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When Izuku began to have dreams involving the former users of One For All he had been quite startled but after a while, it became a new normal, much breaking his bones came to be. But when he suddenly began to have dreams about a small cottage on a snowy mountain it was fair to say that something was up. In these dreams, he felt as if his body wasn't real and never once was able to see himself in reflections or be able to move freely. He wasn't in control over what he saw, he couldn't move from where he seemed to sit watching from afar.
At first, he only saw a friendly family milling about a normal day in their cozy home. The family consisted of a mother and her six children, two daughters and four sons. They weren't a rich family but couldn't quite be called poor either, the eldest son seemed to work the most while the eldest sister helped her mother around the house and take care of her younger siblings. Izuku often wondered where their father was but considering he hadn't seen his in years it wasn't that much a surprise to him.
He continued having dreams of the small family and since nothing noteworthy happened he didn't bother telling anyone about them. No, it wasn't until after a week and a half that something truly notable happened.
The eldest boy, Izuku know knew him to be Tanjirou, had gone down the mountain to sell charcoal in the village. His siblings had begged to go with him as always but in the end, Tanjirou went alone. Izuku watched curiously as the boy slowly left from his sight in front of the house the family lived in, suddenly the young teen's vision went black and a putrid smell invaded his nose. Fear stabbed into his heart as screams suddenly rang out piercing Izuku's non-existent ears, he moved to cover his ears but his body was still transparent. It was as if he didn't exist but at the same time did but only enough to register the fear and pain that followed the sounds of glass breaking and wood splintering along with the cries of the small family that sounded shortly after the noise of tearing flesh.
Izuku felt nauseous as the rotten strengthened and searched the black void for any signs of what was causing all of this noise, his head felt like it was going to explode and he tried to cry out for it to stop.
And then it did.
As if his dream was obeying his plea the screaming stopped right after the sickening crack of a bone snapping, the silence that followed was deafening, and if Izuku could, he was sure he'd be crying. He still couldn't see anything other than the black void that continued to press against him, confusion and fear still bubbled within the teenager's heart. Why was this happening? What did it all mean? What did this have to with him? Why was he being shown all of this? It didn't make any sense!
The smell of blood...!
Izuku perked up at the new voice that he barely registered to belong to Tanjiro and was blinded when the void dispersed and his eyes were met with the white of the snow covering the ground around the house. Just off to the side, Izuku could see Tanjirou running wildly toward the house. Izuku felt sick again as he could only guess what sight the other male was about to be met with and unconsciously moved to run his hands through his hair but was shocked when he found he actually could.
The young hero-in-training shakily stood to his feet and slowly made his way to the house just as Tanjirou broke out of the treeline.
"Mother! Takeo!" He screamed but Izuku couldn't tear his eyes away from forms of the eldest daughter covering the youngest with her body as the snow around them was stained with their blood.
"Nezuko! Hanako! Shigeru, Please answer me!" Tanjirou cried as he ran around from the back of the house, Izuku slowly allowed his eyes to move from the two still children and gasped as he gazed into the house. Blood pooled on the tatami mats and the lingering foul stench made bile rise in the young teen's throat.
"Rokuta! Are you guys okay!?" Rushed footsteps slid to a halt and Izuku heard Tanjirou's heavy breathing prompting him to tear his eyes from the gruesome sight that lay before him. Tanjirou's eyes settled on Izuku's frightened form and the teen opened his mouth to warn him but the dark-haired boy plowed forward and Izuku instinctively moved to shield himself and waited for the inevitable. "Nezuko!" The other boy screamed and Izuku looked up confused just in time to watch as Tanjirou ran straight through him as if he was a ghost. Izuku watched as Tanjirou laid his eyes on the sight of what had become of his family, he felt his heart throb as tears fell down the other's face in thick streams.
"No! W-what happened?!" Tanjirou screamed and Izuku felt tears of his own form in his eyes and eventually fall down his cheeks. He could practically feel the sadness, fear, and loss that were raging in Tanjirou's heart as if they were his own feelings. The other continued to scream and cry as he held his sister's body close to his chest, suddenly his cry cut off and Izuku watched in confusion as Tanjirou leaned his head close to Nezuko's chest.
She's still alive?!
Apparently, she was as Tanjirou quickly began to lift Nezuko and situated her on his back before rushing back the way he had come most likely to get her to a doctor. Izuku didn't follow and continued to watch as soon as both siblings faded from his sight as snow began to cover their retreating backs.
Izuku opened his eyes blearily and stared at the ceiling for a moment trying to gather his thoughts, tears were still falling freely from his eyes but he didn't bother to wipe them away. Sitting up he glanced at his clock and noted that it was still quite early, the sun hadn't even come up yet. With a sigh, Izuku buried his face into his hands with his elbows on his thighs and just breathed. He stayed that way until his heart rate was semi-normal then he let his hands fall and rest in his lap, his emerald eyes dull and tired but he didn't dare try to sleep again. He'd be fine, it wouldn't be the first time he'd gone on without sleep. He'd just have to hope that tomorrow they didn't do anything too strenuous.
But when did the universe ever listen to Izuku Midoriya?
The next day was pretty slow for the most part until at the end of it during their hero-training. They had been assigned into pairs and would be sparring, every six minutes no matter if they were in the middle of a match or not they would alternate between using quirks and not. Seemed pretty simple and should have been but Izuku was running on four hours of sleep at best not to mention had been using the most of his brainpower trying to figure out the meaning of his dream and could barely walk in a straight line by the time final period rolled around.
Izuku had been partnered with Kirishima, which he was thankful for because the green-haired boy wasn't so sure he'd be able to handle Bakugou today. Izuku was doing okay for the most part and it was a pretty well-matched fight considering they both were close-range fighters, along with Izuku's strength and Eijiro's hardening the matches themselves went on for quite a while. The redhead threw a left hook that Izuku easily dodged with a small grunt.
As he continued to fight Izuku's mind went back to the events that occurred in his dreams, just what had killed Tanjiro's family and why?
He extended his right leg nicking the side of his classmate's face with the tip of his shoe.
Why was he even seeing this anyway? It's not like he's even heard of anyone by the name of Tanjiro, first or last name.
He lept back in time in time to evade another punch from Kirishima and the other began to run towards him once again.
Something wasn't right. If he was having these dreams shortly after seeing the original user of One For All could that mean that Tanjiro was one of the users as well? It could be possible as Izuku hadn't been able to see all the users, asides from their silhouettes he hadn't seen much of anything else. He'd been able to see some of what happened between All For One and his brother so it shouldn't be surprising to be able to see some of the other's memories.
Kirishima shouted as he lunged forward with an arm outstretched, Izuku grabbed it before tugging hard causing the other to lose his footing. Kirishima fell forward and Izuku darted behind him and kicked his back knocking him down and sending him sliding across the floor.
If Tanjiro was a user of One For All then just how far back was the quirk made in the first place, from what he'd seen Izuku concluded the original fight between One For All and All For One had happened at least around the beginning of the twentieth century but the timeline Tanjirou lived in looked to be even earlier than that. It didn't make any sense.
I don't understand, why is this happening?
Green eyes widened and flitted around the room trying to pinpoint where the voice came from but failed to see his opponent come up from behind. Kirishima drove a hardened fist forward and would've stuck his friend in the head if not for the whistle that suddenly blew alerting him to stop using his quirk. He watched with slight worry as Izuku blinked at the sharp noise before finally noticing him closing in, though it was too late for both Kirishima to pull back and for Izuku to dodge.
Izuku ended up leaving for the dorms with a black eye that day, Kirishima had apologized profusely and Izuku, in turn, apologized for being distracted during their match. The redhead had asked if everything was alright because it wasn't like Izuku to become distracted so easily during a fight, serious or not. Izuku blamed it on not getting enough sleep last night which wasn't entirely wrong and managed to evade any further concerns.
The green-haired teen sighed and flopped on his bed making the bedframe creak beneath him. He toed off his shoes and flipped himself over so he could look at his ceiling as a frown marred his features, he really should figure this dream crap out and soon before it became even more of a problem. But he didn't even know where to start! Izuku groaned and ruffled his hair in agitation before letting his arms spread wide and closed his eyes, even though a small part of his mind was advising him against it he couldn't deny the fact that he was exhausted. Slowly his brain became foggy as sleep overtook his senses and he briefly prayed he wouldn't see any blood this time.
Izuku stood in front of the house again, he seemed physical this time as well and could move of his free will. The house was empty this time, there wasn't sound of tiny feet running around or voices laughing as the children played. There was nothing.
The house was devoid of all life.
Izuku slowly stepped forward and peered into the side door that he noticed had not been replaced and allowed snow to pile just in front of the doorway. Izulu held his breath mentally trying to prepare himself for the gruesome sight again but was surprised that no bodies were to be found, there were obvious bloodstains on the walls but the tatami mats had been replaced in multiple places. Despite it feeling disrespectful Izuku found himself stepping inside the house and looking around, the inside had been tidied up and would've looked normal if it wasn't for the rust-colored splotches on the walls and Izuku's knowledge of what took place here.
Deciding that there wasn't anything to see if the house Izuku exited it and walked through the snow again, he walked around the house and noticed that in the back where he could remember the mother growing a garden were five mounds of dirt. Izuku felt a lump form in his throat knowing what lay just beneath the compacted soil and blinked away tears before looking away and moving to the front of the house again.
There were only five graves, so that meant Nezuko did survive. Izuku felt a but a relief knowing Tanjirou wasn't alone and smiled to himself softly. He was split from his thoughts when his ears picked up on the soft crunching of the snow in the form of footsteps. The young hero-to-be whipped his head in the direction it was coming from and was shocked at what he saw.
There just and the start of the path that led down the mountain, a few hundred feet away from the house was Tanjirou. Only he seemed different this time, he was taller for one and his long hair that used to be kept in a ponytail was now cut short and slicked back showing that the scar on his forehead had transformed in some dark marking. His regular kimono had been traded for a black uniform of some sorts and a sword sat tucked in a hilt attached to his hip he still wore his green and black checkered haori and hanafuda earrings that chimed dully when he sighed and lowered his head.
After a tense moment, Izuku watched as the other boy raised his head slowly and his striking red eyes that were normally so bright held a poorly hidden sadness to them. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders before marching toward the house, Izuku looked around to see if his sister was there as well but it appeared that Tanjirou was alone.
Again, Izuku couldn't be seen by the now, older boy who walked on as if he didn't exist which to be fair kinda was true in a sense. Tanjirou stopped just shy of the front door and bit his lip with hesitation clear on his face, Izuku didn't blame him. Who knew how many happy memories that lied here only to be turned bittersweet by the unfortunate demise of his loved ones. Izuku slowly inched forward and watched in curiosity as the dark-haired boy shakily reached for the sliding door, he observed with bated breath. Tanjirou was inches away from coming in contact with the house but he stopped short and sharply turned before walking briskly in the direction the graves were. Frowning in confusion Izuku jogged over to catch up with the other and watched with furrowed brows as Tanjirou stood still glowering at the graves before promptly falling to his knees and bowing deeply letting his head slammed against the ground. Izuku blinked in confusion but made his way closer to hear if Tanjirou chose to say something.
"I'm really sorry for failing you!" He suddenly shouted making Izuku jump but the frown as Tanjirou's words registered to his brain. "If I had come home sooner or just walk during the night none of this would've happened! I know that's not necessarily true but that is the way I see it!" He continued and Izuku was helpless to do anything but listen. "I swear that I'll find a cure for Nezuko and then I'll come back," He spoke in a softer tone and Izuku began to grow confused. What cure? Did Nezuko get sick after what happened? "But for now I can only offer my sincerest apologies, please forgive me!" He shouted again and Izuku clenched his fists.
"You have nothing to be sorry for!" He shouted despite knowing the other male couldn't hear him. "You couldn't have known this would've happened, you did your best and because of that Nezuko survived!" Izuku continued to scream even as Tanjirou sat up to gaze at the graves sadly. "You can't always save everyone!" Izuku's breath hitched as the words left him.
"That's why I showed you this," Tanjirou said suddenly and Izuku gasped and looked to the older male, he was turned around now and smiled sadly at the young teen. "You blame yourself for so many things that happened but you were not in control of those situations yet you still felt responsible," He spoke kindly and his voice gained an echoey tone to it. Izuku felt tears come to his eyes and a lump form in his throat.
He hadn't realized it but after every incident, his class went through he'd always found a way to blame himself. In the USJ incident, he blamed himself for not being strong enough to get the Nomu off of his teacher, and after the events of the training camp, he blamed himself for not being quick enough to save Bakugou. He blamed himself for letting Eri go back to Chizaki the first time he'd seen her as well.
Tanjirou was right.
Izuku let out a wet laugh and laid a hand on his forehead. This was an extreme way for his brain to prove something to him, he'd didn't know how it was possible but didn't want to bother question it. Tears fell from his eyes and Izuku tried to quickly wipe them away while Tanjirou watched on with a patient smile that didn't belong on a young teen such as himself.
"I'm such an idiot," He muttered to himself and Tanjirou only laughed quietly while shaking his head.
"No, you just needed someone to show you what you refused to see," He corrected with a pointed finger and small smile.
"Pretty weird way of showing it," Tanjirou laughed again and glanced back the mounds of dirt behind him.
"I'm sure," He said quietly but didn't take his gaze off of the graves and Izuku felt the corners of his lips tug in the beginnings of a frown.
"Did this really happen? Are you real?" He asked quietly and Tanjriou moved his red-eyes to stare at Izuku silently for a moment before nodding somberly. "I'm sorry," He whispered and Tanjirou shook his head.
"You've nothing to be sorry for," He answered with a small smile that seemed to shine like a thousand suns and Izuku returned it with a shaky one of his own.
"Right," He mumbled. The sky began to darken and the wind picked up making the snow around them swirl wildly, Tanjirou didn't seem fazed while Izuku moved to cover his face from the icy winds. Tanjirou still stared at him through the blizzard and Izuku felt like he couldn't look away from the other's kind eyes.
"I guess this is goodbye," He stated quietly but hid words echoed through the winds and rang through Izuku's ears clearly. The young adult gave a small wave and a closed eye smile as the winds picked up and he disappeared in the snow.
Izuku walked down the street with his hands full of groceries and listened half-heartedly to Uraraka who chatted excitedly along with Tsuyu when his attention was suddenly caught by a familiar head of burgundy colored hair. Even though he knew it was impossible it didn't stop him from staring, the young boy who had caught his attention in the first place was chatting along with a boy with red and yellow hair resembling that of fire who was a little taller than him. The taller of the two laughed at something the other had said while he looked down at the sidewalk before suddenly raising his eyes to meet Izuku's causing his breath to hitch in shock.
Emerald green and ruby red meant and for a moment, the world stopped. He was missing the large scar and looked to be a couple of years younger than what Izuku remembered him to look like but there was no mistaking it.
It was Tanjirou, but then again it wasn't.
"Sumihiko-kun?" His friend called at the younger boy blinked for a moment before looking back to his friend with a small hum and the two of them walked away but the shorter of the two stole one last glance at him.
"Deku-kun, what are you looking at?" Uraraka called cathing the greenette's attention and he jumped started before looking back with an embarrassed flush adorning his cheeks.
"Um... J-just thought I s-saw someone I knew, i-is all!" He quickly answered and the brunette glanced at her female friend before both shrugged and decided to let it be. Izuku smiled to himself and felt gratitude swell in his heart at the thought of the boy he'd seen in his dreams.
Thank you.
Tanjirou...