Chapter Text
“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen kid.”
Izuku blinked, staring at the all too familiar face of the doctor. Garaki, the one who created the Nomu. Why was he here? He died, didn’t he? Izuku was pretty sure he got finished off when the heroes apprehended him. He shouldn’t have resisted arrest in the first place, then maybe he’d still be alive and locked away in the depths of Tartarus II. But no, right now the man was sitting in front of him without a care in the world.
“What do you mean, doctor?”
His mom… She looked so young, so…big. Everything looked big. He blinked again, taking in his surroundings. Oh. He knew where he was now. He knew why Garaki was here, why his mom was here. He knew what would come next.
“You see this here, it’s an extra toe joint,” the doctor explained. “In people with quirks, like yourself, it’s gone. But your son still has it, meaning he’s very unlikely to develop a quirk.”
Izuku stared down at his All Might doll, knowing the words that would come next would change his entire life. It would change everything. It would make him a social outcast, it would make Kacchan bully him, it would later on make All Might sympathize with him, it would help him master One For All… It would determine his entire life.
“I’m sorry to tell you this, but your son is quirkless.”
Ah, there it was. Izuku had dreamed of this moment a few times before, actually. Those dreams were more like nightmares, really. After Garaki told him he’d be quirkless, his dreams would always spiral into taunts and defeats and losses. Except now nothing happened. Now there was silence as his mom tried to keep up a brave face. As she nodded and thanked the man- the villain in front of her and urged Izuku to stand up and say goodbye before they left the clinic. Everything was just like it was back then, Izuku realized, and for the first time it occurred to him this might not be a dream.
He assumed it had to be at first. I mean, he passed out after that hit, who wouldn’t? It was a blast the size of a city block! Luckily all civilians had been evacuated on time, but he was still worried about his fellow pro heroes… They weren’t here though. No, it was just him and his mom, walking back home after hearing that horrible news. Inko tried to stay strong, she really did, and all Izuku could do was stare at his All Might plush and wonder whether it was real or not.
It felt too real to be a dream. Even if it was a lucid dream, things would have to alter and change at his command, which didn’t happen. The scene had dragged on too long for it to end in another one of his nightmares, too. So what was this? Was this real? Was he back to being, what, four years old? That couldn’t be, could it? No, because that would mean… That would mean he time traveled in one way or another, wouldn’t it..? But time travel, even with the assistance of quirks, was impossible. It simply didn’t exist.
None of his quirks were capable of doing something like that and it hadn’t been documented or heard of in the last 300 years of quirk civilization. Sure there were quirks that sped up time or slowed it down, even pausing time momentarily or locally, but nothing quite like this. The closest thing to time travel would be Eri’s rewind quirk, but that only affected one person in one direction and couldn’t really be called time travel.
“I… I’m so sorry, Izuku,” Inko choked out, trying very hard not to cry while they were still in public. “I’m so, so sorry.”
No. No, that’s not what he wanted to hear! Not back then and not now. Maybe this was a nightmare after all? He’ll wake up soon, probably wrapped up in some hospital with an angry Kacchan ready to lecture the fuck out of him. Izuku could already hear him screaming at him. About how reckless he’d been yet again, about how he wasn’t in this alone, that they created the alliance for a reason.
Yeah, their alliance, the Assembly. An unofficial hero team that consisted of all old 1-A members. The symbol was a capital A with a straight line down the middle that stuck out at the end, making it look like an arrow. Or a kite of some sort, as some kid pointed out before. It was supposed to resemble 1-A, to remind them of their origins, that they could always count on each other when things got tough. Yes, he’ll wake up in pain and things will return to how they’re supposed to be.
//\\
\\//
So yeah, that’d been a lie. Izuku didn’t know how or why this happened to him, but it was official: he was stuck in the past. It had been years at this point. Years and over a dozen notebooks on every important event he could remember. Some things needed to play out the way they did in the past, otherwise he’d drastically change his own future. Like getting attacked by the sludge villain, as much as he hated it, and in tow, allowing that monster to attack Kacchan. He wouldn’t receive One For All otherwise, would he? He couldn’t risk it, at least.
But there were also things he wanted to change. He wanted to stand up for himself more in middle school. Wanted to make an effort to befriend all of his friends sooner. To show Todoroki he wasn’t his father, to show Shinsou he could be a hero, to show Aoyama… He didn’t know how he would handle that, to be honest, but he still has some years ahead of him to figure it out. And by then he was sure he’d have Uraraka and Iida and all the others standing by his side.
“Izuku, come on, we’re going to be late!”
He glanced up at the door of his bedroom, seeing his mom move around in the hallway as the light danced underneath the crack. He quickly shoved his notebook back in the box, a box labeled with Notes for the Future . Every notebook inside it had the same name and was numbered in chronological order. His mom didn’t know he had these, and he wanted to keep it that way to avoid any questions.
Right after he shoved the box back under his bed, Inko entered his room, urging him to hurry up. Izuku grabbed his backpack and put on his shoes, following her outside. He sighed, not looking forward to another day of elementary school.
//\\
\\//
“Oi, watch where you’re going, nerd,” Kacchan hissed, his shoulder slamming into his as he passed with his goons. Ah yes, middle school Kacchan, not the best version of the ash blonde… But Izuku was dealing with it! Well, tolerating it, mostly, just because he knew he would get better later. Besides, he wasn’t a pushover anymore! He wasn’t the same person he was the first time around. No, he could handle Kacchan.
He was more worried about how his body would handle One For All, which is why he’d started his training earlier than in his previous life. Inko wasn’t too keen on the fact he still harbored dreams of becoming a hero despite being quirkless, but Izuku knew she was just trying to look after him. That and she couldn’t stop him from working out. If anything that should make her feel more at ease, knowing her son could handle himself.
“Hey! Didn’t you hear him, Deku? Watch where you’re going!” one of the other guys taunted, wanting to bump shoulders like Kacchan had done, only to be pushed back by Izuku. He said he’d tolerate Kacchan, not these other assholes. Extras, as Kacchan called them, which Izuku found rather fitting in this context. They didn’t matter, they weren’t significant in the bigger picture, didn’t leave a mark on this world the first time around, and they wouldn’t this time either.
Had the ash blonde influenced him over the years?
Perhaps.
Did Izuku care that his classmate stumbled on the ground in front of him while the whole hallway gasped and stared?
Not one bit.
Even Kacchan seemed surprised by the fact Izuku stood up for himself, but he didn’t comment on it.
“Maybe you should watch where you’re going,” Izuku reacted, a bright smile on his face. “You could hurt someone, you know?”
Oh look at that, now people were scared of him. It didn’t really matter though. Izuku would be out of here in two years and he’ll be on his way to become a pro hero, the new symbol of hope. And Kacchan would be there by his side as the new symbol of victory. He’d finally be with people who cared about him, who didn’t taunt or insult him because of his lack of a quirk even after finding out the truth about One For All.
“The hell…”
“Tch, quirkless freak.”
“Come on, let’s get away from that nutcase.”
Izuku rolled his eyes, taking a deep breath before continuing on his way to class. He didn’t care about the gossip, not really, but that didn’t mean he liked hearing people whispering those things about him…
//\\
\\//
He noticed Kacchan sneaking glances at him in the changing room over the next couple of months. Izuku was gaining muscle and this was around the time that Kacchan realized he was gay, so the green head wasn’t all that surprised by the sudden attention. He also didn’t mind, making sure to occasionally tease him without making it too obvious. It was fun to make him blush and get him all embarrassed, it looked cute on him. Besides, back in the future, before Izuku was suddenly shot back in time, they’d been dating, so it wasn’t all that weird, right? It’s not like they’d been together for that long though, only a couple of months, and for Izuku it already felt like a lifetime ago. It was, in a certain way, wasn’t it?
Well, it’s not like he reincarnated, not in the traditional sense anyway. But he’d come to realize the term time travel didn’t really fit his dilemma either. It was an enigma, to be honest, and Izuku tried not to think about it for too long. If he did, his thoughts would spiral and he’d end up in places he didn’t want to go. What if he made one wrong move and accidentally ended up killing all of his friends? What if, by changing even the tiniest thing, he dooms them all? What if he dooms them all by not changing anything? And look, he’s spiraling, great!
“Oi, Deku, stop spacing out like a damn nerd,” Kacchan grunted, flicking his fingers against his forehead to pull him out of thought. “And put on a damn shirt, for fucks sake.”
Izuku frowned, rubbing his head as he watched Kacchan leave the changing room. His bullying has subsided to teasing most of these days and Izuku wondered whether that had to do with the fact he actually stood up for himself or the fact he had a light six-pack now. Maybe a combination of both? Kacchan did value the strong, after all. But that wasn’t the value on which he wanted to base their friendship, their rivalry, their relationship in general. No, he’ll have to wait a little longer to see the Kacchan he ultimately fell in love with, the person who pushed him to be the best version of himself, who always got his back no matter what.
And that was fine. Izuku could be patient. He’d been waiting all these years, he could wait a few more. Kacchan wouldn’t be going anywhere and neither would their future, Izuku would make sure of it. But for now he’ll just have to beat Kacchan’s ass at dodgeball to get him his first taste of defeat. That should speed things up, right? Izuku beating Kacchan had some serious after effects in their previous life, so who’s to say it wouldn’t be the same now? Yeah, he was sure it would be fine!
//\\
\\//
Things were not fine.
Izuku beat Kacchan at dodgeball alright. He gave him a taste of defeat, like he intended to. But instead of humbling Kacchan, it made him bitter. The defeat in front of all their classmates fueled his anger towards the green head and Izuku was painfully reminded of the fact that Kacchan used to think he looked down on him. Kacchan’s bullying came back tenfold, treating his quirkless classmate worse than he’d ever done in their previous lives.
Maybe this was a sign? Maybe this was the universe telling Izuku he couldn’t mess with things… That change wasn’t an option. That some things were bound to happen. Yeah, that must be it, Izuku thought as he watched Kacchan blast and burn his decoy notebook, his friends laughing from the sideline while he did so. Some things are written in stone, they can’t be changed. And so Izuku closed his eyes, tears already welling up inside them while he crawled in on himself on the floor, hurt by words that weren’t said yet.
Words that took an eternity to be spoken.
And then never came.
Izuku blinked, confused, glancing up at Kacchan who was staring blankly at the charred notebook. What? Why hadn’t he thrown it out of the window yet? Why hadn’t he threatened him yet? Don’t go to UA, don’t try to be a hero. Izuku swallowed away the lump in his throat as his mind supplied the next line to him, like he was reading it from a scripted movie scene. Take a swan dive off a roof and pray you’ll be born with a quirk in your next life.
But it didn’t come. Kacchan didn’t say it. Instead they locked eyes and, for a moment, Izuku found himself back in the future. Back in his apartment, being handed a cup of coffee by Kacchan at five in the morning as he nudged him to get his ass out of bed and get ready. And then Kacchan scoffed, dropping the notebook on the ground in front of him and putting his hands in his pockets. He took out his phone, frowned, and then looked back over to Izuku.
“K-Kacchan..?”
“Oh shut up,” the blonde hissed, making his way over to his friends, pushing them aside so he could get through. This… This wasn’t supposed to happen. Izuku stared wide-eyed as Kacchan’s goons looked at each other and shrugged before following their leader into the hallway. Kacchan was supposed to throw his notebook in the pond, he was supposed to tell him to kill himself. Everything had been leading up to this moment and yet…
Maybe not all things were written in stone?
Maybe some things could be changed?
But what changed Kacchan’s mind? Why did he suddenly stop? Izuku didn’t understand any of it… Why did Kacchan abandon the script..? Not that Izuku wanted to hear those words, no, he never wanted to hear Kacchan say something like that ever again, but things just didn’t seem to add up. He frowned, picking up his notebook, Hero analysis for the Future , and wiped away his tears. Something wasn’t right here, but he had no time to ponder on it. No, he had an important appointment, under the bridge on his way home from school.
Today he was going to meet All Might.
Today, he could be a hero.