Ch.4

A crowd was gathered at the entrance of the alley, with the incident getting worse. The mud-like villain was once again trying to consume another person, but this time it was Kacchan. But unlike his other victim, Izuku, the quirk powered teen was fighting back and failing. His quirk just made the scene worse, as flames were covering the alley with intense heat that kept people away.

Unfortunately, the situation just seemed to get worse. Some heroes such as the giant woman and the Kumui had arrived at the scene with other heroes, only to encounter problems. However, that didn't mean the monster was going away easy. He fought back anyone that tried to get to him while trying to devour Kacchan.

"Shit! Not one of the heroes on the scene can tackle this guy!" shouted one innocent bystander.

And the person was right. The heroes on the scene could see how harsh the situation was and came to an immediate conclusion.

"We got no choice but to wait for a hero with an advantageous quirk!" shouted a fireman based superhero.

Hence, it was decided by that hero that they would have to keep the damage under control and hope that someone with a quirk that can take on the monster would come soon. However, that didn't mean that there was no sympathy for Kacchan, who was clearly suffering from the monster's overpowering body.

Fortunately, there weren't alone. All Might was there, but he was in his powerless state and among the state. So all he could do was watch as the scene unfolded with him feeling every ounce of guilt for it.

'I must have lost the bottle.' He thought. 'All that time, I failed to notice! In the time I spent admonishing that fan, I'd lost sight! I'm pathetic…How could I…!'

On his own, Izuku walked on the sidewalks. It had only been a few minutes since he had been told off by the greatest hero, All Might, on his dream of being a hero, and now he was facing the sad reality that he couldn't make it to be a pro hero.

So, now, in his hand, the teen held his book. It was still in perfect shape unlike how it would've been if Kacchan had successfully burnt it without Tatsumaki's intervention. However, with each second, Izuku remembered some of the voices of those that spoke against him achieving his dream.

'I told myself to climb to the top of the pro hero world…' Izuku thought depressingly. The sadness of his sad reality was almost making him cry, but he stopped the tears by wiping them with his hand. 'Don't cry! Just let it sink in! I always knew it was a fantasy…I desperately refused to accept it…Just block it out, just block it all out. Just…'

Izuku suddenly came to a stop. He noticed right there that across the street that there was a small crowd of people before an alley. And so without much of a thought, he got to the back where he stood and watched.

'There was an explosion before…' He thought with a sad tone. 'I must have come here by habit…to see the heroes. I should just quit already. It's hollow now.'

Just then, Izuku noticed something. The monster that was in the scene was very familiar to him. So as he continued looking, it then came as great shock to him when he recognized it instantly.

"Him again!?"

Izuku was shocked at the sudden appearance. He was in the midst of the people and able to see that the villain was holding someone captive. Now it scared him.

'All Might!? Did he slip out from under you? Did you drop him…? In which case…' Izuku thought. Then he said in realization. "It's…my fault."

Guilt at this point was growing within Izuku. A person had just mentioned how bad the situation was and how the person suffering within the villain's grasps was. As a result, with every second that passed, Izuku stood there in guilt, fear and his hands at his mouth to stop himself from screaming and control his panicking mind.

Meanwhile, there were people who were excited to hear about All Might. They had no idea that All Might was unable to come. So while their excitement meant some good, it actually just added more guilt to Izuku as he knew it was his fault that all this was happening.

'Hang in there…! I'm sorry!' Izuku thought pitifully. 'I'm so sorry…! Somebody will come save you soon…Somebody…A hero will soon…'

Just then, Izuku's eyes locked on with Kacchan. The bully and childhood ex-friend he had known was in pain, as each second was clearly very painful to him. It was obvious by his pleading eyes, which suddenly made something snap in Izuku's heard.

So with a sudden burst of energy, Izuku ran. He didn't run from the danger, but actually ran through the crowd and into the alley with a loud cry, much to the shock of everyone.

"You idiot! Stop! Stop!" shouted a hero nearby.

However, there was no stopping Izuku. He was running without a single hesitation to show, especially when the monster turned to him with Kacchan still in his hold.

"That brat!" The vilain shouted.

"Deku!?" Kacchan managed to say.

Izuku continued running. His schoolbag was slung over his shoulder as his loud voice echoed the area with each step he took. A part of him was in a panic, as not even he could understand his situation.

'What am I doing!? Why am I running!?' Izuku thought frantically.

"I'll blow you away!" shouted the villain.

'What do I do? What do I do? At a time like this…!" Izuku thought.

I'll blow you away!" shouted the villain.

'What do I do? What do I do? At a time like this…!" Izuku thought.

Just then, an idea came over the teen. It was from his book, which just happened to have fallen to the ground and opened to the page that he got said idea. Thus, with a leap forward, Izuku threw his schoolbag at the monster to catch the monster off guard. Then, while he had the chance, he reached out his hand and held on to Kacchan.

"Kacchan!" Izuku shouted.

"You! Why you!?" Kacchan muffled voice was heard.

"My legs moved on their own! I don't know why either!" Izuku shouted back. The teen's heart was beating fast, as his mind was in a state of panic, fear and yet courage with each passing second. "I could have sprouted off any number of quips, but really…it's because your tears were pleading for help!"

All Might's eyes widened. He was surprised and at the same time touched by Izuku's words even though he couldn't intervene. But if that wasn't enough, it also became a drive which pushed him to access his powers. However, that didn't mean the monster was cool with the small act of heroism.

"It'll take only a little while longer." The villain said. "Don't get in my way!"

There was now little time to respond now. The villain's hand was drawing close to Izuku, who could do nothing but watch. However, before anything could happen, a green aura covered both Izuku and Kacchan and pulled the both of them away from the villain.

"What?!" the crowd shouted.

"Huh?!" All Might shouted. He had been so close to access his quip, but the change of scene had caught him off guard.

So while everyone was confused, Izuku and Kacchan were on the ground on their butts. But then the scene changed when everyone and them watched as a lone and small feminine figure landed on the ground softly and in front of the two boys.

"Of all the stupid things you could do…You decided to do this…" said the girl.

"Tatsumaki…" Izuku said.

True to his eyes, the one who had intervened was none other than his and Kacchan's schoolmate, Tatsumaki. The girl was standing between them in her school uniform and glaring at the green haired teen, who was surprised by her action.

"Tell me…did you really mean that?" Tatsumaki asked. "About saving him because of his pleading eyes? Did you do it because you want to be a hero…or because it was the right thing to do? To be honest with you, a part of me just wanted to see Katsuki suffer a bit longer…"

Izuku turned to Kacchan and then back at Tatsumaki. What he did until that moment had been out of impulse than any rational sense. But seeing how Tatsumaki was staring at him, the teen had a moment to think and come with a conclusion.

"It was because…it was the right thing to do." Izuku said.

Tatsumaki smirked a bit. "Good answer, Midoriya."

Just then, the scene changed. The villain seemed to change focus from Kacchan because it now began to make its way to Tatsumaki.

"Another one with a quirk…" The villain said menacingly. "No…this is a person with a more impressive quirk! I didn't think of inhabiting a girl before, but there's a first time for everything."

"Tatsumaki, look out!" Izuki shouted.

Tatsumaki turned at the villain and immediately jumped away just in time. The villain had come with her with its mouth hugely open and ready to consume. However, while she did evade him, her schoolbag accidentally flew into the monster's mouth and get consumed instead.

"NO! MY SCHOOLBAG!" Tatsumaki yelled in shock. Her reaction there then followed with her landing on her feet and glaring at the monster. "Hey! Give that back! It's not lunch!"

The villain didn't comply. His eyes were still on Tatsumaki, when the girl did something sudden. She jumped directly into the gaping mouth of the villain, much to shock of everyone and the happiness of the creature.

"WHAT THE HEEEELLLLL!?" The crowd shouted.

All Might's jaw dropped, with the same for Izuku and Kacchan. They had just watched what may have been an act stupider than Izuku's action earlier.

'I'm pathetic! I just watched a girl die!' All Might thought angrily.

Meanwhile, the villain was pleased. The delight in his eyes showed it as no trace of Tatsumaki could be seen. But then, just as it seemed that way, the monster suddenly shouted in a mix of shock and pain before his body suddenly spun in a green tornado.

Idiot…I'm not anyone's lunch either." said a familiar voice.

Everyone was immediately shocked at what happened next. Tatsumaki walked out of the tornado like it was nothing. However, there was difference to her. Like, for instance, her body was covered in a green aura while her hair pushed up and down as she had a strap of her bag worn and an upset look on her face.

"Fubuki's kid book is in this bag. There's no way I was going to lose this." She said calmly. And then she turned back to the spinning monster. "And you…you attacked my classmates, threatened to kill them and tried to something meant for my sister! That's something I can never forgive! Now start praying to your maker, creep!"

"Wa-Wa-Wait!" shouted the monster.

However, it was too late for him. Tatsumaki was still close when she stretched her hand, covered in green aura just like the rest of her body. As a result, the moment she touched the tornado, it exploded with a loud boom as the villain was sent into the air, scattered into countless pieces. But if that wasn't enough, a few buildings were demolished in seconds and it suddenly began to rain.

"EEEEHHHHHH!?" The crowd shouted in shock.

Right before them, they had witnessed something shocking and astonishing. A single girl, despite her size, was singlehandedly able to defeat a villain that put some of the heroes in the area in pinch. And now she stood there in a scene that made her look heroic.

"Unbelievable…" said a person. "That girl…just her alone was able to send him into the stratosphere."

"Whoa. Hold on. Don't tell me! She altered the weather with just her hand alone!?"

"OH MY GOOOOOD! WHO IS SHE?!"

"SHE'S A HERO?! SHE HAS TO GO PRO!"

"THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!"

Tatsumaki snubbed the compliment silently and turned to Izuku and Kacchan. It would appear that both boys had become unconscious due to the blast she had released.

'Hmph! Pathetic!' Tatsumaki thought.

"Good work, miss." said a person.

Tatsumaki turned and saw it was a hero. She didn't know his hero name, but she noticed he wore a weird bird-like helmet and had a cape. But if that wasn't enough, the other heroes (minus the giant woman) were rejoining her.

"That was impressive!" said the tree-like hero.

"Indeed! I'll love to be your sidekick when you become a pro!" said another hero.

Tatsumaki immediately laughed. She knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't help but feel that way even in the presence of newsmen and cameras viewing her.

"Idiooootsss!" Tatsumaki yelled. Her action there got the shock of everyone, especially as she continued. "Become a pro hero?! Like hell I got time to play dress up! Now p

With that said, Tatsumaki flew off into the air with incredible speed. That speed was enough to push anyone close to her, as just even those a bit far from her (like the crowd) could feel the air being rough against them. And thus she was gone, with many wondering who she was.

The sun was setting, signifying the day almost coming to an end. The incident involving the mud-like villain was still talked about, but not to the point for Izuku to stay around. Now the teen found himself walking back home at a lonely street with a sad look on his face.

'She's gone and I don't know where she is.' Izuku thought depressingly. 'Of course…I never thought about knowing about her before today…And All Might, I want to apologize to him. Maybe I can leave a message on his homepage…Tatsumaki will be in the school tomorrow so that might be my chance to –'

"DEKU!"

Izuku stopped upon hearing that nickname. He knew exactly who it was that called him, and as such turned to see that it was Kacchan, who was unsurprisingly angry at him.

"I never asked to be saved, least of all by you and your girlfriend…! In fact, you two didn't save me! Right?! Right?! I could've handled it on my own!" Kacchan continued. "I won't let a quirkless, worthless, little rodent and his wind-bitch look down on me! I don't owe you two a shit, so don't look down on me! You shitty goddamn nerd!"

'Uh…Tatsumaki is not my girlfriend.' Izuku thought. However, he couldn't help but pause and imagine him and the girl walking to school together.

'No! No! No!' Izuku shook his head. A bit of a blush came on his face before he looked forward and saw Kacchan walking away. Hopefully, he hadn't seen that awkward moment of his, especially now that he was over it. 'Anyway…he's right about me not saving him…' He thought sincerely. 'I did nothing…Tatsumaki did it. It's a shame he won't admit that.'

Izuku then sighed and smiled a bit. The day had been rough, but he was surprisingly okay with all that had happened. Hence, with no regret he turned away and began walking.

'I'm glad with how things turned out. Now I can finally focus on a future feasible for me.'

And with that, Izuku had accepted how his life predicament is. Being a hero still sounded great, but with all that had happened he found that he had no regret. So as he walked, he possessed that smile until he came to a stop and saw Tatsumaki walking pass him with a little girl, holding her hand by hand.

"Tatsumaki…" Izuku muttered, surprised.

"Midoriya…" Tatsumaki muttered back, surprised as well.

For a moment, time seemed to come to a stop as both teens locked eyes with each other. Their face expression showed how surprised they were to encounter each other, especially at a time like this. But unknown to them, such an encounter was something that would lead to something greater than any of them would've ever imagined.