Why We Work - MHA - By: sosaikk

Nineteenth Birthday

Some stuff to know beforehand! This story takes place in the far past. Bakugo , you'll find out later, and Deku is an explorer. At this point of the story Deku is 19 and Bakugo is 22. The currency is in coins, one coin = two US dollars. This story is equally as focused on the plot as romance, maybe even more. It'll be decently long by the time I finish! The only thing used from MHA in this story is the characters. Cover art not mine!Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy!

If you need a good dark playlist, look up dark classics on Spotify. Perfect for this book as it gets darker the more you read.

Deku's POV-

"Mom! Mom, I need to go before the sun sets." I try to pry Mom off me as she sobs on my shirt, leaving wet patches on my shoulder.

She latches onto my torso tightly, the ham she was cooking on the fire burning. The aroma filled our small house, "H-How can I just let my l-little boy go off on his own? Please make sure to visit! And d-don't forget to wash your clothes, at least in the rivers, and-"

"Mom- The ham!" I laugh a little and take a step back. Mom shuffles over, "Oh no! I had been working on it all day." She sighs, putting her hands on her hips. "I'll get it, Mom. Don't worry." I pick up the oven mitts she hand sewed. She worked on them for weeks just to have them destroyed by the intensity of the fire. Mom sighed and took them off my hands.

"Izuku, you're ready to leave. I'll let you go." She throws a bucket of water on the fire, the last of the smoke swirling in the air.

        Mom's teary eyes meet mine as she grabs my face, "Baby, promise me you'll do everything in your power to stay safe."

        "I promise Mom, everything will be fine. And I'm nineteen now, you can trust me." I grab the handle to our rotten wood door. Mom is never fond of goodbyes, especially after Dad.

"Alright," she wipes her tears on my shirt and smiles, "Izuku, above all, be careful. I know you will be, but you're still my baby." She holds my hand, and I squeeze her's back. "I will, Mom. It's been my dream to be an explorer just like Dad! I can't believe it's finally happening." I let go of her shaky hand, opening the door. I take a step out. She looks at me, "We agreed not to mention your father.." Mom smiles just a bit. I can tell it's forced. I think she figured that out too.

"One last hug!" Mom hugs me tighter than she did before. "I love you, Izuku. Stay safe out there." I hug her back, "Goodbye, Mom." I can't let her see me cry, it'll make her hurt even more! "I love you, take care of yourself while I'm gone. I'll come to see you in a few months, I promise." After that, I leave. My nineteenth birthday, it's finally time.

"Ugh! It's so hot!" I groan, I knew it's be warm but not this hot. I've wiped sweat off forehead so many times that my sleeve is damp. The leather gloves don't help much either. I walk along the dirt pathway in the forest, the bugs crawl up my boots. Soon make it to a little cabin. Finally, hopefully I can grab some water! A sign on the door reads, 'Bar'. I sigh. I guess I'll survive. A drink never hurt anybody.

I head into the bar. My gut is telling me to turn around. There's big men drinking from glasses, wrestling, and yelling. I see some pretty, young girls behind the counter, flirting with the drunken dudes. And then there's a group of weak looking guys gambling what's left of their coins. It seems like a perfect place for the poor. Perfect for me.

I approach the bar and sit, an older looking lady who's pouring wine looks me up and down, she smells pretty bad, "Aren't you a little young to be in here, boy?" I stutter on my words, "I.. uh- I just-" I choked, but just in time the middle aged woman laughs, dry and heavy. "HA! If you're willing to pay, I'll give anyone a drink. I'm just messin' with ya. What'cha want, kid?" Thank God. I sigh in relief, smiling. "Thank goodness, I'll just get some red wine." The lady calls back "HEY! Kid with the bush-looking hair wants a bottle of wine!" She huffs. Who would that be, bush hair? That's weird. Soon, a girl my age smiles and leans over the counter, "You wanted that wine, Sir?" Wow, she's really pretty!

I blush in embarrassment. "No need for the Sir! I'm only nineteen." I laugh awkwardly. This is so embarrassing. "Then here's your wine kid." She smiles and slides me a bottle of cheap looking red wine. I pop the cork off with my teeth and take a sip. It's awful. "How much do I owe you, Ma'am?" She smiles and plays with my sleeve cuffs, "Five coins. And no need for the Ma'am, I'm only nineteen" She laughs, I swallow. Oh my gosh. Do I have five coins? I don't think I even have two.

"I uhm- Don't have enough." I turn my head in shame. I want to get out of here soon. The girl starts playing with my hair over the counter. What is she doing? My face is heating up! "Well... I'm sure I can think of another way you can repay me." She smirks. I don't know what to do- I stuff another mouth full of wine down. "Can I have some?" She smiles, almost too much. This girl is giving me wine on the house anyways, so the least I can do is let her have some. I scoot my bar stool back to put space between us.

"Put it in your mouth." I look at her, wide eyed. What did she just say? "Excuse me?" She sighs, "You heard what I said." I don't to be thrown out, so I do as I'm told. "Now let me drink it."

I swallow, and get up without a word. I gotta get out of here, what the heck just happened?! Grabbing the half drunk bottle, I hurry out before anyone notices me.

Finally! I breathe heavy, my chest quickly rising and falling. I feel my sweat seep through my clothes. My hands are shaking. I need to get away from here before anything else happens.

"Ugh." I groan, my feet are sore, I've been walking five hours straight to get as far as I could! My head is pounding. I sit under a big tree, laying my satchel down to use as a pillow. The stars are usually dull, but tonight they're blinding. This migraine needs to go away.

"Tomorrow I'll start up again, I can make a plan." Tomorrow will be my second day of being an explorer. I can't wait!

I hope you enjoyed part one!

Words- 1059