(How To)Forgive and Forget

Izuku's Terrible, Horrible, No Good(Very Bad), Day Pt.2

A sea of lights twinkle below him, their brightness barely muted by the unrelenting torrents of rain that fall from the black sky. Icy water trickles down his back, his soaked jacket doing nothing against the downpour.

His curls hang low over his eyes, heavy from the water.

He stares at the near empty street below his feet with a vacant expression, mind entirely empty. He can't remember exactly how he got here, or what 'here' is, but it's silent, aside from the sound of water hitting concrete. It's peaceful.

His hands twitch at odd intervals, making pain shoot up his limbs. They've long gone numb from the cold, and since none of his clothes are waterproof, his hands have become swollen despite being shoved deep in his pockets.

He blinks, water droplets that his lashes collected splashing onto his face in an odd sort of mimicry of tears.

A warm yellow light flickers over his shoulder, casting his downturned face in dim light. It's been there since he left the café, since he realized he was alone with a secret Quirk that could change history itself if revealed to the public.

Thunder rumbles above him, disrupting that train of thought.

He sighs, his breath billowing out in a cloud of white mist that quickly disperses under the rain.

Red flashes under him, and he blinks, eyes focusing on the spot where it was.

Eri...

His lips part, a faint look of surprise crossing his formerly expressionless face.

Eri.

The little girl with red eyes and a small, hesitant smile that grew more sure by the day. A spark of hope he'd promised to protect and grow.

His fingers twitch violently, sending sharp pains up his wrists and arms.

I need to go back.

The first coherent thought he's had in hours echoes through his empty mind, and something like resolve settles in his chest. He told her he was coming back. He can't break her trust.

He sucks in a deep breath, his trance broken as the world around him sharpens into almost painful detail. He's on a rooftop, and the city below him glimmers brightly. The clothes that stick to his skin feel as if they weigh a million pounds, and his hair is plastered to his forehead. Icy water runs down his neck and back, making him shudder.

His skin is almost painfully numb, and as he swallows, he notes that his throat hurts.

How did I even get up here?

Most tall rooftops in Japan are restricted, and he's in an area of Mustafu he doesn't even recognize.

Well, I guess it doesn't matter.

He pulls his swollen hands out of his pockets, gripping the safety rail firmly as the cold metal bites into his hands. When he pulls himself into a standing position, the yellow light over his shoulder flickers violently, and several other colors flash in the air around him. Green electricity crackles, the sound and brightness disturbing the rain rolling off of his skin.

He forces One For All down, teetering slightly as he turns towards the railing, swollen fingers twisting around the bars tightly as he hauls himself over the slippery metal and onto solid ground. The lights die down and slowly fade out when his feet touch the ground, until only the yellow one remains. He stares at it for a moment, watching it drift closer. It emits an odd sort of warmth, and the light seems to grow brighter as he watches it.