"I just need to talk to him for a second," Izuku reassured Naoki.
"You're weird sometimes, you know that, Izuku!" His friend said but nodded and let Izuku walk away.
Today he'd actually been able to keep track of where the purple haired boy went at lunch. There was no real secret to it. The boy simply kept to the back of everyone and lay down. It was somewhat confusing but Shigeru assured him that was normal. Izuku walked over to where the other boy was. He stood a few feet away.
"Ah-" Izuku cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about yesterday," he said by way of introduction.
"Your great oaf of a man-"
"I'm sorry," Izuku interrupted. "I didn't mean for that to happen."
"Then what did you want?"
"I wanted to talk to you."
"Wanting to laugh at the freak?"
Izuku blinked. "Of course not!" he objected on reflex. "I just wanted to talk to you."
He heard the other boy blow out a breath. "Why?" The question was sharp.
There were a lot of answers Izuku wanted to give to that question. "Because there's no such thing as a bad quirk," was the answer that slipped out.
One purple eyebrow raised. "I used it on you," the other boy pointed out.
"If I didn't know him, I'd have probably done the same," Izuku shrugged, then he bowed again. "Hi! My name is Izuku Inpei," he introduced himself. "It's good to meet you."
Purple eyes looked at him sharply. They seemed older than eight but Izuku was determined. Besides, this boy couldn't glare like Tomura, or like Kurogiri. No one could glare quite like Kurogiri!
"Hitoshi Shinsou," came the reply.
Izuku grinned, as if he'd won a major victory.
"Do you mean it?"
Green hair cocked to the side. "Mean what?"
"That there is no such thing as a bad quirk," Hitoshi clarified.
Izuku nodded emphatically. His lips quirked as he recalled his dad's words. "There is no such thing as a bad quirk but there are quirks used badly," he joked.
Hitoshi's face collapsed.
"I didn't mean it like that!" Izuku gasped when he realised the connotations on the statement. "I didn't mean it was bad to use your quirk on me," he gushed. "I would have used something too and I'm sorry Gigantomachia startled you."
"That's his name?" Purple eyes were wide.
Izuku frowned. "Gigantomachia?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Yes, that's his name."
Hitoshi snorted and then laughed. "Does your family name things literally?"
"I don't think so," Izuku replied.
"Never mind," the purple haired boy dismissed the matter. "So what did you mean?"
Izuku took a deep breath. He could tell, he couldn't stuff this answer up, not if he wanted the boy to talk to him. "I mean it, there are no bad quirks. There are people with bad intentions who use their quirks but the quirk itself doesn't dictate anything. You didn't mean anything bad when you used your quirk. You were surprised. And, it's lonely by yourself. I want to be your friend," he finished in a rush, hopeful that his meaning was clear and that his expression portrayed how much he meant the words.
"I'm not lonely."
Izuku simply looked back at Hitoshi. He'd been alone last year, when people thought he was quirkless. Sure, he had spoken to Himiko and that was great but no one in his class ever wanted to talk to him. That was the way people were his Dad told him but his Dad hadn't said that people did it to those who had a quirk too! Either way, it wasn't right!
"What do you want really?" Hitoshi challenged him.
"To be your friend."
"Why the hell would you want to be his friend?"
The two boys spun to stare at the girl who'd spoken. Izuku immediately saw that she had dark green hair and dark green eyes which seemed large. There was a smirk adorning her features which were set in a distinctly disapproving look.
"Why wouldn't I want to be his friend?" Izuku asked.
He missed the way Hitoshi looked at him as if he'd grown a new head.
The girl sniffed. "Because he has a bad quirk," she replied. "Civilians can't use their quirks and frankly that will be his only saving grace," she added. It sounded like she was quoting from somewhere.
"Civilians?" Izuku asked dumbly.
"I'm training to be a hero," the girl announced. "I guess you are too, given your abilities."
"I'm not."
"What?"
"I'm not training to be a hero," Izuku repeated. He'd started training with Kurogiri because Tomura had been doing it. And now it was just a habit. He knew Heroes had to be strong but… He wasn't as sure as he had been and he couldn't say he was training specifically to be a hero.
"Then how did you beat my scores?" She growled. He saw the way her fists clenched and she stomped one foot with the question.
"I wasn't trying to," Izuku tried to console her. He really hadn't been trying to beat anyone's scores with Mr Rikujo's tests. He was just doing his best.
She looked at him. Izuku just waited for her to say something but all he got was a glare before she spat and walked away.
Izuku turned back to Hitoshi. He raised one purple eye-brow at him. "I really do want to be your friend," Izuku assured him.
"Even though it will make Setsuna hate you?"
"Even though it will make Setsuna hate me," Izuku replied. He hadn't known who she was but given what Naoki had said to him on the first day of school, it made sense.
"Even though I used my quirk on you?"
He smiled. "Even though you used your quirk," he said. If Izuku was honest, he was really curious about Hitoshi's quirk. He wanted to know what it did, how it worked. He wanted to know everything! Because while everyone else said it was a bad quirk, he knew there was no such thing as a bad quirk. On that, Izuku was sure his Dad was right. There were misused quirks, but it was people who misused them and you couldn't blame the quirk for that.
Hitoshi shook his head. "I'll think about it."
Izuku grinned. For today, that was good enough.
-ted-
"Oi, Kurogiri, when did you get another brat?"
The question wasn't one Izuku had expected. He stood in the doorway to the backroom of the bar, holding on to the edge of it. The bar was louder than he expected. He thought Kurogiri said it was less busy on weekdays but this was packed!
The misty man jerked at the question and Izuku heard him put down a glass. Then Kurogiri blocked his view of the bar.
"Izuku? Is everything okay?"
The green eyed boy could hear the worry in the misty-man's voice. He nodded. "I couldn't sleep," he whispered.
He'd wanted to talk to Kurogiri but he hadn't expected this many people. It was intimidating to the eight year old.
Kurogiri put one hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'll get you some milk," he told Izuku.
It wasn't what he wanted but in the noise of the bar, Izuku didn't know how to insist.
"Some milk! Ha! Give him some milk!" Someone called out.
For some reason that made Kurogiri stiffen.
There was laughter in the bar, but Izuku didn't know what it was about. "Gigantomachia," Kurogiri called the man as he steered Izuku into the back room. Izuku only noticed that the enormous man was in the corner of the bar when he moved. He didn't know how he'd missed him earlier when he was staring.
Izuku saw Gigantomachia move across the bar before Kurogiri took him through the back room into the kitchen. There was a cry followed by a crunch, but as Kurogiri ignored it, Izuku figured it couldn't be too important.
"Sit there, Izuku," Kurogiri instructed. "Do you know why you couldn't sleep?" he asked as he went to the fridge and pulled out some milk. He went to the stove to heat it up.
"I wanted to talk to Daddy," Izuku said.
"He's still in China on business," the misty man answered immediately. "Did something happen at school?"
Kurogiri had asked earlier but Izuku hadn't said anything. That was just the usual question about his day but after dinner he'd been thinking about what happened. "Sort of," Izuku answered.
"Hm?" the misty man said, turning slightly. He poured a small measure of milk into a saucepan.
Izuku wasn't sure what to say. He didn't know how to explain what he was feeling. "I meet the Hero Gargoyle on my birthday," he said instead.
Kurogiri nodded. Everyone was aware that Izuku had met Gargoyle.
"He told me that heroes are just people and so there are good and bad heroes but that they are there to maintain the status quo."
"Yes, that is correct," Kurogiri agreed, stirring the milk. "Do you want cocoa or plain milk?"
"Cocoa please!" Izuku smiled. The bartender reached out to another cupboard and brought out a small box. "I met someone at school today. She is training to be a hero," he continued his story.
"What was she like?" Kurogiri questioned. He had no idea where Izuku was going with this, but was acutely aware that this was the sort of conversation All For One would want to have with his son. Tomura was his primary charge but the misty man knew that Izuku was more important to All For One. That's why he was raising him himself. He really hoped whatever answers he gave now were correct.
"She was mean!" Izuku wailed quietly. Kurogiri quickly checked to make sure he wasn't crying. Thankfully he wasn't. "She looked down on everyone who couldn't use their quirk and she was mean about Hitoshi's quirk."
That was a new name. "Hitoshi?" Kurogiri asked carefully, trying to recall if Izuku had mentioned him before.
"The boy with purple hair!"
That made the name fit in better with what Izuku had been saying about school. He had been talking about a boy with purple hair for a few days. Gigantomachia had mentioned something as well.
"Ah, you know his name now!" Kurogiri praised, to cover the fact he hadn't automatically known.
Izuku beamed up at him. "But he's all alone, and I want to be his friend," the green haired boy said. "But this girl, she was mean to him, and she's training to be a hero! She was selfish, because all she seemed to care about was that I beat her scores during Mr Rikujo's test."
The bartender took his time to stir some cocoa powder into the warming milk, making sure that Izuku could see what he was doing.
"What you are seeing is the truth Gargoyle told you about," Kurogiri said eventually. He was meant to let Tomura make his own connections and conclusions on things so he wasn't sure how much he should lay out for Izuku, but given that he was only eight, some direction would probably be needed.
"But she doesn't want to help people, or she'd help Hitoshi! Why is she training to be a hero? They are meant to help people!" Izuku cried out.
Kurogiri turned to look at him. He wasn't completely sure what Gargoyle had spoken about but he could make some educated guesses. "What did Gargoyle tell you?" He asked Izuku, hoping he could get the green haired child to make the connections himself.
"That heroes are people."
"And what does that mean?" Kurogiri continued to lead Izuku through the logic.
"That they are good and bad," came the immediate response, though the bartender could see the way that Izuku's green eyes were misting with tears. "But she's bad and she's going to become a hero!" This time the tears did spill out. "Heroes are meant to be good," Izuku sobbed. "They are meant to help people! But they can't help people if they are just keeping things the same."
Kurogiri turned off the stove, and went to Izuku. He embraced the boy, letting Izuku cry onto his shoulder. It was a difficult thing, having your beliefs shattered. The misty man rubbed Izuku's back, wishing that he'd put the lid on the pot. He hated the smell of half warmed milk but Izuku took precedence. Eventually his tears cleared and he pulled back slightly.
"There are others who help people," Kurogiri said gently. "They are not recognised for it though. And some would call them villains but they help people nevertheless, because not everyone wants to see the world continue unchanged."
Izuku gulped, swallowing down snot and tears. "Who helps people?"
Kurogiri cocked his head, silently asking the question. Izuku knew the answer. "Dad?" came the slow, almost disbelieving question.
The misty man nodded, blinking once to add emphasis.
"Why would people call dad a villain?" Izuku demanded.
Logically, Kurogiri knew there were a lot of reasons why All For One would be called a villain and he knew the man himself would not deny them and would probably revel in some of them. But, not to his eight year old son. "Gargoyle told you," Kurogiri reminded Izuku. "Your Dad helps people and wants things to get better, for everyone, not just for the people the Hero Association wants."
Again Izuku gulped and Kurogiri could see that he was thinking. He knew the green eyed boy wanted to talk to his dad, and truthfully, Kurogiri would have been much happier if this conversation was one Izuku could have had with All For One.
"You want to help people, don't you Izuku? That's why you want to be Hitoshi's friend?"
Izuku nodded. "Because he's all alone."
"Then maybe you can't do that as a Hero," Kurogiri prompted. "But there are other ways. For now though, you need to get back to sleep," he added. Now that the crying storm had passed, he could see the way Izuku was blinking, desperately trying to remain awake. He lifted the green haired boy as he rose, settling Izuku on his hip, and turned back to the stove. There was a skin on the half finished cocoa but if he lifted that away, it could be saved.
With Izuku's head resting on his shoulder, Kurogiri skimmed off the skin and turned the stove on again to heat up the cocoa. Izuku was almost fully asleep by the time the cocoa was done and he'd carried him back up to bed. Kurogiri passed the sleeping boy the cup as he laid him down and pulled the covers.
It was only another moment before Izuku was asleep and the misty man took the empty cup and stood up. He'd have to call All For One to let him know what had happened. He was sure Sensei would be pleased.