inheritance | IC Inbox

[That's the reaction he should have been expecting, right...? It's still hard to see that look on Izuku's face and to know that he put it there.]

... I... was in a situation where there was no other good option. If I hadn't, so many people would have died. And so...

I chose to give up my life.

Arisato-kun... [It's barely a whisper. But of course. In all the scenarios Izuku could have thought of, this one makes so much sense. Minato giving his life to save people, it's something that he would do.

...there's something else, though. This conversation's stirring up a flash of a memory, of another conversation that they'd had before.

Izuku inhales sharply.]

When I asked you if dying to protect people was a good thing before...that's what you were thinking about...wasn't it?

[He isn't surprised that Izuku picks up on that immediately. His eyes slide shut, and he draws in a slow breath...

Though his expression and tone are both calm.]

...I did what I had to do. There...was no other option. I tried everything else, but...

[...]

There was a lot more I still wanted to experience, too. I wanted...

[...he shakes his head, trailing off.]

... So please. Treasure your life. Hold onto it with everything you have. There's always so much more to live for.

[It's the last words that get to him, like a knife to the heart. Before, he could think through the shock, but now it's like everything's finally sinking in. His mouth wobbles.]

When...when I kept asking you about your friends, and what you'd do when you got back home... [Izuku's voice breaks and he closes his eyes against the tears that are threatening to spill.] Why didn't you say anything back then?

... I'm sorry.

[Minato breathes that out softly, shaking his head, expression soft.]

I...wanted to be able to live a little while longer...as if nothing was different. Everyone treats me normally here. Selfishly, I liked that.

...not your fault. [It's muffled, a little, when Izuku sniffs and hurriedly scrubs the tears away, covering his face as he does so.]

I think...I would've done the same thing. I just feel bad...I kept asking you all that stuff and it just reminded you of what happened.

... No, don't feel bad.

[That gets a quick shake of Minato's head, even as he frowns.]

It's my fault for not telling you. And... I don't--

[...]

I'm okay with it. Honest, I am. Even if I wanted to be able to live a little longer... it was my choice, and I don't have any regrets.

[Minato seems...sincere, and Izuku knows that he is, when he remembers what they'd talked about before. It makes sense, now that he can put the pieces together, that this must've been the last resort for him.]

Things must have been really bad, if you had to do this. [Izuku finally says quietly.] What...what happened?

... It's not a happy story, but...

[If Izuku wants to know, he deserves to know. Minato's quiet for a moment, but more to get his thoughts in order than anything--

And then quietly, he begins to speak.]

Back home...for awhile, people were starting to have a sort of mentality that was...really damaging. People stopped wanting to live their lives. They were just going through the motions, because they didn't know what else to do.

...And that attitude...eventually, it ended up calling on a goddess.

[A slow breath.]

Nyx is the goddess of eternal night. She's... not malevolent, nor is she benevolent. She just is.

[...]

And when she heard humanity calling out for death... that what she came to give everyone.

[Minato's right. It's not a happy story at all. Just hearing it makes Izuku's chest feel tight, with worry for the people of Minato's world, with worry for the rest of the story.]

I don't understand. [Izuku murmurs, eyes sad as they watch Minato.] What was causing people to think that way?

[It sounds...unnatural, to wish for death. And for so many to think that way, enough that this goddess heard... there must have been an explanation for it.]

... Nothing.

[Isn't that the most tragic part?

It can be argued that eventually, it was Nyx's influence--but people called to her anyway. In the end, it was people, just people, because...]

People... just started to lose hope. They lost sight of what living was all about, and... got apathetic. And that apathy was enough to call out to her.

Not everyone, of course. But...a lot of people did feel that way. Because life can be hard sometimes, and people forget just how important living really is.

That's really sad, Arisato-kun. [Though Izuku's no stranger to feeling lost and hopeless, he'd always had something that could give him some of that hope back in the end. It hurts, thinking about how weighed down those people must have felt to get to that point.]

So... the goddess showed up in your world. [A pause as he worries at his lips. He's starting to put the pieces together.] Did you...fight her? Is that what happened?

[That seems like the kind of thing Minato would do... but how did things turn out the way they were in the vision? This doesn't make sense.]

... Yeah, we did. Me, and my team. We... had to.

[Minato looks down at his hands...but then he clears his throat, lifting his chin.]

Because humanity didn't deserve to die over a mistake. Maybe... maybe to a lot of people it felt like there wasn't anything left to live for. But if they just had more time, then I'm sure they would have realized--just how much there is.

So...we had to fight her. Even though we knew we couldn't win.

Everyone deserved a second chance.

Arisato-kun... [Though he knows this didn't end well for Minato in the end, Izuku can't help but be struck by how incredibly brave his friend is at the same time. He exhales shakily.]

You're really incredible, you know that, right?

That's...

[Not the answer he was expecting--though after a moment's startled blinking...he smiles, dipping his head a little.]

Not me, Midoriya-kun.

Without my family--my team--we never would've been able to get there in the first place. They're the ones who helped me do it. They're the ones who fought with everything they had, even knowing.... even knowing they would probably die.

They're so brave, and so amazing...and I owe everything to them.

[Before Minato even finishes talking, Izuku's already shaking his head in disagreement.]

You, too, Arisato-kun. You're part of the team, aren't you? If you think they were brave and amazing, that means all of that should apply to you, too.

I think you being there with them must have helped them fight in the end. Is that so hard to believe?

[That's how friendship, camaraderie works. Also, just take the compliment, Minato.]

[compliments are hard, okay...

But he just hums softly, a very faint noise, and bows his head.

...]

And me too... a little.

[He'll accept that he had to be there, anyway. That was his role. In a way, that was his purpose in life.

... It's how it was supposed to be.]

... I hope that everyone can live better lives now. Fuller ones, and happier ones... nothing would make me happier than that.

Just a little? [Izuku murmurs, with just a hint of teasing. Come on, Minato, you helped save the world! That's more then "a little" as far as Izuku's concerned.]

I'm sure they can, Arisato-kun. Thanks to you and your friends. [Izuku pauses.] How many people know about this? I mean... a goddess showing up would be hard to ignore, wouldn't it?

[JUST A LITTLE... he never intended on becoming a hero or anything like that, so it's hard for him to accept any sort of praise.]

... Nobody.

[Oh.]

It's...a little complicated... but I guess you could say that since everything happened during a time that wasn't supposed to exist, everyone forgot about it after.

[...]

Even my team did. Everyone forgot. [Except him.]

[It takes a second to process.]

Wait--what do you mean everyone forgot it happened? [Normally, the feeling of the pieces falling into place, the click as things begin to make sense, is one that Izuku loves. It just leaves him with a sense of dawning horror now.]

Then... that memory from now.... [Minato's feelings make too much sense now.]

... Yeah.

[Minato...shrugs a little, because he doesn't know what else to do. The hardest part of dying wasn't dying--it was dying slowly, without anyone to remember with him what had happened.]

We knew it was likely that we'd all forget...

It's just that I didn't think I'd be the only one after all of that to...well, remember.

[And it was very, very lonely, even if he's striving to keep a level tone.]

[Even for someone as removed from that situation as Izuku is knows that it must have been lonely for Minato to be the only one who remembered. If all of Izuku's friends suddenly forgot the things they'd all been through, getting closer as classmates and allies on the field...he doesn't know what he would do. And Shouto... it's been Izuku biggest worry, that they might forget what they've gone through together here. To think, it isn't just a worry for Minato, but his reality, makes Izuku's heart hurt for him.

Wordlessly, he reaches for Minato's hands, holding them in his own if Minato lets him.

There's... something that he should say, he thinks, to comfort Minato, but he's drawing a blank. Nothing feels like it would be enough to convey the loss that Minato's had to face alone, after such a difficult battle. So this is all he can do for the moment.]

[... Minato willingly squeezes Izuku's hands, meeting his gaze with a small smile. There's a hint of bittersweetness to it--it would be a lie to say it wasn't hard, after all.

But even so...]

It was my choice.

I don't regret anything that happened...and I don't regret my situation, either. Okay? So... don't worry too much over it.

I feel like that might be asking a little too much.

[Izuku gives him a watery smile. Minato's his friend...how could he not worry?]

At least you're here right now. That makes it... a little easier to swallow.

[... Ha... Minato just squeezes Izuku's hand again, gently.]

...Yeah.

I'm right here right now.

And I'm not going anywhere.

[At least... not yet.]

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