Seeking Comfort ( Izuku X Uraraka)

Chapter 20

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Mustering the courage to ask All Might about the truth was much harder than Izuku had imagined. He saw his mentor jogging at a comfortable pace many meters away and faltered for a second. Was this really the right thing to do? Would All Might put his heart at ease or make matters worse? Izuku realized that a part of him dreaded hearing the former hero's answer, but en equally big part felt that there was little choice in the matter.

As he watched helplessly, the tiny dot that was All Might became increasingly smaller and to the aspiring hero, it felt like his hope slowly shriveling up and dying. He reached out a trembling hand to grasp the back of his idol, like he had done many times in the past, but this time the scars on his hands and forearms glared back at him, reminding him of his place with All Might. Clenching his fist, Izuku decided that he was going to catch up to his mentor after all. He couldn't stand not knowing how he fit into the picture. Had meeting All Might and being granted his wish to become a hero really been a mistake? He desperately needed to know. The power that coursed under his skin might have been meant for someone else, but it had been bestowed upon him by choice, right? Taking the deepest breath he could and exhaling slowly, Izuku stormed forward and reached All Might within seconds.

Izuku heard the former hero call out to him and announce his arrival in his typical boisterous manner, which lost some of its effect in his weaker form. Izuku's heart raced partly from running and partly from trepidation. He had to do this. He needed to know what he had been kept in the dark about.

"Did you know everything all along?" Izuku watched All Might's back for any reaction, but the former hero wasn't caught off guard by his question, even as the green-haired boy elaborated. Had the number one hero known about Nighteye's knowledge and about Togata being groomed to become the next holder of One for All? And if so, why had he never mentioned it?

Sweat was trickling down Izuku's temple and he could feel his shirt sticking to his back, but he matched All Might's pace as he waited for an answer. He hadn't, however, expected All Might to dodge his questions and stating that maybe Izuku should have been told after all – without even turning around. That hurt Izuku way more than simply answering yes would have.

Of course All Might would have known. He was directly involved and if his sidekick had his sights on a worthy successor, surely he would have told the former pro hero? Izuku felt despair all the way down into his core. He had been kept in the dark from the beginning and even now when he was uncovering the truth on his own, All Might still wasn't coming clean. He had a right to know dammit!

Izuku couldn't take it anymore. He felt like a child thrust into a world of secrets that he wouldn't ever have dreamed about. No one was telling him the truth and he was sick of playing this game. He wanted answers and he wanted them now. He hadn't realized that he had voiced everything out loud. How he couldn't understand his mentor's intentions, the murkiness in his head and his place in all of this. Even after Izuku's outburst All Might didn't turn around.

"I'm not saying this as your fan, I'm saying this as your successor! I want to know everything!" Izuku hated the desperation in his voice, but he couldn't keep it contained. He felt like a trapped animal and All Might possessed the key to his cage. The aspiring hero tried his best to control himself as he waited for a response from his mentor.

A few strides ahead of him All Might looked over his shoulder and for the first time today, really looked at his protégé. His eyes were met with the most troubled expression he had ever seen the boy wear. Toshinori had merely wanted to protect Midoriya. There was no reason for the poor boy to speculate on things from the past and he would without a doubt compare himself to his upperclassman with much more experience.