Ticked Off [Boku No Hero Academia]

14: TRAINING CAMP: VILLAIN ATTACK

Being up at 5:30am left everyone exhausted, and the day only got worse from there. The training was gruelling and brutal. Izuku hated that he had to retrain his body in order to get to the strength he was at before, but it was also good motivation to continue, despite the aching in his body and the tiredness weighing heavy on his limbs.

Evening spilled over the landscape with soft, caramel hues. The class sat around a few tables, eating the curry they'd made themselves and chatting contentedly. Izuku stepped outside, glancing towards the forest as he noticed Kouta trudging off into the darkness. He was quick to grab a bowl of curry before walking after the child, only occasionally looking down to check for footprints when his memory failed him.

The student approached Kouta timidly, trying to keep his smile friendly even as the kid yelled at him with so much aggression Kacchan would be proud. It hurt to see someone so young harbour such anguish, despite attempting to cover it up with a rough facade. Izuku wondered for a moment if that's how Aizawa and All Might saw him when he casually brought up the trauma he'd experienced over the years. He gazed skyward, awed by the sprawling tapestry of stars that glimmered through the inky expanse.

"A secret hideout, huh? It's really cool..." He muttered absentmindedly, shifting his fingers around the bowl when the heat started to burn.

"Getting all into trying to improve your Quirk. It's gross." Kouta had his head lowered, hiding his face with his red cap. "You want to show off your power that badly?"

Izuku paused as he considered his next words. "I was Quirkless for fourteen years. People bullied me. Told me I couldn't be a hero. I couldn't accept that, so I kept practising... Trying to draw objects to me and attempting to breathe fire..."

Kouta blinked up, glaring. "Why should I care? You've got a Quirk, and now you're making a big deal out of how cool you think you are, just like everyone else does."

"Well, it's just... People who have Quirks tend to take them for granted. I don't think I'll ever get used to mine," he said contemplatively, raising one hand and letting a brief green sparkle dance across his fingers. "I always wanted to be a hero, like All Might, and now I've got a Quirk I have a chance. I want to be able to save people with a smile, to reassure them that it's going to be okay, even when everything seems hopeless..."

"But you can't save everyone. People will die, and it will be your fault because you didn't do enough. What kind of hero lets people die?" The kid snapped, kicking at the ground.

"I know. That's what I ask myself, sometimes, too." His gaze grew distant as his shoulders squared with a lifetime of mistakes bearing down on him. "Civilians get killed... Heroes get killed... It never gets any easier to deal with, really. It's horrible, and shouldn't ever happen to anyone, but... It does happen. It happens, and people are left alone to grieve their loved ones. I think... I think that's when heroes are most important, really."

"That doesn't make any sense," Kouta grumbled, but his voice was a little strained.

"When people go through something terrible, it becomes difficult to support themselves, and that's why heroes are so useful, because they're a reminder that, no matter how bleak things seem, someone will always rise up to protect those who can't protect themselves. That's the sort of hero I want to be." He broke from his reverie with a shaky exhale. "And that's why I train so hard, because I want people to be able to see me and feel reassured that they're going to be okay."