After talking to Mitsuki, she told him in detail what had happened to Izuku and who had done it to him. Hearing this news, Mitsuki was disappointed in her son and gave him a verbal reprimand, which Katsuki did not want to hear and fiercely resisted. Izuku now seemed pathetic to him, and his nickname became his permanent name, which he would use to refer to him. Anger boiled in Katsuki's eyes, and he blamed him for his failure. Only one thought lingered in his mind:
"If it weren't for him, if it weren't for his words, I would have crossed that damn tree without any problems! Midoriya's criticism was undeserved; he was only trying to help him, and what he did was an accident — a pleasant accident that satisfied Bakugo's sadistic ego, who was punished and sat in his room reflecting on his behavior.
Meanwhile, as Izuku lay on his bed, he thought about what he could talk to Nejire about. The topics of conversation were vast and endless, which sometimes led to awkward silences between them. Izuku thought about how to become a hero and tried to figure out how to do it. Yes, he hadn't given up on his dream. He took his lack of quirks as a challenge to become the best hero for society.
Taking the notebook his mother had bought him, he thought about which hero to start with. Being interested in quirks and everything else related to heroes, he decided to start his first analysis with Nejire's quirk. She was his only friend who had fun with him, and the fact that he was quirk-less didn't matter to her. Izuku will soon be six, and naturally, he will be moving on to elementary school. He needs to spend as much time with Nejire as possible, because after the transition, he won't have as much time as he does now. Opening his notebook, he began to write down all the information he had on Nejire.
Name: Nejire Hado
Quirk: Wave
Age: 5 years old
Gender: Female
Nejire can emit waves from her hands, and the source of the energy is unknown. The waves are strong enough to knock back opponents and allow her to blind enemies with her waves.
Izuku didn't know what else to write in his notebook, as he didn't know much about Nejire's quirk. He needed to fix that and help her master her quirk. If he wanted to become a hero, he had to help the people close to him, especially his mother.
The next morning came, and after having breakfast with his mother and putting on his bag, the young man rushed to meet Nejire, who was already waiting for him in their secret place, shrouded in bushes. Midoriya racked his brains trying to figure out how to tell her.
"Nejire, Nejire!" he shouted, trying to find his friend, who was nowhere to be seen. Izuku desperately searched for the lilac-colored head among the green bushes. Meanwhile, Nejire hid from him, quietly giggling to herself in the distant bushes, watching her friend. She began to attract his attention, luring him closer until he was close enough for her to jump out and scare him.
"Boo!"
"Aaaah!" Izuku cried out in surprise, falling on his backside and looking at his giggling friend who was teasing him.
"Hahaha, you got scared again, freckles. But it's okay, you're one of the bravest people I know." Reaching out, she lifted Izuku off the ground, dusting him off. However, Izuku's behavior was different from his usual behavior; he was literally glowing brighter than usual.
"Nejire, look!" He took out his notebook from his backpack, which was labeled "Hero Analysis #1." The first page was about Nejire, and she was delighted with Midoriya's ideas, clapping her hands loudly with curiosity as she read his notes.
"That's very clever, freckles, where did you learn that?" He laughed awkwardly and looked up at her, who continued to read with genuine interest.
"Well, um, I really love heroes, and I thought that if I were unpretentious, I could help them somehow. I started this notebook because of you, when you said I was a hero." After rereading the last sentence about the dazzling flash, she looked at her hand, gathering the surrounding energy and creating a wave. Izuku was right in some ways, and, turning off her quirk, she rushed at him, hugging him so tightly that Izuku paled from his friend's strength.
"I knew you could fulfill your dream of being a hero even without a quirk. That's so cool! Imagine how many heroes you could help in the future. I told you that if you didn't become a hero, you would always be mine!" The words struck Midoriya's mind loudly, and he was ready to cry with happiness, which he did, causing Nejire to empathize with him.
"Freckles, don't cry! Did I hurt your feelings? Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry!" She gently hugged him, offering her shoulder for him to rest his head on. Her lilac hair smelled delicious, making Izuku sniff even harder than before, and her light hair tickled his cheek, making him not want to break free from his friend's embrace. However, he interrupted the process himself to calm his hyperactive friend.
"N-Nejire, those were tears of happiness! No one supported my dream as much as you did!" His friend's words lit up Nejire's eyes; she encouraged him to move forward despite Izuku's peculiarity, and they became a pleasant complement to each other.
"That's so cool, Izuku, but wipe your tears, they don't suit you. Oh, let's try what you wrote in your notebook! Maybe you were right?" Wiping his tears with his hand, Izuku's explorer mode activated with new speed. Blinking and drinking some water, they went out into a clearing where there was nothing but a couple of rocks lying on the ground.
"Come on, Nejire, you can do it!" Hearing his words, Nejire sighed, looked ahead, stretched out her hand, and activated her quirk. The wave rushed toward the nearest tree, which began to shake from the force of the wave. A side effect of Nejire's quirk was fatigue if she used it too often, which Izuku noticed after a few uses. Midoriya ran to her with the bag and sat down next to her as she caught her breath after repeatedly using her quirk.
"Here, Nejire, this should help!" Izuku gave her a bottle of water, which Nejire gladly accepted, as her quirk affected her stamina, and intense thirst was an example of that.
"Thank you, freckles!" But Izuku paid no attention to her words, only writing down all the new ways to improve her skills. Watching her, Midoriya noticed that when she used her quirk, it generated energy that repelled her, but if she used that energy on her legs instead of her hands, it meant she could levitate at the age of five.
"Izuku, what's wrong with you? You mumble so sweetly when you write in your notebook!" After recovering a little from the cool water, she looked at Izuku, who was smiling, showing off a glowing cartoon lamp.
"Look, I've figured out a way for you to fly, Nejire!" The word "fly" was wonderful to the girl. She, of course, doubted herself that she could do it, but she never doubted Izuku's words.
"Come on, freckles, show me!" Izuk told her how to redirect her energy so she could levitate. After seven failed attempts, she managed to soar into the air, but no one knew how to turn it off. Stunned by her ability, Nejire ran and did somersaults, delighting Midoriya, who beamed with pride at their shared success.
"Look, freckles, what I can do!" Without paying attention to her strength, she soared two meters above the ground. Looking down at the ground, she almost threw up her breakfast on Izuku, who was watching her from the ground. Losing control, she began to fall, unable to concentrate. Midoriya, seeing his friend falling, tried to catch her, but managed to catch her with his body. She fell on his chest with her whole body, causing Izuku to groan in pain, and Nejire hit Izuku's nose with her forehead. She was glad that she had a friend who cared for her at every opportunity, and this was no exception. Now she understood that her friend felt a stronger attachment to her, although she did not understand it, but that did not bother her. Lifting her head, she looked into Izuku's emerald eyes with her blue eyes, drowning in their beauty and the care they radiated towards her. Seeing the shining sea in his friend's eyes, he also drowned in their beauty, peering into them and studying every little detail. But Izuku decided to interrupt the idyll, coughing demonstratively.
"Ahem, ahem, are you okay, senpai?" Izuku teased her, looking at Nejire's cute puffed-up face.
"I told you not to call me that, Izuku!" They spent a good half of the evening in each other's company, studying Nejire's quirk or playing various games with each other. Exhausted from a busy day, they went to Dagoba Beach, which was deserted but had a calm and peaceful aura. Before coming here, Izuku bought ice cream for them with his own money, which delighted Nejire and made her even more fond of her friend and his kind nature and golden heart.
Izuku and Nejire sat on the soft sand of Dagoba Beach, their faces bathed in the orange-crimson glow of the sunset. The sea before them seemed to reflect the sky itself, transforming each wave into a moving canvas of light and color. A light breeze played with their hair: Izuku's emerald curls moved quietly, as if breathing with the sea breeze, while Nejire's hair, blue as the sky, softly framed her face.
She leaned slightly toward him, her bright, radiant eyes studying his profile with curiosity and warmth. In the light of the sunset, her skin seemed golden, and her lips glowed with a delicate pink hue. Izuku felt his heart skip a beat with her every movement — everything about her, from her slight smile to the way she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, was both dazzling and comforting.
He was about to say something, but the words stuck in his throat, unable to express how much he appreciated this moment. Nejire, as if guessing his thoughts, gently touched his hand. Her fingers were warm, and her touch was weightless, but it conveyed all her sincerity.
"Do you notice how the sky seems to be trying for us?" she whispered, her eyes fixed on the horizon, where the crimson sun was almost touching the water.
Izuku looked at her, forgetting about the sunset, the sea, everything except her voice.
"Yes," he said, barely audibly. "But the most beautiful thing here is you."
Her cheeks flushed, but she just laughed softly, shaking her head as if she couldn't believe he could say such a thing. Their laughter mingled with the whisper of the waves, which seemed to creep closer to witness the moment.
When the sun disappeared behind the horizon, leaving a scarlet glow in the darkening sky, they were still sitting together, motionless. Their hands were intertwined, and their hearts beat in the same calm rhythm, as if the whole world had frozen in harmony with their feelings.
As they walked back to their homes, Izuku asked his friend who her favorite hero was.
"Nejire, who is your favorite hero or heroine?" Not knowing what to say, she remembered the heroine who works with her father.
"Oh, I know! It's Ryukyu's new hero: a dragon hero who can transform into a dragon!" Izuku had never heard of her before, but he was intrigued by Nejire's words. Her birthday was coming up soon, but he didn't know what to get her that would make her happy.
Nejire, though hyperactive, did not forget her friend's preferences and favorite characters for the sake of their friendship. Hugging each other goodbye, they returned to their homes. Nejire found her father in the living room, sitting and staring at a stack of papers that looked as exhausted as he did. Her cheerful mood after her walk with Izuku instantly turned to anxiety: her father looked as if he hadn't slept for several nights in a row. His fingers tapped frantically on the edge of the table, and his gaze darted around as if he were looking for an answer to a question he didn't yet know.
"Dad, what's wrong?" Nejire asked quietly, taking a few steps forward. Her usually cheerful voice sounded softer, barely containing her growing anxiety.
Her father looked up and gazed at his daughter with guilty tenderness. He rose slowly, as if the weight of his own thoughts was pulling him down.
"Nejire, dear... I'm sorry," he began, trying to remain calm, but his voice trembled nonetheless. "We have to move."
"Move?" she asked, her face frozen in confusion. "But why? Everything is fine here... I have school, friends..." Her voice faltered, and she pressed her palms to her chest. "Midoriya..."
Her father nodded slowly, regretting that he could not give her a different answer.
"I know how much you love this city and your friend," his eyes clouded over, but he held himself together. "But we need to go to Hoshu. I can no longer provide for both of us here. The job I found there will give us a chance for a better future."
Nejire froze, not knowing how to react. She was only five years old, but she already understood that this decision had not been easy for her father. He had always taken care of her, tried to make her happy, even if it cost him his own peace of mind. However, the thought that she would no longer be able to see Izuku, her best friend, every day was unbearable.
"But... Midoriya..." she whispered, feeling tears welling up in her eyes.
Her father gently knelt down in front of her and hugged her, stroking her back. His voice became even softer.
"You're a strong girl, Nejire. You'll understand everything when you grow up. Friends who are truly important never disappear from your life. Maybe not right away, but you'll definitely meet again."
She hugged him tightly, feeling the warmth of his words, but her heart still ached with pain. It seemed to her that her friendship with Izuku was the most important thing she had, and she couldn't accept the idea that everything would change.
[6 chapters until Venom's appearance]