What Could Have Been (vigilante deku)

51

We don't talk about the fact that it's 3 in the morning-

________

"I'm a little scared Sensei," Izuku stated as he shifted on his feet, shivering as more snow bit at his skin, kissing it red. "Will it hurt?"

"There's nothing to be afraid of. It'll only hurt for a second." Sensei responded and checked to make sure the gun in his hand was loaded. "To be a hero, vigilante, or even a villain, you have to know how to take a bullet. A hand gun bullet travels at more than 700 miles per hour. You can try and dodge, but sometimes you won't see it coming."

"Right." Izuku said, still shifting nervously and fidgeted with the humongous coat he had on.

"You ready?" Sensei asked, pointing the gun directly at Izuku's chest.

The greenette flinched at the sudden movement, eyes filling with tears but they hardened in determination and he nodded.

Jr peaked his head out the warehouse, shivering a bit at the sudden hit of cold air. He focused his red eyes on the gun that had been previously aimed at his own chest.

He winced when he remembered the red bruise it left behind and was still prominent on his pale skin. He lifted his hand to place it over his chest unconsciously as he watched the scene unfold.

He wanted to tell Izuku that he didn't have to be scared and that it wasn't all that bad, but he couldn't. He would be reprimanded by Sensei if he did.

Sensei was big on experience with these trainings. You have to feel the fear, suspense and reluctance so you can do better next time. If Jr told Izuku the hidden truth, he wouldn't feel the true feelings he had when standing with a gun pointed at him.

"Ready?"

Izuku nodded hesitantly, gulping down his fear and squeezed his eyes shut.

He held back a scream as the gun sounded, the bang echoing off the trees surrounding him and the warehouse.

He felt the force as it hit him, and it sent him tumbling back.

His breathing sped up and he began to cry, thinking he had genuinely gotten shot. But once the pain he felt faded after a few seconds, he was left with confusion.

He began to pat at his chest, only to be relieved that he wasn't bleeding anywhere.

It was kind of hard with the big coat on, but he sat up and looked over at Sensei, emerald eyes begging for answers.

Sensei laughed. "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet, Izuku." He gave Izuku another second to try and figure out what was going on but the boy's mind couldn't wrap around what just happened.

Sensei sighed and walked over to Izuku, offering his hand to pull him back up. The greenette hesitantly took it and let the older male pull him up.

"I didn't give you that coat just because it was cold, Izuku. I gave it to you because it has a built in vest."

"Vest?" Izuku asked, dusting himself off and scrubbing the tears away from his stained red face.

"Yeah, a vest. To stop the bullet from hitting you directly. It still causes impact as you just witnessed. The force of the bullet hitting the fabric that protected your body, sent you backwards. If you want to be a hero, you have to stop yourself from falling backwards or else you give room for your opponent to attack. That's our next lesson so get back on your feet and get yourself together. I'll go get Rose."