Jade

Part 55

This was a double update, please read Part 54 before this.
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"I don't dream anymore."

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"Why do we have to cook?!" Mineta screamed as the onions he was chopping made tears fall from his eyes.

"Will you shut the fuck up! Just make the damn food!" Katsuki yelled from where he was cutting carrots at a dramatic speed.

"Oye, stop showing off." Kirishima said when he felt the literal backlash from Katsuki's knife skills.

"You cook? Well?" Uraraka asked.

"What, like it's hard?"

"Are you guys done with the vegetables?!" Kendo yells from where they were making the curry and rice.

"Just about, we're waiting on the potatoes! Iida's taking his sweet time with them." Kaminari responded and gestured for Izuku to help him carry the cut vegetables to Kendo.

"How are you doing that?"

"Just balance." Izuku casually said while holding four bowls on each hand. "I'm actually really hungry." The greenet attempted to make small talk.

"Oh my god me too, my head's still fried so no one let me cook but I had to watch all of them and god, I never thought a carrot could look that good." Kaminari set the vegetables down and some students of 1B put them in the curry.

"Off topic but I don't think Iida knows how to peel a potato." He whispered with a laugh.

"I'm not surprised, to be honest." Izuku said and he was actually very proud that he was making conversation.

They finally took the finished potatoes to cook and soon the curry was finished. They settled in benches and on the grass as they ate the food they prepared.

Izuku was about to take a seat on the ground when he saw that same boy with the red, spiky hat run into the forest. He frowned when he noticed the full plate of food that the boy had left behind, Izuku frowned as he saw the steaming plate of food that his classmates had made with so much effort go to waste.

He grabbed the plate and followed the little boy's footprints through the trees until he stopped at a cliff where he saw him sitting on the ledge.

"Hey kid," the boy's head whipped in Izuku's direction. "Eat your dinner before it goes cold." He set the plate down next to him and took a seat beside him.

If Izuku remembered correctly then this boy's name was Kota.

"You shouldn't be here, this is my secret spot. Not even my aunt knows about it." He scolded as he looked anywhere but at Izuku.

"Why'd you kick Iida in the nuts yesterday?" Izuku simply asked and ate his food.

"I'd kick all of you in the nuts if I could." Kota grumbled and reluctantly put a spoon of warm rice into his mouth when he felt his empty stomach grumble.

"Damn, can I know why?" Izuku politely inquired as he tried to make conversation with him.

"You're all training to be heroes, heroes suck. They leave their families and die." Kota stated.

"Can't say I disagree." Izuku says as he continued to eat and look at the moon and stars that were more evident in the clean air.

"What do you mean, you're training to be a hero too!" He accuses. "And I heard my aunt saying that you were a vigilante."

"I am a vigilante. I'm not a hero for sure though, don't have the capacity for it." Izuku says when a faint smile.

"I'll say it again because you seem to be slow." Kota snarkily said. "You're literally taught by heroes at a hero school to become a hero."

"I don't want to be."

Kota didn't expect that answer, he looked down over the ledge with a solemn expression. "My parents died, they left me and went to be heroes. Heroes suck."

"Were they nice?" Izuku asked without shifting his gaze from the sky.

"Yeah...yeah they were. The best." Izuku heard a sniffle and chose to ignore it for Kota's sake. He just nodded his head in response.

"If it makes you feel any better then I wish my mum was dead." The teen bluntly stated.

"Why would you say that!" Kota yelled. "Why would you want that?!"

"Because unfortunately she isn't nice like your parents, Kota." Izuku sighed. "I'm sorry for bringing it up, I shouldn't have. You're a kid and you're probably smarter than me but I don't know how to explain it to you." He'd just remembered that this boy wasn't aware of how terribly corrupt the world world was, atleast not all of it. Izuku learned a while back that a child's mind is beautiful and he wouldn't be the cause of ruining the world for Kota.

"She's...she's just not a nice person. I can't put it in another way for you. She's awful and I'm pretty scarred by the things she's done."

Literally.

"I have a sort of aunt though, she's amazing, and a dad. They're both great, best things that ever happened to me. My dad's a tad overprotective though." The teenager played with a peice of carrot that just wouldn't split when he drove his spoon through it -well, tried to atleast.

"I was going somewhere with this." Izuku stopped his actions and looked ahead as if to recall what he was saying.

"Right. Your parents didn't leave you, they were doing their jobs which -when you think about it- they did for you. Also, never say they left you, they didn't. They just...they loved you Kota." Izuku said with the corners of his lips turned down.

"Saying they left you is disrespectful to them and hiding the fact that you miss them by being angry isn't...it isn't fair. To them or to you. You can cry or scream or lay in bed or eat your weight in icecream but don't be mad at them or yourself."

"And try to be nice to your aunt, she's trying her best. She lost a sibling too you know." He said. "Go talk to her about your parents and stuff, it'll help."

"Most heroes suck, your parents however? Top 10 on my list, the water duo right?" Izuku smiled when he saw the big red hat move forward and back, Kota had nodded.

Izuku stood up and dusted his shorts off before turning back to the dirt path leading to the camp.

"I'll leave you alone now but come back before your aunt worries." He said and Kota watched the Izuku's retreating figure with tears in his eyes.

"Thanks..."