"I can't believed you agreed to this.."
She says this as she straightens his tie, maybe a little too tight.
"I can't believe you would agreed to this.."
"I know ".
"Why you of all people? You need rest, ya know....I.....haven't you done enough...?"
"....."
"...."
She shines his shoes.
"...."
She sighs. Now, among other things, breathless to stop him".
"..."
'"..."
".....Just a little more you can give...give, give, give...."
She starts to pan up, focusing towards the rest of his ensemble.
"...when will you start to worry about what you need to take? hm?"
Her passive-aggressive hits, disguised as straightening him up did not go unnoticed by him.
"Need I remind you.....you're a broken man".
"....I know".
"...not to mention-"
He grabs her hand from an attempt to "straighten" him, and unusually firm.
She stares at his eyes, then his hand.
"....I suppose it's just public speaking, just make sure its quick. Okay?
"I know".
She smiles.
"...How you still manage to have those beady eyes all this....time, I wish I could still squeeze your cheeks".
They both share a chuckle.
"..."
She lightly slaps then immediately cusps his face with one, then a little after, two hands.
"I'll be in the crowd".
"I know".
"I love you, Izuku".
"I know".
After about twelve minutes of further preparation, Izuku comes out from the nearest door, he's met with an.....interesting sight.
An open floor plan, neo-classical main entrance, one could immediately recognize just about everything was three times bigger than it otherwise needed to reasonably be.
With two symmetrical winding staircases that paralleled each other, leading to...he couldn't see, he needed to be about 30 feet taller to get a peek.
In the middle of the wide expanse stood two pieces, directly above where he stood a mural, A dramatic showing of Allmight defeating One for all with his signature "UNITED-STATES SMASH".
It rested under a dome shaped ceiling, The fist that hit One for all was emphasized, being what was painted on the peak of the dome.
The image was, needless to say, inspired from "School of Athens" and the 16th chapel, the rest of it served to further rencapsulate the gross tone of apparent sensationalism, Reporters shocked at the spectacle to the point of slack-jawing, All for one simply flying away from the gust of wind created by the finale, implying he wasn't even punched.
Far from the reality of him being disassembled to his core, his guts and other bodily functions painting the area, even a little getting on the news helicopter above.
Far from the reality of Allmight de-transforming immediately after, far from those being....his last moments.
So far from anything real.
Izuku frowned, this flavor surprisingly being simply, and only, sadness.
Paralleled to the mural above and in the middle of the winding stairs, on the floor stood a symbol of Allmight's fist, as an insignia this time.
Accompanying the image, "International Advancement For Heroes And Entities Alike Association" or the IHA.
There stood a small crowd, consisting of Pro heroes, underground heroes, unofficial heroes, debuting ones, trainees, even ones from UA, cops, security, Journalists, reporters, other members of the seen around the local scene, International news outlets, members of the business sector and to that end, Agencies, retired heroes, Fat cats, and anyone else who had the weight to get in.
They stood above some of the parts of the insignia. They had been applauding for him for a while now. He was busy in his own thoughts.
He sauntered towards the established podium, cameras all around. He walked with a calm yet rhythmic pace, you could describe him as short, discreet, and tactful, all but two features betraying this uniformity.
His missing left earlobe along with black bandages covering his left eye and some, though not very effectively since you could see the pattern of burn marks claiming territory outside the rings of his eyes. each step established and reestablished composure. Firm in his own competency. when he reached the podium, he paused, did formal greetings and started.
"I was told this was their tenth embassy in a first world country on this side of the globe, the IHA, I mean..."
More immediate applause.
"alright...ok yeah...so yeah....and I was....I was offered to give...a rousing speech to all you..."
He started to stare towards...something, then pursed his lips inward.
".....youthful hero's.....but, I can't say that.....well... anything I want to talk about dudn't really matter".
A short wave of chuckling from the crowd.
" Haha-no, no...I'm serious,...very so, yeah.... We...are here for you, heroes, of the future....."
A short smile on his face.
"So how about this, you get three questions, anything you want, and I will.."
Instantly a patternless scatter of hands shot up.
"Answer them to the best of my ability".
After some pretend deliberation, he picked, near the back, a young woman in her pro hero costume.
"You there, Miss".
She pointed to herself in question.
"Yeah, you in the black spandex and white hair pointing at yourself".
She chuckled at the slight embarrassment.
Izuku waved his hands, signifying the room to holler down.
"Uh well.....I know this is pretty cliche, I wish I had something in advance, but....What does it mean to be a hero?"
He smiled.
"No, No,...haha no don't call yourself cliche for that! That's not-, Don't be ashamed of that, you have to ask that, everyone here does..., and...everyone out there too...."
He regained composure.
Regardless, it's a fine question.
I'd been asking myself that, since I was.....seven, and.., at twenty seven I gave up trying to find the answer, and now here at...32....whew, I-...well to answer the question the way I want, maybe I have to tell you a little bit about myself,....if I get into a little bit of a frenzy..."
More chuckles from the crowd.
"Please....."
He turned to the news cameras.
"Feel free to stop me....When I was, very young, IIIII...was kidnapped by....some bad people, and prior to that I had a very distorted view on....how things took place...as kids normally do..
I had been brutalized, dehumanized, and destroyed in any way they thought that mattered, for any reason they thought could matter".
He smacked his tongue on the roof of his mouth, then rubbed it over his teeth, thinking.
"Well I should tell you, good news. Through no small effort I and many like me where saved, but uh...those years left an impact on how I vie-....how or what I thought...the ways things were done should be...I can't tell you I'd choose to go through that...but, when I emerged, and.....beat those demons.....in- in-....in many ways It gave me a much more...a much broader view of the world... Maybe an incremental outlook so I'd say...the best I have for you is...being a hero will always mean addressing and consulting reality.
Well.....What do I mean by that? 50 percent of being a hero is speaking truth, whether through embodying ideals or...actively speaking for them..... 50 percent is going through the means of establishing justice from truth, often self sacrificing, often for those who can't. And not always through physical action, but often against those who won't. Justice will always come from truth, Always.....Being a hero will always mean addressing and consulting reality.
Sometimes, certainly much more than necessary, much more...than would be preferable for any flag or...Cabal...or maybe even people.., and to that end...in many ways its a trial of endurance...and ironclad fortitude,...and in many other ways....its about making good compromises and uneasy peace...and sometimes being just a simple reminder that....someone's always watching.
So I don't think it looks like something, and so... the way I look at it is...you are whatever needs to manifest in order to address reality, and.... Lemme just say this.....you are the most powerful force on the planet that claims it doesn't wish to possess sovereignty and-...and- in that breath cannot be fully governed by a constitution, even more so...each and every one of you individuals are congregated enough to be....recognized as a whole, this all comes with certain expectations on...how you should act...what you should say...and those are completely fine...
But it should never stop you from addressing reality, hold yourself accountable through and through, because not only will nobody else will.....nobody else really can...and...
More than anything, becoming a hero was a selfish request I demanded from the universe. someone that was as...damaged as me..... All of you have the opportunity to achieve impossible realities set by no partisan in history.....ever...as a great man once said...."
He looked up towards the mural.
..."War is no place for a hero, and absolute victory is never in the jaws of conflict. Strive harder...for plus ultra".
After a moment of silence Izuku started to fake cough.
"Uh sorry, I know I told you guys three questions but, I think this is my limit, Thank you for bearing me".
A roar of applause echoed through the hallways as he exited the building.
20 YEARS EARLIER...