Origin Prologue: 5. Mourning without "You"

Crowds of people, wearing black-colored formal suits and clothes, had gathered at the funeral hall in Musutafu City. They were all here for a wake... to mourn the passing of a certain individual.

In front of the hall, on a simple white-clothed table, rested a lone photo of a man. A modest urn was placed in front of the photo, surrounded by a sea of flowers. A long vertical banner stood beside the table, displaying the Japanese kanji words:

'Midoriya Hisashi'.

The gathered people were relatives and acquaintances of the deceased man. They sat in rows of chairs inside the hall, most in silence, while some whispered to each other in hushed tones. A Buddhist priest stood solemnly before the table adorned with the deceased man's photo, chanting prayers and sutras for the peaceful journey of the deceased man, Hisashi.

Meanwhile, behind the priest stood the family of the deceased. Inko, Hisashi's wife, stood with tears streaming down her face, grieving the loss of her husband. His elderly parents, who had come from their countryside village — or, to be precise, his own mother — were weeping silently, mourning the son she had outlived. Chisa, the young daughter of the late Hisashi and Inko, had already grasped the gravity of death and was shedding tears alongside her mother.

Only two among them did not cry...

The late Hisashi's father stood with a grim expression, his eyes fixed on the photo of his son, his emotions hidden behind a stoic facade. Izuku, the deceased man's son, hung his head low, refusing to meet his father's image that showed his kind gaze onto him...

They all awaited their turn to offer incense to the urn, a final farewell to the memory of Hisashi.

But one thing that stood out at this wake... was the absence of Hisashi's body at his own funeral. The funeral had proceeded promptly after the wake... because...

There was no body to cremate.

Whispers floated among the attendees.

"I heard he died overseas. Such a tragedy."

"They couldn't even find his body. Imagine how his family must feel."

Young Izuku overheard these murmurs, his expression turning even more somber. He was still struggling to grasp the concepts of life and death, unable to comprehend not being able to see his father one last time because his body was either missing or destroyed overseas.

More voices joined the conversation.

"I heard he was caught in the crossfire between a hero and a villain."

"Seriously...? That's quite tragic..."

"Heroes are supposed to save people, right? What happened to protecting the innocent?"

The rumors weighed heavily on Izuku. He had once dreamed of becoming a hero himself, but just a few days ago, he was diagnosed as quirkless. Izuku knew how futile it was for someone without any quirk to dream of being a hero.

But now? If what he was hearing was true... if heroes with their quirks couldn't even save his dad... what was the point of becoming a hero to begin with?

That was the young boy's solemn thought as he waited for his turn to offer incense to his late father's urn.

Among the attendees sat Katsuki, flanked by both of his parents in the second row of chairs. They too mourned deeply, especially his parents at the loss of a dear friend.

Katsuki's keen ears also caught wind of the whispers about heroes and their failures. He clenched his fists, conflicted and troubled by the implications that heroes couldn't save someone so important to his best friend.

The atmosphere in the hall was heavy with grief and unanswered questions as they all waited to bid farewell to Midoriya Hisashi, a man whose absence now left a void in their hearts and a cloud of uncertainty over their understanding of heroes and their role in society.

< | X | >

A few days later, inside a dimly lit room, young Izuku sat quietly at his PC table, the bright screen of the monitor the only source of light. He blankly stared at the screen, which showed online videos of All Might's past heroic deeds and actions.

Izuku didn't react whatsoever. No smile, no frown, no anger, no tears... just a blank stare as he watched video reels after video reels of the all-mighty No. 1 superhero of Japan. Was he wondering, in his child-like mind, whether All Might had the chance to save his late father? Or was he just imagining what it would be like to have a powerful quirk like All Might, so he could protect his family?

Nobody knew for sure what Izuku was thinking right now...

Meanwhile, his mother, Inko, peeked through a small opening in his room's door. Her heart ached as she saw her son sitting there, isolated in his grief.

"Izuku..." she muttered solemnly, her voice barely above a whisper, reflecting the sorrow she felt at seeing her son's current state.

It had been a few days since her husband's funeral. She was still mourning his passing, but she was also deeply worried about her son. Not only had Izuku received the horrifying revelation that he was quirkless almost a week ago, but he had also found out on the same day that his father had passed away. The double blow had left him in a state of emotional numbness that she didn't know how to break through.

Her daughter, Chisa, was also struck by the loss of her father, but she was already showing signs of recovering from the shock. Inko wondered if Chisa was already wiser than her age, as she seemed to understand most of the implications of life and death. However, Inko worried that her daughter might be keeping her feelings to herself, trying to be strong for everyone else...

But right now, what she worried about most was what she should do about her son's current state. She was perplexed about how to handle Izuku. She wanted to comfort him, to hug him tenderly and say that everything would be okay... but at the same time, she felt like she would be lying if she tried to comfort her son like that.

How could she promise that everything would be alright when they had lost so much...?

"Inko." A voice suddenly called her. She looked back to the source of the voice and saw her mother-in-law standing there, her expression filled with understanding and concern.

"Mother..." Inko answered to her mother-in-law's call. She was already quite close to her mother-in-law, as her late husband Hisashi had encouraged that connection.

"We need to talk..." Her mother-in-law said in a soft voice. She too understood that Inko and her two children were currently having a hard time accepting the new reality they were facing. But...

"...we need to talk about you and your children's future, dear."