Glass Heart

Glass Heart - Chapter Thirty

"Kid, you got a letter."

Those words set Izuku's heart on edge. He'd completed the physical exam about a week ago - and the written exam was the week prior to that - so this letter... was probably the results of the tests.

Could he... would he... become a hero?

Izuku accepted the letter Shouta passed him with trembling hands and sat down in the middle of the couch. Hizashi - who was vibrating with excitement - sat to his right, and Hitoshi sat to his left, Shouta standing behind them, leaning into the back of the couch.

For a few moments, Izuku found himself unable to move, worried thoughts surrounding him. What if he failed? What if he was banned from ever becoming a hero at all? What if he was so bad he was deemed a failure in society and was even more isolated? Would Shouta give him up to an orphanage if he failed?!

"IZUKU!"

... Oh, he was mumbling.

Lightning fast, Shouta, Hizashi and Hitoshi enveloped Izuku in a massive hug.

"Kid, we'd never do that. You may be a Problem Child, but you're our kid. We'd never give you up. And you're not going to be ejected from the hero career. The worst that would happen would be you failed. And that wouldn't be a bad thing, it'd make for a good learning experience, okay? You've worked so hard, whether you passed or failed, we'd be proud of you, kiddo."

Izuku began to tear up at Shouta's words, and Hitoshi carefully removed the letter from Izuku's hands before it could get tear stained and placed it on the table in front of the couch.

"Really kid? It's been almost three years since you entered our lives..." Shouta sighed, ruffling Izuku's hair. "Do you really think we would do something like that? Do you really think we wouldn't be proud of you?"

"I... I'm sorry!" Izuku replied, wiping away his tears. "I - I know you all care and you wouldn't do something so horrible. I just... this letter... being a hero is my dream, and you and Zashi are both heroes, so... I just..."

"Izuku, just because we're heroes doesn't mean you have to be one." Hizashi interrupted, voice quieter than it had been in a long time. "We'd love you no matter what career you take. You want to be a hero, and that's amazing, and we'll do our best to support you. If you fail the test we won't be upset, we'll be sad for you, as it's still sad news, but there will be other ways of making your dream come true. Failing here wouldn't result in a dead end. It would just result in you needing to... change direction, I guess."

"You... guess?" Hitoshi questioned.

Hizashi raised his hand to his head awkwardly. "Yeah, well I'm not much of a motivational speaker."

"... you host a radio show." Hitoshi deadpanned. "You work at UA and host multiple events there. Out of all the heroes besides maybe All Might, you ARE the motivational speaker."

"T - This is different!"

As Hitoshi and Hizashi argued, Izuku breathed a sigh of relief, his heart warming. No matter what he got, nothing bad would happen. He was at a crossroads, that's all. One answer would send him down one path, and the other answer would send him down a different path. Both work, both could end up with him becoming a hero.

Izuku breathed in and out, trying to steady himself, as he reached for the ominous envelope. Noticing this, Hitoshi and Hizashi playfully glared at each other in a truce and focused their attention back on Izuku. Shouta simply sighed at their antics and went back to stroking Izuku's hair in a comforting manner.

Izuku's hand started to shake, as he picked up the folded letter. Even with everyone's kindness and support... could he do this?

Hitoshi reached over and grasped Izuku's hand.

"Hey, it's okay Izu. We're here, and we love you."

Hizashi grabbed Izuku's other hand.

"That's right, little listener. You've got us, we're here."

"And we always will be here. No matter what the words in that envelope say." Shouta finished, placing his hands on Izuku's shoulders.

Slowly, Izuku stopped trembling.

He could do this.

He would do this.

He would face his future head on!

In a flash, he tore open the document, and a singular piece of paper fell out. As it fluttered down to the ground, everyone could clearly see the massive green stamp that had been pressed diagonally across the document.

PASSED.

Deku was going to be a hero.

Hi everyone! Sorry again about the weird author note from last chapter XD

I hope you enjoyed reading! Even though it's been a two year gap, Izuku still has trauma that hasn't been able to disappear - trauma can never truly go away, we just have to learn how to deal with it in healthy fashions. That was what I was trying to demonstrate with this chapter.

I mean that, and IZUKU BECOMING A HERO! YAAAAAASSSSSSSSS!

Izuku - or Deku - is now officially a hero.

Oh... and if you were worrying about 'where's the licence' - it's actually still in the envelope! It didn't fall out initially and was stuck in the corner. Hizashi almost threw it away later, but Shouta luckily spotted it stuck in the envelope corner XD

I think... the next few chapters will be dedicated to Izuku's hero work, and All Might. Yes, All Might. If you by now can tell Izuku's character, I think you'll be able to guess what's going to happen. However, next chapter also dictates what Izuku's hero costume is going to look like! I'm excited!!

This is your last chance to shoot me any ideas you may have. I'll make sure to credit anyone whose ideas I included.

But for now...

Peachy out! 😊