The Ones Closest To You (MHA One-Shots)

Learning About Nana

With that, knowing he was going nowhere with it, he got up from his seat, did a quick stretch before putting the photo in his pocket and heading for the door. But the moment he opened it, he got a shock, stepping back and yelping at the sight of All Might right in front of his door.

"A-All Might!" Izuku shrieked. All Might had his arm raised up, clearly about to knock on the door, while his other hand was carrying a white plastic shopping bag.

"Oh, Young Midoriya." He dropped his arm down, smiling at his student. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"N-No, no, I... It's OK." Izuku rubbed the back of his head, shuffling on his feet and smiling sheepishly, which made All Might chuckle.

"Anyway, I thought you might like these." All Might reached out his arm with the white bag to Izuku, who took it and looked inside to find a couple of Taiyakis wrapped in brown paper. "Take it as a thank you for helping me out today."

"Wow! Thanks, All Might!" Izuku grinned. But hearing the word 'helping out' brought the guilty feeling back, causing his smile to falter.

"Are you OK, my boy?" All Might asked worryingly. Taking a deep breath, he went into his pocket and pulled out the photo, bowing down his head and stretched out his arm to him.

"I, umm... I should have given it to you the moment I saw it, but... I got curious. Sorry." He muttered. He felt the photo slip out of his fingers from All Might taking it. A gasp was heard, and it made him shrink further at his place in shame.

"I-I'm sure you were looking for it." He said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away. "I found it on the stairs after I finished helping you. It must have dropped from one of the boxes. I'm really sorry I... "

"It's OK." He was interrupted by All Might, but he realised there was something off about him. He looked up to face him, who was eyeing intensely at the picture. Eventually, he dropped the arm holding it to look at him. "I still appreciate you handing it back to me." He smiled.

"Sure... no worries." Izuku could tell his smile was somewhat strain. His voice was low and wavering. He could have sworn he saw his eyes watering up.

"Well, umm... I'll see you tomorrow." All Might began to leave quickly, heading down the corridor.

"Wait, All Might?" He stopped into his tracks, but he didn't turn around to face Izuku. "Could... could you tell who the woman in the picture is? I know she's a pro hero, but she doesn't ring a bell to me. I'm... just curious." There was a moment of silence where nothing was said.

"I..." All Might's voice cracked a bit, causing him to clear his throat before speaking again. "I... don't remember her name. It's... been too long for me to remember."

"Oh... OK." Izuku simply said before All Might resumed walking down the corridor. He watched as he turned the corner, heading for the stairs before eventually entering his room again and closing the door.

"He remembers."

All Might made it out to seem that his photo with the female hero was a one-time thing. That it was a chance encounter, so he couldn't remember. It was obvious he knew, but Izuku wasn't upset that All Might lied because it was clear the photo carried some emotion with it.

His strained smile. The way his voice cracked. His eyes slowly tearing up. The picture was a lot to him. Meant a lot to him. So, as he sat on his desk seat and ate a Taiyaki, he decided he would not ask him about it again. Whoever the female pro hero was, clearly, she meant a lot to All Might. But he was fine not knowing, not wanting to hurt his feelings.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A year later...

The clock alarm loudly rang, with the booming voice of All Might declaring 'The Morning is here!' bouncing off the walls. A groan escaped from Izuku as he slowly awoke from his slumber. Still lying down, he reached his arm out towards the bed counter behind him, finding his All Might clock and turning the alarm off. It took a few seconds before he eventually sat up and rubbed his eyes to remove the lingering tiredness within.