One Chance (KiriBakuDeku)

Chapter 15: You're So Pretty It Hurts

When Izuku woke up, he felt better than he had in years. He was warm, comfortable, and he felt safe. He opened his eyes slowly, and rubbed at his eyes. He saw up, looking around. His eyes widened. Wait. Where the heck were they? He paused, looking at the light coming from what he guessed was the kitchen. Whose house was this? Wait. Where was Eri?

He stood up quickly, ignoring the blood rushing to his head. He walked towards the kitchen, hands up in a defensive position. He popped his neck. He knew that he would probably lose whatever fight he thought he was going into, but years with his father did something--at least he could hold a position until he found out where Eri was. 

But when he walked into the kitchen, ready for a fight, he saw Eri sleeping soundly in her chair with pro heroes Red Riot and Dynamight and...

"Oh my Lord, are you Pinky?" Now he knew that he wouldn't have gotten even close to beating any of the pros in the room. 

Pinky was one of Izuku's favorite heroes. She rose up the ranks quite quickly, but after a while, she started to fall, comfortable in her spot in the Top Thirties to Twenties. 

All of the pros turned their heads towards the noise, and they were met with a disgruntled figure, looking to be seriously tired and hungry--even though Izuku had never felt this well-rested in a long time.

"Why, yes, I am," Mina replied to his earlier question, a smile adorning her features. "And you're the famous Mr. Izuku Midoriya."

"Just Izuku is fine," Izuku winced at the use of his full name. He never liked his last name. He looked at his sister, who was still happily asleep. His gaze softened noticeably. 

"Ah, you must be hungry," Mina started to get up, grabbing him a bowl of fried rice just like before. Izuku didn't reject the food; it had been a while since he had eaten anyways. However, when Mina put the bowl of food in front of him, his body rejected it. 

"Oh, I'm not that hungry," he noted, which was odd because he was. But seeing the food, he found he wasn't. It wasn't that the food looked unappetizing--it looked great. 

Mina raised a brow in concern. "Are you sure?"

He nodded, "Yeah." And a thought popped up in his mind, and he suddenly straightened. "Did Eri tell you everything?"

Eijiro shook his head, ignoring the food thing for now. "No, she told us that you guys needed protecting and that the villain we caught a few days before wasn't actually them."

"Ah, alright." Izuku looked cautiously at all three pros. He wanted to tell them everything, and it wasn't that he wanted to protect his father, but... What if the information got them into more trouble? They were already asking for protection, and that was beyond selfish. Maybe the information would break them, because Izuku knew that they would believe him. He sighed, frustrated. "I think that's all for now--other than the fact that our father is a dangerous man," his gaze lingered on the two heroes that were his soulmates. One looked at him with concern, and the other with care. He winced, regretting the decision to go to them. 

He wanted to beat himself because--what had he been thinking? Putting these two amazing pros in harm's way just for a selfish motive. But Eri... His frustration grew. 

"I think..." He paused, and all the heroes' gazes were on him once again. "I think I have to go back. Eri is here now, but our father will come back for us. If he has me, at least I could stall for a while." 

"What? No." Izuku rose his head, surprised that he had just heard that response. His eyes widened when he noted that it was Katsuki and Eijiro that had said it at the same time. He gulped. 

"It would be best for her safety, and yours--" He tried to reason, but he wasn't trying to converse with Eri anymore. It was his soulmates. 

"No, your safety matters as well," Eijiro said, like it was final. "If your father is dangerous, and you two need protecting, then we have to keep that promise."

Izuku shut his mouth, but the guilt didn't stop bothering him. They needed to know just how dangerous his father was. And his mother. He gulped again. His mother. Oh, Lord. His mother's henchmen were everywhere. 

As a headache started to grow, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Mina's smile. "Hey," she said, tilting her head. "Those two idiots, believe it or not, are pretty talented when it comes to survival. You aren't putting any new targets on their back."

She smiled reassuringly, but if they just knew who their father was... Izuku started to speak, but he stopped. What if they thought he was here to kill them? If they knew that their father was All for One, he knew they would doubt him on other things, too. Maybe they would even rebuke their promises of keep Eri safe. 

He just nodded. He knew, knew that he should just tell them all, but... Fear held him back. 

"Okay," he heard himself say, but even he knew it didn't sound convincing. 

He felt another hand on his shoulder, and somehow this one calmed him. 

"Don't worry, Midoriya." Izuku heard Eijiro say, but he didn't move his gaze from the table. "Mina's right. No new targets." 

"Just Izuku is fine," Izuku repeated, finally looking at those cherry red eyes. The same color as his mark. The one he stared at for hours on end. A small smile rested on his lips, something about those eyes, their presence. Izuku felt his heart swell with a warm feeling, even though it was tainted slightly by his guilt. 

"Then Izuku it is."

Funny, the conversation said nothing about them being soulmates. So, why did it feel like they had known each other for years? Why did it feel like they cared for the green-haired man already? Izuku sighed. 

A man could dream.