Chapter Text
At times like this Tsuna really hated Reborn. No normal tutor would leave their students out on a random roof in an unfamiliar city with a set of lock picks and instruction to leave without attracting heroes’ attention. The very heroes that Musutafu was crawling with.
“It will be a good practice for your high school”, he said. “You can use any tools at your disposal, including manipulation”, he said. “If you take too long to return I’m eating your dinner”, he said.
Except Tsuna didn’t know how to pick locks, because Bianchi volunteered to teach him and her method was just melting the whole door with her poisonous cooking. He could try to melt the door… but that would attract attention. So would flying away.
He could pretend to be in danger of falling off the building and wait for some hero to get him down… but that would be manipulative. And Reborn would definitely judge him, along with too many people giving him advice.
At least he got a break from alarm going off in his head every time a hero was close.
Roof next to his had a fence, but it should be close enough for him to jump and climb over. Then he would just walk down its open door…
… He tempted fate, didn’t he?
Tsuna scrambled to get out of sight, right as someone landed on the very rooftop he wanted to jump to. Why was this his life?
He couldn’t hear the conversation well, but it seemed that no one had noticed him. Risking a glimpse, Tsuna watched a skeleton man lift his T-shirt and a teenager flinch away in fear. The boy was about Tsuna’s age, wearing standard school uniform. Was whatever he saw scary by normal people standards or would it affect even someone like Hibari-san?
Skeleton man kept talking, either not caring that the boy was getting more and more distressed or doing it on purpose. Either way, Tsuna thought that no one should allow that man near children.
In the end, skeleton man left while the boy looked too depressed to even cry.
There were many reasons for why this was stupid idea. He should wait until the boy left. It’s not like he had any right to involve himself into whatever that was. But there was one reason why he was going to do it anyway.
He knew that look. After all, Tsuna himself had it for years until Reborn came into his life.
He jumped.
Shit. Railing of the fence was slippery, and Tsuna really should have expected that. His legs couldn’t find foothold and his arms didn’t like that. All in all, a terrible decision. He couldn’t change his grip.
“Wha- Are you okay?!” The boy let go of his back pack and rushed to the railing. Tsuna grabbed the offered hand as soon as he could, slowly pulling himself over the fence.
“I-I am now… Thanks, for, you know, you really saved me there,” if his huffs were exaggerated, no one would know but him, the boy, and Reborn. Reborn always knew somehow.
The boy’s hand twitched, like trying to pull away. Was it connected to what skeleton man said? Was it about “saving”?
“No, no! It’s nothing! You pulled yourself, I was just, I didn’t, it was nothing!” The boy was rambling, his already huge eyes even bigger from whatever he felt. It was almost fun-
Abort that thought! Abort that thought! He wasn’t Reborn to find people’s reactions funny!
“But you did help. Honestly, I thought I would be stuck there forever,” he wouldn’t be, he had too many eyes on him in general for that, but if it helps the boy feel better…
“Oh. Is that why you jumped? Why were you stuck- Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude!” Was the boy bullied? Confident people weren’t so quick to apologize, Reborn taught him that much.
“It’s nothing, really! I was locked out on a rooftop over there. One of my friends is fond of pranks like this,” and Reborn did leave him tools to pick the lock. That he didn’t check if Tsuna knew how to do that was a different problem. Or he knew and wanted to know what would Tsuna do if he couldn’t unlock the door. Reborn was a troll like that.
“Oh. I see. It’s like when one of my classmates singed my notes!” Definitely bullied.
“I really doubt that counts as a prank,” and if it did, then as a really cruel one. The boy wilted.
“It probably wasn’t… Today really isn’t my day, huh…” he started mumbling to himself, griping his backpack even tighter.
“Did something happen?” Please let it be about whatever skeleton man said before Tsuna would feel very stupid.
“It’s nothing, really! I just…” the boy took a deep breath and looked Tsuna in the eye. Only experience with Lambo helped him not crumble before this pleading look.
“Do you… Do you think I could be a hero?”
Well, that would explain why he reacted like that to the comment about saving. And of course he’s a hero wannabe, since when was Tsuna’s life easy?
“Why wouldn’t you be?” It’s not like he was particularly clumsy, like Tsuna, or afraid of his own shadow, like Tsuna, or was dragged into villain world by force and bloodline, like Tsuna.
The boy kept staring at him. He was still as statue and his voice was just a quiet whisper.
“Even if I don’t have a quirk?”
What. Wait, what? That’s what that bullshit was about?! Seriously?
“Why should that even matter? The strongest person I’ve ever met is quirkless. I thought that being a hero is about having a kind heart and enough skill to help people?” He really hoped Reborn wasn’t listening in. His ego was big enough already. And Tsuna knew from experience that flattery wouldn’t make him use less gunpowder.
And then the boy burst into tears. A damn waterfall from each eye.
What the- What did he do wrong?! Help! Tsuna had to suppress the desire to ask Reborn what he should do.
-
Izuku was a bit embarrassed by how much he cried. But it was the first time someone ever said that he could be a hero! The first time someone said that he didn’t need a quirk! For that alone he would treasure Sawada-kun’s words his whole life.
He very much doubted that the strongest person Sawada-kun knew could come even close to All Might. But it was still nice to hear that he could be strong.
They were still walking together, because Sawada-kun was nice and wanted to make sure that Izuku would be okay, but also because Sawada-kun was new to the city and Izuku was helping him find the place where he was supposed to meet up with his friends. Including that prankster friend. He hoped that his prankster friend was nothing like Kacchan.
He was in the middle of pointing out some nice cafes when he heard a familiar explosion. And then noise of the crowd, louder than usual. He glanced at Sawada-kun, because Izuku was used to sound of Kacchan’s explosions and didn’t want to meet him. Not here. Not right now.
People were talking about a villain. Nothing new, but the words made him stop in his tracks. Sawada-kun slowed down, looking at him with concern.
“Why are heroes just standing there?”
“Seems he grabbed a middle schooler.”
He looked at the commotion. A few heroes were standing among the crowd, verbally playing a game of hot potato between themselves. The hot potato in question was capture of the villain.
He looked at the villain. It was the one All Might defeated earlier, the one that took Izuku himself hostage. And now he did it again. It was his fault. Because he distracted All Might.
“Why aren’t you doing anything? A cage to get the hostage out, a hose to stop the fire from explosions, a hand, anything! Aren’t you supposed to be heroes?” He could distantly hear Sawada-kun ask heroes. Wait. Explosions? It couldn’t be… The face stuck inside the villain…
Izuku looked at Kacchan.
“Idiot, stop!” Someone was shouting. Izuku couldn’t stop his feet.
Why was he doing this?
Something dropped on the ground behind him. It was probably notebook that he was showing Sawada-kun earlier.
Why was he doing this?
He didn’t even have anything. No quirk. No gear. Just a backpack. It was something. Villain didn’t expect Izuku to throw it at him.
Why was he doing this?!
He tugged with all his strength. Sludge was getting into his arms. But he got at least some of it off Kacchan.
“Why?! Why are you here?!” Kacchan was shouting. He obviously couldn’t understand.
Why was he doing this? Izuku couldn’t understand it either. But he knew one thing…
“You… You looked like you needed saving.”
There was water raining on them like from sprinkler. Branches were curling around his ribs, his wrists, around Kacchan. And then they were tugged out.
The villain didn’t let go, stretching and holding onto them, but a huge hand grabbed Izuku’s arm and pulled.
All Might?! It was All Might! He said that he reached his limit earlier! And yet he was here!
“DETROIT SMASH!”
And then Izuku and Kacchan were free.
All the heroes were busy in the aftermath except All Might, who mysteriously disappeared. Knowing his secret now, Izuku suspected that he changed into his other form to escape media. The rest were gathering pieces of the villain and taking them to police district. Would it count as evidence or as an arrested suspect?
Kacchan got excited comments about his excellent quirk, even some offers to be their sidekick. And he didn’t even finish middle school yet!
Sawada-kun didn’t leave. He watched everything with a frown, and Izuku had no idea why.
One of heroes started lecturing Izuku about recklessness when Sawada-kun raised his voice.
“Sir, I just saw all of you be absolutely useless. I don’t think you can tell what the right thing to do is,” then he gestured at Kacchan, who immediately scowled, “And his “excellent” quirk only made things harder for himself and the others.”
Kacchan looked like he was going to blow up, but Sawada-kun was already tugging Izuku away.
“I- Thank you, Sawada-kun, but you really didn’t have to…” he already did so much for Izuku!
“Of course I did. You deserved better,” Sawada-kun’s smile was so warm…
“Hey, Deku!” Izuku flinched. He thought Kacchan would ignore him. Why was he calling out to Izuku?
“I… I didn’t ask to be saved! I didn’t need saving! Got it! I can take care of myself!” He was quietly shouting. Izuku tensed up on reflex.
“But he did save you, didn’t he?” Izuku whirled around in shock. Sawada-kun was staring Kacchan in the eye.
Kacchan scoffed and didn’t argue. He turned around and walked away with hunched shoulders. Izuku stared, feeling a smile bloom on his face.
He never felt so happy before.
“Go forward until big neon sign, you can’t miss it, then left,” Sawada-kun nodded at instructions and said his goodbyes.
Izuku was glad to help, but also felt a little empty now that he was alone. And he belatedly realised that he should have asked Sawada-kun’s number or e-mail to contact him somehow. Next time, maybe. If they will meet again.
“I’m here!” All Might?! Did he follow Izuku?!
He wanted to laugh at the idea of Number One hero following a nobody like him. But then All Might thanked him! He said he was touched by Izuku’s actions! And then he said the words Izuku always wanted to hear. The words he wished his mother would say all these years ago. Words Sawada-kun said so easily like it was an obvious fact.
“You can be a hero.”
-
Reborn didn’t eat his dinner in the end, so Tsuna supposed that everything ended well. For now.
“Aren’t there other high schools I can go to?” U. A. really didn’t sound like his idea of a good high school experience. It was terrifyingly Hero focused and quite a few of its general education students were made up of people that were freaking expelled from Hero courses! And teachers being Heroes don’t exactly fill him with confidence. Were they actually qualified to teach? Did they work two jobs? What part of it sounded like a good idea to anyone?
Sometimes Tsuna really hated how this society was obsessed with Heroes.
“Oh, there are, and some even are up to my standards, but this is the only high school where you entering business course won’t attract attention,” Reborn simply sipped his coffee like they were discussing weather and not talking about going to a Hero school full of Heroes to learn business for a villain organisation. Although saying that Vongola was mafia and villain organisation was like saying that ocean had water - technically true but such an understatement.
“Can I even pass the exams? You know my grades, I’m not sure I can even pass exams for normal school, much less something like U. A., and they can just expel students whenever they want!”
Click of a gun. Oh no. Tsuna wasn’t afraid of being shot. But Reborn was getting into his “cram school” mood.
“Then we have a year to make sure that you will pass those exams.”