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Papers rustled in Izuku’s desk as he lifted it open to fish out a new pencil with the last one having been worn down to a stub thanks to the doodles lining his sketchbook. As unfamiliar glossy pages brushed against his fingertips, Izuku froze up.
His eyes went as wide as saucers as he gawked at the unfamiliar magazine. A lacy bra on the cover stared back at him. How did that get there? I’m not a pervert. Honest! At least I don’t think so. Unless it was an act of my subconscious and I bought it without thinking. But why is it my desk then? Did I manifest a new quirk? Is there a One For All quirk that summons dirty magazines? I mean I love One For All and quirks – but did it really need to be such an inappropriate one?
Bakugo furrowed a brow at Izuku, making him go stick still. Attempting to school his expression into a halfway neutral one, Izuku slid his desk halfway shut… lest anyone notice the somewhat questionable contents.
As Izuku tried to ball up the magazine before anyone else noticed it, a small piece of paper drifted toward the floor.
From your secret admirer . Footsteps stomped by the row next to Izuku’s desk, whisking the sticky note away from him. Blinking, Izuku stared after his classmates’ brown loafers, trying to spot any trace of the note.
Maybe the note hadn’t ever actually been there. Just a figment of his imagination. After all, why would someone love a useless – albeit not-so-quirkless – Deku like him.
Scratching his head, Izuku rolled up the magazine and discarded it in the rubbish bin. As the magazine sunk into a sea of banana peels and discarded candy bar wrappers, Izuku craned his neck toward the ceiling. With the fluorescent lights drilling into his skin, Izuku sighed.
Why was he even surprised about someone hiding a dirty magazine in his desk? Life was like a carousel – rotating around and around – repeating the same patterns.
The months Izuku had spent at Dagobah Beach didn’t matter. Neither did the green lightning that sparked from his fingertips. Because evidently he was still that lost kid in a sea of amazing quirks. A cry baby with a target on his back. The kind of kid who’d find spit wads, freshly chewed gum or some kind of other unwanted trinket in his desk everyday of middle school.
Izuku hadn’t even noticed the box of chocolates with a purple ribbon looped around it, sitting on the corner of his lunch tray. Not until Ochako reached over to tug at the ribbon.
“What’s that Deku? Did you bring food from home today?”
“I don’t think so?”
Furrowing a brow, Izuku lifted the box and peered at it. Had someone misplaced their lunch on his tray? Had he taken it by accident? Paling, Izuku flipped his head around and tried to hear whether anyone’s stomach was grumbling especially loudly. A fruitless endeavor considering how loudly chatter was echoing through the cafeteria. Breaths turning uneven, Izuku felt the knots of guilt tighten in his stomach.
God, he hoped that no one was missing out on lunch because of him.
“Look there’s a note!” Ochako pointed at the corner of the box. Pulling the small card fastened a ribbon, Ochako cleared her throat and read aloud. “Chocolates infused with wine for the bravest person I know.”
Brave? Izuku would hardly call himself that. Not when he was shaking in his boots at the height of every battle. Not that it was a reason to back down from a fight. Even if he was sweating bullets, Izuku could count on his legs to move on their own.
Baffled, Izuku gawked at Ochako. “Chocolates?”
“Mhm.” Ochako popped her lips. “Your secret admirer gifts are much more normal than mine!”
Leaning past Izuku, Tsu stared back at Ochako blankly. “You have a secret admirer?”
“Yep. They leave me super sweet notes saying that I’m the cutest girl in the world! But the gifts that come with the notes are pretty strange.”
Taking a wistful sip of orange juice, Tenya set down his glass. “How so?”
“Um… well, I’ve been gifted… mostly pocket knives, box cutters and blood.”
“Oh dear, that is indeed quite strange. We must call the authorities at once,” Iida said.
Licking up a fly out of a jar with her tongue, Tsu nodded. “Agreed, it sounds like this person is threatening you.”
Ochako waved her hands in front of herself. “No, no, no – I’m sure they mean well. After all, pocket knives are super useful.”
“And how do you explain the blood?” Tsu asked.
“Maybe, Uraraka’s secret admirer is a vampire and wanted to give her a yummy treat.”
Rolling her eyes, Ochako elbowed Shouto in the side. “Come on. Vampires aren’t real. Anyways, why don’t we focus on Midoriya’s secret admirer instead since he’s the one with a gift right in front of him.”
Tenya tapped his chin in deep thought. “Perhaps the alcoholic chocolate is a subliminal message. Maybe Midoriya’s secret admirer owns a vineyard. Regardless, we must discard the chocolate at once. Alcohol must not be on school grounds.”
“Relax, Iida. It’s only chocolate with maybe a few drops at most. Hardly even counts.
Before Tenya had a chance to protest and slice through the air with hand chops, Shouto interrupted. “Or Midoriya’s secret admirer is Willy Wonka. Hence the chocolate.”
Recalling the Sports Festival incident where he was accused of being All Might’s secret love child, Izuku chuckled. “Can’t resist a conspiracy theory, huh?”
Shouto shrugged. “I can’t help it if it’s my true calling. Why do pro heroes get to be a career, but not pro conspiracy theorists?”
“Perhaps one day,” Izuku said as he tapped Shouto on the shoulder.
“I hope so. It would be pretty funny if my dad got a heart attack from me becoming a professional conspiracy theorist.”
Laughter resounded from the lunch table as Tenya chastised Shouto for wishing a heart attack upon someone. Surrounded by the warmth of friends huddled beside him on a rickety bench, Izuku noticed that his gaze kept drifting toward the box of chocolate.
Even though the bitterness of dark chocolate and wine didn’t really suit Izuku’s taste palette, he hadn’t ever been given anything sweeter. A reminder that he wasn’t that same kid anymore fishing a drenched notebook out a koi fish pond. No more eating lunch in a bathroom stall.
Against all odds, he had people who cared – including someone too shy to say it to Izuku’s face but found a way to express adoration regardless.
Opening the lid of the praline box, Izuku set a candy on his tongue, reminding himself that maybe – just maybe – he was worthy of love as the creamy texture melted away on his tongue.
Rustling outside his balcony window, sent Izuku sitting upright in his bed. Rubbing the crust out of the corners of his eyes, Izuku turned toward the glass. Was Aoyama setting cheese outside his window? For a little while, Izuku had thought Aoyama was the secret admirer giving him gifts… but that theory was put to rest as quickly as Shouto’s Willy Wonka one considering that Aoyama had made no secret of his fromage present.
Inside a paper fluttered outdoors, held to the glass with a strip of masking tape. Sliding on his All Might slippers, Izuku approached the window and untapped the paper. Crude pencil lines shone in the moonlight. Uneven wobbly lines that were beautiful in their imperfections. Every pop of bright color, breathing life into the page and standing as a testament to the artist’s care.
Izuku managed to make out a silvery dome. A deep pool of sapphire water. A fake cityscape in the distance. Running his finger along the outline of a gray boat with red details, Izuku smiled fondly to himself. Only two other students had been at that particular section of the USJ. Which narrowed down the list of possible secret admirers by a lot.
Noticing the ink lines bleeding through the opposite side of the paper, Izuku flipped the page over to read the note scrawled in surprisingly even handwriting.
Dear Deku,
I’m not much of an artist… but I just wanted to show you what you mean to me. The water reminds me of the first time I saw how cool you were. Back then you could barely throw a smash… but back then when I was practically floundering around, panicking like crazy… you found a way out. Not because of fame, not because you wanted to impress the ladies or anything – but because you wanted to. I couldn’t wrap my mind around that at first. Why would you prioritize saving my life instead of putting your safety first?
But I think the answer is plain and simple. You do it because it feels right, feels good to you.
I think you’ve shown me what a real hero is. So I guess it’s no surprise that I’ve fallen for you.
I want to be more like you. I’d like to be a real hero. That’s why I’m going to try to hold back on my comments that have made people upset. Because then maybe I can become the kind of person who has a shot with you.
– Your secret admirer
Blushing as red as a stop sign, Izuku held the note close to his chest. Only one person could fit the description of Izuku’s secret admirer. After all, if Tsu were the ones with feelings for Izuku, he suspected that she would’ve been blunt about it. Honestly, Izuku was surprised that he hadn’t pieced together his secret admirer sooner with all the years of quirk analysis under his belt.
At least, he knew now that his admirer likely genuinely thought the magazine was a good gift.
Still, Izuku felt a dizzying haze fill his head. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to being wanted by someone. But as he hummed to himself while pinning the drawing to his bulletin board, Izuku knew that he never wanted that kind of euphoria to end.
Rain drops beat down against Izuku’s cheeks hard as he drifted above the apartment buildings. Slate gray rooftops stretched on for miles as his classmates yelled from below. The shadows under his eyes grew darker than Blackwhip as he pressed forward. He could already sense the bruises forming under his drenched scarf.
But he couldn’t stay, couldn’t risk anyone getting hurt because of him. Especially not the boy who left chocolates on his lunch tray and notes on his balcony. Izuku’s chest thumped over the knowledge that Mineta was nearby but he forced himself to float higher.
Suddenly a makeshift string formed from Mineta’s balls (the quirk kind not the other ones) wrapped around Izuku’s ankle.
Yelling from the top of his lungs, Mineta climbed toward Izuku. “You know what made me fall for you? The time you were sweating bullets, shaking in your costume. I liked you when you could barely throw a smash.”
Words so similar to the letter left on Izuku’s balcony. No longer ink on the page, but an earnest cry manifesting right in front of Izuku. An attempt to anchor Izuku back to reality.
Butterflies fluttered in Izuku’s gut and it took every ounce of his willpower not to turn back toward Mineta lest he drown his those deep obsidian eyes.
Izuku pulled against the makeshift rope pieced together from Mineta’s quirk. He had to get away, not succumb to Mineta’s gravity tugging at his heartstrings. I can’t go back to the old me.
Yet, fatigue tugged at every tendon in Izuku’s limbs. Every aching bone and sleepless night weighed down on him like mountains. So maybe that’s why Izuku’s subconscious won over and an unfiltered question spilled from his lips.
“Will you be the grapes to my broccoli?”
Freezing up, Izuku clamped a hand over his mouth. What if Mineta said no? What if he made fun of Izuku for saying that sort of thing during the middle of a battle?
Blinking back with his mouth agape, Mineta uttered, “Y-yes.”