text | un: deku

[wannasmash]

Good morning, everyone. [ said a polite but hesitant young man's voice offscreen. ] I might have a problem. Does anyone know how to sew?

[ The Omni hovered over a freshly laundered dark green jumpsuit. There were rips in the side where something with long nails or claws had scratched through. ]

I know it's bad, but this means a lot to me. I would really appreciate it if someone could help me out in time for the festival. Thank you very much.

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private forever

[wannasmash]

[ He blinks. Todoroki asked him directly, and Midoriya isn't a great liar. There are a lot of things eating at him. Loss, homesickness, worry for others' safety, to start nearer the surface. He picks just one. Just one thing to burden his friend with, and no more. His voice is low. ]

In the end we weren't able to do much but escape. I was there. I should have caught her, but I wasn't able to. I only got a few scratches. Maybe there was something I could have done differently... If someone else gets hurt because I wasn't able to do anything...

[swellter]

[ Understanding dawns. The feeling isn't all that unfamiliar. After a month in this place, he's come to terms with his own inability to safeguard everyone. ]

This isn't like back home. You can't save everyone.

We can protect some but not all.

[wannasmash]

I know that. Even All Might couldn't save everyone. But there right in front of me, what I could do something about...

[ The old frustration is there. He remembers coming out of the hospital after summer training camp covered in bandages and ready to skirt danger again.

Except he's different now. Sir Nighteye taught him to look ahead. It's why he isn't, at this very moment, prowling the sewers. ]

I notified the Hunters. Someone there should know the area better than me. I'd only be a liability, if I both got lost and couldn't use my Quirk.

[swellter]

"Midoriya," he says, regarding him with a quiet look. "What more do you think you can do?"

[wannasmash]

[ He's coming up against his limits again and being told that there's only so much he can do. That just doesn't cut it when it comes to One For All. He can't just be a hero, he has to be the greatest hero. It was never so apparent than in this world, where people need saving more than ever.

He sighs. ]

...Get repairs done in time for the festival and stay on guard.

[ It's true that's all he can do for now, but it hurts to say. ]

[swellter]

He nods at the response, aware of how much he wants to help. Being All-Might's successor probably plays into it too but he rather not see him overextend himself in his first month. Trench isn't like their home. People die here and Todoroki doesn't want to see his friend get hurt.

"Have you finished the repairs?"

[wannasmash]

"No, but it shouldn't be long. Everyone's being really helpful." That made him smile a little. "It's not like I know how to sew, so I better leave it to the professionals."

He was just lucky none of his support items were damaged. He had a feeling mechanical engineering was a rarer skill to find. After cleaning and drying outside, they should be fine. He picked absently at the edge of the bandage on his arm, then stopped himself.

"With what everyone's saying about needing disguises to ward off monsters, I'm afraid something will happen at the festival. I want to join the Hunters. Do I need an introduction...?"

[swellter]

"That's probably for the best." He tried his hand at sewing when researching what to include in his first aid kit, then later when the support department upgraded the design. It wasn't easy. Best to leave it to the professionals if he had the option.

"Not necessarily." His own entry hadn't been all that formal. Nothing in Trench really was from what he could tell, but he understands Midoriya's concern considering their entry into the hero course was so regulated and going Pro was more formal requiring them to apply to an established agency or build their own.

"You apply at the main office and they assess your skills before hiring you on. They'll work with your schedule and give you assignments as they need filled. I can go with you if you'd like."

[wannasmash]

If there was time to do stitches, there was probably time to just get someone to a medical responder who could do it well instead of making a mess. But here in Trench, it seemed things were a little more do-it-yourself, especially for anyone looking to explore outside the city. Time to properly learn some new skills. Someone had already offered to teach him for the future.

But for right now, his costume definitely needed more than a few stitches from a first aid novice.

"Togata-senpai really helped me out that time when he introduced me to Sir Nighteye." (Even if his first-ever interview turned out to be, well, a mess.) He smiled, though for him, it was bittersweet. He'd lost Sir Nighteye before even coming here to Trench.

"Thank you, Todoroki-kun. Once my repairs are done, let's do it."