* 𝙋𝙊𝙒𝙀𝙍

walking beside him is a confidence he's all too familiar with, confidence that he might have found a bit hard to keep up with were he anyone else. but he's far from anyone else, especially when he'd known someone just like mirio since childhood. two peas in a pod, to say the least -- the kind of familiar warmth that made you feel like anything was possible. "sounds good to me -- you free after school today?"

“   TOTALLY.    ”     there's  been  an  uptick  of  time  mirio  has  availiable.   sir's  death.   the  loss  of  his  quirk.   his  brief  ‘time  off’  from  school  to  recover  –  to  help  eri  settle  in.   despite  so  much  good,   he  tries  not  to  think  on  it  too  hard.   his  grin  is  bright,  posture  straight,   eyes  looking  forward  and  hopeful  above  all.     “   i  need  to  get  back  in  the  groove  of  fighting  without  my  quirk,   anyways.   but  don't  go  easy  on  me!   you  need  this  practice  just  as  much  as  i  do!   ”

sand sticks to his hair and makes his scalp itch, but there is no attempt at sitting up. his eyes are focused on the bright blue sky above, and he is only vaguely listening to mirio speak. there is a feeling of emptiness in his chest that he can't quite fill, where he feels like the power he was given should remain. one hand lifts and rests against his sternum, as if pressing against it will ease the void he feels. after a lifetime, he forces himself to sit up. he shakes the sand from his hair and looks to mirio. ❝ i guess that i got used to being a hero with a quirk. ❞ logically, izuku knows he was a hero before that, and he is still one after it. but it feels too much like failure, like he's back to where he was before he first stepped onto this beach with all might. ❝ i don't. . . i don't care about being quirkless. that's how i was born, you know? i care about what's going to happen later. or. . . the future, i guess. ❞

and  while  izuku  focuses  on  the  sky,  mirio's  gaze  turns  to  the  ocean.  before  them,  a  seemingly-endless  body  of  waves  and  depths  known  not  even  to  their  civilization  yet.  imagination  races  with  possibilities;  of  creatures  and  life  down  below,  just  waiting  to  be  discovered.  he  attempts  to  relay  the  same  thought  process  to  the  position  they  find  themselves  in  now.  endless,  but  waiting  to  be  grasped  should  they  only  reach  out.   (  easier  said  than  done,  he  knows.   )     “  i  understand  that.  i  did,  too.   i  thought  there  was  no  lemillion  without  my  quirk,  though  i  guess  i  was  raised  that  way.  ”   the  elder  lays  back  on  his  elbows,  breathing  in  the  salty  breeze  as  he  does.    “   i  know  what  you  mean.   i  care  about  that  too.   we  have  options,  you  know.   like,  support  hero  type  stuff  with  gadgets  and  all  that.  …  but  i  know  it  can  be  hard  to  jump  back  into  something  after  you  feel  like  you've  already  lost  a  big  part  of  yourself.   ”

ITS TEETH DIG INTO ITS LIP, gnawing anxiously upon puckered flesh in subconscious desire to soothe himself. it's trying not to feel as intimidated as it is, really, but the mere idea of standing up in front of an ever-observant class is as daunting as it gets, and that's not even accounting for the presentation itself. they feel exposed, seen in ways too intimately than desired, like a prey-animal without the cover of tall grass. hunted. always hunted. their downcast gaze only snaps to attention at mirio's interjection, firm enough for them to gain their footing amid the spiral, slippery as those slopes can be. the traction is enough for them to notice the rabbit-quick beating of their heart, the pounding of blood coursing along his temples, agitated enough that they beat like drums in his head. " maybe... " they trail off, loosening the grip on their hands which, they just noticed, had gotten firm enough to feel the bone beneath. they exhale, all taut muscle and tight-breathed. " it's just an eight minute presentation. and i've timed myself when i practiced, but — that was when i was all alone, and no one was watching me. what if i get tripped up? or too nervous that i forget what i'm saying? "

"  TAMAKI.   "      his  smile  falters  just  slightly  —   to  show  his  sincerity.  tamaki  knows  his  tactics  to  encourage  well,  and  he  knows  getting  through  to  it  might  require  some  extra  special,  secret  abilities;   the  ones  reserved  for  him  alone,   that  he  dare  not  share  with  others.   soft  eyes  notice  the  tight  grip  on  their  hands,  so  he  reaches,   aiming  to  cut  through  clouds  and  darkness.   stong  hands  unravel  the  tight  fists  tamaki  has  his  in,  and  replace  that  violence  with  benevolence  —  with  warmth  and  assurance.   "   i  know  it's  scary.   "    thumb  brushes  over  the  back  of  its  hand.   he  is  here,   and  his  grip  on  the  other  will  be  as  tight  as  it  needs,  for  as  long  as  it  needs,  on  whatever  slippery  slope  he  finds  himself  on.   and  if  needed,   he'll  ride  down the  slopes  with  them,   if  nothing  else  but  to  keep  tamaki  from  being  alone -- and perhaps, to offer a safe place to land.    "   if  you  get  tripped  up,   look  at  your  cue  cards!   and  if  you  get  nervous,   take  a  breath  and  start  again   ...   which  i  know  is  easier  said  than  done.   look  at  me  or  nejire  if  you  need  extra  encouragement.  "    a  kiss  is  tenderly  placed  to  its  forehead.    "   eight  minutes  may  seem  like  a  long  time,  but   once  you  get  up  there,  it's  going  to  go  by  faster  than  you  realize.   "

"  HMMMM.   "    he  knows  this  downward  spiral  of  theirs.   though  the  thoughts  aren't  his  own,  they're  almost  loud  enough  to  be  interpreted  as  such.   he  knows  the  rapid  racing  of  tamaki's  mind  —   and  how  even  the  loudest  voice  might  not  cut  through  the  doubt.   (    if  only  it  could  see  what  he  does:    the  light  that  eats  the  sun,   his  motivation,   his  biggest  hero.    )    but  that  belief  is  harder  to  express  than  it  seems.    "    hey.   "      his  voice  rings  through,   stern  but  caring   —   if  only  to  be  a  hand  extending  to  tamaki  in  the  depths  of  his  mind;    a  single  light  in  the  darkness.      "   don't  look  at  the  others.   i'll  be  in  the  crowd.    why  don't  you  look  at  me?    i'll  be  looking  at  you,   sure,   but  i  do  that  all  the  time!   i'll  be  there  for  you.    and  look,    i  can  sit  in  the  middle  of  the  crowd  so  it  looks  like  you're  talking  to  everyone!    "