Chapter 42 - CH 30: FIRST MEETING

Two days later, early in the morning, Izuku stood in front of the Dagoba Municipal Beach Park. He was wearing a tee-shirt with the word ALL M written on it, blue pants and red shoes.

He was walking in a circle while waiting for All Might. They had already planned to meet each other in a few minutes, but he was so excited that he couldn't sleep and finally came sooner than agreed. Suddenly, he heard a laugh

"AH! AH! AH!"

This laugh was coming from the sky. A few seconds later,

BOOM!!!

Someone landed in front of him. It was All Might. 

"Waaa!!"

He couldn't help but let an exclamation of happiness. Even now it was hard for him to think that meeting All Might two days ago wasn't a dream.

"AH AH AH. Midoriya shonen. You came sooner than I thought. I hope you're ready."

All Might laughed once again before entering the bay.

Midoriya nodded his head in excitement. But just as he also entered the bay, he saw someone seating on a fridge. It was a boy.

The boy was wearing an unknown uniform from another middle school. But what really attracted his attention was his eyes. His deep red eyes seemed like they were looking into his soul. The worst was the indifference he could feel from the boy's eyes. 

Midoriya hid a shudder and stopped advancing. His legs were shivering a little. He was scared. He felt like he would die if he took another step.

"KUROHA!"

Suddenly, the weird pressure vanished. This sense of impending doom also vanished.

"Sorry, I just wanted to verify something."

The voice of the boy, Kuroha, was light but at the same time pleasing to hear. Before he could understand what was happening, he saw the boy standing in front of him.

Izuku didn't know it, but he was standing close to a mark posed by Kuroha. Kuroha had an almost compulsive disorder about his mark. Each time he went somewhere, he couldn't feel at ease without leaving at least ten marks, but generally, he leaves way more than that.

Izuku, seeing the boy in front of him, took two steps back in fear and stumbled a little. But just as he was about to fall, a hand caught him before raising him up. 

"I'm sorry if I seem like a prick for what I did. But let me be frank with you. You should give up."

Izuku was stunned. After finally finding a way to accomplish his dream he was told to give up? Who did he think he was? The indignation and the rage made him lose his fear as he looked at the white haired boy in front of him. 

Kuroha, on the other hand, was looking at the strange boy in front of him. The way the boy reacted, he felt like he was an arrogant young master who threatened the mc of the story and didn't know that he was nothing more than a sharpening tool, a stepping stone. He didn't like this feeling one bit. So he decided to give a simple explanation.

"I'm saying this for your own good. You shouldn't inherit One For All. "

"WHY? Because I'm quirkless?"

Izuku wasn't stupid. He didn't know who this Kuroha was, but seeing how All Might didn't intervene, it was easy to see that they didn't have a simple relationship. He was basically sure that if he didn't manage to convince this Kuroha in front of him, he would lose the key to his dream.

Kuroha shook his head in denial before answering.

"Being quirkless or not doesn't matter to me. Not all quirks are suited for direct combat. Despite that, I know two girls who could wipe the floor with you without even breaking a sweat."

"So...Why?"

Izuku felt a little weird about the reason Kuroha gave but he decided to not mind it for the time being. The answer to his question was instantaneous

"Because you're weak."

"Weak?"

He, of course, knew that he was weak. Why could it be a reason to stop him?

"*Sigh* All Might said something about you being a natural-born hero. But in my eyes that's BS. There's no sin in having a weak body. Everyone is born weak. It's something that can easily be trained. But a weak resolve can be fatal. If your resolve isn't strong enough, you can never become a hero."

"Wha…?"

Izuku was confused. Kuroha seeing this continued

"Tell me. What's a hero for you?" 

For Izuku this question wasn't a problem 

"A hero is someone who fights to help and protect the people and brings smiles to them." 

All Might who was watching this confrontation a little farther smiled when he heard this. Truly, no matter the result of this discussion he wouldn't change Izuku being his successor, but it would surely dampen his mood if he didn't get a passing mark from Kuroha. 

"I see…A textbook answers but it's not like it's wrong. Still, that isn't enough. In my eyes, a true hero is a dead man walking. It's something that only masochists can really wish to become." 

It was the answer Kuroha come up with after a few years of asking himself if he wanted to be a hero. 

"What…?" 

"From the moment one chooses to become a hero. He must be ready to fight against the world. When you succeed people will smile with you. But when you fail..."

Kuroha paused a little before continuing,

"... When you fail, few will cry with you. They will only curse you. You become the enemy of every villain. One mistake might mean not only your death but also the death of your teammates, the people you protect and your loved ones. "

"... "

"Being a hero isn't a rewarding job, nor is it some dream job. It's a bitter and hard job where only the top few really get enough money and fame. The lower ones get just enough to not live too badly."

"..."

"Training to become a hero is hard. Extremely hard. You must always think about new moves. New techniques. New ideas. You must break and reform your body again and again. You must bear the stress and wishes of those close to you."

"..."

"For you, this will be far worse. You'll inherit One for All after being quirkless for 14 years. In order to catch up to everyone else, you'll have to train way harder than anyone else. You'll have to bear way more pain and stress than anyone else. If it's ever become know that you are All Might's disciple? People will expect you to become a second All Might. If you fail? Hehe… I don't think that I need to tell you what will happen. "

"... "

"Now, after me telling you all this. After understanding the weight of your choice. Do you still want to become a hero?" 

Kuroha looked at the green-haired boy. The boy was shivering and sweating. It was clear to see that he was in no condition to think clearly.

Deep down, Kuroha was a little disappointed. He really hoped that the one Uncle toshinori chose would have a more sturdy backbone. 

He lost all interest in the boy and began to walk away. Such a boy wasn't worthy of such great power. Asa always liked to say bullshit lines like "With great power comes great responsibility." He didn't think so. But power like One for All really comes with great responsibility. 

It was when he was on the verge of activating his quirk to teleport that he heard

"I WILL!" 

Kuroha stopped and turned to look back at the boy with a surprised expression. 

"What did you say?"

Izuku took a deep breath to calm his fear and opened his mouth 

"I said, I WILL. No matter what I will become a hero. A true Hero. A hero who can make people smile."

"No matter how much stress you'll be under?"

"Yes."

"No matter how much pain it will bring you?" 

"Yes."

"Even If people, you help curse you? Even if the whole world turns his back on you." 

"Yes."

Kuroha stared at the boy's eyes. He could see an incredible level of determination that wasn't present a few minutes ago. For a short moment, he even wondered if this guy was suffering from a personality disorder like him. 

How could it be possible to be so timid one moment and become so courageous the next moment? Kuroha didn't know it, but a little smile appeared on his face. Though it vanished as fast as it appeared.

"What's your name?."

"Midoriya… IZUKU MIDORIYA." 

"I see… Then do as you wish."

After those words, Kuroha immediately teleported. He didn't really believe Midoriya. In his eyes, talk was cheap. Only real action could be trusted. He would observe this guy during the next few days.

(AN: It seem like my notice yesterday scared some you. ????. I am sorry. Next time the title will just be something like "no chapter today".)