longfic (+55k words and on posting) tags: pro-hero izuku midoriya, manager au, falling in love, humor read all on AO3 excerpt from chapter six: how to (try to) do a photoshoot and attend to a hero-con [excerpt w fluff, bit angst, humor; no smut]
MARIN'S POV
The event was nearing its end when we left the special screening of an All Might documentary.
Midoriya-kun, obviously, couldn’t stop talking when there—his eyes practically glowing with excitement and admiration as everything coming out of his mouth was about his mentor. At one point during the session, I asked how they met in the first place. Midoriya-kun spoke so fast, but what I got was that it had something to do with him jumping in front of a villain to save his friend Kacchan (who’s Dynamight?!), All Might taking him under his wing as a disciple, and his late-blooming quirk awakening.
Damn, Midoriya-kun had a crazy teenagehood, no doubt about that.
Someone told us to shut up—so we focused on the documentary and picked up the conversation again after the session ended.
He told me how hard it was—and I didn’t doubt it for a second. Broken bones. Always having to give his best—because everyone was already ahead of him, given how late his quirk had developed. Always having to do more because if he didn’t, it wouldn’t be enough to become the hero he wanted to be. A hero who saved everyone, no matter what, always with a smile;
“Kitagawa-san, I want to be a hero strong enough that no one would have to worry about me.” as he said at that moment too (That stuck with me. Stuck—Why?). A hero who honored his mentor’s legacy.
As he spoke, I couldn’t help but think about the enormous sense of responsibility he had with all of it: becoming the hero he always dreamed of, fighting to protect people…
Slowly, the outlines for my article started to take shape in my mind. One that wouldn’t just honor All Might’s legacy but would do justice to Deku’s. His own. As Deku.
That’s what I wanted to do—what I wanted people to know. I wanted people to experience how genuine, hardworking, sincere, and real Pro-Hero Deku was.
“Oh! And All Might was also my teacher, back at UA. He was an amazing mentor! He really was! He really took care of me—even when I didn’t deserve it. I learned a lot from him—and from Aizawa-sensei, too.” Midoriya-kun chuckled softly. He seemed to recall those days fondly. “I… I miss him. All Might. It’s been a while since we last saw each other. But we still text all the time!” He stared off into the distance, like he was reflecting for a moment before turning back to me and saying: “I… I hope I can one day be at least 1% of the hero he used to be… I—I already have my own hero path! And I’m following it, o-of course! I’m really happy with that.” He looked ahead, almost nostalgically watching a bunch of kids running around in All Might costumes, holding special trading cards in their hands. I followed his gaze. “But… to inspire people the way he did, inspire them to be the best they can be, overcoming whatever life throws at them… To always go beyond, no matter what…”
Purpose. Determination. That’s what I felt while looking at him now.
“That’s the kind of hero I’m working to be, too.”
The smile of that little girl from early came to my mind—and the gratitude shining on everyone’s faces when they saw him, whether he was stopping a villain or helping out with the simplest task possible. Even the regretful tears of today’s wrongdoers, who seemed like they’d rather die than commit another crime after hearing Deku-kun's words.
The look of admiration from that child who so kindly asked him to sign their school notebook.
“You’re already doing that. A great job. More than that, even.” I spoke softly, kindly—but not as kind as he was. That was impossible for me. I’d known that for a long time. So many smiles, so many admiring looks of ‘I want to be like you’ came to mind, all directed at him. At them. “You know that, right?”
I waited for him to blush, like he usually would. Then I’d laugh and say, ah, Deku-kun, for God’s sake, you need to get used to compliments, man!
But the blush never came.
Deku’s expression seemed to drop—and he became a little distant.
Not shy, not embarrassed—like usual. Just… distant.
“Not enough, though, Kitagawa-san.”
I frowned.
But before I could say anything, one of the kids dressed up and running wildly around Hero-Con bumped into us.
“Oh, sorry, oni-san!” Then he grabbed the hand of the kid next to him, dragging him towards a group of people gathering nearby. “Come on, Tsuki! Let’s go get a Hawks hero tattoo, hurry before they’re gone!”
“I don’t want one of that stupid parrot!” The other one looked surprisingly disgusted. “I want one of All Might! And Red Riot, 'cause he’s so manly!”
“Whatever, dude! Let’s go!”
Midoriya-kun and I watched them run off like two little rockets.
“Oh… Hero tattoo stickers… I always wanted to get one of those when I was a kid…” I heard him say softly, like he was talking to himself. A bit nostalgic, even. He blinked, realizing I was still there. “Kacchan never wanted to get one with me, though, when we were kids. Said it was stupid and useless—since they come off with water. Something about it being for dumb kids—which was funny, thinking about it now. We were kids.” He laughed.
I glanced over at the booth: kids, adults, and teens crowded around it. Some were cheering, others celebrating when they saw the tiny less-than-8cm disposable tattoo fixed on their skin. They were grinning from ear to ear. They looked happy.
I grabbed his hand energetically—I could feel the roughness of his scars, the lines they made against my fingers, the history and effort they carried.
Then I smiled.
“So, what are we waiting for?!” Practically shouting with excitement, practically shouting please, smile like that again Deku-kun, I said: “Let’s go!”
“W-w-what?!”
I was already dragging us over.
“W-wait, Kitagawa-san! W-WAIT!”
Fifteen minutes later, I had a small tattoo of Fat Gum's face hidden on the side of my wrist. Midoriya-kun had one of All Might—comically flexing his muscles.
He stared at the tattoo, a bit goofy, a bit embarrassed, and a bit incredulous.
But he looked happy.
“I can’t believe we did this…!”
“Well, believe it! BELIEVE IT!” I threw my arms up in the air and flexed my muscles. I puffed out my chest—and then struck the same pose All Might was making on his tattoo. Making that face. “YOU DID IT, MIDORIYA-SHONEN! IT WAS YOUR BRAVERY, HOHO.” Then I laughed, all proud, just like All Might would. “It’s never too late to fulfill your childhood wishes, shonen.” I winked.
Midoriya-kun burst into laughter. The kind of loud, genuine laugh that’s just contagious, you know? The kind that makes you want to laugh just from being there, listening to it. His hands held his stomach, tears of laughter streaming from his eyes.
I dropped the All Might pose, grinning widely at him.
Not enough, though, Kitagawa-san.
What makes you think that? That’s what I wanted to ask him as I watched him laugh and laugh, smiling and laughing in that sincere, genuine way he always did. The way he showed it to everyone. What makes you think that, Midoriya-kun?
That’s when I realized: maybe… maybe Midoriya-kun carried more on his shoulders than he let on, more than I had imagined—must be a hero thing… like him. Like them.
Because they carried the same too. They carried the same, and I was too young to understand that back then.
But I’m not a kid anymore.
I can fight to keep others safe now, in my own way. Smiling.
And I don’t need to be a Pro-Hero to do that.
“How long did you practice that, Kitagawa-san?!”
“A month, I think?” I was about to say it was for an All Might cosplay shoot I did a few years ago, but I stayed quiet.
Midoriya-kun’s eyes practically bulged out of his head like they were gonna fall to the floor.
“Whaaaaat?! It took me years!” He sounded half-surprised, half-impressed, and half-indignant. “That’s not fair!”
“I’m a natural, pretty~” I flipped my hair, all smug. “Get over it.”
Midoriya-kun gave me the biggest side-eye in the universe.
“Hey, don’t look at me like that!” He shook his head and started walking toward the exit. I thought I saw a flash of a shy smile on his lips—and that familiar blush again. Huh? “Midoriya-kun? Midoriya-kuuuuun!”
He suddenly stopped in the middle of the path, his head lowered slightly.
“Thank you, Kitagawa-san.” His voice was soft, embarrassed—but sweet, gentle. And when he looked me in the eye, that’s exactly what I saw, too.
I broke into a smile.
“It was nothing, Midoriya-kun! Really!” I winked cheerfully at him, bouncing up to stand in front of him. “That’s what friends are for, right?”
He paused for a second.
And then there it was: that smile again.
“Yeah, it is!” And that laugh, too. “You’re right. It really is.”
“But I’m also your manager, so strike a pose so I can snap a picture of you with that super cool and not-at-all childish tattoo right in the center, please.”
“O-okay.”
“And let’s take a selfie too! Showing off our hero tattoos together! They won’t last long anyway~ We gotta capture the moment!”
