"Whatever you say, All Might, I'll step up to this challenge! As long as you're by my side, I can do anything. That's how I feel, anyway."
-Izuku 'Deku' Midoriya
❧
You'd never seen someone look so out of place in their own body before.
Midoriya's hands twitch and he mutters to himself, his eyes clenched shut. You catch some of his words, although they don't make any sense to you. It's just broken sentences and phrases.
"Not him . . . choose me instead . . . it . . . don't . . ."
You reach out a hand in an urge to hug him, but Midoriya's eyes snap to yours. He grabs your shoulders, his eyes full of anger, and he speaks like he's speaking to a rival.
"Just let me be a hero, one more time."
"M-Midoriya?" You say, placing your hands on his wrists and pulling them off of you.
He jerks his head to the side, a grin cracking across his face. That vulnerable, desperate look in his eyes is gone, replaced by the normal cocky, malevolent one.
"Yes?"
"Are you okay?" You say, watching how his face changes at the concern in your voice.
He looks down at both of your hands, intertwined. "How am I supposed to have a heart when I've stopped so many others?"
He says it like a genuine question; as if it's as normal as asking your teacher to use the bathroom. His tone of voice and innocence catches you off guard, and you blurt the thing that first comes to your mind.
"You can't."
Midoriya squeezes your hands in his, dried blood covering the surface of his skin that you didn't notice before. He smiles at you, and you jerk your hands away.
He sighs. "Here I was thinking you were different."
"You're a psycho," you tell him, spitting the word, "what do you mean I'm different?"
Midoriya isn't fazed by the insult, instead tilting his head like a puppy. "That's why you came to me, right? To help with your brothers murder?"
"What?"
"In the hospital," he grins, "you were with me."
You freeze, the events from back then hitting you. You're not sure what he would do if you told him it was just to gain your boss' favor, so you don't mention it.
"Wait," you say, wiping off your hands, "how do you . . . ? And I thought you were dead, so I'll start answering questions when I have some answers."
"So does the rest of the world."
Midoriya turns on a radio you didn't notice before, and the static makes you cringe, until he finds what he's looking for. He turns the dial and smiles at you, letting you listen.
"Two days ago, Pro-hero and Symbol of Peace Deku died in a hospital in the outskirts of Kizuato, and his body was buried in the regional hero's cemetery in the town over. His gravestone is now open to citizens, but the cause of his death is still yet to be revealed. Rest in peace, Deku, and we hope you're smiling upon us . . . "
"'Smiling upon us'?" Midoriya scoffs, switching off the radio, "since when do they say such strange things about a dead person?"
"Wh—?" You stammer in disbelief. "But you're—?"
"Alive?" he finishes for you, scoffing, "barely. Not that they know or care, anyhow."
"What do you mean?" You protest. "I would care. I do care."
"In a world as big as this, one opinion can't change everyone else's. Especially when the media's involved."
You blink, thoroughly confused. Deku sighs, explaining it to you.
"Listen," he starts, "when I was 'dead', I wasn't dead, clearly. I could hear everything."
You lift your eyebrows, willing him to continue.
"They want me dead," Midoriya growls, malice in his eyes, "and this is the proof."
"Why? Who would want you dead?"
"The media, my dear. You clearly don't understand the bigger picture."
"Then help me understand." You scowl, sitting back down in front of Midoriya. He lifts his eyebrows, copying your gesture from before.
"I thought you were a journalist," he says sarcastically, "one who would know these kinds of things."
"Fine, then," you counter, "I'll tell you what I know. A month and a half ago, you went missing for more than thirty days. You show back up and refuse to do any interviews or answer questions about what happened to you. Next thing I know, you're in the hospital and now everyone thinks you're dead."
You sit back, crossing your arms. Midoriya only smiles. "So you have done your research. But you don't know the whole story."
"Then why don't you tell me?"
Something flickers in his eyes, but it's gone and he's back to normal. He shakes his head, as if to clear his head. "Fine."
" . . . but not even I know the whole story, not anymore."
❧
☙ ❝ . . . ᴀꜱ ʟᴏɴɢ ᴀꜱ ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ʙʏ ᴍʏ ꜱɪᴅᴇ ᴀʟʟ ᴍɪɢʜᴛ, ɪ ᴄᴀɴ ᴅᴏ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ!❞ ❧
☙ ❝ᴀʟʟ ᴍɪɢʜᴛ? . . . ᴡʜʏ'ᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ʟᴇᴀᴠᴇ ᴍᴇ?❞ ❧