Note: The video above does not belong to me. I just found it on YouTube and had it playing in the background as I wrote this chapter. I suggest playing it when you get to a 'certain part' of this chapter. I'm sure you'll know when I'm referring to when you get to it. If you don't feel like listening to it that's fine too. Either way I hope you enjoy this chapter. ~ ♡ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the train rumbled across its tracks Izuku turned to Izumina.
"I wanted to ask you earlier, Izumi. Why did you tell everybody that your last name was Yūsha? It means brave in Japanese, doesn't it?"
Izumina smiled sadly as she neatly folded her hands in her lap. "It can mean 'hero' too actually. It's pretty ironic, huh?"
Izuku stared at his friend worriedly. The way her mouth smiled but her eyes didn't, as though they'd lost their spark. It was almost as if she were remembering something bitter-sweet. Izuku didn't understand what she'd meant. "Why did you change your name, Izumi?"
Izumina's gaze stayed on her hands, as she refused to lift her head. "Because..." She paused for a moment before breathing her next words. "It was my mom's maiden name. I just-- Well, I wanted to have some part of her with me going into high school. It was unnecessary, I know. I just... I thought it was a perfect fit."
Izumina had only ever been able to bring herself to admit this to Fleur-de-lis, but her mother was her hero. The fact that 'Yūsha' could mean 'hero' made Izumina feel both happy and sad at the same time. It reminded her to be brave. It reminded her why she was still alive.
Izuku nodded solemnly, having realized the meaning behind Izumina's explanation. "It suits you, Izumi." Without saying a word, he placed his hand over hers.
Izumina tilted her head to look at her friend, a faint smile replacing her forced one from earlier. "Thank you."
...
When Izumina got home that night the first thing she did was call Fleur-de-lis. The hero had insisted she tell him all about her first day at U.A. the last time they'd spoken, which was exactly what Izumina intended to do. The phone rang several times before Fleur-de-lis's voicemail picked up. Izumina sighed and hung up the call.
"He must be on patrol or something," Izumina muttered to herself as she slipped her backpack off her shoulders. For a moment she considered trying to call Bakugou and explain, the same way she had to Izuku, why she'd changed her last name. After all, her phone was already in her hands. Maybe she could explain why she'd lied about her quirk too, while she was at it.
She shook her head as she predicted Bakugou's response. "Why are you calling me, Aho? Don't talk to me." It seemed like a reasonable prediction, especially considering this was Bakugou she was thinking about. She placed her phone on her nightstand, beside her only picture of Izuku and Bakugou as friends. Izumina sighed, knowing that what she had to say must be done in person. Bakugou might've been an arrogant, stubborn bully, but she knew deep down that even he deserved that much from her.
Izumina sighed before getting changed into a comfortable pink hoodie and black leggings. She carefully placed the yellow pin from her necktie onto her nightstand, so as not to forget it the next morning.
Just then her father called her. "Zumi! Dinner is ready!"
Knowing her father would ask questions about her first day, Izumina grabbed the handouts from her backpack about 'the curriculum and such' before heading downstairs to join her father for dinner.
Nakiro Kimino had prepared two bowls of udon noodles, topped with tempura bits, a couple of naruto fish cakes, and just a hint of green onion. He had also prepared a kettle of green tea to go with the meal. As Izumina's father placed the two bowls on the kitchen table he looked up and greeted his daughter with a smile. "I made your favourite as a treat to celebrate your first day."
Izumina smiled and bowed her head. Normally this was enough, but today she felt that her father deserved to hear how grateful she was for the delicious meal. "Thanks." It wasn't great, but it was all Izumina could bring herself to say while simultaneously staying true to her mother, and the promise she'd made to herself.
She sat down to eat, placing the sheets from class to the side. Izumina clasped her hands together as she gave thanks for the meal, before picking up her chopsticks and digging in.
"So, Zumi, how was your first day?"
Izumina gave her father a thumbs up, using the noodles in her mouth as an excuse for not talking, the way she often did with whatever food they were eating at any given mealtime.
Her father ate a mouthful of noodles before talking again. "Make any friends?"
Izumina nodded her head to which her father perked up. "That's good to hear. In middle school, I only ever saw you hanging out with that Midoriya boy. Were they nice?"
Izumina nodded once again, a little offended that her father didn't understand that Izuku was the only friend she needed. Well, Izuku and Fleur-de-lis... maybe Bakugou. Then again, she couldn't really be mad at him for not understanding. It wasn't like she'd ever given him much of a chance. From what little she'd spoken to him over the years, he had done a very good job of determining her hobbies. After all, he was the one who'd bought her countless notebooks, a violin, and a phone. Though, that last object was more so he could talk to his virtually mute daughter.
"That other boy you used to hang out with when you were younger...Bakugou I think his name was... The boy in the picture in your room?"
Izumina nodded in acknowledgement, trying to hide the feelings of guilt from showing on her face. She knew she would have to talk to Bakugou soon. It was the only way to put the feelings of betrayal Izumina knew he must've been angry about all day to rest.
"Was he in your class too," Nakiro asked between mouthfuls of noodles.
Again Izumina nodded. Sometimes it felt like that was all she did.
Izumina's father hummed in response as he filled his cup with tea from the kettle in the middle of the table. "I know you're in the hero course, but what other subjects do you have? Is the curriculum well rounded?"
Izumina discretely popped a naruto into her mouth before nodding and handing her father the sheets from class. Her father took them from her hand and began reading them.
"Regular subjects, like English, in the morning. Well, that shouldn't be too hard for you... Lunch... Then Hero Basic Training in the afternoon. Sounds fun." Izumina's father smiled proudly as he handed Izumina the papers back.
Izumina couldn't help but smile back. In her opinion, it did sound fun. English had always been one of her favourite subjects, aside from History, and the hero program was something world renown. It was truly an honour. Izumina wanted to tell her father all about her eventful first day. She wanted to talk about her unique homeroom teacher and his threat of expulsion. She even wanted to talk about some of the people she'd met; Kirishima, Uraraka, Iida, Aoyama, Mina... to name everybody would take up too much time, but Izumina couldn't help but wish to talk about the odd boy with the scar: Shoto Todoroki. Something about the boy with red and white hair interested her. Perhaps it was because he had been partnered with her for two of the tests that day, or perhaps it was because he was the only person who seemed indifferent to the intensity of the hero program. Why had he even wanted to become a hero if he was going to act so coldly? Didn't heroes need to have good communication skills? So many things to talk about. So many things Izumina couldn't say to Izuku, who had been there and had been the cause of her worries almost all day. Izumina would never tell Izuku how worried for his sake she had been throughout the tests.
Taking a break from noodles to pour herself a cup of tea, Izumina sighed. If only Fleur-de-lis had been able to talk. She could really use somebody to talk to about Izuku, her teacher, and all her new classmates.
Izumina's father, who had always been a relatively fast eater, finished his bowl of noodles and headed for the kitchen sink to clean up. "I have a work call in a bit, Zumi. It'll probably run late, and I have to leave early tomorrow, so I won't see much of you 'till tomorrow night." Nakiro placed his bowl and chopsticks into the dishwasher before wiping off his hands and walking back towards the table. Stopping to kiss his daughter's temple before exiting the room, Nakiro rubbed her head paternally. "Goodnight. I hope your second day is even better than the first, which hopefully was pretty good."
Izumina smiled at her father's back as he left her to her own devices.
Finishing her noodles not long after, Izumina rinsed her bowl before placing it in the dishwasher, the same way her father had done, before heading up to her room.
Once she had ascended the stairs and crossed the hall into her bedroom, Izumina closed the door and collapsed onto her bed. She was tired but had too much on her mind to sleep. She needed to talk to somebody, but Izumina knew it couldn't be Izuku. She reached to her side, over her pillows for her phone. Clicking the power button, Izumina was shown a relatively empty notification screen. No message from Fleur-de-lis.
Izumina was, however, pleasantly surprised to see a message on Instagram from Mina. Izumina had never been one to use social media often. If on the off chance she'd open the app, she'd use it exclusively for reference photos to draw, or to keep up with hero news across Japan, as well as back in Canada and across North America, since that's where All Might had debuted.
"Hey, Izumi," Mina's message read. "It's Mina Ashido from class."
Izumina clicked the accept follower request on her phone and requested to follow Mina's profile too. Mina's acceptance was almost immediate. Izumina felt she should type a response, now that Mina knew she was online.
"Hey, Mina," Izumina typed.
Three dots appeared on Mina's side of the conversation before disappearing, only to be replaced by another text bubble. "I'm trying to get everyone's numbers from class 1-A to start a group chat. I know not everybody has insta so would you mind sending me your #??"
"Sounds like a great idea." Izumina typed before sending her cell phone number. Truth be told, she was grateful for Mina's outgoing personality. Without it, Izumina might not have known the names of the other girls in her class, or have the opportunity to get her classmate's contact information. That knowledge could be very useful once homework assignments became a more serious issue.
Mina's response message included numerous emojis before the girl had to excuse herself for dinner. Izumina smiled at her phone, once again endeared by her classmate's charisma.
Her father was right about one thing at dinner. U.A. sounded really fun. Izumina couldn't wait to tell Fleur-de-lis all about it. Her gaze stayed on her phone for a few minutes more, as though expecting the hero to read her mind and call her. Unfortunately, the hero was still, most likely, on patrol for the night. The loneliness and need to talk consumed Izumina once again as she placed her phone in her hoodie pocket.
Izumina stared at her ceiling for a while as time passed, hoping to either be taken by sleep or the inspiration to do something. Eventually, she sat up and stared out her window. It was a beautiful day. The sun was still relatively high for the time being, and Izumina's eyes couldn't help but fall on the purple violin case hanging on her desk chair.
She wanted to talk to someone about her day, but at that moment, she knew who she needed to be with.
Standing from her bed and picking up her violin, slinging the strap over her shoulder as she did so, Izumina departed from her room without so much as a second thought. Her mind felt hazy as she whipped out her phone and texted her father to let him know where she was going.
Down the stairs and out the front door. Izumina descended the steps from her patio to the driveway and crossed the driveway to the sidewalk. Before setting off to her destination though, she picked a single camellia from the tree at the end of her house's tiny garden. The tsubaki flower was pink, which Izumia thought would match the sakura trees near where she was headed.
It wasn't a long walk, but the journey was sombre nonetheless. Izumina dejectedly walked along the sidewalk, unable to enjoy the colourful flowers in bloom around her as she approached the white picket fence surrounding the gardens. As she walked, her mind wandered to the countless bullies she'd had in elementary school. It was true she had been quirkless for nine years of her life, which was why she justified acting like she still was in middle school. She understood Izuku's struggles all too well.
Izumina silently opened the gate and walked along the stone path to a little tree, with sakura blossoms in full bloom along its branches. Beneath the tree was a headstone of quartz with an old fashioned wooden bench facing it. Izumina placed the flower from her home on top of the quartz, running a hand along its cool surface before falling to her knees to read the name in beautiful cursive lettering engraved into the crystal.
"Hey, Mom..." Izumina muttered as tears pricked her eyes and a bitter-sweet smile tugged its way onto her lips. "It's been a while... Sorry about that."
Izumina wiped her eyes before forcing herself to stand, her left hand never leaving the engraved 'M' in the name 'Miyuna'. Izumina slowly withdrew her hand to wipe her knees off before compelling her legs to lead her to the bench.
Izumina found herself getting choked up as she implored herself to start a conversation with somebody she knew couldn't be there anymore. "I haven't talked to Dad, just like you wanted... but I am grateful he brought you here for me. Apparently, he told Charles he wanted me to have you nearby... in case I ever needed you. When he found out you'd died," Izumina paused for a moment to catch her breath. Even after all that time, it was hard to talk to her mother the way she wished to. "I think he really did love you... He gave you a beautiful grave... and he gave me a place to mourn. Not that you'd want me to be crying over you every day." Izumina forced herself to laugh, but it was shallow and weak, far from genuine.
The wind blew gently, rustling the branches of the tree Izumina and her mother were under. Izumina caught another tear in her eye and fought to blink it away before continuing her conversation with her mother. "I think he might love me too. I don't know, I just feel like I can't open up to him, no matter how much he gives me... He's given me so much since I lost you..."
Izumina swallowed the lump that was growing in her throat.
"I'm trying mom... But it's really hard without you. I know you wouldn't want me to cry, so I'll try not to."
There was no response. Izumina knew her mother's spirit was long gone from her world, but the silence calmed her nonetheless. She remembered her violin.
"Oh, by the way," Izumina mumbled as she pulled the strap off her shoulder and placed the case flat on the bench next to her. "I've been practicing some of your favourite songs." She gently lifted the delicate instrument from it's home, along with its bow.
Taking a moment to balance the violin in the crook of her neck before playing, Izumina spoke. "I was never able to listen to this song without crying as a kid. So if I cry again now, know it's because my heart will be in it this time."
Izumina leaned her jaw into the base of the instrument as she supported it with her collar bone. Drawing a breath before her bow Izumina started playing the song of her heart, the one she remembered her mother by. River Flows In You, by Yiruma. Originally written as a piano piece, but Izumina had done her best to convert it based on other musicians' covers and such.
Then she played. The cemetery falling silent aside from her and the invisible angels of the deceased. The wind blew the leaves of the trees around Izumina as tears began to trickle down her cheeks. But she didn't stop.
Izumina played every last note, pouring her sorrow, and guilt into every draw of her bow. The piece had been meant to portray romance, but as Izumina played, new and original life was breathed into it. Every note of the strings vibrated through the empty gardens with nothing but Izumina, her mother, and the feeling of love they'd lost to that truck in Quebec.
"It should've been me, mom..." Izumina thought as she finished the song. She dropped her bow arm to her side and slowly pulled her violin away from her chin.
With the delicacy of a mother holding a newborn infant, Izumina placed the instrument back into its case before zipping it up safely. Wiping her face for the final time that day Izumina turned to her mother's headstone and smiled genuinely. A bitter-sweet smile, but genuine all the same. The glaze of fallen tears caused a shine that only doctors in the hospital that fateful day had seen.
"Thank you for giving my life meaning, mom," Izumina said softly. "You traded your life for mine that day, and for that, I'll always be grateful." She brought her hand once again to the quartz headstone, finding comfort in the feeling its cool surface sent through her palm. "I'm a hero at U.A. now, mom... I promise I'll make you proud."
There was silence, as nothing but the rustling greenery moved. Izumina picked up her violin case and slung it over her shoulder once more. As she turned to leave, her hand wavering for just a moment before letting go of the quartz headstone, she looked up to the sky. Through the leaves and flowers of the tree, Izumina saw the orange sky of the setting sun and knew it was time to go home.
"I know you're always with me, which is why I won't tell you about my first day. I'm sure you already know everything that happened." Izumina smiled as a bird flew overhead and into the horizon. "I'll make your sacrifice worth something special, mom. So you can tell the other angels that your daughter is a hero, just like you."
Izumina had thought what she needed was to talk about her first day in detail, but sitting with her mother for an hour or two had been the perfect remedy. A lot had happened in the course of one school day, and more had been on the line than ever before. Izumina knew she'd have to try twice as hard tomorrow if she was going to become a real hero one day, and she was okay with that.
Izumina was alive because of her mother. Izumina had been given a future and a life. And she was going to live that life she'd been given to the fullest.
And make the future a brighter place for her friends.