"No, that's not it..." he begins falteringly without really knowing what he'll say.
Izuku had always regarded One For All a blessing, a gift, a great power and a great responsibility, but he knows there are those who think of it as a burden or a curse. Anyone worried this Quirk might kill him has thought it. He knows his own mother did. Unbeknownst to him, Bakugou did as well.
It does suck. Izuku shed tears over it. He despaired he might never get the hang of this Quirk, and he had to keep that a secret from most people. It's not fair. But unfairness and tragedy become the reasons he has to help others. One For All gave him a chance at the starting line he didn't have before. Would he get anywhere only feeling sorry for himself? If he did that, the Quirkless boy would never have cultivated his dream in the first place. Bakugou may have (inadvertently) shown him how to manifest his tenacity, but it was always there.
"There are worse things," he blurts out, and he has to backtrack to make any sense. "There are things I can't bear to think about happening. A broken arm means nothing to me if I can prevent them. It's no way to fight, which is why I worked so hard not to hurt myself like that again, but I also have to do what I think is right. I have to save others and protect the innocent, and also the not-so-innocent. There's someone back home I said I would try to save. That's why I have to go back."
His voice is thick with emotion again, but he stares ahead intently with his vision clear, as if he could make the trees themselves part for him. His steps don't falter. The vulnerability from his heart becomes his drive. If asked normally, he'd say he has to go back for his loved ones, or more generally to save everything he knows and cares about. There's truth in that, but here he finds himself saying something more personal. He wants to save the one in most need: his enemy.
"...Also, Kacchan would murder me if he got to the top never knowing if he could beat me or not."
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Izuku had always regarded One For All a blessing, a gift, a great power and a great responsibility, but he knows there are those who think of it as a burden or a curse. Anyone worried this Quirk might kill him has thought it. He knows his own mother did. Unbeknownst to him, Bakugou did as well.
It does suck. Izuku shed tears over it. He despaired he might never get the hang of this Quirk, and he had to keep that a secret from most people. It's not fair. But unfairness and tragedy become the reasons he has to help others. One For All gave him a chance at the starting line he didn't have before. Would he get anywhere only feeling sorry for himself? If he did that, the Quirkless boy would never have cultivated his dream in the first place. Bakugou may have (inadvertently) shown him how to manifest his tenacity, but it was always there.
"There are worse things," he blurts out, and he has to backtrack to make any sense. "There are things I can't bear to think about happening. A broken arm means nothing to me if I can prevent them. It's no way to fight, which is why I worked so hard not to hurt myself like that again, but I also have to do what I think is right. I have to save others and protect the innocent, and also the not-so-innocent. There's someone back home I said I would try to save. That's why I have to go back."
His voice is thick with emotion again, but he stares ahead intently with his vision clear, as if he could make the trees themselves part for him. His steps don't falter. The vulnerability from his heart becomes his drive. If asked normally, he'd say he has to go back for his loved ones, or more generally to save everything he knows and cares about. There's truth in that, but here he finds himself saying something more personal. He wants to save the one in most need: his enemy.
"...Also, Kacchan would murder me if he got to the top never knowing if he could beat me or not."