the day it stopped raining | midoriya izuku

02 | dwelling skies

TOKYO
18°C
HEAVY RAIN

To Midoriya Izuku—rain is like a blessing of hope for people in suffering who are not suitable for the blinding sun.

Perhaps that might be true for deserted humans and crops left in the scorching sun—the star's eye just a glance too much. Too much that it burns and itches like a citizen's unsterilized wound dusted by rubble. The mists of smoke slowly clearing away by the heavy rain in which both heroes and villains don't know—did it made it worse or better?

He stands in the midst of a landslide. Fallen houses lying over one another like crumbled pies except that it's uncooked and raw and cold. Little pools formed within enclosed spaces minutes after the heroes evacuated everyone whilst also searching for missing citizens in a mountain of concrete, leaving Deku—the rookie hero—to claw the last bits of humanity left in an unprecedented disaster.

Midoriya squints his eyes, the heavy rain reducing his ability to look out for any signs of movement, the little spark of hope flickering away in the gems of his green eyes. He frowns, just so, sighing as the rain that was already coating his face, drips down to his lips.

Yet, rain is like an anchor that rots away the blessing held upon the unknown population of helpless humans that he wished in a heartbeat that the starry sun could pierce through the storm and shine a light on beautiful humans. However, Midoriya was still a human with or without a quirk. He's not a god nor an ancient being who could control the weather. But deep down, he wished the rain would be as gentle as a feather.

And so, Midoriya Izuku had promised to himself since then that he, would be the walking sunshine of hope in the world's eyes.

He trudges through the land of destruction caused by the bad weather itself. As simple a landslide sounds, Tokyo has been raining non-stop for many months that at the outskirts of the city where a town resides below a small mountain, were endangered by uprooted trees and large amounts of earthy soil. Burying more than twenty homes in the perimeter. Although it only seemed like it's just a bunch of old trees and soil, the strong winds were underestimated too, forcing those to take shelter and hence, resulting in civilians getting trapped.

Black and red boots crushed tiny rocks in the way of his search, his costume soaked from top to bottom. Dishevelled green hair turns dark at every drop it lands, curling the ends of his strands. His gaze frantically searches for the last signs of life—a shaking hand, a struggling grip—anything. Anything that moves and desperate for saving.

His prayers were answered when he saw a hand out in the open, causing Midoriya to sprint towards it and immediately remove the debris that was covering their body. He crouched down to them, noticing it's a little boy no older than ten, visibly quivering from the cold hard rain.

"H-Hey..." The hero cradles the boy, hugging him closer to his chest despite his body shaking from the cold as well. "It's okay. I'm here now."

The young civilian seemed to hear his voice, eyes barely opening to look at the hero—the only hero in sight as if he was the only hope of light just as Midoriya wished.

"H-Hero..?" His small voice warms his heart, and it makes Midoriya smile brightly despite the gloomy clouds.

"Yeah. You're safe now."

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The makeshift medical tent made underneath the wet weather bustles with paramedics tending to the injured. Some lost consciousness due to being exposed to the rain for too long while most were minor injuries from light debris falling on their heads and limbs. There were zero deaths, which made Midoriya sigh in relief. Although natural disasters were mostly swept under the rug by some egoistic heroes, the rookie learned since the beginning that everyone needed to be saved—heroes, villains and the powerless. It didn't matter who.

Midoriya stood by the edge of the tent sheltering him. His whole body was still cold but feels himself naturally warming up from the company of others. His gaze watched from afar, into the in-betweens of dewdrops and foggy skies—lost in thought, lost in senses.

At some point, he feels the need to solve something—save something. To stop everything in place just so everything would be back to normal. The desperation lingering in his heart the entire time he was here, in Tokyo, as a sidekick—to stop, for once, heaven from covering everyone's tears with its ocean kisses.

The awareness of the smallness of his perspective, by which he couldn't possibly draw any meaningful conclusions at all, about the world or the past or the complexities of culture, because although his life is an epic and unrepeatable anecdote, it still only has a sample size of one, and may end up being the control for a much wilder experiment happening in the next room.

"Deku! There's hot tea by the ambulance! Get some before they go cold!"

He turns around to see Miruko, the bunny hero skipping towards him before throwing a small towel on his head, causing him to grunt at the unexpected force. But pulls it off his head to dry his hair.

"I'm good. Thanks." He smiles but thins his lips again when he looks away.

"What? You shit your pants or somethin'?"

Midoriya's eyes bulged at her assumption and falls in a stuttering mess. He glances at his mentor again to see her questioning face, long ears drooping in thought.

"N-No, ma'am! J-Just thinkin—"

He yelped when she grabbed his head in her muscular arms, rubbing the centre of his head. "I thought I told you to call me by my hero name, you twink!"

"Y-Yes, Miruko-san!"

The hero lets go of the rookie, blowing off the strand of her platinum hair as she huffs. "So? What's wrong? What's with the gloomy face?"

The boy bites his lip nervously, not wanting to worry one of the top five heroes in Japan. The bunny hero was nice enough to accept any sidekick like him since she mentioned that his combat involving his use of legs needed a little tweaking. He cried on his knees in her office when she stamped her approval. Miruko was already busy with her own missions since she was solo on most of the frontlines. But ever since rookie Deku came into vision, she had to train him, guide him and also observe him no matter what situation he's in—including now.

"Just spit it out. I know that idiotic look." He almost winced at the idiotic part. "We've been working together for almost a year now. You can say whatever you want. Anything ballsy."

Midoriya almost smiles, and maybe he did. A little. Even so, that didn't stop his nerves from hay wiring. He knew how absurd the thought is—thinking about something impossible. Miruko would probably laugh it off. Otherwise, she'd say something about how whatever it is isn't as important as it should be.

But it doesn't hurt to try, right?

So Midoriya says with a sad smile:

"I just wish the rain would stop."

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