Forgotten Nostalgia (Dadzawa)

Time Can Heal As Well As Hurt

Izuku's eyes grew into saucers as he looked up to see Shouta's door no longer closed. He was standing there, arms crossed over his chest, looking way too amused.

"Calm down kid. It's too early for you to be this excited."

Slowly recovering from that awful jump scare,literally, Izuku cleared his throat awkwardly. "But- it's two in the afternoon?"

Shouta didn't answer him, instead staring him down like he was about to make Izuku confess to murder.

Izuku fidgeted uncomfortably.

"You broke something didn't you?"

All the blood rushed to Izuku's face. "No!"

Shouta quirked an eyebrow.

"Yes."

This is what his life had come to.

Shouta stood up a little straighter. "Alright. You're not in trouble, come show me what's broken," he said, beginning to step past Izuku.

"Wait!" Izuku practically squeaked. "I um, wanted to ask you something," Izuku stalled. Still very unsure how to word his request. "Take me to my mom...please?"

Shouta's eyes softened. "I don't think that's a good idea kid. You've had a lot of strong emotions in the past few days. We don't want to push it too far."

Ah yes. Teacher turned therapist. Just what Izuku ordered.

He couldn't be too mad at Shouta. He had been the one to deal with Izuku after all, and that was no easy task.

"I'm okay. Really. I was upset at first. But I'm okay now. I just want to go to get closure," Izuku promised. He went as far as to place a hand over his heart like he'd seen the people do in the movies Shouta showed him.

Shouta did not look convinced.

Izuku tried something else he'd seen in the movies. Widening his eyes enough they would start to water. "Please?"

There was an exaggerated silence before Shouta groaned. He ran a hand down his face like he was an old man that had just found out kids had been playing in his yard again.

Izuku held his breath, continuing to give the 'puppy dog eyes method' everything he had.

Shouta sighed, "Get in the car."

The car ride over was surprisingly short.
Izuku got out slowly, glancing around the mostly empty space.

It wasn't as dark as he imagined it to be. Flowers littered the pathway with sagging tree branches hanging low around them.

"Take as much time as you need," Shouta spoke gently. He stayed close but still gave Izuku enough space to not be suffocating.

Izuku steadied himself. He could do this. He'd been the one who begged to be here.

So why was it so daunting now?

He glanced up at Shouta. Something in his teacher's eyes gave him comfort. As if he was silently saying 'I'll stay right here'.

One step forward. Then another. Izuku found himself slowly moving down the path.

The gravel crunched under his sneakers, making each step feel all the more definite.

It seemed to him he walked for a long time before Shouta finally stopped him, gesturing to a grave off the to side.

It was small, smaller than most of the surrounding graves. Izuku could faintly see decaying petals of flowers that must have been left a long time ago.