerk! And how you befriended everyone else on just the first day upon transfer! When you’re in the room, I think the people around you get influenced by your energy!” Izuku doesn’t realize how eager he is into this, that his hands are balled at his chest, white knuckles and all. “Even I get influenced too.” Yet, he says that last line so tenderly.
At the very least, he manages to stare into her soft— and slightly caught off guard—brown eyes. These bursts of energy and blabber talent of his can be pretty useful in moments like this.
Especially if that means getting one of Uraraka’s brightest smiles.
It’s safe to say that she brightened his days ever since she transferred. Ever since she entered his life. While Izuku’s a big dreamer, there’ll always be days that remind him of his boundaries. There’ll always be people who constantly rub his weaknesses—not just to his face, but also to his wounds.
But then here she comes oh so casually, taps his shoulder, and says he’s amazing for pursuing his dream.
“Just like your nickname, Deku-kun. It screams ‘You can do it!’”
That’s why it’s his turn to tell her what he thinks of her.
But somehow, he doesn’t expect her reaction to look like this . Rosy cheeks so full from that big smile, but round brown eyes so full of… longing?
He got used to her being a cheerleader that he only really noticed now…
Whenever she looks at him, it’s as if she’s looking at a different person.
It’s as if…
“Are you alright?”
She blinks and nods enthusiastically. “Why wouldn’t I be? Ya just told me I’m amazing!”
Izuku feels pulled by this uncomfortable weight at the balls of his feet, stopping him in his tracks. Then he strides with that never-used confidence to approach her.
“I know I’m probably not the most capable but… if something's bothering you, will you consider telling me?”
“…What do you mean, Deku-kun? I’m perfectly fine!” she says in a sing-song and quickening voice as she flaps her arms in the air. “See? Nothing wrong at all, hehe!”
He almost feels bad to see how much effort she’s putting in while he refuses to join her act.
“But you looked like you needed saving.”
The moment Izuku says that, teardrops fall and shape the curves of her face. She immediately wipes them with her uniform’s sleeves. “Th-That’s weird! Maybe something got in my eye?” she ends it with a small giggle.
With his overthinking brain alone, he wouldn’t come up with such words without thought. But being bathed by her expression, it just left his lips as natural as breathing. Izuku clears his throat and grabs both of her hands, careful not to touch the fingertips.
“If… If it’s something you can’t tell me, you don’t have to but always remember…
… I’m here! ”
As Izuku drops the iconic All Might line, Uraraka immediately stops crying in shock and soon starts crying from laughter.
His impression of the great hero wears off, and he soon starts joining her in her merry laughter, happy once more that he’s actually able to do something for her.
Izuku’s face starts heating up again after realizing he’s still holding onto her hands. He lets go of her, only for Uraraka to grab his hand firmly this time.
She pulls it closer to her face, her thumbs running over his knuckles before pulling it towards her.
In a mix of awe and shock, Izuku remains wordless, unable to say anything coherent.
“Deku-kun?”
“Y-Yes?!”
She looks into his eyes with a smile, still not letting go. “I really like your hands! I’m sure they can save a lot of people!”
Izuku has many questions that day. Why does she look at him differently every time? Why did she cry so suddenly? What is this burden she’s been carrying for who knows how long?
However, when she says, “You’re gonna be a great hero in the future!” he loses it all, falls to his knees, and is the one who ends up at the mercy of his own waterworks.
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“We’ve contacted his family. For now, we’ll… give you some time… alone, Uravity.”
The medics leave the room, only faint echoes signifying their prior presence. Only plain blankness is left in the room as soon as every remnant disappears.
Except for her, who’s clad in her pink and black suit, bloody and dirty. Except for her, who remains mute throughout the whole thing, languid and listless.
Meanwhile, everything else is in white. The lights, the walls, the bedsheets—
Even the cloth covering his face is white.
She places a hand on his right, just enough to cover the scar. The roughness rests by her palm, an embodiment of all the people he had saved etched on his very skin. She could feel each life he touched in her pulse, just like her own, and her heart sinks.
She denies his coldness.
She doesn’t acknowledge his stillness.
It should’ve been the other way around.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
She didn’t want this to happen again.
“I should’ve been the one to save you…”
194th: I don’t want to do this
“D’ya… really wanna be a hero, Deku-kun?” A clumsy and doubtful question from a tiny voice.
“Absowutely!” An energetic—and almost instant—answer from a small mouth.
“Mmmm…”
Izuku observes his newest playmate with brimming curiosity. He’s always with Kacchan, and many girls his age don’t like playing hero and villain as much as they do…
Well, except for her.
He wonders why she looks kinda sad now.
“Why? Don’t you think heroes are cool, Chako-chan?”
“Oh, I do! Like… like Thirteen!”
Before he could even respond to her mentioning the Space Hero, she follows up with, “Just like All Might!”
“Have you seen All Might’s latest video?!” For such a small body, he unloads some enormous word count at a frightening speed. He proceeds to narrate All Might’s heroic deeds, and he could see the light in her eyes too while he does.
They’re the same. She definitely wants to be a hero too, even if she doesn’t say it!
“Ya should be a hero too! And do that Ka-pow! Ka-boom! And bzzt bzzt!”
She grins at him, little fists punching upwards. “’Kay! Let’s both be heroes, Deku-kun!”
As he lets his red oversized sneakers trail the sandy piles in the playground, and rushes in to chase her and “save the day,” he rediscovers the meaning of fun.
Not once did Chako tell him that he’s Quirkless and couldn’t be a hero. She said that both of them will be.
Izuku sniffs a bit, some tears escaping with the wind rushing against him but he soon replaces this with a wide smile as he continues that cherished play with her.
He’d be thankful if they’d be friends forever.
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.
.
“Do you really wanna be a hero, Deku-kun?”
“Absolutely!” he tries to put in the spirit of how his 4-year-old self answered her back then.
She laughs at that and playfully taps his arm. “You’re really amazing y’know…”
He couldn’t pinpoint what exactly it is, but somehow, the look of sadness Chako has now is… quite similar to the expression she wore when they were kids.
He smiles through his unanswered questions. “Thanks… for being here.”
She looks at him, her brown hair slightly following her from the sudden movement. He’s taller than her now. From childhood until they’re freshies, their heights didn’t really have this gap. “It’s the least I could do,” she says in a low tone he couldn’t quite grasp.
If only they were closer.
“Whispering like that isn’t very you. You’re more of a ‘Of course, I am, Deku-kun! ’ kinda girl.”
His rather spot-on mimicry of her is enough to get a good laugh out of her. Oh, how he loves listening to her like this.
It’s as if she isn’t hiding something from him.
“Ochako.”
Using her full first name like that sets the turn of their talk differently. It’s still a couple of hours before their graduation ceremony. Both of them are here pretty early. Probably the earliest bunch, considering that barely any other students are here yet.
He looks at the entrance of UA and remembers the day of the entrance exam. He tripped on his way, but she was with him and saved him from falling.
At this same place and at this exact time, they’re here for a different reason. But she’s still with him.
“Yeah?”
“I had a lot of obstacles in front of me just ‘cause I wanted to be a hero. You knew that since we were kids,” he starts as she remains silent. “And I really mean it when I say thank you. I was Quirkless, and no one believed in me. Not even All Might at first. Except you.”
Izuku gazes at her, watching her eyes well up at him. He continues, “What did you say before? It’s a bad omen to trip and fall?” He laughs a bit. “So many times I’ve tripped and fallen, and you were always there for me, always. Now, we’re just one step away. I wouldn't be here if not for you.”
She breaks eye contact, and he doesn’t miss the way her lips quiver. “So, tell me, why are you unhappy?”
Chako opens her mouth to speak with evident delay. “I dunno what you mean.”
Izuku places his scarred hand between them, his palm facing her. She’s still looking down but slowly peeks. “Would you give me your hand?”
Reluctantly, Ochako nods and places her hand on his inviting palm. She makes it a point to raise her pinky. Izuku feels the softness of her fingerpads squish onto his skin and gets a bit shy despite this whole thing being his idea. He clears his throat while ignoring the warmth on his freckled face and holds her left hand gingerly.
“I… I think your hands are beautiful. I think it’s amazing that your Quirk’s directly connected to your hands too. It’s as if you’re meant to be a hero. You’re meant to save. You saved me too, Ochako.”
He could feel the slightest shake of her hand on his touch, and before it slips away, he tightens his hold, not strong enough to hurt her but not loose enough to let her go. She needs to hear this.
“Thank you so much for saving me.”
Izuku could see the whole of Ochako tremble as if stopping her tears. She shakes her head, the good chunk of her hair covering every bit of expression before she fully faces him with a prepared smile. “I like your hands too, Deku-kun.”
She may look rigid, and her smile may be somewhat forced. However, knowing her since childhood, he can tell she means what she says. He’d be an idiot if he won’t honor her feelings.
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.
.
“You idiot!”
He laughs at that, even if it physically hurts to do so. Is that really the only thing she can tell him at the moment? He just smiles at her.
“I… knew you’d be here.”
“Don’t talk for now,” she tells him in haste, then holds onto the left side of her headgear. “HQ, someone, please! Deku’s hurt! I’ve applied first aid; we need help right now!” She must be referring to his fatal wound and the pool of blood on the ground.
“Uravity, you… can’t show your anguish.”
“Deku, please… this isn’t the time for jokes.”
“I’m not. You should be smiling right now.” Izuku maintains his and hopes that she mirrors him.
Chako does, thankfully. She smiles slightly even if her eyes fail her and start shedding unwanted tears.
“Please don’t do this to me again, Deku-kun. The Enigma’s dead. Help’s coming. Stay with me, I beg you.”
Again?
Izuku doesn’t have any ounce of energy to question that. But he places a hand on her cheek, a bit of his blood coating its whiteness. He wants to apologize, but as he feels himself being drained of everything, he chooses the best words he could part with.
“I… I should’ve asked you to be my girlfriend.”
Her tears continue to flow, but she preserves her smile for him. She presses his hand onto her cheek firmly. She nods, speaking in between hiccups. “Ask… away. I’ll say yes.”
He chuckles at that as the pain steadily increases and scatters throughout his nerves. Without letting go, he closes his eyes, gasps, and bites his lip to contain the pain he feels in his chest.
“Deku-kun!”
“I’m alright… I haven’t asked yet,” he says, heavily panting.
Breathing in and breathing out, he manages and looks at her again. “Ochako…”
Tears barely stopping, she looks into his eyes expectantly.
“I really like… no… I’m in love with you. Will you be my girlfriend?” He grins at her with all the confidence she has built in him since he knew her. He’s finally able to confess without anything holding him back.
“Yes, yes, Deku-kun.” With each word she lets out, she loses every bit of faked composure as sobs escape her mouth. The more seconds that pass with no help coming, the harder it gets for her to maintain what remains. “I-I’d like to be your… girlfriend.”
Izuku admires the strength she tries to hold on for his sake in his last moments.
Even now, he still doesn’t know the heaviest of burdens she’s carrying… but…
Can he be selfish just this once?
“Sorry for not telling you sooner.”
“Deku-kun—”
“Sorry for not… being able to help you.”
“It’s okay, don’t say that…”
“I’m sorry, Ochako…”
“Don’t—”
“I really don’t want to die…” As soon as he says that, his smiling façade shatters. His whole body suffers from pain, but his heart cries out for all the things he could never experience anymore.
To be a hero is a dream come true. But to lose his life… it’s something he couldn’t understand until death itself is fetching him.
He screams as loud as he can, as much as he can. He lets the tears fall until nothing’s left.
But time is no ally. His remaining time would never be enough to rid himself of this torture.
Chako tries her best to smile for him, to match the gentlest smile he was giving her before his breakdown. Just at the sight of her smiling for him, he feels his heart be whole from the very act of it. She wipes the tears staining his cheeks and then kisses his forehead.
He doesn’t know how long it lasted. All he knows is that he feels safe.
He forgets all his troubles. He forgets his regrets. He forgets his fears.
“You really saved me this time.”
His beautiful emeralds say goodbye to the world—to her, one last time. He closes his eyes, one last teardrop escaping, then rests in an eternal sleep in the arms of his beloved. It’s her warmth that served as his final send-off.
Unrecorded: When will this end?
“I accept.”
Just as soon as Izuku vows to take part in the mission, a hand slamming loudly on the long table disrupts the whole meeting.
“No!”
Uraraka’s never the type to have an outburst during planning, but now everyone’s a witness to the very scene. All pro-heroes and authorities’ eyes fall on her, eyebrows raised.
Knowing her, she would apologize or explain what this is all about. But Izuku doesn’t see any of that. All he watches is an Uraraka who ignores everyone else and who looks at him with desperation as if she’s pleading.
“Ura…raka-san?” Even he loses his professional card because of how she looks right now. The way she looks at him.
It felt wrong to call her Uravity.
“Please don’t do it, Deku-kun…”
He watches every bit of her, noting every little detail. Her tensed hand is still on the table, the other reaching her left temple. She seems to be wincing in pain and trying to hide it.
A heavy curtain of awkwardness falls in the meeting room, but the head of operations, Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight, yells through its denseness. Saying that ‘issues of lovebirds should be dealt with outside professional meetings,’ the gathering abruptly ends and is rescheduled. It’s a big factor that most of the participants in this meeting are their classmates and batchmates from UA—who gave them concerned looks before leaving.
Izuku blushes at the afterthought that Kacchan left. Lovebirds? Really?
He and Uraraka aren’t… a thing…
…yet.
The green-haired man scratches the nape of his neck. It doesn’t help that everyone from class—at least, the boys—knows his long-time crush on Uraraka. At first, it’s just him being awkward with girls in general, with his low self-confidence a huge anchor to that. But over time, she just… makes him feel and discover different emotions—something beyond gratitude, beyond pure joy, and beyond friendship.
Something called love.
But before he gets carried away with his shameful incompetence at confessions, he really should focus on the important matter at hand: Uraraka herself.
She hasn’t really calmed down, even when everyone else left. But it looks like she isn’t in pain anymore, thankfully.
No words are exchanged between them, and the awkwardness feels like it’d crush them both. So Izuku stands up and—
“Wh-Where are you going?!” Uraraka has stood up the moment he did, and her hand is already at the end of his sleeve. Quick reflexes; fitting for one of the best heroes of this generation. She stares at him, the desperation from earlier still present… and growing.
He feels her shaking through his sleeve. Pulling his gaze from her hand to her face, he answers her.
“I… was just gonna grab water for both of us.”
“Oh…” She lets go of him with a hint of hesitance, takes her seat slowly, then apologizes mutely.
Izuku leaves the room reluctantly.
He’s considering asking her to talk in another place, but maybe she needs to calm down first.
Ten minutes pass when he approaches the meeting room door. He is holding two water bottles with his left arm, and one can of green tea in his right hand. He knocks, but even before he can twist the knob, a teary Uraraka opens the door.
“Uraraka-sa–?!” He almost drops the drinks upon seeing her, but especially when she throws herself at him and buries her face on his chest. Her hands find comfort in wrinkling his green hero suit.
While being this close to her is foreign and somewhat embarrassing, he prioritizes soothing her over anything else. He awkwardly transfers the can to his left hand, then lightly pats her head. He strokes the strands of her hair as tender as he can.
Her quivering against him lessens, and her hold on his clothes loosens bit by bit.
Glued like that for a while in the doorway, Uraraka then steps back. “I’m… I’m really sorry, Deku-kun.”
He shakes his head and smiles. “Do you wanna go out with me, Uraraka-san?”
She stares at him again, differently this time, a bit of flush dusting her cheeks with her eyes widened. The color immediately contrasts her paleness and restlessness. Izuku catches on and realizes the implication of his words and—
“I-I mean, that’s not… but I… U-Uraraka-san, I…!”
Uraraka laughs, a bit uncharacteristic based on how she was moments ago, but more than anything, this sight calms Izuku back. It’s really music to his ears when she laughs. It means more to him when he’s the cause of that sweet, sweet laughter.
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“So…” he says in a low tone as he sits beside her. He finds himself in Takoba Beach, the very place he cleaned as training. Seeing it still remain sparkly clean and maintained surely champions the worth of all his efforts.
However, having Uraraka next to him here with the warm can sandwiched in her hands feels a different kind of special. This place is something else for him and All Might, after all, but he finds comfort in sharing this intimate space with her.
Izuku just didn’t expect this time to be that time of all times.
He lets his eyes fall on her once more. She’s staring at the ground, but her shaking and restlessness are now gone.
“…The Enigma.”
Izuku tenses a bit as she speaks. He adjusts his seat to lean more forward. “It’s the target of our next operation.” The one which she was desperate to stop him from going.
“The Enigma…” she says again, and he notices the strain in her voice as she lets the name leave her lips. It’s something he’s never heard from her. A mix of disgust, hatred, and sorrow? Maybe he shouldn’t be able to pick all these up from mere syllables… but somehow, he can.
“Uraraka-san…”
Her hold on the can tightens, small dents carving the metal, as she takes a deep breath. She faces him as he nervously awaits what leaves her mouth next. Her brown eyes look misty, and somehow the corners are tinted. It looks like she’s about to cry again.
“Don’t go, Deku-kun…” Her voice shakes again, similar to her outbursts earlier but somehow calmer. It matches the ocean’s waves at the moment, slow but still moving.
He pauses, a bit taken aback despite this plea not being a new thing by now. Izuku smiles at her apologetically.
“I have to. We have to stop them.” According to the intel, the villain has tapped on several Quirk experimentations. While their own Quirk—Cloak, in which they can erase their own presence for a few minutes—is not a big deal in itself, the fact that they have brought other people down just for their experiments is a huge concern. No one has yet to live to tell the tale of what they're planning.
Uraraka bites her lip as her eyebrows meet. She returns a small smile, something out of empathy and not joy or satisfaction. “I knew you’d say that. You always do.”
It’s as if she's speaking of someone that’s both him and not him.
“Why’re you so intent on stopping me?” he manages to ask. Of the many questions in his head, this one is the easiest to turn into words.
“’Cause I don’t wanna lose you again.” Her answer comes in a fast snap. He isn’t ready to take that in, and she also isn’t happy with what she said. Uraraka lets go of the can as it floats between them. She inches closer to him, so close that he almost suffocates.
The same fire of desperation is back in her eyes.
But this time, she isn’t pleading.
“I can’t let you die, Deku-kun.”
Izuku, in turn, could only stare and merely process her words. But before he could even try to respond to her and make sense of the whole thing, she loses whatever strength was keeping her together.
“Uraraka-san!”
He quickly catches her, scooping her exhausted figure in his arms. He strokes her head and breathes out in relief as he confirms her breathing’s stable.
“…Don’t leave me again.”
The can that was just floating suddenly falls and its barely drunk content spills to the ground.
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Outside the hospital’s hallway, crimson shoes keep pacing back and forth, each step’s thud lingering in the air. His lower lip starts going numb from how long he’s been pinching it with his fingers. He scrunches his face, green brows meeting, facial expression distorting.
Think, Izuku. Think.
Images of her smiling and laughing with him present themselves in his mind like a lovely slideshow. But the more happy memories flash by, the more frustrated he gets. The more his fists tighten, the more his forehead creases, and the more his heart constricts.
What’s happening to Uraraka? This can’t be a sudden thing. Why didn’t he notice anything wrong with her at all?
For fuck’s sake, why is he so useless right now?!
“Midoriya-san!”
A firm tap on his shoulder is enough to get him back to reality.
“Yaoyorozu-san… So-Sorry… I was… How’s Uraraka-san?” He tumbles on words, but above everything else, his worry for her is the greatest. It's a blessing that Yaoyorozu's in the hospital too and helped.
“She’s still asleep, but the doctor said nothing’s wrong with her vitals. She has anemia and needs plenty of rest.”
“I see.” Anemia isn’t a fitting answer.
The black-haired lady most likely notices the dissatisfaction in his features. “Do you not believe them, Midoriya-san?”
“I-It’s not that… Just…” Izuku looks down, trying to piece into words his jumbled thoughts. “I just wish I knew what I could do for her.” He has so many questions, but at the end of the line, this is what’s clear to him.
Yaoyorozu gives him a soft but sad smile. “You don’t have to bring it all upon yourself. We’re her friends too, but we did not notice anything either,” she says in a mellow tone before firmly stating, “But our choices are limited if she herself does not want to let anyone know.”
An ear-piercing scream from the room interrupts their talk. They cross the hallway to run to Uraraka’s room.
His heartbeat knocks against his ribcage painfully as he hears more screams and loud noises in the room. Each scream stabs him and twists his insides.
As they arrive, they see the nurse inside holding Uraraka by her shoulders as she forces and struggles to get up and out of bed.
“—kun! Let go! I need to go to Deku-kun!”
“Uraraka-san, you can’t—”
“Please, I have to go!”
Izuku immediately goes to her bedside, holds her by the arms, and nods to the nurse in charge. “I’m here, Uraraka-san!”
She doesn’t immediately stop and tries to break free from his hold, but he pulls her towards him into a full embrace. “I’m right here.” Izuku gently pushes her head to his shoulder and runs his palm across her back. “You don’t need to go anywhere…”
The brunette calms down, registering his presence, her fists releasing her fingers and reciprocating his hug. She sniffs and sobs lightly. For a minute or so, they stay like that until she loses consciousness again.
After the nurse’s call, the doctor arrives, and Yaoyorozu helps the nurse explain what happened.
As the doctor checks again on Uraraka, who’s sleeping peacefully on the bed, Izuku stays by her side, holding her hand. He closes his eyes and digs deep into every crevice of his brain. Just any hint. Even if Uraraka’s been very careful, there must be something that they… that he can do for her.
What else can I do for you?
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.
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“Basically, a proposal for a small-scale thorough investigation first instead of an all-out operation.”
Izuku nods.
“And what makes you think I’ll go with your plan, damn nerd?”
“I don’t think you will, to be honest.” A sheepish grin, one that Kacchan really despises. “But, I knew you’d hear me out first.”
Kacchan glares at him, red eyes piercing him as if skinning him alive. Classic Kacchan.
“Tch. Cheeky bastard.”
Despite that, Izuku knows he’s right.
“Thanks! I knew you’d help.” He smiles bigger, still something that his childhood friend hates with all his guts.
And so Izuku proceeds to explain the short conversation with Uraraka. Other than Yaoyorozu, Izuku had asked their other friends if they noticed something different about her, but the results were the same. One thing to note is that none of them involved Uraraka mentioning the villain at all. Only to him.
“I asked her agency too if they have old files and information on The Enigma, just to check for previous encounters.”
“Obviously, they don’t.”
“Yeah, nonexistent at all.”
“And you’re still insistent that this has something to do with the bastard.”
Izuku nods. Kacchan really catches on quickly as expected. “That’s why I need more information. And if we proceed with the original plan, there’s a risk that evidence may be destroyed.”
The blond brings out a folder from his drawer. He briefly skims through its contents before staring back at Izuku.
“An investigation can be done first, but the original plan will push through if they get caught.”
Izuku holds his breath.
“That means you’re out of the capture operation if that happens.”
There’s not much of a choice. But as long as the evidence is intact… “Understood.”
Kacchan closes the folder and continues speaking. “We have information on their hideout except for one room. According to the last field notes, they rarely use that room so the assumption’s that it’s just some storage room. Metal detectors didn’t react either so no devices in there.”
He then slides the file toward Izuku’s direction before continuing. “Chances are low.”
“I know, but it’s a start.”
Kacchan smirks mockingly. Again, classic Kacchan. “You’re really a cheeky bastard, yeah? Acting high and mighty when you aren’t even gonna be there.”
Izuku sighs. “I trust Uraraka-san. There’s… a reason why she doesn’t want me to go. I sincerely think, there’s something we have to know first.” Those wishes she feels so strongly about.
The spiky-haired hero rolls his eyes. “Disgusting. Give me that kinda speech again when you’ve confessed.”
“Ka-Kacchan!”
.
.
.
In his line of work, Izuku learned one common thing in every case. There’s always bad news attached to every good news.
The good news is that, while he and Uravity weren’t part of the operation, The Enigma was successfully captured with all evidence intact and recovered. It may be anti-climactic, especially from a Hero’s point of view, but the green-haired man has no regrets about his decision.
However, the bad news is…
“Here’s something… relevant, Deku,” says the cop standing beside Tsukauchi, who now boasts some patches of gray hair on his head. After a small bow, the cop leaves the meeting room, leaving Izuku and the well-esteemed detective.
“Right on the mark, hero. That one room had loads of The Enigma’s secret studies. There’s already sufficient evidence of illegal experimentation from other areas of his hideout, but that room contained something deeper.”
Tsukauchi, though professional and calm, unfortunately, isn’t enough to soothe the tremors in Izuku.
Sharp coldness stabs him from the inside, building up a strong mass of discomfort in his stomach. He feels the cold trailing and releasing to the ends of his hair. A ghostly chill travels toward his body, haunting every nerve, leaving knots in his chest. He could feel his fingertips go clammy as he shivers in rage and repulsion.
What the actual hell?
Izuku’s eyes want to unsee the twisted information offered right before him. It has all the answers to his questions. An ugly truth that strangles him and crushes his insides.
How can someone… ever think of doing this?
On the file handed to him is an intricate plan by The Enigma that specifically targets him.
It’s a thick set of documents elaborating on several ways to kill him, taking into consideration his personal information and fighting abilities. Different methods, different locations. Each way has a plan B which also fakes his “death” if plan A fails.
But the most nauseating thing about the whole file isn’t about him at all. It’s that his “death” is just a catalyst to get Uraraka. Or Quirk users like Uraraka.
[Time Travel Simulation Ingredients: Warp, Speed, Timelapse, and Zero Gravity]
Quirk synergy predicted success rate: 50%
Notes :
-Subjects who undergone extreme and intense emotions such as grief and pain showed higher results in synergy rate
-Forced Quirk release under distressed situations showed potential for Quirk mutation
-Quirk mutations are unpredictable in this stage and may affect overall results; Subjects must willingly use their Quirks
Izuku almost ruins the documents, his hands unable to hide the growing and imploding wrath in him.
He couldn’t even fathom someone referring to Quirks as mere ingredients . And real people as just subjects for an experiment. But the craziest of all…
“Time travel…”
The elder detective nods. “The Enigma’s obsessed with the concept of time travel and experiments on Quirks that involve the manipulation of time and space. His hideout wasn’t as massive as the Nomu laboratories we’ve raided in the past. But at least 30 individuals were subjected to different forms of mental torture to use their Quirk. You… get the idea.”
Tsukauchi continues on, talking about how the victims had to come in contact with some device that absorbs portions of their Quirk. The Enigma manipulated them to use their Quirks excessively and have the device absorb it so he could fuse them, thus the synergy rates.
Uraraka’s the last on his list to complete the experiment.
Whatever Tsukauchi says barely enters his ears. Instead, Izuku remembers Uraraka once more.
.
“Don’t go, Deku-kun…”
.
“I knew you’d say that. You always do.”
.
“’Cause I don’t wanna lose you again.”
.
“I can’t let you die, Deku-kun.”
.
.
.
“…Don’t leave me again.”
The whole thing’s difficult to process. But connecting the dots… he shouldn’t deny what Uraraka’s gone through. What it is that she’s still going through.
Speed rushes to his feet as he stands up, murmurs an apology and a thank you, then runs to the hospital.
.
.
.
Familiar beeping sounds echo in the hallway. They get louder then fainter with every step. The machinery’s sounds drown out even the rapid squeaks of his foot hitting the glossy floor.
The white’s almost blinding, the lights bouncing on the walls and the halls. Yet more than that, it’s his tears that blur his vision. The wind carries away the tears as he sprints but more layers form. And when he finally reaches the door and slides it open, his mouth opens in desperation.
The window’s light illuminates her figure. The natural light carefully outlines her. She turns to him as if expecting him. ‘Cause she wouldn’t prepare this practiced smile if that isn’t the case.
“I knew it's you, Deku-kun!” She beams at him, relief washing over her features before looking stunned. “What’s wro—”
He couldn’t even respond to her. He just lets his arms wrap around her, savoring her warmth, feeling her heartbeat against his.
“De-ku…-kun?”
Izuku tightens his hold on her, sniffing, whiffing a bit of her scent. It’s him who’s hugging her, but it’s him who feels like he’s disintegrating before her. A sob escapes his mouth as she lets her hands rub his broad back. “Are you hurt?”
Even after everything she’s gone through…
He shakes his head, the only response he can give at the moment, then hears her hum as if consoling him. “Have I ever told you that I love your hands?”
“They’re strong hands that always extend themselves for other people. Always open, always giving. So whatever it is that has you down, I’m reminding you that you’re a great hero, Deku-kun.”
He loosens his hold on her and cups her cheeks. They aren’t as full, but they have more color now compared to the paleness days ago. He lets his thumbs stroke the smoothness of her skin as he looks at her eye to eye. In such warm colors, all he sees is her gentleness and kindness. It pains him to know what cold worlds those eyes have seen. Countless times. “Uraraka-san? It’s over now.”
She looks so full of doubt, so full of confusion. “What’s… over?”
“You… don’t have to do it anymore.” He shakes his head, his eyes stinging as more tears leave him, his voice cracking all the more.
He feels her thumb wipe some of his tears, her gentle touch making him ache and cry more. “I don’t… understand.”
Izuku gives her a smile, a reassuring one, a kind of curve that hopes to set things straight despite his lips barely making it. “No one will hurt you anymore.” He strokes her hair, tucking a lock behind her ear. “It’s over,” he repeats.
She watches and connects with his gaze, the confusion slowly melting. Her honey-brown eyes become misty, as they narrow so slowly, with her eyebrows meeting, with her mouth parting.
“I won’t leave you anymore. Ever.”
The tears slide down her cheeks so smoothly, with little trinket-like droplets adorning her lashes. But they look like the heavy loads she’s been carrying for so, so long. Each tear falls slowly, but another soon follows. And another one. Another. And another.
Until the tears continuously stream down her face, with her eyes closed and her hands around him tightening. She starts crying out loud, like a child’s very first cry. The cries become screams as she hugs him, much tighter than she could have ever held him.
Like a prayer, she chants his name in between her gasps and hiccups. He shares that moment with her, crying with her and reciprocating the tightness of her embrace, burying his face between her neck and shoulder. From time to time, amidst her incoherent whimpers, he hears apologies, and hugs her tighter with every apology.
For a moment, they stay like that—just in each other's embrace with no other words exchanged.
There’s much more to be done after this, but for now, what's most important for Izuku is to let Uraraka know that this time, she doesn’t have to endure anything by herself anymore.
“This time, I’ll be with you.”