Requiem of the Broken

Izuku

____________________________________________________________

"Without power, can one become a hero? No, I should think not." Said All Might.

Izuku felt as if a knife had just cut through his very soul.

"If you desire to help people, becoming a police officer is always an option. Those Villain Custody Officers are often mocked... but, that too is admirable work!"

All Might walked past Izuku into the staircase, saying as he left "It's not wrong to dream. However... you need to be realistic, kid." and with that, All Might left the young boy alone on the rooftop.

Izuku stood there, he couldn't quite wrap his head around it all. Even All Might had said he was hopeless...

...

"But... he didn't say I was hopeless... just that being a hero was unrealistic..." the thought came to Izuku, a desperate lifeline to a dream he now believed, could never be.

He needed time to think and to process it all, so he left down the stairs All Might had retreated down. He wasn't even sure when he had started walking, but once he had started he couldn't stop. A half-hour later, he had tried to help save Bakugo but had been restrained by a hero. So, he had had to watch as All Might saved Bakugo. In the end, both meeting All Might and his inability to help his long time friend had done something to him. As if a part of him had truly and finally died...

Two hours later, he was sitting in a chair in his room just looking out at the city in the sunset, with his burned notebook resting on his right thigh.

He didn't even hear the doorbell ring; he was just too absorbed in his own thoughts. Thinking, planning, remembering, and regretting.

He did notice, however, when there was a sudden knock on his door followed by his mother's voice. The unexpected interruption to his contemplation made him jump.

"Izuku?" asked his mom cautiously. She had seen what had happened on TV and was happy he was safe, but she knew something else had happened. Something that hit him harder than even the fiercest of Bakugo's bullying behavior. It tore at her heart to see her little boy struggling and torn so much, and knowing she couldn't do anything to help.

"Uh, yeah mom?" asked Izuku in response, opening his door to see his mother wringing her hands in worry and agitation.

"There's a man here to see you, he says he knows about what you and All Might discussed on the roof..."

Izuku felt his stomach drop and also the faintest feeling of hope. It was small but big enough to nudge his natural curiosity into gear. He rushed past his mother into the living room, where he came across a rather plain-looking slightly heavyset fellow, with a striped tie and white dress shirt. He also noticed a large tan overcoat lying overtop of a nearby chair. The man had no facial hair and short black hair. Izuku could immediately tell that despite the man's rather large build, it was all toned muscle. He looked nice enough, but Izuku was sure that his man could probably subdue his entire middle school class without breaking a sweat.

"Ah, your Izuku Midoriya correct? I'm Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi, All Might has sent me here to see you, it's a pleasure to meet you!" said Naomasa in a cheerful voice, standing up and extending his hand.

Izuku approached and shook the man's hand as his mother scurried into the kitchen to prepare some tea as she always did whenever she was stressed or when guests were over, or both.