Do You Want To Be A Hero? (27) | Purple Vial

"No... you can't be serious...?!" All Might gasped, reeling as he took a step back, the shock of the young man's revelation hitting him hard.

Izuku didn't respond verbally. He remained silent, staring back at the ghastly hero's stunned expression. His darkened poker face said more than words ever could.

The silence between them was deafening.

Then, all of a sudden, All Might stepped forward, closing the distance...

And grabbed hold of Izuku's high school gakuran by the collar!

Despite being in his frail "husk of a man" form, the hero still had enough strength to lift him into the air!

"You...!" 

All Might growled, his voice trembling with a mixture of disbelief and anger. His gaunt, frail form bristled with tension. The hero's eyes burned with unyielding frustration as they locked onto Izuku's almost indifferent expression.

Izuku, still suspended by the collar, remained unfazed, unwavering—even in the face of the hero's livid gaze.

"I knew people would react negatively if they ever learned what I'd done..." Izuku finally spoke, his tone casual, almost reflective. "But to see you this... angry? I have to admit... that surprises me."

There was no fear in his voice. No hesitation. Just... calm indifference.

That unshaken demeanor, even in the face of All Might's fury, sent a chill down the hero's spine. It was disturbing how composed the young man remained.

Izuku's cold, calculating eyes scanned All Might's furious expression, as if deducing something.

"Did I... perhaps strike a nerve?" he asked, his voice steady as he raised an eyebrow at the hero's current state.

"...!"

Realizing his own overstep, All Might's eyes widened in self-awareness. His grip on Izuku's collar loosened as he quickly released the young man, stumbling back slightly.

Izuku gently dropped back to his feet, completely unbothered by the surprising strength the frail hero had just displayed. His neutral expression remained as he glanced toward the still-agitated All Might.

"I apologize if my secret comes as a shock to you, All Might..." Izuku said, addressing the No. 1 Hero directly, "...which is precisely why I did not disclose my findings regarding the Imagi Factor to the public. There would be quite the ruckus if people knew that someone out there could take away their quirks..."

All Might didn't respond to Izuku's statement, but his expression... darkened. As if he understood the weight behind the young man's words.

A bit too well, if Izuku's deduction of his expression was anything to go by. The green-haired high schooler chose to ignore it for now... and continued speaking his mind.

"Quirks... they have become quite essential for humanity and our society. So much so... that it feels like an 'identity' for a person to live..." Izuku continued, but this time... his cold, almost indifferent expression softened, "...so I understand that it would be quite devastating for someone to lose that identity."

Izuku noticed that the hero himself was still wary of him...

"So just to be clear: I don't take someone's quirk completely."

"...you don't?" All Might questioned, his anxiety still evident in his voice.

"No. I don't need to. I only need a decent sample of the Imagi Factor—just enough to copy its blueprint," Izuku explained, his tone calm yet precise. "The Kamen Rider system that I created uses this blueprint to replicate the quirk's function... without having to take it away from its original user. I'm not stealing, you know~?"

Izuku attempted to ease up the tension between them... but All Might still looked uneasy. Seeing this, the young man couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"...Just to be clear again: I don't take it from some innocent bystander. I only collect from those with an overabundance of Imagi Factor... especially those with corrupted ones."

"..."

All Might was still silent after hearing this confirmation... but it seemed to relieve the hero a bit, which Izuku noticed right away. It made the green-haired high schooler curious...

Perhaps the No. 1 Hero had encountered a notorious quirk stealer before?

"Corrupted ones... I've heard you mention it several times now," All Might finally broke his silence... as a bit of morbid curiosity crept into his voice. "But what exactly are these corrupted Imagi Factors that you speak of?"

Izuku raised his right hand, and a familiar digitized aura surrounded it. A glass vial materialized in his grip! The liquid inside—a thick, malicious-looking purple substance—swirled ominously.

"...!"

All Might's reaction was immediate—his face twisted in visible disgust at the sight of it. Izuku himself... chuckled at his reaction.

"Not a fan of it, huh?"

"...Is that it?" All Might's voice was tight, uneasy.

"Yup," The green haired young man held up the vial, examining the substance inside like it was no big deal. "This is the corrupted Imagi Factor of the sludge villain. I'm planning to purify it—thoroughly distill it, you could say—so I can use it for my Kamen Rider system."

All Might's eyes narrowed at the mention of purification, still fixated on the vial... He couldn't tear his gaze away from the swirling, corrupted mass inside.

"You know," Izuku began again, noticing the hero's natural disgust, "those with quirks... tend to find this stuff repulsive. It's fascinating, really. But for me? Well... it doesn't bother me all that much."

All Might's frown deepened. "...and why is that?"

The young man couldn't help but let out a smirk at the hero's curiosity.

"I'm quirkless, remember? It's natural that something like this wouldn't affect me," Izuku answered, swirling the vial in his hand playfully. "This corrupted Imagi Factor—it doesn't just corrupt the user... it eats away at them from the inside out. And worse, it can infect others too. It's like it has a mind of its own... constantly seeking to amass more of itself by finding those with Imagi Factors, even more so if they are corrupted like it."

The vial in his hand glowed faintly for a moment before it vanished, dematerialized back into nothingness.

All Might let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

But then... another thought struck him, a realization dawning as he recalled what Izuku had said earlier—he had extracted the sludge villain's corrupted Imagi Factor.

"...Young man," All Might's tone was sharp, cutting through the air, "when we were in the underground tunnel... did you deliberately lure the sludge villain toward you?"

Izuku's eyes flickered with a brief, knowing gleam.

"Yeah," he confirmed without hesitation.

All Might's gaze hardened. "And when you forcefully attached yourself to me as I was leaving... that was intentional too, wasn't it?"

Izuku's eyes narrowed slightly, and he let out a quiet, frustrated sigh, almost as if he were being cornered by a question he didn't want to answer.

"Yes... it was," he replied, his voice tinged with irritation.

All Might's serious expression deepened.

"So... all of that talk we had on the rooftop... about the meaning of a hero..."

All Might looked straight at Izuku with surprising intensity.

"...Was that all just a lie? Did you do it just to get the sludge villain from me?"

"Huh...?"

Izuku was taken aback by the sudden directness, actually not expecting such an accusation coming from the hero... but then, he realized the weight of the hero's words.

"..."

Izuku's lips pressed together, and for the first time, he couldn't meet All Might's scrutinizing gaze. The amusement, the nonchalance, the indifference he had shown earlier... all of it melted away, replaced by something more somber.

A melancholic expression clouded his face as he seemed to contemplate the weight of the question.

All Might, sensing this shift, furrowed his brows in confusion. Izuku's hesitation... was something the hero hadn't expected.

"You have all of these powers—all of these strengths—to fight evil and uphold justice... and yet, you seem to hesitate over the very idea of being a hero itself..."

All Might realized that even if the young man's intention had not been entirely pure... their previous conversation about heroism had been genuine enough.

And it brought wonder to All Might if the young man in front of him had the potential to be something great.

"Let me ask you again... the same question I asked you before." All Might softened his gaze, locking eyes with Izuku, who was now giving him his full attention.

"Do you want to be a hero?"

The silence that followed was thick. Izuku didn't answer right away, still lost in his own thoughts, wrestling with the idea that had been gnawing at him for so long.

He was about to speak, his lips parting to give his answer when—

"Izuku!"

"...!"

Both All Might and Izuku turned toward the voice, startled.

Standing in the distance, her voice echoing through the empty suburban street of Musutafu... was none other than Katsuki.

~~~~~~~~

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Author Note and shameless grifting promotion:

FINALLY.

GOD DAMN I FINALLY UPDATED THE STORY!!!

I god damn jinxed myself by saying I could write faster... and lot of shit happened...

BUT I FINALLY DID IT.

I FINISHED THIS MELANCHOLIC AND CLICHE PART OF THE ARC!!!

It's in my P@treon btw so check them out at:

p@treon(dot)com/demonkingakuma

Anyway!

I'm not gonna jinxed myself anymore!!!

Stay tuned for more!!!