inheritance | IC Inbox

I was hoping that you'd see it that way. [Izuku admits, not pulling away just yet.]

I know that we'll all have to return to our own worlds eventually and we'll have to say goodbye to everyone we've met here. [It's something that's been on his mind for a while now, though he's been afraid to bring it up before. But finding out about Ryoji's circumstances reminds him of this all over again.]

It's kind of like this, isn't it? We're all lucky that we got to meet and become friends here. Even if it hurts when we have to go our different paths later, I...I think I'm grateful that I've been able to meet you and everyone else. [Izuku's voice softens.] I'd be happy to carry memories of everyone back home with me.

... Yeah, me too.

[It's sad, no matter what. Thinking of leaving all of these people behind, when many of them are already precious friends to him. But no matter what, people need to get home, and...

That's just how it is.

Quietly, Minato murmurs:]

It's worth it, anyway. Bonds like that don't just go away. so even if we separate...those bonds will always be there to hold us all together.

[And the fact that Izuku will remember makes him happy too--someone remembering him for the person he was here, that most of SEES will never see.]

Yeah. [Finally he pulls away, scrubbing fiercely at his eyes as he does so. He has a feeling it'll be some time before everyone has to part, if their ability to go home really does hinge on fixing things here, but it's still bittersweet to think about it.

When his eyes are dry again, Izuku musters up a smile.]

Maybe when it happens, we could all get together and exchange notes or...or tokens of some kind to remember each other by! [He pauses.] Do you think it'd be weird if I asked people to sit for portraits?

I don't think it'd be weird at all.

[To him, this feels uncannily familiar, after all. Minato lets Izuku pull away without argument, settling his hands back into his pockets now that their hug is over. It's not something he'll be forgetting, though--that level of touch and comfort is something he always appreciates.]

I think a lot of people would appreciate it, actually. The more we can hold onto of each other...the better, right?

[This time, Izuku just nods, emphatic despite his silent response. Ending up here at all had been unexpected, but even more so is the bonds that he's made while here. Or maybe it's because they were so unexpected, that he finds them so precious.]

I didn't think we'd end up making so many friends here. [He admits, looking wistful.]

You didn't think so...?

[Minato's quiet for a brief moment, contemplative.]

Why do you say that?

Ah... I guess when I said "we" I meant... me, specifically.

[He smiles at Minato, something tentative in his expression.]

I didn't really have friends until recently. UA--um, the hero school I go to, it's special to me, because that's where I made my first friends.

Really...?

[This is getting stranger and stranger to him... thinking about Izuku without friends doesn't feel right at all.]

But you're so friendly and kind... it's hard for me to imagine people not wanting to be your friend.

[Those words make Izuku smile bashfully, shifting in his seat.] That means a lot, coming from you.

[He pauses, then says softly--] You already know about quirks. When it's so common to have powers like that, you...stand out when you don't. [And not in the good way, he doesn't have to say.]

[... Oh... but that's--]

I thought you have a quirk, though... is that something that can show up later in life?

[It's kind of mean to bully kids who don't have one, then, even if he totally knows all about kids and people bullying those who are different in any way.]

It's...rare. [Meaning, it never happens. One For All is just a special case.] Kids usually manifest their quirks around the time they're four. I didn't get mine until I was fifteen, so...

[Izuku shrugs, trying to look casual about it. He has friends now, and that's what matters.]

[Well, he buys it, at least. He has no idea there's anything other than just those sorts of circumstances surrounding what Izuku went through.]

Ah... I see. So you were different, so it was harder to make friends...

[People can be cruel towards those who are different; he knows that firsthand.]

... Well. I'm even more glad that you have your classmates now, then.

Y-yeah... [Izuku shifts around, nervously.] In our world, about 80% of the population has quirks. Being quirkless... you're seen as useless now, and no one really wants to associate with someone who's useless.

[When Minato brings up his classmates, though, Izuku's glum look turns into a smile.] I'm glad, too. I'm happy that I met people like them. And you! And everyone I've become friends with here, too.

[Aw, Izuku... Minato's quiet for a moment, contemplative, before:]

I'm glad you ended up figuring out your quirk eventually, but...

Even so, you're far from useless. Even if you didn't have it... your hard work, and your perseverance, and the way you always look after everyone--I think those are even more important to being a hero.

[Izuku smile turns wobbly, his eyes gaining a suspicious sheen to them.]

Thanks, Arisato-kun. [As much as Izuku has learned to ignore all of the naysayers, it still means a lot to him when someone finds the time to actually tell him this.]

Hearing that from you makes me happy. [He adds softly, a moment later. He can't help but wonder how things could have been different if someone had said these words to him in his loneliest times growing up.]

[Minato just smiles in return, expression soft. Izuku's really been through so much, hasn't he...?

But he's still here, standing strong, wanting to do nothing more than to help people.

... He's really a good person.]

It's just what I believe. After all... I've met a few heroes, and it was absolutely because of who they were as people that they were able to be the heroes they are.

[Yukari, standoffish but sincerely kind. Junpei, silly but determined to make a difference. Akihiko, trying so hard to protect what he could grasp and Mitsuru bearing the world on her shoulders. Shinji, who had deserved better but still saved someone in the time he had. Fuuka, who felt more for everyone around her than anyone, Ken, who loved heroes more than anyone, Koromaru and his loyalty and Aigis, a steadfast protector.

And Ryoji, too, right? In his own way, hadn't he tried to save them? In his own way, Minato believes Ryoji, too, had the soul of a hero.]

[In a way, Izuku's always known that. Though he admires All Might's strength, it's always been his giving nature and his determination to save everyone that had drawn Izuku to him in the first place. It's different when he's hearing it in relation to himself, though.

Izuku leans forward slightly, letting his chin rest in his hand.]

Will you tell me about them? The heroes that you know of.

Yeah... I'd like that.

[Minato agrees with that easily, expression warm as he thinks of them. Obviously he can't talk about all of them, but after a moment's thought, he settles on:]

There was this guy back home I ended up getting to know...he was kind of goofy and silly a lot of the time. He didn't really know what to do with himself at first.

But he ended up meeting someone who changed his entire world view, and after that... he became someone, I think, who really understood what it meant to need to protect people.

[It's pleasant to just listen to Minato talk about his home. Minato's not only quiet on most days, but he doesn't seem to share things about himself very easily, unless prompted.

His lips curl slowly into a smile.]

Sometimes that happens--meeting someone who changes your life completely. Are the two of them close now?

[... Ah. Right. That's... the natural question, isn't it?

Minato's quiet for a long moment...and then his gaze drops a little.]

They were in love.

[...]

But... She ended up passing away...after she gave her life for his.

[Izuku's mouth drops open slightly in dismay. The bright look in his eyes disappears in the face of his sudden sorrow.]

Oh....oh no. That's awful.

... I'm sorry. That was...pretty grim, right?

[Their entire year was so grim, he has to remember that... it's very hard to hear.]

But I think, too... that she died the way she wanted to. She died protecting the person that she loved, with all of her heart...

... It's sad, but in a way, I'm happy for her too.

[Because she was already dying.]

Don't be! [Izuku shakes his head emphatically.] I was the one who asked...

Besides...even if it's grim, what you said makes a lot of sense to me. Death is hard to deal with, but if it's to protect the people important to you, then... that's. A good thing, right...?

[His voice wavers uncertainly over those words. It makes sense to him, of course, because he knows that's something he would be willing to do for those he's trying to protect. But... he's also been around Shouto and the others long enough now to hesitate, because he knows that's not what they would want him to do. It's all become a bit complicated in his head.]

...No.

[Minato shakes his head solemnly at that, looking at Izuku quietly. He won't deny that he was a little unclear there--but Chidori had already been dying, and she'd been able to choose the way she wanted to die. In that way, he was happy for her. In the way that she was able to choose her own life and death.

But...

He doesn't want Izuku to get the wrong idea here--because it makes his heart freeze in his chest.]

No, that's... not right either. It's not a good thing. Death is never a good thing.

[He'd chosen his death, and he doesn't regret his--he made his choice. But...]

It's always, always better to live. I was happy for Chidori because she was...able to take hold of her life, at least a little, before the end. But Junpei was still suffering because of it. Everything was still so hard because of it.

[...]

I was happy for her in some ways... but it wasn't a good thing.

Oh. [His eyes widen at Minato's words, then go unfocused as he looks away with a frown.]

Oh... [He says again, quietly.

Minato has a point, of course. His thoughts drift to Kouta, who had suffered and mourned the loss of his parents. His parents, who had died a heroic death, in the eyes of their society. No amount of praise from outsiders could make up for him having to grow up without his family.]

I guess...you're right. Sometimes--sometimes it's easy to get caught up in a purpose and not think about how you're affecting the people around you, too.

[How could he have forgotten? All Might had told him as much, that he thought he would die in his last fight with All For One. Hadn't he been happy and relieved when All Might said he'd decided to fight his fate and continue living and walking alongside him?]

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