**The Heart of a Hero**

"I see," I nod, "What else?" He looks surprised. "Eh?" "What else?" I repeat, "It's important being strong, I agree, Bakugou-chan. But what else? What does a hero do?" "He..." Bakugou looks confused. "He beats people up!" "Yes. He beats villains up. But for the civilians, what's a hero?" "A... A protector. 'Cause he beats the evil guys up!" Someway or another he'll manage to take it back to the 'beating people up' part, huh? "A protector, exactly," my face softens. "Will you be a protector too, Bakugou-chan?" He shrugs, not looking particularly interested in that part but still willing to hear me out. "I guess so. I don't really care all that much, but if it's part of being a hero I'll have to." "Good," I nod, "I'm glad to hear that. What does a hero not do, instead?" Katsuki seems a bit disgruntled at all the questions, but they regard heroes so he replies: "He doesn't lose. He never loses. And-" he scrunches up his eyebrows, thinking about what you just said. "He doesn't beat good people up. Only evil ones." "Exactly. Remember that, Bakugou-chan." He huffs. "Of course! I remember everything about heroes." I see the other kids at the end of the road, distinguishing Tsubasa's blood-red wings; so I turn towards Katsuki to face him fully. "Then remember another thing, Bakugou-chan," since I'm here by now, I may as well give it my all. "It's not the quirk that makes the hero." He looks about to protest, so I cut him off before he can. "There's a hero in training right now whose quirk is basically being a bunny," I blurt out; I didn't plan that part of the speech out, so I'm just going to wing it. "Doesn't sound very cool, does it?" "It sounds lame." Katsuki deadpans. "It does," I agree, sending out a quick apology to Mirko. "And yet she could become so strong. There are quirks like emitting soporific perfume, or- or talking really loudly. Or even just being very smart. None of these sound like the strongest or coolest, but they're used in the right way, by people who have the right heart. That's the most important thing." Part of me feels almost embarrassed sprouting out all that idealism. I have never been so naïve, in neither of my lives. But Bakugou needs to get it through his thick head, and besides animes are made exactly for idealistic thinking. That's one of the reasons I liked them: they're sweeter than reality. "Maybe," Katsuki concedes, "But a quirk is still more important. You have to be strong."