Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1 – The Optimist

Is there a cure? Is there a savior?    

Is there a sign of life underneath        

I need to know how to heal this hollow

And keep the optimist alive in me - 10 Years/Conquer Divide

One Day Before The End

A scar-crossed hand grips the railing balcony of the abandoned high-rise apartment as piercing green eyes survey the nighttime cityscape of Musutafu. It was dark, very dark due to the war damage, scarce electricity, and sparse population in the once vibrant city. Fires here and there allowed him to make out the crumbling remnants of the elementary school he had attended, the grocery store where they had shopped, and the apartment building where he grew up. It made his stomach churn and his eyes burn.

Since the war began, he has seen many cities in similar or worse conditions, some even wiped off the face of the earth.

But.

Izuku Midoriya was born and raised in this city. Seeing Musatufu as it was now was heartbreaking. His life may not have been perfect in this place, but this city was his. His past, his childhood, his family, his friends, his heart.

This was not the first time he had been in Musutafu since the war began, but it was still a punch in the gut every time he came here. Mr. Tanaka should be chasing rowdy kids out of the conbini. Old Mrs. Honda should be watering her flowers and waiting for someone to stop long enough for her to tell them about her amazing grandson. The streets should be bustling with people rushing to work with nothing more to worry about than how full the trains will be or where to go for dinner after.

His emotions shift from angry, sad, defeated, and to angry again. He is angry that this even happened and sad that he knows that the city will never be the same. Even if they rebuild and everyone returns, the devastation created scars that will always be there, in the landscape and in people’s hearts. He feels defeated that he couldn’t stop it from happening, and angry again because he knows that those who created the damage do not care and even celebrate the destruction and lives lost. He cycles through these emotions every time he sees any city devastated by the war, but it hits much harder when it’s Musutafu. His town, his life.

He has spoken to enough survivors of disasters to know that his feelings are normal, but in most of those cases, it was Mother Nature at fault and not a megalomaniacal man-child set on personally destroying every little thing that makes Izuku who he is.

Izuku misses his mom. He could really use one of her warm, enveloping hugs right now. With his eyes closed, he can almost smell her perfume, hear her calling him to dinner, and feel her tears on his shoulder (because Midoriyas cry a lot, for any and every reason). With a watery sigh and a shake of his head, he pulls himself together because he knows that can never be again. Shigaraki made sure of that. Izuku will never forgive him for taking away the only person who loved him unreservedly and selflessly.

After the heroes’ confrontation with Shigaraki in Jaku City, Shigaraki disappeared along with the remnants of the League of Villains. No one knew it at the time, but that was just the opening gambit to a much larger war. Devastated by their losses, many heroes abandoned their jobs during this lull in the fighting. Villains and criminals took advantage, and crime rates began to rise.

The Hero Public Safety Commission tried to rally the remaining heroes. They offered more support and money for those on the front lines. Their attempts at retaining heroes and their own power were undercut by their obvious child soldier programs and pervasive corruption. The public and the heroes had lost faith in the commission when many of their underhanded deals were exposed during the chaos after Jaku. 

More and more heroes and police officers resigned, retired, or relocated to safer areas. Not everyone ran away, but more and more people abandoned smaller towns for the safety of larger cities with their abundance of law enforcement and resources, such as Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, and their suburbs.

A few months after Jaku, Shigaraki reappeared with AFO’s quirk but no sign of the boogeyman himself, and the war began in earnest. Many people speculated that AFO, the man, must be dead since some whose quirks had been stolen reported that their quirks returned to them shortly before Shiggy’s reappearance. Even some people previously thought to be quirkless found themselves with quirks. It seemed that while Shigaraki now had AFO’s quirk, he did not inherit the stockpile of quirks held within [AFO], and those collected and held by the boogeyman were released to their previous holders at his death.

It was good news and bad news for Izuku. The good news was that since Izuku was Shigaraki’s number one target, Ragdoll’s quirk [Search] had been running Izuku ragged to stay one step ahead of Shigaraki and his nomu army. With [Search] returning to Ragdoll, Shigaraki could no longer track Izuku. The ending of the relentless chase coincided with the return of quirks stockpiled by AFO, and Izuku could finally rest and regroup. Of course, his luck did not hold for long. Eventually, Shiggy found someone else with a tracking quirk, although not as strong as [Search], and began dogging his tracks again, releasing hordes of nomu at any location where Izuku stopped for more than 24 hours.

The bad news was that the loss of the quirks stockpiled in [AFO] enraged Shigaraki, and his subsequent temper tantrum culminated in Izuku’s greatest loss. No one knew how he found out where the Midoriyas lived, but before Shigaraki found his new tracking quirk, he attempted to draw Izuku out by attacking the Midoriyas’ apartment building. Unfortunately, Izuku was hours away trying to recover from weeks of pursuit and had no chance to intervene in the destruction of their home and the death of Inko. Izuku was shattered by the attack and his failure. In his grief, he refused to return to Musutafu or UA, fearing they would become Shigaraki’s next target.

At the start of the war, Shigaraki and the doctor had thousands of nomu and were making more every day. With the help of the resistance, the remaining heroes were able to locate the doctor and his factories. The resistance, a joint effort between heroes, civilians, the military, vigilantes, and even some villains, finally eliminated the doctor and his nomu factories. With nomu production ended permanently, Japan only had to deal with the last of the nomu and Shigaraki himself since the rest of the members of the League of Villains had not been seen or heard from since AFO’s death. 

Shigaraki’s predictability in tracing Izuku if he stayed in place for 24 hours allowed the resistance to set traps for the nomu army. The resistance has turned to guerrilla warfare tactics to eliminate the nomu army sent by Shigaraki to force his will on Japan and smoke out Izuku. Since the war began, they have learned that directly and openly attacking the nomu resulted in far too many deaths of the nation’s defenders at the hands of the nomu. But they have learned and grown stealthy and fierce, not giving up their homeland without a fight.

The resistance engineers have developed something like thermite to bait traps to take down the nomus. The traps release bright red fires that burn for a short time and can be seen for miles. Seeing fewer and fewer red fires means Shigaraki is running out of nomu through their war of attrition. Thousands of nomu have now been reduced to a few hundred.

Izuku and the resistance know that once the nomu run out, Shigaraki will switch tactics and may already have something in the works. They must time the final battle just right so that Shigaraki is at his weakest, and before he throws something new into the mix, forcing the resistance to retreat and regroup. The time to strike the final blow is near, very near. The resistance’s plan is to critically reduce the nomu population to allow their members to assist the final showdown between Izuku and Shigaraki without unnecessary deaths and to infuriate Shiggy, hopefully into making a mistake.

He gazes once more at the city and, in a clinical manner notes the number and location of the fires. “Hm, just a few fires tonight. It’s a good sign,” Izuku whispers, inwardly cringing at the thought of more destruction being a good thing, but the end result would be worth it. He hoped the citizens would understand their tactics and not condemn them for allowing the city to fall further into ruin in order to finally defeat Shigaraki.

Izuku allows himself to grieve one last time for his city, for all the cities destroyed, for all the lives lost, and for his lost friends, teachers, and family. As his tears dry and his heart calms, he looks up to the stars shining brightly now due to the lack of light pollution and makes a promise to himself.

A promise to stop the madness, stop the destruction, and stop the despair. End Shigaraki’s reign of terror. Whatever the cost. This will be his last stand.

“Those are some deep thoughts there, greenie,” says the gravelly voice coming from behind him. Izuku briefly tenses before recognizing the voice. He turns to face the figure hidden in the shadows of the apartment and relaxes as he recognizes the dark coat and gloves of his partner.

“I was just taking one last look at the city before we meet with the resistance,” Izuku ignores the concerned look on the other’s face as he turns back to the cityscape. He hears shuffling behind him before arms wrap around him, and a chin perches on his shoulder.

“We’ll get him this time. This will be over by tomorrow,” the voice on his shoulder says softly with quiet confidence.

Mentally shaking himself out of his melancholic mood, Izuku twists and aims a bright smile at the man behind him, “Yeah, we can do this. No, we WILL do this.” His words became firmer and more resolute.

“Of course we will. How can we lose with the Symbol of Hope on our side?” the gruff voice says teasingly. Izuku rolls his eyes at the laughter he can hear in his partner’s voice.

“Ok, let’s go before you make me cry,” Izuku grasps the other’s gloved hand and pulls him close before leaping off the building in a show of green lightning.

“Absolutely not! No crying. You are not allowed,” could be heard alongside giggling as the pair disappeared into the dark city.

Chapter Text

I'm in a freefall

Racing to the ground

I'm scared I'll lose it all

Is anybody out therе

Or am I alone

Reaching out for someonе

In a freefall

– Nothing More (featuring Chris Daughtry)

One Year Before The End

He’s not sure where he is right now. He’s not sure it really matters. He has been just sort of wandering from city to city. Not the big cities, the smaller cities. The ones left behind by the seemingly mass exodus to the larger cities and metropolises.

Not everyone left the smaller cities and suburbs. There were still holdouts. Those too stubborn or too proud to abandon their homes and livelihoods. Some physically couldn’t or didn’t have anywhere safer to go. And a few, a very small few, to watch out and care for those who wouldn’t or couldn’t leave.

The (now) white-haired man did what he could to keep the people in these cities from succumbing to the nomu or villains taking advantage of the loss of the heroes and police.

‘Fucking cowards,’ the man thought about everyone who left them behind. He didn’t really mean it, though. He understood that they had to protect their own. It was just so awful to be left behind to fend for yourself. He should know.

Even though he hadn’t been left behind, he did have to fend for himself. He didn’t have a choice anymore. No one was coming to his rescue. Not that he needed it. He made his bed, and now he had to lie in it.

He didn’t have room to complain. He knew he had been a part of the problem and was as much to blame for the sad state of the country.

Running his fingers through his shaggy hair, he thought about how it started. He had simply wanted justice for himself and maybe his family, too. He wanted the heroes to face up to their shortcomings and the corruption within the hero industry. He wanted to expose them for who they really were. He wanted Endeavor exposed. Stripped of his hero license.

He just wanted someone to see him and take note of the nightmare he was living in. It seems so hypocritical now. He was the son of the number two hero in the country, of course, he was seen. But no one believed him. No one would help. He eventually gave up asking.

He met some Stain supporters, and while he wasn’t into the whole murder the ‘bad’ heroes thing, he could see their point in exposing the corruption. He and his tag-along Toga were set up to meet a group that was on a similar path. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

But something happened, and he suddenly, somehow, found himself listening to an entitled man-baby and chasing teenagers and their teachers in the woods. He came face-to-face with his brother and shouted mockery at him. It seems so ridiculous and unreal now.

The entire time with the League was a blur of rage, bloodlust, and disgust. Looking back, it was hard to believe that that was him. But it was, and now he’s paying for his actions.

No family. No friends. No home. Nothing.

Maybe it’s better to just end it all. Who would care? Worse, who would even notice?

If anyone did, they would probably cheer. He wouldn’t blame them, now, would he?

So far, he hasn’t fallen too deep into that mindset. Maybe he will next week.

Today, though, he will continue to atone in the only way left to him. Kill as many nomu as he can so he can stop or at least slow down Shigaraki’s takeover of Japan. He’ll be a thorn in his side for as long as he can.

*

He had been patrolling whatever city he was in for the last few hours and was taking a midnight break on the rooftop of a warehouse in the mostly abandoned industrial area. It was peaceful for once, and lying down watching the stars was kind of soothing.

Of course, the peace didn’t last. He could hear the rending of metal and a familiar roar coming from a few buildings away.

‘What the hell are nomu doing out here?’ he stumbled to his feet and peered at the adjacent warehouses.

‘There,’ he spotted smoke and electrical sparks coming from a building a block away.

He jumped from rooftop to rooftop until he was overlooking the suspect building. He froze as he saw 5 nomu emerge from a hole in the wall of the warehouse and scatter in different directions.

He could maybe catch one if he took off immediately, but something caught his eye through the hole torn in the metal wall of the warehouse.

‘Is that a tank?’ squinting at the smoke-filled interior. He needed a closer look to be sure that the building was what he thought.

He hopped over to the warehouse roof and found an open roof access door. He stealthily moved along the upper floor, which had a few offices connected by a catwalk. He crept along the catwalk overlooking the ground floor where all the action was taking place.

He counted 25 large upright tanks with clear walls. The tanks were filled with a murky liquid, and something shapeless and dark could be seen in the murk. One of the shapes bumped into the wall of a tank, and the misshapen body and exposed brain of a nomu came into focus.

‘Gross. It’s a nomu factory.’ He’d seen one before when Shigaraki insisted that he tag along to see the doctor. He shuddered at the memory. Once was enough.

He noticed that five of the tanks had fallen over, and the murky liquid was spreading across the floor toward the other tanks. When the liquid slipped under an upright tank, sparks began to fly, and the tank shook. The shaking intensified until the tank toppled over, releasing the nomu inside.

The newly freed nomu wallowed for a few minutes on the ground before finally getting to its feet, roaring, and loping off into the dark.

‘Looks like I have a mess to take care of here.’ He rubbed his hands together with glee and leapt off the catwalk to the warehouse floor. Then, he did what he did best and let it all burn.

Watching the flames get higher and higher, he waited to make sure none of the nomu somehow got free. Fortunately, the adjacent buildings were far enough apart not to catch fire as well. Especially since it looked like no firefighters were coming. Probably for the best. They might run into one of the six that ran off.

While he was waiting to make sure that the fire didn’t spread, he checked out the surrounding area. None of the other buildings were occupied, nor did they have electricity or water.

Now, as he moved from one city to the next, he searched for isolated areas with matching characteristics so he could take down any more he could find.

He has only found one more with a smaller cache of nomu, but he has a mission now.

‘Fuck Shigaraki! Fuck All for One!’

He is going to pay them back in spades for the damage they have done.

He’s still angry, but it isn’t an all-encompassing rage like when he was with the League. This anger feels grounded in reality. It feels more like seeking justice rather than seeking revenge.

It doesn’t matter to anyone else but him, though. No one is going to believe in his changed outlook or attitude.

He will just continue on alone until all his debts are paid.

However long that takes.

If ever.

*

‘Move! Move! Move!’ he muttered to himself.

He was racing down a dark street chasing after three stupid kids who had caught the attention of two nomu. Fortunately, the nomu didn’t have any sort of enhanced speed, and he had a chance to catch them before they got the kids. It was gonna be close, though.

The kids veered into an alley, probably to try and trick the nomu. Nope. That didn’t work. The nomu rounded the corner into the ally and he could hear the kids screams.

He pumped his legs faster and darted into the alley. The nomu had the kids trapped behind a dumpster. The thin metal would only hold for so long against the strength-enhanced creature.

Gritting his teeth, he held out his reddened hands and pushed white-hot fire toward the nomu. With everyone’s eyes on him, he shouted, “Run! I’ll keep them busy!”

The kids hesitated for just a moment, making sure that the nomu were fully focused on their savior, before sprinting further down the alley.

“Shit! It’s a dead end!” one of them yelled in panic.

‘Of course it is,’ he thought bitterly.

“Hide if you can,” the man snapped to the kids. He could hear metal wheels scraping and shuffling.

He blasted one of the nomu’s legs off, causing it to stumble to the side, leaving a gap. He darted between the two nomu to get between the kids and the nomu.

‘Well, at least I can go all out without the kids getting in the way’

They traded blows for several minutes, or the nomu attempted to. The man switched to his hottest blue fire to keep them back since white didn’t seem to do much. These nomu must have been designed with fire resistance. Shigaraki probably did that to specifically target him. ‘That’s just rude,’ he thought.

He could feel blisters forming on his hands and arms. He was overdoing it, but he didn’t have a choice. Why his quirk had ice resistance instead of fire resistance had to be some sort of cosmic joke.

One of the nomu had claws and was faster than the other. It got a swipe in at the man while he shifted to herd the other one back.

‘Fuck that hurt.’ He grit his teeth as he felt the blood running down his side and soaking into his clothes.

‘I need to finish this up quick so I can stop the bleeding. I can’t afford to be too injured.’

Just then, the clawed nomu shot down the alley toward the kids and then faceplanted. ‘What?’

Something or someone was dragging it back to the mouth of the alley. While that one was occupied with whatever, he could focus on the remaining nomu. He quickly dispatched it and burned it down to ash.

Suddenly, a head rolled by. He did not squeak. He did not. Nope.

He did, however, cremate that head once he realized it was the other nomu.
That’s when he noticed the green lightning at the mouth of the alley. That seemed familiar somehow.

Oh.

‘Shit.”

Chapter Text

Don't hate me, don't hate me
Don't hate me more than I hate myself
Don't let me destroy me
Don't hurt me more than I hurt myself
Just scold me, console me, control me
Oh, I could use some help
But don't hate me, I'm sad enough

– Badflower

One year before the end

After several months of hearing stories about someone working in the shadows in the outer provinces, taking down nomu and saving people, Izuku finally investigates.

The stories are mixed. Most report a lone black-clad man with blue fire coming out of the shadows with no warning to kill nomus attacking civilians. Some are fearful of the blue fire and the seeming violence and recklessness. As far as Izuku knows, the man hasn’t hurt anyone except the nomus, but he wants to be sure that the people in the generally unprotected outer areas have a true defender and not someone taking advantage.

He has his suspicions based on the consistent references to blue fire, but he needs to be sure.

He finally tracks the man down in a suburb of Tokyo, outside of the area where the remaining Tokyo heroes patrol. Izuku was crouched on a small commercial building in a mixed neighborhood with small shops and apartment buildings lining the streets. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a blue flash in the next block between two buildings. He rushes across the rooftops and peers over the edge of a building into the alleyway.

A white-haired man in a tattered black jacket and mask was fighting two nomu. The blue fire from his hands was keeping the nomu at bay, but the nomu were crowding him, forcing the man to shift deeper into the alley. Movement behind the man got Izuku’s attention, and he finally noticed three young teens huddled together near the back of the dead-end alley.

The man darted forward in an effort to push the nomu back, releasing a stream of fire at one of the nomu’s heads trying to get to its brain, a sure-fire way to kill it. While the man was distracted, the other nomu shuffled along the edge of the alley, getting closer to the teens.

“Well, I guess I should lend a hand,” murmurs Izuku.

Izuku jumped into the alley behind the nomu encroaching on the teens, using [Float] to descend quietly. Black tendrils of [Blackwhip] shot out, entangling the nomu’s legs. A quick yank had the nomu faceplanting onto the concrete. As the nomu struggled to get back up, Izuku dragged it back toward the mouth of the alley. Once he was clear of the others, he cut the nomu’s head off with the vibro blade he carried for just this purpose. A nice clean cut that self-cauterizes the wound and stops the regeneration.

The head bounced off the ground and rolled back down the alley where the black-clad man was finishing up taking out the other nomu. The head startled the other man, who jumped when it rolled toward him before incinerating it with his blue flames. The two defenders' eyes met briefly before the black-clad man turned to the teens.

“Are any of you hurt?” A gruff voice, scratchy with disuse, asked the kids. The two boys and the girl shook their heads.

“What are you doing out here? It is not safe here after dark,” the man continued. The kids stumbled over their words in explanation.

‘It looks like just teenage bravado gone wrong,’ mused Izuku.

“Whatever, just be careful. Where do you live so I can make sure you get somewhere safe?” the man wrapped up his scolding.

The kids pointed out an apartment building down the street and headed out with the two men watching until they were safely inside the building.

The white-haired man had moved off in the opposite direction before Izuku noticed.

“Hey! Wait up!” Izuku chased after the man.

“What do you want?” the man growled without turning.

Izuku caught up with the man and walked beside him, “I just wanted to make sure you were ok. I saw that nomu take a swipe at you. You seem to be favoring your right side.”

“I’m fine. You can leave,” the man said while dripping blood on the sidewalk.

“Nope, can’t do that. If you are out here fighting the nomu, I need to make sure you stay alive. We need all the fighters we can.”

“Leave me alone, little hero. Help someone else, someone who deserves it. Don’t you know who I am?” the white-haired man snarled through gritted teeth.

Izuku’s face twists into a grimace, “Yeah, I am pretty sure I know who you are. Dabi? Right?”

The man, Dabi, scoffs, “Of course, you know. And you’re that Midoriya kid that Shigaraki rants about. Now you can leave or arrest me or whatever.”

Izuku lets the silence linger for a minute, “I am not going to arrest you, not when you are out here helping. I’m serious about helping patch you up.”

“Why? You’re a hero, isn’t it your job to arrest the villains? I’m a villain. I don’t deserve any help after all the shit I did,” Dabi starts walking faster to put some distance between himself and the hero.

Izuku hurries to catch up with Dabi, “Not a hero. I was training to be one when the war broke out, though. Besides, I work with heroes, villains, vigilantes, and regular civilians every day. The world is not as black and white as the media and the HPSC portray it, and I am not going to pretend otherwise.” 

He continued, “Look, you have obviously separated from the League, and it looks like you have been working to make amends for your part in what happened at the beginning of the war. I am a big believer in second chances, especially when one proves with actions that they are trying to be better. Let me help you. Please?”  

Dabi sighs, stopping so abruptly that Izuku almost barrels into his back, “You’re not going to stop, are you?”

“Nope!” Izuku popped the “p” with a smile spreading across his face. He knows he has won this skirmish. “I have some supplies stashed a couple of blocks away. Follow me.”

They stumbled through a partially destroyed building to a relatively clean office space in the back. The space has two couches and a table with a couple of chairs. Izuku gestures to a chair while he rummages through a scruffy duffle bag before returning with a first aid kit.

Dabi shrugs off his coat and has a seat. He lifts his shirt so Izuku can get to the wound. He watches the other man carefully clean the wound and stitch it closed.

Slapping a bandage over the stitches, Izuku looks up at Dabi, “That should do it. Just keep it clean, and it should be good in a week or so. Now let me see your hands. I noticed some burns.”

Dabi glares at Izuku, who just smiles back stubbornly. Dabi relents and holds out his hands, “Fine.”

Once the burns were treated and wrapped, Dabi pulls his coat back on and stands, “Thanks.”

Noticing how weary and worn Dabi is, Izuku asks, “Hey, have you eaten? There is a cheap ramen place nearby that serves resistance members at all hours.”

“Since I feel like you aren’t going to let this go, I wouldn’t say no to some ramen.”

“Great, let’s go.”

“Although I hope when you say cheap, you mean free.”

Izuku laughs brightly, “I can spot you a meal.”

They talked a little about the resistance, but mostly ate silently in the hole-in-the-wall café, enjoying the peace of the moment. Sipping on some tea after the ramen was gone, curious green eyes shifted to the other man. “So, the last time I saw you, you were with the League in Jaku. What made you leave and take up arms against them?”

Dabi glares at him, trying to derail that topic of conversation. Izuku, however, is immune. ‘It’s cute that he thinks that’s going to work. After all, I have had years of dealing with deadly glares. He’s got nothing on a snarling explosion with a superiority complex.’

Between his exhaustion and sensing that his glaring is futile, Dabi relents, “Fine, but it is a shitty story.” Izuku gestures for him to continue.

“After Jaku, we holed up in some shitty abandoned industrial park. Shigaraki would disappear for days, leaving me, Toga, and Spinner to ourselves.”

“About three weeks in, Shiggy was out doing whatever, and I felt something in my mind snap and sharpen. I felt like I was pulled back from the edge of a cliff. I didn’t notice the fogginess until it lifted, and I could think again. I wasn’t angry anymore, at least not like I had been. I noticed Spinner starting to pull away at the same time. He had the same look in his eyes. I think the same thing happened to him that happened to me. It didn’t seem to affect Toga.”

Yeah, Izuku remembered that day. Vividly. Not the same way Dabi did. Time to think about that later.

Dabi continued, “The next day, Shiggy came back and was crowing about being rid of his sensei and being his own master finally. He kept going on and on about getting you next. I just felt numb and confused, but I kept my mouth shut. I took off the next time Shiggy went off to meet with the doctor. I put as much distance between me and Shiggy as I could. I did run into Spinner the day after I left far away from the industrial park. It seems he had the same idea.”

“As I was trying to figure out what to do next, I was attacked by a nomu. I fought back, won, and just kept going,” Dabi finished.

Mulling this over, Izuku leaned forward curiously, “Do you think All for One used a quirk of some kind to affect your mind? Maybe heightening your emotions or encouraging you to follow him. If Shigaraki actually killed off All for One, it may be that the quirk disappeared, and his hold was broken when he died.”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Dabi answered, “Maybe. Probably. I don’t know. I just know I feel different now.”

“I’m glad you got away from them. You are doing good things now,” Izuku said with a small smile.

“Too little, too late,” Dabi muttered.

Izuku could see that Dabi was beginning to spiral into self-hate. He knows that feeling well. Maybe Dabi just needs a little support to keep on the right path. He knows how much that would have meant to him when he was in a similar situation.

“Hey, do you have somewhere to stay? If you want, you can stay with me tonight. I know it’s not much, but I could use the company.”

Dabi eyed him warily, but exhaustion won out: “Fine, but no funny stuff.”

“No promises,” chirped Izuku. Dabi snorted and rolled his eyes. ‘Why was he letting this little shit drag him around? Maybe it’s just nice to have someone smile at me rather than snarl.’

They made their way back to the safe house, where they each took a couch. Dabi woke up the next morning to Izuku packing up.

“Good morning,” Izuku said once he noticed Dabi was awake.

“Oh no, a morning person. Kill me now,” groaned Dabi to Izuku’s widening grin.

Dabi watched as Izuku seemed to pack everything up into a backpack. “Why are you taking everything with you? Isn’t this your place?”

Glancing up briefly, Izuku continued packing, “Oh no, just a place I borrow from time to time. I can’t stay in one place too long. Shiggy finds me if I stop for more than 24 hours and sends housewarming gifts in the form of nomu.”

Dabi’s mouth dropped open, and his eyes widened in surprise, “Same.”

They both froze in shock before Izuku dropped onto the couch next to Dabi. Izuku pouted, “And here I thought I was special.”

Dabi snickered at the smile trying to break free of Izuku’s put-upon expression. He knocked shoulders with Izuku, “Creativity is not Shiggy’s strong suit.”

Izuku sat pondering this new information. He had been mostly on his own because of the target on his back and his need to move quickly on a daily basis to keep Shigaraki off his back. Not many people could or wanted to keep up with him. If Dabi were in a similar situation, then maybe…

“Hey, why don’t you just come with me then. We can watch each other’s backs,” Izuku offered bluntly.

Dabi stills while conflicting emotions fly across his face as he searches for something in Izuku’s eyes.

‘Oh, hell no. No way, absolutely not. That is such a bad idea. Why would he even want to be seen with me?’ Dabi pondered all the different ways that this could go wrong.

“Okay,” comes out of his mouth instead.

‘What the fuck?! That was not what I meant to say! Oh my god, I can’t change it now, he’s smiling that smile at me. I am so screwed. Whatever, I can do this,’ Dabi’s inner voice laughs at him.

“Great, Dabi. Grab your stuff, and we can get going,” Izuku went back to packing.

Dabi grimaced at Izuku's statement. That didn’t sound right. He didn’t want to be called that anymore. He just wanted to move forward and away from everything that Dabi was. He’d think about it later.

“Call me Touya. Dabi is dead.”

‘Or I could just lose my brain-to-mouth filter. How did I survive as a villain?’ Touya laments to himself.

Izuku’s smile gets so wide that his eyes almost disappear. “Ok, Touya, you can call me Izuku, then.”

Touya squints at the pure sunshine standing in front of him.

‘I’m doomed.’

Chapter Text

I am a nation, I am a million faces 

Formed together, made for revelation.

I am a soldier, I won't surrender.

Faith is like a fire that never burns to embers

– Skillet

11 Months Before The End

“This isn’t working,” Izuku muttered as Touya applied bandages to the myriad lacerations and burns on the younger man’s arms and torso.

Touya’s hands stilled as the words settled in the air. They had been traveling and fighting together for the last month, and he thought things were going well. It wasn’t perfect. Spending 24/7 with someone you didn’t know well and, until recently, been on opposing sides was not going to be without its bumps. But. He felt settled and accepted for the first time in ages, even though he didn’t believe he deserved it. Izuku was endlessly kind, but even his kindness must have a limit.

Izuku looked up as Touya started to pull away with his face settling into a blank mask, he realized with a grimace how his words sounded, “No, I didn’t mean… I just meant that we keep getting in each other’s way when we fight together. I think half of our injuries come from each other. We need to find a way to work as a team.”

It was weird at first, traveling and fighting with someone day in and day out. They moved every 24 hours, dropping in on nomu or other crimes as they went. It was still tiring, but Izuku felt lighter with someone to share the dark, quiet nights mixed in with the sudden, sheer brutality of the nomu attacks.

He liked having someone watch his back. He didn’t want to change partners; what he wanted was synergy. Things were only going to get harder if they didn’t find a way to feed off each other’s skills and energy.

“I have an idea where we can go for help,” Izuku gave Touya a questioning look. He could see some of the tension leave Touya as he processed his words.

Sensing this wasn’t enough to cut through the wariness caused by his careless words, he challenged, “That is, if you are up for it?” There. That got his attention. The blankness was replaced with the narrowing of eyes and slight glare.

Izuku knew he had won when the tautness in Touya’s shoulder relaxed.

“I’m gonna hate this, aren’t I?”

“Probably,” Izuku teased with a cheeky grin.

Later, as they traversed the tunnels leading to the nearest resistance base, Touya slipped on his RBF. He had no idea what kind of reception he would get from the resistance members, who were apparently mostly a mix of heroes, vigilantes, and hero students with some civilians and villains thrown in for spice. Even though Izuku told him not to worry about it, he was prepared for the worst.

The leaders of the local resistance were a diverse bunch, but Izuku’s main contacts were from cell near Musutafu and included his fellow UA classmates, Shinsou Histoshi from general education, Koji Koda from class 1A, and Mei Hatsume from the support course.

At first, it was a surprise to find Shinsou, or Toshi as Izuku calls him now, was part of the resistance. Not because he was incapable, but it was more that he had seemed like such a loner.

The resistance was fortunate that he did join. He always had a determined take-no-prisoners attitude, and with his oh-so-useful quirk, he has brought peace of mind and calm to many. He is also filled to the brim with stealth, snark, and pettiness. A dangerous combination that has equally terrified and delighted Izuku.

The first time he met Toshi after the war started was not long after it began.

*

Izuku was taking a breather on a roof, surveying a city near Musutafu, looking out for anyone who needed help. He was so focused on what he was doing that he didn’t hear the slight shuffle on the roof behind him.

A whispered, “Midoriya?” almost caused him to take that swan dive off the roof that had been hinted at so long ago. As soon as he yelped in surprise, his brain fogged over, and he immediately froze, caught up in a quirk. His fuzzy mind recognized the voice as a hand on his shoulder turned him to face his attacker. His mind cleared, and he found himself faced with fluffy purple hair and eyes widened in surprise.

“What the hell?” squawked Izuku.

“Sensei would be disappointed in your situational awareness,” Shinsou drawled out, stepping further out of the shadows. “What are you doing up here? You know it’s not safe.”

Izuku took a deep breath to try to reclaim some equilibrium. “What do you think? I was a hero student. I have always wanted to help people. Right now, I am doing what I can to help whoever I can during this mess. What are you doing up here?” He could see Shinsou tense up when he said, “hero student”.

When the war broke out, Shinsou was still in general education but was gearing up to join the hero class. While they weren’t friends, they were friendly. They often ran into each other in the gyms and training fields. They sparred together a few times, but they never had a chance to really get to know one another. He knew the other longed to be a hero, and every minute not in the hero course grated his nerves.

“I am scouting for the local resistance since the heroes have abandoned us,” he grumbled. Yeah, he can’t argue with that sentiment about the heroes and lets that go, but the rest of that sentence adds fire to his soul.

“Resistance?”

“Yeah, a bunch of us banded together to push back against Shigaraki. I’m not sure how successful we are or how long we can hold out, but we are doing whatever we can to save as many as we can.”

“I had heard some people were organizing but never seemed to run into anyone involved. I would be interested in collaborating. Maybe together we can come up with a way to stop Shigaraki. I have been traveling all over Japan and have a feel for his strategy but have been moving so much to stay ahead of him that I haven’t had a chance to make a solid plan.” Izuku said.

“Oh, yeah. We have heard many stories about the sparkling green hero performing deeds of wonder and greatness,” Shinsou snarked with one eyebrow raised.

He studied Izuku for a minute until he seemed to make up his mind. “Alright, Ten Million, come on. I will take you to one of our bases, and you can meet the rest.”

Izuku nodded, and they began descending the building using the fire escape. Once they were on the ground and that the tenseness in the air had abated, something Shinsou said that was niggling at the back of his mind moved front and center.

“Ten million?” he asked.

Shinsou chuckled quietly, “Oh, wait until you see who we have in our corner.” He grinned maniacally and waved Izuku on.

Izuku followed as mad, crazy, hopeful, joyous thoughts raced through his mind. If Shinsou means what he thinks, their chances just increased exponentially.

“No, it can’t be,” he muttered, not daring to hope.

“No spoilers,” Shinsou threw over his shoulder before turning to face the other.

They stared at each other for a moment before wide grins spread across both of their faces. This is going to be good, they thought.

Shinsou led them to a partially destroyed parking garage and descended the stairs to a sublevel that connected to an adjacent building via a series of tunnels. Izuku thought it was smart not to access your hideout directly since you never knew where all of Shigaraki’s eyes and ears could be found.

The tunnels opened up into a large, brightly lit space. On the right were living quarters, a kitchen, and meeting areas. The left was filled with piles and piles of equipment and one pink-haired demon. At their entrance, her head popped up, and her eyes widened.

“Ten million!” She flew over to Izuku, knocking him to the ground in a near replica of their first meeting.

“I knew it was you out there. See, I told you it was him. You owe me a day of baby testing!” Mei Hatsume smiled up at Shinsou.

With a put-upon look, Shinsou ambled over and protested, “I only agreed to one hour!”

“That was until you showed me your manga collection. Now, I have so many new ideas, and since it is your fault, you have to help test.” An incomprehensible mutter storm followed that neither of them could follow.

“Just what was in your manga collection?” Izuku whispered worriedly. He knows how chaotic she can be, but the manga could be anything.

Shinsou appeared lost in thought, “Death Note? I don’t think so. Well, I hope not. Hmm. No, bad Toshi. JoJo? No. Wait, wait, wait!” Izuku was giggling at the existential crisis playing out in front of him.

“You did not take my Attack on Titan manga! I will hide your wrenches if even one page is creased!”

“Oops!” Mei laughed unapologetically and took off running, Shinsou close behind. After several minutes, four thrown screwdrivers, and one explosion, Mei was cornered and giggling maniacally.

*

Now, entering the resistance hideout with Touya at his side, he could sense the tension rising as soon as the members recognized who was with him. He knew this would be a tough crowd. Hopefully, they gave him a chance.

He was saved by the appearance of his best friend.

“So, you have replaced me, I see,” Toshi grumped as he emerged from behind the pair, eying Touya suspiciously. “I have been betrayed. Now I need to find a new best friend, just when I got this one broken in.”

“Oh my god, you are so dramatic. You’re still my best friend. I can have more than one, you know,” Izuku shot back.

“Nope. After all my begging and pleading to join you on patrol, and now I’ve been forsaken.”

“You went with me once and whined the whole time because I wouldn’t let you stop to pet every single stray cat we crossed paths with.”

“Untrue,” protested Toshi, his face reddening.

“We woke up in the safe house covered in cats because you keep catnip in your pockets.” Izuku accused, trying but failing to keep a stern look on his face.

“They are my babies!”

“No. You are their dealer,” Izuku said, shaking his head.

At first, Touya was wary that someone would immediately attack him, and Shinsou’s approach seemed threatening. Then, he opened his mouth. Now, Touya was trying to keep a straight face at the ridiculous show taking place.

“Boys, you’re both pretty. Come have some tea, and we can talk,” Koda Koji’s soft gentleness broke through the dramatics.

Izuku froze with his mouth open and eyes wide at the retreating figure.

“Koda, was that sass? Toshi, that was sass. Did you teach him that? Did you corrupt him?” Izuku whipped around to glare at Toshi, who flipped him off.

“He’s coming along nicely, if I do say so myself,” smugness oozed from Toshi.

Koda smiled warmly and waved Izuku and Touya over to the kitchen, where he set up three cups of tea.

Koda was the sleeper surprise during the war. Izuku remembered him at UA as a shy, quiet soul who seemed to steer away from conflict. But, when push came to shove, he defied all expectations and proved why he was a hero course student.

His affinity for rats, birds, and other urban animals provided the resistance with all the reconnaissance needed to rescue and evacuate thousands of citizens while avoiding the nomu.

In the early days of the war, he remembers Koda shaking in his shoes as he slipped through war-torn areas full of rubble to find the trapped and injured. Nowadays, with some stealth training courtesy of some underground heroes and with Shoji Mezo providing backup muscle, he boldly slinks through the city with a steely determination to save everyone. His resolve and strength have shone through and hinted at the brilliant career he could have had as a rescue hero. Maybe, hopefully, he will still get that chance someday.

“This is Touya, you probably remember him as Dabi. He escaped from the league after breaking out of some sort of mind-altering quirk and has been working against Shiggy ever since. I teamed up with him a few weeks back. Touya, this is Shinsou Hitoshi and Koda Koji, classmates from UA. Now, they are the leaders of this base,” Izuku introduced.

“You are the blue-fire guy we were hearing about recently, huh?” Toshi eyed Touya critically.

Touya nodded, “Uh, yeah.”

“That was some good work. I’m a suspicious bastard, but Izuku is a good judge of character. Usually,” Toshi said, rolling his eyes at a preening Izuku.

“Shut up. I am still mad,” pouted Toshi.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You did your wiggle thing.”

“Guys. Focus,” Koda, once again, reels them back on topic.

“Anyway, we have been traveling together for a few weeks, but we really need to spar together against someone or a group to work on our teamwork. Preferably, someone with a strong physical quirk or with good close-quarters combat skills. Anyone around that can help us out?” Izuku explained.

“We’re stretched a bit thin here right now. Most of our heavy hitters are on their rest period, and the rest are on patrol. Come back next week, and we can have something set up,” Shinsou offered, joining them with his ever-present mug of coffee.

“I think Yaomomo had some extra people at their base. You may want to try over there. Shoji may still be there. He was headed into Tokyo to visit with Fumi, but wanted to stop by their base on the way,” Koda said.

“Shoji and Momo would both be great opponents. We’ll head there next,” Izuku hoped they would be available, but he was pretty sure Momo’s base had a few other suitable possibilities, too.

“Anything new out there beyond our territory?” Koda asked.

“I haven’t noticed anything recently, but Touya has,” Izuku nodded to his partner.

When they all turned to him, Touya took a long sip of tea while checking to see if Shinsou and Koda would be receptive to him. They seemed open to him, so he began.

“Before I joined up with Izuku, I found a fully functional nomu factory in an isolated warehouse in an abandoned industrial park.” That got their attention.

“The warehouse had water and power. None of the other warehouses or buildings in the industrial park had any utilities. I thought it was suspicious, but before I could check it out, several nomu tore through the walls and escaped. They got away before I could go after them. When I checked the warehouse, I found 20 more nomu still in their tanks waiting to be born? released? Anyway, they were easy to subdue while still in the tanks.”

“Since then, I found another one in a similar area of another city,” Touya said.

“We have been checking each town as we pass through and haven’t found any online factories but did find the remnants of one a couple of cities over,” Izuku shared.

“So, we need to check those areas that appear to be abandoned in case they harbor any hidden nomu factories,” Shinsou ventured thoughtfully.

“Anything else you can tell us about them?” Koda inquired while he was taking notes on his phone so they could inform headquarters and put together a bulletin for the other resistance bases.

“It looked like they definitely needed both power and water to sustain the nomu. Also, they are vulnerable to fire,” a satisfied smirk stretched across Touya’s face.

“Oh, really? I wonder how you discovered that,” Shinsou perked up with a matching look.

“This was a mistake. You two should have never met,” Izuku said mildly disturbed at their pyromaniacal bonding.

“Still, it sounds like a lead worth following. I will send this information to HQ and the menagerie. Maybe, we’ll get lucky,” Koda stands from the table to take his leave.

“Thank you, Koda. I’ll see you next time,” Izuku says as the gentle man heads out of the base.

“The menagerie?” asked Touya.

“Koda’s quirk allows him to talk to animals. He calls the ones that gather for him the most willingly, the menagerie. They will spread the word amongst the animals about the nomu factories,” Shinsou spoke before taking a last slurp of coffee.

“Well, I gotta go make sure the baby-making demon gets fed,” Shinsou said, standing up and stretching.

“Oh, I’ll go. I wanted to talk to her real quick about something,” Izuku jumped up and quickly disappeared in the maze of machinery.

“He never slows down, does he? Where does he get all that energy?” Touya mused aloud.

“No idea. He’s like a puppy. He responds best to head pats and tummy rubs.”

“Sure,” Touya watched the other man suspiciously.

Shinsou dug through his pockets before flipping a card to him, “Anyway, take that to get essentials. We get government funding to support our field people. The cards work like credit cards, but they don’t work everywhere. I’m sure Izuku has shown you how to recognize the places where we are welcome.”

“Why?” Touya asked without elaborating.

However, Shinsou knew what he meant anyway. Why were they being nice? Why were they so accepting of his presence with his history?

“I love Izuku like a brother. He seems all friendly and outgoing, and he is. But he hides who he really is behind walls and masks. Most people only see the surface. He’s wickedly smart and stupidly kind, but he’s not a doormat, not anymore. You two have been living in each other’s pocket for more than a month, and he hasn’t shaken you loose. Like I said before, he is a good judge of character, and he must value you for some reason.”

“Besides, I am glad he has someone watching out for him. It may not have been my choice, but I’m not going to insult him by trying to take that choice away,” Shinsou finished before turning to face him.

“Though if you betray him, I will brainwash you into cutting your own balls off before leaving you on top of the tallest building in Musutafu for Shigaraki to find,” Shinsou threatened.

“Hey, quit threatening to cut people’s balls off. I am starting to think it’s a kink,” Izuku bounded up behind them.

Shinsou sputtered denials before noticing his phone vibrating for an incoming message. A sadistic grin spread across his face as he read the message.

“Sensei wants to chat. He’s waiting at Momo’s.”

“Fuck me.”

“Not sure there will be anything left after Sensei is done with you,” Toshi laughed.

Izuku rolled his eyes and grabbed Touya’s arm, dragging him out of the base. “Come on, let’s go. We should be able to get there by tomorrow afternoon.”

“What’s the hurry?”

“Believe me, it would only be worse if Sensei is kept waiting.”

“Should I be worried?”

“You? No.”

“And you?”

“Oh, absolutely”

Chapter Text

You can tell me what you want.
Fooled me once and love was lost.
Paper thin your words they haunt my dreams
The seams have come undone.

Don't you dare say I'm gonna make it.
Cause I don't believe a word you say.

– Too Close to Touch

“Eraserhead, Present Mic, and Midnight,” Touya said matter-of-factly as they survey an abandoned area on the way to Numazu, where Momo’s base is located.

“What? No! They were my teachers! That’s just wrong.”

Touya cackled at the pouting Izuku, “All’s fair in Fuck Marry Kill Hero Edition”

“But we’re going to meet with one of them this afternoon.”

“Which one?”

“Not telling,” Izuku pouted.

“Ok, now I have to know the answer. Eraserhead, Present Mic, and Midnight,” Touya repeated.

Glaring, Izuku narrowed his eyes, but watching the sheer delight exuding from Touya eased the tightening in his shoulders and neck from the stressing about the anticipated meeting. Playing along just to keep seeing the lighthearted smile on Touya’s face, he replies, “Fine, but I am probably going to hell for this.” Touya rolled his eyes.

After pondering a few minutes, he responds, “Fuck Eraserhead, marry Present Mic, kill Midnight.”

“Explain”

“Eraserhead is tall, dark, handsome, and has a capture weapon.”

“What does a capture weapon have to do …” Touya’s eyes widen, and he snorts, “You kinky little shit.” Izuku smirks and shrugs his shoulders without responding.

“Continue,” Dabi waved him on.

“Present Mic seems fun and sweet. He would probably do all the little things that go unnoticed, but you deeply appreciate. Totally husband material.”

“Fine, I guess.”

“Midnight was annoying,” Izuku continues without further explanation. Picturing Kacchan at the sports festival and her involvement in that debacle has always pissed him off. That she sacrificed herself during the war did not entirely mitigate her guilt in his eyes. Well, not much. Seeing the dark look on Izuku’s face, Dabi lets it slide, for now. He’ll get the story behind that look sooner or later.

*

Finally, they reached the resistance base near Numazu early in the afternoon. As soon as they entered the maze of corridors that led to the entrance to the base, Izuku spotted a familiar face.

“Hey, listeners!” hailed the blond hero when he noticed them after obviously lying in wait for them.

“Hi, Mic,” Izuku greeted while waiting for the inevitable hug. Yamada Hizashi had become super clingy since the war broke out. Insisting on physical greetings as a way to reassure himself that his former students, friends, and colleagues were ok.

It wasn’t a bad thing. Most of us in the resistance were at least a little touch starved.

“What are you doing here? I thought…” Izuku searched Yamada’s face for answers.

“Mr. Grumpy got caught up in a meeting and wanted me to intercept you before you got inside,” Yamada stated.

“What for?” Izuku said warily.

Looking over to Touya, Yamada said, “Well, he knew who your partner was and…”

“And he was worried that I might compromise the base?” Izuku said with a hard edge to his voice.

“No, no, he trusts your judgment. He just wanted to warn you that Eri was here. We were concerned that she may remember your partner in his previous, uh, association,” Yamada hold up both hands as he explained.

Izuku turned to Touya, “Do you remember ever running into Eri, the little girl that Overhaul was keeping?”

Touya thought for a moment, “I was only in his compound one time, and I don’t recall seeing a little girl. She may have seen me, but I doubt it. Overhaul was cagey about his whole operation.”

“Ok, that’s good, then. Just tread carefully, ok?” Mic was relieved to have avoided that minefield.

“Well, let’s head in. I know Momo is looking forward to sparring with you.”

***

Aizawa Shouta, aka Eraserhead, leaned against a wall in the shadows at the back of the training area, watching the sparring between his problem child, Toua (Dabi!), Momo, and Shoji.

He was annoyed that his call with Nezu delayed him from intercepting Izuku before he entered the base with Touya, but this might turn out for the better. He could watch how the two worked together unnoticed.

When Nezu wrested control of the HPSC, he put Aizawa in charge of the resistance. They’ve both tried to get Izuku under the resistance’s umbrella. However, Izuku had other ideas and remained independent but supportive of the resistance’s goals.

Still, Aizawa made sure that Izuku got as much support as he could provide. Not only was he a pivotal part of the plans to defeat Shigaraki, but he was also one of Aizawa’s kids. He was not going to let any of them down again.

He knew why Izuku wouldn’t fully come on board with the resistance. He was not ready to give up control of his life to anyone, because he doesn’t fully trust us, and Aizawa doesn’t blame him. Too many of us failed him, again and again.

He wished he had paid closer attention when they were at UA, he could have avoided so many of the mistakes he made. Maybe. The problem child was very, very good at hiding his past, his intelligence, and his secrets. For all Izuku’s open and friendly demeanor, he was in reality tight lipped about almost everything of importance.

Midoriya was smart, really smart and his analyses were sharp and insightful. Not quite at Nezu-level, but Aizawa had witnessed him following along with Nezu’s machinations to a frightening degree. He even threw in his own suggestions, which delighted Nezu.

A shudder ran through him as he recalled a specific instance where after uncovering a planned coup by a few former members of the HPSC against Nezu, the two of them decided public humiliation would be more effective than the court system as a deterrent. Although barely legal, it was effective and deeply, deeply petty. Pretty sure they ended up leaving Japan entirely.

Looking back, he realized that while Midoriya was always in the top five in class, his in-class questions and essays indicated he actually had a deeper understanding and was deliberately under-performing to stay off everyone’s radar for his own reasons.

That brought him to how blindsided he was by the emotional intelligence Midoriya possessed. Now that he knew more about Midoriya’s history of quirklessness and gaining a quirk so late in life, some of the pieces slid into place.

In order to navigate a quirk-centered world intent on actively and passively causing him harm, he had to hone one of the few tools that no one could take away from him - his powers of observation. His smiles and generally positive easygoing attitude kept everyone from realizing that he figuratively picked everyone apart in every interaction.

Needless to say, Midoriya’s intelligence and analytical acumen combined with his ability to read people, and his empathy made him a formidable opponent or teammate.  

Watching the sparring, he noticed that even though the two young men were having trouble coordinating attacks they never lost awareness of the other’s location. That was promising for their partnership, if it continued. Their coordination was rough, but practice would smooth out their movements.

As the four shook hands after their spar, Aizawa stepped away from the wall he was settled against, “Problem Child.”

The kid turned toward him like he knew he was there all the time. Damn kid. He probably did.

“Sensei.”

Aizawa noticed Izuku elbowed Touya with a glare when the scarred man let out a sudden bark of laughter upon noticing the hero.

He gave Touya a long look as he wondered what insights Midoriya had regarding Touya. Then he turned on his heel, knowing his problem child would follow.

Entering his office, he settled behind his desk and waited for the kid to arrive while trying to pick through his thoughts and coming to some annoying conclusions.

Midoriya entered the office with a bottle of water nonchalantly plopped down into the chair across from Aizawa. He took a few sips of water before looking up at the older man.

“What’s up, old man?”

Aizawa sighs and pinches his brow in exasperation.

“I remember when you used to be polite and respectful when addressing your teachers.”

“Not my teacher anymore. Plus, you unlocked my tragic backstory, so no need for the façade. You get the unfiltered version,” Midoriya said cheekily.

For all the exertion that went into that spar, Aizawa noticed that Midoriya was surprisingly relaxed. The shadows under his eyes that seemed to become deeper and deeper as time went by appeared lighter than before. His eyes were brighter and more hopeful than he’d seen in a long time.

“You trust him,” Aizawa said finally.

Midoriya raised an eyebrow at that statement. And it was a statement and not a question. He didn’t waste any time before responding.

“And?” Midoriya asked.

God, this kid was going to drive him mad.

“Can you explain it to me? I would like to know why we are potentially putting our operation at risk for a former League member,” Aizawa said.

“Do you not trust me?”

“You know that I do. Just…just for my own sanity, please help me understand,” the exasperation in the older man’s voice was obvious.

Midoriya looked into the tired man’s eye and could see the trust mixed with confusion. He knew he was testing the hero’s patience, but he really hated explaining himself.

“Fine,” he paused to parse together his thoughts.

“You know how I grew up, quirkless, with no support. People pushing me down, reminding me of my place at the bottom.”

“I am aware.” Aizawa was not liking where this was going.

“Well, something happens to you when you have been beat down long enough. You begin to expect it from everyone and start to believe you deserve it. It twists something inside you. You feel lesser, like you are not even human anymore.”

Aizawa nods in understanding.

“When I ran into Touya, he had this look on his face. One that I remember seeing in the mirror for years. A look of someone on the edge of a precipice. Where one bad day can push you over the edge. I got lucky and got pushed in the other direction.”

Noting the seriousness of Izuku’s demeanor, the older man responded, “You think Touya could have been you with the right push.” What a harrowing thought.

“It was a closer thing that I would like to think about too hard,” Izuku said sadly. “Anyway, I just did for him what I wish someone had done for me back then.”

“That still doesn’t explain why we should trust him,” Aizawa argued.

“I truly believe All for One controlled him with a quirk. Ever since we have teamed up, he has had my back. He says he wants to atone for the past and his actions have not wavered from this conviction,” Izuku continued.

“You watched us sparring. Did you see something different?”

“No,” Aizawa responded reluctantly. “Just know, I will be watching.”

Izuku waves his hands lazily in the air, “Whatever helps you sleep at night. Actually, you look like you could use a nap.”

“You’re to blame. I call you problem child for a reason,” he deadpans back.

“We done? Momo is setting us up with a quirked spar next. She said it would be a challenge so, I’m really looking forward to it,” Izuku smiled as he stood up and turned to the door, stretching.

“Yes, carry on.”

Aizawa hesitated for a moment. He promised that he would speak to Izuku about this, but he hated to bring it up when the kid was in such high spirits. He resigned himself to probably pissing the kid off.

“Yagi was asking about you. What should I tell him?” he internally cringed as Izuku froze in the doorway as soon as his question landed. He could almost feel the cloying dread emanating from the kid. He knew this was a bad idea.

“Look, I don’t have to tell…” the hero stopped speaking as Izuku looked over his shoulder at Aizawa. The kid’s eyes were hooded and his mouth opened as if to reply but he shook his head and in the next moment he was gone.

Shit.

Chapter Text

I tear my heart open—I sew myself shut

And my weakness is that I care too much

And our scars remind us that the past is real

Tear my heart open just to feel

– Papa Roach

After his tense meeting with Aizawa, Izuku crept out into the common area, but kept out of sight for the moment to calm himself down before joining the others. He smiled as he watched Touya braiding Yamada’s hair with Eri watching on in fascination. She gently touched an elaborate crown of braids as she bounced on her toes trying to get the best view. Yamada was a little stiff sitting on the couch with Touya at his back and Eri hovering, but her antics kept a smile on his face anyway.

“That’s so pretty. How do you know how to do that?” she said in awe.

“Oh, um, I had a little sister with hair similar to yours. Our mom wasn’t always around, so I filled in when she wasn’t,” Touya said giving her a quick smile before he continued with his braiding.

“He seems at ease with Eri. I wouldn’t have believed he could be so gentle with her,” came Momo’s soft voice from behind Izuku.

Without turning, he nodded, “Sometimes, it’s hard to believe that Touya and Dabi were the same person.” She noticed the soft look on his face as he watched the tableau.

She had been friends with the enigma that was Izuku for a while now, but she didn’t always understand what was going on with him. She didn’t understand why he wouldn’t officially join the resistance or why he was so distant from some of their former classmates or teachers from UA.

She didn’t press him on those issues, knowing that was a surefire way to get him to distance himself from whomever was pressing him. Take, for example, Aizawa. She knew they were close, but the tension in his spine illustrated that Aizawa pushed in their meeting and Izuku didn’t take it well. She hoped that this didn’t cause Izuku to go radio-silent like he has before in similar situations.

Growing up as she did, she understood masks and how they were used for protection and to keep the peace. So, she recognized Izuku’s masks very early on, well before anyone else even noticed. She never said anything about it to him or anyone else, because it wasn’t her business.

Now studying Izuku and how focused he was on Touya and Eri, she could see the mask slip briefly and exposing his deep feelings for the two. After rescuing Eri from the yakuza, the two formed a strong brother-sister bond that remained unbroken. She was sure he would burn the world for her, if needed.

She was shocked to see a similar look cast toward Touya. They had spent weeks together at this point, so the closeness would be expected, but there seemed to be more to it. ‘I wonder if he knows how he feels.’

Mentally shaking herself out of her musings, ‘Not my business, but I am glad he has someone whether he admits it or not.’

Eri clapped when Yamada’s crown of braids was completed. During her revelry, she spotted Izuku.

“Nii-san!”

She scrambled off the couch and launched herself at Izuku, who easily scooped her up and gave her a quick squeeze before putting a little distance with her so he could study her.

“How is my favorite girl? Or are you a princess with the pretty crown?”

Eri reached up and touched her hair, “I’m a princess?”

“Of course, you are, sweetheart. Does that make me a princess, too?” Yamada piped in, grinning.

Eri giggled at his silliness. She settled back in Izuku’s arms and as he joined them on the couch.

She carefully reached for his right hand. She started studying his fingers before pulling on his ring finger. She looked up at him questioningly.

Answering the unasked question, “Yes, love. My finger is still as good as new.” Eri brightened up and then touched his pointer finger.

“Can I…can I try this one? If you want?” she asked hesitantly and ducking her head.

“Of course, you can. Only if you want and your daddies think you are ready,” Izuku responded.

Eri looked up at Yamada with those puppy eyes that no one can say no to.

“Um, what are you all talking about?” Touya had been watching the interplay with a puzzled look before interjecting.

“Oh, It’s Eri’s quirk. She can rewind things to a previous state. She has been helping to fix Izuku’s fingers that were damaged during the Sports Festival. It’s such a blessing,” Momo said with a small smile at Eri.

“It is. I am very lucky that Eri has chosen to share her quirk with me,” Izuku agreed with a warm, reassuring look at Eri.

Eri blinked at Izuku and Momo before turning back to Yamada, “Papa, can I?”

“Well, let’s wait for daddy to join us and we’ll ask him,” Yamada said.

“I’m here. What did you need to ask me?” Aizawa slipped into the room and sat on the opposite couch.

Eri rushed over to him, “I want to try another one of nii-san’s fingers. Can I? Please?”

Aizawa took in the excitement and determination on her face. She was rarely this excited to use her quirk and he was reluctant to curb it. Especially with Izuku involved.

“Ok, but let’s go through the steps first.” After a nod from her, he began to walk her through the process they had worked out together to make sure she kept control.

“Deep breath in for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8,” he said watching closely as she did as he said.

“Again,” he continued.

“Very good, how do you feel?” 

“Steady,” she said as she held out her hands to illustrate.

“Good job, Eri. Now tell me what you want to do?”

“I want to rewind nii-san’s finger to be straight.”

“How far back is it to reach your goal?” he asked.

Izuku answered, “Two years.”

“Good, keep two years in your mind as you activate your quirk, ok?” Aizawa reminded her.

Yamada moved from the couch with Izuku to join his husband and allow Eri to join Izuku and to give them space. Eri sat next to Izuku with his right hand in her left.

“You can do this, Eri. I trust you,” Izuku told her with confidence.

Her red eyes met his green one for reassurance. She must have seen what she needed because she sat straighter.

She reached out with her right hand and allowed her quirk to slowly activate. Her right hand began to glow, and she took one finger and gently ran it from the base of his pointer finger to the tip. She repeated the gesture as his finger began to straighten out. Once it was perfectly straight, she pulled back, took a deep breath and released her quirk.

“Wow,” Touya blurted out breaking the quiet spell around the two.  

Izuku repeatedly bent and straightened his finger before beaming at Eri. “Look, it works perfectly and with no more pain. Thank you so much for sharing your quirk with me.”

He leaned over to give her a hug, which she melted into with a proud smile.

“You know what this means, don’t you?” Izuku said mischievously. Eri tilted her head in confusion.

“My tickle finger is in perfect working order. Now, I just need to try it out,” he said wiggling his finger at her. She dissolved into giggles as he ambushed her.

Izuku was so proud of her. She had come such a long way since wresting her away from Chisaki. Aizawa and Yamada have done a great job providing a safe space for her and giving her the confidence and skills to safely use her quirk.

He gave her one last hug and thanked her again before joining Touya and Momo.

“It’s wonderful to watch her progress. Seeing her use her quirk without fear, it gives me hope,” Momo said.

“I know,” he remembered the shadows that seem to plague her for so long. But now they seem to be lifting.

“Look, there aren’t even any scars,” remarked Izuku holding out his hand to them both. Touya didn’t say anything as he looked at the unblemished finger, but Izuku noticed him unconsciously reach up to touch the scars on his own face.

The scars didn’t bother Izuku any more than his own or Shoto’s large facial scar, but not everyone can live comfortably with visible reminders of trauma. Something to think about for the future.

Momo sensing a change of subject was needed said, “By the way, word of you two is starting to get around.”

“Really? What are they saying?”

“Nothing bad, people have just noticed a new duo on the streets. Actually, you have gained code names from your following.”

Both young men looked surprised at the quick acceptance of them.

“Ok, that’s just weird. What are they calling us?” asked Touya with concern. The public is notorious for weird nicknames.

“Smoke and Ash.”

That was not too bad. They could work with that.

“I get to be Ash,” announced Izuku.

“How does that even make sense?” said an offended Touya.

“It’s funny.”

“No, it isn’t!”

“Fine, whatever.”

Momo rolled her eyes at their antics, “Let’s spar.”

*

Izuku and Touya were sparring with Momo and Amaashi, a vigilante with a water-based quirk, when Amaashi got the upper hand. She had maneuvered a raincloud above the duo, dousing Touya’s flames, which forced them to separate to escape the water-laden cloud. Touya backed away and was now too far to attack the other team with his flames without the cloud dousing them again. Izuku continued to go head-to-head with Momo while Touya dried off enough to spark another fire.

Momo hit Izuku with an uppercut when he was distracted by the sudden absence of his partner. He was thrown back and landed next to Touya, just as his hands erupted in blue flames. Izuku gave him a concerned look when he noticed the blisters forming on the skin under the flames. Touya saw anger spread across Izuku’s face before his eyes turned a glowing red. Immediately, Touya watched the flames on his hands rise up and fly across the field toward Amaashi, who went down hard, and the cloud dissipated.

Izuku quickly finished the spar while Touya remained frozen in place. ‘What the hell was that? I wasn’t even trying to shoot fireballs yet,’ thought a panicking Touya. He caught Izuku’s eyes across the sparring field. Izuku gave a slight shake of the head as he finished up thanking Momo and Amaashi for the spar.

As Izuku approached, he could see the conflict on his face. Touya opened his mouth to demand answers when Izuku gripped his arm and led him away. Izuku whispered, “Not here.”

Once they got back to the day’s hideout, Izuku let go of his arm and fell face-first onto the couch in the abandoned house.

“What the hell was that?” Touya demanded standing over Izuku with arms crossed. He could hear the other grumbling into the cushions, but nothing intelligible.

Touya kicked the couch in frustration, “I want answers. That wasn’t me who flung the fire at Amaashi.”

A deep sigh was heard from the couch before Izuku flipped over and sat up. He hunched over with his head in his hands, “It was me. I did it.”

“How? I know your quirk is weird, but as far as I know, pyrokinesis isn’t part of it.” Touya glared at the clearly anxious man on the couch. “Tell me what the hell is going on!”

He watched as Izuku took a couple of deep breaths and straightened up. Izuku looked up at Touya and seemed to be considering something. He must have found what he was looking for because he got this determined look in his eyes and patted the couch next to him, “Have a seat, and I will tell you what I know.”

Izuku was ready to tell Touya everything. He trusted him. It was scary because he trusted very few people.

“Remember when you were telling me about breaking away from the League? That feeling of clarity? Well, something similar happened to me at that same time. It was a little different in that it was like a spark ignited inside me. I had heard that was how some of the people who were previously thought quirkless felt when their quirks came back after AFO’s death,” he paused making sure Touya was following.

At his nod, Izuku continued, “You know how I got [One for All]?”

“Yeah, Shigaraki wouldn’t shut up about All Might giving you his quirk. Went on and on about how he was going to kill you because you were All Might’s successor and as All for One’s successor, he had a duty to do it,” grumbled Touya.

“Well, before I got [One for All] I was quirkless. I saw a doctor, Doctor Tsubasa, when I was 4 who told me that I would never have a quirk. It turned out the Doctor Tsubasa was actually Doctor Garaki,” Izuku continued.

“Wait. All for One’s right-hand man, Doctor Garaki?” Izuku nodded in confirmation.

“Apparently, All for One stole my quirk when I was just a kid after being alerted to it by the doctor,” said Izuku.

“Damn, what a piece of shit to do that to a kid,” Touya said as he absorbed the ramifications of the boogeyman stalking kids to get “useful” quirks for his own use and leaving the kids with nothing but devastation. Because he had seen quirkless kids while he was a villain. Kids with nothing to lose because society didn’t want them. They often turned to villainy when they had no other options.

“So, what were your parents quirk, then, for you to get pyrokinesis?”

“My mom had a mild telekinetic quirk…” he paused thinking about what Touya just said. Didn’t he know who Izuku’s father was? Shigaraki called him “little brother” during the battle of Jaku. Initially, he thought Shigaraki was just trying to shake him up so he would make a mistake, but he had Nezu run a DNA test from samples collected while the villain was in Tartarus and it confirmed that All for One was his biological father. Shiggy seemed confident in his knowledge at Jaku, so, why wouldn’t he tell the rest of the League?

“Your dad must have had a fire quirk of some sort then,” Touya said, filling in the silence when Izuku trailed off.

The green-eyed man was startled from his thoughts. He gulped nervously and just agreed to the story he was told as a kid, “Uh, yeah. My mom told me his quirk was called [Fire Breath].”

“Huh, okay? But why would you hide it from everyone?” Touya questioned.

Izuku scrambled for an answer.

The truth? Nope, not ready to pick at that scab today.

A lie? Maybe not a lie, but deflection might work.

He put on his best shit-eating grin, “It never came up?”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I forgot?”

“That’s…How do you forget a whole ass quirk?”

“It’s the trauma.”

Piercing blue eyes gave him a long lingering look before, “Fine, whatever. Tell me or not, I don’t care.”

He did care but it had been a long day with way too many emotions and he was exhausted.

He changed tactics with, “At least we have a new weapon in our arsenal, one that Shigaraki won’t expect.”

He watched as Izuku’s eyes sparked with ideas and he began a long ramble on how their quirks could be used in tandem to take down enemies faster and more efficiently. He enjoyed it when the other got wrapped up in something he was so passionate about.

Izuku was so bubbly and bright with a smile that could light up the world. ‘What in the world was this lit bit of sunshine doing with him? To him?’

Finally, Touya had to look away from the other man before he did or said something stupid and ruined the best thing that had ever happened to him.

*

“Daddy! You’re home!” little Izuku shouted and launched himself across the room as Hisashi Midoriya walked into their apartment after being away for two days on a short business trip.

“Hey, kid. Have you been good for your uncle while mommy and daddy have been away?” Hisashi ruffled through green fluffy curls.

“Yes, daddy. Hurry, Uncle Hoshi is going to show me his quirk,” Izuku said with his little hands tugging on his father’s pants.

His father chuckled and let the boy lead him to the living room where Inko’s brother greeted him.

“Welcome home, Hisashi. I’m glad to see you back in good health. It has been a pleasure to watch over Izuku these last few days, but I forgot how much energy four-year-olds have.”

“Thank you again for watching him on such short notice. Inko had this girl’s trip planned for a while and she would have been disappointed to have cut it short because of a business emergency on my end. Anyway, she will be back tomorrow, so we should be fine on our own until then.”

“Uncle Hoshi!” begged Izuku, indignant at being ignored.

“Ok, ok, little sprout. Are you ready?”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

Izuku watched starry-eyed as Hoshi started floating and then appeared to be walking on invisible platforms, getting higher and higher until his head almost touched the ceiling.

“That’s so cool! What do you call it?”

“Air Walk.”

“I hope my quirk is as cool as yours when it comes in.”

“I’m sure if you wish really hard, your quirk will be just as cool,” said Uncle Hoshi as he started walking down the invisible platforms.

Before he could reach the bottom, Hoshi stumbled as if he had missed the last step and fell to the floor.

While Hisashi was helping Hoshi off the floor, they missed Izuku rising up with his eyes tightly closed as if wishing on a star.

“Daddy! Look! I’m floating!”

*

The memory came back to Izuku soon after his quirk returned at All for One’s death. He never saw Uncle Hoshi again after that day. All for One must have gotten rid of him and wiped Izuku’s memory of his quirk awakening.,

He wasn’t sure what happened with his quirk but based on All for One’s inability to take [One for All] by force, he theorized that his quirk was too closely related to [All for One] to be taken but it still could be suppressed somehow.

Now, wide-eyed and wrestling his thoughts in the dark with Touya sleeping next to him, he wondered.

‘What would Touya think if he told him he was never quirkless and instead had a stronger version of [All for One].’

Chapter Text

Welcome to the wild, no heroes and villains

Welcome to the war, we’ve only begun, so

Pick up your weapon and face it

There’s blood on the crown, go and take it

You get one shot to make it out alive, so

Higher and higher you chase it

It’s deep in your bones, go and take it

This is your moment, now is your time, so

Prove yourself and rise, rise

– The Word Alive

A few weeks later, they headed back to Shinso and Koda’s base for supplies. Izuku was grinning like the cat that ate the cream. Worse, his muttering was suspiciously absent. He only did that when he was actively trying to keep his thoughts to himself. Usually, he didn’t bother censoring himself around Touya.

Touya glared at him with narrowed eyes as they walked along the deserted sidewalk near the base, “What is up with you?”

“Nothing!” Green eyes widened in fake innocence, but he could still tell he was hiding something.

“You’re up to something; I can feel it.”

“Nope! Not me! Race you to the entrance!” As Izuku shot off toward the base, Touya picked up his pace even though he knew he had already lost.

When he finally caught up, Izuku latched onto his wrist and dragged him down the winding corridors. Emerging into the common area of the base, Izuku let him go and raced toward Mei’s domain, “I’ll be right back,” he shouted over his shoulder.

‘Well, I’ve lost him now.’

No one was in the lounge area and the kitchen was deserted, too. Satisfied that he was alone for the moment, Touya plopped on the couch, leaned back, and closed his eyes to rest before the drama unfolded. And from what he’d heard, there was always drama when those two plotted together.

He could feel a smile trying to slide on his face as he listened to squeals and shrieks coming from behind the pile of machinery marking the edge of Mei’s workshop. Whatever they had been up to the last few weeks had lit a fire in Izuku that was hard to look away from. Not that he tried to look away.

His hand rubbed his closed eyes in a futile attempt to push back unwelcome thoughts, ‘Ugh, feelings. Not the time.’

He hadn’t realized how far his mind wandered until he was startled to attention by the couch shifting as someone sat down, “Smoke and Ash, huh?”

He rolled his head over on the top of the couch to find Shinsou sipping a cup of coffee and shrugged, “I’ve heard worse.”

Shinsou started to respond when an explosion went off behind the pile. They both jumped up and rushed around the pile to check on the damage.

They found Izuku standing on a table holding a welding torch above his head as Mei tried to climb him like a tree.

“No, bad Mei Mei!” he scolded her as he deftly kept her away from the object of her desire and the probable cause of the explosion.

“But, but…” she pouted.

“No, you are in timeout.”

Hitoshi ran over, scooped her off the table, and set her on the floor. Placing his hands on her shoulders to keep her attention, he said exasperatedly, “What’s rule number one?”

“No explosions in the base,” chirped Mei unrepentantly.

“And what did you do?”

“Created an explosion in the base,” seeing the stern look on his face, she sighed dramatically before sagging.

“I tried but…Izuku’s here, and you know how it is. I get excited by all our new ideas and then things just go boom,” she said forlornly, looking down at her shoes.

“I know, but it’s for the safety of our hidden base. You know loud noises like that can attract the wrong kind of attention.” Hitoshi was frustrated by her actions but couldn't stand the dejected look on her face, knowing she was so excited to show Izuku her latest creations.

He crouched down so he could look up at her and catch her eyes. “Look, I’ll take you to that old smash room place later this week and you can blow as much stuff up as you want,” he said softly.

“Really?” Mei’s voice was hopeful and excited.

Hitoshi nodded with a small smile, “As long as you promise, no more explosions at the base.”

“I promise, no more explosions at the base,” she repeated brightly.

They both grinned at each other for a long moment. Maybe too long.

“What is happening?” Touya loudly whispered to Izuku while watching the other two, who appeared to be unable to tear their gazes away from each other.

“I think we both know, and I am living for it,” he responded gleefully with a devious smirk.

A shutter click caused Izuku to whip around to see a satisfied Touya holding up his phone, capturing the moment between the other two.

“Did you just take a photo of them?” Izuku said with a scandalized gasp.

“Of course, I know blackmail material when I see it.”

“Quick, send it to me. I need it for my collection.”

The sound of the photo being taken seemed to shake Hitoshi out of his trance. A blush was rising up his neck, when he finally seemed to be aware that there were others in the room.

He stood up and ushered Mei back to the other two with a gentle hand on her back. He flushed even more when he noticed Izuku was almost bursting with delight at the circumstances.

“Shut,” he glared at his friend.

“For now,” he agreed quickly, but they all knew he wasn’t going to let this go easily.

Hitoshi dragged his hand down his face, “Mei, didn’t you have something special to give to Izuku?”

“Oh, yeah!” Mei raced off to a corner and came back with two silver cases. She handed one to Touya and the other to a confused Izuku.

“Wait, what is this? We only discussed gear for Touya,” Izuku lifted the case in his hand and waved it at the inventor.

The derisive look she gave his current costume was blatant. At its base, his outfit was his old hero costume, but it was almost unrecognizable due to the multitude of repairs, patches, and replacements that had been hurriedly made, plus a hodgepodge of additional gear collected over the last several months.

“You have been fighting me since the beginning about making changes to that abomination I have been forced to repair and rework for months. Now that you have an official partner, I made you something more suitable,” Mei said challengingly.

The green-eyed man just gaped at her, “But it's only been a couple of weeks. How did you have time to get anything done?”

“Like I haven’t been working on it since I arrived at this base. Just go try it on. You’re gonna love it.”

“Ok,” said a stunned Izuku.

He headed off to change before he remembered Touya. He circled back once again, grabbing his arm and dragging an unresisting Touya with him to the locker room.

Once inside the locker room, Touya shook Izuku off. “Was this what you were so excited about earlier today?”

“Yes, I talked to Mei when we were here before about getting you some gear. Better protection and some insulation for your skin, so you don’t keep burning yourself. I was not expecting her to outfit me also, although I should have seen this coming,” he said distractedly as he started to open the case.

“Like a hero suit? I am not a hero, and I am not going to play one for the public,” Izuku looked up at Touya’s dark and clipped tone to see him glaring.

“I’m not a hero either. I mean, if anything, we’re vigilantes,” Izuku tried to placate him. He knew that heroes were a sore spot for the former villain. And being set up to emulate a hero was not going over well.

“With Hero Commission gear? What kind of vigilante has that?”

“Hero-commission-sanctioned vigilantes,” Izuku cringed, because that actually sounded worse. Even though Nezu was now heading the commission, it still had a shady reputation. Being linked to the commission did not give anyone the warm fuzzies.

“Look, Nezu owed me a favor and while I know you can take care of yourself, and what you currently have is fine for occasional fighting, you needed something better, and he agreed to help. We have been going after nomu and rogue villains almost daily and it’s only going to get worse the closer to the endgame we get. You needed something that could hold up to heavy wear and abuse. I don’t want either of us to get sidelined by injuries. Mei is the best. I’m sure that whatever is in these cases can handle anything we get into,” Izuku said to his stony-faced companion.

Touya knew the other man was right, but it seemed like he was deceiving everyone. Him, in a high-tech suit meant for heroes. Ugh.

“Are you mad?” Izuku asked quietly. Touya noticed the other man hunching his shoulders and start tearing up, thinking he’d overstepped.

‘Oh, hell no, not the tears.’ He has no defense to that. He had only experienced that a few times, and he always felt like he kicked a puppy.  

“I’m not mad. Shocked, maybe,” he gave in to that part of him that couldn’t stand to see Izuku’s light dimmed. He was pleased as the nervous look seemed to pass, and the tears didn’t fall.

“I better look cool, though.”

“I said Mei was the best, not a miracle worker.”

A tattered jacket smacked green curls to the sound of snickering.

*

 A low whistle came from Hitoshi as they came out of the locker room. Mei bounded over to them so she could check over how everything fit.

Izuku had a dark gray one-piece suit with lighter patches of gray like shadows. The subtle shades would make him harder to spot while working at night. The suit was made of a fire-resistant material with built-in armor. There was a myriad of pockets built into the suit to carry various gear and necessities. A black gasmask with red trim hung around his neck. He had black fingerless gloves trimmed in red that extended up to his elbows. The gloves had bracers like his old gauntlets to support his joints against quirk use. His boots were a muted dark red and also reinforced with bracers. He carried a dark gray backpack matching his suit that he could carry his travel necessities in.

Touya was outfitted with a suit of similar material and armature but was a lighter color. His suit consisted of cargo-style pants and a long-sleeved tight shirt. He also wore a long duster jacket in a darker gray which had pockets for all his necessities. He had dark blue combat boots and a gasmask like Izuku’s. He also wore full coverage gloves.

“You guys look awesome. How does it fit? I played up the whole Smoke and Ash aesthetic so you would look like a team,” she chattered while poking and tugging on them both.

“It feels good, comfortable. It fits better than my old suit,” Izuku endured the prodding from the excited inventor.

“I included all the same support system you had before but beefed it up. I added more armor and a better mask. I kept the red shoes because I know how you are but muted the color for stealth,” Mei ran down the basics of the new gear.

Mei turned to Touya, “And you? I kept your whole emo thing going but with better style and protective everything.”

“Emo?” He squinted his eyes at her disdainfully.

“Please, long duster, all black clothes. It screams unresolved angsty misunderstood childhood,” Hitoshi smirked from the sidelines.

“Rude.” He’s not wrong. But still, rude.

“Your suit is fireproof, and the material is designed to pull the heat and flames away from your skin to the surface of the fabric, so you don’t burn yourself anymore. It also had built-in armor and shock absorbers in the shoes,” Mei gave him a synopsis of his gear and suit.

“I included some fun babies in your backpacks, like com gear and flash bangs. You can go through that later. You need to put the suits through their paces first in case they need any last-minute adjustments,” she said as she pushed the two toward the sparring mats.

“Quirkless sparring, please. No using that bullshit quirk of yours in my base,” Shinsou growled out as he glared in an attempt to channel Aizawa.

After an intense round or two of sparring, they both found no issues with the suits or gear.

While Mei pulled Touya aside so she could make sure the fabric of his suit would perform as needed with his quirk, Izuku started repacking all his stuff in his new backpack.

Hitoshi slipped over to while he was packing and said, “The suits look good on you guys.” The suspiciously nice comment from his eternally snarky friend caused Izuku to eye him suspiciously.

“Ash seemed to like how tight it is considering he couldn’t take his eyes off your ass when he followed you out,” Hitoshi teased.

“What? No, he didn’t”

“Did too.”

“Did not.”

“Come on, I know you. You’ve noticed the way he looks at you,” Hitoshi retorted.

“Shh,” Izuku glanced over at the others to make sure no one could overhear them. “I am aware there is something going on, but it’s weird to have it directed at me. I don’t know how to handle these types of situations. I barely know how to work friends.”

An exasperated Hitoshi said, “Just talk to him. It can’t be that hard.”

“Excuse me, Mr. It-took-an-explosion-to-ask-my-crush-on-a-date,” shot back an incredulous Izuku.

Hitoshi sputtered in response while the other man finished packing. Izuku continued, “Besides, I’m sure it’ll pass.”

“And if it doesn’t?” asked Hitoshi finally managing to get himself under control after being called out.

“In case you haven’t noticed, we are in a war right now and figuring out our feelings, if there even are any, is not a high priority. I need to focus on getting rid of Shiggy.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll let it go. Go out there and kick some ass.”

Izuku gave him a quick hug, “You know I will.”

The others were wrapping up their discussion heading over to them.

“You ready?” he said to Touya.

“Yep,” the other agreed, gathering up his own gear.

As they were heading out, Izuku turned around and shouted, “Mei, let me know how your date goes.”

“Okay!”

“No!”

He chuckled as they both responded in tandem.

They finally made their way out of the base when Touya stopped as he finally got a glimpse of himself in a large plate-glass window fronting a somehow still-functioning café.

He was stunned at how sleek and professional he looked and felt in his new attire. His back seemed straighter, and he held himself with more confidence than he’d felt in a long time. In another life, this could have been his hero costume.

Izuku had continued walking until he noticed Touya frozen in front of the window. He backtracked to see what the holdup was. As he came to rest next to the other man and saw them side-by-side, he felt something stir in his chest.  They looked good. Better than good. They looked like they could take on anything and win.

“We really do look like a team, don’t we?” muttered Izuku.

“Smoke and Ash,” Touya agreed.

*

“I still think I should be Ash.”

“Shut up.”

Chapter Text

Don't give up now
There's already so much at stake
If Atlas falls
I'll rise up and carry us all the way
It won't pull me down (Moving forward now)
The weight of impossible days (Keep your head above the clouds)
I'll stand tall (I'm right with you, I will lift you, just hold on)
I'll rise up and carry us all the way

– Shinedown

Three Months Before The End

Blood.

So much blood.

He could feel the warm liquid slipping through his fingers as he ran.

He looked down at the unconscious man in his arms and clenched him tighter. His face was paler, the more blood he lost. He needed to find a safe place to stop somewhere briefly to staunch the bleeding before the other man bled out. But he could hear the nomu’s pounding feet behind him gaining ground. He picks up his pace to an all-out sprint.

‘I can’t keep this up for long, I need to find a bolthole,’ he thought to himself, his eyes darting around to find somewhere safe. He searched frantically for somewhere to duck into to lose the nomu, even if just for a few minutes to employ some first aid.

His breathing was getting erratic as he started to panic. ‘I can’t lose him. I need to save him.’

He spotted an alley connecting to the street he was running down and if he remembered correctly, it led to a warren of alleys and dilapidated buildings where he could hide for a moment.

He plunged into the alley, keeping to the shadows as best he could. He could still hear the nomu, but he was right, the alley opened up into an old section of the town with dozens of smaller run-down residences. The run-down houses wouldn’t stand up to a nomu attack but should be sufficient cover to keep them out of the line of fire for a short time.

He zigzagged between several houses until he couldn’t hear the nomu anymore. Picking a random house, he slipped inside. He headed deeper into the house until he found a room with no windows to remain hidden from the nomu while he worked.

He gently set the other man down and pulled out his first aid kit. The bleeding coming from wounds on the other’s shoulder had largely stopped, so he quickly cleaned and wrapped them.

Moving on to the next area, he carefully pulled off the torn glove stuffing it in a pocket and pushed up the sleeve. The other’s arm was missing a chunk of flesh out of his bicep and a finger was missing. This was the one that worried him most because it was still bleeding freely.

‘Ok, ok, you can do this,’ he said to himself as he tried to calm down. He cleaned it the best he could with his field kit and wrapped the arm and hand to minimize the blood loss. ‘That’s the best I can do for now until we get somewhere safer.’

He startled when he heard the nomu roar. ‘Damn, he was still too close.’ He hurriedly wrapped the other in shock blanket he kept stashed in his kit and once again gathered the other man in his arms.

He slipped through the house, this time checking the windows for any telltale signs of the nomu. Once he spotted the creature moving away from the house he was currently in, he waited until he felt sure that the nomu was far enough away, before slipping out of the house and running in the opposite direction.

It took three hours and multiple stops to rest and check on his patient before he finally found the safehouse.

He collapsed onto the bed still holding the other man in his arms. They were shaking from carrying the other man for so long. A few minutes later, he released the still unconscious man and rolled him onto the bed. He found a large fully-stocked first aid kit in the bathroom and dragged it back to the bedroom.

Taking stock of the other man, Touya noticed blood matting green curls to Izuku’s forehead. From his earlier examination, he knew it was from a shallow cut near his right temple. He noticed the area was swollen probably from when he was thrown through the wall earlier. ‘That’s probably what caused the concussion.’

He started to clean the blood off Izuku’s face so he could treat the wound. Swiping the blood off Izuku’s face, he couldn’t find where the cut had been. Just some dried blood and a swollen knot on his forehead. ‘It must have been a thin cut that already sealed up.’ He disinfected the area anyway.

He removed the upper part of Izuku’s suit looking for any other damage needing to be treated leaving his shoulder, arm, and hand for last.

Finding nothing else on Izuku’s upper body, he removed the rest of Izuku’s gear. It was unusual to not find even superficial scratches or bruises after an encounter with a nomu, especially one as brutal as tonight’s.

Needing another minute before he dealt with the larger wounds, he took the time to take care of his own damage. Fortunately for him, he came out relatively unscathed. Just minor scratches and a couple of nasty bruises.

‘I can’t put this off anymore,’ he thought, taking a deep shaky breath before unwinding the bandages around Izuku’s arm and hand.

As he pulled the last of the bandages away, he froze, trying but failing to understand what he was seeing.

“What the hell!” flew from Touya’s mouth followed by a long string of expletives none of which roused Izuku.

Shaking fingers reached for the bandages around Izuku’s shoulder. Once they were removed, Touya just stared at the unmarred skin where earlier there were deep claw marks. His gaze switched back to Izuku’s hand where all five fingers were on display and the fully intact arm.

‘I am not crazy. I know what I saw during that fight. I know what wounds I patched up.’

Izuku groaned and shifted but didn’t appear to be waking up anytime soon. Touya’s brows pinched as he stared at Izuku in confusion.

They had had a long discussion about [One for All] and all the quirks contained within it so that they could work together as seamlessly as possible. But Izuku never mentioned anything about a healing quirk. So, what exactly was going on?

“What secrets are you keeping?” He glared at the green-haired man. Something fishy was going on and he would get his answers as soon as the other one woke up.

He finished cleaning up Izuku as best he could and dressed him in comfortable clothes. After showering and changing himself, Touya flopped down on the bed next to Izuku and stared up at the ceiling, trying to piece together everything that happened tonight.

As his brain was throbbing from all the drama-filled day, the adrenaline crash finally hit him and he fell into an uneasy sleep.

Touya’s head was still pounding when he woke up the next morning. He remembered waking multiple times during the night to check on Izuku before crashing out again.

Pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes, he tried to chase the headache away. He heard a groan from beside him and lowered his hands to glare blearily at Izuku.

“Ash?” Izuku grumbled with his eyes still closed.

Touya grunted in response, not trusting his words yet.

“What happened? Where are we?” green eyes peaked out from slightly parted lashes.

Forcing himself up to a sitting position, Touya replied, “Safe house. What do you remember from yesterday? No, wait. First, how are you feeling? I am sure you have a nasty headache from that concussion.”

“Concussion? Yeah, that tracks. I remember hitting a wall at some point. The rest is a bit blurry.”

“Let me grab an ice pack for you and some pain killers for my headache.” Touya shuffled off and returned with two glasses of water and an ice pack. He passed Izuku the ice pack and water while tossing two tablets into his mouth as he washing them down with his water.

“None for me?”

“No, dumbass. Concussion, remember?”

Izuku pouted and nodded sadly, “Fine.”

Izuku noticed that Touya’s demeanor was tense, and he was sitting rigidly on the bed with a blank look on his face. Clearly, he was disturbed by something and trying to hide it.

“Ok, so what happened yesterday?”

“What is the last thing you remember?”

“We joined up with some resistance members to take down a small nomu nest. I am assuming it didn’t go well if I am here and you look pissed,” Izuku responded, his brow furrowed in trying to remember.

Touya sighed and began the tale, “The nest we found had five tanks, three of which were still sealed. The other two had just gotten loose but we managed to dispatch them between us and the four resistance members. Once those two were down, the others entered the warehouse to take care of the ones in the tanks while you and I cleaned up and kept watch. I had just finished burning up the two outside, when a sixth nomu came out of the shadows from behind of the warehouse and grabbed you.”

“It was some sort of tiger hybrid. It dug its claws into your shoulder and bit down on your arm. You punched it with your other hand, and it let go of your arm taking a chunk of it with it. You tried to punch it again and it latched onto your hand and swung you into and through a wall. I snuck up on it while you were fighting and set it on fire before it could chase you down.”

“Before I could track you down, you staggered back through the wall blood streaming from a head wound in addition to the other damage.”

“Then you proceeded to pass out after insisting you were fine,” Touya said exasperatedly as Izuku rolled his eyes.

“Unfortunately, another nomu must have caught our scent, because the next thing I know, I am running for our lives from number seven and carrying your heavy ass. I finally lost it and made it to the safe house.”

The next thing Touya knew, Izuku launched himself at the other man who found himself being squeezed to death.

“Thank you so so much for saving me and taking care of me,” a watery voice said in his ear. Touya sighed into the hug and wrapped his arms around the green-eyed man. They stayed like that for a few minutes just relishing the feeling of safety they found in each other.

Touya could feel Izuku flexing his arms and shoulders and wondered how long it would take the other to realize… Izuku gasped and pulled back, staring wide-eyed at Touya.

‘There it is. Now, maybe I’ll get some answers.’

“Did you say the nomu bit a chunk out of my arm?”

“Yes, and ripped off a finger.”

Izuku shuffled around until his arms were out in front of him. Examining his arms and hands with a puzzled look, he asked, “Where? Everything looks fine and I don’t feel any pain except my head.”

“That’s what I want to know. I stopped at one point to bandage you up because you were bleeding all over me and you definitely were wounded then. When we got here, the only evidence of our fight is the knot on your head,” said Touya carefully watching Izuku for his reaction.

“Are you sure I was wounded? You know, the heat of battle can make you…” Izuku trailed off as Touya pulled up his bloody suit with gaping holes in the exact location Touya described.

“I don’t understand,” Izuku muttered.

“Yeah, me neither,” Touya agreed and then continued, “Do you remember anything weird happening last night?”

“Not really. I remember you and I took care of one of the nomu while the resistance dealt with the other. I remember them leaving us to clean up and guard while they handled the interior. Then, it gets blurry.”

“I vaguely remember pulling something toward me, like when I use [Blackwhip]. I don’t remember using it on either of the nomu our group encountered. Did I use [Blackwhip] on the tiger nomu?”

“No, you didn’t use it at all last night.”

‘If Touya said I didn’t use [Blackwhip], then why do I remember pulling something. None of my other quirks feel like that. Why did that pulling sensation feel familiar?’

Hearing the soft muttering coming from Izuku, Touya could tell Izuku was lost in his thoughts trying to figure out what happened. He left him to his mutter storm and went to make them both some breakfast.

When he came back into the bedroom half an hour later to fetch Izuku, he found vacant green eyes staring at his left arm and a bloody knife held in his right. Drying blood covered the sheets in front of the man.

Touya snatched the knife out of Izuku’s hand yelling, “What the hell are you doing?”

The vacant look in Izuku’s eyes transformed to watery tears as he looked up at Touya and with a shaky voice said “Experimenting?”

“What did you do?” Touya demanded nervously.

“I may have cut myself a few times to see if I healed.”

“Are you stupid? And what do you mean a few times?”

“Well, I wanted to be sure. Look, no damage.”

Touya examined the outstretched arm and found nothing but freckles. No cuts, no bruises, nothing.

“Okay, okay,” Touya was muttering to himself. “Never do that again,” he said out loud.

Looking back into scared green eyes, Touya asked, “What does this mean? Do you now have a healing quirk? Or is this the effect of someone else’s quirk?”

Izuku ducked his head and mumbled so softly Touya couldn’t understand him.

“What? Izuku, come on, you’re scaring me.”

“Both. It’s both.” Izuku’s voice was strained like it hurt him to say the words out loud.

“Both? What does that even mean? So, you have a healing quirk, but it also someone else’s?”

“Um, yes.”

“Explain,” Touya demanded.

Izuku stood up and started pacing as he spoke, “You remember when we talked about how we knew All for One was dead because we both felt that snap within? You breaking out of his quirk and mine being released?”

At his nod, Izuku continued, “We talked about how where my quirk came from. You know, my mom having a minor telekinesis quirk.”

“And your dad having some fire quirk. I remember,” Touya interrupted in frustration.

Izuku began tugging on his curls as his agitation increased, “About that. My father did not have a fire quirk.”

“Then, what? What does this have to do with anything?” Touya was getting more confused by the second.

Whipping back to Touya, Izuku asked, “Where were you when I was fighting Shigaraki in Jaku?”

“What does that matter?” he grumbled. Seeing the distressed look on the other’s face, he relented, “Ugh, fine. I think I was fighting with Hawks somewhere.”

Izuku stopped his pacing as he tipped his head back and squinted at the ceiling deep in thought, “Right. That’s right. So, you couldn’t have heard what Shigaraki said.”

“What did he say and what does that have to do with anything?”

“He called me ‘little brother,’” Izuku said with trepidation, watching Touya for his reaction. All he saw was confusion and frustration.

“Why would he call you that? That doesn’t even make sense. I thought Shiggy killed his father, so how could you be brothers?” Izuku could see him putting the pieces together.

“Unless All for One was your father somehow. Up until the end he treated Shiggy almost like his kid, so I guess Shiggy might have considered All for One his dad. If you were actually All for One’s kid, then Shiggy calling you ‘little brother’ might make sense.”

“Yeah,” Izuku slumped down on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his knees and stared at the floor. Touya couldn’t stand how sad and broken he looked. Then he remembered where this whole conversation started and put all the pieces together.

“Oh,” he said flatly into the silence of the apartment.

After a few minutes of oppressive silence, Izuku spoke, “So, that’s all you have to say ‘Oh’?"

He sounded like he was just barely holding back tears. Touya thought about how horrifying it must have been to find out your worst enemy was actually your father.

Oh, how could relate to that. He snorted at the thought.

He noticed Izuku side-eying him with a look of irritation.

“I was just trying to figure out which of us is winning the daddy issues contest.”

Izuku’s mouth dropped open in shock, “What. Is. Wrong. With. You.” Each word said separately and deliberately with as much exasperation as he could manage.

“It’s the trauma,” Touya said with a deadpan expression, Izuku couldn’t help but snort back at him.

Touya sat down next to Izuku then fell onto his back on the bed. Izuku lay back so they were side by side staring at the ceiling.

Quietly, almost whispering, Izuku told Touya of recovering the memory of taking his uncle’s quirk when he was four. He explained the pulling sensation he felt last night was the same he felt when he took his uncle quirk. How he must have pulled a regeneration quirk of some sort from last night’s nomu.

“So, you don’t have to touch someone to take their quirk?”

“No, I guess I do have a combination of my parents’ quirks.” Izuku cringed as he spoke that truth out loud for the first time.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

Izuku hesitated before saying, “Would you want to be associated with the Boogeyman? Or his quirk? I don’t want people to hate or fear me.”

That was a valid point. All for One was a terrifying person and any relation of his would be vilified.

“Who all knows about this?”

“Me,” he paused looking over at his partner, “And you.”

“No one else? Not Nezu or Shinsou?” Izuku shook his head.

“They can’t know. No one can. I can’t risk it. If someone were to find out, they could use it against me. Unlike All for One, I have things, people to lose,” he stared beseechingly at Touya, hoping he would understand.

While Touya was pleased that he knew something about Izuku that his favorite people didn’t, he could feel the weight of the secret settling in him. He would never betray Izuku, but it needed to be said aloud, “I won’t tell anyone.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Thank you,” Izuku’s voice was soft with relief.

*

Later as they were washing up after breakfast and preparing to move on, Touya asked, “What are you going to do about [Borrow]?”

(They decided the quirk needed a name, but a more innocuous sounding one because as Izuku said in a huff, “I am not calling it something nefarious and be reminded of my sperm donor every single time.” [Borrow] was chosen because Izuku swore he would never keep a quirk from its rightful owner if he had a choice; therefore, it was only borrowed.)

“I’m not going to do anything with it for now.”

“Why not?”

“Because quirks that don’t belong to you are haunted,” he said matter-of-factly, “and I have enough ghosts in my head right now.”

“Excuse me? Haunted?”

“Oh, did I not tell you that part?”

**

As they gathered up their gear and put on their suits with Izuku pouting over the tears, Touya found the glove he pulled off Izuku during his race across the city in his pocket. Pulling it out, he noticed it felt lumpy and stiff.

Eyes widening, he threw it at Izuku, who squawked when it hit him in the chest.

“Found your finger.”

Chapter Text

If you can find a way to be
Something more
More than bored

And find a way to comfort me
So, I’m more
More than bored

This is my life
Take your chance at
The ending that you want
Take anything you need

-Return to Dust

Two Months Before The End

Touya was bored. Dramatically so.

He was lying on the living room floor in an abandoned apartment and grimacing at the spiderwebs on the ceiling. Why? Because the gods hate him. He sighed loudly hoping to elicit a response from Izuku, who was sitting on the adjacent couch typing rapidly on his phone and clutching his ever-present notebook.

Nothing, not even an eyeroll.

Based on the slightly maniacal grin on Izuku’s face, he must be plotting with Nezu again. Hopefully, putting the finishing touches on their end game. They were now in the final phase before the showdown with Shigaraki. The beginning phases included eliminating the doctor to halt the creation of nomu, then finding and eliminating the remaining nomu nests in northern Japan, while thinning but not eliminating the nests in southern Japan. This was to force Shigaraki to concentrate on southern Japan but not make him suspicious about the end game, which was to trap him in a confrontation with their best forces.

Nezu and his council of war (of which Izuku was an unofficial member) had decided that since Izuku was the main focus of Shigaraki’s ire that he would be bait for the trap. But they couldn’t be obvious about it, so Touya and Izuku had sporadically started to hold up in certain locations for longer than 24 hours. First, to make sure that they could still draw him out with Izuku as bait. Second, to make Shiggy think that Izuku was failing under the pressure and finally running out of steam. They were sure that this would allow them to force Shiggy to the fight on their terms.

Today was one of the days Izuku and Touya were told to stay put for at least 24 hours, to see what reaction they would receive. This wasn’t the first time or even the third time they had been through this, so they knew pretty much what to expect. Nothing for at least 20 hours, then a handful of nomu would show up. They would take down the nomu and retreat to a secondary safe house at least a couple of hours away to regroup.

But waiting was boring. Sure, the two of them got along great by themselves. They mostly just talked, read, or played games, but Izuku was busy right now and there weren’t any good games to be found in the apartment.

‘Ugh. Fine. I’ll go see if there is any decent food here.’

He got no response as he loudly got to his feet. Like the brat he was, he stomped into the kitchen and began rifling through the cabinets. While he was not expecting much, he was pleasantly surprised by the contents of one particular cabinet.

An excited Touya grabbed a couple of bottles and some glasses and dumped them on the coffee table in front of Izuku. Startled green eyes shot to the items on the table when his notebook and phone were pushed aside.

“Is that sake?” Izuku looked at Touya incredulously.

“Yes, I’m bored.” 

“So, you’re going to drink?”

“No, we are.”

“What?! No! That would be irresponsible. We are literally baiting a trap. We have to be ready in case of an attack.”

“We both know that nothing is going to happen for at least 20 hours.”

“We don’t know that for sure. Shiggy could be on his game today.” Blue eyes rolled dramatically at that statement.

“Also, we have all your stalker friends littered around the neighborhood.”

“They’re not stalkers, they’re backup,” Izuku retorted.

“Same thing.”

Touya twisted the top off one of the bottles and poured a small amount into two glasses. Izuku eyed it uncertainly as he was passed one of the glasses.

“Look, we are not going to get drunk, just loosen up a bit,” Touya held up his glass challengingly.

“I don’t know…” Izuku was still uncertain whether this was a good idea, but he knew that being confined in an apartment again was going to drive the other man crazy.

“I’ve never had sake before,” he confessed with his ears turning pink in embarrassment.

“Really? Huh. I would have thought…well, don’t worry about it, I’ll make sure we stay within our limit. You can trust me.”

Touya laughed when Izuku’s nose scrunched up at the first sip so, of course, he got a cushion in the face.

*

Two hours later.

Touya was lying on the floor of the living room again. Giggling. Like an idiot.

At least this time Izuku was lying next to him.

“You did not scream ‘Do you want s’more?’ to a guy shooting marshmallows at you!” Izuku was shaking with laughter.

Touya shrugged awkwardly from the floor and snickered, “What did he expect shooting them at a guy with a fire quirk?”

Izuku let that sink in for a minute before rolling his head over and squinting suspiciously at Touya, “You made that up, didn’t you?”

Izuku just got a shit-eating grin in return.

“No more sake for you,” he said as he attempted to snatch the bottle away.

“Nooo!” Touya clutched the bottle like he would die without it.

*

They abandoned the sake a short time later, neither seemingly getting more than a slight buzz, which was just enough to get giggly and lose their filter. It wasn’t for a lack of trying, though. Apparently, Izuku’s quirk did something to burn through the alcohol before it could do more than elicit a slight buzz before that disappeared. Touya didn’t trust himself enough to refrain from saying something embarrassing because his filter slipped.

They continued to lie on the floor though, comfortable with the peace of the moment and in each other’s presence.

Izuku was going to suggest that they get up and get ready to retire, when Touya rolled over to face him and asked quietly, “Back in the beginning, when we first met in that alley, why did you ask me to come with you? All you knew about me was that I was a villain who had done horrible things to you and your friends.”

His serious tone suggested that the question had been troubling Touya for a while, Izuku took a moment to gather his thoughts. He thought he made the offer on a whim, but did he really? As much as people seem to think he is reckless and jumps into things without regard for himself, he usually thinks things out, albeit at lightning speed. He overthinks, if anything. Okay, he may still make reckless choices, but they aren’t rash and without thought.

He sifts through his memory for what was going through his mind at the time he blurted out the offer.

“When we first met, you reminded me so much of myself, or at least who I used to be. You seemed to be floundering with no support and no offers of help. I remember that feeling and always wished that I had just one person in my corner,” said Izuku.

“What are you talking about?” Touya countered.

“I grew up quirkless. All for One took my original quirk and I didn’t get [One for All] until I was 14. I spent 10 years of my life as a pariah. I was scorned, attacked, and suicide baited among other things. I just wanted one person on my side; to tell me I was worth something, anything. I could see that same thing in you, and I wanted to help.”

Touya hadn’t met any quirkless people before and hadn’t really thought about it. Now that he did, he could see how society would shun the quirkless, considering how they treated those with so-called villainous quirks or mutations. It was obvious now that the quirkless would be at the bottom of the hierarchy and be treated as such.

“People suck,” Touya declared before continuing, “Didn’t your parents support you?”

“My mom tried. I know she loved me, but she never really understood my determination to follow my dreams. It was hard. Everyday seemed like an uphill battle, that I wasn’t winning. I just wanted someone, anyone, to be on my side. So, when I ran into you in that alley, you reminded me of myself when I was younger. No friends, no real family support. I thought maybe I could make a difference. Offer you what I never got,” said Izuku.

He watched Touya mull over his words.

“Anyway, it worked out,” Izuku said smiling at the other man.

“Besides, it wasn’t like I didn’t know anything about you. Shoto is one of my best friends, you know. We have both trauma dumped on each other enough that I know quite a bit about your family.”

Touya was shocked to hear Izuku talk about Shoto. He knew they had been classmates, but the former hero student never talked about them unless they met one of them while together. Touya didn’t want to pry, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know anything about Shoto anyway. He didn’t know if he was dead or alive. Then he repeated Izuku’s last statements in his head.

He whipped back to stare at Izuku, “Wait! Did you say ‘is’ one of your best friends?”

“Well, yeah. I never brought him up because it seemed like your family was a sore spot, but we’ve been friends since our first year Sports Festival.”

“But you said ‘is’. He’s alive? I thought since I never heard mention of him that…” Touya left that thought hanging in the air.

Izuku reached over and grasped Touya’s hand, “No, no, no. He’s fine. He’s just…not in Japan at the moment,” he quickly disabused him of the idea that his brother was dead.

“Near the beginning of the war, one of our close friends, Asui Tsuyu, chose to leave the country with her family. She had some younger siblings, and her parents wanted them out of harm’s way. She is very close to her family and didn’t want to stay behind. So, she chose to go with her family to Korea,” Izuku began.

“Shoto was not in a good headspace after all the drama with his parents and Jaku and everything. He decided to take a break of sorts and offered to escort Tsuyu and her family to get some perspective. And maybe a little peace. He really enjoyed being a ‘big brother’ to Tsuyu’s siblings and he decided to stay with them in Korea. His- your mom and sister joined him a few months later when thing began escalating in Japan. Natsuo remained in Tokyo, last I heard,” Izuku explained with some trepidation. He had kept all of this a secret and wasn’t sure how the other would react.

Touya was making this weird face where it looked like he couldn’t decide whether to be annoyed or just to let it go.

“Huh, ok. Well, I’m glad they are all ok,” he finally said, just accepting that he wasn’t entitled to any information on his family since he basically abandoned them years ago.   

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it sooner. I should have realized it was weighing on your mind,” Izuku said giving Touya’s hand a squeeze to try and comfort him.

Touya glanced over when he heard a sniffle. ‘Oh, hell no. No crying allowed.’ He couldn’t have Izuku blaming himself for his family’s disfunction. He needed to defuse and distract.

“It’s fine. I don’t blame you for keeping it to yourself. I was kind of a mess for a while and probably wouldn’t have taken it well. Just don’t cry over this. I’m fine,” he entreated.

He needed to change the subject quickly to avoid the tears.

“So, what about your other friends? Where are they?” Touya asked, thinking that was a safe subject. He was also trying not to think about how they were still holding hands. Nope.

“Um. I was friendly with most people in class, but there were four classmates that I was closest to. Shoto, Tsuyu, Iida Tenya, and Uraraka Ochaco,” Izuku said, reigning in his emotions as he realized that Touya wasn’t upset with him.

“Iida? That name sounds familiar. Was he related to Ingenium? I seemed to remember he was an Iida,” As a legacy kid, he was familiar with other legacy kids, but since he was a few years older than Izuku and his classmates, he wasn’t sure.

“Yeah, he’s Ingenium’s little brother. He’s been a great friend to me. He is generally a strict rule follower and does this whole arm chopping thing when he lectures someone on the rules,” he paused remembering the Stain incident, “Although he has made an occasional detour into the dark side when his emotions get the best of him,” he finished chuckling fondly.

“Really? Hero student with a dark side? I’m sure that never happens,” Touya said with a disbelieving lilt to his voice while side-eying his partner.

“Stop it. Don’t call me out on my bullshit. I can make myself cry on demand,” Izuku threatened releasing his hand and waving his finger in Touya’s face.

“Fine, fine. Live in denial,” Touya held up his hand in surrender (and a little sad that they aren’t hold hands anymore).

“Anyway,” Izuku said when he was sure the teasing was over, “Tenya has been banished to Tokyo until the war is over. He’s not allowed to work with the resistance, so I don’t see him very often, but we check in with each other regularly.”

“Why is not allowed to work with the resistance?” a puzzled Touya asked.

“Um, he kind of started a riot at one of the bases,” he said sheepishly with second-hand embarrassment for his friend

“What? How? The people at the bases are pretty laid back.”

“Yes, the resistance members are laid back. However, Tenya is not. I told you he has a passion for rules and for him, breaking or bending them is like petting a cat backwards.”

The resistance bases housed people from all walks of life, many of whom did not follow all of society’s ‘rules’ to the letter. A strict taskmaster was a recipe for disaster with such a mixed crowd.

“He was assigned to a base to help run it with another hero in charge and he took the rule following too far. I think resentment had been building for a while because, you know, he comes from a wealthy family, and he didn’t seem to understand how his innate privilege rubbed the others at the base the wrong way. I think the final straw was Tenya taking exception to how the others were loading the dishwasher. It was either that or which way the toilet paper should hang. Or maybe it was both? Either way, it was something that seemed inconsequential on the surface until you realize that people have strong opinions about which way the toilet paper hangs. I mean really strong,” Izuku shuddered remembering living in the dorms with heathens who installed the roll with the paper hanging against the wall.

“Oh, my god, that’s so ridiculous and hilarious,” Touya wheezed beside him.

“I think Toshi managed to get a video of the fight. We can ask next time we see him,” Izuku snickered.

Izuku really missed Tenya. Even with all his arm waving and perfectionist ways, he was always a good friend. But Tokyo is a long way away, and he is needed elsewhere for now. When this is all over…

Izuku’s train of thought was interrupted by the next unintentionally heart-breaking question, “What about the last one, Uraraka? Where is she?”

Touya had no way of knowing just how devastating the subject was. One of the biggest reasons Izuku stayed out in the fighting where he could keep moving from place to place was because he thought if he stayed still for too long, his failures would catch up to him. If he was too busy fighting, plotting, and planning, then he wouldn’t have time to dwell on the people he let down or lost along the way.

“I- I don’t know,” the words tumbled haltingly from Izuku’s lips turning unseeing eyes to the ceiling. Touya sat up when he noted the change in Izuku’s demeanor. He knew that tone only delivered bad news.

“She disappeared near the beginning of the war. She wanted to visit her parents after Jaku. The last time I saw her was at UA when she left for the train station. She never made it to her parents’ house in Mie. We searched for weeks but we never found a single clue. She was just…gone,” he said glassy-eyed and woodenly like he was distancing himself from the pain.

He covered his face with his hands and began shaking as silent tears ran between his fingers and down his face.

Touya’s eyes were blown wide seeing Izuku breaking apart. Sure, he’d seen him cry before. Really, who hadn’t at this point? But this was so much worse. His hands shook as they hovered over Izuku’s form lying on the floor. He wasn’t sure what to do now. He had failed spectacularly in trying to lighten the mood. His heart broke for his friend, but comfort was not his strong suit.

He figured what Izuku really needed was a hug. How do you hug someone lying on the floor? He could pull him up but that seemed more jarring than helpful.

Izuku was unaware of Touya’s crisis until a heavy weight landed on him. He was startled out of his spiraling thoughts and pulled his hands away to find Touya lying face down across his body, like a weighted blanket.

Taking a moment to wipe the tears off his face, he realized that his Touya blanket was pleasantly grounding but weirdly quiet.

“What are you doing?” he said wetly, breaking the silence after trying to wrap his brain around this unexpected situation.

“I’m giving you a hug,” came the muffled voice buried in his chest.

“I’m not sure this qualifies as a hug. I don’t think you can hug someone lying down,” Izuku said in exasperation.

“I know but I couldn’t think of anything else,” Izuku chuffed at the man’s thought process.

Touya turned to look up at him with concern without moving off him, “I’m sorry about your friend.”

“Thank you,” he replied quietly and gratefully. Once he felt sure Izuku was back with him, Touya let out a deep breath and relaxed. Izuku watched blue eyes disappear behind closed lids and listened as Touya’s breathing slowed and deepened.

He could still feel the grief weighing him down, but it was a bit lighter now that he’d shared it. He stared down at the man slumped across him.

Without the distraction of piercing blue eyes that refused to be ignored, he could focus on the light patches of skin below his eyes and down his neck. Because it was newer skin, it still didn’t quite match the rest but should blend in better over time.

He was glad that Touya had accepted Eri’s assistance to rewind the burnt skin on his body. Given her own feelings about destructive quirks, Eri had been distraught when she learned that his own quirk caused the damage and had badgered the man until he gave in. Ever since, she clung to the man almost as much as she did Izuku, much to Aizawa’s dismay.

He was so cute when Eri insisted on piggyback rides as payment for services rendered. ‘No, not cute,’ he admonished himself. Who was he kidding? Of course, he was cute.

Maybe the sake did get to him, if his thoughts had wandered onto a topic that he refused to acknowledge most of the time.

Clearly, it was time for bed.

“Touya, get off.” No response except hands clutching tighter to him. Izuku tried to roll him off, but the other man clung like a koala.

He could force him off but that seemed a bit mean after all the drama, and he was comfortable where he was. Accepting his fate, he used [Blackwhip] to pull an actual blanket from the back of the couch to cover them both.

“No more sake for you,” he whispered as he wrapped his arms around Touya and closed his eyes.

‘Once the war is over, maybe we can figure out what this is between us,’ Izuku thought hopefully as he drifted off.

Chapter Text

I am not afraid of the storm that comes my way

When it hits, it shakes me to the core

And makes me stronger than before

It’s not a question about trust

But will you stand with us?  – Thousand Foot Crutch

The Beginning of The End

Smoke and Ash arrived at the resistance base just as the sun was coming up. They entered the base to a cacophony of noise. The base was full to the brim in preparation for the showdown with Shigaraki.

Shinso and Koda’s base was chosen as ground zero because of its location near UA and Musutafu. The heads of the HPSC (Nezu) and the resistance (Aizawa) agreed that the location would appeal to Shiggy. The plan they had been working under had Smoke and Ash slowly make their way toward the Musutafu area in a wandering pattern that would mimic them tiring out and looking for a place to recuperate. As Izuku’s hometown and location of the hero school, Shigaraki would relish targeting the area again, and it would make sense that a worn-out Izuku would find somewhere familiar to rest.

They would keep the two vigilantes inside the base until Shigaraki appeared. The nomu that were sure to be the first wave of attacks would be handled by the remaining resistance members and some heroes shipped in from Tokyo. Smoke and Ash would not participate in any of the fighting until Shiggy appeared, so that they were not exhausted by the nomu. This gave them the best chance to take out the villain.

The base had undergone significant changes in the last few months. Gone was the pile of mechanical debris that took up one side of the main room of the base. With the pile cleared out, they could see the walls and ceilings had been reinforced, probably under Cementoss and Power Loader’s direction.

Multiple monitors had been set up around the room. The monitors were connected to cameras positioned around the immediate vicinity of the base. They also planned to fly drones regularly to catch what the stationary cameras couldn’t and follow any fighting that occurred near the base.

Several couches, chairs, and tables were added to accommodate the additional personnel inhabiting the base. About thirty early risers were already occupying the area. That was already double what normally occupied the base, and there were more coming later in the day.

At least they wouldn’t have to worry about a place to sleep, as there were plenty of rooms tucked away throughout the building. They nodded to several people as they made their way to their assigned room and dropped off their gear.

Arriving back in the main room, Touya dropped onto a couch next to Hizashi, who was holding a sleeping Eri in his lap. Like Izuku, Touya had become very attached to the little girl and took every opportunity to dote on her. Izuku would wait for her to wake up to smother her in as much affection as possible.

With a wave to Hizashi, Izuku left his partner to catch up with the blonde, while he looked for his antisocial best friend. Toshi was a hard-core introvert, and having this many people in his space was sure to be anxiety-inducing.

‘Where would I be if I wanted to hide from everyone, but still needed to be available and know what was going on at all times?’ Izuku thought as he scanned the room.

He spotted a worn couch facing the wall in a dark corner of the room. As he approached it, he saw fluffy purple hair peeking out from the armrest. Grinning to himself, he launched himself over the back of the couch to land onto the hidden body.

“What?!” came the pained yell from below him. When Toshi could focus on who had jumped him, he growled, “No, it’s too early for your nonsense.” He shoved his best friend off him and onto the floor.

He sat up and glanced over the back of the couch. Noticing all eyes on them, he whined, “I was hiding here for a reason. Now everyone knows where I am. They’re gonna want to talk to me. The betrayal never ends.” He turned to glare at his former best friend.

“I was excited to see you and get ready for our sleepover,” Izuku said with a grin.

“Only you would call final battle preparations a sleepover,” Toshi deadpanned.  He rubbed his face in his hands before continuing in a more serious tone, “How are you holding up? Are you ready for this?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be. We have a good plan with plenty of backup plans and contingencies. I noticed the group already here looked like the reconnaissance group,” Izuku responded.

“Yes, the group here will head out this evening to set up and wait for the first wave of nomu, which should start early tomorrow morning.”

The plan was for the reconnaissance group to rest for the remainder of today so they could be ready to go this evening, and for the combat group, which would gather this afternoon and evening, to rest while the scouts kept watch. Once the nomu start to appear, the combat group would go out in waves depending on how many nomu appeared. This will keep everyone in as close to fighting shape for as long as possible.

“And the combat group? Do we have confirmation on who is coming so we can plan strategies and team composition around quirks and skills?” Izuku inquired, already thinking ahead to what the most effective team-ups would consist of.

“Yeah, I will send you the list so you can plan,’ Hitoshi paused with a frown, “About those heavy hitters…” he trailed off.

“What now?” Izuku asked, wary of the way this conversation was headed.

“You’re not going to like this,” Toshi paused, “Endeavor insisted on being included and will be here late this afternoon.”

“Fantastic,” the sarcasm dripped from Izuku’s lips.

“Sorry.”

They noticed one of the scouts approaching their secluded corner. Turning to glare at his friend, he hissed, “See what you did. Betrayal!” He grumbled as he got up and wandered off to address the scout’s concerns.

Izuku’s cackling at his friend’s misery caught the notice of a little white-haired angel, who leapt off Touya’s lap and dashed over to launch herself at her other favorite person.

“Izu-nii, you’re here!” she exclaimed as she settled on his lap.

“Yep!” He was glad Shouta and Hizashi let her stay until he arrived. He wanted to see her before everything went to shit tomorrow.

He pulled her close as she chattered about everything she had been up to since he last saw her. He nodded along and made the appropriate noises to keep her talking. She had come such a long way, and he was thrilled that she was comfortable enough with him to not hold herself back.

After a few minutes, he felt her stiffen when she was talking about quirk training. She looked up at him worriedly and asked softly, “Are you mad at me?”

“About what, sweetheart?” he paused as he thought about what could be worrying her. “Are you talking about what happened with Shouta?” At her nod, he reassured her, “Oh, sweetie, of course not. That was an accident. It was not your fault.” She looked at him doubtfully, not sure that she should believe him, even though he knew everyone else had told her she shouldn’t blame herself.

In what they were now referring to as The Incident, Eri, Shouta, and Hizashi had been out together shopping for something and had been blindsided by a nomu attack a month ago. They were not a target in the attack but were caught in the crossfire. The stress and terror of the situation caused Eri to lose control of her quirk. Shouta was too close, and he was rewound about 15 years before he was able to shut off her quirk.

“Is Shouta mad at you?” he asked. She frowned and shook her head.

“You see, then you’re fine. He would be the only one who could possibly be upset, and since he isn’t, because he loves you and knows you didn’t mean to lose control, then you are ok. Ok?” She continued to give him a serious look as if searching for the truth. Finding what she needed, she responded, “Ok.”

“Besides, now he has two eyes and two legs again. Even though it was an accident, it worked out fine.”

She would have to train more to keep her emotions in check during stressful events to avoid something like this happening again. 

“Eri, Hizashi said you are heading out soon and wanted to know if you wanted to say goodbye to Shouta before you left,” Touya said as he joined them.

“Yes! I’m coming!” she shouted. She gave each of them a quick hug before rushing over to Hizashi.

“Have you seen Shouta yet?” Touya asked, looking content with how happy Eri was. Things had been awkward between the pro hero and the former villain for the first few meetings. However, when Eri became attached to Touya, Shouta had loosened up. The two now got along pretty well.

“Not yet. He’s been avoiding me since The Incident, and Toshi won’t ‘spoil the surprise.’ Whatever that means,” Izuku rolled his eyes.

“I think it means that it must be hilarious, and he wants to see your reaction.”

“Let’s go find him and see for ourselves.”

They passed Eri and Hizashi on the way to Shouta’s office. The young men each got two more hugs and tearful goodbyes before the two left for the safety of Tokyo.

They both stopped at the threshold of Shouta’s office to check out the changes. The pro hero was sitting behind his desk, going over some paperwork while ignoring the two gaping at him from the doorway.

His face was unlined and rounder with hints of baby fat on his cheeks, which was missing the prominent scar he had carried since the USJ. His shoulders and arms were thinner and lacked the muscle definition they were used to seeing. An exasperated huff and two eyes rolled as they met the others’ surprised looks.

“Huh, I thought it would be more dramatic. I wonder what Toshi was so worked up about,” pondered Izuku.

Then Shouta stood up. And Izuku and Touya looked down. Down?

“Oh, that’ll do it,” snickered Touya while Izuku just grinned like he won a prize.

Before The Incident, Shouta had been 6 feet tall, but was now topping out at about 5’6”. Izuku had had a growth spurt since he left UA and was now 5’9”, almost the same height as Touya. Which meant for the first time, he was taller than his sensei. After being one of the shortest in class for so long, he had endured plenty of short jokes. Now he could unleash them on someone who regularly patted his head in condescension. Fair is fair.

“Laugh it up, you two. I will grow back into my height while you two are done,” the ‘young’ man retorted.

“Does this mean you have to go through puberty again?”

“Ugh, acne.”

“Moodiness.”

“Awkward boners.”

“Speaking of, how is Zashi feeling about this whole thing?”

Shouta rubbed his face with one hand while sighing. Izuku remembered how intimidated he used to feel when his teacher expressed his exasperation in a similar manner. Now, it’s just weird on his too-young face.

“He’s happy about the eye and leg, less so about my apparent age,” the pro hero said. When the two gave him questioning looks, he continued, “He thinks people will think he’s a pedo if they find out we are married.”

“Oof, that sucks. Does that mean no ‘adult activities’ until when? You look 18 again?” Touya smirked at the man.

Shouta’s blush started at his neck and continued up to the tips of his ears, he sputtered, “Why are we talking about my sex life?”

“You brought it up.”

“No, I didn’t,” he huffed while trying to rein in his raging hormones, “But we have been discussing having Eri rewind him, too. That way we don’t spend the next three years dealing with disapproving looks.”

“Oh, that’s actually a good idea. For you and for her,” Izuku nodded along, rubbing at his chin in thought.

“For her?” Shouta questioned.

At Shouta’s raised eyebrow, Izuku said, “It would show her that you don’t have negative feelings about her quirk and trust her to use it on Hizashi.”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way, but I will keep that in mind as we discuss it further. Thank you for that insight,” Shouta agreed that it would show her that they didn’t fear her or her quirk.

Changing subjects from his personal business to something else fraught with issues, Aizawa said, “Since I’m certain that purple-haired menace has given you a heads up, have you told Touya the news?”

“Um, no?” Izuku shuffled uncomfortably, “I haven’t had time to yet.”

Seeing the frowns on both of their faces, Touya got a queasy feeling he wasn’t going to like this ‘news’.

“What news?” he demanded when the silence went on far too long. The other two stared at each other, neither wanting to share the news.

Sighing. Shouta broke the stalemate, “Endeavor. He has insisted on joining the operation. He will be here later today.”

Touya gave a full-body jerk, “What?!” He can feel the red haze of anger taking him over, blinding him to the others in the room. Memories of brutal training, looks of disdain, and feelings of dismissal flashed through his mind as he tried to come to grips with the certainty that he would come face-to-face with his father soon. Too soon.

Touya hadn’t seen his father since their confrontation in the mountains during the Paranormal Liberation War. He inwardly cringed, remembering that entire spectacle. While he had not actively avoided his father, he did steer clear of Tokyo, which Endeavor rarely left, since he was crucial to keeping the metropolis safe. He certainly wasn’t interested in some sort of reunion now or anytime, really. He would prefer never to see that man again.

He thought he had his feelings for his father under control, but clearly not. Frustrated and anxious, he stormed out of the room without another word.

“That… went better than I expected,” Izuku said worriedly. He wanted to rush after him and offer some form of comfort, but just because that was what he wanted didn’t mean that was what Touya needed. He knew that when Touya got overwhelmed with emotions, what he needed was some time alone to process and cool down.

“I’ll go find him in a bit and see how he wants to handle Endeavor. While he cools off, I have favor to ask you,” he said as he wrestled a thick envelope from his backpack and dropped it on Shouta’s desk.

“What’s this?” Shouts looked at the package suspiciously.

“Well, um, remember when I first left UA after Jaku?” he said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Shouta noticed the nervousness and thought back to when the boy initially went vigilante on them. The letters. He remembered Izuku left letters for his classmates, explaining his quirk and why he left.

“These are letters, aren’t they?” Shouta said sadly. He understood what Izuku had done. He had written letters to his friends as a final goodbye in case the worst happened during the operation.

“Just in case, you know,” Izuku said, fidgeting nervously. He knew Shouta would understand but it didn’t mean he would like the implications.

“We will do everything in our power to make sure these aren’t needed, but I will handle it for you,” Shouta assured him with a sad smile.

Izuku nervously tugged on his fingers and scrunched his face before saying, “Um, you can also tell Yagi that I will meet with him after Shigaraki is taken down.”

“Ok, I will pass that along. I know that he will be grateful for the opportunity,” the hero said. He was stunned that the young man finally relented on his blackout of the former number one hero. Maybe without the threat of Shigaraki, they can both heal.

“Hmm. I’m going to find Touya,” Izuku disappeared down the hall.

He found Touya right where he thought he’d be, sprawled out in the bed in their assigned room. Nothing appeared charred or smoking, and no suspicious piles of ash were visible. So that was a good sign that the fire-user’s anger didn’t boil over into a destructive frenzy.

Touya’s eyes were closed, and his breathing was even. But the visible tension and clenched jaw revealed that he was neither asleep nor relaxed. Not that Izuku thought he would be.

“Hey,” Izuku said softly into the quiet room as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Touya opens one eye, “Hey,” he said tonelessly. He looked exhausted, whether from the lack of sleep or emotional blender. Probably both.

“How are you feeling?” Izuku decided to test the water.

“No. No more feelings today. I am all out,” he said defiantly, daring his partner to continue with this train of thought. Izuku wisely decided they were both too tired for this discussion.

“Fine, then scoot over. I need a nap,” Izuku continued, nudging the other man and flipping off the lights.

‘Because, of course, Toshi assigned us to a room with one bed, because he’s a meddling asshole,’ Izuku thought to himself. Not that either of them minded, they more often than not shared a bed due to the size of the safehouse, lack of heat, nightmares, and well, they were both a little (a lot) touch starved. Absolutely no other reason. Nope.

Izuku slipped onto the bed and rolled over, facing his partner, “Just so you know, Mei knows how to make itching powder that, when scratched, turns into glitter.”

Based on his tone of voice, Touya knew the other was sporting a shit-eating grin. The fire-user replied, “Of course she does, but why would that even be a thing she would make?”

“Someone insulted one of her babies, and she was expressly forbidden from physically harming them. Nothing was said about endlessly annoying them. The itching powder was a short-term annoyance, but as everyone knows, glitter is forever.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Remind me to never piss her off.”

“Agreed.”

*

Hours later, they were eating dinner with some of the reconnaissance team before their departure, when Endeavor arrived. With his burning mustache leading the way, he strode into the main room like he owned the place and scanned the crowd before stopping on Izuku and Touya. The latter kept eating without looking up and was doing a pretty good job of ignoring the hero, who was huffing at being snubbed.

Endeavor took a step toward them as if he was going to approach, but seemingly rethought his actions when he noticed Izuku giving him a look that promised more than just pain. Remembering the boy’s friendship with Nezu and the rumors of their machinations, he wisely turned away from them and headed deeper into the base, probably to consult with Shouta.

The room took a collective sigh of relief as the man left. Everyone was well aware of the bad blood between the two family members and had no desire to get caught in the crossfire of any confrontations. The arrival of Endeavor and the subsequent increase in the tension inside the base spurred the scouts into action, preferring to head out a bit early rather than deal with the family drama.

Once the room emptied except for the duo, Hitoshi dropped into a seat across the table from the two and said, “Do I need to arrange interference for you and the flaming trash can?”

Izuku looked at Touya worriedly, but the former villain didn’t appear agitated or angry.

“No need. I am not going to hide from my father, but I am not going to approach him either. Maybe we can just ignore each other,” Touya said blankly.

Hitoshi snorted, “Yeah, that’ll work. On an entirely unrelated note, I’m going to check on our supply of fire extinguishers.”

Before he could get up, a loud, piercing voice came from the base’s entrance.

“Oi, behold. I have arrived. Now we can get the party started.” Wild blond hair, blue eyes, and a maniacal grin greeted the three.

“Monoma,” Toshi said like a curse, “You were not invited. And what is wrong with everyone thinking this is a party of some sort?” he grumbled, banging his head on the table.

Ignoring his best friend's antics, Izuku jumped up to greet the copycat with a tight hug, “Neito, you made it!”

A tired, sulking presence slipped in behind the blonde, “You’re so loud. Unfortunately, Nejire got sick, so Monoma took her place. I regret everything,” muttered a disapproving but anxious Amajiki Tamaki. The two were part of a resistance cell on the north side of Tokyo, along with Hado Nejire.

At Nezu’s urging, Izuku had reached out to Neito months ago with some questions about meta quirks. Ever since then, Neito and Izuku bonded over their shared love of quirk analysis. Even though Hitoshi claimed to find Monoma annoying, Izuku knew he reveled in the dramatic shenanigans the other seemed to always be up to his neck in.

“I would have come regardless. No way I was going to miss out on this epic sleepover,” Monoma declared.

“Not a sleepover,” Hitoshi could be heard even with his face pressed to the table.

“And I brought all the fun bonding games: Uno, Monopoly, and cards for poker.” Monoma continued, ignoring Hitoshi’s commentary.

“None of those are fun bonding games. They are all rage-inducing friendship destroyers,” Hitoshi shot up, waving his finger in Monoma’s face.

“Exactly. If we’re still speaking after Uno, we’re bonded for life,” the blond cackled. The two continued arguing with Touya egging them on from the sidelines.

Amajiki sighed exhaustedly and shuffled off, leaving the four of them to their ‘party’.

“I love my friends,” Izuku said softly, unshed tears glistening in the corner of his eyes in happiness.

Chapter Text

Won't take no shit, won't be no bitch       

Not one more inch, Not today    

No, we're not going away – Nothing More

The Ending of The End (?)

It was well before sunrise when Shouta strode into the main room of the resistance base to take charge of the coming battle. Due to his current condition, he was deemed not strong enough (hard eyeroll at that statement) to take part in the battle itself, so he was chosen as the commander for the coming days and took over the base from Shinsou and Koda.

He wasn’t surprised to see groups gathered near the monitors spread around the room. The groups consisted of villains, vigilantes, heroes, and civilians filling out the various reconnaissance, combat, medical, and defense roles.

He was just thankful that Mei and her team of engineers had been relocated out of the area for the duration of the battle. There were enough people and personalities here without having that crazy spitfire around creating havoc and distracting Shinsou.

He could see that the members of the first wave combat group were assembled and waiting for the first nomu sighting, which should be soon, based on their intel. Everyone except for…

“What are you wearing!?” he recognized his number one problem child's shocked voice over the din of ongoing discussions. Turning, he could see Izuku’s group perched on a pair of couches tucked against the far wall.

He had found four of them (Shinsou, Izuku, Touya, and Monoma) in the main room late last night, playing games and winding each other up. He thought about scolding them and making them go rest, but with the year they’ve had, it looked like a well-earned respite. And they weren’t too out of hand. They all knew the next day would be rough, but they were responsible kids. ‘No, they were adults now, weren’t they?’ He would treat them as such, and they all appeared none the worse for the late night and early morning. He suspected Shinsou of some quirk-enforced power naps.

As he drew closer, he saw the issue. Shinsou was no longer wearing the dark purple jumpsuit he normally wore as his costume. He now wore knee-high black boots over white leggings that were crisscrossed with black straps. A tight white compression top was covered with a short black jacket. A strange contraption was attached around his hips, and he had katanas strapped to his back. ‘Katanas? Did he even know how to use them?’

Shishou’s hand rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin on his face, “Uh, well, Mei made me a new suit.”

“But, why?” asked a puzzled Koda from the far end of the couch.

“I know! It was because your old suit exposed your daddy issues for Aizawa, and now that he’s small, it was just a little too creepy. Am I right?” Monoma piped up with glee.

“I don’t have daddy issues.”

“I am not that short.”

A delighted Monoma cackled at their protests.

“And why does that design look familiar?” Izuku muttered while ignoring the byplay and tapping his bottom lip with his pointer finger as he studied the costume.

Izuku was sitting on the floor in front of the couch with Touya behind him.

‘Is he braiding his hair?’ Shouta thought as he sighed and rolled his eyes fondly as he noticed they all had braids of some sort, some more elaborate than others, except Koda, of course. How they roped Amajiki into cooperating, he’ll never know.

Monoma took another look at Shinsou’s costume before questioning, “It reminds me of cosplay. But who?”

This comment must have sparked an idea in Izuku because his eyes widened, and he bounced on the floor as a grin stretched slowly across his face, “Oh. My. God. She didn’t?!”

“Um, maybe?” Shinsou’s face reddened.

“What is happening?” Touya asked after tying off the end of the braid.

“Toshi is cosplaying an anime character. Does it have one of Mei’s babies that mimics the ODM gear?”

“Of course it does. And I have been practicing with it for the last few months, and it works perfectly. Plus, when your genius girlfriend makes you a suit, you thank her, and you wear it proudly. Because there is no other alternative,” Shinsou said seriously, but he stood tall and proud in his new suit.

“Also, it’s badass,” he said, daring anyone to say otherwise.

“It really is. I can’t wait to see it in action,” Izuku gave him a warm smile, happy that his best friend finally found someone to love and support him. Including his weird obsessions.

“Well, it should be soon. Some of the outer scouts have reported something approaching from the north,” Shouta interrupted from the edge of the group.

“Shinsou, Monoma, Amajiki, you should go join your groups and be ready for the first waves.”

Izuku gave Shinsou and Monoma quick hugs as they headed out. “You’re Eren, right? Because the only other cool one is Levi, and I’ve seen your room,” Monoma teased Shinsou as they crossed the room.

An hour later, movement was finally seen on the monitors as seven nomu approached the base. The first wave combat team took off running for the exits while the rest stayed glued to the monitors.

The room was crowded now with everyone wanting to see the first wave of the operation. Some of the imported heroes hadn’t fought the nomu, although they had been briefed about them. They wanted to see for themselves how the first wave handled them.

Of the five members of the first wave, only Shinsou could hold the high ground with his new gear. One of the team had an electricity quirk, similar to Kaminari’s, and was easily able to disable the nomu. The other three engaged the nomu and kept them occupied while Shinsou snuck up behind them and either ignited their brains or cut their heads off with his katanas. Twenty minutes later, the last of the nomu was down, and the first wave was a success.

Cheers erupted when the team returned to the base. The other combat groups gathered around them to get a debrief of the battle. They needed to know if there were any changes to the nomu or their fighting styles, so they were prepared for the next wave. There was no guarantee that each wave would be the same or even similar, but the debrief may be able to shed some light on any surprises.

Touya stayed where he was in the area their group claimed. He had fought enough nomu that he didn’t need any debriefing. The others in his group had joined the other teams and would let him know about anything important.

“Touya,” came a gruff voice approaching from his left. He would recognize that voice anywhere.

“Endeavor,” said the former villain with as much disdain as he could project without looking at him. He could feel the other man studying him, picking him apart with his narrowed eyes. He didn’t need to see him to know what that gaze looked like. He had seen it every day for years.

A minute of silence followed, with no follow-up from the fire hero. Frustrated by the silence from the looming presence, Touya barked out, “You can leave now.”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“Why?” he spat angrily.

“Because you’re my son…”

Touya’s bitter laughter filled the corner of the room, “No, you don’t get to play the doting father after everything you’ve done.”

“I…I was a terrible father to you. To all my kids,” Endeavor admitted. Touya huffed as the hero continued, “I have thought a lot about the past, and I want to make amends. To all of you.”

“It’s too late.”

“I am still going to try.”

“Well, leave me out of it. Maybe the others would be willing, but I don’t want anything to do with you ever again,” Touya said with finality and turned to walk away.

He nearly ran into Izuku, who rushed over as soon as he noticed the two together. His questioning look at Touya elicited a head shake before storming off.

Izuku gave Endeavor a considering look before continuing his approach.

“Endeavor, on the cusp of an important battle, is not the time to try to solve your family problems,” Izuku ground out with gritted teeth, angry at the man’s poor timing.

“Perhaps,” the hero considered briefly before bull-headedly stating, “but I felt I had to try. I may never have another chance.”

“Just steer clear until this is over,” Izuku said through clenched teeth before walking away to find his partner.

*

The cackling laughter heard over the monitors had nearly everyone in the base shaking their heads in amusement during the second wave of nomu fighting. The blond menace was taunting the nomu in as theatrical a manner as possible, knowing everyone was watching. The nomu, of course, couldn’t respond, but that didn’t stop Monoma from monologuing about them ruining his spa day before hammering them with a giant fist.

“I didn’t know Amajiki could turn that color red,” Shinsou deadpanned while Izuku was wheezing on the floor.

*

It was during the fifth nomu wave that everything shifted and took a dark turn. There were 15 nomu, and the combat team was performing well until a building shifted off its foundation. It didn’t just fall like it had been hit by an impact, but lifted up off the ground before crashing into the street.

A huge dust cloud rose from the impact, obscuring whatever was behind it. As the dust settled, a giant nomu emerged.

It was 20 feet tall, with the same beak-like mouth and exposed brain that most other nomu had. But this one had rosy cheeks, and when it reached out its hands for the next building to lift and toss, Shouta could see raised pads on each finger. They seemed familiar…

“What?! No, no, no, no!” The horrified cries silenced everyone in the room. Izuku sank to his knees as he watched the nomu press all five finger pads from one hand on the building, which then began to float.

Shouta felt his tears welling up and closed his eyes to block out the sight of the nomu and Izuku’s grief. In the midst of his own anguish, he whispered, “Uraraka.”

“No, please tell me that isn’t her,” a voice forced him back to the present and to address a wide-eyed Shinsou, shaking in front of him.

He watched the blood drain from the young man’s face as he confirmed to him and the others that the quirk they were seeing was identical to Uraraka Ochaco’s quirk and that she was one of his former students and a close friend of Izuku’s who disappeared at the beginning of the war.

Touya and Koda were trying to comfort a broken Izuku, who continued to deny what he was seeing, while Monoma unleashed an endless storm of curses.

Endeavor watched it all unfold from the sidelines. He knew that the giant nomu was going to be tough to beat without a concerted effort from multiple heroes. Unless someone with an exceptionally strong quirk stepped in.

There were three in this room who could handle the nomu. However, two of them were compromised, one from grief and the other trying to comfort the grief-stricken one.

While watching his son and partner, he realized how deeply attached his son was to the Midoriya boy. He decided that he would tackle the giant nomu and keep the other two out of it. He could do this one thing for his son, save him and his partner from the trauma of fighting this nomu that carried so much baggage.

For such a big, loud man, no one noticed when he slipped out the exit until they saw him on the monitors heading straight for the giant nomu.

Touya, with the others’ help, kept Izuku turned away from the monitors as they watched his father battle the nomu. The grief-stricken man didn’t need to witness the obliteration of the remnants of his friend.

It was a brutal fight. The nomu had a weak regeneration quirk in addition to [Zero Gravity]. But while the punches and kicks from the former number one hero healed quickly, the burns took longer. Once Endeavor realized that it was vulnerable to fire, he poured on the heat. The damage from the burns eventually overcame the nomu, and it finally collapsed.

No one cheered when he and the combat team returned, but Shouta gave Endeavor a nod in appreciation for keeping the boys out of this fight.

Izuku’s friends shuffled him off to their corner of the room and continued to comfort him until his broken sobs abated.

*

Shigaraki appeared as the sun was beginning to set. The resistance and their allies had put down over a hundred nomu in wave after wave of attacks. While everyone was tired after the long day of endless attacks, the rotating shifts of the combat teams alleviated the utter exhaustion that would have been guaranteed otherwise.

Shiggy appeared with 50 nomu heralding his arrival. The nomu fanned out in front of the base, ready to attack at their leader’s call. Their leader swaggered up the center of the formation and gave the base a critical look.

The exterior of the base had been fortified to withstand multiple nomu attacks, but the relentless attacks showed in the crumbling walls and destroyed streets littering the area. However, as anyone who had actually been inside the base knew from the winding corridors, the visible exterior was just a shell, and the actual base was over a block away and underground.

Surveying the destruction, a crazed smile spread across the man’s face, and he began to laugh, “It looks like the big boss of this level isn’t so tough after all.”

He found one of the remaining working cameras on the outside of the building and glared straight into the lens, “I know that you can see and hear me, so send me the green one, and I might spare the rest of you.”

While Shigaraki was posturing, Shouta sent the teams back into the field. He held Izuku and Touya back to let the others set up and to make sure they were ready for what was ahead.

He was worried about his problem child. Once he had cried and screamed out his rage and sorrow for his lost friend, he seemed to switch that part of himself off. He emanated a stoic calm that was diametrically opposed to his normal demeanor. While he still had tear tracks on his face, his eyes were hard and determined.

After this was over, he was going to make the man talk to someone, even if he had to drag him there himself. Hell, they would probably all need therapy after this was over.

“Don’t enter the field until Shiggy or his nomu begin the attack. I know that you have had reservations about the kill order, but we all know that Shigaraki is irredeemable, and we won’t be able to contain him if he’s captured. I know that you will do the right thing when the time comes,” Shouta said with his hands resting on Izuku’s shoulders.

Izuku – no, he was Smoke now – had never wanted to kill anyone; he just wanted to save people, not bury them. The nomu didn’t count because they were essentially zombies and were already dead, so he had accepted their deaths as a necessary part of the war.

After all the destruction and carnage at the villain's hands, he agreed that saving Shigaraki was not possible, at least within their current capabilities. Maybe, if things were different and he hadn’t gotten his hands on [All for One], but it was too late now. No one was safe as long as he lived.

“And keep each other safe,” Shouta said, looking pointedly at them both.

As the hands dropped from Smoke’s shoulders, he grabbed one of the hero’s hands and gave them a reassuring squeeze before resolutely saying, “We’ve got this.”

Ash nodded to Shouta and led the way out of the base with Smoke at his heels.

They had just exited the base when they heard the first clash of the final battle begin.

Using [Float], Smoke lifted them to the top of a building adjacent to the base.

Then, they saw him. He was alone with the nomu. Izuku wondered if he chose to come alone with his nomu or if he never bothered to recruit more members to support him after the rest of the League left or were killed.

Standing amidst the clashes between the two forces, Shigaraki seemed unconcerned and maybe a bit entertained, as if he was waiting for something. Then, he noticed them, and his maniacal grin grew wider.

‘Oh yeah, he was waiting for us,’ he thought.

“There you are. The traitor and the hero. Where have you been hiding, you brat?” he spat out with a poisonous glare.

“Your reign of terror ends now, Shigaraki,” Smoke declared, “I won’t let you hurt anyone else.”

“You won’t let me,” the villain laughed. “I will do whatever I want, and you can’t stop me. Sensei taught me to focus on what I really wanted in order to make it happen. He just didn’t realize that what I wanted most was to be out from under his thumb. But I showed him.”

“Now, what I really want is you dead. And I always get what I want,” Shigaraki yelled as he raced toward them.

Activating [Smokescreen] allowed them to dodge the charging villain. They bombarded him from behind with fireballs as he spun around. They could see him charging up another quirk, and suddenly razor-sharp porcupine quills were flying toward them. Together, they burned the quills out of the air.

Shigaraki had a plethora of quirks at his disposal: strength and speed enhancers, shields, and numerous types of projectiles were just a few. And he was skilled with most and nearly expert with others.

While Shigaraki was a threat, a serious, possibly extinction-level threat, Smoke and Ash had something more. They had months of working together to become a well-oiled machine. They practiced with their quirks until using them together was effortless and instinctual. They had faith in each other. They had hard-earned trust that the other would have their back.

Also, Smoke had practiced with each of his quirks separately and together. This would be the first time he felt confident in using them all together.

[Smokescreen] to obscure them to affect sneak attacks.

[Blackwhip] and [Float] worked together to navigate the battlefield.

[Danger Sense] to warn of incoming attacks.

[Fa Jin] and [Gear Shift] for crushing blows from seemingly nowhere.

The fight dragged on, but Smoke and Ash were slowly overpowering Shigaraki. Their tandem attacks landed more often than the villain’s.

Smoke finally pinned Shigaraki down, wrapping him head to toe in [Blackwhip]. The villain struggled to get his hands free and wrap them around the brat's neck, but he was bound too tightly. He had a quirk that could break out, but the quirk he had in mind might actually do more harm than good. So, he changed tactics.

“Did you like my present?” Shigaraki drawled with a sly grin. Smoke, done with talking to the fiend, merely raised an eyebrow in response while he waited for Ash to catch up so they could finish off their nemesis.

“Her quirk was so useful, wasn’t it? You should have heard her scream when…” Shigaraki cut off as a horrified Smoke inadvertently allowed [Blackwhip] to slip just enough for Shigaraki to give Smoke an enhanced shove, propelling him into a nearby building.

“Shit, I lost focus for a second. I can’t let him get to me again,” Smoke muttered to himself as he extracted himself from his embedment in a wall.

As he got ready to launch himself back into the fight, he passed Toshi, who was carrying an injured resistance fighter away from the fight. Toshi pulled one of the katanas off his back and handed it to his friend with a wry smirk, “Carve him up for me.”

Izuku hefted the blade and grinned before jumping back into the fray. He knew he had a full arsenal, plenty enough to take out Shiggy. But something about the katana being given to him by his best friend seemed to instill another level of determination in him.

His friends believed in him.

He wasn’t going to let them down.

The battle became a blur. Punching, twisting, charging, guarding. They shot around the battlefield, leaving destruction in their wake. All it would take was to catch him in one mistake, and they could end it.

Then they found themselves on the rooftop of a ten-story building. Ash was shooting distracting fire at an advancing Shigaraki, while Smoke positioned himself behind the villain. He was looking for an opening to blindside Shiggy.

Then he saw it.

Shiggy’s hand on Ash’s duster. All five fingers.

As he watched the coat slowly start to decay, inching its way toward his partner, all he could feel was rage. Ash was backed against the parapet, unable to break free. The roaring in his ears blotted out the sounds of the fighting around him. All he could hear was the thunderous sound of his heartbeat.

Thump, thump.

He pulled out the katana from where it was strapped to his back.

Thump, thump.

Holding it in front of him, he ran toward Shigaraki.

Thump, thump.

He felt his voice screaming, “Noooo.”

Thump, thump.

He saw Ash’s eyes widen as he pulled back the blade.

Thump, thump.

Shigaraki turned just as the blade met his neck.

Thump, thump.

He saw Shigaraki’s sightless eyes looking at nothing from the ground.

Thump, thump.

He felt the momentum of the swing propel him over the edge of the roof.

Thump, thump.

He saw Ash leap off the roof after him.

Thump, thump.

He felt the blow to the head just as familiar hands grabbed him.

Then, nothing.

Chapter Text

all this time

i fall alone

into the unknown

i fade - Holywtr

Awareness flickered in and out. Slowly at first, then speeding up until his perception could stabilize.

Gray.

All Izuku could see was gray. In every direction. Surrounding him. Enveloping him.

He tried to look to the side to get his bearings. But it all looked the same. He couldn’t even tell if his eyes were actually open, or if he was looking around. Did he have eyes? He couldn’t actually feel his body.

Everything felt so slow, like he was swimming underwater. Even his mind was sluggish. So used to lightning-fast thoughts spawning and spreading like sparks in a wildfire, this unpleasant lethargy was causing him to panic.

What is happening to me?

I can’t think right.

Where am I?

Am I awake?

Am I alive?

Shouldn’t I be dead?

Is this the afterlife?

He started to recall bits and pieces of his battle with Shigaraki. 

[Smokescreen] creating havoc on the battlefield.

The constant pain from [Danger Sense].

[Blackwhip] and [Float] pushing and pulling him around the battlefield.

[Fa Jin] and [Gearshift] randomly changing the tempo of the fight to keep Shigaraki from anticipating the next attack.

That was the first time Izuku truly felt in control of [One for All]. He was finally able to wield it in its entirety, all parts of his quirk working together seamlessly. His heart felt full, thinking maybe now he had lived up to the legacy attached to the quirk.

It only took many broken bones, hours and hours of training, a little vigilantism, a lot of tears, and so much support from friends, family, teachers, mentors, and, strangely, villains.

Would All Might be proud of me? Did I fulfill [One for All]’ purpose?

As these thoughts were running through his sluggish brain, he thought he saw eight twinkling lights in the all-encompassing gray void, like tiny fireflies emerging at dusk. They appeared to be approaching rapidly, their size increasing to small spheres the size of baseballs, before stopping just out of reach.

They somehow looked familiar before slowly realizing he was probably inside [One for All], and that these were the vestiges. They looked different than they had in the past. They were balls of light rather than glowing eyes looking at him or actual figures who were talking to him.

The outlines of the eight balls of light began distorting and stretching until the outlines of the previous holders appeared, but only the outlines. He was not sure how, but he could feel acceptance, approval, and pride emanating from the outlines.

After several minutes of pulsing joy, they shifted colors and coalesced into one big formless blob of light. Moments later, the blob resolved into a single outline.

He wasn’t sure who it was, but as he waited, colors started filling in, and more details were added. The short, spiky hair and large facial scar revealed that it was…

“Second?”

Second stared impassively at Izuku for what felt like hours. If Izuku had a body, he would be curling into himself and bracing for a tongue-lashing. He knows he shouldn’t feel this way about someone who can’t actually hurt him physically, but Second was always so intimidating.

“You look like hell,” rasps Second.

He glanced down and noticed that he now had a body. He still wore his battle uniform covered with burns, tears, and blood.

“Thanks, I try,” Izuku quips back, trying to regain his equilibrium.

“And call me Kudo. You’ve earned that at least,” Second, no Kudo, said. He almost sounded fond, but that can’t be right. A shocked Izuku nodded at the honor.

So many questions run through his mind, but what comes out is, “What is happening? Am I dead? Where am I?”

“You defeated Shigaraki and [All for One] died along with him. Then you fell off a 10-story building,” Second said matter-of-factly.

‘Oh, yeah. I remember Shigaraki trying to decay Touya and I kind of lost my mind. That bastard had taken so much from me I wasn’t going to let him take any more precious people from me,’ Izuku thought bitterly of the villain.

He remembered a rage so complete that instead of locking him up as it had in the past, this time it ran wild. He stopped thinking entirely and attacked on instinct alone. An instinct that had been honed by countless battles over the last 2 years until it was razor sharp and lethal.

He recalled the swelling of [One for All] within him as everything coalesced into that one moment on the rooftop where he moved faster than Shigaraki could detect and separated his head from his body with the katana Toshi had given him before the villain had fully turned.

Unfortunately, his rage had blinded him to where he was and the momentum from the rush attack sent him over the edge of the roof and plunging to the ground.

He recalled Touya leaping after him before everything went dark. Izuku wasn’t really sure what to think about that. ‘Why would he do that?’

He thought that this might not be the time to dwell on that and gave himself a mental shake and addressed Kudo, “You didn’t really answer me. Am I dead? I remember falling but not hitting the ground. I think I hit my head on the way down.”

Kudo replied nonchalantly, “You struck the adjacent building on the way down and it killed you. So, yes, you are dead. But just barely.”

With that weird qualification of barely dead, a baffled Izuku asked, “What does that mean?”

“One of the unique features of [One for All] is this realm inside the quirk, the realm of the vestiges. This realm is outside of time, sort of an alternate reality, except it is only inhabited by the remnants of the past users of the quirk. That’s why we can have conversations with no time passing in the real world,” explained the vestige.

“So, while you are dead, your soul has not had time to move on yet and you become irretrievably dead. We pulled you here to speak with you one last time before we, the vestiges and you, part ways for the last time,” Kudo said.

‘Irretrievably dead? Is there such a thing as retrievably dead?’

Izuku’s thoughts were still slow, and he struggled to comprehend, “I am not sure I totally get what you mean but what did you want to speak with me about that was so important that you pulled me in here?”

A somber expression crossed Second’s face before he answered the Ninth user, “[One for All] is dissipating since its purpose has been met with the defeat of [All of One]. I hold the last of [One for All]’s embers before it completely disappears, and [One for All] will no longer exist.”

Kudo looked at Izuku with sadness and contemplation. Sadness because he knew Izuku’s spent his entire teenage years and most of his childhood fighting. Fighting the world due to his quirklessness, fighting villains, fighting his classmates, fighting his teachers, and finally fighting for Japan against [All for One].

He knew that none of this was fair to Izuku, although it was not fair to any of the other users either. Their lives were also cut short, but this situation just felt particularly unjust. He was just so young. The youngest of them.

Kudo had been very skeptical of Izuku’s capability when he first became a holder. He was not sure that Izuku would be able to live up to the legacy and expectations of the quick or endure the stress accompanying the battle against [All for One].

He had seen a weak, timid, naive boy when he was first given [One for All]. Over the years, Second grew to understand that Izuku’s optimism masked a steely determination and a deep kindness ingrained into his soul. That, along with his bright analytical mind, allowed him to wrest control of [One for All] and make it his own in a way the other holders never could have imagined.

Kudo faced Izuku with a serious look and, to Izuku’s shock, bowed deeply to him. “We, the vestiges of [One for All] thank you for fulfilling our purpose. It shouldn’t have taken a child to do what eight other adults could never do, but we wanted you to know that we are proud of you. While you struggled to get a handle on our quirk, you ended up doing something none of could have ever dreamed of doing. You made [One for All] greater than the sum of its parts.”

A flustered Izuku said, “Please, stand. Although I didn’t know the true purpose of [One for All] when I took it on, I embraced it as my own, and its purpose fulfilled my own purpose to save and protect as many people as I could and to rid the world of evil. If I had to do it over, I would do the same thing even at the cost of my life. Again.”

He and the other vestiges were so impressed with Izuku that his death broke them. But Second had worried that this could happen and had a possible solution.

A thoughtful look crossed Second’s face before seemingly coming to a decision. “What do you know of my quirk?”

“You mean [Gear Shift]? It is the ability to change the acceleration at which things move through space. I know in combination with [One for All], it has become too strong to use for very long due to its…”

Izuku stopped speaking as Second raised his hand and said, “Ok, ok, yes, that is what we told you.”

Izuku was puzzled at the way that was worded, ”What do you mean? Is there more to it?”

Gathering his thoughts, Second responded, “Yes, there is. Back in the early days of quirks, we obviously didn’t understand them very well. When a person’s quirk appeared, we gave it a name that seemed to fit and moved on. We didn’t talk much about all the things that it could do, nor did we write it down or keep records of it. We never wanted to give away an advantage or expose a weakness, especially since even having a quirk was not widely accepted and wouldn’t be for a long time. We held information about our quirks close and almost never shared their full capabilities.”

“So, there is more to [Gear Shift] than just changing the acceleration of objects in space?” Izuku asked,

Kudo nodded and continued, “Quirks were so new, and no one understood how they worked, so everyone was on their own to try to figure out their quirks. It never even occurred to anyone that they could evolve. At least, not until much, much later. [Gear Shift] seemed straightforward at first, but it wasn’t. I figured it out accidentally, and it scared me so much that I never told anyone, including the other vestiges. But when [Gear Shift] merged with [One for All], a new possibility has opened up and taking advantage of its other function may be of use now.”

“How? What other function?” Izuku’s mind was spinning with ideas.

Kudo takes a deep breath, reluctant to share this long-held secret. “Once I received [One for All], [Gear Shift] became something more. It not only changed the acceleration of objects but could alter reality under certain conditions. My quirk not only changes the acceleration of objects in space but also in time. I found this out accidentally.” He paused and waited to see if Izuku could connect the dots without him spelling it out.

He could almost see the wheels turning in Izuku’s brain and when he gave a startled gasp as he began to understand the implications.

‘When most people discuss changing acceleration, they usually mean increasing it in a forward direction, but it can also mean decreasing it or moving in backward direction. And if we apply that to time...’ 

“You mean time travel?! But, that’s…” Izuku’s mouth stopped moving and his brain ground to a stop at the idea.

“After I became the second holder, I found myself in an intense battle that I was losing. My quirk was urging me to flee, but I needed to stay and fight to allow the rest of my team to retreat. I could see the killing blow coming yet I remained steadfast in my position, holding the line but knowing it was the end for me. The next thing I was aware of, I saw the same opponent approaching again. I estimated that I went back in time about 2 minutes, which allowed me to try something different that ultimately saved my and my team’s lives. No one on the battlefield noticed, and I never told anyone because I was afraid of becoming a bigger target. A time-altering quirk had never appeared before, and I did not want to become someone’s guinea pig,” Second explained.

Horrifying thoughts of the HPSC and their clandestine experimental programs filtered through Izuku’s mind, and he was inclined to agree with Kudo. He would be hunted by every power in the world, if word had gotten out. Even worse, if [All for One] had discovered it, then we may have never made it this far.

While the evolution of [Gear Shift] was interesting, he wasn’t quite connecting the dots, “I don’t understand why we’re talking about this now. How does this change anything? I don’t think going back 2 minutes is going to achieve anything,” asked Izuku.

“When [Gear Shift] merged with [One for All], it got stronger, a lot stronger. The cultivating of [One for All] as it was passed down to each new user made [Gear Shift] and all the other quirks within it stronger, which was why it and all the other quirks were so difficult for you to use. They were much stronger than what even the past users could wield.”

“After studying the effects of the merging, and especially how my quirk has been affected, I believe that [One for All] and [Gear Shift] have enough power now to send you back in time much more than 2 minutes. Maybe far enough to prevent the war entirely. We want you to have a chance to grow up, be a hero, or whoever you want, build a family without fear.”

‘Wow, a chance to not go to war? That would be incredible, if that could happen.’ Izuku thought, starting to get excited about the possibility.

He would rather not be dead and going back to see his friends, his mom. How could he pass that up? Although… It would be weird because he would suddenly be older and more experienced. His friends won’t really know him anymore. But at least they would all be alive and well again.

Suddenly, this line of thought took a worrisome turn. He clamped down on his mumbling as he ran through the possibilities.

Finally, he looked up at Kudo, “I have a question about this. What would happen to the me already in the past? Would I, he, disappear? I don’t want to take away his chance at life just so I can get a second one.”

Would he still be himself and just take over past him’s life or would he be some weird amalgamation of them both? Neither option seemed particularly right.

“That shouldn’t happen. There will just be two of you in the past, each with their own history from their perspective,” Kudo said with an odd certainty.

“How do you know that?” Izuku asked disbelievingly. There had to be more to it than just knowing. The vestige was hiding something, something important.

“I just do,” Kudo said stubbornly with clenched teeth.

“I’m not sure I believe you. What makes you so certain?”

Kudo hated even thinking about this, but it was probably the only way to convince Izuku that his other past self would be fine, “The handful of times that this aspect of my quirk activated, not only did a repeat of the actions occur but a copy of me was there too.”

“What? How did no one notice a second you?”

“This aspect only activated when I was in a near-death situation. And well, one of us always died.”

“Ok, ok. That’s horrifying,” he recoiled at the thought seeing himself die and then having to deal with his own dead body.

Moving on from that macabre thought, Izuku pressed on, “But there would still be a second one of you on the battlefield even if he was dead.” Izuku was not letting go of this until he was sure it was the right thing to do.

“Yes, but back then, there was so much chaos during the resistance of my time that an extra body, even one that looked similar to another combatant, would never be noticed. We almost always went into hiding immediately after a fight and left the clean up to the inhabitants of the area. It wasn’t particularly nice or fair to them, but we couldn’t hang around to care for our dead properly lest we be caught.”

Izuku guessed that was the best he was going to get and while it didn’t alleviate all his concerns, he was going to trust Kudo in this.

“Well, ok. It would be nice to go back, I suppose. Although, it will be weird.”  

“So, are you ready? Even thought we are outside of time, [One for All] is still dissipating.”

“Ok, I’m ready. And thank you for giving me this chance. You won’t be sorry. I’ll make sure the war never happens,” the ninth user declared.

Kudo chuckled exasperatedly, ‘This kid.’ “We’ve never done this before, but we’ll send you back as far as we can. You’ll have to take it from there.”

A small smile that became a smirk flashed across Kudo’s face, “And if it works the way we think, we may have a little surprise for you at the other end!” Second’s laughter echoed as he disappeared into the gray void.

‘That sounded ominous. What did he mean by that?’

The gray light around him began to get darker and darker. Once it was completely dark, the only thing he could sense was his heartbeat.

His heartbeat?

It was irregular and weak, but he could feel it.

Thump… thump.

He could hear a faint voice in the darkness. He tried to focus on it, but he couldn’t quite make out the words.

Thump…thump.

A long moment later he heard someone calling his name in distress.

“Izuku, don’t do this to me.”

“Izuku, come back.”

“I can’t do this without you.”

He felt his heart steady with a new stronger rhythm.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

Then, Izuku opened his eyes to piercing blue looking back.

Chapter Text

Now that I know what I'm without, you can't just leave me
Breathe into me and make me real, bring me to life - Evanescence

After the End

Eraserhead was sipping his third cup of coffee and grading papers in the common area of the 1A dorms. The kids had moved in yesterday, and he wanted to be there to make sure they behaved. He knew his presence alone could stop or at least stall some of the chaos that seemed to follow this class. The only others in the common area were Shoji, Midoriya, and Tokoyami, who were quietly discussing a news program playing on the other side of the common area.

Suddenly, red lights began flashing and an alarm began sounding throughout the dorm building. Aizawa’s phone blared a security alert calling for a lockdown of the dorms and all hands to be on alert. He specifically was requested to head to Ground Beta for a possible villain infiltration as soon as he secured his dorm. The villain was tentatively identified as Dabi.

First, secure the dorm building. “Midoriya, run and get Iida for me,” he shouted as he checked his security app on his phone to ensure the protocols were proceeding properly.

A few moments passed before a rattled Iida practically flew down the stairs, followed by a nervous Midoriya, “Aizawa-sensei, I am here as requested. Do you know why there are alarms sounding?”

The school hadn’t had time to cover all the security protocols in place since the students just moved in. The security briefing was scheduled for a morning assembly tomorrow.

“Iida, calm down. The alarms are part of the new security protocols, which you would have been briefed on tomorrow,” he internally rolled his eyes because, of course, things can’t just run smoothly for one day of this cursed year.

“For now, I need you as class president to follow my instructions. In the next couple of minutes, security barriers will be engaged to cover the windows and doors as protection. I need you to gather your classmates in the common room. Turn the television on to channel 0, which is UA’s station for information. Updates on the situation and instructions for what you need to do will be broadcast there. Do you understand?” Aizawa gripped his shoulder and looked Iida in the eyes to make sure he understood the seriousness of the situation.

“Yes, sensei. I will do as you have instructed. Do you know if there is an attack on campus?” Iida asked.

“I don’t know. Someone tripped the security alarms, and I have been called to the scene to investigate. I need to know that you will follow my instructions and keep everyone together in the common room. No one is to leave without express permission. That includes you, Midoriya.”

“You can depend on me, sir,” Iida bowed and turned to a red-faced Midoriya and the others in the common room to relay the instructions to the rest of the class.

Aizawa rushed to the front door, just making it out before the security barriers slid into place. As he started running toward Ground Beta, his phone vibrated with an incoming message. He pulled out his phone, glancing at the message without slowing down. The message had him detouring to the main building to pick up Nezu.

Nezu was waiting on the steps of the building as he approached. “What was so important that I had to collect you before heading to the scene? If it really is Dabi, I am the best at neutralizing his quirk.”

Nezu leapt up onto Aizawa’s shoulder and secured himself in the capture scarf before responding, “The facial recognition system identified Dabi as the intruder, but the visuals I pulled up on the security cameras don’t match the images we have in our database. Something strange is going on and I need to be on scene to figure it out.”

“Hound Dog is already on the scene, and his report was disturbing. I asked him not to approach the intruder until I arrived,” Nezu continued.

Aizawa wondered what Hound Dog could have seen to cause him not to immediately secure the intruder. As Aizawa sped across the campus, he noticed Vlad King and Midnight also headed in the same direction.

As he closed in on the scene, he noticed Hound Dog about 50 feet away from the intruder. Or intruders? It looked like two men huddled on the ground. One was lying down with the other hunched over them. It looked like the man was performing CPR.

The man had white hair in a loose, messy braid, a torn gray jacket, gray cargo pants, and sturdy blue combat boots. Everything was either torn or burned, and blood was seeping from multiple exposed wounds, as if he had just been in a fierce battle.

He didn’t look much like Dabi, but the facial recognition software worked on bone structure rather than hair styles, eye colors, or other superficial features. That way, most disguises wouldn’t fool the software. But somehow, the software identified the man as Dabi.

Once they reached Hound Dog, he reported, “Once I got to the scene, the man who was identified as Dabi glanced at me but otherwise did not react to my presence. He seemed wholly occupied by the other man.”

“Is he performing CPR?” asked Nezu.

“Yes, he has been since I arrived a couple of minutes ago. I can smell the fear and anger on him. Based on what I can see and smell, he is highly unstable. I believe he may lash out if he is not successful,” Hound Dog theorized.

Hound Dog’s quirk gave him highly sensitive scent receptors. He trained himself to interpret the scents he could detect to decipher the emotional states of others. This skill was exceptionally helpful in his work as a rescue hero and as a counselor.  

Aizawa activated his quirk, and with his red eyes glowing, he focused on the man who had probably been identified as Dabi. The man didn’t seem to notice the loss of his quirk; he kept chest compressions up while seemingly sobbing and begging to the man on the ground.

“-ku, don’t leave me-“ and “-come back-“were all he could make out coming from Dabi.

The man on the ground was still, too still. He was wearing dark gray cargo pants that were ripped and burned. However, his combat boots were a dark red under all the soot. The boots struck a note of familiarity with Aizawa.

Midnight and Vlad King had arrived at the scene and started to approach the duo.

“Wait a moment, there is something strange about this situation,” Nezu held up a paw to pause the advance.

A crack and groan sounded from the two on the ground, and the body on the ground shook and coughed. Then, a voice rasped out, “I lived bitch.”

Dabi gathered the other man up in his arms, “You asshole, you died!” The other man realized Dabi’s distress and immediately began soothing him and apologizing.

Aizawa wasn’t sure why, but he was uneasy about the two men. The apologizing, though, sounded way too familiar, like something he heard daily but couldn’t quite make the connection. Red eyes narrowed at the red combat boots, which were so very similar to his problem child’s hero suit.

“Oh, this is unexpected.” Nezu shifted on Aizawa’s shoulder as he put the pieces together before the other heroes.

Confused green eyes made contact with Aizawa over the shoulder of the other man. They shifted to each of the heroes, studying them intently.

Somehow, the man clutching Dabi was Midoriya Izuku. But Aizawa knew that he had just left Midoriya in the dorms. He had eyes on him five minutes ago. This couldn’t be that Midoriya. So, who was this?

The green eyes widened as they looked past the five heroes present. Aizawa glanced behind to see All Might and Recovery Girl approaching.

***

When Izuku gasped and opened his eyes to see piercing blue eyes staring back at him, he was elated. This must be the surprise that Second spoke of just before [One for All] dissipated. In his excitement, he made a snarky comment. He realized his mistake when he finally noticed the tear tracks and distress written all over Touya’s face.

When Touya snatched him off the ground, Izuku held tight and tried to soothe Touya from what was obviously a traumatic event. ‘Of course it was, you idiot. You died in front of him and then revived,’ he scolded himself for his insensitivity. He only had his own viewpoint to understand the previous events, which were all from within his quirk. He wondered what it looked like from Touya’s point of view. Now was not the time to ask, though.  

Once Touya started calming down, Izuku took in his surroundings and finally noticed the group of heroes gaping at them.

Aizawa was his normal size, had both eyes, and seemingly both legs based on how he was standing.

Midnight was here and alive. As were Vlad King and Hound Dog.

Nezu was here and looking well. Of course, he was here.

‘Wait, where was he?’ Izuku asked himself, looking beyond the group of heroes. He just barely registered that he was at Ground Beta on undamaged UA grounds, when he noticed two more heroes approaching.

Recovery Girl, looking stern as always and swinging that cane of hers.

All Might (or Yagi as he looks now). Oh. Ok.

His mind just sort of shorted out at all the new and shocking information. He felt like he was underwater, and his thoughts were moving so slowly as if in a fog.

He could hear voices, but he couldn’t quite understand the words. They were all jumbled together and far away as if his ears were covered by thick bandages.

He felt himself being lifted, and he looked up at Touya, who was holding him in his arms and speaking with the heroes. Izuku squeezed Touya tighter, trying to tell him without words not to let him go.

Touya looked down at him with a reassuring smile, and they began the long trek back to the main campus buildings, surrounded by heroes on all sides. They were probably going to the infirmary. That was a good thing because he was pretty sure his ribs were broken.

He must have zoned out because the next thing he knew, he was sitting on a bed in the infirmary with most of his suit removed while Recovery Girl checked him over.

Forcing himself to focus on her words, he heard her ask, “How are you feeling, dearie?”

Still foggy, he must have found his voice because he heard himself say, “Tired.”

“Hmph. Are you in any pain?”

He reached up to place his hand on his chest. “Ah, you may have some cracked ribs from the CPR compressions.”

‘CPR compressions? Oh, shit. That probably explained Touya’s distress when he came to.’ That thought cleared the fog away, and he frantically searched the room for Touya. He found him sitting in a chair against the wall with Vlad King and Aizawa on either side of him. The frown etched on his face indicated he was feeling guilty and angry at himself for the situation.

Izuku couldn’t have him blaming himself. He caught the other man’s attention and directed a soft smile to reassure him that he was ok. While the frown didn’t go away, Touya’s depressive demeanor seemed to lift somewhat. Izuku would talk with him later without the audience. None of this was Touya’s fault, and he wouldn’t allow the other to blame himself.

The exam was over shortly after. “You have three cracked ribs, a nasty gash on your head, some minor cuts and bruises, and the worst case of quirk exhaustion I have ever seen,” Recovery Girl declared once the exam was completed.

Words were still hard to form, so he just gave her a questioning look. She seemed to understand what he was trying to convey.

“You have enough stamina for me to heal the cracked ribs, but it will knock you out for a few hours. I can treat the other injuries with standard methods. I can’t do anything for the quirk exhaustion; we will have to let that heal on its own. With how severe it is, it may take several days or longer. We’ll just have to monitor it over the next few days.”

Izuku nodded his head in understanding. Recovery Girl got to work cleaning and treating the gash and other wounds, while he tried to focus on the current situation. He could feel himself coming out of the nearly dissociative state he had been in since he came face-to-face with the heroes at Ground Beta.

Second said he was sending him back to the past. But how far back had he been sent? Since Midnight was here and alive, it was before the battle at Jaku. Also, All Might was here in his buff form, and he could recall seeing the dorms in the distance on the way to the infirmary, so it had to be sometime during his first year at UA, but after Kamino.

Before he could consider any further evidence, Recovery Girl finished treating his physical wounds and was preparing to heal his ribs, which would knock him out.

As she approached, he began to panic at being unconscious and defenseless. He found his voice and blurted out, “Wait!”

Noticing his distress, she asked, “What is it, dearie? Once I give you the kiss, you can rest and heal.”

“No! I mean yes,” he glared at the far wall in frustration at his inability to articulate his meaning.

Recovery Girl waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts.

“Ash stays with me while I’m out,” Izuku entreated firmly.

“Who is Ash?” asked a confused Recovery Girl.

“I am,” Touya said lifting a hand in acknowledgement.

Aizawa and Vlad both startled at the declaration. Vlad started to protest, but Izuku interrupted, “Otherwise, I don’t want to be treated further.”

“Kid…” Aizawa started before registering the stony, stubborn look on his face. Oh, he knew that look. He had seen it a few times on his Midoriya: during the USJ and his fight with Todoroki during the Sports Festival, to name two. The kid had made up his mind and was not going to back down.

Aizawa racked his brain for an acceptable answer to this dilemma. The kid needed treatment, and he needed to be protected in case things weren’t as they seemed on the surface. The two appeared to be close and clearly protective of each other. Maybe…

“Ok, he can stay, but he has to wear quirk-cancelling cuffs, and we’ll have a guard stationed to keep watch,” Aizawa offered.

Izuku looked at Touya, who nodded acceptance of the conditions.

“Ok. We agree to those conditions. Thank you,” Izuku bowed his head to the hero with respect and gratitude. He held out a hand to Touya, who shuffled over to the chair next to the bed and grasped the offered hand.

Izuku’s eyes slammed shut as soon as Recovery Girl gave him her healing kiss.

***

Touya felt his chest loosen as Izuku’s eyes shut. It felt like he had been holding his breath for hours and could once again exhale with relief. He was not sure what had happened, but Izuku was alive and healing, and that was enough for now.

Recovery Girl had insisted on treating his wounds but then left them alone to let them rest. He got a glimpse of the guard stationed outside the room as she left.

He turned back to Izuku and watched the steady rise and fall of the other man’s chest as if fearing it would still again. He had been terrified and heartbroken when he found himself holding onto a lifeless Izuku lying on the grass. He couldn’t take his eyes off the other man, but could feel that they were alone and no longer on the battlefield.

Fortunately, his field medical training kicked in, and he began CPR immediately, knowing that there was a chance that he could save Izuku. He felt rather than saw the other heroes approaching, but as long as they didn’t interfere, he could ignore them for now. The only important thing was to get Izuku back.

Now that Izuku was on the mend, he tried to wrap his mind around what the hell had happened. He remembered Shigaraki’s demise with satisfaction. Then, jumping after a falling Izuku. He hadn’t really been thinking, just reacting. Looking back, it was probably stupid, but it seemed to turn out all right. They were both alive and apparently in the past or another dimension.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he turned it on and waited for it to connect. He wasn’t sure that it would even work wherever he was, but it appeared that wherever he was, the network was compatible with his phone.

He stared at the date displayed after it connected with the network. ‘That...that can’t be right.’ Could they really have gone back nearly two years in time? How?

Maybe they were hit with a time travel quirk, but as far as anyone knew, they didn’t exist. Or at least they were never disclosed. Who knew what the governments of the world could hide if they chose?

Same goes for dimensional shift quirks. Although that one may be harder even to detect or prove.

As he searched the news and other internet sources, everything seemed to line up with what he remembered from two years ago.

It had been a couple of hours since he had given up his research and was just trying to cope with what he found, when he noticed the bed Izuku was on was shaking.

He moved closer and grabbed Izuku’s hand again. He could feel him shaking and moving closer to get a better look, he noticed tears running down the other man’s face. His face was screwed up while quietly gasping.

Touya perched on the edge of the bed, pulled Izuku up into a sitting position, and wrapped his arms around him. The other man latched onto him like he was drowning before heartbreaking sobs echoed through the room.

The door to the infirmary slammed open, and Snipe stormed into the room, pistols at the ready. When he saw the two holding onto each other for dear life and realized what was happening, he slowly backed out of the room under Touya’s glare.

After what felt like hours, the emotional storm abated, and only shuddering breaths could be heard in the room.

“You ok?” Touya eventually asked.

“No,” came the exasperated reply.

“We’re in the past,” Touya stated emotionlessly.

“I know,” Izuku said with a certainty that left Touya with questions, but Izuku continued before Touya could ask. “How far back do you think?”

“According to my phone, almost two years.”

“Oh,” Izuku said in a small voice, before a fresh set of tears began to fall.

“I miss them. Toshi. Mei. Neito. Shouta. Nezu, Eri,” the last name was said with such devastation that Touya teared up as well.

“They are still here,” Touya tried to reassure him.

“It won’t be the same.”

“No, but maybe we can make it better this time.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Ok.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“Ok.”

They fell asleep on the small infirmary bed, arms still wrapped around each other as they both grieved their lost friends and family.

Chapter Text

So follow me deeper into the unknown

Into your heart, into your soul

This is the end of the world that you know

And there will be pain in letting it go

Feel the uncertainty down to your bones – I Prevail

The view from the window of UA’s infirmary bed was so familiar. He had spent far too many days and nights in this same bed during his tenure at UA. So much so that he actually had a favorite bed. He foolishly admitted that to his friends while groggy under the effects of a concussion, and they took it upon themselves to make a metal plaque with his name on it to reserve it permanently. (‘Thanks, Momo,’ he thought, internally rolling his eyes.) Recovery Girl was appalled and removed it immediately, claiming that it would just encourage my recklessness. She may have had a point.

It was dark out, so his view was restricted to the courtyard and the lights topping the perimeter wall. Even as limited as the view was, it was still comforting on some level due to its familiarity.

He could feel Touya at his back, breathing steadily and deeply in sleep. That also provided comfort.

His breakdown earlier was probably long overdue. Even though he knew how this all happened, he couldn’t have predicted how off-kilter being thrust into the past was going to be. Seeing UA whole and the heroes alive and well messed with his sense of reality. It felt like he had undergone a hard reboot, and the systems were all coming online again.

He wondered how Touya could be so calm when they found themselves two years in the past.

“I was not calm,” came a raspy voice behind him.

‘Oh, did I say that out loud?’ Izuku inwardly cringed. He thought he had finally curbed his muttering. It must be the surroundings flipping the switch back to muttering Izuku.

He rolled over carefully in the small bed to face Touya without pushing him off the edge. “You seemed calm to me.”

“It only seemed that way when compared to you. Seriously, in what world would I be calm after watching you die and then reviving you? You were too busy freaking out to notice me freaking out,” Touya deadpanned.

“Fair point,” Izuku said after studying his partner. “Did I thank you for saving me? Again,” he continued.

“Oh no, we are not doing that. If we thanked each other every time that happened, we wouldn’t have time for anything else,” Touya grumbled.

Izuku nodded at him and gave him a beaming smile that made his heart stutter. Touya shifted his gaze to the ceiling to resist being pulled under Izuku’s spell. Again.

“So, what now?” Touya said, segueing away from that line of thinking to something more immediately important.

“I don’t know. I guess it depends on what we want to do.”

“Wait, is it safe to talk here?”

“It should be. UA, meaning Nezu, can visually monitor the infirmary, but the cameras cannot be directed toward the beds, and no audio is allowed due to privacy issues,” Izuku said. He wasn’t totally sure that Nezu wouldn’t circumvent the rules just because he could, but they would just have to avoid some topics. He wasn’t going to worry too much about it. Nezu would find out most of it anyway.

Touya nodded while checking the locations of the cameras. Turning his back to the one near the door and turning his attention back to his partner, he darkly uttered, “Shigaraki and All for One are still alive right now.”

Izuku slid closer and said, “I want to take them down, again. And, with all our knowledge from the future, we should be able to come up with a better and safer plan. One that eliminates them before they can destroy Japan.” He hesitated and leaned away from Touya before continuing, “That is, if you want to.”

Touya stiffened as Izuku began rambling while tugging on the hem of the t-shirt provided by Recovery Girl and avoiding his partner’s gaze.

“You know, we have been given a new start, kind of. And I would understand if you wanted to do your own thing. The last year has been pretty intense, and it would make sense if you didn’t want to dive back into the…” A warm, smoky hand covered his mouth and stopped him from rambling any further.

Izuku reluctantly looked up to see such a soft look on Touya’s face. He was still uncertain if the man would stay with him, but that look boded well for his plans and hopes for the future.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” Touya said flatly.

“But…”

“No. I don’t know anyone else here in this time. At least not anymore.”

“I’m sure that Nezu could help set you up if…”

“No. Unless you don’t want me around anymore, you are stuck with me.”

“Of course, I want you with me. I just didn’t want you to feel like you had to stay.”

“I don’t do anything I don’t want to do.” Izuku held back a snort because he sounded so much like Kacchan there for a minute.

This time, the smile that slid over Izuku’s face was warm, and tears began welling up at the corners of his eyes.

“No, not the tears, please. We did this yesterday. The quota for the week has been met,” Touya said while trying to staunch the unfallen tears.

“But they are happy tears,” Izuku smiled bigger.

“Still tears. Unsubscribe me. Gahhh,” Touya waved his hands in mock distress.

Izuku giggled at his antics, and the tears never fell. Touya smugly rolled onto his back again and closed his eyes.

“Ok, that is one goal. What about…” Touya started to say when he was interrupted by the most horrifying news.

“At this time, Chisaki Kai is still alive and has Eri,” Izuku blurted with barely suppressed rage.

Touya sat up like he had been stabbed and growled, “Getting our daughter just moved to the top of our to-do list.” No way in hell was he leaving his baby with that monster.

“Our daughter? But Shouta and Mic were her parents before,” said a confused but delighted Izuku.

“Only because they got to her first. We’ll just have to be faster,” he declared with certainty. Screw them, he was attached, and he wasn’t giving her up without a fight.

“Pretty sure adoption isn’t finders’ keepers.”

“Disagree. She’s ours,” Touya stated mulishly.

“But Shouta and Mic were such good parents. We can’t take that experience away from them,” Izuku argued purely to push his partner’s buttons.

“So, we get them another kid. They can’t have ours. Wasn’t Hitoshi an orphan or something? We’ll throw him at them. He and Shouta look alike enough anyway. Problem solved,” he smugly said with finality.

Izuku burst into laughter at his partner’s stubbornness. He agreed wholeheartedly with him. They both loved her so much. In this timeline, she would be safe with them.

Still clutching his stomach from the laughter, he said, “Fine, we get our daughter first. Pretty sure Nezu will help us smooth out any complications.”

“Do you really think Nezu will help us? I know you were close before, but will he still be on your side now?” Touya hadn’t interacted with the hero much before since he left all the plotting to Izuku, so he was uncertain about how this Nezu would react to their presence.  

Izuku pondered his relationship with Nezu. At this point in the timeline, Nezu didn’t know about his analysis abilities or actually how smart he was. But he knew how Nezu thought, and he knew that once Nezu discovered even a part of his story, the rat would not want to let him go. Izuku would become one of Nezu’s people, just like he had before. That was a good thing, because Nezu protected what was his. He felt certain of that.

He had to be careful with how much he revealed because there were some things Izuku needed to keep close, such as the details of his actual quirk and how they got here. At least until some safeguards were in place, at the very least. Nezu was smart enough to possibly figure out his quirk eventually, but it wouldn’t be easy because Izuku had learned how to mask secrets from the master himself.  

“We can trust this Nezu. I have spent enough time under his wing to know pretty much how he’ll react. Right now, we are an anomaly, and until he satisfies his curiosity, he will keep us safe. We can worry about the rest later,” Izuku reassured his partner.

“Ok, I trust you,” Touya said with such conviction that it threw Izuku for a moment. To be thrown into the unknown and surrounded by almost strangers, Touya just casually mentioned he trusted him. It wasn’t just that he trusted him; it was the way he said it, like it was an immutable fact that could not be changed.

Touya continued before Izuku could come back online to question that statement, “What are we planning to tell him? I assume there are some things we are not going to share.”

Izuku shook his head to realign his sidetracked thoughts. He had been thinking about this when he first woke up and had a general plan in mind, “I figure we give them the big picture at this first meeting. Just an overall feel for what happens in the future. Hopefully, we can get them on board. Then, we can fill in some of the blanks and start to make plans from there. My quirk and how we got here is totally off limits, though.”

Touya’s eyes widened and pinned him with a pointed look. He said incredulously, “You know how we got here?”

Izuku sheepishly said, “Um, yeah?” The glare he received forced him to continue, “I’ll tell you later. When we are somewhere safer.”

“You better.”

Switching tracks, Izuku asked, “How do you want to handle your identity?”

“They already know me as Dabi. I don’t want them to make the connection to my other life yet. We’ll see how it goes first,” the former villain was already concerned that they wouldn’t take him seriously due to his past. Adding the Todoroki drama would only complicate everything.

“Ok, that gives us a game plan for now,” Izuku said as he noticed the room lightening as the new day began.

He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to Touya’s chest. As warm arms wrapped around him, he felt grateful that the other man was with him. He didn’t know how he could have done this alone. That thought thrust him back to his earlier thoughts about the friends and family he left behind.

“I miss everyone so much,” Izuku’s voice was muffled into Touya’s shirt.

“I know.”

“I’m going to get all of my family back or die trying.”

“No more dying,” came the grumbled reply.

“Maybe I’m a cat with nine lives.”

“We are not testing that theory.”

***

When Aizawa wandered into the teachers’ lounge at 7 a.m., he found an excited Nezu perched at the head of the conference table. The principal had called for a meeting this morning to go over yesterday’s security incident. Due to the uproar caused by the new security protocols and the security alert itself, the students required quite a bit of handling and reassurance to calm their nerves. By the time everyone had settled down, it was too late for the teachers to discuss the incident other than to set up a security detail.

Snipe, Thirteen, and Ectoplasm rotated guarding the intruders in the infirmary through the night, while everyone else not assigned to a dorm participated in enhanced security monitoring.

The exhaustion on the teachers’ faces as they gathered in the lounge spoke to their long and stressful night.

Once everyone was present, Nezu began, “Thank you all for coming this early. I know most of you had a long night, so we’ll get right to it.”

“Majima, I believe you were the only one whose dorm created issues during yesterday’s incident. Any updates on the situation?”

Power Loader lifted his head from where it had been resting on the table and glared at the room through red-rimmed eyes. “They tried to break out of the locked-down dorm building and almost made it. I spent an hour explaining that the security protocols were for their own safety and were not a challenge to be overcome. I am still not sure Hatsume understood. But they finally gave in and went to bed.”

“Fascinating. How close did they come? No matter, I will review the tapes and see if any of them have the aptitude for hacking. Thank you,” Nezu said with a sparkle in his eyes.

“That’s not what I… Never mind,” Power Loader said before letting his head thump back down on the table.

Aizawa snorted at his dramatics. His own class was a handful most days, but the support department was in a league of their own. Class I-A might short out the building or start a few fires (How? It had only been a day. No idea, but he has added whiskey to his shopping list.), but at least they didn’t have the capabilities to completely dismantle a building like Majima’s students. At least, he hoped so anyway. Yeah, he was not going to think too hard about that.

“Hound Dog, any more issues on the grounds after the incident?” Nezu moved on to the overall security of the campus.

“No, everything was quiet after the other two went to the infirmary,” Hound Dog responded wearily.

“Thank you. Anything else before we discuss the main event?” After a brief moment of silence, he addressed Snipe, Thirteen, and Ectoplasm.

“Anything of note while you were guarding our visitors?” Nezu inquired.

“Um, the one who looked like Midoriya appeared to have a breakdown last night. I heard him sobbing, and when I went in to check, the one identified as Dabi was comforting him,” Snipe reported.

Present Mic frowned at the report, “Even with the little we know, the whole situation seemed very traumatic for them. I feel bad for the little listeners.”

The ones who had seen a frantic Dabi perform CPR and a clearly dissociated Midoriya nodded in agreement.

“Recovery Girl, you examined the two of them. What did you find out?” Nezu knew the nurse was sharp as a tack and, with any luck, would have some answers for them.

“Other than some superficial wounds and bruises, they are both healthy young adults,” Recovery Girl began. “I collected DNA samples from both but have only processed Midoriya’s. Since he is a student here, I was legally able to process the sample. It matches UA’s records of Midoriya Izuku.”

“But how is that possible? Midoriya was in the dorm before the alert and was there after as well. How can there be two of them?” Aizawa’s frustration was clear.

“That is a great question, and I have some ideas, but they will have to wait until we get a chance to question them,” chirped Nezu brightly. His eyes were sparkling with interest and curiosity.

“Also, while I couldn’t do any X-rays, I did notice that the Midoriya in the infirmary does not have the damage to his hands that he got during the Sports Festival,” said Recovery Girl. This created more confusion for the heroes.

“Let’s discuss the other one. The facial recognition software identified him as Dabi, an A-ranked villain and member of the League of Villains. I have reviewed the software and the security footage and found no problems with either. However, the man in our infirmary looks very different from the Dabi we saw only two weeks ago in Kamino. What do we know about him?” Nezu asked the nurse.

“As you know, legally I could not process the DNA sample I collected, even if we had a sample of Dabi’s DNA, which we don’t. However, my exam did confirm that he does have a powerful fire quirk. As for the rest, I don’t have any answers. He shows no signs of the scarring we saw in Kamino,” Recovery Girl explained.

“How can they be Midoriya and Dabi? There are too many differences. Plus, why are they so friendly?” asked an irritated Vlad King.

“Are they from another dimension?” Thirteen offered up.

“Maybe, they’re time travelers? Midoriya sure seemed more developed than a 16-year-old,” Midnight saucily threw out.

Present Mic quickly retorted, “That’s ridiculous. There has never been a time-traveling quirk. Right?”

Aizawa shook his head in response, “I have never heard of one.”

Nezu’s feral grin widened at the possibilities. “I can’t wait to find out. Maybe this will be a first.”

While the other teachers shuddered at their boss’s glee, Aizawa slipped into his yellow sleeping bag and zipped it closed.

He felt a tug on the zipper but managed to keep it closed.

“Sho, let me in. Nezu is scary,” came Mic’s pleading voice.

“No.”

“But I’m your husband. You made vows. In sickness and health.”

“They didn’t include a rampaging megalomaniacal rat.”

“Please, he’s looking at me.”

“You should have run.”

“You’ll miss me when I’m gone.”

“Doubtful.”

Aizawa heard an exasperated growl, then the scrape of a shoe.

“Did you just kick me?”

Chapter Text

Well, I guess my guardian angel missed the memo

Cause we’re walking on razors again

And we swore to God we’d never let this happen, no

We’ve dragged ourselves through hell and we’ll be damned if we go back

- Bring Me The Horizon

“Eraserhead, Present Mic, and Midnight”

Izuku startled at the sudden outburst and jerked his head over to Touya, who had a devilish smirk on his face. He was sitting next to Izuku’s partially screened bed in the infirmary, keeping an eye on the door like the guard dog he was. They had been quietly scrolling through their phones to catch up on the latest headlines to refresh their memory on current events, when Touya blurted out the beginning of his favorite game.

“Ash, what the hell? That is wildly inappropriate right now, don’t you think?”

Touya just wiggled his eyebrows and smiled wider, now showing teeth, “All’s fair in …”

“No, no, no! Do not start that here,” Izuku interrupted, throwing his head back onto the pillows.

Touya snorted.

“I will die of embarrassment, and it will be all on you.” Izuku pouted dramatically.

“Here lies Izuku “Smoke” Midoriya struck down by a vicious game of Fuck Marry Kill – Hero Edition. Public exposure of his bondage kink…”

“Shut! I do not have a bondage kink!” Izuku shot up and threw a pillow at Touya.

“…caused all his blood to rush to his flaming face, stopping his heart. All BDSM clubs will hold a moment of silence in his honor,” Touya continued with a fake solemn expression while bowing his head to hide the smile creeping up his face.

The curtains around the bed whipped back to reveal Midnight with a sparkle in her eye and a sly grin, “Scandalous! Tell me more about your kinks. We can compare.” Behind her, Izuku could see a grinning Present Mic and the always-tired Eraserhead in the doorway pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

Covering his face with his hands, Izuku squeaked, “Oh my god, I hate you. You are the worst.”

“Well, since you are not dead yet, maybe you can get some help with your bondage kink.” Touya unapologetically continued his teasing.

“I do not have a bondage kink!” Izuku wailed.

“The evidence suggests otherwise,” Touya grinned.

“No.”

Midnight interrupted with a sly smile, “Since I am an expert in all things BDSM, let me judge. What is your evidence?” She sidled up next to Izuku and gave him a scolding look, “Have you been a bad boy?”

“Midnight, stop. He is our student,” Eraserhead tried to head off this trainwreck.

“Nope, my student is 16. This one looks of age to me,” Midnight tossed back to Eraserhead. He sighed dramatically, knowing he couldn’t stop her now.

“Izuku and I have played this game hundreds of times, especially this combination,” he explained as he pointed to the three of them. “He always picks the same person to fuck, and it is not you, Miss Midnight,” Touya supplied.

Eraserhead’s eyes widened comically as he figured out where this was going, while Present Mic was on the floor, cackling and gasping for breath. Midnight’s eyes sharpened, and with a satisfied smile, she turned to Eraserhead. “I told you that capture weapon gave off kinky vibes.”

Touya bantered back with, “He bluescreened when the combination Eraserhead, Best Jeanist, and Kamui Woods came up.” The traitor just kept digging his grave deeper. Izuku groaned and covered his face with both hands.

Looking back at Izuku, Midnight was fully into seeing how red Izuku could get. “Do you want to be tied up? Spanked, maybe?”

Eraserhead ducked his head in his capture scarf, but the tips of his ears were bright red. He glared at her, “Ok, that’s enough. That is not why we’re here.”

Aizawa was having a hard time believing that this was Midoriya Izuku, or at least some version of him. He seemed more open and confident, even with all the teasing. He wondered what was different between this Midoriya and his Midoriya.

Present Mic finally pulled himself together and stood up. He pulled out his bright smile and said, “We came to check on both of you little listeners. How are you feeling now, Midoriya?”

“I am feeling much better…at least physically. Everything else is just…” Izuku stopped at a loss for words. “You know how you feel when you get off the merry-go-round or the teacups at Disney? Everything looks the same, but your brain is all shook up.”

Mic nods solemnly, “I get it.”

“Of course you do, your brain is always shaken up,” grumbled Eraser.

Mic squawked offendedly, “Sho! Mean! Don’t make me kick you again.”

Aizawa ignored his husband and studied the two men, “Anyway, is there anything you need? I know things are unsettled, but while we figure this whole mess out, we want you to be comfortable.”

Izuku glanced at Touya before responding, “I think we are ok for the moment. What is going to happen now?”

“Nezu has set up a meeting for an hour from now to discuss your situation, if you feel you are ready. Will that work for you?” Aizawa asked.

“We’ll be ready,” Ash answered for them both.

Aizawa nodded and held out two bags, “We had your suits cleaned because Recovery Girl called them a biohazard.” Izuku snorted. That sounded like something she would say.

“We thought you might be more comfortable in your own clothes,” Present Mic smiled warmly.

An hour later, they were dressed in their clean clothes and being led to the meeting by one of Ectoplasm’s clones.

***

As expected, they found Nezu, Recovery Girl, All Might, and Aizawa around the conference table. He figured the rest of the teachers were with their classes.

Aizawa must have had someone cover his classes so he could attend. They were both relieved at that. This was someone they knew they could even if he didn’t know or trust them.

This helped when they noticed the final member of the group, Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa. Izuku could see Touya freeze when he noticed the officer, and he could understand why.

“Is this an interrogation?” Izuku asked sharply, eyeing the detective with suspicion. He never found out what the detective’s quirk was, but he overheard someone mention that his sister had some sort of polygraph or truth quirk, so the detective’s quirk may be related. He would have to be careful about what he said, even if he didn’t plan to lie about anything.

“No, he’s just here as a courtesy since the police were notified when of our security breach. We thought it might make it easier to get his opinion on any legal issues that may come up,” Nezu tried to reassure them.

While not ideal, they could work with this group. He and Touya took seats on the opposite side of the table from the rest and settled in for a long and weird discussion.

“Before we start, can we have the cuffs removed now? With Eraserhead and All Might here, I don’t think anyone is in any danger from us,” Izuku glanced around at the group, looking for any push back on his request.

“Of course, we want you to be comfortable for this discussion,” Nezu waved over Aizawa, who quickly removed each cuff, which had been modified to remove the connecting chain.

Once everyone was settled, Nezu began, “I believe you probably know who we are, but why don’t we go ahead and start with introductions just so we are all clear? I am Nezu, the principal of UA. To my left are the heroes, Recovery Girl and Eraserhead, and to my right are All Might and Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa with the Musutafu Police Department,” Nezu gestured to each person as each was introduced.

“I’ll start with a brief recap of the events. Yesterday afternoon, our security system detected a known villain on UA grounds, and our security protocols were enacted. The facial recognition system built into the system identified Dabi, an A-ranked villain and member of the League of Villains, as the intruder. Hound Dog was first on the scene and reported that the intruder did not match Dabi’s last known description and seemed to be performing CPR on another person. The other person was revived just after the rest of us arrived, and we identified the second person as Midoriya Izuku,” Nezu explained.

“You were both taken to the infirmary, where Recovery Girl provided treatment of what appeared to be fairly typical battle wounds, CPR compression fractures, and quirk exhaustion. You stayed overnight under guard and with Dabi wearing quirk suppression cuffs,” Nezu ended the recap with, “Does that about cover it?”

The ones who had been present yesterday nodded in agreement.

“Now that that’s out of the way, why don’t you tell us who you are and how you found yourselves at UA?” Nezu asked as his ears twitched forward to give them his full attention.

“Hello, I am Midoriya Izuku, as you have already guessed,” Izuku said.

Everyone turned to look at Touya, who said curtly, “I go by Ash.” No one said a word at his declaration but looked expectantly for him to continue. Izuku elbowed him until he rolled his eyes and huffed out, “In the past, I have gone by the name Dabi.”

“Well, it is a relief to know that the facial recognition system is working correctly,” Nezu was pleased that he didn’t have to revamp the security again, but of course, this still raised many questions. He hoped he would get the answers he needed.

All Might leaned forward to interject sharply with a stern look on his face, “Kamino was just two weeks ago, and I saw Dabi at Kamino. You don’t look anything like you, or he did then. How did you change your looks and get rid of your scars?” He was confused by this whole situation. He stopped by the dorms this morning and reassured himself that his boy was there and ok. He didn’t understand how there could be two Midoriyas.

Izuku gave All Might a long and intense look before responding, “Ash and I have been checking the new sites all morning, and we appear to have been transported two years into the past. It’s possible we were transported to a very similar universe or timeline, but so far, we haven’t found any discrepancies with what we know from our past,” Izuku explained what they felt they knew so far, while being careful to avoid certain language that would put Ash in legal crosshairs.

“The lack of discrepancies would indicate that you did not change dimensions but traveled through time, wouldn’t it?” Nezu’s fur bristled with excitement at having a time traveler at his disposal.

“That is what it seems like, but there is no proof that we are exactly the same as who we seem to be from this timeline or if we are from a separate but similar universe,” Izuku said with a pointed look at Nezu, hoping that the rat was connecting the dots.

Izuku shifted his attention to the detective and continued, “At least no proof that would stand up in court.” He could feel Touya stiffen and sit up straight next to him as the implications of the discussion became clear. He had not forgotten his circumstances at this point in the timeline, but too many things had been happening at once to follow those thoughts to their logical conclusion. He was thankful that Izuku kept his head in the game.

Tsukauchi had a thoughtful look as he pondered the story presented. There were certainly complications connecting this “Ash” with their Dabi, and it looked like Nezu was jumping into it with far too much excitement.

“Ah, yes. Based on that, the fact that we know there is a Midoriya Izuku in the dorms right now, there should be a second Dabi in this timeline. For clarity, I’m going to refer to the circumstances as different timelines to describe the circumstances, even though proof of whether it is different timelines or universes doesn’t exist,” Nezu stated, playing along with Izuku’s reasoning.

“Continuing down the line of not knowing for sure which it is and the fact that there are now two of you in this timeline, how could any possible crimes attributed to Dabi be pinned to Ash? It wouldn’t be possible to prosecute two people for the same crime with evidence that indicates only a single person committed it. It would be next to impossible to determine whether any of the past crimes would even apply to “Ash” since it couldn’t be proven that he was in this universe at the time the crimes were committed. A legal conundrum!” Nezu continued, elaborating along the same thought process.

Izuku was pleased that Nezu took up the hints he was throwing out and made the point, so he didn’t have to. It always sounded better when a possible antagonist took up your cause. He learned that from the rat himself.

Izuku and Ash could see the wheels turning in the others’ minds as they attempted to follow the convoluted justification on why they couldn’t immediately arrest Dabi.

“I’m willing to accept this explanation for now,” Tsukauchi finally conceded. He wasn’t paid enough to try to outmaneuver Nezu once he got his teeth in something. He would think about it and discuss it with his superiors later.

He turned when he felt eyes on him and found Aizawa staring at him. He just shrugged in capitulation. A brief smile crossed his lips when Aizawa sighed and turned back to the two plotting.

“With that caveat in mind, everything lines up with us being about two years in our past, right?” Izuku checked with Ash, who agreed with a grunt.

“Do you know how you got here?” Recovery Girl spoke up.

“A quirk,” Ash contributed more freely now that his imminent arrest had been averted.

“Really? What can you tell us about the quirk?” Nezu asked, practically vibrating with curiosity. Oh, how he would love to get his paws on a time-travel quirk.

“Yes, it was a quirk. But it was a one-time use quirk with very specific activation conditions that don’t exist in this universe,” Izuku quickly attempted to divert Nezu from this line of questioning. He knew that the principal would continue to try to tease details from him. Hopefully, he would let it go for now.

Aizawa was shocked. As far as he knew, time-traveling quirks didn’t exist. “What caused it to activate and send you here and now?” Aizawa wanted to know.

“I’m not sure. The activation requirements must have been met,” Izuku started, but then faltered as he thought back to the fear and rage he felt when Shigaraki trapped Touya against the edge of the roof.

Izuku was relieved that Touya took over when he spaced out. “One minute, we were fighting, then Smoke fell off a building, I went after him, and the next thing I knew we were here at UA, somehow in the past,” Touya said matter-of-factly.

“Smoke?” Mic questioned. He was curious since he had heard Ash refer to Midoriya as Smoke earlier.

“Oh, yeah. Smoke is me. Smoke and Ash were our codenames during the war,” Izuku explained.

“War?” Aizawa leaned forward, “What war?” Studying the two men, they seemed worn out and jumpy, and not just because of yesterday’s events. They exhibited the kind of tiredness that takes months of poor sleep and stress to develop. Being involved in war(!) would explain their current condition.

“I can give you the broad strokes of what happened, at least for now. Shigaraki and the League joined up with the Paranormal Liberation Front in Deika City and started a war. Deika City is basically entirely PLF members, from the heroes and police all the way down to the civilians. The PLF wanted to start a revolution that would create a society that allowed free quirk use, where those with the strongest quirks would rule over everyone else. Shigaraki got them a war instead. The first battle happened in Jaku. It was brutal but ended in a standoff with both sides retreating. So many people died, though. It demoralized the surviving heroes, many of whom walked away and gave up.”

He paused at the appalled looks on All Might and Aizawa’s faces. All Might, who had been quietly trying to wrap his brain around the incredible story, finally found his voice, “If they just abandoned everyone, then who was left to protect the public?” 

“It was a mess for a while. The HPSC scrambled to keep things together, but with the loss of so many heroes, the public lost faith, and the HPSC crumbled. The remaining heroes and police did what they could until an organized resistance could be formed. While that was going on, Shigaraki joined up with the doctor who had worked with All for One to create the nomu. More nomu were created and began attacking all over Japan. Once the resistance was formed, we began fighting back. It took us almost two years to defeat Shigaraki and his nomu army.”

The silent processing of their devastating tale lasted a few minutes until Aizawa glared at the time-travelers, “You fell off a building, and you thought it was a good idea to chase him?”

Touya and Izuku shared a sheepish look before nodding. “To be fair, I don’t think we were really thinking at that point. Shiggy was finally out of the picture, and I just saw Smoke go past me off the roof. I instinctively followed. The next thing I know, Smoke is not breathing, and I find myself performing CPR on this self-sacrificing asshole,” Touya poked Izuku as he explained. 

“That brings up an interesting question. How did a hero student and a member of the League of Villains end up here together and on seemingly good terms?” Nezu picked up the thread of conversation at that point and brought up the elephant in the room.

“How did this partnership of yours start? You both seem awfully close,” Aizawa was looking suspiciously at Ash.

“From our perspective, you should be on opposite sides,” the detective added with a puzzled expression.

Ash sighed and looked away from all the curious eyes, “After Jaku, I left the League. I had been under the influence of a mental quirk that allowed all my negative emotions to basically take over my faculties, leaving me blind to anything besides the rage I felt toward my father. That pushed me into joining up with the League to get revenge. Everything spiraled from here. But after Jaku, the fog lifted. We figured that the quirk wielder died, and I was finally free. I was horrified at the things I had done and decided that the only way to redeem myself was to fight back against the League. Smoke found me a few months later fighting some nomu.”

“And we have been a team ever since,” piped up Izuku warningly.

“Oh, who was your father? Maybe I can help you with that in a more legal way,” Nezu probed with absolutely no subtlety.

“No, thank you. I prefer to keep that to myself for now,” Touya frowned at the way-too-invested principal.

Nezu turned his attention to Izuku, who could practically see him salivating to know every last detail. Izuku knew he would not be satisfied with the short version of his story for long, but he couldn’t reveal everything.

Yet.

First of all, he was tired, and that would be a long, long conversation or series of conversations. Yeah, he’s not ready for that. And second, some of what he needed to explain was wrapped in secrets that he was not ready or able to reveal. At least not without consent. 

Recovery Girl noticed he was flagging and stated with finality, “This discussion is over for now. Midoriya needs to rest. He is barely upright. You can continue this later after my patient has eaten and taken a nap.”

Izuku nodded in agreement, “I know you have more questions, and I will be happy to answer them the best I can, but I need to consult with someone before we continue any further.”

“Oh, who?” Nezu tilted his head and asked.

“My counterpart, Midoriya Izuku.”

Chapter Text

Here's to us, Here's to love.

All the times that we messed up.

Here's to you. Fill the glass

Cause the last few nights have kicked my ass. – Halestorm

Izuku nodded in agreement, “I know you have more questions, and I will be happy to answer them the best I can, but I need to consult with someone before we continue any further.”

“Oh, who?” Nezu tilted his head and asked.

“My counterpart, Midoriya Izuku.”

“He is here, right? And ok? Nezu mentioned he was in the dorms, but not if anything happened to him since the incident. I didn’t think about whether the quirk would affect him on this end…” Izuku began muttering so fast that he wasn’t really breathing. Touya put a hand on his shoulder to try to ground him.

“Problem child, yes, Midoriya is here, too. You both are here and fine. Take deep breaths,” Aizawa quickly got his attention and spoke with a soothing voice, exaggerating his breathing to encourage Izuku to mimic him and get out of his spiraling thoughts.

Izuku slowly nodded and then took a couple of moments to center himself, “O-ok, that’s good.” He wondered if Aizawa noticed that he called him “Problem Child”, and it was that which startled him out of his mutter-storm. He usually had a better handle on his emotions, but the whiplash of events over the last few days really did a number on him.

Izuku gave a reassuring but tired nod to Touya and a brief squeeze to the hand on his shoulder before shifting his attention back to the heroes and continuing, “Anyway, I need to talk to him before moving on because parts of our story revolve around some private information concerning both of us. He and I need to decide how to handle that together. I am not going to blindside him or speak out of turn.” There was a steely edge to his voice. Eraserhead glanced at Nezu and shook his head as if to indicate that Izuku was not going to budge on this.

“I am sure we can arrange something,” Nezu said agreeably. Then he addressed Aizawa, “Why don’t you escort Ash and Midoriya to the infirmary to rest? We can set something up with both Midoriyas for after classes are out for the day.”

“You can just call me Smoke, if you like. I know it’s confusing,” Izuku said with drooping eyes.

“Come on, sleepyhead. Let’s head out before you fall asleep, or I will carry you to the infirmary like I did the first time,” Touya gave Izuku a cheeky grin.

Izuku could feel his cheeks heat up as he remembered how Touya carried him bridal style. He grabbed a snickering Touya’s hand and dragged him out of the conference room with Recovery Girl and Aizawa following along behind them.

Once they were out of earshot, a tense All Might turned to Nezu with a frown, “Are we sure this is a good idea? Their story seems pretty far-fetched. What if this is just another plot of All for One’s?”

Tsukauchi scoffed, “First of all, All for One is in Tartarus and is unable to contact anyone on the outside. Second, I doubt he would have created a plan that had Midoriya and Dabi as friends or whatever they are. It is so implausible that I can’t imagine anyone thinking that would be a believable plan. And to what end? Infiltrate UA?”

“Well, they’re here, aren’t they? Inside UA? And everyone seems to accept their story without any sort of proof,” countered All Might, visibly frustrated.

Nezu interrupted their argument, “Their story does have quite a few holes. I noticed that they never answered your question about why Dabi looks so different. But Smoke implied that after meeting with Midoriya, we would get more details to fill some of these holes.”

“I’m with Nezu, let’s see what more information we can get from them before making any decisions,” Tsukauchi agreed.

“But…” All Might floundered trying to put into words how unsettled he was with the way Smoke was staring at him.

“What sort of proof were you looking for?” Tsukauchi asked in an effort to assuage the hero and to get him to focus.

“If he truly is Midoriya from the future, then he should have…” All Might began.

“[One for All]?” Nezu finished for him.

“Yes.”

“Since he is currently suffering from quirk exhaustion and his quirk is unavailable until he recovers, we’ll just have to wait until he recovers before we can obtain any proof in that direction,” Nezu said.

Reviewing his day and plans that needed to be made, Nezu asked, “Detective, do you wish to attend the next meeting with our guests?”

“No, it doesn’t sound like I will be needed in my professional capacity at this point. You can let me know if that changes,” the detective said as he stood in anticipation of taking his leave. He would rather stay out of Nezu’s plotting while he discussed the situation with his boss.

“Of course, detective. All Might, would you walk the detective out?” Nezu gave them a feral grin, which he had noticed seemed to clear a room nicely. Nezu wanted to review the meeting without All Might wringing his hands over his successor. Or was it successors?

***

Izuku flopped onto his infirmary bed near the window, his eyes immediately closing before flying open a second later. He shot upright in the bed and said, “Aizawa, I doubt that Nezu will let me meet alone with Midoriya, at least at first.” Aizawa nodded in agreement. “I thought so. I would like for the meeting to be just you, Midoriya, and me. Too many people will make him nervous, but I know he trusts you the most out of all the teachers here.”

“Why do you think that?” Aizawa’s brow rose at the ridiculous statement. The way this year has gone, he wouldn’t be surprised if none of his students trusted him. The class was embroiled in one calamity after another, and he fell short in protecting them each time.

Izuku heard the disbelief in Aizawa’s voice. “Hmm, it feels weird to out him, so I’ll just say teachers were never the kindest to us,” he decided that was the best answer he could give without revealing too much.

“No one has ever called me kind,” said a confused Aizawa.

“Well, they’re wrong. You may not be the nicest teacher, but you are kind in your own way. You don’t treat your students like children, but you do take care of them. Your expectations are realistic while still pushing them to be better. Anyway, he trusts that you would keep him safe and wouldn’t put him in danger.”

After some thought, Aizawa reluctantly agreed, “Fine, kid. I can coordinate with Nezu about making sure that it’s just the three of us.”

“Not a kid,” Izuku muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Then stop acting like one and go to sleep,” Recovery Girl shouted from her office.

“That’s my cue to leave. Is there anything else you need before I go?” Aizawa was in no mood to be in Recovery Girl’s firing line.

“As a matter of fact, I do have a favor to ask regarding how we set up the meeting with Midoriya?” Izuku rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

Later that afternoon.

“Midoriya is on his way,” Nezu said as he stepped into the conference room where Izuku and Ash were waiting with Eraser. His ears twitched when he saw Izuku wearing a dark hoodie that covered his green hair, sunglasses, and gloves. He was twisting a face mask in his hands.

“Why are you wearing a disguise?” Nezu asked, studying the young man seated at the conference table.

Nezu was intrigued with Smoke. Every interaction he’d had with the young man was chock-full of surprises and inconsistencies with what he knew of Izuku Midoriya. Had he missed something with Midoriya? He was going to have to dig deeper into the Midoriyas to find out where he learned these psychological strategies. Because he recognized some of the tactics he had used to steer the last meeting. And based on what he was seeing, this meeting looked like it would turn into something similar. He should know. He taught his personal students these strategies.

“Um, well, I know me, and I know the most convincing way to get Midoriya to trust me and believe who I am, because this is a pretty crazy story,” Izuku shrugged, gloved hands gripping each other tightly.

“And you’re ok with whatever this is?” Nezu asked Aizawa, who just shrugged noncommittally.

“Ok, then I will head back to my office with Ash, where we, along with All Might, will be watching on the monitors. I wish I could stay, but I have been told that I am too intimidating and might make Midoriya nervous.” As Nezu scurried to the door with Ash tagging along behind, he said over his shoulder, “I can’t wait for the show!”

‘Show? He’s so dramatic. And scary.’ Izuku thought, putting on the face mask. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he heard a soft knock on the door.

Aizawa opened the door, and Izuku finally came face-to-face with himself. ‘This is so, so weird,’ Izuku thought.

Midoriya was wearing his school uniform with his yellow backpack slung over his shoulder. His shoulders were hunched up under Aizawa’s scrutiny. He ducked his head while scanning the room until he noticed Izuku sitting at the conference table. He studied the stranger for a moment before looking up at Aizawa. Midoriya said nervously, “Sensei, you wanted to see me?”

“Midoriya, have a seat, Aizawa started before noticing his student’s nervous demeanor. “First, you are not in any trouble,” he paused until Midoriya acknowledged him.

“This is Smoke, and he wanted to talk with you. You don’t have to, if you don’t want to. If you do choose to speak with him, I will be staying here in the room with you, so you won’t be left alone with him. I don’t expect anything to happen, but we want you to be comfortable,” Aizawa said calmly with little emotion showing on his face.

Izuku watched as Midoriya took his time to think over what Aizawa said and to study him some more. Apparently coming to a decision, he responded, “I guess I can talk to him. What is this about?”

“Smoke will fill you in. I'll just be here by the door in case you need me.” Aizawa settled himself against the wall near the door.

“Smoke, I haven’t heard of you before. Are you a hero? What do you need me for?” Midoriya questioned, settling into the chair across the conference table from Izuku.

“No, not a hero exactly. But I do need your help. More importantly, I need you to trust me,” Izuku said, watching Midoriya tense and shift in his chair. His eyes darted to Aizawa for reassurance and then back to Izuku.

“Um, I guess I can…” Midoriya started.

Izuku interrupted before Midoriya could finish, “No, I know you don’t and can’t just trust a stranger hiding behind a hoodie and mask, but I can’t show you what I look like just yet.”

“We have a weird connection that I need you to figure out for yourself. Once you figure out our connection, it will make sense why I have gone to these lengths to gain your trust. Seeing what I look like will be more confusing than helpful, considering the many quirks that can change appearances,” Izuku watched Midoriya puzzle through his statement for a moment before continuing.

“I need you to figure out who I am, and I think I know a way to help you figure that out without me saying my name or showing you my face. From there, you can decide whether or not you can trust me. Are you willing to take a chance with me?” Izuku said.

Midoriya’s eyes traveled over Izuku, studying him closely. He glanced at Aizawa again for reassurance. He must have gotten what he needed because he straightened his back and said with a firm voice, “Okay, what did you have in mind?”

Under the mask, Izuku smiled. He knew Midoriya wouldn’t be able to resist this challenge.

“There are many ways to describe people: their name, their clothes, their physical characteristics, their family, their school, their personality, their friends, and so on. But lots of people could fit into each of these groups. What is the one thing that is unique to each individual person?” Izuku asked.

Midoriya rested his chin on his hand as he pondered the question. Izuku could practically see the wheels turning in Midoriya’s mind. ‘Huh, I really do just zone out everything when something piques my interest.’

“Well, there is the obvious, DNA, but I don’t think that is what you are implying. The only things I can think of are thoughts,” Midoriya said, looking up.

“Correct! I knew you would get it. But how does that help this situation, you may be asking? Well, some thoughts are known because you talk about them or discuss them with others. Secrets, though. Secrets, we hold close and share with only our most trusted people or no one at all,” Izuku watched Midoriya’s eye widen in panic at the talk of secrets.

“Before you freak out, I will not be revealing anyone’s secrets in this room. Not yours and not mine.” Midoriya doesn’t look like he believes him, but Izuku continues, “I am going to allude to certain secrets. You know your own secrets and who you have shared them with. You should be able to tell who I am just from the secrets I know. Does that make sense?”

“I don’t know,” Midoriya hesitated, nervously pulling at his hands.

“Ok, let’s just try one. Remember, I am not revealing anyone’s secrets. For this first one, I will say a word, and we will both write down a name associated with it. Then swap them and see. What do you think?” Izuku asked quietly and calmly.

“O-oh. That would be fine, I guess,” Midoriya cautiously agreed, still with some doubt in his voice.

“Do you have any paper, Aizawa?” Izuku asked.

Aizawa pulled two notebooks and pens out of a cabinet and passed them out.

“Ok, ready?” With a nod from Midoriya, Izuku said, “Remember, write down a person you associate with it.” He paused, then, “Spiders.”

Midoriya’s head snapped to Izuku, and the blood drained from his face. His mouth dropped open in protest before noticing Izuku pulling a notebook toward him. Izuku scribbled on the page before tearing it out. He folded the page in half and set it on the table between the two.

Midoriya had only one secret that was related to spiders, and he was fairly sure that no one knew about it. It was petty revenge on his part against some of his bullies in middle school. He found out a couple of them were terrified of spiders, so he collected a few (non-venomous, of course, he’s not a monster) and mailed them off to his tormentors. He remembered the satisfaction he felt when they came back to school after the delivery with trembling fingers and twitching at every sound. And, if he tucked little wads of balled-up black string mimicking spiders around the classroom, well, no one had to know.

The only way that could have been traced back to him was if the post office worker noticed something sketchy and, for some reason, opened the packages. But then why would he send it out anyway? That made no sense. Also, this guy did not look tall enough or wide enough to be the worker he handed the packages to.

After one more questioning look at Izuku, Midoriya decided to see what would happen. He opened the other notebook and added his answer to a page before tearing it out and passing it over to Izuku.

Midoriya carefully picked up the other paper, turning it over in his hands before opening it. His mouth dropped open again as he read, “Tsubarabu” written on the paper. Izuku snickered as he read, “Fujimoto” on Midoriya’s paper.

“H-how?” Midoriya muttered as he stared at the stranger on the other side of the table.

“Exactly, how? Think about it,” Izuku was watching Midoriya closely.

“Shall we do another one?”

At Midoriya’s shaky nod, Izuku said, “For this one, write a number associated with crickets.”

It seemed impossible, but Midoriya’s face got whiter, and he muttered, “It’s not possible. There is no way anyone knows.”

In the beginning of his third year of middle school, after a reckless villain fight that resulted in the deaths of two quirkless children and one mutant child, the hero Wash made some egregiously bigoted statements that caused more harassment to these two groups. Even after outrage from both communities, the Hero Public Safety Commission did nothing to censure the hero and went so far as to publicly commend Wash.

Midoriya was sickened by the whole thing, and while going after Wash would have been personally satisfying, the HPSC was the real villain by allowing this type of treatment to become acceptable and causing more suffering to marginal populations.

He decided the best he could do without becoming a target was to mildly inconvenience them. He thought 2,000 crickets dropped in their ductwork would be endlessly annoying and would take weeks, if not months, to eradicate. Everyone knew how annoying the little creatures were. They chirped just enough to let you know they were there, but not enough to pinpoint their location, making them tough to eradicate without a full-scale pest control service. He thought that with how secretive and security-conscious they were, it was unlikely they would allow a pest control company to have carte blanche in their building.

Izuku dipped his head and pushed a folded paper to the center of the table.

Izuku’s paper read “1967” and Midoriya’s answer was “1962”. Izuku gasped, “Oh my god, I forgot about Thumb.”

Midoriya’s mind was reeling; he had ordered 2,000 crickets from several different pet stores in and around Musutafu to minimize his exposure of being caught. Sadly, 33 died before they could be delivered to the HPSC, which would make 1,967 crickets. However, the day before he figured out how to sneak them into the HPSC’s duct system, he was watching his neighbor’s snake Thumb and fed him 5 of the crickets. This brought the total to 1,962.

So, while it was possible someone figured out that he bought a bunch of crickets, there was no way they could have guessed exactly how many he had. And no one knew about him feeding Thumb. No one was there when that happened, and he never told anyone about his petty revenge.

Midoriya looked at the man across from him uneasily. If this person could uncover his very hidden secrets, what else could he find out?

“Do you have some sort of secret-revealing quirk? Or can you read minds? Because I can’t think of any way that you could know about these things,” Midoriya asked curtly. He was getting angry that he was being exposed to this. Why was his sensei part of this?

“I do not have a mental quirk. No quirk was involved in how I know about these things. As a matter of fact, I currently do not have access to my quirk due to quirk exhaustion. Just ask your sensei,” the masked man said calmly, trying not to stress the other.

Aizawa had no idea what was going on or what they were even talking about. Spiders? Crickets? They were being very cryptic, and honestly, he didn’t care that much. However, he was sure that Nezu was in his office, cackling at the ‘show’.

Rousing himself somewhat, Aizawa replied to the questioning look from Midoriya, “It’s true he is unable to use his quirk at the moment due to quirk exhaustion. So, whatever is going on is not related to a quirk.”

Midoriya pulled his attention back to the stranger, who pressed onward, “So, if it’s not a quirk, then ask yourself, how is it possible for me to know these secrets?”

Midoriya glared at Izuku, not sure if he believed him. There has to be some sort of mental quirk involved in digging out his closely held secrets. But Sensei wouldn’t lie to him about something like this.

‘Ok, think. If what he is saying is true, then how can he know stuff that only I was involved with and no one else could possibly find out,’ Midoriya scratched at his neck in thought. ‘It’s almost like he is me or a clone of me, since I am still here. No, not a clone, he looks taller and a bit broader in the shoulders. If not a clone, then what?’

He decided to think outside the box of his typical expectations. ‘If this were a movie, he could be a time traveler or dimension traveler. No, not a dimension traveler, the information on the crickets was too exact. Different dimensions would have some shift, I would think. I guess that leaves a time traveler. Really? This is what it’s come to. This sounds so stupid. I don’t think there has ever been a time-traveling quirk. But everything fits. Could it really be?’

Izuku was watching Midoriya carefully and noticed when it seemed like he was coming close to a conclusion. “It looks like you are on the track of something. You want to try one more to test your theory?”

The kid met his eyes (or sunglasses) and nodded. Midoriya didn’t trust his voice to just blurt out question after question.

“For this one, I will say a word, and together at the count of 3 we will say the phrase associated with it,” Izuku stated.

After another nod from Midoriya, “Bees.”

“1”

“2”

“3”

“All hail the queen,” both said in unison. Midoriya was now grinning like a maniac. He knew that there was no way anyone but him knew that answer.

When he was researching nonvenomous spiders, he stumbled across an article about bees. It was a fascinating article describing how the drone and worker bees were only there to support the queen. For the next few months, every time he saw a bee or read about one, the silly phrase “All hail the queen” flashed across his thoughts. It was never said out loud and never written down. He never really thought about it. It just became an automatic thought after a while. 

“So, with all these clues, who am I?” Izuku asked, leaning back in his chair.

“I think you are me. I can’t think of any way anyone else would know all the things you know. From your size and build you must be older, so a time traveler?” Midoriya’s voice became steadier as he continued.

Izuku pushed back the hood of his hoodie and removed his sunglasses and mask to reveal green curls, sparkling green eyes, and a wide grin, “I knew you could figure it out! You have to stop hiding your analysis skills. Your teacher didn’t think you could do it.”

“Don’t bring me into your shenanigans,” Aizawa sighed, rubbing his eyes.

Nezu rushed into the conference room with Touya and All Might on his heels. Midoriya gave a quick smile to All Might before noticing the other man.

Izuku noticed the pensive look on Midoriya's face as he studied Ash, who had sauntered up next to him.

“The rat is scary,” Izuku smiled at the gruff voice of his partner. He kept watching Midoriya while Ash filled him in on Nezu’s antics. He could see that Midoriya was puzzled, probably due to being unable to put his finger on why the other man seemed familiar. It was fascinating for Izuku to watch Midoriya or himself analyze someone in real time.

Izuku was not sure what tipped the scales, probably the voice, but he could tell the moment Midoriya put the flimsy pieces together and jumped up from his seat to take a defensive stance. Izuku circled the table warily and put his hand on Midoriya's shoulder. “It’s ok. He came back with me. He’s on our side.”

Midoriya checked with the other heroes in the room, and they appeared calm and unthreatened, so he stood down, but still kept an eye out for any suspicious activity. Seeing Midoriya side-eying him, Izuku stated, “We have lots to talk about.” He heard a muffled snort from Touya.

Shifting his attention to the principal, he said, “Nezu, what do you think? Will you allow Midoriya and me to have a private conversation somewhere? Preferably, away from the main buildings.”

“I think that can be arranged, but you will still have to be escorted. I can’t allow any of my students to wander off alone with a relative stranger,” Nezu said with a weird little smile. He was either testing Izuku with that play on words or just amusing himself.

“I understand, but our conversation includes secrets that neither of us will want to be overheard,” Izuku stated before cautiously continuing, “I have a solution for that, if you will allow it.” Izuku held out a hand to Touya, who handed him a small device that he retrieved from his pocket.

“Oh, what is that?” Nezu's eyes glinted at the device. It had a rounded silver exterior case about 2 inches long with buttons like a remote of some sort.

“I call it the silent sphere. It basically creates a 5-foot sphere around itself that sound cannot escape from. It also blurs the interior. You can tell something is there, but not very clearly. It was great for stakeouts and stealth missions,” Izuku explained as he rubbed a thumb fondly over it before passing it to Nezu. “You can try it out or have Power Loader check it over.”

Nezu gave it a brief once over before stating, “I will send it down to Power Loader. All Might, if you would?” Nezu handed the device to All Might, who looked as if he might protest to being sent away. After hesitating a few moments, he lumbered off to the support department.

“Aizawa, I think Ground Beta is clear today if you want to escort these two there. I will have the silent sphere brought to you when Power Loader is done examining it.”

“Fine,” Aizawa sighed in answer to Nezu before addressing the two Midoriyas, “Follow me.” He headed out the door into the hallway, grumbling about not being a babysitter with Midoriya on his heels.

Izuku took a moment to adjust his disguise by pulling the hood over his head and putting the face mask back on. He still needed to keep a low profile until they decided on a course of action and to keep certain people from finding out about them. He gave Touya a questioning look and started to ask if he would be okay for a while without him. Before he could speak, Nezu interrupted.

“Ash, why don’t you and I head to my office while they have their chat. We can discuss whether UA can assist you and Smoke with accommodations, at least for the short term,” Nezu said happily now that he could get one of the pair of time-travelers to himself. He practically skipped into the hall.

“Should I be worried?” Ash asked with a mistrustful look.

“Absolutely,” Izuku snickered back to him as they exited the conference room, then headed in opposite directions with their respective groups.

“Ash, how do you feel about tea?” asked the principal when Ash joined him in the hall while still in earshot of the others.

Ash turned back toward the others while continuing down the hall backwards with a sly smile on his face. He said, “I prefer sake, if you have any.”

The smile got bigger when he got the reaction he wanted from Izuku, who stumbled to a stop and whipped around with a horrified expression.

Touya left him wide-eyed and frozen as he turned back to follow the principal.

Chapter Text

Hello, are you in there? Do you still remember, or have you forgotten where you're from?
Are you still scared of dying?
Scared of them finding out that you don't know who you are?

...

Since I was a little boy, I always had a tear upon my face
They'd hit me in the mouth, and they told me, "It's time to act your age"
So tell me, are gonna die in the pain that they all inflict on you?
Or are you gonna swim through the storm of what you have to do? – Yungblud

Midoriya tilted his head down to hide the smile creeping up while listening to… ‘What do I call him?’ he thought with just a bit of nervous but excited energy. He wasn’t sure what he expected when Aizawa-sensei asked him to stay after class today, but meeting his future self was not anywhere on that bingo card. How could it be? It was ridiculous, right?

But their whole meeting was just so him. Well, the him that he kept hidden deep down because he knew no one would like or want to be friends with his unfiltered self. He has had 10 years of data proving that point.

But that didn’t seem to bother the Izuku walking next to him, muttering about revenge on a sake thief? Maybe he would explain the sake thing if he asked. Ha, he’s never going to ask that. It sounded way too personal to just tell a random…Ok, maybe not a random person.

‘Ahhh, this is so confusing to think about!’ Midoriya internally cried.

He glanced over at the other Izuku, who was still muttering. ‘Oh god, do I look that unhinged when I get caught up in my head and start muttering?’

“Yes, you do,” came a gravelly voice. He looked up to see his sensei looking back at him with an amused look. He wasn’t smiling because he rarely did that, but he could tell by the sparkle in his eyes that he was practically laughing at him.

His eyes narrowed at his sensei, but he didn’t say anything. This seemed to further delight the hero. Aizawa-sensei knew he was too polite or nervous to say anything back.

Not so his counterpart.

“Be nice, old man,” the time-traveler said after finally getting out of their own head, “I have plenty of embarrassing stories about you.”

Aizawa simply raised an eyebrow in doubt.

“Hizashi overshares,” Izuku said with a smirk. The hero sighed in resignation and continued on to Ground Beta.

Midoriya leaned toward Izuku and whispered, “Hizashi?”

“I’ll tell you later,” was whispered back conspiratorially.

A few moments later, they arrived at Ground Beta. Izuku hadn’t forgotten how big this space was, with the buildings towering over them in the faux urban landscape.

While they waited for the silent sphere to be returned, Izuku recounted to Midoriya what had happened the day before and repeated the bare-bones story he had told the UA staff. Aizawa had already heard all of this, so it didn’t matter if he was there.

Midoriya pondered the story for a few minutes before circling back to a few points. “So, the League of Villains and a group called the Paranormal Liberation Front went to war with Japan under Shigaraki’s leadership. To what end?”

“Shigaraki, because he hates heroes, and the PLF, to overthrow the government so they could change the laws around quirk use, putting themselves at the top of the food chain,” Izuku responded with an annoyed eyeroll.

“And because of the casualties during the opening skirmishes and the heroes’ fears of losing, they just quit being heroes. Just because it was too hard?” Midoriya said incredulously. Izuku nodded sadly.

“Wow,” Midoriya blankly stared into space, trying to wrap his mind around heroes just giving up. These were the people he admired growing up, and people he wanted to emulate now. He could maybe understand if they had given up after fighting for months, but “Smoke” (he really needed to figure out what to call him) said it happened near the beginning of the war.

Shaking himself mentally out of that depressing headspace, Midoriya asked, “Ok, so what or who was the resistance?”

“The resistance consisted of groups of fighters under the leadership of a pair of heroes. The fighters were other heroes, civilians, vigilantes, and some villains. The groups had bases scattered all over Japan. The rebuilt HPSC funded, supplied, organized, and assisted the resistance,” Izuku explained.

“You were part of the resistance?” questioned Midoriya.

The suit the man was wearing looked like it could be an underground hero suit with its shadowy camouflage appearance. A little smile peeked out when he noticed the boots. The dark red combat boots tipped him over the edge of solid belief in the crazy story. He couldn’t imagine anyone else being that committed to this style of red shoes, that they would compromise style and stealth just to stick to their favorite color of shoes. It sounded just like something he would insist on. It warmed his heart that his future self stuck to something so inconsequential but also comforting and familiar.  

“No,” Izuku said firmly, kicking Midoriya out of his musings, “I was outside of the resistance for my own reasons, but I worked closely with them.”

Aizawa had been discreetly listening to the recounting of the events and perked up at that bit of information. It was very interesting that the two time-travelers had not mentioned that they weren’t actually part of the resistance. He wondered why they kept their distance metaphorically when it seemed like they were intimately involved in the fighting and coordinating with the resistance.

It was about then that All Might joined them. He shuffled up and gave them a brief smile in greeting. He handed the device over to Aizawa. “Power Loader said it was safe and worked the way Smoke explained.”

Aizawa looked over the device before passing it over to Izuku.

“Thanks,” Izuku quickly checked it over to make sure nothing bad had happened to it while out of his hands.

“Ok, problem children,” Aizawa said lazily, “we’ll just wait here while you have your talk.”

Izuku rolled his eyes at the “problem children” moniker before turning to Midoriya, “Let’s walk and talk for a bit. I have been sitting around for too long and need to burn off some energy.” Midoriya nodded, and the two headed down the central street away from the watching heroes.

Izuku pushed a button on the device, and a slight hazy shimmer appeared all around them. Midoriya looked back at his teachers and could still see them clearly through the haze, but they were looking intently at where they should be. All Might appeared ready to chase after them, but it looked like Aizawa was talking him down.

Midoriya glanced at his companion, who appeared unconcerned with the heroes behind him. The time traveler was chewing on his bottom lip like he himself did when he was mulling over his words.

Izuku stopped in the middle of the street, pushed back his hood so that he could face his younger self with no barriers. Green met green, each with a bit of wonder and excitement in their eyes.

Izuku shifted on his feet before saying candidly, “I know this is a super weird situation. I basically know everything about you, and you know everything about me except for the last two years. I know that we both hide our true selves as a form of protection, but I am going to do my best to be as open as possible with you. In that vein, I am going to promise you that I will never lie to you. I may not tell you everything, and I may keep my own secrets, but I won’t lie.”

Midoriya studied the other man. His posture was firm and his tone resolute. He couldn’t see any hidden agenda behind his words. He decided to go along with the other him and hope this didn’t blow up in his face, “Ok, that sounds fair. I will do the same then,” Midoriya said with conviction, meeting the other’s eyes to show his candor. The smile reflected back at him lit a spark within him. It felt like hope.

“Where do I start?” Izuku said. His nerves were on edge, and he anxiously removed his hair tie before resecuring his long, unruly mop of hair back into a ponytail.

“Why don’t you start with how you got here?” Midoriya suggested.

Izuku laughed as he started strolling down the middle of the street, “That’s easy. [One for All].”

Midoriya stalled for a second before hurrying to catch up. “What? [One for All] is a strength enhancer, not a time-traveling quirk.”

“Well, neither of those things is strictly true. [One for All] is a stockpiling quirk.”

“Yes, it stockpiles strength.” Midoriya was sure about that.

“Yes, but that’s not all it stockpiles.”

“What do you mean?” Now Midoriya was curious. His counterpart had had [One for All] for longer. Presumably, he knew more about the quirk than he did.

“Do you remember in the Sports Festival when you got caught in Shinsou’s quirk during the one-on-ones?”

“Yes?”

“How did you get out of his quirk?” Izuku asked.

“My quirk activated, and the pain from that snapped me out of Shinsou’s control.”

“But you didn’t activate it. Did you?” Izuku queried with a raised eyebrow.

Sure, Midoriya didn’t remember calling up [One for All], but that didn’t mean anything, right? He hadn’t had his quirk that long; maybe that was just something that happened?

Izuku’s next words threw that thought out the window, “The vestiges activated your quirk.”

“Who? Vestiges?”

“While you were under Shinsou’s control, do you remember seeing some glowing eyes looking at you from the stadium tunnel?”

“I mean, I guess, but I thought I was just hallucinating.” Was there more to it?

Izuku laughed lightly, “Nope, those were the vestiges. That was the first time I noticed them. The vestiges are a kind of spiritual remnant of each of the past users of [One for All].”

“Spiritual remnant? You mean ghosts! Are you saying I’m haunted?”

Izuku snickered at the horrified look on Midoriya’s face, “Yep. They forced [One for All] to activate during the festival because they don’t like losing. Big babies,” Izuku grumbled fondly.

“So, they can take control of [One for All] whenever they want?” Midoriya stopped walking and was starting to get anxious or angry, maybe a little of both. Were they going to take over his quirk? That wasn’t right or fair; it was his quirk now. They had their chances with it.

Izuku glanced at Midoriya and could see his agitation. He grasped the younger’s hands, where he had been twisting them, “No, normally they can’t. It was only because you are a relatively new user and don’t have as much control of [One for All] yet. They are not usually so forward, preferring to stay in the background as advisors of a sort. Once you get better control, they won’t be able to use your quirk. The more control you have, the more it becomes entwined with your consciousness and won’t take orders from them anymore.”

Midoriya searched the other’s visage in an effort to gauge the truth. He hoped he was right.

“Ok, so I just need to get stronger,” Midoriya declared more to himself as an affirmation to instill confidence in himself and push himself forward.

Izuku squeezed the younger’s hands briefly to provide reassurance and to get his attention, “I can help you get there faster than I did.” Izuku wanted better for his younger self than he had while learning how to use [One for All]. Maybe he would emerge with less physical and mental trauma.

As much as he would like to figure it out on his own, Midoriya would rather not have any more broken bones. “If you are willing to help me, I would really like that.” He gave a little bow of gratitude before they both continued down the street.

“You said advisors. Does that mean they talked to you? Are they going to talk to me? How does that work?” Midoriya quizzed Izuku, who could feel the tidal wave of questions Midoriya was barely holding back.

“Yes, they talked to me, but only from within the quirk itself. Sometime after the Sports Festival, they started pulling me into the quirk while I was sleeping. Eventually, I could reach them through meditation, or I had Shinsou brainwash me. Sometimes I could feel them nudge me mentally.”

“Can you tell me about them?” Midoriya asked curiously. If he knew more about them, then he might not feel so worried about being haunted.

“There are 8. Although All Might’s vestige isn’t fully formed since he is still alive and still has some embers left. He would be the Eighth,” the time traveler explained.

“Seventh is his master, Nana Shimura. She was a hero and is the only woman. She is very motherly, supportive, and friendly. Her quirk is [Float].”

“Sixth is En Tayutai. He was also known as the hero Smoke-Eater. While he is quiet, he is friendly and helpful. His quirk is [Smokescreen]”

“Fifth is Diagoro Bajo, pro hero Lariat. He’s loud and opinionated. His quirk is [Blackwhip].”

“Fourth is Hikage Shinomori, whose quirk is [Danger Sense]. He was a solitary man who spent years alone strengthening [One for All].

“Third is Bruce Lee, quirk [Fa Jin], and Second is Toshitsugu Kudo, quirk [Gearshift]. They were resistance fighters against [All for One] when he more out in the open. Neither accepted me as the ninth holder for a very long time and refused to interact with me much.’

“First is Yoichi Shigaraki, All for One’s brother, and the originator of [One for All]. He has a strong sense of justice and was the most supportive of all the vestiges.”

Midoriya’s fingers were twitching with the urge to write it all down so that he wouldn’t forget. Izuku grinned when he noticed and said, “I know you are wishing for one of your notebooks now. Don’t worry about remembering, once you meet them, you won’t forget.”

“When will that be?” Midoriya pleaded. Maybe they could help him use [One for All]. Not that All Might wasn’t supportive, but he could use all the help he could get. Who better than those who have used it before?

“I can help you with that, and then we can convince them to allow you access to their quirks sooner than they did for me.”

“What? Their quirks?” Another surprise! His heart might not survive all the revelations of today.

Izuku snickered at the other. It’s too funny to watch him freak out. He should be nicer. Eh, he’ll survive. “Yeah, [One for All] also stockpiles the quirks of the previous holders. The vestiges allowed me access one at a time as I got stronger and gained more control.”

Midoriya was frozen in shock. He’s going to get six more quirks? He barely had a handle on one. How would he explain it to his friends, his mom, and Aizawa? He shuddered at the last one. At least he had the other him and the vestiges to help him figure it out. Hopefully.

Something niggled at the back of his mind as he was reviewing each of the vestiges' quirks.

“You said earlier that you got here due to [One for All], but none of those quirks sound like a time-traveling quirk,” Midoriya side-eyed the other.

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, “I was surprised as well when I found out. But someone was holding out on us all. I can guarantee that the vestiges are paying close attention to this conversation, because all but one have no idea what I am talking about.”

“They are listening to us?” Midoriya started looking around like the vestiges were going to pop up from behind a bush like a stalker.

“Oh, yeah. They are notoriously nosy gossip hounds. I mean, what else do they have to do but live through each of the holders?” Izuku stated.

“Oh, God! Does that mean they can see what I see, too?” Izuku nodded with amusement. He knew where this was going. Midoriya paled as he thought about all the showers he’s taken, amongst other embarrassing activities.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure whatever you're thinking is nothing new to them. Besides, who are they going to tell anyway?” Izuku shrugged as he watched his younger self go through the various stages of grief.

“Anyway, Second’s quirk [Gearshift] can also work as a time travel quirk under certain conditions. It wasn’t very strong in his day, but as [One for All] got stronger, so did [Gearshift]. Until the day I almost died after defeating Shigaraki, the vestiges pulled me into [One for All] for the last time, and Second explained what was going to happen. The next thing I knew, I was here on campus two years in the past,” Izuku explained.

“You were the reason the intruder alarms went off yesterday,” Midoriya exclaimed as he put the pieces together.

‘Was it really just yesterday?’ Izuku thought.

“Technically, I think that was Ash’s fault,” grumbled the older.

“What did you mean when you said you were pulled into the quirk for the last time?” Midoriya asked.

“Once Shigaraki, who had [All for One], was killed in my timeline, [One for All]’s purpose was fulfilled, and it began dissipating. Second’s use of [Gearshift] was [One for All]’s last hurrah, at least for me,” Izuku said.

“So, you’re quirkless again. Will I be quirkless again when [All for One] is defeated?” Midoriya looked down at the ground in defeat. Of course, [All for One] had to be taken down, but why did it have to be him who paid the price?

“No, I am not quirkless, but I don’t have [One for All] anymore,” Izuku said with a wry grimace.

“What? How? Did [All for One] give you a quirk before [One for All] disappeared?” said a confused Midoriya.

“Let’s sit for this part,” Izuku said, trepidation lacing through his words. Midoriya didn’t like the sound of this. They found a bench at what was a mock bus stop on the side of the street.  Izuku pulled up one leg onto the bench so that he could face Midoriya.

“You remember when I told you about Ash or Dabi being under a mind-altering quirk that disappeared when All for One was killed?” Izuku began.

Midoriya nodded.

“Not only did the quirks used by All for One stop working when he died, but the quirks that he took went back to their original owners, if they were still alive.”

“Does that mean I had a quirk, and it was taken from me?” When Izuku nodded in response, Midoriya asked, “Why don’t I remember that?”

“It was either taken or suppressed somehow, probably with another quirk not long after it manifested, and the memory of it was hidden,” Midoriya could hear the anger in Izuku’s voice.

Then a terrifying thought occurred to him, “But that would mean that All for One was there when or not long after it manifested.”

Holding Midoriya’s gaze, Izuku dropped another bombshell, “At the time our quirk manifested, All for One was playing the part of a devoted husband and father. Our father.”

Midoriya’s eyes widened, and he shook his head in denial, “No! Hisashi Midoriya was a businessman who went to America for work. He wasn’t…”

“I’m sorry, but All for One was our biological father. When he was killed by Shigaraki, the memory of our quirk manifesting returned along with our quirk.”

“But why? I vaguely remember Hisashi, and in my memories, he loved me. I remember him reading me stories and carrying me on his shoulders. Why would he take my quirk? He knew how excited I was to have a quirk of my own.” The hero student couldn’t believe that the man he thought was his father was a supervillain. The supervillain, in fact.

“Because it was a better version of his. It’s a combination of both our parents’ quirks. I can give and take quirks, but I don’t need to touch someone to do it. I can pull quirks to me from a distance. As far as I know, he never used it. And he would have if he could. My theory is that he couldn’t take it because we were too closely related. I think he had a quirk that suppressed ours, which became inactive when he died,” Izuku shrugged.

“So, you have [All for One] now?”

“Yes, but I call it [Lend], because that other name is tainted and I don’t plan to keep any of the quirks I end up taking,” Izuku said with resolution.

That statement sounded like he had used [Lend] and may be planning to use it again. Midoriya was a little nervous now and looked at Izuku suspiciously, “How many quirks have you taken?”

Izuku sensed his hesitance but vowed to continue telling the truth to his younger self, even if it made him look bad. “I have only taken three. When [Lend] manifested, I accidentally took [Air Walk] from mom’s brother, Hoshi.”

“I don’t remember him,” Midoriya said, searching his memory and coming up blank.

“Probably because he disappeared right after my quirk manifested. I’m pretty sure that AFO had something to do with that.”

Izuku continued, “Right after I got [Lend] back, I accidentally took a civilian’s quirk. She was collateral damage during a fight and was knocked unconscious. When I grabbed her to move her to safety, I felt the pull of [Lend]. Before I knew it, I had enhanced vision. As soon as I realized what had happened, I pushed it back into her. No one ever knew it even happened.” Izuku shuddered at the memory of the incident. It was so easy to take her quirk. Too easy.

“The third was also an accident. During a fight, I pulled [Regen], a regeneration quirk, from a nomu that I never physically touched. That’s how I figured out that it was a combination of both our parents’ quirk. I didn’t even realize I had it until Ash noticed my wounds healing far too rapidly.”

“So, you have three quirks: [Lend], [Air Walk], and [Regen].”

“Um, no. I don’t have [Air Walk] anymore. I don’t know what happened to it. Maybe AFO took it back then. All I know is when [Lend] came to me, [Air Walk] wasn’t with it,” Izuku said before continuing with, “But it did have [Pyrokinesis]. It must have come from AFO because I don’t recall ever taking it.”

“But why would he take [Air Walk] and give us [Pyrokinesis]? That doesn’t make any sense,” Midoriya tapped his bottom lip in contemplation. “Unless…When I was five, I was already obsessed with heroes and a sense of justice. Maybe he couldn’t take [Lend] or the quirks it acquired. If he tried to take it so that he could give it back to Hoshi and was unsuccessful, he may have figured that he could trade it for something more heroic. A pyrokinesis quirk would definitely have appealed to my heroic aspirations.”

“So, if he took [Air Walk] to give it back to Hoshi, then why did he disappear?” Izuku added.

“Who knows? Threats, bribery, or maybe he just decided to cut his losses and kill him,” Midoriya cringed at where his mind had gone. “Ugh, let’s just stop trying to think like a megalomaniacal supervillain. My brain hurts, and I feel like I need to wash my mouth out with soap.”

Izuku giggled before standing up and reaching a hand out to help up Midoriya, “Let’s head back.”

They walked quietly for a few minutes, just letting the heavy conversation rest. It was a lot to take in and a lot to process. Getting the story of their quirks out in the open was a huge relief to Izuku. Now they just needed to decide how they were going to handle it going forward.

“I know that this was more than you were expecting, and there is still a lot more to the story. But I can fill you in on the rest later.”

He took a deep breath and continued, “There are some decisions that we need to make soon, though. To fully brief the heroes on Shigaraki, All for One, and their machinations, they need to understand [One for All] and where it comes from. I know it has been a huge secret, but due to how strong it is, it can’t be transferred again without killing the recipient. So, a lot of the concern about it being stolen isn’t applicable anymore.”

He continued, “Of course, the stigma of a quirk tied to a supervillain is not ideal. But All Might, the Symbol of Peace, being a past holder, may temper that sentiment. Since you are the Ninth now and I don’t possess the quirk anymore, it is your decision how we handle it. I’m sure that we can come up with a cover story with Nezu’s help that would pass muster if you would rather keep [One for All] to yourself. We’ll follow your lead.”

“I want to…” Midoriya began to respond before he was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder, pulling him to a stop.

“No, don’t decide now. You need time to process all of this and think through all the possibilities and liabilities. Take your time. Be sure,” Izuku implored him.

“Another issue is All for One. I would rather no one ever find out he was our father. I definitely don’t want anyone to know about inheriting his quirk. Can you agree to that for now? We can discuss it later, if you have any issues with it,” Midoriya nodded in agreement. He couldn’t imagine sharing that secret with anyone. And if he also ended up with [Lend], he didn’t want anyone to look at him like he was a supervillain. Nope, no way.

“So, if we keep [Lend] a secret, then I’ll have to explain how I got [Pyrokinesis]. I haven’t told anyone what my quirk is, but I have laid the groundwork for how it could be acquired, so that shouldn’t be too difficult. Think about whether you're going to be ok with having [Pyrokinesis] as your future quirk once [All for One] is defeated. I can keep [Pyrokinesis] under wraps until you decide what to do. This decision affects both of us, so we should be on the same page. Don’t answer now, think about it.”

“Okay, you have given me a lot to think about.” Midoriya’s mind was going a thousand miles per hour as he sped through the possibilities.

“One last thing to consider. I am going to take down All for One and Shigaraki, along with whoever wants to join me, to keep them from destroying Japan again. Think about whether you want to be part of it,” Izuku said seriously.

“I don’t think I’ll have a choice.”

“You always have choices, but I understand. We are going to be smart about it. It’s not going to be one man against them, like All Might tried to do. I’m confident we can do it better this time.” Midoriya admired the determination the time-traveler exuded. Maybe he’ll learn that from his counterpart, too.

They were almost back where they started. Aizawa appeared to be resting his eyes while casually leaning against the wall of a building. The observant would tell you that Aizawa was aware that the Midoriyas were approaching, even with his eyes closed. It was in the subtle change in alertness to the slight straightening of his spine. Meanwhile, All Might was pacing like a caged tiger, unaware of our reappearance.

‘How did All Might get to be the number one hero with such a lack of situational awareness?’ Izuku thought with amusement.

Midoriya brought him out of his musing, “Th- Thank you for sharing all this with me. You didn’t have to.”

“Of course I did. This affects you just as much as it does me. Plus, I always wanted to have someone totally on my side who would always be honest with me. Now I have you, and you have me,” Izuku gave him a warm smile as he pulled out the silent sphere and turned off the suppression field. He heard All Might’s startled gasp in the background.

Midoriya sniffled quietly and gave him a shaky smile in return before impulsively throwing himself at the man, wrapping him in a tight hug. Izuku grasped him back just as tightly, laughing softly.

“We’ll talk again once you have had time to think about everything.”

“Tomorrow?” Came the question, muffled by the embrace.

“Sure, tomorrow.”

They eventually let go and gave each other the same beaming smile.

“Oh shit, there are two of them now. Where are my sunglasses?” groaned a familiar voice.

Izuku had seen All Might heading toward them as soon as the field dropped, but he hadn’t noticed the approaching Ash with Nezu on his shoulder. He’s curious how the rat convinced the prickly Ash to get close enough for a ride.

Nezu perked up the closer they got, “I hope your discussion was fruitful.”

“Yes, we got through the major points. Midoriya is going to need some time to think about his options. We plan to regroup tomorrow once he has had a chance to think through things,” Izuku said as they joined the group.

“I see,” he sounded a bit disappointed that he couldn’t pick Izuku’s brain immediately. “In the meantime, Recovery Girl has released you from the infirmary. You just need to check in with her daily until your quirk recovers,” the principal announced as he leapt from Ash’s shoulder to Aizawa’s.

“Ok, I can do that,” Izuku  

Ash sidled up to Izuku. “Nezu has graciously provided us with a place to stay while we figure things out.” That was an interesting way to phrase it. He wondered how their meeting went while he was busy at Ground Beta.

“Oh?”

Ash gave him a once-over before declaring, “Yeah, you look beat. Let’s head out, and I’ll show you our new quarters.”

“That sounds great. Lead the way. We’ll see you all tomorrow,” Izuku addressed the others. He gave Midoriya a reassuring smile.

The way All Might was hovering and Nezu was eyeing Midoriya, he knew they were going to grill the boy about their meeting. However, with the set of his younger self’s jaw and the hard look in his eyes, he knew he didn’t need to worry about their success. He had always been stupidly stubborn.

Assured that his secrets were secure, he hurried to catch up with Ash.

“I need a nap. I feel like I have been talking for hours,” Izuku tugged his hood up as the two headed back across the campus. He could feel himself sagging in relief at the thought of peace and quiet.

“You should be used to that, though. You talk to yourself all the time,” his partner teased.

“I do not, and that’s… that’s not the same,” protested Izuku.

“Sure, it is.”

“No, it’s… You know what, never mind,” Izuku decided he didn’t have the energy for this. He launched himself up and onto his partner’s back, wrapping his arms and legs around the other man.

“What are you doing?” blurted a startled Ash. He didn’t falter, though; he just secured Izuku under the thighs and kept walking.

“You were mean, and now you owe me a ride as compensation,” Izuku righteously declared before slumping over to rest his chin on the other’s shoulder and continuing to berate the man.

Midoriya grinned at their banter as they retreated. He hoped to find someone with whom he could be that easy and playful someday.

“My boy, why don’t you come with us, and we can talk about your meeting?” All Might interrupted his thoughts, now with Nezu perched on his shoulder. Midoriya noticed Aizawa giving them an irritated look out of the corner of his eye.

Trying to channel some of his future self’s confidence, he took a breath, met All Might’s eyes with a steely look, “I am feeling pretty tired right now. I think I am going to rest, too.”

“But…”

“I’m sure we can talk tomorrow,” he said as firmly as he could muster.

He turned away from them and headed to his dorm. Aizawa gave him a proud nod of respect as he passed.

‘Oh, damn.’

‘That worked?!’

‘I have to remember that.’

Chapter Text

Take me to the safe house, safe house

Tell me that we're safe now, safe now

It's gettin' harder to breathe here, I don't wanna die

How could I leave here and keep us alive?

Take me to the safe house, safe house

Are we safe now?  – Kami Kehoe, Travis Mosley (Colorblind), and Ekoh

“Where are we going?” Izuku said, still clinging like a koala to Touya’s back, as they made their way across the campus.

“You’ll see.”

“C’mon, tell me,” Izuku whined in Touya’s ear.

“Fine, ya big baby,” Touya grinned at his partner’s antics.

“We’re heading toward the other side of campus from the dorms, where the support department is located. They got an upgrade a few years ago that left a few older buildings unused. They are mostly used for storage, but a couple of them have apartments. Nezu said they keep them for visiting support students and engineers while they are on internships or consulting with Power Loader.”

“We’re staying in one of the apartments?” asked Izuku, scanning the buildings ahead to try to figure out which one they were heading to.

“Mhm,” Dabi hummed in agreement.

“I’m surprised he’s letting us stay so far from everyone else. I was sure he was going to put us in the teachers’ dorm so they could monitor us,” Izuku said.

“Oh, he tried,” Touya snickered.

“What did you do?”

“I just told him that we needed our privacy away from nosy heroes, and I was sure we could find an empty warehouse somewhere in Musutafu that we could hole up in. He did not like that idea at all.” Touya turned to look at Izuku hanging over his shoulder before saying in a shocked tone, “He hissed at me!”

Izuku giggled, “Oh no, you really pushed his buttons. He rarely lets his animalistic instincts show.”

Soon enough, they approached a two-story building with roll-up doors on one side for larger equipment and a smaller normal door. They unlocked the smaller door to access the interior. The building had racks along the walls, stuffed full of boxes and equipment. There were a few tables scattered around, and on the right side was a set of stairs.

Touya crouched to let Izuku slide off his back before heading up the stairs. Izuku curiously shuffled along behind him.

The door at the top of the stairs opened into a small apartment. An open kitchen and living room were on the left side, and an opening into a hallway was on the right.

“Kitchen and living room are here. Lunch Rush was supposed to leave some basic food for us, so that we don’t have to wander around or off campus,” Touya said as he wandered through the kitchen.

Izuku paused and opened the refrigerator to find some eggs, milk, and other staples. He also found two bento boxes containing a simple stir-fry and rice that they could heat up later. ‘Lunch Rush was the best!’

Touya plopped himself down on the couch in the living room. He waved his hand at the hallway and said, “Two bedrooms and a bathroom over there. There are some spare clothes in the bedrooms.”

Izuku perked up and wandered down the hallway to check out the bedrooms. There was a bedroom at each end of the hall with a bathroom between.

He found duffel bags in each of the rooms, and he dug through them. “Hey, why is one of them one full of Present Mic merch?” he shouted out to Touya.

Touya, who had wandered in from the living room, snickered from the bedroom doorway as he watched Izuku paw through the shirts that all had Mic’s face or tagline on them, “Because I am not wearing that shit in public, but you have no shame, so I put it all in yours.”

Izuku gave him a dirty look, but then shrugged his shoulders, “Eh, free clothes that aren’t the same ones I have been wearing for days.”

He quickly stripped off the hoodie and his suit and tossed them in a pile to deal with later. He dressed in some ‘Put Your Hands Up’ joggers and a T-shirt with Mic’s face on it.

“Ok, this is awful, but I am too tired to care right now,” Izuku said as he wandered back out to the living room. He fell face down on the couch with a groan.

“Are you going to nap out here?” Touya asked, eying the way he took up the entire couch. To Izuku’s muffled assent, he asked, “Why?”

Izuku rolled over and gave him sad puppy eyes, “Lonely.”

Touya huffed, but Izuku could tell he was amused, “Fine, but you have to share.” He grabbed the remote for the television and lifted Izuku’s legs so he could slide under them.

Izuku quickly fell asleep to the drone of some news reporter blathering about what Japan should expect now that All Might was stepping down from heroics. He roused an hour later to Touya scrolling on a phone he didn’t recognize while the news was muted in the background.

“What’s with the phone?” He asked Touya while rubbing his eyes.

“Oh, Nezu gave us phones to keep in touch since ours won’t accept calls or texts,” Touya said matter-of-factly as he gestured to another phone on the coffee table.

Izuku picked it up and examined it, grumbling that it wasn’t as good as the one he had. Maybe he could get someone to fix his up so it can accept calls. He was pretty sure it was a simple process. Switching a sim card or something?

He started to open up the phone when he realized that his phone had photos that he didn’t want to lose. He should probably wait for someone who knows what they are doing. If he lost any of the photos of the family and friends that were left behind… Well, that didn’t bear thinking about.

“I’m hungry. You ready for dinner, sleeping beauty?” Touya asked as he put the phone away.

“I could eat,” Izuku said, slipping off the couch and heading to the kitchen to retrieve the bentos. They ate at the kitchen table in silence; each wrapped up their own thoughts.

Izuku bumped shoulders with Touya as they were putting away the last of the cleaned dishes from their truly delicious meal and said, “I want to hear more about your meeting with Nezu and tell you what Midoriya and I discussed, but there is something important we need to do first.”

Touya nodded, knowing the routine they used every time they stayed at a new place, “Bugs?”

“Yup! You take the living room, and I’ll take the kitchen. We can do the bedrooms and bathroom after. I doubt we’ll find anything in the other rooms because even Nezu has lines he doesn’t cross, but out here is fair game.”

They found a camera in the living room over the television and a listening device under the kitchen table. Not surprising, honestly. Nezu is a nosy bastard.

“Now that that’s taken care of, why don’t you tell me how your talk with Nezu went?” Izuku asked. They were back on the couch, sitting at opposite ends, facing each other.

“You forget how smart he is until you can feel him taking you apart with his eyes,” Touya gave a little shudder.

“You might forget, but me? I have spent way too much time with him to let my guard down around him,” said Izuku, squirming a little while remembering his own one-on-one talks with the diminutive principal.

“What did he want?” Izuku asked.

“He wants to hire us as consultants,” Touya responded.

“Okay, that tracks. We work for him so that he can have some control, plus it gives him a reason for our presence on campus,” Izuku said thoughtfully. That would fit right in with some of the plans he had swirling around.

“That’s what I figured, too,” Touya appeared to mull something over before continuing, “It almost felt like he was claiming us or something.”

“Yeah, he is a bit of a hoarder when it comes to interesting things or people. We’re new and shiny and know things he doesn’t, so we’re valuable,” Izuku agreed.

Touya made a face at that.

“It doesn’t mean he doesn’t value us as people or colleagues. We are both very different than who we are in this time, and he wants or maybe needs to understand why,” Izuku tried to explain the enigma that was Nezu.

“What are we going to tell him?”

“Well, your identity, history, and secrets are up to you. You can decide to tell him nothing or everything,” Izuku said as he studied the other man.

“The way he was looking at me, I think he has some ideas about who I am,” Touya said as he looked at Izuku with concern. “What do you think he will do if he figures it out?”

“Hmm, hard to say. He doesn’t really have a good reason to give away your identity, so he probably won’t if you ask him not to. He may use the information to dig into the Todoroki family, though. He is very protective of his students, and if he thinks Shoto is in any danger, he will dig until he’s satisfied,” Izuku shrugged.

Touya cringed at the thought of his family’s dirty laundry being aired. Again. He did that himself once in the most dramatic way possible, and it wasn’t pretty. Then again…

“I’ll think about it. It may be better just to get it out in the open.”

“It would take some of Dabi’s power away while also allowing people to understand him. Humanize him,” Izuku deliberated.

“This is so weird to think about. Another me out there.” Touya looked away with a frown. “Still, I would like to save him.”

“I get it. I just spent hours today talking to my other self, and it never stopped feeling like I stepped into a psychological horror film,” Izuku said as he thought about the younger Midoriya.

“Oh, please. Baby Izuku was adorable,” Touya laughed as Izuku smacked him playfully.

“Anyway. I told Midoriya all about [One for All] and [All for One], including our new quirk from dear old dad. I think he was as horrified as I was when I figured out what happened. I am leaving it up to him to decide whether or not to reveal [One for All]. I asked that he not reveal [Lend]. Ever. That getting out would be disastrous.” Touya grunted in agreement.

“We’re gonna talk about how to deal with [Pyrokinesis] and [Regen] later. He’s gonna come by tomorrow sometime to talk some more once he has had a chance to think over the shitstorm I dropped on him.”

Touya laughed at that.

“I also explained how we ended up here in the past,” Izuku said, glancing over at Touya.

Touya perked up and zeroed in on his partner. “That’s right, you were going to tell me how we ended up here.”

Izuku said, “[One for All] caused it. You know that there was a total of nine holders, and all their quirks were stockpiled into it, right?”

At Touya’s nod, he went on, “One of the quirks had never been fully disclosed. The second user’s quirk [Gearshift] altered the speed of things, but what Second never told anyone was that it also altered time. When he had it, it was weak and only altered time in minutes, but after so many years and users, it became much, much stronger.”

“When I fell off the building and hit my head, I was dying. The vestiges pulled me into [One for All], where Second told me that they were going to send me back as far as they could to save my life and to try to stop the war before it could happen. And that’s how we ended up here.”

Touya ruminated over the story Izuku told, but one thing stood out. He got right to the point with, “That might explain how you ended up here, but how did I get dragged along. Not that I’m complaining. Much.”

Izuku looked away from his partner to try to piece together a response that made sense without exposing himself in the process. He settled on, “I don’t know. I guess they thought you needed to come, too.”

“Can’t you just ask them?” Touya asked.

“Uh, no. I don’t have [One for All] anymore. Once [All for One] was eliminated, [One for All] began dissipating. The last of the power from the quirk was used to send us back here.”

Touya squinted at Izuku’s response. He bet there was more to the story, but someone wasn’t ready to share the entire thing. That was fine. He would get the story in the end. He always did. He just needed to wait him out.

“So, you don’t have [One for All] anymore? Are you ok with that? You spent a lot of time making it your own. It has to be frustrating,” Touya asked with concern.

“A little,” Izuku said in a clipped tone, then cringed as he heard himself. “Fine, a lot. You’re right. I put a lot into [One for All], and I’m pissed that it just went away.” He was angry about it, but there were positives. “At least I don’t have the Boogeyman haunting my life anymore.”

Izuku threw his head back and glared at the ceiling as if it had personally offended him and said darkly, “I swear life just likes to mess with me. I go from quirkless to the holder of two complicated, hard-to-handle quirks. Once I get the first one figured out, I lose it, leaving me with the one quirk I haven’t completely figured out that would probably get me locked up if anyone found out about it. What is my life?”

“Sounds like a shonen manga. Except without the fan service,” Touya laughed at the appalled look on Izuku’s face.

“My life is not a manga.”

“Sure, sure.”

“Whatever. I’m going to take a hot shower and go to bed. You should, too.”

Touya got this sly look and said cheekily, “You want me to shower with you? Add a little fan service to your story.”

A flustered Izuku said, “No-o, stop it. You know what I meant.” Touya just laughed like the asshole he was as Izuku stomped off to get cleaned up.

Later, after they had each retreated to their own rooms, Izuku lay in the bed wide awake. It had been an hour, and he just couldn’t seem to sleep. He tossed and turned until he finally gave up and threw off the covers. He swung his feet onto the floor and hunched over with his elbows on his knees and head in his hands.

‘Why am I like this? I am as safe as I can possibly be in a secure building on UA grounds under Nezu’s watch. What am I missing?’

He stood and headed out into the hallway. He glanced at Touya’s door, but it was closed. ‘He must be asleep,’ he thought with a frown.  He wished he were awake so he could help him figure out why he was so unsettled. Doing the rounds through the living room and kitchen, he found everything fine, the doors and windows secure.

His attention was pulled back to the hallway and the closed bedroom door.

‘Maybe, I’ll just check to see if he’s ok,’ Izuku slipped down the hallway and put his hand on the doorknob but didn’t turn it. He was being stupid; he knew it. He should just go back to his room and try to sleep, but he didn’t move his hand. He stood there vacillating about whether to disturb Touya or not.

Then he heard a loud sigh and a gruff voice from behind the door, “Are you going to open the door or not?”

“Uh,” Izuku’s words faltered as he was caught acting like a creepy stalker, and he squeezed the knob reflexively.

“Just come in,” Touya said, his voice with a tinge of exasperation in it.

Izuku twisted the knob and pushed open the door. The room was dim but not dark due to the moonlight shining through the window blinds. He could make out Touya sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes.  He slipped into the room and shut the door.

“Can’t sleep?” Touya said softly.

Izuku shook his head in the dim room and whispered sheepishly, “I don’t know why.”

Touya sighed and waved him over, lifting the covers in invitation, “Just come here.”

Izuku hesitated before Touya said, “It’s not like we haven’t slept in the same bed hundreds of times before.”

Izuku huffed before shuffling over and slipping into the bed. Izuku shifted around until he was in a familiar position with his back to Touya. He found the feeling of the other’s heat behind him comforting.

“I keep tossing and turning, too. I think we are so used to being on high alert that our brains haven’t got the message that we are safe for the first time in a long time,” Touya mumbled from behind him, “It’s gonna take time to adjust.”

Izuku felt a warm arm wrap around him and pull him closer. He smiled into the darkness, “Thanks.”

…

A chirping phone woke them up the next morning. Izuku reached for the phone Nezu had gifted him and found a text from Recovery Girl reminding him about his daily checkup. He groaned but texted back that he would head over there in an hour. He also took the time to text Midoriya his location and let him know he could stop by anytime.

After breakfast and a stealthy yet unsatisfying trip to Recovery Girl (Izuku’s condition was unchanged), they found themselves back in the apartment.

“While we are waiting for Midoriya’s decision and for Nezu to descend upon us demanding answers, we have plans to make,” Izuku stated, sitting down at the table in the kitchen with a couple of notebooks he had found in a box downstairs.

“These plans better include rescuing our daughter,” Touya said stonily, sitting across from him. Izuku’s heart fluttered every time Touya called Eri their daughter.

“Of course, they do. Let’s get started,” Izuku said with a smile as he labeled the notebook ‘Eri’ before opening it up.

They spent the day recording everything they knew about Kai Chisaki and his crew, including their quirks and bases. They came up with a rough plan that needed some fine-tuning. They were discussing additional people to round out the raid when they were interrupted.

A loud crash came from the workshop below, startling the two time travelers. Izuku was the first to the door and bolted down the stairs. Once at the bottom, he scanned the room before spotting the intruder shifting a box from one of the shelves on the far wall.

Izuku’s scuffling down the stairs must have alerted the intruder because they dropped the box. Touya made it to the bottom of the stairs at the same time that Izuku identified the intruder.

“Mei?” Izuku asked.

“Yep! That’s me. Who are you?” She gave him a puzzled look. “Wait, I know that face. Ten Million? But you look different,” Mei Hatsume said while her eyes seemed to slip in and out of focus as she studied him with her quirk.

Just then, the door flew open, and a huffing Midoriya rushed into the building. “Hey guys! I rushed over here as soon as class was out…” He sputtered to a stop as he noticed the pink-haired support student gaping at him.

“Hatsume?” the student asked.

She glanced back and forth between the two Midoriyas a few times. They could hear her murmuring, “Clones? No. One’s taller than the other. Can’t be clones. Besides, I would know if someone were experimenting with clones anywhere in Japan, since you know…,” She halted when she noticed their eyes widen as she rambled, “Never mind that.”

She continued looking back and forth, “Same goes for a transformation or copy quirk? Too many differences.”

A smudge of something appeared on her chin as she rubbed it with her thumb and pointer finger while deep in thought. The others had all frozen where they were when she started theorizing.

With a firm nod, she finally addressed them, “My best bet is time travel, but it could be dimension hopping. So, how’d I do? Did I get it right?” She was bouncing on her toes and smiling brightly.

At that point, Touya lost it. It was so perfectly on brand for Mei that he folded over laughing, while the Midoriyas just gawked at him.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Mei Hatsume smiled brighter, “I knew it!”

Shaking himself out of his stupor at being caught out, Izuku took charge, “Ok, yes. It was time travel. But it’s a secret. We can trust you to keep it to yourself, can’t we?”

Mei squinted her eyes at him, “Yes, but you said that like you know me. Oh! Do you know me in the future?” She rushed over to get right in his face, still smiling.

A slow smile spread across his face, “Of course, I know you in the future. You are the best support engineer I know. And one of my best friends,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

She squealed before launching into a storm of questions, “Did I make babies for you? Wait! Did I make babies with you?...” He let her ramble for a minute before interrupting.

“You made amazing babies for me and with me,” he said, and her face lit up with excitement.

Noticing Touya had finally gotten a hold of himself, Izuku pointed to him and said, “Ash came with me from the future, and if you’re willing, we could use some help.”

Now that he had both their attention, he held his hand out to Touya, “We have a phone that you designed for us from the future, but we can’t make calls or send texts because…”

“Because those numbers are probably in use by someone else or not activated in this timeline,” she finished his thought.

He nodded as Touya passed him his phone and the one Nezu gave him.

“Yes, but your baby is better than the off-the-shelf version, so we want to keep them. Can you make this one work right with the number from this phone without losing the photos we have saved?” he paused before adding the cherry on top, “Plus, you can see what your work looks like from the future.”

“Yes, yes, yes!!!” She shouted, snatching the phones from Izuku excitedly. She looked ready to bolt for the support labs.

Before she took off, he said, “When you’re done with that one, I’ll give you the other one. Remember, this is a secret. Tell no one. Except Power Loader. He knows that we’re here.”

Her face dropped a bit before saying, “Oops. Power Loader told us this building was off limits for the time being due to some VIPs staying here. I rushed over as soon as class was over to save my babies. Now, he’s going to be mad.”

Izuku hated to see her spark dim. “Just tell him to talk to me if you have any trouble. I’ll do what I can. Thanks, Mei,” he said before she rushed out the door, the dropped box forgotten on the floor.

He turned to the other two. Midoriya was wringing his hands anxiously as he watched the girl race away. He looked back at Izuku and asked, “Was it ok to tell her? Aren’t you worried she will tell someone?”

“Not really. Besides, once she gets an idea in her head, she won’t let go until she’s satisfied. It’s best to just redirect her by asking for help rather than trying to stonewall her. C’mon. Let’s head upstairs where we can talk,” he said, directing a still unsure Midoriya to the stairs ahead of him.

Touya sidled up to him as they approached the stairs and asked, “Why did you give her my phones and not yours?”

Izuku gave him a confused look before he recalled what he had done. He gave Touya a smug smile and said, “Because I know I have more photos of Eri on my phone than you do. So, if she messes up and erases them accidentally, then I won’t cry as much as if they were mine.”

At the mention of tears, Touya gave him a horrified look, “Noted.”

They headed into the apartment to find Midoriya looking through the notebooks spread out across the kitchen table.

He looked up as they entered and asked, “Who’s Eri?”

Before Izuku could stop him, Touya declared, “Our daughter.”

Izuku face palmed as Midoriya’s eyes almost popped out of his head before yelling, “What?!”

Chapter Text

When the curtains call the time

Will we both be satisfied?

It wasn't hard to realize

Love's the death of peace of mind  – Bad Omens

They headed into the apartment to find Midoriya looking through the notebooks spread out across the kitchen table.

He looked up as they entered and asked, “Who’s Eri?”

Before Izuku could stop him, Touya declared, “Our daughter.”

Izuku face palmed as Midoriya’s eyes almost popped out of his head before yelling, “What?!”

Izuku glared at Touya, “Why are you like this?”

Touya glared back defiantly, “What?”

“You know what!”

“No, I don’t.”

“You can’t just tell people we have a daughter together. They’ll have questions.”

“So? You sound like you are ashamed of our daughter.”

Izuku gave an affronted gasp, “I am not, nor ever will be, ashamed of our daughter.”

Touya gave a smug little grin, “See, you agree, she’s ours.”

Midoriya tuned out the rest of the bickering to study the two. While he never liked to see people argue, this seemed different. They were both somewhat dramatic in their disagreement, but it wasn’t heated like a true difference of opinion. It was almost playful.

‘Wait! Was that flirting?’ Midoriya studied them a bit more closely after that. He had heard that some people flirt this way, but he couldn’t remember ever witnessing it. Izuku's next statement pulled him out of his musings.

“Plus, I told you that you can’t call dibs on a child. That’s not how it works,” Izuku said, poking the other man in the chest to emphasize his words.

Before Touya could retort, Midoriya piped up, “Illusory truth effect.”

He was still a little bemused at the display of them bickering and the conclusions he had drawn, but he couldn’t let that argument stand once he heard it. It just rubbed him the wrong way.

The other two paused their argument to whip around and stare at him, causing him to twist his fingers together, “I, uh, fell down an internet rabbit hole about biases and, yeah. It’s caused the illusory truth effect.”

Midoriya was mentally squirming under their silent scrutiny. ‘Why are they still staring? Say something. Anything.’

He swallowed before caving to the silence, “It’s where a statement is repeated often enough to become truth in other people’s minds. It won’t stand up legally, but if you can plant your truth in their heads, people are less likely to push back on it. It can lead to getting your way. Politicians and parents use it all the time.”

Touya blinked before a self-satisfied grin spread across his face. He turned to Izuku, “See, even you agree with me.”

A visibly flustered Izuku waved his hands in the air and stammered, “That’s not...He’s not…” His protest was cut off as he covered his face with both hands and dragged them down in exasperation and defeat. “Fine, you win. We’ll make sure everyone knows she’s our daughter.”

“Finally,” a triumphant Touya said. “Thanks, kid,” he said as he held out a fist to Midoriya. Midoriya gave Izuku a sheepish look as his fist bumped Touya’s.

Midoriya didn’t want to come across as prying into their business, but they opened the door, and he was curious. “I don’t want to be nosy, but how did you end up with Eri?” Midoriya asked as politely as possible when treading such a delicate subject. He didn’t want to make assumptions or jump to any conclusions. Because some of the ideas that were flitting through his mind were embarrassing.

Izuku immediately perked up, “Oh, Eri is a little girl that I helped rescue from the yakuza during a work study. We became very attached during the war, even though we couldn’t be her guardians due to Shigaraki chasing us.”

“The yakuza? Why did they have her?” Midoriya asked.

“She had a very strong quirk that they were using to create a quirk-erasing compound. Overhaul, the head of the yakuza, tortured her to get what he wanted from her.”

“That’s horrible! Who tortures a little girl?” Midoriya was saddened and outraged. Children should be protected and cherished, not used or abused.

“A disgusting pig with delusions of power,” grunted Touya with disgust.

“Anyway, he still has her in this timeline, and we’re going to get her back. That’s what most of these notebooks are for – our plans for her rescue.” Izuku waved his hand over the scattered notebooks on the table.

“Can I help?” Midoriya asked hopefully, looking up at Izuku. (Up! Yes, he is going to get taller!) He detested anyone who abused children, and he wanted to be a part of bringing in such a vile man.

“I’m fine with you helping with the planning, but not the raid itself. We are going to try to do it as low-key as possible, and right now, with your control, subtlety isn’t your strong suit,” Izuku said with Touya humming in agreement. Midoriya cringed but knew he was right.

“Anyway, you came racing in here earlier, and we seemed to have gotten sidetracked. What’s up?” Izuku asked as he sat down and gestured for the others to join him.

After Midoriya settled himself and his racing mind, he said, “I spent a lot of time thinking about everything you said yesterday, and I’ve come to some decisions.” He ended with a determined look and a quick side eye to Touya.

Izuku, noticing the glance and his reticence, said reassuringly, “Oh, you can talk in front of Ash; he knows everything. But, if you’d rather, he can step out and give us some privacy. It’s up to you. Either way is fine.”

“Yeah, kid. I don’t mind giving you the room.” Touya wanted to stay so that Izuku wouldn’t have to repeat the whole thing later, but he could tell the boy was still uneasy with him there.

He knew how to navigate around Izuku’s walls and stubbornness. Would the same thing work on the kid? Time to find out.

“How about this? I will tell you something that only this guy knows,” gesturing to Izuku, “and if it’s interesting enough, you can decide whether or not to let me stay. If not, I can go take a shower or something,” Touya said calmly.

“Um, ok,” Midoriya said, still uncertain.

“Well, if you don’t want to know who I really am, then I can just take off now,” Touya said, starting to rise from the table.

Midoriya’s eyes widened in excitement, then narrowed in suspicion. He knew he was being toyed with or manipulated somehow, but excitement and curiosity won out. “I guess I can hear you out.”

Izuku was also looking at Touya suspiciously. He recognized this tactic, having fallen for it numerous times. Appealing to his innate curiosity was a dirty move, but damn it was effective.

Touya suppressed the smug smile that was fighting to get out as he sat back down.

“Alright, you know me as Dabi from the League of Villains, right?” Touya began.

Midoriya nodded.

“Before I was Dabi, my name was Touya, and my father was a hero.”

Midoriya’s eyes widened as his thoughts started racing. ‘Wow, he comes from a hero family. That’s surprising. I wonder which one. As Dabi, he had a horrible opinion of heroes, so his father must have had something to do with that. Was he a bad hero? Or a bad person? Or both?’

He looked up at the former villain and took note of his bright blue eyes. They were an unusual color that reminded him of someone. Also, while ‘Touya’ was a fairly common name, he had heard it recently in another context. The clues all came together, and his brain came to a screeching halt. ‘That can’t be it. It’s too coincidental,’ he internally protested.

Midoriya glanced over at Izuku, who was barely suppressing his amusement if the sparkle in his eyes was any indicator.

“He’s figured it out,” Izuku giggled.

“How? That was barely anything.”

“He wasn’t muttering, but you could tell his thoughts were rolling around like dice, and when it all came together, they stopped. He knows. Tell us,” Izuku encouraged his counterpart.

“Todoroki? Are you Touya Todoroki?” Midoriya practically whispered.

The former villain froze for a moment in shock. “Damn, you were right,” Touya said exasperatedly to his smug partner.

“But aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

“That was exaggerated. I disappeared, but I guess Endeavor decided a dead son was better for his image,” grumbled a disgruntled Touya.

“Well, that was definitely interesting and unexpected,” Midoriya studied the man for another minute before deciding, “You can stay.” If the man was going to give up his identity, then he could trust him with this conversation.

‘Good to know that secrets and curiosity work on both of them,’ thought Touya as he gave himself a metaphorical pat on the back.

“So, tell us what you have decided,” Izuku said, barely repressing bouncing in his seat.

Midoriya took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut like he was waiting for a blow, “I want to tell everyone about [One for All].”

He peeked out to see a soft smile on Izuku’s face, “As long as you’re sure. Remember, you control the information, no one else. It’s your quirk. Not mine and not All Might’s.”

Feeling proud and satisfied that his decision was accepted and supported, he decided to share the rest. “Also, I agree that I don’t want anyone else knowing about our father.”

“We will do everything we can to keep it quiet. If it comes out somehow anyway, we can deal with it then. Hopefully, that never happens,” Izuku said, nodding in agreement.

Bolstered by the reassurance, Midoriya continued, “I do want to be part of taking him down, though. I feel… not really responsible but more like called to the task. If that makes sense.”

“I get it. Makes sense to me,” Touya interjected.

“Me, too. We’ll do everything in our power to get you ready. You won’t be alone, but you need to be able to stand on your own. That means tackling the vestiges,” Izuku said with some exasperation slipping through.

Izuku slumped in his chair with a resigned air as he recalled how much of a handful the vestiges could be. With a worried look, Midoriya glanced over at Touya. He just shrugged.

Izuku shook off his mood before stating, “We can get with Aizawa to talk about training once we fill him in on [One for All]. Do you want to go ahead and get that out of the way?”

“I probably should. Otherwise, I’m just going to overthink everything in addition to dodging All Might,” Midoriya responded.

To Izuku’s raised eyebrow, he continued, “He’s been trying to meet up with me since our meeting yesterday to find out what we talked about. I’ve avoided him so far, but it’s exhausting.” He paused before resolutely declaring, “Let’s do it.”

“Touya, can you text Nezu that we are ready to fill him in on the details whenever he’s ready? Oh, and make sure he includes All Might and Eraserhead,” Izuku asked. Touya grabbed the phone on the table as he stood up and started texting.

“Thanks. I think this will make it easier to make plans to stop All for One and Shigaraki,” Izuku said as he gave Midoriya’s hand a comforting squeeze. Midoriya gave him a shaky smile.

Touya wandered back and tossed the phone on the table, “Well, the rat must be excited. He wants us in his office in an hour.”

Izuku barked out a laugh, “That’s on brand.”

Touya rolled his eyes, “I’m going to take a shower. I’ll leave you to talk to yourself.” He snickered to himself as he headed to the bathroom.

Izuku huffed at his partner’s ribbing and leaned back in his chair, “Well, we have an hour. Is there anything else you want to talk about before we head over?”

Midoriya’s brain circled back to his earlier revelations. Should he ask about…No, that was intrusive and not his business. Well…

“I can tell something is on your mind. Go ahead, you can ask,” Izuku encouraged.

“Well, I don’t want to pry, but are you guys together?” Midoriya said, looking anywhere but at Izuku.

Izuku’s brain screeched to a halt. That wasn’t what he was expecting. He thought maybe it was about the vestiges or how they were going to tackle his big reveal. Not this.

“Why would you think that?” Izuku tried to keep his voice calm and steady, even as he internally freaked out.

“I mean, you guys were arguing earlier, but it seemed more like flirting, I think. Plus, the way you look at each other seems like more than just friends,” Midoriya’s voice fading out at the end.

Izuku glanced back to the hallway with the bedrooms to make sure Touya wasn’t around to hear this mortifying conversation. “Um, no. We’re not involved like that.”

Noticing that Izuku couldn’t meet his eyes, he pressed a little harder, “You don’t sound so sure.”

“No, we’re not like that. We’re just friends,” Izuku said.

When Midoriya looked at him skeptically, he started rambling, “I mean, he’s attractive and everything, even before the scars were healed. I probably trust him more than anyone else, and I don’t think I could do any of this without him. He’s the one who insisted that Eri is ours, and that really warms my heart, and it doesn’t even feel strange to think about. I know we have this connection, and Toshi always teased me about how he looked at me, but I just played it off because we had so much going on that I didn’t want to think about it, because it could have distracted us from taking out Shigaraki. Then, Second insisted on sending him with me for some reason. Called it a surprise and then laughed at me like he knew something.”

“Maybe he did. You should think about it,” Midoriya said gently as Izuku paused for a breath.

When Midoriya finally got a look at Izuku’s eyes, he could see that they were dilated with uncertainty. Maybe fear? He realized Izuku was right when he said he could see him thinking. He noticed microexpressions flitting past one after the other faster than he could identify them.

Suddenly, Izuku slumped down until his head was on the table and wrapped in his arms like he was protecting it from something. Izuku knew this was always lurking in the back of his mind. He just wasn’t ready to deal with it yet. Welp, now he has been shoved out of the closet, so to speak.

“Are you okay?”

Izuku could hear the concern bleeding through, but he didn’t have it in him to pull himself together yet.

“No. I may have romantic feelings for Touya, and I don’t know how to deal with it,” he whined from his protective cover.

He peeked out when the silence stretched on too long, “What do I do?”

“Don’t look at me. I have no experience with this stuff,” Midoriya said with a shrug.

Izuku looked at him disbelievingly, “Why are you so calm?”

Midoriya sat up straight and said primly, “I’m a hero in training to help people, and you needed the support, so I pushed all my own issues aside while you had your moment.”

That all sounded nice and everything, but Izuku knew that wasn’t the real answer. This was him, after all. He may be altruistic to a certain degree, but this? Nope. He raised an eyebrow at the younger to see if he could get the truth.

Midoriya rolled his eyes and with a slightly feral grin said, “Fine, I never realized how funny it was watching someone lose their shit over a romantic realization.”

Izuku snorted with triumph, “Rude! But I knew there was a chaos gremlin in there somewhere.”

Midoriya just huffed in exasperation, “Whatever. No one will believe you. Is your existential crisis over? Can I have mine now?”

“Uh, no, but go ahead. Maybe it’ll distract me from mine,” Izuku sat up so he could attend to his counterpart.

Midoriya dropped his calm demeanor and immediately began blushing and twisting his hands in anxiety, “Does this make me gay? I mean, it must since you’re gay and we are the same person really.”

“Hold on, hold on. Before you spiral down that path. I’m not gay,” Izuku protested unthinkingly, then he reconsidered his words.

He tried again, taking care to be clear and specific, “Well, not strictly gay, I should say. I don’t think I have ever had these feelings for anyone except Touya. I was never really interested in romance or sex. People were just people. I remember being stuttery and blushy around certain people, and then would get accused of having a crush or something. But it was just nerves, it was never about attraction, I don’t think.”

“Ok, that tracks with me, too,” Midoriya agreed softly.

Izuku reached for his phone and began searching the web. “I think I remember there is a term for this. Ah, here it is. Demisexual/demiromantic. It means not experiencing romantic or sexual feelings without a deep emotional bond. So, I don’t think it matters if they are male or female or whatever.”

That seemed to settle Midoriya somewhat. The term and explanation made more sense than anything else he could think of. He’ll have to do some research. He didn’t have any hang-ups either way, but he would like to find out for himself. Maybe, a little less dramatically than what he just witnessed. Who was he kidding? It would probably be worse.

“Ok, I don’t have anyone like that in my life right now, and I certainly don’t have those feelings for anyone. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” Midoriya said before another thought popped up.

“You don’t think I’m destined to have those feelings for Dabi because you have them for Touya, do you?”

Izuku giggled at the indignant look on the other’s face. “Even if we were purely gay and not bisexual or something, a relationship wouldn’t be guaranteed. Touya and I have gotten to know each other through the war we experienced. Gods willing, you won’t have to go through the same thing and wouldn’t end up with the same relationship.”

“Hmm. Ok. That makes sense, I think,” Midoriya said. He was enjoying letting his mask slip a bit with the other man, so he decided to poke the bear a bit.

He shot the other a too-innocent look, “Still, you do seem to get along well. There must be some innate compatibility there. You should let me know how your confession goes.”

Izuku narrowed his eyes at the other, “Get your own pretty boy.”

Midoriya snorted, “I guess your crisis is over now.”

“Oh, no. I’m just saving the rest for later.”

“Same.”

…

After deflecting questions from Touya about what they talked about while he was showering, the three made their way to the meeting. Midoriya peeked at his companions. It wasn’t fair how calm they appeared. He was practically shaking in his shoes; he was so nervous. All Might was not going to be happy about revealing [One for All].

He glanced at Izuku and tried to channel that confidence the other man always seemed to exude. ‘Where did he find it?’ He sighed, resigned to having to figure it out for himself.

Izuku knocked on the door before nudging him, “Remember it’s your quirk.”

As they entered the conference room, Izuku noticed that while Nezu, All Might, and Eraserhead were here like the last meeting, the detective was not present this time. Also joining them were Present Mic, Midnight, and Snipe.

Present Mic was the first to acknowledge them with a peppy greeting, “Hello there, little listeners. You look like you’re all doing well today.”

“Thanks, Present Mic,” Izuku responded with a genuine smile for the overly excitable man as they took their seats at the table. Everyone else followed with their own greetings.

Nezu raised his voice above the quiet murmuring and shuffling following the greetings, “Ash let us know that you were ready to fill us in on the rest of the details.”

“Hold on, why is young Midoriya here? I don’t think this concerns him,” All Might said to Nezu without his signature smile.

Izuku interrupted the sidebar with a stern look, “Midoriya is definitely a concerned party. His presence is crucial to this meeting.”

Nezu looked intrigued while the rest of the UA staff looked skeptical.

“Why don’t you go ahead and start then?” Nezu said to the three of them.

Izuku looked at Midoriya one more time, and once he received a slight nod to go ahead, he began, “I told you before about the war that Shigaraki started with the PLF. What I didn’t tell you was that All for One was the catalyst for the war. He wanted society destabilized, and he set his successor, Shigaraki, on his path to achieving that.”

“But why would he do that? Simple chaos doesn’t feel like a goal for a supervillain. There had to be more to it,” Midnight reasoned.

“Yes, there was more to it. He wanted something specific that he had been trying to get his hands on for decades. He must have believed that with society in shambles, no one would notice when he took what he wanted,” Izuku continued.

He noticed All Might squirming in his seat, becoming more and more uncomfortable. But it was Aizawa who spoke, watching the three of them closely, “And what was that?”

That was when Midoriya finally spoke up, startling the UA staff, “My quirk, [One for All].”

Silence. They were all looking at him as if waiting for the other shoe to drop. Except All Might, who paled at the admission.

Then the questions hit him in an onslaught.

“Why your quirk?”

“Isn’t your quirk [Superpower]?”

“Why would a supervillain be interested in your quirk?”

“A strength quirk? Those are a dime a dozen. Granted, yours is much stronger than most.”

The din was broken by All Might standing up and whisper-shouting across the room, “Young Midoriya, you shouldn’t have told them. This was not your secret to share.”

Even though his stomach was in knots at coming to cross purposes with his mentor, Midoriya held his ground. He frowned at his hero and, with his voice quivering slightly, he said, “Isn’t it, though?”

All Might was stunned at his successor’s defiance.

A hand found his under the table. The firm squeeze he received gave Midoriya the strength to continue, “It’s my quirk now. I know it goes against what you have taught me, but this is more important than secrecy. If knowing about it and where it came from will help us avoid war, then I’m going to tell whoever needs to know.”

“My boy, maybe we should step outside and talk about it first,” the former number one pleaded.

“No. I’m sorry, All Might, but I’ve made up my mind,” Midoriya said. He tried to convey that he wasn’t rebuking him, but the words wouldn’t come.

All Might leaned over the table at the two time travelers, “This is your fault! What did you do to him?”

Midoriya stood up quickly, “No! This was my decision. They just filled me in on what happened to them and left it up to me. They even encouraged me to think about it for as long as I needed to make sure.”

Izuku was proud of how Midoriya was handling this. He was firm and resolute. Not backing down under pressure.

All Might still looked torn up about the whole reveal, but even he could see the steel behind Midoriya’s words. “Ok, my boy. Let’s can talk after the meeting and discuss what you need from me.”

Midoriya smiled happily at his mentor’s acceptance, “I would like that.”

When they both sat back down to continue the meeting, Midoriya found everyone staring at him.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly and lowered his eyes to the table. He was still grinning, though. He was proud of himself for standing up for himself and for his mentor’s understanding.

“We still don’t understand why he wants your quirk enough to start a war,” Midnight said.

Midoriya gulped. He still had a lot left to explain. “Well, [One for All] is not a strength quirk, it’s a stockpiling quirk.”

“Still, even stockpiling quirks aren’t that rare,” Aizawa added.

“It is when it is a transferrable quirk that stockpiles the quirks of the previous holders,” Midoriya glanced up to see the shock and disbelief around the table.

“What?!” came from too many people at once.

When they died down, a gravely voice came from across the table, “You said transferrable, right? Who gave it to you? It wasn’t All for One, or we wouldn’t be here.”

Of course, All Might couldn’t sit still and drew attention to himself.

Aizawa put the pieces together the fastest of those not in the know. He pinned All Might with a withering glare, “It was you. Wasn’t it? It explains how you have been so close to Midoriya from the first day of school,” he paused as he realized the implications, “When did you give it to him? It had to have been recent. Very recent. That would explain his lack of control at the beginning of the year.”

“The day of the entrance exam.”

“He went into the entrance exam with no training in a new quirk! Are you stupid?” Aizawa was incredulous.

“I trained him for 10 months before the exam so he would be strong enough to handle it,” All Might defended.

“Except he didn’t handle it. He broke both legs and an arm!” Now, Recovery Girl was chiming in.

Nezu climbed up onto the table and stood between the two, “Calm down, everyone. Let’s talk about this like professionals.”  

“Look, I get that this is new and shocking information, but it is old news to some of us, and we need to move on to more important things,” Izuku interrupted.

“Let me give you the Cliffs Notes on [One for All], if that’s ok with you,” he said, looking to Midoriya.

“Yes, please.”

“[All for One] was born decades ago near the beginning of the emergence of quirks. When his quirk came in, he used it to empower himself while claiming he was helping people rid themselves of bothersome quirks. That power went to his head, and he began using it in more nefarious ways.”

“He had a sickly brother who appeared quirkless and opposed his brother’s machinations. All for One forced a stockpiling quirk on his brother to try to sway his brother to his side. That only made his brother angrier. What no one knew was that the brother wasn’t quirkless, and he had a quirk that could transfer quirks. It combined with the stockpiling quirk, and [One for All] was born. It has been passed down eight times, and the ninth and final holder is Midoriya.”

“What wasn’t known until I had the quirk was that it stockpiled the previous holders’ quirks that will awaken as more control is gained.”

Everyone had a wide-eyed look as they tried to digest it all. Even Snipe was slumped over at the information dump.

“That was a lot, little listener,” Present Mic blurted out. Izuku gave him a sympathetic smile before turning to his friend.

“Eraserhead, we would like to enlist your help to bring out the rest of the quirks. All for One and Shigaraki are still going to come after Midoriya, and he needs to be as ready as possible,” Izuku requested.

Aizawa gave him a long, considering look, “Of course, I’ll help with his quirk. That is literally my job. But not to train him for a war, he’s a child.” The stubborn set of his chin affirmed his stance.

Izuku sighed, “He is, but that won’t matter to them. He won’t be in this alone, either. We’ll be there for him if they come after him before he’s ready. Let’s talk after the meeting.”

Nezu called out to Izuku, “Smoke, we should make some plans. I would like as many details as you can remember about the war, Shigaraki, All for One, the League, the PLF, and anything else you can think of that is relevant.”

“That sounds great, Nezu. I have started filling some notebooks with as much as I remember, but I’ve got more to do. I’ll get them to you as soon as I can, and we can go over what our priorities should be,” Izuku was so excited to be working hand-in-paw(?) with Nezu. It felt a bit like before, and that settled something within him. He may not have everything he had before, but maybe he could forge some new bonds.

Touya had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the meeting, which honestly should have worried him, but he ignored his internal warning system. So, what happened next shouldn’t have been a surprise.

Touya stood and stretched before dropping a bomb in a matter-of-fact tone, “So, we’re just going to ignore the fact that [One for All] is haunted.”

They heard a thump, then another. When they looked over, Eraserhead was banging his head on the table.

Of course, Midoriya and Izuku just giggled at the chaos.

Chapter Text

Like a frenzy, like an ocean overflowed

This must all be just an accident at most

Oh, I'm changing, and I feel more like a ghost

Like a specter in your headlights on the road – Bad Omens

Touya had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the meeting, which honestly should have worried him, but he ignored his internal warning system. So, what happened next shouldn’t have been a surprise.

Touya stood and stretched before dropping a bomb in a matter-of-fact tone, “So, we’re just going to ignore the fact that [One for All] is haunted.”

They heard a thump, then another. When they looked over, Eraserhead was banging his head on the table.

Of course, Midoriya and Izuku just giggled at the chaos.

After Touya dropped his bombshell on the crowd, it was up to Izuku to explain about the vestiges. All Might seemed stunned that [One for All] was so much more than he was led to believe.

He explained that the vestiges were the previous holders of [One for All] and that they held the strings to their quirk awakenings. They needed to convince them to awaken them sooner than they had for him so that Midoriya could train them in case they were attacked again.

“While some of the quirks are passive or relatively easy to use, a couple are volatile. That’s why we need you there, Aizawa. [Erasure] would keep those volatile quirks in check.”

“That sounds logical. We can meet after classes. I will secure a private gym for us,” his former sense said as he searched for available gyms on his phone.

“But first, we need to contact the vestiges, or Midoriya needs to,” Izuku said.

“Izuku explained to me that they talked to him while he was sleeping sometimes or if he could meditate deeply enough,” Midoriya said, still unsure of what to call his other self.

“But the easiest, most surefire way to talk to the vestiges was by being hypnotized,” Izuku said, giving Aizawa and Present Mic a pointed look.

Mic got it first, “Oh, you mean Shinso, right? His brainwashing quirk should do the trick for you, and I bet the listener would help out.”

“That would be great! We’ll try the meditation route until we can schedule a time for him to join us,” Izuku said.

“Are we going to tell him about the vestiges?” Nezu asked.

“That’s up to Midoriya. It’s his quirk,” Izuku said. “And if we want to keep Ash and I’s presence a secret, I can always wear a disguise or cover up like I’ve been doing outside of our quarters,” Izuku said.

They all agreed that, for now, Izuku and Ash’s identities should be kept under wraps for as long as possible.

“I want to be there when you try to contact the vestiges,” All Might interjected. He had been listening closely to all the revelations and wanted to be there to support his successor.

Izuku left that to Midoriya to decide. Midoriya agreed quickly to set his mentor at ease. He didn’t want him to feel shut out. Plus, he always felt safe when All Might was with him.

…

The next day, Touya and Izuku, finalized their consultancy with Nezu. He advanced some funds to them so they could get the essentials. Izuku loved Present Mic, but he did not want to wear his merch every day. They were relieved that they could order almost everything online for same-day delivery.

After their whirlwind shopping extravaganza and classes were over, Izuku and Touya met up with Midoriya outside Gym Iota. Aizawa had reserved the gym only for their use. Aizawa and All Might were waiting inside when they entered.

Izuku and Aizawa took Midoriya through the steps for meditation. Aizawa was considerably more experienced with the calming technique than Izuku was, so he took the reins. They spent an hour trying to reach that state that would allow Midoriya to fall into the quirk but were unsuccessful.

“I think our brains just don’t know how to shut off to access that plane. I only did it myself a handful of times, and it was when I was so tired that my mind just kind of shut off on its own.”

“Exhausting myself doesn’t seem like a good idea, since I would be too tired to have a coherent conversation.”

“And hoping they appear in your sleep is a total crapshoot,” Izuku said.

“It looks like we are going to have to enlist Shinsou’s help,” Aizawa said. “I spoke with him today, and he can meet with us after school tomorrow.”

“Great! We’ll regroup tomorrow, then,” Izuku got up and stretched. He was stiff from sitting on the gym floor for so long.

“In the meantime, you should continue to try to meditate, just in case your busy brain tires itself out,” Aizawa said.

Midoriya’s mind wandered as he was heading back to the dorms. He had to figure out what he was going to say when he met the vestiges. He wasn’t sure he would be able to speak. His other self explained that the first few times he saw the vestiges, he was unable to respond to them.

As he pulled open the door to the dorm, he spotted some of his classmates in the common room. Iida greeted him, “Midoriya, where have you been? Class has been out for hours. Were you training again? Aizawa-sensei told us that overtraining can do just as much harm as slacking off would.”

“Oh, uh, I wasn’t doing physical training,” Izuku stammered, “It was more like mental training.”

“Huh, what do you mean?” Ochaco piped up from the table where she was working on homework.

Izuku scrambled to come up with a hopefully plausible excuse, “I was thinking that some calming techniques might help me with keeping a level head under pressure. So Aizawa-sensei agreed to teach me some meditation techniques.” ‘That was believable, wasn’t it?’

Fortunately, Iida jumped on his excuse with enthusiasm, “That sounds very commendable, Midoriya. Maybe it’s something we should all learn?”

“Uh, it couldn’t hurt, I guess. But I’m not very good at it. He said something about my busy brain. I’m a bit tired, so I’m going to rest in my room for a while before dinner. See you guys later,” Midoriya said before scurrying for the stairs.

As he approached the stairs, he was startled to see Kacchan leaning against the wall, glaring at him suspiciously.

“Really, nerd? Since when are you into meditation?” Bakugou Katsuki growled at Midoriya.

“Uh, just something I’m trying out,” Midoriya couldn’t quite meet the other’s eyes. He was really bad at lying and making up excuses, especially to Kacchan, who has known him all his life. He could tell Kacchan didn’t believe him, but for whatever reason, he didn’t call him out on it.

“Tch, whatever,” the explosive boy said as he pushed off the wall and headed to the kitchen.

Midoriya managed to get to his room without any more run-ins with his classmates. As he leaned against the closed door of his room, he replayed that last encounter in his mind. Sighing, he thought, ‘That might be a problem.’

…

The next day, they gathered again in Gym Iota, but this time with a disgruntled Shinsou Hitoshi. He was standing near the door, slightly behind Aizawa, as if unsure he was welcome.

Izuku, who was wearing his suit with a full-face mask Power Loader had made to conceal his identity, was barely holding down his glee at seeing his best friend again. He nudged Touya and whispered, “Look, he’s just like a feral cat.” He was delighted when the man beside him snorted.

“Problem children, do you want to explain to Shinsou what we are doing here?” Aizawa said with a resigned tone.

“Hey, don’t lump me in with the green monsters,” Touya complained. He slipped off to the side to lean against the wall.

“Hey, Shinsou,” Midoriya said with a small smile, trying to make the other boy feel welcome. They hadn’t talked since the sports festival, even though he wanted to get to know him better. The determination the other boy exhibited during the festival reminded him so much of himself fighting to get someone to see him for more than his quirk status. He knew the other boy was wary of him, but he hoped that he could convince him that they could be allies at the very least.

“Midoriya.” While Shinsou’s glare didn’t lessen, his nervousness was evident as he crossed his arms as if he were protecting himself.

Izuku decided to jump in and break the tension, “Hi, I’m Smoke, and we were hoping that you could help us out.”

Shinsou eyed the suited man suspiciously. “I don’t know you, so I don’t know how I could help you.”

He inwardly winced at Shinsou’s demeanor. He hated that Shinsou was back in that horrible mindset where questions were to be avoided at all costs because the repercussions were so awful.

“I’m a friend of Midoriya’s, and recently we have discovered that his quirk is not what we originally thought. His quirk isn’t superstrength, but a stockpiling quirk of sorts.”

“I still don’t understand where I come into this,” Shinsou frowned at the two.

Izuku was anxious to get started and decided to just cut to the chase. “Long story short, he’s haunted, and he can use the quirks of the ghosts haunting him. One just happens to have superstrength. We want to talk to them and get their cooperation regarding the rest of their quirks.”

Midoriya cut in, “I remember seeing some images of them when I was under your quirk during the sports festival, so we thought maybe we could try that again in a more controlled environment. If you are willing, that is.”

“What do you think? Can you help us out?”

Shinsou glanced at Aizawa, and with his nod of reassurance, he agreed to participate, “Ok, fine. Let me know what you want me to do.”

Izuku started, “First of all, you can ask questions. No one here is going to do anything if you do. Second, why don’t we have a seat?”

Izuku got comfortable on one of the mats on the floor of the gym. Midoriya shrugged and joined him, followed by a still-reluctant Shinsou. Aizawa and All Might kept an eye on them while Touya scrolled on his phone.

“First, we should see if Shinsou’s quirk will put you in the quirk realm,” Izuku said and looked up at Shinsou to start.

“When do you want to start?” Shinsou asked.

“Now, would…”

“I guess…”

 Aizawa’s snort caught Touya’s attention, and he looked up to see both Midoriyas caught in Shinsou’s quirk. “Oh my god, he caught them both!” Touya cackled at the sight.

Aizawa sighed and pinched his nose before asking an amused Shinsou to release them.

As Izuku came back to reality, he turned beet red when he realized what had happened. A still chuckling Touya teased Izuku, “I thought you were the smart one.”

“I…I was excited,” Izuku said sheepishly.

“Sorry about that,” he directed to the two sitting with him. His mistake seemed to have loosened Shinsou up, because he now sported a small smirk.

Midoriya, however, was thoughtful. Izuku brought him out of it by getting back to the point of the experiment, “Did you see anything while you were under?”

“Um, actually, yes. I saw some shadowy figures approaching me. When I looked down at myself, I was covered with shadows except for my eyes,” Midoriya recalled a warm, welcoming feeling coming from the shadowy figures.

“That sounds about right. Let’s do that again and leave you under for 2 minutes to see if they can communicate with you.”

The second time, the figures appeared to be waiting for Midoriya to appear, and that warm feeling was back. As he focused on the three figures in front of them, they started to resolve into different people. One was a thin man with unruly white hair. One was a woman with long dark hair pulled into a half-up, half-down style. The last was a sharp-featured bald man.

The white-haired man bowed and spoke first, “Midoriya, welcome to the club. My name is Yoichi, and I was the first holder of [One for All]. My brother is the one who started all of this.”

The dark-haired woman was next, “I’m Nana. I was Toshinori’s mentor. Will you tell him that he chose well?” She smiled at him as he tried to duck his head in embarrassment.

The bald man barked out, “I’m Diagoro Banjo, and I was the fifth holder. I’m glad to meet you.”

Midoriya struggled to greet them in return, but the shadows covering his mouth kept him from responding.

“Ah, yes. It may take a few visits to our realm to adapt so that you can converse freely. We have been listening to you discussing [One for All] and how to get access to the other quirks.”

Midoriya had so many questions, and being hampered like this was driving him mad. All he could do was raise an eyebrow to express himself.

“We’ve decided that we are willing to work with you so that you can train with as many of our quirks as possible. Since the other Ninth knows all the quirks, he should be able to guide you on which one would be best to tackle first.”

Yoichi noticed he was beginning to fluctuate. “It looks like our time is up. We’ll be here when you decide.”

Shortly after they all faded, Midoriya was released from Shinsou’s quirk. He grinned when he readjusted to the real world, “They spoke to me!”

“What did they say?” Izuku was thrilled to find out they made contact so quickly.

Midoriya wiggled excitedly as he relayed what they said, “They have been listening to us and are willing to help me unlock the other quirks. Yoichi, the first holder, said that you might be able to help me with which one to choose since you are familiar with all of them.”

“Ok, let me…” Izuku began, but a confused and slightly angry Shinsou interrupted.

“Hold on a second. Something doesn’t make sense. I thought this was your first time speaking to them. I don’t understand how you would know about the quirks of these ghosts.”

Aizawa face palmed as Izuku desperately tried to backtrack, “Well, you see…”

“Look, I get it. You don’t trust me, the guy with the villain’s quirk,” Shinsou let some of his anger slip through before his normal deadpan look slammed down. Izuku hated that he was the cause of Shinsou withdrawing into himself.

“No! That is not it at all. And there’s no such thing as a villain’s quirk. Quirks are tools. It’s how you use them that determines if you are a villain or not,” Izuku anxiously wrung his hands.

“Whatever,” Shinsou stood up and turned away from the group.

“Look, this all went sideways. I should have known Shinsou would figure it out. He was always too clever for me to put one over on him,” Izuku said, rising to his feet and pacing to try to clear his thoughts.

Shinsou whipped back to the suited man, “What do you mean by that?” He hadn’t meant to lace the question with his quirk, but the man in front of him was acting like he knew him, and it scared him. Activating his quirk was self-defense.

“I...” Izuku’s voice cut off.

Everyone froze as Izuku was caught in Shinsou’s quirk. After a beat, he dropped the quirk, and Izuku was himself again. Shinsou began backing away as if he was expecting to be punished.

“Everyone needs to calm down,” Aizawa stated evenly. While he intended to de-escalate the situation, it seemed to shock Izuku into action instead.

“No, you know what? I thought that I could do this, but it’s too hard.” Izuku began fiddling with the straps of his mask.

Everyone except Shinsou stepped forward and began arguing with Izuku to try to dissuade him from removing the mask.

“Smoke, what are you doing? We were supposed to keep your identity a secret.” Aizawa’s voice rose above the din.

“I know, but not if it hurts Shinsou. I won’t be part of that.” Izuku finally got the straps free and pulled off the mask.

Shinsou stared at the now unmasked man before switching over to Midoriya. “What? How? I don’t understand.”

Aizawa threw up his hands and retreated to slump against the wall next to Touya while the two Midoriyas explained the situation to Shinsou. All Might hovered at the edge of the group in case any of them needed him.

“It’ll be fine, Eraser,” Touya said quietly to the frustrated hero.

Aizawa didn’t say anything but gave Touya the most “done with this shit” look he could muster. Touya just snickered, “I know Smoke’s a handful, but he means well. I had a feeling this wasn’t going to go well.”

Watching the three’s animated discussion, Touya said with more than a hint of fondness, “Izuku cares deeply for those important to him. Shinsou, or Toshi as he called him, was his best friend. They were as close as brothers. Seeing him now, withdrawn and full of anger, is like waving a red cape at the raging bull that is my partner.”

“What do you mean?” Aizawa had been training the boy for months but knew little about his home life. Not for lack of trying. The boy was notoriously close-mouthed about everything. He knew something was going on with the kid, but what little information he had gathered had to be pried out of him.

Touya remembered telling Izuku at one point that they could shove Shinsou at Aizawa and Mic so that they wouldn’t miss out on parenthood while the two of them took in Eri. It was just a throwaway line to assuage Izuku, but was it really?  

Mic and Aizawa were good people, and Shinsou needed a better living situation. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that it could actually work. When did he become this soft? He’s blaming the green menace.

‘I guess it’s time to plant some seeds.’

“Shinsou has had a rough life. His parents died when he was small, and he has been in foster care since. From what I was told, he has bounced around from home to home for years. Most were ok, but a few were awful. When the war started, he finally got free of the foster system. From what Smoke has said, he managed to get his feet under him with some help and became one of the best resistance base leaders we had.”

“I had no idea he’s gone through so much,” Aizawa said thoughtfully, studying the boy he had become attached to.

“You know, he could use a good family. Someone who understands how difficult hero training is. I remember he was always interested in underground heroics. I bet he would benefit from having a family that understands what that is all about,” Touya said pointedly. Maybe a bit too obviously based on the look he just got.

“Laying it on pretty thick there, aren’t you?” Aizawa deadpanned back at him. He was well aware that the other man was playing him.

Unapologetic, Touya grinned, “Yes, I am. Is it working?”

“What are you getting out of this?” Aizawa was pretty sure that Ash had an ulterior motive.

“Smoke will be happy his friend is in a good place with people who will support him,” Touya explained.

“And?” Aizawa prodded, not buying that simple explanation.

“And you get a chance to be a parent.”

“Why is that so important?”

“It isn’t to me. But Izuku thinks you should have a chance to be one, since you won’t get a chance to with our daughter.” Touya gave him a cheeky grin, waiting for the inevitable questions.

“Your daughter?” Aizawa was reeling from this turn in the conversation. ‘Where did a daughter come from?’

Pleased with the reaction he got from the hero, Touya decided to fill him in. “In the first go-around, a little girl, Eri, was rescued from the yakuza. You and Smoke were part of the team that rescued her. Because of the volatility of her quirk, you took charge of her since you could erase it when it got out of control. During the war, Izuku and I got very attached to her, but circumstances were different then. This time around, we’re keeping her,” Touya declared mulishly, daring the other man to argue.

It was quiet for a moment while Aizawa digested this latest information. “So, Shinsou is supposed to be her replacement?”

“Look, you were a good parent to her, but you don’t have a connection with her now. We do. Even if she doesn’t know it. She’s ours this time around. Shinsou needs someone, and we think you would fit well together.”

Aizawa seemed to accept that explanation. He was going to have to have a long conversation with Mic about this. “I’ll consider it. I would have to consult with my husband first.”

Touya chuckled, “Oh, please. Mic will be ecstatic.”

Aizawa rolled his eyes before settling back on the boy who could be his. ‘Yeah, he’s right. Mic will be thrilled.’

After letting that sit for a few minutes, Aizawa decided it was his turn to pry, “I noticed that you go out of your way for Smoke. Helping his friend. Trying to make me and Mic parents because it will make him happy.”

“He’s my partner and friend. Of course, I want him to be happy.”

“Is that all he is to you?” Aizawa watched him closely. He could see the tension in the other man’s jaw as he brought up a closer relationship.

“That’s all he can be,” Touya said with a hint of sad acceptance.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, look at him. He has saved so many people. Even with all he has been through, he is still a ball of sunshine that always wants the best for everyone. He’s what every hero should aspire to be,” Touya declared, keeping an eye on his partner. He didn’t want him to overhear their chat.

“I’m not sure I understand.” Aizawa was confused. It sounded like more than friendship, but what Ash said didn’t make sense.

Touya looked at him like he was stupid, “He’s way too good to be stuck with someone like me.”

‘Oh, that was the problem,’ thought Aizawa. ‘He thought his past was too tainted to think anyone would want to be with him.’

“Bullshit,” the hero finally said. “Smoke strikes me as someone who can make his own decisions. He wouldn’t want you to make them for him. And, from my perspective, it looks like he has already chosen you.”

“What are you talking about?”

Aizawa just shrugged without another word and headed over to the group to try to corral them back to work.

Touya watched Izuku laugh with the group as they tried again to connect Midoriya with the vestiges. All Might even threw in some ideas to try. Shinsou appeared more settled, his shoulders had lowered in relaxation, and he carried a slight smile as he watched the two Midoriyas get scolded by Aizawa.

‘Was Aizawa right? Did he have a chance at something more with Izuku?’

He scoffed disbelievingly.

Who was he kidding? He was just thankful and honestly surprised that Izuku hadn’t already left him behind. He was content to stay until the other man told him to go.

They finally wrapped up the day’s session with plans to continue tomorrow. The group exchanged phone numbers with Shinsou so they could coordinate plans or just chat.

“Just because we were friends in your time doesn’t mean we’re friends now,” Shinsou argued as he stared at all the new numbers in his phone. He always had a hard time making friends because of his quirk, so getting the numbers from more than just his foster parents and teachers was a bit of a milestone for him. He was secretly pleased, but cautious.

“Ok,” Izuku agreed with a bright smile. Shinsou squinted at him suspiciously before he noticed Midoriya wearing the same exact smile. This day sure took such a wild turn!

As they were heading to the door, it flew open, and a wild bundle of energy burst into the room. The new arrival made a beeline for Izuku before anyone could intercept them.

“New Ten Million! I have your phone!” The pink-haired support menace bounced in excitement before shoving a phone into his hands.

“Hatsume, how did you get in here? The door was locked,” said an exasperated Aizawa.

“Are you sure?” she said with as much innocence as she could muster, which wasn’t a lot.

“Yes, I’m sure. It requires a code to enter.”

“Oh. I may have acquired the master code for all the locks. Don’t tell Power Loader, though? He got really red the last time I did it,” she said seriously.

Izuku and Touya giggled at her antics while checking over the phone. Everything looked good, and all the photos were still there.

“Mei, you did a great job! Thank you so much. Here are the other ones. Can you do the same thing? Just please, please don’t lose the photos,” Izuku said as he passed her his old phone and the one Nezu gave him.

“Of course I can. Then maybe we can talk about making some new babies. These phones gave me tons of new ideas,” Mei said while already fiddling with her new project.

“Babies?” came a voice from the back of the group. All Might coughed in commiseration with the shocked voice.

“She means inventions, Shinsou. Have you met Mei Hatsume yet?” Izuku asked with a devious glint in his eye.

“No,” Shinsou said warily.

“Oh, who are you? Do you need any babies? I can make anything you heroes need,” she asked as she materialized right in Shinsou’s face.

“I don’t think I need anything right now. I’m not in the hero course anyway.”

Izuku pushed aside Shinsou’s weak objection. “But you will be. You might as well get a head start. Mei, his quirk is hypnosis.”

“No, it’s not. It’s brainwashing,” Shinsou said with confusion.

“It really isn’t. You don’t change people’s beliefs with your quirk. You just control what they do, like hypnosis. Whoever named it that was an idiot,” Izuku protested and then continued to grumble something about setting people up to fail and hunting down quirkist assholes.

Midoriya gave Shinsou a sympathetic pat on the shoulder as he stood gaping at Izuku, “I think he enjoys breaking people's minds. I have had multiple existential crises because of him.”

Izuku emerged from his grumbling to throw shade at his partner, “Not as much as Ash does. He just loves to drop bombs in conversations and just wander away like nothing happened.”

“Let me have my fun,” Touya shot back at him.

“Okay, everyone. Let’s head out. I don’t get paid to watch you all flirt.” Aizawa hid a smile in his capture scarf at the uproar that followed.

‘That’s one for me.’ Aizawa couldn’t wait to tell Zashi.

Chapter Text

I guess that some of us

Are just born with tragedy

In our blood

It's just basic chemistry – Bring Me The Horizon

Sitting in Nezu’s office sipping fancy tea out of fine china was not how he thought this meeting would start. Izuku had warned Touya and he hated admitting the other man was right; the tea was incredible.

It reminded Touya of the tea his mother would make when things were tense at home. He took another sip of the tea and let that feeling wash over him. He missed her. He wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to see her again or be a part of that family again. He had burned so many bridges. Maybe too many to overcome.

He hadn’t thought like that in years. In the before, not only was he a villain, but the Todoroki family was also spread far and wide. Any kind of reconciliation was out of the question. He must have been reminded of his old family because he was trying to bring his new family together.

He placed the tea aside and focused on why he was here. He had a new family to worry about now. He wasn’t going to mess this one up.

First, he needed to rescue the youngest member of his new family. Touya and Izuku had decided that today was the day to approach Nezu about Eri. They couldn’t wait any longer. They wanted her back and away from that monster.

“What has brought you to my office today?” Nezu delicately placed his tea down in the saucer on his desk and pressed his paws together.

Not much was known about the villain, Dabi, and even less was known about ‘Ash’, as he called himself. But based on his appearance, age, and quirk, Nezu was pretty sure he knew who the young man was. Public confirmation of his identity would open a Pandora’s box of secrets and coverups surrounding the Number 2 hero and his family.

If it was as bad as he feared, a reckoning was justifiable. One which could rock the public’s faith in the heroes and the HPSC. However, he couldn’t sacrifice the hero’s family to assuage his need for justice. The children were innocent in all this, and he would protect them however he could. Even if it meant justice was delayed.

It wouldn’t stop him from quietly investigating for the future, though. The information gathered could be used in ways other than public exposure to ease the family’s suffering. He was certainly not above extortion for those under his protection. He would make sure that the family got their due.

Touya shifted uncomfortably at the curious smile and wide eyes pinned on him as he sipped his tea. It felt feigned, like an imitation of what he thought should be presented to his audience rather than a true representation of feelings. He didn’t know too much about the principal, but he knew that he was a quirked animal, not human. Nezu probably practiced presenting an image of what he thought he should show in any given situation to make humans more comfortable.

It wasn’t working right now. He felt like Nezu was picking him apart to see how he ticked. Touya tried to stifle his discomfiture.

Izuku trusted Nezu and Touya trusted Izuku. He could do this.

He decided to just dive in to shift that focus off him and onto the issue he was here for. He set aside his tea and began, “Smoke and I need help. We need to rescue someone.” He wasn’t used to asking outsiders for help and he paused before he gave up precious information, “Our daughter.” Nezu’s eyebrows rose at Touya’s declaration.

Touya looked down at his clasped hands in his lap, rubbing a thumb over his wrist where the scars from his quirk would be if they hadn’t been rewound. “She is not biologically our child, but in every other way, she is. We were very attached to her in our time. We couldn’t care for her ourselves then because of the war and her attachment to her guardians. But now that we are not being hunted, and her guardians don’t even know her yet…” He trailed off unsure of how to explain his plans without sounding rash and selfish.

“Who does she need rescuing from?” Nezu asked softly, understanding that this was a sensitive subject that could spiral volatilely. As high-school principal, he was well aware that parental feelings for their child were a minefield to be picked through carefully. Adding danger to the child into the mix and those feelings could erupt into an explosive reaction if not taken seriously and carefully.

Sensing Nezu’s sincerity, he explained, “She is being held captive by a yakuza family headed by Chisaki Kai.” He looked up to lock eyes with Nezu. With clenched teeth, he explained, “He is vile man with twisted views on quirks and has been experimenting on her. Using her for his own ends. His quirk, [Overhaul] allows him to take things apart and put them back together. He has done this to her over and over.”

As the implications of quirk’s effect on the young child became clear, Nezu was horrified for the little girl. He could feel his fur standing on end as Ash explained the atrocities the girl had experienced. He couldn’t stand anyone who hurts children. And as far as experimenting on sapient beings went, well that made it personal. Mercy was not required in those cases; he could tear them to shreds without a second thought and no one would blame him.

“You are probably aware that I have some experience with being held captive and being experimented on,” Nezu said, projecting a calm exterior while his insides roiled.

“I am. That’s why I came to you. You understand the horrors she is facing. We thought you would be our best shot at getting help to rescue her,” he paused. “Smoke and I are going to rescue her, alone if we have to, but any assistance you can offer would increase our chances at getting her out unscathed and lessen the collateral damage,” Touya said.

Touya leaned back in his chair and pressed his lips together grimly before saying, “I want to snatch her out of their clutches even if it means killing every single member of the yakuza. Smoke told me they probably wouldn’t let us keep her if we did that, but if that is the only way to save her, I would gladly live with the consequences.”

“You would commit murder, risk jail, and the probability of never seeing her again? You would go that far for a child? One that doesn’t even know you?” Nezu tested his resolve.

He recalled how his life was softer and more carefree after she came into it. Hell, he didn’t even know he had a gooey center until she blinked up at him with curious red eyes. “She saved me. Well, she and Smoke saved me from a bleak and dead-end existence. I’m not sure I would have survived this long without them.”

“So, for her? I would burn the world. Smoke would, too.” Ash said with finality as if that were a fundamental truth of the universe.

Nezu steepled his paws in thought while considering the man. He believed Ash. He and Smoke would get her out and let the pieces fall where they may. He couldn’t let two of the most interesting people he had encountered in years fall into villainy or back into villainy in Ash’s case. What kind of hero would he be if he let that happen? He couldn’t sate his curiosity if they were behind bars. Not easily, anyway.

In the end, it was an easy decision. “Let’s discuss your plans.”

Ash felt the hope tinged with relief slowly starting to take root and he allowed a smile to briefly flash before pulling out one of Smoke’s notebooks.

“This notebook has all the details of the raid where she was rescued in our time. It includes as many of the yakuza members that we could remember who were involved, their position in the yakuza, and their quirks,” Touya said.

Nezu eagerly opened the notebook and began to read excitedly, “This is a wonderful start. We’ll save your daughter.” He looked up from the notebook, “What’s her name?”

“Eri. Her name is Eri.”

---

Midoriya met with Shinsou, Izuku, Aizawa-sensei, and All Might every day after classes in an effort to initiate two-way contact with the vestiges. Each day Shinsou helped him access the vestige realm and each day the shadows covering his visage got smaller and smaller.   

The days before he was able to converse with the vestiges were not wasted. He spent the time he wasn’t meditating or under Shinsou’s quirk, training with Izuku. As the holder with the most knowledge of [One for All] (Sorry, All Might!), his counterpart was able to give him some great tips and exercises on controlling it.

Even All Might was impressed with the progress he made. He approached Izuku after a particularly effective training session, where Midoriya reached 25% of his quirk’s capacity without too much strain and no pain.

“Smoke, I want to thank you for the incredible job you’ve done of helping young Midoriya with [One for All]! His control has progressed by leaps and bounds under your teachings,” All Might said with his signature beaming smile.

Izuku pressed his lips together as if trying to hold himself back from blurting something. Midoriya was confused when Izuku simply nodded and started to walk away. He paused and said over his shoulder, “I just want Midoriya be the best he can be and if I can help him, I will.” Izuku quickly gathered his things, pulled a hoodie low over his face, and headed out of the gym.

Midoriya gave All Might a questioning look. All Might shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know what I did, but young Smoke doesn’t seem to like me. He’s been wary of me or outright hostile since he arrived.”

“You did accuse him of manipulating me a few days ago,” Midoriya pointed out somewhat distracted.

All Might frowned and inwardly cringed remembering the meeting with the two time travelers, “I think there is more to it than just that, but you’re right. I wasn’t at my best during the meeting. I should apologize.”

“It couldn’t hurt,” Midoriya said absent-mindedly. He was thinking about Izuku and his reactions around his mentor. Something was up there. ‘I wonder what it is?’

Besides the additional training with Izuku, Midoriya also got to know the vestiges. Whenever he entered [One for All] with Shinsou’s help, he was greeted by one or more of the vestiges. Except Second, who was reportedly sulking because the others berated him for keeping his quirk details a secret.

They told him stories about their pasts, their quirks, tips on how to be a hero, and some other not-so-heroic things, like pranks they have pulled and each other’s embarrassing secrets.

And, oh my god, were their quirks cool. He could feel his fingers twitching like they were itching to transcribe every little detail. Every time he came out of the vestige realm, he grabbed a notebook and refused to speak with anyone until he was done writing down everything he could remember.

His favorite, though, was his uncle, Yoichi. He’d never had an uncle before. He never knew, or according to Izuku, didn’t remember Uncle Hoshi, mom’s brother, and he didn’t know that his father had siblings. Heck, he didn’t even know his own father.

Uncle Yoichi was amazing. He told Midoriya stories of when he was a kid, and how close he was with his brother, Zen, and how devastated he was when he realized his brother was only out for himself and amassing as much power as he could. He described how he was kept trapped and hidden away by his brother.

But even with all his hardships, Uncle Yoichi was still so strong. He wouldn’t allow his brother to sway him from his resistance to his brother’s machinations. He worked tirelessly behind the scenes to undermine Zen and his plans. It ate at his soul because they were brothers, twins even. Eventually, Yoichi realized that his brother was a lost cause and must be stopped by any means necessary.

When he discovered that the quirk that was forced on him combined and mutated his own hidden quirk, he felt like he and his followers might have a chance to stop Zen. While Yoichi was unsuccessful at stopping his brother himself, he still managed to pass his quirk on in the hopes that one day, another holder would prevail.

Midoriya was in awe of Yoichi’s resilience in the face of his overpowered and overbearing brother. All of the holders were strong in their own way. It was humbling to Midoriya because he was just…nothing special. Just a quirkless kid with big dreams.

His older self was strong like the past holders. He fought in a brutal war and won. He sacrificed being separated from everyone to keep them safe. He persevered through it all. Surely, if Izuku could be that strong, then he must be capable of becoming strong and confident, too. He sighed to himself, ‘Somehow.’

Finally, after three days, his sessions with Shinsou bore fruit. The shadows covering him were gone. Now he could discuss [One for All] freely with the vestiges. They knew what his plans were because they had been listening in as everything was discussed. He buzzed with the excitement of having an actual conversation with them and getting immediate feedback for his ideas. He could finally tell them how incredible they were and how they inspired him.

After discussions with Aizawa-sensei and Izuku about the various quirks and their challenges, Midoriya decided that he wanted to tackle [Blackwhip] first. He could try one of the easier-to-handle quirks like [Danger Sense] or [Smokescreen], but that would just put off trying to get a grip on a more difficult-to-handle quirk.

Izuku said that mastering [Blackwhip] required self-control, emotion management, and three-dimensional thinking. If he could get a handle on [Blackwhip] the rest would be easier.

The only one more difficult to master was [Gearshift]. With the danger of overuse and accidental time travel (which Aizawa was not told about), it made sense to leave that for last.

When Midoriya could finally speak with the vestiges, he asked Diagoro if he would share his quirk with him first. The bald hero grinned like he had won the lottery and popped out of existence. Nana laughed and explained to a confused Midoriya that he was bragging to the others.

Then the real work began. How to draw [Blackwhip] out. Learning that anger was the catalyst was tough for Midoriya. He kept his most vicious anger wrapped tightly and shoved in a box in the back of his mind. Of course, he got mad occasionally, but that was not what he needed now. He needed the white-hot rage that drew his body taut, strained his muscles, and froze his vocal cords.

He’d only allowed that rage free a couple of times, and it scared him. He felt like a different person, someone cruel and vengeful. And after it passed, he felt dirty and exhausted. Now, whenever it reared its head, into the box it went until he needed it. ‘Which I guess is now.’

With Izuku’s help, he dug deep into his memories and pulled out memories that hurt, replaying them until he could evoke that feeling again.

When the rage was burning under his skin like boiling oil, [Blackwhip] burst out in inky tendrils. They were wild and twisting. They hurt. It was hard to think between the simmering rage and the flailing of the chaotic tentacles.

He could barely hear Izuku screaming repeatedly over the roaring in his head, “Mantra!”

They had discussed using anger control techniques when [Blackwhip] appeared. A lot of the techniques wouldn’t work while trying to wrestle a volatile quirk. Of the rest, the easiest one to remember when he was overwhelmed was repeating a mantra. Aizawa agreed that it was probably the easiest to do under pressure and suggested that it be something self-affirming.

Squeezing his eyes shut he focused on his chosen mantra, ‘I am strong, capable, and enough.’ Nothing appeared to be happening after repeating this to himself a few times.

‘Ok, what do I do now? It’s not working.’ Midoriya was starting to panic and [Blackwhip] was still out of control.

“You are strong,” said a familiar voice. Only it wasn’t from anyone inside the gym. “You are strong,” the voice said a second time. He could hear the love and faith behind the words, and he knew who it was. He pulled his fraying thoughts together and whispered, “Thank you, uncle.”

Fists clenched and jaw set, he tried again with the support of one of the strongest people he was privileged enough to know cheering him on.

‘I am strong,’ he visualized each of the vestiges as the thought crystalized in his mind. He felt [Blackwhip]’s movements stagger as if humbled by the force of his conviction.

‘I am capable,’ Midoriya formed the thought as he recalled Izuku, All Might, and Aizawa; three people that saw him as capable. They gave him difficult tasks, knowing they were within his reach even if he didn’t. [Blackwhip]’s attention shifted to him like a dog waiting for a command from its master. The intense focus was overwhelming.

“I am enough,” he shouted out loud the last part of his mantra, feeling it settle into his soul. Like a switch was flipped, he felt them. Each tendril became distinct, separate, and compliant. He knew that with practice, he would be able to control each one separately. For now, though, he exerted his will on them all causing them to shrink and hover around him.

Izuku watched proudly as [Blackwhip] was steadily pulled back to writhe around Midoriya before finally receding back into his body.  

All Might ran over to Midoriya just as he collapsed to his knees. “My boy, you were incredible!” All Might swept him up in a hug.

Aizawa, Izuku, and Shinsou joined their little celebration in the middle of the gym, the latter shell shocked at the crazy display.

“I did it!” Midoriya said excitedly with a hint of awe. He glanced at the crowd around him smiling until he noticed his surroundings.

The mats covering the floor were no longer neatly arranged on the floor, they were scattered along the edges of the room. Some were torn and crumpled. The walls nearest to him had holes in them the size of his head.

“What happened? Did I do this?” Midoriya asked nervously.

“Now you know why I insisted on clearing out the gym and for the rest of us to take cover,” chuckled Izuku.

“This is a lot. How long was [Blackwhip] running wild?” asked Midoriya still stunned at the damage. He had no concept time while he was struggling with his quirk.

“Three minutes, problem child,” Aizawa said tiredly, “We decided that if you didn’t get control at five minutes, I would erase your quirk, and we would try again.” Raking his eyes over the destruction, he said blankly, “Good job, I guess.” Midoriya and Izuku both preened. They knew that was high praise from the underground hero.

“Yeah, remind me not to piss you off,” Shinsou said, eying the boy with new respect and a little fear.

Aizawa had Midoriya practice turning [Blackwhip] on and off for the next 30 minutes to solidify in his mind the trigger for activation. Hopefully, the next training session won’t require a repeat of today’s chaos.

As they were wrapping up today’s session, Izuku noticed Touya leaning against the wall of the gym near the door. He hadn’t seen him come in. Usually, when Touya appeared at the training sessions, he just ignored everyone and scrolled his phone while waiting for it to be over. This time he was watching everyone closely. No, not everyone. Just him.

Today was the day Touya was going to approach Nezu about rescuing Eri. He must have just come from there and had news. He wasn’t giving anything away though. No excitement, no distress. Just blank. Waiting.

He kept his eyes on Touya’s as he cautiously approached. Once he was within arm’s length of the other man, Touya’s face twitched and smile broke out.

“He said yes.” Touya said gruffly with some unidentified emotion that felt like restrained joy.

“Thank god,” Izuku slumped with relief. He had been pretty sure Nezu would help, but one could never be certain.

“He set up a meeting for three days from now to coordinate a raid.”

“That’s fantastic! Who with?” Izuku was brimming with anticipation.

“Sir Nighteye and his team.”

Izuku groaned.

Chapter Text

Mr. Perfect don't exist, my little friend

And I tell you that again

And I do it again

Counting all the assholes in the room

Well, I'm definitely not alone

Well, I'm not alone – Volbeat

Izuku sat on the living room floor in their apartment with his eyes closed. Since he was forced to sit here, he might as well try meditation again. Sitting still was not his strong suit. That’s partly why meditation was so difficult for him. The other problem with meditation was clearing one’s thoughts. ‘How does one do that?’

He always had several thoughts pinging around inside his mind. They shot off in random directions based on whatever input he received or just because. All meditation did for him was isolate his thoughts down to one or two that he obsessed over and picked at.

‘Who knows? Maybe it’ll work this time.’ Izuku tried to relax as he worked through the steps.

‘Take deep breaths.’ Done.

‘Focus on your breathing.’ Done.

‘Does my breathing sound wrong? It feels wrong. Maybe I’m congested? Am I getting sick? I don’t feel like I need to cough.’

Izuku shivered as a different thought floated to the top when Touya’s nails scraped over his neck, pulling at several strands of hair.

‘That feels nice. Did my breathing just hitch when Touya started scratching my scalp? Why do I feel warm now? Oh, for fuck’s sake, I really need to focus on the coming meeting and not my tangled feelings for the menace braiding my hair.’

Why was he braiding Izuku’s hair? The menace wouldn’t let him cut it; therefore, the menace was responsible for it. Hence, the braiding.

At least that was the story he used to tell himself. Now, Izuku thought that maybe he just liked Touya’s attention and maybe his hands on him.

‘Ugh. I’m hopeless.’

“Quit sighing and wiggling like a toddler. Just tell me what has you so antsy,” Touya said.

‘Oh, hell no. That’s not happening,’ thought Izuku. He scrambled for a topic, any topic.

“Just thinking about the meeting,” Izuku said like a liar.

“I know you have your issues with Nighteye, but surely, he’ll help us rescue Eri. Won’t he?” Touya asked.

“I certainly hope so,” Izuku said. Nighteye was a hero, so normal people would assume he would help. Nighteye was also rigid, opinionated, and with an ego the size of Mount Fuji.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” he said, injecting as much optimism as he could muster. He didn’t think that sounded convincing.

Touya just hummed doubtfully and tied off the end of the braid.

Aizawa swung by the apartment to escort Touya and Izuku to the car park where Nezu was waiting. They had chosen to wear the gray camouflage suits Mei had made for them in the before, along with custom hoods matching their suits made by Power Loader. The hoods obscured their faces but didn’t block their vision. The hoods were a perfect addition to their suits since they still needed to keep their identities a secret. Especially since they were going out in public for the first time.

The meeting with Sir Nighteye and his team was taking place at his agency, just outside of Musutafu. Not wanting to risk the trains, Nezu had decided that they would go by car.

They arrived at the car park where they piled into Nezu’s car. Izuku was surprised when Aizawa joined Nezu in the front seat while he and Touya occupied the rear.

“Aizawa, I didn’t know you were coming with us,” said Izuku.

“Nezu insisted,” Aizawa said as he slumped down and leaned against the window.

“Indeed, I did. Having two pro heroes attending the meeting keeps us all on a level playing field,” said Nezu.

Aizawa sat up a bit and asked, “Are you anticipating trouble at this meeting?” Considering who they were escorting, he guessed that was a fair assumption. “Never mind.”

Izuku snickered at the man’s defeated tone. “We’ll be good.”

“No promises,” said Touya. He would keep the peace as long as Nighteye didn’t start anything. And from everything Izuku had told him, the odds of Nighteye being an asshole were high.

The two time travelers tensed as they approached the gates. Musutafu was just outside. This was the first time they would be heading off campus since their arrival. Izuku was nervous. The last time he saw Musutafu, it was in ruins. He wasn’t sure how seeing it as a vibrant, functioning city again would feel.

Other than UA, there wasn’t anything particularly notable about Musutafu. It was just another mid-sized town on the south coast of Japan. Nothing special. Except to Izuku, whose entire world had been here. Until he had witnessed its destruction at the hands of vengeful Shigaraki.

Izuku held his breath as they passed through the gates. He let a shaky breath out in relief as the city unfolded before him.

He smiled as they passed a park crawling with children. Streets were humming with traffic. People were everywhere, heading to work and school, shopping. The weather was still nice enough for business to be booming at the outdoor cafés.

Tears sprang from his eyes as they passed all the familiar sights. Ones he hadn’t seen in a long time.

Touya passed him a tissue he had a habit of carrying because somebody cried at the drop of a hat. “It’s hard to believe this is what it looked like before,” he said.

Izuku nodded while blowing his nose. His eyes stayed glued to the sights as they continued through Musutafu.

Soon enough, they traveled outside of Musutafu and arrived at Nighteye Agency. Centipeder met them at the door and led them up to a large conference room on the second floor. Bubble Girl, Sir Nighteye, and Mirio Togata were waiting, flanking one side of the large conference table. It was the same conference room they used to plan the raid to rescue Eri the first time.

Nezu sat on the opposite side of the conference table from the agency members. Aizawa sat to his left, while Izuku and Touya settled on his right.

“Welcome to Nighteye Agency, Nezu. When you mentioned you had information on the Shie Hassaikai, I didn’t realize you were bringing anyone with you. I know of Eraserhead, but the other two I am not familiar with,” Nighteye said.

“Thank you, Sir Nighteye, for taking the time to meet with us. The two at my right are Smoke and Ash. They are the ones with information on the Shie Hassaikai,” Nezu said, waving his paw at the two to his right.

As Nighteye studied the two strangers, he noticed the subtle tech woven into the two strangers’ suits. “They appear to be wearing hero-grade suits, but I don’t recognize them. Are they underground?”

“No, they are consultants,” Nezu said with no further explanation.

Sir gave Nezu a narrow look, “That doesn’t explain anything. Consultants? For what?”

Nezu just smiled without answering.

Aizawa only barely refrained from rolling his eyes at his boss’s antics. He knew Nezu loved to test people, but did he have to do it today? He’d worked with the uptight Nighteye before. Testing the man’s patience wasn’t going to go well.

Sir Nighteye huffed in annoyance but recognized that Nezu was not going to share any more information. He addressed the two strangers, “Well, what can you tell us about the Shie Hassaikai?”

Izuku zoned out while staring at the hero across from him. The last time he saw Nighteye, he was dying in the hospital. It was surreal seeing him again.

After a nudge from Touya, Izuku snapped out of it and began, “As you know, the yakuza have been dwindling for the last several years. The Shie Hassaikai is one of the few remaining yakuza families left. Chisaki Kai, who was born into the family, recently took it over after a disagreement with the former head. Chisaki incapacitated him and has chosen to lead the Shie Hassaikai back from irrelevance by dealing Trigger, among other activities the head objected to.”

Sir Nighteye interrupted, “We knew that Chisaki had taken over, but not how. Typically, takeovers like this are bloody, full of infighting and jockeying for power. But this transition was smooth and quiet with almost no dissent. Do you know how he managed the takeover so easily?”

Izuku considered Nighteye’s question carefully before he continued, “There are a couple of reasons I think the transition was quiet. First, Chisaki and the former head were close, and choosing him as a successor made sense to many of the younger members.”

“Second, I believe that Chisaki used his quirk [Overhaul] to injure the old head in some way. He is being held in seclusion, and the rest of the family has been told he’s ill. Since the old man isn’t dead, even those members who don’t care for Chisaki’s way of operating aren’t making waves while there is still hope that the former head will return.”

Sir Nighteye sat up straighter and looked down his nose at Izuku, “While that fills in some of the gaps in our knowledge, it doesn’t seem like enough to force this gathering.”

Izuku pulled out a notebook and tossed it across the table. “That is just the tip of the iceberg. I have plenty more in this notebook. The location of their main base, including a rough blueprint of the interior. The identities of Chisaki’s right hands and the eight bullets. Their quirks, including their strengths and weaknesses.”

Sir Nighteye’s interest was piqued as he leafed through the notebook, noting the numerous sketches and pages of notes. He was still skeptical, but if everything checked out it would push their investigation forward by leaps and bounds.

The three remaining members of his agency, having peeked at the notebook over their boss’s shoulder, started whispering to each other in awe of the amount of intel. They were excited to have so much information to work with.

While they appeared agreeable to his offering, Izuku decided to bring up the reason for his involvement, “Most importantly to me and my partner is the hostage he is holding.”

“Hostage? I haven’t heard anything about them holding hostages,” Nighteye said, passing the notebook over to Centipeder to review while he focused on Smoke.

“As far as I know, they only have one. Eri is a little girl, about 5 years old. He is using her and her quirk to create a serum that can erase quirks,” Izuku said.

“Utter nonsense,” Sir Nighteye scoffed. The hero didn’t believe this for one second. “Some yakuza upstart certainly doesn’t have the wherewithal to create something like that, even if it was possible, which I highly doubt.”

Izuku’s jaw clenched at Nighteye’s dismissive attitude. He felt Touya’s shoulder press into his in silent support.

“It is not nonsense. I have witnessed it. Right now, the serum he has can erase a quirk for a few hours. Given enough time and resources, he might be able to reach his goal of a serum that can permanently erase quirks, which is a horrible thing on its own.”

Izuku continued, “However, whether you believe he can do it or not doesn’t matter. He believes it, and he is using a little girl like a lab rat to research it. He is experimenting on her with his quirk. He takes samples of her body, skin, hair, blood, and whatever else he can think of, then uses his quirk to accelerate her healing. Every part of his process is painful and terrifying to a 5-year-old.” Izuku implored the man to listen to him.

“That’s horrible. Why haven’t we heard anything about this?” Bubble Girl chimed in, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

“Chisaki guards her jealously. She is his ticket to power, to controlling who does and who doesn’t have a quirk. He keeps her close,” said Izuku. His demeanor softened as he responded. He always liked Bubble Girl. She had the empathy that Nighteye lacked.

“If he guards this little girl so closely, how did you find out about her? I have been investigating the Shie Hassaikai for months, and no experiments or child hostages have come to light. This seems like the kind of secretive information that would only be accessible to the higher-up family members, if it’s even true. So, how did you come into this information?” Sir Nighteye accused.

Touya’s anger had been simmering, but Nighteye’s skeptical attitude toward Izuku practically begging to be believed snapped his tight hold on his temper. His chair tipped over when he shot to his feet and shouted, “Are you calling us liars?”

Nighteye stood as well, exuding intimidation as he towered over the other man, “I don’t know you. I don’t know how you convinced Nezu to back you, but you could be anyone trying to sell their story. You could be a rival trying to discredit Chisaki or a member of a rival yakuza trying to cripple the Shie Hassaikai so you can take over their territory.”

“He is none of those things,” Izuku tried defending his partner, but to no avail. Neither man took their eyes off the other.

“No, I was never a member of the yakuza. But that little girl was one of the big reasons why I stopped being a villain and turned my life around,” Touya seethed.

“You brought a villain to my agency!” Nighteye yelled at Nezu while keeping Touya in his sight. The other heroes were startled by the declaration, but only Mirio jumped out of his seat as if readying for a fight.

Aizawa pushed his chair back in case he needed to intervene, but didn’t stand, trying to maintain some sense of calm in the room. “Ok, why don’t we all just settle down?”

“No. I will not calm down! This is unacceptable,” Nighteye continued to rage.

“Hey, watch your…” Izuku tried again to defend his partner.

“And you. Who are you? Are you a villain too?” Nighteye pointed at him accusingly, his face red and his voice cold.

Oh, Izuku remembered that look of disdain on the hero’s face. Every day of his work study, he had to put up with that look. The one that made his shoulders hunch and made him want to disappear. The one that reminded him of every nasty teacher he’d had before UA. The one that meant he was not worth their time or energy. The one that screamed that they couldn’t believe he was still here, taking up space that was meant for someone more worthy.

He wasn’t going to stand for that anymore. He stood slowly and leaned over the table, bracing himself on his hands to glare at the tall hero across the table.

“Who am I? Who am I? I’ll tell you who I am. I am the ninth,” Izuku declared.

“The ninth? The ninth what?”

Dark, throaty laughter came from Izuku. He leaned back and pushed off the hood, exposing his face for the first time to the room’s occupants.

“I am Izuku Midoriya, the ninth holder of [One for All].”

An exasperated groan was heard from Aizawa at his announcement. Damn, he didn’t mean to say that, but watching Nighteye's red face get paler and paler was somewhat satisfying.

“You! All Might’s successor? Ridiculous.” Nighteye was horrified that this little punk had All Might’s quirk. He was nothing like All Might. He wasn’t heroic or admirable, and he didn’t smile the way All Might did. He would never be worthy of even trying to step into the Symbol of Peace’s shoes.

“No. What’s ridiculous is you. You are such a rigid, arrogant man that you think you know better than everyone else. You thought you knew better than All Might who his quirk should go to. But it wasn’t your decision. And it wasn’t mine either. But he chose me. Me!” Izuku spat.

Mirio, who had been bracing himself to defend his boss in case the altercation got physical, studied Izuku with confusion. “Hold on just a second. I watched the first year’s sports festival and clearly remember Midoriya and his epic battle with Endeavor’s kid. You look like him, but also different. You look older and seem more confident.”

Nezu’s beady eyes had been following along with the discussion like it was the finale of a beloved television series. Now that Mirio had pointed out the changes in Izuku Midoriya, he finally spoke up, “Smoke, I think you are going to have to share some of your secrets if you want to get their cooperation.”

Still glaring at Nighteye, Izuku heard Touya scoff at his side. “Why should we trust him? Heroes like him don’t listen.”

“Context matters in your cases,” Aizawa said gruffly.

“I agree, I think it would provide clarity to the situation,” Nezu said.

Touya was still alert in case the heroes tried anything, shrugged when Izuku turned to him in askance. “I don’t like him, but I don’t like most people, so it’s your call.”

Was telling Nighteye worth giving away more of their secrets? Could the man set aside his prejudices to help them save Eri? Shit. He really, really disliked the man, but they needed all the help they could get to tackle Overhaul and his minions.

“Fine. But this stays here. None of what we tell you leaves this room.”

After getting agreements from everyone, Izuku explained that they were from the future. “We, Ash and I, are from the future. A quirk sent us back two years from when we finally took down [All for One].”

“You have got to be kidding me. Why are you humoring these two, Nezu? You know there is no such thing as a time-travel quirk,” Nighteye said. He gave Nezu and Eraserhead a done-with-everything look.

“We were skeptical at first, but they appeared suddenly in the middle of UA’s campus. They both appeared to have come from a fierce battle. Smoke’s heart had stopped, and Ash was performing CPR. The story they told us once they recovered has held up even under intense questioning and investigation. I am satisfied that they are who they say they are. Do you doubt my ability to get at the truth?” Nezu asked.

“I think anyone can be fooled,” Nighteye said. His face set in stone as he stared angrily at Ash and Smoke.

Having lost all hope that the man would help, Izuku said, “I should have known you would be like this. But I had hoped for the sake of a child that you would see reason and help us rescue her. But you are too stuck in your own rigid world to see beyond your own prejudice.”

“You are speaking like you know me. I have never met you before today,” Nighteye said.

“But I do know you. I did a work study with Nighteye Agency. The only reason you took me on was to try to convince me to give up [One for All]. You gave me all the shit work. Berated me. Glared at me with contempt,” Izuku thought back to that time and how downtrodden the man had made him feel.

“During my work study, Mirio and I found Eri running from Chisaki. That’s how we found out he had her. I wanted to rescue her then and there, but you all convinced me to wait so we were better prepared.”

“The girl was rescued, and Chisaki was captured, right?” Nighteye said. Izuku nodded.

“Then, I was right, wasn’t I?” Izuku could feel the smug satisfaction oozing from him.

“At the cost of Mirio’s quirk. And your life,” Izuku said.

Mirio flinched, and a look of shock passed over Nighteye until he reigned it in. “What do you mean by that?”

“While we made preparations to raid the Shie Hassaikai stronghold, Chisaki continued experimenting on Eri until he perfected his serum to erase quirks. During the battle, Mirio was shot with a quirk-erasing bullet, and he lost his quirk. You died defending Mirio and Eri,” Izuku said.    

“If we had gone in before he had perfected the quirk-erasing serum, we could have avoided most of the casualties. I am giving you the data you need to strike sooner. Rescue Eri sooner, so she doesn’t have to suffer anymore.”

“I will take it under advisement,” Nighteye said. His face was blank and closed off.

Touya scoffed. “I know that look, that tone, that attitude. He’s not going to help us. He’s going to sit on this intel and drag it out. He’s going to let Eri continue to be tortured just so he can be right. He can’t set his ego aside to save someone’s life.”

“That is not what I said,” said Nighteye defensively.

“You’re not denying it. And I can read between the lines. That attitude is what turns people into villains. The lack of care for anyone but yourself.”

“I am not responsible for your crimes.”

“I never said you were, but that doesn’t make you blameless. How many people have you ignored, pushed aside, or delayed acting to help? How many are now considered villains? I’m guessing that number is not zero. And that’s on you,” Touya said, glaring at the so-called hero.

“You can’t blame society’s ills on me”

“Maybe not, but I can blame you for allowing a sick, depraved man to rip a little girl apart and put her back together on a daily basis, because you’re too far up your own ass to act,” Touya spat.

He could feel his temperature rising with his anger. He needed to get out of here before he incinerated Nighteye and his agency. While he wasn’t opposed to a bit of arson, he wasn’t going to ruin all their plans for a moment of satisfaction. He turned and headed for the door.

Seeing the villain getting away, Nighteye shouted, “Halt, villain. You’re under arrest.” He began firing stamps at the retreating man.

Before anyone could move or protest, blue fire flared out and engulfed the flying stamps. As the fire expanded, reaching toward the fuming hero, it was suddenly redirected and snuffed out.

Touya shot a look of betrayal at Izuku before storming out.

Izuku stared at the empty doorway before turning to Nighteye and slow clapping.

“It wasn’t much of a competition, but you won. You are the biggest asshole in the room. Congratulations!” sneered Izuku.   

Everyone turned to look at Izuku, mouths agape.

“What? You don’t think telling a man his daughter is expendable makes him an asshole?”

“He was talking about his daughter?” whispered Bubble Girl in shock.

“Yes. But it shouldn’t matter if she’s ours or not. A little girl is still being tortured.” The anger and sadness bled through his words.

Izuku followed his partner out of the conference room. He hadn’t expected to see Touya waiting in the building, so he headed outside. Scanning the street was a bust, so he picked a direction and started walking.

He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text.

Smoke: Where are you?

Ash: Going to walk off my anger.

Smoke: Ok. You want company?

Ash: Not this time. I need to be alone for a bit.

Smoke: Fine. Be safe.

Ash: Stop pouting. I’ll be fine.

…

“That was a waste of time,” Aizawa glowered from the front seat.

“I disagree. We learned a lot from that meeting,” Nezu said without explaining anything.

Aizawa sighed and slumped against the window. He kept watch for Smoke as they headed back to UA. Smoke had texted that he was heading back to UA on his own, but he couldn’t help but worry. He hadn’t mentioned Ash but guessed they would find out when they returned.

“Good job on stopping Ash from incinerating Nighteye,” Nezu said.

“That wasn’t me.”

“Interesting.”

Chapter Text

Look into my face, then look again

We are not the same, we're different

To tell your tales and fables, you couldn't wait

You need a new clean slate without the dents

A place to put your pain, your consequence

When you look into the mirror, are you even there? – Bad Omens

Blurry faces flickered past as he stomped down the street. He squeezed the phone hastily shoved in his pocket, after reassuring Izuku, he would be back when he cooled down. He moved briskly through the afternoon crowd while mentally chewing on the meeting.

‘I can’t believe that man is a hero. Disgusting.’

He was somewhere between pissed and grateful that Izuku stopped him from incinerating that asshole. He really wanted that jerk to disappear. He was supposed to help people, not just ignore information if it wasn’t convenient or fit his narrative.

Maybe he got carried away by trying to light the bastard on fire. And maybe that could have made things more complicated with Eri.

‘Ok, definitely more complicated.’

It was so much simpler when he was with the League. Instant retaliation with no guilt or repercussions.

‘To be fair, I didn’t even know I should feel guilty then. Not really.’

He knows better now.

‘Being responsible sucks,’ he thought as he balled his hands into fists in his pockets to keep from inadvertently lighting them up.

He stormed down the sidewalk like a man on a mission, not noticing the wide berth people were giving him. To be fair, he was wearing what looked like a hero suit. With the hood up, no one could tell if he was a hero rushing to take care of urgent hero business. They just saw a costumed and hooded figure barreling forward and wisely got out of the way.

He walked blindly, not really registering his surroundings. When he finally calmed down enough to notice, he found himself in a run-down area of the city lined with warehouses. It reminded him of when he found the nomu nest before he teamed up with Izuku.

With that in mind, he combed through the area with diligence, checking for signs of nomu production. He found plenty of abandoned warehouses and some with electricity, but no evidence of nomu.

As he searched, he recalled the first nest he found. He was pretty sure he remembered where it was located. He should probably just check it out, and maybe this day won’t be such a waste.

He and Izuku had been putting together a list for Nezu of all the nomu nests they had found during the war for the inevitable showdown with the doctor. He hadn’t included the first one because he couldn’t remember exactly where it was and hadn’t had a chance to search for it. But now that he was out and about, he felt confident he could find it.

‘No time like the present, I guess.’

He took the train to the station nearest to where he thought the nomu nest had been. Thirty minutes of walking took him to a familiar industrial district. A brief survey of the area brought him to that warehouse from his memory.

It looked the same. Run-down, boarded-up windows, dark, derelict. As he got closer, he could hear the low hum of machinery coming from the building.

‘Hmm. Maybe not so empty.’

Finding no cameras or other obvious security, he crept around the building to a boarded-up window on the side of the building. He pried off one of the boards covering the window to squint into the darkness.

At first, he didn’t notice anything in the gloom. He cupped his hands around his face to block out the afternoon sun and peer deeper. As his eyes adjusted to the dark interior, he noticed the familiar hulking tanks with blinking lights.

‘Found you.’ He preened.

He stepped back and slipped the board back over the window so his trespassing wouldn’t be noticed. He couldn’t do anything about the nomu nest right now, but he could mark the location and send it to Nezu.

He sent a photo of the building along with the location to the group chat he had with Nezu and Izuku so that they could add it to their plans. He quickly shut down his messaging app to avoid any responses. He wasn’t ready for peopling right now.

Instead, he tapped on his photos. He skimmed through them, remembering their time in the before. He smiled softly as he found a picture Izuku must have taken of him braiding Eri’s hair. She appeared to be having an intense conversation with Mic. Her hands were waving in the air, and Mic was trying not to laugh. It was probably something ridiculous, like whether or not unicorns exist.

It was hard to believe that such a small person had such a huge impact on his life. She reminded him so much of Fuyumi at that age. Even though he wasn’t much older than his sister, he took his big brother duties seriously. Every day, he would brush her hair while she babbled about her day. The feel of the silky strands between his fingers always comforted him.

Eri had been wary of him at first because his appearance was scary with all his scars. She was so quiet in the beginning, mostly just watching him. When she saw him braiding Izuku’s hair, she was fascinated. She would tilt her head and move her fingers like she was trying to imitate him.

After several clumsy attempts, she finally got the courage to ask him if he would do her hair, too. She was tense when he first started with her shoulders up by her ears. But he was gentle with her, moving slowly and carefully to not snag or pull any hair.

His patience and gentleness were rewarded when she started whispering to him about how Papa Mic brought her new hair ribbons or how Dadzawa always had her favorite apples. He was surprised at how quickly she warmed up to him. He knew when she started sharing her day with him that she trusted him. He promised himself that he would never lose that trust.

If he had been able to, he would have cried the first time she offered to heal his scars. Once his tear ducts were repaired, he did cry. And while it scared her to see him cry, she was still brave enough to cling to his neck until he stopped and explained that they were happy tears.

Between her and Izuku, they brought him back from the precipice where he wavered between fighting to the last breath and giving in. They steadied the roller coaster of recriminations and doubt that his inner voice whispered to him in the dark.

She had saved him once in the before, and he would return the favor by saving her now in this time. With or without Nighteye’s help.

He knew he was lucky to have had the two of them in his life, even if one wasn’t with him right now. He wondered what his life could have been like if he had never joined the League or if he had been saved earlier.

‘Could I do that for Dabi, so that he doesn’t have to go through everything I did?’

Wasn’t that what Izuku was doing for Midoriya? Helping him with his quirk, steering him in healthier directions. And it seemed to be working.

Izuku and Midoriya got along well. Of course, they did. They were essentially the same person with identical kind and forgiving souls, with a touch of gremlin energy. That energy was evident in their initial meeting. It was amusing and totally Izuku’s brand of chaos, but once Midoriya caught on, he rolled with it like it was normal. Maybe, they’re both weirdos.

But Dabi was in a different situation right now than Touya was when he met Izuku. Dabi was under a mind-altering quirk, and his reaction to meeting Touya could be disastrous. 

But if he didn’t try, would he ever forgive himself? Could he leave Dabi in the dark about what was happening? He tried to put himself in Dabi's shoes, but he was so far removed from it, he just wasn’t sure how that would go.

‘Damn it.’

He wasn’t going to be able to let this go. He would have to find out one way or another.

But how could he convince the suspicious Dabi to meet with him, a sort of stranger? He knew his phone number from back then, so he could text him. What would he say, though?

Izuku had convinced Midoriya of who he was by hinting at secrets only the two of them could possibly know. Could something like that work for him?

He had a few secrets he could work with, and he ran through them in his mind. Some of them could work, but he might only have one shot at this, so it needed to be something compelling.

He grimaced because he knew what the best evidence was. Something no one else knew about. Well, he and the tattoo artist. No one else. Why did he have to be such an angry, angsty teenager who rebelled in the most cringeworthy but permanent way? Now, he was embarrassed by it. He had been careful to keep it covered, which wasn’t too hard considering its location.

‘Am I really going to do this?’ he inwardly squirmed.

He ran his hand down his face as he resigned himself to his decision. He stepped back between two warehouses for some privacy. He unzipped his pants and pulled them down just enough to expose the abomination on his hip. He took a quick photo, making sure to include his pants in the image. He had never owned pants like these when he was Dabi. Maybe that would convince him, or at least confuse him enough to meet up.

Ash: [image sent]

He got an almost immediate reply.

                             Dabi: WHO IS THIS

Ash: Meet me and find out.

                             Dabi: NO

Ash: Kyoto 10 am tomorrow.

                             Dabi: Still no

Ash: I have Himiko’s number.

                             Dabi: So what? Text her, I don’t care

Ash: I will tell her I have seen a tattoo on your hip.

Touya knew that if Himiko thought Dabi was hiding a tattoo, she would be relentless until she saw for herself. She was unstable enough that she wouldn’t care that the information came from some stranger, especially if it was something juicy like a secret tattoo. She would latch on like a tick.

Dabi must have realized it, too, because it didn’t take long for him to change his tune.

                             Dabi: Fuck. Wait.

                             Dabi: Meet me here.

                             Dabi sent a location.

Touya smirked, ‘Gotcha.’

He caught the train to Kyoto later that afternoon and spent the rest of the day just wandering the city. He found an abandoned apartment building where he bunked down for the night. Before he went to sleep, he texted Izuku that he would be back tomorrow and not to worry.

The next morning, he headed out to the obscure Shinto shrine on the north side of the city that he was directed to. The shrine was tucked away in some deserted woods on a quiet lake. No one was around, and the neglected state of the shrine illustrated why. It was a perfect place to meet up with someone who was being hunted by every law enforcement officer and hero in Japan.

He slipped into the woods to keep watch on the shrine without being seen. He knew he should have considered that Dabi would have a similar strategy when he heard a familiar whooshing sound. He dodged to the side as blue fire shot past him from behind.

He spun around to face his attacker.

Dabi.

Looking at him was disturbing. He had on the black pants and combat boots that he always wore, but he switched out the long duster for a pale blue hoodie. A beanie and medical mask disguised his hair and facial scars.

‘Oh, shit. This is so much weirder than Izuku described.’

He didn’t have time to think anymore as Dabi continued to attack him. He dodged a few more times before activating his quirk and returning the favor.

Dabi’s eyes widened at the display of his own quirk. “What the hell!”

Touya laughed at his shock and threw a fireball at him. Dabi was as quick on his feet as he was, and the fireball missed. They exchanged fire a few more times before Dabi finally stopped, realizing that they were at a stalemate.

“Who are you? How do you have my quirk?” Dabi demanded, his hands still burning.

“I don’t. It’s my quirk,” Touya smirked.

“Bullshit.” Dabi narrowed his eyes at Touya, “How did you get that photo?”

“I took it.”

Dabi continued to glare at him.

“Look, if you back off and don’t attack me, I can show you.”

After several tense moments, the other man backed up a few paces and let his quirk die out. “Show me, then.”

Touya paused to make sure Dabi wasn’t going to change his mind before he slipped his pants down enough to show Dabi the tattoo on his hip.

“How?” Dabi sputtered as he took in the ink inscribed into Touya’s skin. He knew that tattoo, even the imperfections, were identical to the one he had.

“Simple, I’m you from the future.” Touya pushed back his hood, letting Dabi get a good look at him. Sure, they were the same person, but Touya no longer had scars or dyed his hair. Touya was also healthier, noting Dabi’s pallor and scrawny form.

“Liar. That’s impossible.” Dabi’s lips curled in annoyance.

“You explain it then,” Touya challenged.

Dabi’s scowl deepened as he failed to come up with an explanation for why they would both have the same hideous tattoo. Or why they had so many similarities, their eyes, facial structure, height, and yes, hair color.

“Look, I really am you. I was dropped back in the past from two years in the future,” Touya said with as much sincerity as he could.

“How?”

“A quirk.”

Dabi gave him a disbelieving look.

“I know, I know. Everyone says there’s no such thing as a time-traveling quirk. And there isn’t, at least not yet. The one I encountered had a very specific trigger, and here I am,” Touya said, spreading his arms wide.

“What do you want?”

‘Was I always this cranky?’

“Believe it or not, I want to help you,” Touya said. “In the two years between now and when I got sent back, a lot of things happened that you need to know. I wasted a lot of time with the League before I managed to escape.”

Dabi crossed his arms and scoffed, “Escape? Why would I want to leave the League? They are the only ones helping me reach my goal.”

“You mean killing Endeavor? Shigaraki and All for One don’t care about that. They are just using you for their own ends. If he cared about your goal, why hasn’t the all-powerful All for One just eliminated Endeavor?” Touya sneered just thinking about that monster. “He could do it in an instant. He hasn’t because it keeps you in line.”

Blue fire exploded from an offended Dabi. Touya noticed the other man losing control when his emotions got away from him. He remembered that feeling well.

He knew how close the other man was to attacking again, so he tried to dial back his annoyance.

“You’re angry all the time, aren’t you?” Touya shoved his hands in his pockets to seem less threatening. Although he never let his guard down. Just in case.

“Do you remember a time when you weren’t constantly upset?” Touya pushed.

“Why do you want to know?” Dabi continued to smolder.

“Because I never realized how single-minded and focused I was about my vendetta against Endeavor to the exclusion of everything else. And yes, I know he’s an asshole that needs to pay for his crimes, but that’s all you think about, isn’t it?”

Without waiting for an answer, he continued, “Do you want to know why? Because All for One used a mind-altering quirk on us. He made it so that we only focus on our rage toward Endeavor. It overwhelms any other thoughts or emotions.”

Dabi looked unsure and appeared to be trying to focus his thoughts. He said with less fervor that his earlier outbursts, “How do you know?”

“I didn’t, until [All for One] was killed. The quirk he used lost its hold, and I could think clearly again.”

“I don’t want you to have to wait until that happens. I made a lot of huge mistakes that I can’t fix because I was trapped,” Touya said.

“If this is true, then what am I supposed to do about it?”

Touya could hear the undercurrent of anxiety threaded through Dabi’s voice. Once he was away from Endeavor and his control, he vowed to make his own choices and never be under the control of anyone ever again. To find out that someone had been influencing him without him noticing threatened that hard-won independence.

Touya absentmindedly rubbed his left wrist as he weighed his options. Feelings of reassurance warmed him as he felt the hard metal under the sleeve. He knew what would help, but he was afraid to give up his security.

He could tell Dabi was trying to force himself to think clearly, and while dampened, the rage was still there. He couldn’t ignore how much the other man was suffering.

Touya’s breath hissed out between his teeth slowly, unaware that he had been holding it. He pulled his sleeve back to expose a simple wrist cuff. His fingers traced the intricate flames that were etched into the silver band wrapped securely around his wrist.

“A friend gave this to me.” Touya tore his eyes away from the cuff to meet Dabi’s gaze. “She knew what I had gone through when I got free of the League. She is a brilliant and single-minded genius who thrives on chaos.”

“But she noticed. She noticed that I kept my distance from anyone with a mental quirk. Who wouldn’t after being trapped for so long by one?”

“Anyway, she noticed and tried to help by making this for me. It can’t stop mental quirks from working, but it can disrupt them and make them less effective. Something to do with interrupting brainwave oscillations,” Touya said, shrugging absently.

“We tested it a few times, and it seemed to work. It sort of makes you aware that something unnatural is happening and gives you a moment of clarity. I haven’t taken it off since.”

Touya looked down, admiring the design again before reluctantly pulling it off and tossing it to a startled Dabi.

“What? You’re giving it to me?” Dabi said, wide-eyed with shock.

“You need it more than I do. I have people now that I can trust to watch my back,” Touya said.

Dabi frowned at the cuff before shoving it in the pocket of his hoodie. Touya watched as Dabi fidgeted before giving him a hard look.

“Are we done?”

“Yeah,” Touya huffed, trying very hard not to laugh at the false bravado he could see Dabi cloaking himself in.

Dabi turned back to the woods and melted into the trees.

“Hey! You have my number now. If you need anything…”

Dabi didn’t turn back, but through the shadows, he saw a hand wave in acknowledgement before he disappeared.

‘Well, I’ve done what I can. Now it’s up to him.’

Touya took one last look at the shrine before he began his long walk back to the train station to head back to UA. When he arrived back at the train station, he had about an hour before his train arrived, so he leaned against the wall and pulled out his phone.

Half an hour later, bored of scrolling the internet, he decided to find a restroom and a snack before the long train ride ahead. As he walked toward the restroom, he heard a rustling sound approaching from behind him. Before he could check to see what was happening, he felt something sharp pierce his neck before everything went black.

Chapter Text

Think I'm going crazy

Standin' in a crowded street

Peaceful in the eye of a hurricane

Cigarettes and sadness, a little bit of madness

Mixing with the chemicals in my brain– Adam Jensen

Izuku felt a little guilty once he noticed that passersby on the sidewalk were giving him a wide berth. He must have been a sight with his fists clenched and huffing angrily under his breath. He thought walking back would give him the space and time to reset from that contentious meeting.

He didn’t understand how Nighteye could be so rigid and blind to his own bias. The man had been a hero for years. He knew how to run an investigation. Even if he and Touya were “questionable” sources, a good investigator would have at least checked it out to see if the intel held up. But when he completely ignored what they were offering, he knew that Nighteye wasn’t going to help. Damn that man!

And Touya just storming off didn’t help. Izuku came up short on the sidewalk to run that scenario through his head again. Ok, that might have been for the best. The last thing we needed was a successful assault on a hero. Even if it was Nighteye.

He could feel his blood pressure rise just thinking about the whole thing. Getting angry again wasn’t going to solve anything. What he needed was something familiar and grounding.

He hopped on the nearest train back to Musutafu. The glimpses of the city he got from the car ride were not enough to satisfy his need to soak up the essence of his hometown. Seeing the town whole and thriving was the best medicine to soothe his heart and mind.

Disguise firmly in place, he got off the train near the city center. He took his time reintroducing himself to all the shops, restaurants, and businesses along his route. The familiar shopkeepers reminded him of all the times he visited their stores and the treasures he acquired.

His stomach clenched as he remembered what this street looked like after Shigaraki’s relentless attacks. He wanted to warn them, shout from the rooftops about the possibility of dark days ahead.

‘Would they even believe me?’

He recalled more than one town that didn’t heed the warnings from the police, heroes, and the government. Believing they wouldn’t be targeted, they stayed. Whole families were wiped out by the onslaught of nomu. Whole neighborhoods fell. All because people were so stubborn.

‘Probably not,’ he thought sadly in answer to his question.

He passed a park filled with children too young to be in school on a weekday. A group of older toddlers playing heroes and villains just like he did when he was small got a chuckle out of him. They reminded him so much when he and Kacchan used to do the same thing. He silently vowed to do what he could to keep these innocents safe.

As he carried on through town, he didn’t notice how his internal autopilot kicked in. He should have realized these paths that he had walked hundreds of times always ended in the same place. He stumbled when the familiarity of the neighborhood froze him in his tracks. This was his neighborhood. The one where he grew up.

If he kept going down this street, he would pass right by his old apartment building. The one that had been reduced to rubble. The one where his mom had been buried.  

He was aware that the building was fine and his mom was safe and alive in this time. Midoriya had talked about her and how she would react when she found out she had two sons now. They laughed together, trying to guess how many tears she would shed.

But he wasn’t ready to see her yet. He wasn’t sure how he would cope. He was thrilled that she was alive, but he had already grieved for her. He had lived too long with a hole in his heart where she had resided.

He didn’t want to see her smile, hear her voice, or be enveloped in her warm hugs, if she was just going to die again because of him. He didn’t know if he would live through that a second time.

Dismissing the longing pulling at his heart, he forced himself to turn the corner to avoid the temptation and the hope of maybe seeing her walking down the street or shopping in the neighborhood conbini.

Even though he grew up roaming these streets, this was one he didn’t frequent often. It was lined with repair shops and businesses of no interest to a kid. A cemetery lay at the end of the street, where he needed to turn to get back on the path to UA. When he was very small, he remembered coming to the cemetery once or twice with his mom to visit her parents' graves.

Eyes roaming over the small cemetery, he thought maybe he should see if he could find them and offer a prayer. He always felt closer to his roots when he participated in the rituals he grew up with.

Their markers had been covered with sakura petals, if he recalled correctly. Noting the handful of cherry trees on the deserted grounds, he strolled through the gravestones, peering at the markers.

While he didn’t remember his grandparents’ names, he did recall that his mom’s name was painted red to indicate that she would join them there when she passed. After a bit of searching, he found ‘Inko Midoriya’ painted in red on the side of a marker shared with the names Sanae Shimura and Takayuki Shimura. Mom must have been married when they passed away, or her last name would have been listed as Shimura, too.

‘Shimura. That’s odd. I wonder if we are related to Nana.’ He felt lighter at the thought. ‘I’m going to choose to believe we were.’

He pulled some weeds surrounding the marker while relating stories from his life. While he couldn’t face his living mother yet, he felt closer to her with this task. The anger that had been simmering from his meeting with Nighteye was dispelled as he worked. He felt calmer and more centered.

Pride filled him as he surveyed his efforts. He didn’t have any incense or other offerings, so he said a simple prayer that he hoped would suffice. He could always come back now that he knew where the marker was and show his respect properly.

As he headed toward the gate, a shimmer caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. As he let his gaze rake across the cemetery, he saw faint shimmering lights hovering over some of the markers.

“What the hell?” he said, too loudly. Glancing around, he was thankful that the cemetery was still deserted.

He approached each of the shimmering lights to read the names on the markers to see if they offered any clue as to what was happening. He didn’t recognize any of the names until he approached one of the larger markers that read ‘Ryota Musha’. Something tingled in the back of his mind, a memory just out of reach.

He studied the red shimmering light hovering over Musha’s marker. A hand’s width at its widest, the light stretched from the top of the marker about five feet before it faded.

His eyes widened as he felt something pulling at him. He backed away from the light, and the pulling sensation dulled to a simple awareness. He closed his eyes, and he could feel where each of the nearest shimmering lights was located.

‘This can’t be what I think, can it? Is this part of my quirk?’

The lights had to be quirk related. They certainly weren’t natural. And with no one else around, it had to be related to his quirk [Lend].

He hadn’t taken the time to explore [Lend] when it came back to him. The knowledge that the quirks were stolen and that some part of it originated from his sperm donor caused him to worry that he would turn out like his father.

‘Now, I sound like Shouto.’

But still. It felt like using his quirk would betray his values. Taking something away from someone who saw that part of them as essential to who they were was wrong. Not to mention the possible mental and emotional consequences of using it.

All for One was obsessed with quirks and had felt no remorse as he took them whenever and from whomever he wanted. Izuku was afraid that entire mindset might have been the consequence of using his quirk on a regular basis. If you had the power to take something so intrinsic to a person and believed you had a right to do it, you would start to devalue people in general. Amassing quirks because you can and not because you should. Leaving devastation in your wake.

Izuku never wanted to turn into that. He only ever wanted to help. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. That was why he avoided using his quirk or even analyzing it.

This, however, was unexpected. Maybe he should test a few things and see if his theories are correct about the lights.

He approached the light again, reaching out toward the light. He could feel a slender thread stretching from the light to connect to his hand. Forcing himself not to pull on the thread, he focused on studying it. It felt warm and vibrated across his skin like an electrical current.

Tugging gently on the thread, Izuku felt the light pulse and slip under his skin. It seemed to flow through him until it settled somewhere near his eyes.

Now that the quirk was within him, he could tell that it was vision related. The quirk hummed behind his eyes. Feeling it was safe to activate, he focused on dialing the quirk up slowly. Unfortunately, this quirk activated like a switch rather than a dial. His vision instantly whited out, and shadowy images emerged. After a quick study of the images, he released the quirk, and the memory that had been hovering just out of reach snapped into place.

Ryota Musha was a hero. A local underground hero whose X-ray vision made him especially effective for surveillance and stakeouts. He also died 25 years ago. So why was his quirk still seemingly attached to the man’s last resting place?

There were a lot of possibilities, but the one stood out. The quirk could have stayed near the marker because, as a hero, Musha used his quirk regularly throughout his life. Most people didn’t use their quirks or hardly ever used them. Maybe the more a quirk was used, the longer its essence remained even after the wielder passed on.

He glanced back around at the remaining lights with a hopeful feeling burning in his chest. He would have to research and test his theory when he had more time.

‘But I’m right, then this opens up a whole world of options.’

It could change everything.

As he reached the street, his phone chimed with an incoming text. In their group chat with Nezu, Touya reported the location of a nomu nest several towns away.

‘Why was Touya there? He certainly didn’t walk there. What was he up to?’ He texted Touya back but frustratingly got no response.

Arriving back at UA, he headed back to the apartment to think about this new revelation about his quirk and wait for Touya to return. They had new plans to make regarding Eri’s rescue.

The day dragged on but there was no sign of Touya. Just when Izuku decided that he would go out and drag him back to where he could keep an eye on him, Touya texted that he wouldn’t be back that night.

Izuku didn’t want to plan Eri’s rescue without his partner, so he decided to explore [Lend] and [X-ray]. He spent a few hours testing his new quirk and prodding it to see if it was haunted. Fortunately, no spirits seemed to be attached to it. He wondered if it was because the wielder’s soul had time to separate and move on, even though the essence of the quirk stayed.

Whatever the case, he was glad he didn’t have another vestige attached to him. The vestige attached to [Regen] was faint and didn’t really bother him much. It just seemed to lurk in the background.

The vestige attached to [Pyrokinesis] was more vocal but not anywhere near as troublesome as [One for All]’s vestiges. He certainly didn’t want to start collecting vestiges that would continually harass him. This new aspect of [Lend] might just solve that maddening problem.

After a night of tossing and turning because Touya wasn’t there, Izuku stumbled blearily from bed. He had stayed up too late worrying about where Touya was and what he was doing. Checking his phone, Izuku found no new messages from Touya. He held off on reaching out again until he had some coffee in him.

Before he finished his first cup of coffee, he was summoned to Nezu’s office. It seemed Nighteye was stirring up trouble today.

‘Time to see what that asshole was up to now.’

…

Midoriya burst into Gym Iota that afternoon, startling Shinsou so much that he threw the book he was reading into the air.

“Shit, Midoriya,” Shinsou grumbled as he tried to smooth the creased pages.

“Sorry,” Midoriya said sheepishly before leaning over to get a look at what Shinsou was reading.

“Is that a manga?” he asked.

“Yeah. Do you read them?”

“Occasionally. I used to read them a lot before UA. I don’t have much time now. Which one do you have?”

Shinsou held up the cover for Midoriya to see.

“Attack on Titan, huh,” Midoriya said, “I expected you to be more of a Death Note person.”

Shinsou gave him an offended look and then rummaged around in his bag before pulling out another manga. He held it up in his other hand.

“Oh, you have that one, too.”

“I guess you weren’t the only one to think that,” Shinsou said while looking at the volume suspiciously.

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t buy them; they just kept appearing in my bag. I finally figured out that Smoke was the one who was slipping them in my bag during our practices.”

“That’s weird.”

“I know, right? I want to ask him about them, but I am actually enjoying them. I kind of want to see what else he slips me,” Shinsou said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Just then, Izuku stormed in looking rough. His hair was unbound and wild. He had dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. He began pacing without seeming to notice the two students eyeing him warily.

Midoriya was the one to break the tense silence, “Um, are you ok?”

A startled Izuku whipped around, coiled to strike out at whatever demon seemed to be haunting him. Seeing the concerned looks on the boys, Izuku pulled up short and took a few deep breaths to get his emotions under control.

“Sorry, sorry. Rough day,” Izuku said.

“Anything I can help with?” Midoriya asked.

“No, nothing you can do. Sir Nighteye is just pissing me off.”

“Your meeting with him didn’t go well, then?” Midoriya asked. He knew that he and Ash had met with him yesterday to try to move the rescue of Eri forward.

“It was a disaster. Now he’s trying to get us arrested.” Izuku said, throwing his hands in the air.

“What? Can he do that?” Midoriya asked.

“No. Probably not. I don’t know,” Izuku said, the frustration clear in his voice.

“I would think that as long as you are at UA, Nezu could keep Nighteye away,” Shinsou said.

“Yeah, you’re right. Except Ash is not here right now,” Izuku admitted, roughly shoving his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know where he is, and he’s not answering my texts.”

“Oh,” Midoriya said before continuing hesitantly, “He’s smart. I’m sure he’s capable of avoiding Nighteye and whoever he sends after him.”

“Maybe. But only if he knows that Nighteye is looking for us and to be wary,” Izuku said, voice getting louder and shriller.

Fortunately, Aizawa joined them then, and they got started with the day’s training. While Midoriya was still trying to get [Blackwhip] fully under control, they decided to go ahead and add [Danger Sense] to the mix. It would give him an opportunity to try using the quirks together.

Midoriya struggled to wield both quirks at once. [Blackwhip] was slippery and [Danger Sense] seemed like it had a mind of its own. But he was making progress. He knew it was just a matter of practice. It just felt like such an uphill climb.

The dark cloud that was Izuku wasn’t making it any easier to focus. His pacing and inaudible muttering was distracting.

An hour later and a bit of successful quirk wrangling, Aizawa called an end to the training. He left grumbling something about cranky problem children and needing a raise.

As they were doing their cool-down stretches, the gym door opened again. Midoriya perked up as All Might stepped into the gym. Izuku dropped flat on the floor and groaned when All Might spotted them.

“Hey, All Might!” Midoriya greeted the retired hero.

“How was training today?” All Might asked as he approached the trio.

“Good. I managed to get both [Blackwhip] and [Danger Sense] activated at the same time, at least for short bursts.”

Shinsou slumped over and grumbled, “It was miserable.”

Midoriya just laughed, “It’s good training for you. You have gotten much better at dodging.”

He thought he heard Shinsou whisper something that sounded like ‘sadist’ under his breath in response.

“I look forward to seeing how far you both have come,” All Might said jovially. The two boys nodded along as the hero agreed to make it to the next session. The three chatted as the two students wrapped up their stretches.

Once the boys had gathered their belongings and left the gym, All Might approached the remaining occupant,

“Young Smoke, I wondered if I might have a moment of your time?”

Izuku tensed but sat up and tried not to snap at the man, “Why?”

All Might was unsure how to begin but decided that a straightforward approach was best. The young man seemed to appreciate a forthright manner. “I have done you a disservice and wanted to apologize.”

Izuku rose to his feet before responding suspiciously, “Oh? What disservice?”

“Well, a few days ago, I accused you of trying to manipulate Young Midoriya, and that wasn’t fair of me. I am very sorry for accusing you of something so underhanded when you have done nothing that would warrant such a claim. I hope that you will give me another chance to earn your trust.” All Might bowed to the tense young man in front of him.

Izuku stared at All Might, bowed over in front of him. This was what he had always wanted, wasn’t it? An apology. Sure, this wasn’t the issue he wanted the apology for, and he knew Yagi kept trying before he ended up here. But he avoided the man back then because he was afraid of the apology as much as he needed it.

He was afraid that he would forget why the apology was necessary. He was afraid that he would remember too much and fall back down the hole he scratched and clawed to escape.

He was afraid he would fall into old habits of forgiving too easily. He knew that wasn’t healthy. It also wasn’t healthy to hold onto a grudge as long as he had. And now, he didn’t know how to let it go.

He let out a frustrated groan and pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping this would ground him. He was already teetering on the precipice of a full-blown meltdown. This was not helping.

“All Might, I am too tired, too angry, and too worried to deal with this right now,” Izuku said through clenched teeth.

All Might straightened up and gave Izuku a sad smile. “It seems like you have had an issue with me since you arrived, and I would really like to fix this. You were my successor from before, right?”

At Izuku's stiff nod, All Might continued, “Then we must have been close. Can you tell me what went wrong? I would like to try to fix it or at least avoid making the same mistake with Midoriya.”

All Might seemed so sincere. He was just how he remembered before it all fell apart. Izuku could feel the tears gathering but refused to let them fall.

“Fix it? It was not something you could ever fix.” Izuku’s voice was raw and hoarse.

“What do you mean? I can at least try.”

Izuku clenched his fists in the face of the man who had been his hero for so long. Voicing dripping with pain, he said, “You can’t bring back the dead, All Might.”

“What? Who?”

The concern and distress in All Might’s voice snapped the last of Izuku’s composure. “My mother. You were responsible for her death!” Izuku practically screamed.

All Might gasped in horror. “But how could that have happened? I care for your mother a great deal. Not only is she my successor’s mother, but she is a good woman worthy of respect. She raised a kind, brave, and determined young man that I have been lucky enough to know and mentor.”

Izuku knew it wasn’t fair to hold this man accountable for someone else’s sins. He wasn’t Yagi from before, but he was at the same time. It was so confusing to his exhausted mind.

“Then why did you leave her. You were supposed to protect her. I couldn’t be there because Shigaraki had targeted me. But you promised to protect her for me. You promised!” Izuku wailed. He knew he was slipping, but he couldn’t stop now. The words just fell from his lips in a deluge of misery.

“But as soon as a villain attack happened nearby, you couldn’t leave it to the local heroes. No, you had to take care of it yourself. You did what you always did and thought you were the only one who could handle it. So, you left her. You should have known it was a distraction. A plan to leave her unprotected. Shigaraki took that opening to decay the foundation of the building, causing its collapse.”

“No one survived,” Izuku whispered brokenly. Unable to hold back any longer, he dropped to his knees, letting the tears drip down his face silently.

The story Smoke told broke something in All Might. He would like to deny that something like that could ever happen, but it's exactly what happened when he was supposed to be at the USJ. Look how that turned out. He knew it was a flaw of his that he felt obligated to spare other heroes the hassle of dealing with villains when he could do it so easily. He knew that others were capable of handling them, but he just couldn’t help himself sometimes.

But to have failed his successor so badly made him sick to think about. He dropped down next to Smoke, unsure of what to do to help the young man.

He tentatively reached out and put a gentle hand on Smoke’s shoulder to offer some comfort. That contact seemed to jolt Izuku out of his dazed grief and the question that repeated endlessly in his mind. Could he ever trust this man again?

He looked up at his mentor and the sight of the fat tears slipping down the man’s cheeks decided for him. If his hero could cry for his successor’s pain, even one who had been nothing but difficult since he arrived, then maybe he should give the man a chance.

All Might caught Smoke as he threw himself forward into his arms. He held the young man gently as he broke. Izuku screamed and cried for his mom, his lost friends, his lost family, his missing partner. He let his mentor hold him together while he let it all out.

Midoriya came flying back into the gym to find the two huddled on the floor, wallowing in pain and grief. He had been worried when All Might approached Izuku and stayed back to listen in case he needed to intervene. He was not prepared for the horrifying story that unfolded. He couldn’t stay hidden once he heard Izuku’s heartbreak.

He slowly approached the two before embracing them both, joining them in their shared comfort and grief.

It was a long while before all the tears had been shed. When the tears had dried and shaking eased, they separated.

“Are you feeling better?” All Might asked Smoke.

Izuku just stared at him glassy-eyed and raw, before nodding.

“I’m just sorry you went through that. You didn’t deserve it. And I know it can’t ever make up for what you went through before, but now that we know about it, we can make sure it doesn’t happen this time, yeah?”

“I would like that,” Izuku said shakily hardly believing that all just happened.

Midoriya handed Izuku a bottle of water and he drank greedily. Once he was done, he took a deep breath and looking All Might in the eye, said, “I’m sorry that I have been holding something against you that hasn’t even happened yet.”

“You know, Mom is alive in this time. Maybe if you saw her and spoke to her, it would help,” Midoriya said, rubbing Izuku’s back.

The hopeful look on Midoriya’s face made him reflect on his earlier stance on whether or not he could handle seeing her now. “Hmm. I was thinking about that today, but it scares me. What if I get close and then lose her again? I don’t think I could survive that twice.”

“She’ll have All Might and both of us to protect her this time. We won’t let anything happen to her this time. Ok?”

Izuku looked them both over thoughtfully. He let the idea take root and felt a small spark of hope. The corners of his mouth tilted up slightly at the thought. “Ok.”

“For now, I am going to talk to Nezu about what we can do to increase security on your mother until we can get a solid plan in place for her,” All Might said.

“Thank you,” Izuku said, bowing to show his respect and acceptance.

All Might hugged them both tightly before heading out to confer with Nezu. Izuku felt lighter than he had in a long time. He really just needed to get that all out.

“What do you think? Are you up to seeing Mom? I know she will be thrilled to find out there are two of us now,” Midoriya said.

“Thrilled or terrified?”

“Eh, probably both.”

They snickered as they pulled open the gym door on their way out. Only to be met by someone unexpected.

Bakugou.

“Deku, I knew you were up to something. Meditation, my ass,” Bakugou said, pushing off the wall he had been leaning against to hover menacingly.

“You’re on your own with this one,” Izuku said tiredly, patting Midoriya on the back before making his escape. He’s got better things to do right now than reassuring the walking bomb.

All that crying on top of the lack of sleep had hit him hard. He needed a nap. Once he was rested, he was going to deal with his other urgent problem.

He pulled out his phone and checked his messages for the hundredth time today.

Still no answer and it was getting late.

‘Where are you, Touya?’

Chapter Text

I look up to the sky

But all I see is the dirt I'm buried in

Lonely lays the longing

I'm so far away from the world that buried me – Avatar

Awareness came back to Touya slowly and painfully with a raging headache. He rubbed circles into his temples in an attempt to alleviate the pain racing through his head.

Trying to open his eyes was a mistake he immediately regretted. The tiny amount of light that entered through the slit between his eyelids made his brain feel like it was exploding.

‘Why were the lights so bright?

If someone doesn’t turn that light off, he’s going to kick someone’s ass. Just as soon as he can pry his eyes open again.

While he waited for his brain to stop melting, he tried to gather what little information he could. The bed he was lying on was hard and thin, not like the one at the apartment. The sheet was rough under his fingers. The metal frame under the mattress felt both cheap and sturdy. He was not liking what he could discern using only his hands.

It was quiet. No sounds of people moving or talking. No sounds of machinery. Except for the slight sound of air blowing from a vent somewhere above him, there was just silence.

None of this boded well for him.

‘Think.’

The last thing he remembered was waiting for the train in Kyoto to take him back to UA. He had scrolled through his phone for a while before heading to the bathroom, before the train arrived. Then he vaguely recalled a sharp pain in his neck before everything went dark. Probing fingers found a swollen bump on his neck.

‘What is that? Did someone drug me?’

Now things had become urgent, and he needed to get his bearings immediately. He squeezed his eyes tight before slowly peeking out to survey his surroundings.

Boring gray ceiling met boring gray walls. Trying not to aggravate his headache, he sat up slowly to get a full look at his location.

‘Oh, fantastic, I’m in a cell,’ he thought to himself upon spying the bars covering one wall of the room. He was sure now that his headache was drug induced.

Dark blue scrubs had replaced the suit he had worn to the meeting. His phone and all his gear were missing. They even took his shoes, eyeing the white socks on his feet.

‘Nothing like being undressed and dressed while unconscious by strangers. Creepy fuckers.’

He reached for his quirk. Nothing. They must have given him quirk suppressants.

Nothing in the cell indicated who had kidnapped him. Just gray and boring and plain. This didn’t feel like any police station he had been in before. Police stations were usually bustling places. And the police didn’t drug people to get them off the street. Tase them, sure. But drugs, nah.

If it wasn’t the police who captured him, then who? Who would bother to capture him? Who even knew where he was?

Dabi knew where he was and could have followed him from the shrine. But why would he trail him for miles until he was in a public place? The train station hadn’t been crowded, but it certainly wasn’t deserted. There were lots of better places enroute to the city where there were no witnesses.

Also, why would he capture him? To take him to the League? For what purpose? No, even though Dabi was defensive and annoyed, he could see a spark of something in his eyes that wanted to believe me. No, he didn’t believe Dabi played any part in this.

Since Touya hadn’t left UA grounds since they had arrived, the pool of suspects was small. Anyone he pissed off enough at UA to want to capture him could have found a better place than a public train station hundreds of miles from UA.

That really only left Nighteye or someone at his agency. No, it had to be Nighteye. The others at the agency appeared to be firmly under his thumb. And Nighteye was the one he tried to set on fire. He also seemed like the kind of hero who would need the spectacle of taking down a villain in public to assuage his ego.

He was probably being held at Nighteye’s agency. He knew that some hero agencies had cells similar to this one to temporarily hold someone until they could be transferred to the police. His father enjoyed shoving a random villain in one periodically to break them down before an interrogation.

But if Nighteye kidnapped him publicly, then Nezu and Izuku would find out. If that was the case, he should probably leave everything up to them. He was sure they were working on getting him out of this. He was bound just to dig his hole deeper if he tried anything.

With nothing else he could do, he resigned himself to biding his time in his boring as hell cell. He lay back down on the bed to wait and let his headache pass.

…

Izuku woke from his nap feeling less drained and calmer. Emotional breakdowns were cathartic, but they sure were exhausting.

Checking his phone for the hundredth time, he still came up empty. Nothing from Touya. He called his number and once again got sent to voicemail.

Touya’s last message said he would be back today, but it was getting late. It’s already after 8 pm, and he should have been back by now.

As he waited, he cleaned the apartment, looked over his notes on Eri’s rescue, showered, and tried (and failed) to do something with his hair. By 10 pm, Izuku was losing his mind. It was time to call in the big guns.

The door to Nezu’s office opened before he could knock. He glanced around the corridor and spotted the camera hidden in the carved trim around the door. He gave a little wave before entering Nezu’s domain.

“Welcome back, Smoke. Have you found something else about Nighteye? I thought we agreed that he was just posturing and had no real power to arrest either of you,” Nezu asked. He was still working at his desk on his computer.

“We did, and I’m not really worried about Nighteye anymore,” Izuku said. He dropped his bag by the door before pacing back and forth in front of Nezu’s desk.

“Then what brings you back to my office so late?”

“Touya still hasn’t returned since our meeting with Nighteye.”

“Oh?” Nezu sat up straight. That got his attention. He can’t have one of his people missing.

“He should have been back by now, and I can’t reach him. He’s never done anything like this before. I’m worried something happened to him,” Izuku said, adding wringing his hands to his pacing.

“What can I do to help?”

Izuku was hoping Nezu would offer to help, but it was hard to predict what the principal would do sometimes.

“The last location I have for him is when he sent us the location of the nomu nest. I thought we could try to track him from there. I would do it myself, but there are so many cameras, I thought you might have a better suggestion.”

“It might be easier to track his phone. We have his phone number, so we should be able to triangulate his location using cell towers,” Nezu offered.

Izuku’s shoulders dropped, and he slumped into a chair in front of Nezu’s desk. “Unfortunately, we can’t do that. Our phones don’t have any sort of tracking programs. They were made to deliberately scramble and reroute cell signals multiple times to prevent tracking,” he said sheepishly.

“That is a very sophisticated process. Did you do this yourself?”

“Oh, no. Hatsume Mei designed the program.”

“Ah, I believe I have heard Power Loader mention that particular support course student more than once. She’s brilliant but volatile.”

“More like explosive,” Izuku snorted.

”I have heard something similar from Power Loader,” Nezu said with a hint of amusement. “That was the how, but why would you go to so much trouble?”

“Shigaraki. He had acquired a tracking quirk from someone. We kept ahead of him pretty well, which frustrated the hell out of him. We were concerned that he would find someone with a technology quirk and use that to track our phones and ambush us. So, we made sure that we couldn’t be tracked through any tech we had. I never thought that this situation would come up,” Izuku said.

“That will make finding him more complicated, but there are some things we can try,” Nezu said.

“Did you bring your laptop with you?” At Izuku’s nod, Nezu continued, “Perfect, set up here next to me, and we’ll start with his last known location. I know that searching with the cameras is a tedious process, but with two of us, it should go faster.”

“Let’s walk through the basics, and then we’ll split up the target area.”

Thirty minutes later, Izuku shouted, “Got him.” He showed Nezu the video of Touya getting on a train in Shizuoka heading west.

Nezu pulled up the train timetable on his computer, “Here are the stations heading west from Shizuoka on that line, along with the times that train arrived at each station. We’ll split them up and see where he departed.”

It was 3 am before they finally sighted Touya getting off the train in Kyoto.

‘What the hell was he doing in Kyoto?’ Izuku wondered.

Touya exited the station on the north side. They scrambled to find any cameras on the north side of the station so they could follow him. They lost him in the maze of buildings surrounding the station.

Kyoto was a densely populated city with thousands of cameras. Trying to find Touya there was going to be a nightmare.

“I can put his image into the facial recognition system and see if he pops up on any of the cameras in that area,” Nezu suggested.

“But his face is covered. How will that help?”

“We can hope that he uncovers his face at some point. I can also just put his image with his hood up into the system, but that will give us a lot of false leads.”

They would have to investigate every single lead, false or not, or he could slip through their fingers.

“If that’s the best we can do, then go ahead,” Izuku said, resigning himself to a long night ahead.

They input the images and let the program run automatically, scanning the cameras throughout northern Kyoto. They set different alerts for the facial recognition versus the image recognition.

“Let’s have some tea while we wait. I want to discuss how you learned to hack. Is it just cameras?”

“No, you taught me all kinds of hacking,” Izuku said with a grin.

“I don’t just teach anyone. We must have been close?” Nezu said as he took a sip of his tea.

“I like to think so. You were sort of an unofficial mentor. It was nothing structured. We would chat here and there when we had time. I learned a lot from you. Useful things, like hacking and psychology. You probably recognized some of the manipulation techniques I’ve used since I’ve been here.”

“They did seem familiar.”

“They should.”

Deep into the night, they chatted and kept watch.

…

After a long nap, Touya’s headache finally abated, and he could think clearly again. Now he was bored. He had no idea what time it was, nor how long he had been here.

He had explored his cell. A bed, a toilet, a sink, bars, and boring gray everywhere.

He had just decided to take another lap around his cell when he heard footsteps approaching. He stood up from where he was lying on the bed. The steps came closer until a pair of guards appeared. 

Their uniforms were nondescript with no markings, nametags, or indication of who they worked for.

“Good, you’re up,” said a burly red-haired guard as he approached the cell door. A shorter dark-haired guard stood further back from the door.

A pair of handcuffs was tossed to him.

“Put those on,” said Red.

“Why?”

“Boss wants to see you. So put on the cuffs.”

“What if I don’t want to see the boss?”

“You don’t get a choice. But I’ll happily put those cuffs on you the hard way if you don’t move it.”

Touya huffed and rolled his eyes, but he snapped the cuffs around his wrists. No sense in starting anything until he understood the lay of the land.

The guard unlocked the door and pulled it open. He pointed down the hallway where the other guard waited.

He was led to what looked like an interrogation room. He took the seat indicated by the guards who locked the cuffs to a ring on the table. Red stayed by the door as the other guard closed the door and left.

‘Great, another gray room,’ he thought, looking again at gray walls. At least there was a two-way mirror on the wall opposite.

‘Wow. I look like shit.’

Two-way mirror, one exit, table bolted to the floor, ring bolted to table. Yep, this was a standard interrogation room.

‘Do hero agencies have interrogation rooms?’

His father didn’t have one at his agency. He was starting to think that this wasn’t Nighteye’s Agency lockup.

After what seemed like hours, the door to the interrogation room opened again for a severe-looking woman wearing a dark blue power suit. Her blond hair was pulled back from her face, exaggerating her haughty demeanor.

The guard closed the door behind her when she stepped into the room, leaving the two of them alone. She stepped to the other side of the table and studied him like a particularly nasty insect that needed swatting.

“Well, well. If it isn’t the notorious Dabi. You look like you got quite the makeover. I couldn’t believe it when our facial recognition program identified you as the wanted fire villain from the League of Villains.”

‘Shit. That’s how they found me. I got too comfortable and forgot to disguise myself after meeting Dabi. They must use the same facial recognition system that UA uses.’ He inwardly grimaced at his own stupidity.

She pulled out the chair opposite and sat. “But the new system is rarely wrong. I’m glad we didn’t dismiss it as a programming flaw and snatched you up anyway.”

“Who are you?” Touya asked, breaking his silence to get some answers.

The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, amused that he didn’t recognize her. “Who I am is of no concern. You, however, are quite interesting.”

She leaned forward in the chair, lacing her fingers together to capture his full attention, “How did you get rid of all those nasty scars? All of Japan saw you just a few weeks ago in Kamino sporting scars on your face, neck, and arms. Any form of scar removal, even with quirks, is a long, slow process that couldn’t have healed them all that fast. So, tell me your secret,” she urged in a conspiratorial tone.

Touya kept a blank look on his face as he racked his brain for any inkling of who she could be. She seemed familiar but not like someone he knew or talked to, just someone notable.

Getting no response from her prisoner, she shifted tactics. “It’s sweet how similar you look to your sister without all the scars.”

That broke Touya’s composure. “What are you talking about?”

She gave him a fake sad look and said, “Did you forget your sister, Fuyumi?”

‘What the fuck!’ was on repeat inside his head. Outwardly, he asked innocently, “Who?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Touya Todoroki,” she finally snapped at him.

“How did you find out?” Touya glared at her suspiciously.

“Oh, I’ve always known who you were. I’ve kept an eye on you for years. I did lose track of you for a bit when you escaped from the hospital after you woke up from your coma.”

Touya’s eyes widened, and his breath stilled as he listened to this woman bare all his secrets.

“We were hoping to use you when you recovered, but sadly, you slipped through our fingers. Although it wasn’t much of a surprise to see you join up with villains. You were always such a volatile little thing.”

“How do you know all this?” This woman’s knowledge of his history was seriously creepy.

“Now that would be telling, wouldn’t it?” she said smugly.

“I’ll tell you what. Let’s make a deal. You tell me how you changed your appearance, and I’ll share something in return.”

He snapped his mouth shut and shot her a nasty glare. No way in hell was he making a deal with this devil. He was certainly never telling her about Eri. The way she spoke about his childhood trauma was cold and calculating. She might actually be worse than Chisaki.

She grinned at his expression. “Oh, do you think you can hold out on me? That’s precious,” she smirked at him as she rose from her chair. The guards must have been watching through the mirror because the door opened as she approached. She turned back at the threshold to say, “See you in a bit, Todoroki.”

He shuddered as he was left alone to think about what that meant.

‘Who the fuck was that?’

…

A high-pitched alert jerked Izuku out of a restless sleep. He sat up quickly from where he was sprawled across the couch in Nezu’s office. He must have fallen asleep at some point last night or this morning. He noticed the sun peeking through the window blinds and wondered what time it was.

The second blaring of the alert got Izuku’s attention. That alert was different than the ones they had been dealing with all night. He dashed to Nezu’s computer where the alert was sounding. Nezu must have stepped out leaving the search programs running.

Izuku clicked on the alert notification, which opened a window showing the same Kyoto train station where they saw Touya depart. This time it was late morning the following day.

Izuku let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. There he was. Touya’s hood was no longer covering his face.

Izuku jumped when he heard a voice behind him.

“Oh, good. We found him.” Nezu said perched in his desk chair. He was so focused on the alert and seeing Touya that he didn’t notice when Nezu rejoined him.

“Yeah,” Izuku said absently, watching Touya looking at his phone from his post against the train station wall. After a few minutes, Touya put away his phone and started strolling down the platform, clearly looking for something. He appeared to find what he wanted and shifted direction slightly and walked with more purpose.

Whatever his destination was, he didn’t make it. Two men ambushed him and appeared to inject something into Touya’s neck. When Touya went limp, one of them hoisted him onto his shoulder while the other cleared a path out of the station. They put him in the back seat of a car waiting at the curb, driven by a third person, and left.

“Can we follow them?” Izuku asked anxiously as they moved out of camera range.

“We can try.”

“Did you recognize the men who grabbed him?”

“No. You?”

“No,” Izuku said with the end of the word rising as if it were a question, not a statement.

“You don’t sound sure,” Nezu said, noticing the puzzled look on Izuku’s face.

“It’s probably nothing, but there was a familiarity about them even though I don’t recognize them.”

“A couple of people questioned them and tried to stop them from leaving the station. It looked like the abductors showed them something. See if you can find a better angle while I follow the car.”

Izuku nodded and they got to work.

…

The door to the interrogation room opened again. This time, it admitted a thin, reedy man in a neat business suit. He looked like every other salaryman in Japan. The man was expressionless and stiff. He took the seat that the woman had occupied earlier.

With no preamble, the man said, “Ok, let’s begin.”

“Begin what? Who are you?” said a confused Touya.

“You can call me Fecchi.” The man said dully with no inflection. This man was more deadpan than Aizawa.

“Really, fetch? That’s your name?”

“No, but it’ll do,” Fecchi said, then reached for Touya’s hand.

Touya instinctively pulled back as far as the cuffs would allow. The man gave him an annoyed look and sighed.

“Give me your hand.”

“What for?”

The guard, Red, interrupted from his place by the door, “Do it, or I’ll do it for you.”

He really wanted to punch that guy. Whatever. It’s not like he could avoid it forever. He was locked to a table. He slid his hand forward on the table, and the man grasped it with his own hand. Touya flinched at the cold, sticky feeling of the man’s palm.

“Gross. Do you ever wash your hands?” Touya complained.

The man just looked at him blankly. Touya tried to pull away, but the man’s hand was stuck to him now. He could feel the pull of skin on his palm as he tugged.

“It’s futile. We are stuck like this for an hour. Get comfortable,” Fecchi said.

That sure didn’t comfort him. That sticky substance must be the man’s quirk. What was going on?

Then the man’s eyes glowed yellow, and Touya felt himself relax.

“Tell me your name, age, and quirk,” the man asked.

“Touya Todoroki, 25, Blueflame,” Touya said involuntarily.  Fecchi’s quirk must have something to do with retrieving answers. Perfect for interrogations.

Then his stomach flipped, and he started sweating. ‘Oh, shit. It’s a mental quirk.’

Touya tuned out while he panicked at the violation. It didn’t seem to matter to Fecchi. The questions kept coming and Touya kept answering whether he wanted to or not.

An hour later, the questions finally stopped. Fecchi dropped his quirk and released Touya’s hand. Touya had been on the verge of a full-blown panic attack for a while, and when he was released from the quirk, he immediately threw up all over the table.

Fecchi must have anticipated this reaction, as he had already pushed back from the table until his chair was against the wall.

Touya’s watery eyes could barely discern the door opening and a voice saying, “You did well, Fecchi. Take him back to his cell. We’ll go again when he recovers.”

Touya heard rather than saw the woman approach. The tap, tap of her heels on the tile floor. A smug voice close to him said, “You are full of surprises, Todoroki. I can’t wait to see what you have to say in round two.” She chuckled darkly and retreated.

Touya was roughly escorted back to his cell, where he was dumped unceremoniously. He crawled over to the bed, where he collapsed. Fecchi’s questions kept running through his head, and he felt sick again, thinking about everything he revealed.

He now had a pretty good idea of who his captors were. And he was no longer sure that Izuku could get him out of this.

…

Izuku kept rewinding the footage of the ambush. It was only a few minutes long, but he had a couple of angles to work with. He thought he could make out a card like a license being shown by the abductors to the people in the station, but he couldn’t tell what it was. A hero license? A police license? The image was too blurry to tell.

‘Ok, that is a dead end. Let’s focus on the abductors themselves. Why does something seem familiar?”

Each man held themselves the same way. Their stance and their posture were similar, as if they had been trained.

He rewound the footage to the time when they first entered the station. The way they spread out around the station before regrouping when they found their target was a classic reconnaissance technique. Their movements and responses were well-oiled and spoke of rigorous training and ample experience.

“These men were trained to act as a team,” Izuku muttered.

“Heroes? Military?” Nezu asked, looking over at his screen.

“I don’t think so, no. Don’t heroes mostly work alone or in pairs? And why would the military kidnap Touya from a train station of all places? That makes no sense. But who else would have this kind of training?”

“While most heroes don’t work in teams, there are a few exceptions. There are rescue heroes, like the Wild Wild Pussycats, and some underground heroes that train as teams. It’s rare, but it happens. We could ask Aizawa. He’s more familiar with the underground. Maybe he will recognize them,” Nezu said as he called the underground hero to his office.

Aizawa found the two of them still hunched over their computers a little while later.

“What has you two so frantic?”

“Ash has been abducted, and we are trying to figure out where he is and who took him,” Izuku said, looking at Aizawa with big watery eyes.

“Damn. What can I do to help?”

“We want you to take a look at some footage from the abduction,” Nezu said as he made room for the other hero.

“The abductors seem familiar somehow. They move like a well-oiled machine, but I can’t place them,” Izuku added.

Aizawa studied the video that Izuku had been replaying on a loop. “Stop. Back up a couple of frames.”

“Did you see something?” Nezu asked as he did as Aizawa asked.

Aizawa stood up from where he had bent over to watch the footage, “I know that guy running interference with the public. I’ve run into him a few times.”

“Is he an underground hero?”

“No, he used to be underground. Now, though, he works in security, at least on paper.” Aizawa’s lips curl in disgust. “In reality, he’s an enforcer for the HPSC and one of the president’s special pets.”

“The Hero Public Safety Commission?” Izuku asked, already knowing the answer. Of course, the commission was involved. They couldn’t keep their dirty hands to themselves. The more the information settled within, the angrier he got.

He could feel the rage building, but he managed to focus on Nezu adding to the evidence. “I found the car a few blocks from HPSC headquarters. We can’t track them any closer because the HPSC controls all the public and private cameras in the blocks surrounding HPSC headquarters.”

Aizawa noticed how quiet Izuku had become when the HPSC was mentioned. He appeared to be considering his actions, which was a good thing. The Problem Child had always struggled with thinking before acting. This was progress.

“Well, I had planned to wait a little longer to burn down the commission, but it looks like I have an opening in my schedule.”

‘Or maybe not,’ Aizawa sighed.

“We should at least get confirmation that he’s there before storming the castle,” Aizawa said as he tried to rein in Izuku. The last thing they needed was a public blowup at commission headquarters. And knowing the other two, it would be very public.

“Good idea,” Izuku said cheerfully, and something about that sounded scarily wrong. Aizawa had a bad feeling when Izuku faced him with a smile plastered on his face that didn’t sit right.

Izuku pulled out his phone and calmly typed in a number from memory. He stood up from his place behind Nezu’s desk as he waited for an answer.

“Who are you calling?” Aizawa asked nervously. Izuku just tilted his head in response.

“Hello. Madame President?” Izuku said into the phone.

He started pacing as the others listened to one side of the conversation.

“Who am I? My name is Izuku Midoriya.”

“You have heard of me?”

“Recently, huh?”

Aizawa whispered to Nezu, “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Oh, absolutely not. But what’s done is done,” chirped Nezu. The rat looked entirely too pleased with this outcome.

Aizawa sighed and turned his attention back to the conversation.

Izuku had now moved back to the desk and was typing rapidly on his laptop. He was holding the phone between his cheek and shoulder so he could use both hands while he talked.

“I am sorry you feel that speaking with me is a waste of your time. But you have someone of mine, and I want him back.”

“Don’t play dumb with me. You know exactly who I mean.”

“Sure, you do. He is in holding cell B.”

Nezu and Aizawa both heard the squawking coming from the other end of the phone. Izuku continued with that eerie smile.

“I know lots of things. Things that I know you want to keep quiet. You know, like Keigo Takami,” Izuku said cryptically.

Aizawa could feel Nezu tense as Izuku started opening Nezu’s desk drawers. He sifted through them until he pulled out a USB drive. He turned to Nezu with a raised eyebrow. He mouthed, ‘Blank?’ to Nezu. When Nezu nodded, Izuku plugged it into the laptop and hit a few more keys before leaning back in Nezu’s chair.

“What do you think you know about me?”

“Oh, you know about where I came from and what my quirk is.”

“You know the real story?”

“Well, let me ask you this. Do you know the range of my quirk? No? Me, neither. But I’m willing to experiment and find out. You could help me. How far away from me do you think you can stay?” They could see Izuku’s lip curl in contempt as his eyes stayed glued to the laptop.

Aizawa wondered what Izuku was talking about. He had [One for All]. None of the quirks inside it had any effect over a distance.

“It’s a puzzle, isn’t it?”

“No, I am nothing like him. But don’t think I won’t use his tactics if someone pushes me too far. Like kidnapping someone I care about. I’m quite attached to my family and will go to any lengths to keep them safe.”

“I consider him family, and if you’re smart, you should, too.”

Izuku tapped a key on the computer and pulled out the USB. He smiled at it before he tossed it to Nezu.

“You know I am from the future, but you don’t seem very curious as to how I know what I know about you and the HPSC.”

“You see, I’ve already had the pleasure of watching the HPSC burn to the ground. The public wasn’t pleased when all the corruption was exposed.”

Aizawa looked at Nezu to see how he was taking all this. He wasn’t surprised to see the rat practically vibrating with excitement.

“It’s too bad you were murdered before you could be prosecuted.”

“Me? No, I had nothing to do with it. You just pissed off the wrong people. Kind of like you are doing right now.”

“Nope. That was not a threat. Just an observation.”

“Anyway, while the HPSC was falling apart, someone was able to penetrate your firewalls.”

“Oh, it wasn’t me. But I got the thrill of watching it happen in real-time. And I remember all the backdoors and passwords.”

Izuku snorted, “A little too late, Madame President. This is now a case of shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted.”

“I have no need to spread your secrets if my partner is returned.”

“Glad to see we understand each other. Someone will come pick him up. He better be unharmed.”

“Pleasure speaking with you, Madame President.”

He ended the call before throwing himself face down on Nezu’s couch and screaming into the cushions.

“Kid,” Aizawa approached Izuku carefully. He put a hand on the man’s back and rubbed it softly, trying to calm the man down.

Eventually, Izuku sat up and noticed Nezu sitting on the coffee table right in front of him. Izuku suddenly recalled how utterly he had taken over the principal’s office.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry, Nezu. I got carried away and forgot where I was.”

Nezu just chittered from the entertainment. “If this contains what I think it does, then all is forgiven,” he said, holding the USB stick up.

“Yeah, that has the last of the HPSC secret files. I have been carefully downloading them for the last few weeks. I had been taking my time and covering my tracks, but I knew I didn’t have time for finesse. I brute forced it because I knew I needed to get the rest before she caught on.”

“Wonderful.” Nezu’s eyes were shining at the thought of all those files. He couldn’t wait to sift through them. He was fully capable of hacking into the HPSC, but without knowing where to start, he would just be risking the HPSC catching him. Having them handed to him on a silver platter was more than he could have asked for.

“You two are terrifying,” Aizawa groused as he headed out of the office.

“Aizawa, can you send Yamada and Snipe to me? I think they would be perfect to go collect Ash,” Nezu asked before Aizawa got away.

Aizawa approved of that choice. They were both heavily skeptical of the HPSC’s motives and were completely loyal to Nezu. Nezu, Aizawa, and Izuku were best kept far away from the HPSC while tensions were still high.

“Thank you, Nezu,” Izuku said with tears streaming down his face.

“Any time. That was the most fun I’ve had in ages.” Nezu hopped down from the coffee table. “Let’s get you some tea, and you can tell me all about how the HPSC fell in your time while we wait.”

“That sounds nice,” Izuku said. The knot he’s had in his stomach since this morning was finally starting to loosen. A real smile broke out when he realized Touya would be here soon.

…

Aizawa walked into Nezu’s office to see the two now playing chess and chatting about firewalls. Terrifying.

“I thought you would want to know that Yamada should be pulling into the car park any minute now.”

Izuku jumped up and shot through the door. It was just after lunch, and the halls were mostly clear with only one or two stragglers. No one to get in his way as he raced to the car park.

He could hear someone hurrying after him. Probably Aizawa. He should have waited for him, but it’s Touya!

Izuku burst into the car park just as Present Mic pulled in. Izuku could feel his heart pounding in his ears, drowning out whatever scolding Aizawa was no doubt giving him.

He didn’t realize he was holding his breath until he exhaled as the car door opened and Touya stepped out. He had been listening to something Present Mic was saying until he saw Izuku. Then, Touya’s face lit up, his brilliant blue eyes sparkled, and he smiled.

Izuku froze.

‘Oh.’

Chapter Text

I still remember the day that you entered my world

Filled with splendour, a light in the darkness, unfurled

Well, I figured it out, the louder they shout, the more I fall

I'm reliving it now, the essence of how I lose this all – Seether

Izuku burst into the car park just as Present Mic pulled in. Izuku could feel his heart pounding in his ears, drowning out whatever scolding Aizawa was no doubt giving him.

He didn’t realize he was holding his breath until he exhaled as the car door opened and Touya stepped out. He had been listening to something Present Mic was saying until he saw Izuku. Then, Touya’s face lit up, his brilliant blue eyes sparkled, and he smiled.

Izuku froze.

‘Oh.’

It wasn’t the smirk he wore when he was teasing Izuku about his weird habits. It wasn’t the soft smile he saved especially for Eri. And it wasn’t the smug smile he had when he crushed Neito in Uno.

It was a smile he hadn’t seen before. It was warm and wide and open. It took up his entire being. His whole body seemed to be lit from within.

Izuku felt like he was having an out-of-body experience as he watched Touya get closer and closer.  He was stunned and shocked and giddy, all at the same time. Touya stopped about five feet from Izuku, noticing that Izuku hadn’t moved or spoken since he got out of the car.

When Izuku didn’t move after a few moments, the smile plastered on Touya’s face began to wobble and slip. ‘Oh no, we can’t have that,’ thought Izuku. ‘I need that smile in my life every day until I die.’ Ok, so he was a dramatic bitch. He’s not going to deny it now.

As soon as Touya's smile faltered, Izuku was in motion, throwing himself closer to his partner. He stopped inches from his person. He felt his hands moving of their own volition as they cupped Touya’s face. He could see the uncertainty lingering in his gaze, but he didn’t care. Izuku needed to know that he was whole and well. Thumbs gently traced sharp cheekbones, memorizing the feel under his skin.

He could hear voices, but Touya’s lips weren’t moving, so he dismissed them like background noise. He could feel Present Mic, Nezu, and Aizawa approaching, but he wasn’t going to let them interrupt this joyous epiphany. This wasn’t some cheesy fanfic where interruptions derailed the intense moments for ridiculous nonsense.

This was his moment to relish. He felt his lips form into a single word; he could feel it in his mind but didn’t realize he’d said it out loud over the emotions rushing in his ears.

“Mine.”

He watched as Touya’s face went from confusion and uncertainty to something much more intense.  He pulled Touya ever closer until finally, finally, their lips met.

Oh.

Oh.

‘Did I mean to do that?’

Yes, yes, he did.

Then the lips under his moved. Urgently and with desperation. He felt hands gripping his waist and pulling him closer. The feelings bubbling up consumed him. Nothing was more important than what was happening between them.

He heard the clearing of throats and mutters from nearby but couldn’t care less what they thought. ‘Why were they still here, anyway? Couldn’t they see this was a monumental moment for the two of them?’

He raised one hand in the air and gave them the proper gesture to show his lack of concern for their attempted interruptions. The snicker that broke through the lips under his indicated his partner had seen his visible opinion of the voyeurs. He preened at the response.

They finally broke apart but didn’t let go. Izuku’s hands were now wound around Touya’s neck, and the hands at his waist had slipped around to his back. They stared in wonder and surprise at the feelings they could see in the other’s eyes. It was both too much and not enough.

“Never do that again,” Izuku whispered.

“Are you fucking kidding me? I am going to do that every day, if it means I get greeted like that,” Touya protested softly. And there was that smile again.

“Asshole.”

“Sure. Tell me what else is new.”

The voices behind Izuku broke through their little bubble. One exasperated voice asked, “Are you done now?”

“No” “Never”

Grinning at their overlapping responses, Izuku and Touya heard an exhausted sigh. “Mic, you’re in charge. I’m done trying to corral the Problem Children.”

“Sho, you’re so mean. They are having a moment. Give them a break. You remember when we had our moment?”

“Please don’t.”

“We were at our graduation party, and you had too much to drink…”

Izuku giggled softly and said, “Should we save poor Aizawa?”

Touya peered over his shoulder at the hero in question, “We probably should. I didn’t know he could turn that shade of red.”

Izuku looked at Touya shyly, “We’ll continue this later, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Touya slipped his hand into Izuku’s and tugged him toward the others.

‘This felt right.’

…

Back in Nezu’s office, Izuku and Touya sat side-by-side on the couch against the far wall with Nezu at his desk and Aizawa and Mic in chairs flanking the couch.

“Ash, why don’t you tell us what happened?” Nezu began.

Touya shifted uneasily and glanced at each of the others as if to gauge their trustworthiness. His face hardened with resolve before he responded. “First, I should tell you who I am.”

“Are you sure?” Izuku asked, worry lacing his tone.

“Yeah, the Commission knows, so it seems dumb to keep it a secret now. At least from everyone in this room,” Touya said. Even though he felt exposed, he set his jaw and lifted his chin.

Izuku was proud of Touya for taking this step. Trusting someone new was difficult for someone who had very little support over the years. He gave Touya a sharp nod of acceptance and sat back, giving Touya the floor.

“My name is Touya Todoroki, eldest son of Enji Todoroki.”

Nezu's eyes gleamed, and he bounced a little in his chair, looking secretly pleased with himself. He must have suspected that’s who Ash was for a while. Aizawa and Mic were stunned, though.

Aizawa was the first to recover, “Didn’t you die years ago?”

“Obviously not,” Touya smirked.

“Wait, wasn’t there a fire involved?” Present Mic chimed in.

Touya leaned forward as he explained his “death”. “When I was 13, I accidentally set fire to a park. The fire got out of control, and I was badly burned. When I fell into a coma, Endeavor wrote me off as a loss. I was hidden away in a hospital while everyone was told I died in the fire,” Touya said bitterly. “I woke up three years later. After some intense physical therapy so that I could walk again, I escaped the hospital. I lived on the street for years before I joined the League.”

While the explanation was brief and left out a lot of detail, the story was heartbreaking. Waking up from a coma to find himself abandoned by everyone he knew. It was no surprise that he joined a group that was filled with what others considered society’s rejects.

“Do any of your family know who you or Dabi is?” Nezu asked.

“No. With all the scars, I looked so different than when I was a kid that Dabi was unrecognizable as a Todoroki.”

“You said the Commission knew who you were. How did they find out?” Izuku interjected.

“I don’t know. The woman at the Commission spoke to me like she had known who I was from the start,” Touya said.

“What woman?” Izuku asked. If she knew who he was all along and didn’t lift a finger to help a clearly traumatized child, well, he might need to have a discussion. A very pointed discussion.

Nezu held up a hand. “Hold on. Let’s start from the beginning, if we can. The last time I heard from you, you had reported the nomu nest. Then, Izuku came to me last night and told me you were supposed to have returned to UA.”

Izuku said, “We spent all night tracing you. First to Kyoto, where we lost you until you came back to the train station the next day. Then, we saw you get abducted and transported to Tokyo.”

“Why don’t you start with Kyoto? What were you doing there?” Nezu asked.

Touya rubbed the back of his neck and bit his lip. He wasn’t sure he wanted to explain what he had been up to. He had been trying to distance himself from his villainous past. What would they think if they knew he met with Dabi? Would they think he was conspiring with them?

He felt a warm, callused hand take his gently and squeeze it. Izuku’s eyes were full of trust and acceptance. Looking around at the group, he realized that he trusted everyone in the room. They hadn’t let him down once and even rescued him from the Commission. Maybe they would understand.

“I went to Kyoto to meet Dabi,” Touya said, looking up at Nezu challengingly. Present Mic gasped, and Aizawa groaned. Nezu folded his paws together and leaned forward attentively.

Izuku was the first to speak. “What a brilliant idea! How did it go?” Of course, Izuku would understand. He always did somehow.

“We almost burned down a shrine,” Touya said with a crooked smile, “but we eventually talked. I told him about the mind control thing.”

“Did he believe you?”

Touya remembered that spark of understanding just before they parted, “Yeah, I think he did.”

“How did you even contact him?” Present Mic asked with confusion.

“I do know my own phone number,” Touya said drolly.

Aizawa snorted when Mic ducked his head and muttered, “Oh, yeah. That makes sense.”

“After that, I was headed back to UA but got nabbed at the train station. I think they drugged me. I woke up in a cell, which I now know was at the HPSC.”

“After a while, I was summoned to an interrogation room where a severe-looking blond woman questioned me briefly before the real interrogation began.”

Nezu began typing away on his keyboard before turning the monitor around to face Touya, “Is this the woman?”

Touya nodded at the professional headshot from the Commission webpage. It was the same woman with a less predatory look. She still put him on edge.

He saw Izuku stiffen beside him and thought he heard him mutter something that sounded like, “That bitch.” He wondered what that was about. Before he could question Izuku, Nezu continued.

“She’s the president of the HPSC. It’s unusual for her to be involved with interrogations,” Nezu rubbed his paws together. Touya relaxed a little since he seemed curious rather than worried.

“She knew who I was before the interrogation began. She said she had been watching me for years. She knew all about Endeavor and his grade A parenting,” Touya said bitterly, sarcasm heavy in his voice.

Aizawa sat forward. “What about his parenting?” He recalled how socially inept and withdrawn Shoto, Endeavor’s youngest child, was when he started at UA. He was just beginning to form connections with his fellow classmates. If Endeavor had something to do with how repressed Shoto was, he needed to know. The thought of any of his kids being neglected or, God forbid, abused, raised his hackles.

Izuku noticed Touya’s clenched jaw and empty eyes. “I think that will have to be a separate conversation. Let’s just get through this debrief so Touya can rest.”

Aizawa grimaced at this poor timing. The last thing they needed was diving into another heavy subject when they hadn’t recovered from the first. “Of course, whenever you’re ready.”

Izuku rubbed his thumb over the back of Touya’s hand until he came back to himself. Izuku nodded at Nezu to continue. “Do you know who performed the interrogation?”

“He said his name was Fecchi.” Touya felt nauseated just saying the guy's name.

“His quirk forced someone to truthfully answer his questions,” Touya said. The hand not holding Izuku’s was gripping his pants so hard that his knuckles were white.

“Did the cuff work?” Izuku asked.

Touya whipped around to stare at Izuku in disbelief. “You knew about that?”

“Of course, I did. Mei made it. She told me everything about her babies,” Izuku said matter-of-factly.

“You never said anything.”

“You never brought it up. I figured you didn’t want a reminder, so I never said anything about it.”

Nezu asked, “What cuff?”

Izuku’s eyes lit up as he told Nezu about how it was made to disrupt mental quirks. They chatted for a few minutes before they agreed to discuss it in depth at a later date.

“So, did it work?” Izuku asked Touya again.

“Uh, I didn’t have it on me then. I gave it to Dabi. I thought maybe he’d be able to free himself.”

“Oh. But that means that you went in with nothing…” Izuku was heartbroken for him. He knew how distressed Touya was when he thought about losing his free will again. Another mental quirk used on him against his will would have sent him spiraling.

Touya had a pained look as he spoke, “I had no way to stop them. They got me with it three times in one-hour increments before Mic got me out.” His face hardened like it was set in stone, but Izuku could see the anguish in his eyes when he turned toward him. “I’m sorry, Izuku. They know everything.”

Izuku gripped his hand tighter and shrugged. “I don’t care about that. Well, I do, but you are more important than our secrets. I’m just sorry you had to go through that.”

Present Mic, precious man that he is, could see the two’s nerves were fraying and brought the debrief to a close. “I think that’s enough for today. Why don’t you two go get some rest? I can fill them in on what happened when I got to the HPSC.”

Touya grabbed the bag of his belongings that Mic shoved at him before he was dragged out the door by Izuku.

They could hear Izuku chattering as they made their way down the hall.

“Now, care to explain why you are wearing a Put Your Hands Up tee shirt? I thought you wouldn’t be caught dead in hero merch.”

“I needed a change when Mic came to get me. I thought he was being kind when he offered a replacement. I had no idea he just wanted a walking billboard.”

The giggles faded as they moved further away from the office.

“They’ll be alright,” Mic smiled and said with a nod.

…

Once Izuku and Touya got back to their apartment, Izuku shoved Touya toward the bathroom. “Go take a shower and get the Commission funk off you. We can talk after.”

While Touya was getting cleaned up, Izuku made some tea to calm his nerves. He was angry that Touya had to relive his worst nightmare by being under the control of a quirk. He was also nervous about his talk with Touya.

‘What was I thinking, kissing him like that?’ He sank onto the couch and bent over, trying to hide from his embarrassment.

He was so lost in his own head that he didn’t hear Touya come in until he spoke. “I’m glad I got my stuff back. The Commission confiscated everything when I got there, and I was afraid that they wouldn’t return my phone. I would have been pissed if I lost all my photos,” Touya said, plugging his phone in to charge before joining Izuku on the couch.

“Present Mic is more formidable than I expected. Did you know that his voice can cause concrete walls to vibrate if he pitches it just right? Don’t tell him I said this, but it was really cool. And the Commission was quick to return my things when Mic refused to stop.” Touya smiled at the memory.

Izuku looked him over. He looked better, more alert. But the dark circles under his eyes told a different story.

“Did you get any sleep there?”

“Not really. And are you avoiding the subject?”

Izuku looked down at his hands wrapped around the teacup he held in his lap. “What subject?”

“Oh, no. Don’t get all coy on me. You can’t just lay one on me and pretend like it didn’t happen,” Touya smirked.

“Oh, God. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I was just so happy to see you.” Touya tuned out the familiar torrent of apologies and recriminations that fell from Izuku’s lips. He smiled as he remembered that those lips had recently been on his.

Izuku seemed to be slowing down, so Touya grabbed his teacup and set it on the coffee table. Izuku sputtered to a stop when Touya grasped his hand and interlaced their fingers.

Touya twisted so he was facing Izuku and leaned against the back of the couch lazily. “Izuku, do you see me complaining?”

Izuku was frozen again because now there was a different smile on Touya’s face. This one was teasing and sly with a hint of fondness at the corners.

‘Damn, now I need to see all the smiles.’

Izuku was jerked out of his musing when Touya continued, “I’m pretty sure I was enthusiastically participating. Did you not notice?”

Flustered, Izuku sputtered, “Of course, I noticed.”

“Then what seems to be the problem?”

Izuku brain was scrambled. He thought back to their interaction and all the articles he had read about romantic relationships. Yes, he had done the research. He had no experience and didn’t want to mess up. There were rules and permissions required in these kinds of relationships. And he had already messed up, hadn’t he?

“Well, there is the whole thing with consent.”

“Hmm, yes, I could see how that could be worrisome.” Izuku squinted because he knew that tone of voice. “How about this? I give you blanket permission to do that anytime and anywhere. Are we good now?” He knew it; he was being teased. Izuku could hear the restrained laughter in his voice.

“Why are you so mean to me?”

Touya just shrugged with a smile.

‘Another smile. I am going to collect them like I used to collect hero merch.’

Izuku narrowed his eyes at how nonchalant Touya was acting. “Are you not freaking out about this?”

“Absolutely, but watching you freak out is actually calming.”

Izuku huffed and rolled his eyes. This man was going to kill him. He needed to get back on track.

“So, what do you want to do about this?”

Touya raised an eyebrow at him. “Whatever you want to do.”

“That’s not an answer!” Izuku cried, throwing up his free hand.

Touya grabbed the flailing hand and pulled it into his lap. “Look, I just want to be with you. Whether that is as a friend, a lover, or anything in between.” Izuku was a little giddy at hearing that.

“Why are you so calm about this?” It really wasn’t fair.

“I’ve had a lot of time to think about our situation and how I feel about it. And I decided before we were thrust into the past that as long as I was with you, I would be ok.”

“You would be happy just being my friend?” Izuku asked uncertainly.

“Yes.”

“But what do you want?”

“Everything. I want everything you can give me. But I am in no position to ask anything from you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look at us. You are a hero through and through. And I have barely separated from my villainous past. I am not going to drag you down with my baggage.”

Izuku's initial instinct was to scoff at such a statement and dismiss it as ridiculous. But if this was how Touya felt, he needed to respect that.

“Blanket permission, huh?” Izuku blurted out.

Touya gave him a puzzled look at the non-sequitur. “Uh, yeah.”

Izuku gave him a small smile as he stood up and relocated himself to awkwardly straddling Touya’s lap. He slipped his arms around Touya’s neck and leaned forward until their foreheads were almost touching. He was so close he could feel the hitch in Touya’s breath as he settled in his lap.

“I want everything, too,” Izuku whispered.

He watched fascinated as Touya’s stoic mask cracked and his eyes widened in surprise. He could see the emotions flashing across his face. Confusion, disbelief, joy, fear. He landed on determination and resolve. Then Touya smiled.

‘I am so, so whipped,’ Izuku thought as he added another smile to his collection.

That was the end of all thought as Touya surged forward the last few inches and captured Izuku’s lips with his own. They were soft and firm and filled with all the emotion he struggled to say out loud.

‘Mine.’

Chapter Text

I don't give up, I don't wave white flags

Never surrender, no quarter to be had

If I said it, that I meant it

You better believe

I'm making no apologies – Any Given Sin

As sunlight spilled through the bedroom window the next morning, Touya’s first sight was a mass of green curls. This was not the first time he had woken up as the big spoon with green curls in his face. But this time, he could do this and not feel weird about it. He gently snuzzled into them, trying not to wake Izuku.

The hand lodged over Izuku’s sternum held him in place as Touya shifted a little bit closer. The even rise and fall of Izuku’s chest meant his movements were unnoticed. But the increased proximity was comforting.

Touya was still reeling from the events of the previous day. That Izuku had feelings for him was unexpected. Maybe not wholly surprising, he had been aware of the heated glances recently sent his way. He never thought Izuku would do anything about it, though. He assumed it was a crush and that Izuku would get over it before moving on to someone more appropriate.

‘Well, he’s mine, now.’

Touya ducked his head into Izuku's hair to hide his smile. He pressed a featherlight kiss to the exposed nape before him. That may have been a step too far because he felt the man in his arms shift, and his breathing sped up.

“Morning, sunshine.”

“Good morning.” Izuku’s voice was gravelly from sleep. Touya felt rather than saw him rub his eyes in an effort to wake himself up. When Touya pressed a firmer kiss to Izuku’s neck, the man stiffened, followed by muffled muttering. While Touya couldn’t make out the words, the tone sounded anxious.

‘Did he change his mind? Maybe he was sleep deprived yesterday, and he needed a good night’s sleep to come to his senses.’

Touya shifted back slightly and slipped the hand wrapped around Izuku’s torso to his waist, trying to put some distance between them in case Izuku wanted an escape. He could feel Izuku tense as he pulled back. He felt Izuku take a steadying breath before flipping over so they were face to face. His heart sank when Izuku couldn’t meet his eyes.

“Um.” Izuku glanced at him quickly before focusing on his hand plucking at the soft T-shirt Touya was wearing.

Touya could feel his mask start to slide over his face. He didn’t want to drag the misery out, so he abruptly blurted out, “Did you change your mind about us? I can leave if you want me to.”

Izuku flinched and finally met Touya’s eyes. “What?! No! Why would you think that?”

A deliberately quiet exhale hid Touya’s distress. No need for Izuku to see how unsettled he had been. “Then why were you so tense when you woke up and realized I was here?”

“Oh, God, no. It wasn’t that. It was…” stammered Izuku. A pink flush started at the tips of his ears and spread until his cheeks were rosy. He ducked his head and pressed his face into Touya’s chest.

“It was what?” Touya asked. Now he was confused. ‘If it wasn’t a change of heart, then what was the problem?’ Unintelligible words vibrated into Touya’s chest.

Touya slipped a finger under Izuku’s chin and lifted it up and away from his chest. “You’re going to have to repeat that.”

“Do I have to?” Izuku whined.

“Yes.”

Izuku bit his lip and shifted his gaze to Touya’s shoulder before he said, “When I woke up, I felt something.”

“Something?”

Izuku rolled his eyes. “Something poking me in the back,” he said quietly while his cheeks got redder.

Touya gave him a puzzled look before the light went on. Then he started chuckling. He rolled onto his back and clutched at his stomach, letting the relieved laughter fill the morning air.

“Stop laughing at me.” Izuku smacked him playfully. He was still embarrassed, but he couldn’t hold back the smile emerging as he witnessed the other man’s mirth. Touya was so pretty when he dropped his mask and just let himself feel.

When Touya settled down, he rolled back over to face Izuku. “Can you please tell me why that was bothering you? We’ve shared a bed for months. This was not the first time that has happened to either of us.”

“I know, but...” Izuku sputtered to a stop, covering his face with his hands. The raised eyebrow he spied between his fingers when the silence went on too long was exasperating. And attractive.

Dropping his hands, Izuku gave in. “Fine. It’s just…the context has changed.” He paused to pull the scraps of his dignity together. “It got me thinking. I have never done this before. You know. Had a boyfriend? Is that even the right term for us? It feels kind of frivolous and juvenile.”

Touya’s nose scrunched in distaste as he thought about it. “Let’s just stick with partner for now. We’re just a different kind of partners now.”

“Oh, that actually sounds much better, thanks.” Izuku bit his lip to keep from grinning like an idiot before continuing, “As I was saying, I’ve never had a partner before, and I am not sure how this all works. And when I felt that,” waving his hand vaguely in Touya’s direction, “poking me, I realized that was a whole area of relationships that I haven’t thought about. I’m not sure I’m ready for that. At least not yet.”

Touya let his head settle back onto his pillow. “You’re stressing over nothing. I don’t have much experience in relationships either. Living on the streets or with the League wasn’t exactly a breeding ground for healthy relationships. And I wouldn’t say that what I did experience was particularly healthy.”

Touya lifted his head slightly so that he could look Izuku in the eye. “We don’t have to do anything according to anyone’s timetable but our own, you know? I’m fine taking things slow or whatever pace we decide.”

“You sure?”

“Of course, baby. I’m not in a rush.” Touya slid his fingers from Izuku’s chin into his hair to scratch his scalp. He knew that was a sure-fire way to get his partner to relax.

“Baby?” Those too-big eyes were looking at Touya in wonder.

“You don’t like it?”

“Oh, no. I do. I just wasn’t expecting it.” Izuku sighed and pressed his cheek into Touya’s chest. He let his contentment wash over him, soaking in his partner’s ministrations.

Touya grimaced as his fingers snagged on Izuku’s curls as he tugged his fingers through them. “What have you done to your hair?”

“Nothing,” Izuku peeked up at him.

“You’ve done nothing to it since I’ve been gone?” Touya complained as he tried to untangle the knots.

“No. You said you would take care of it.”

“I can’t believe you. You are such a baby.”

“I thought you liked that.” Izuku gave him that fake innocent look that he did when he was being a little shit. Like now.

Izuku giggled as he was pummeled with pillows.

…

A quick shower and getting some semblance of control over Izuku’s curls, and they were ready to tackle the day. They had just finished breakfast and were sipping coffee when Izuku spoke up.

“We need to decide what we are going to do since Plan A is out the window.” He was still pissed about Nighteye, but they had to move on.

“Plan B?”

Izuku hummed as he thought about the various plans. Plan B was just the two of them breaking into Overhaul’s compound and getting Eri out, regardless of the casualties or backlash. A plan that was probably better left as a last resort.

“I think we should try a combination of Plan C and D.” That would mean getting Nezu involved with the legal angle and recruiting a small team to raid the compound.

“Fine, as long as this happens soon. You go talk to Nezu. When he agrees, I’ll talk to the ones that we wanted for the raid team. Unless you want to make changes?”

“No changes. I’ll text you if Nezu agrees.”

“When he agrees,” Touya declared firmly.

...

A teacup appeared next to the chessboard set up in front of Izuku. Nezu set the other cup he prepared next to the chair opposite Izuku before hopping up and settling in.

“Thank you for taking the time to see me today, Nezu-sama,’ Izuku said, pulling up all the manners his mother drilled into him. He needed Nezu on his side, and he wasn’t going to let a silly thing like poor manners hinder his chances.

“Of course. I always look forward to our chats, especially if they include a good game of chess,” Nezu said with his normal cheer, with an added hint of curiosity.

Izuku chuckled softly. He knew that the principal had a hard time finding someone to play with him in person. There were plenty of challengers online, but there was something about sitting across from your opponent and figuring out their tells that was just so much more engaging.

There were a few teachers who could play, but they weren’t much of a challenge. One of the things that kept him going on those lonely nights before Touya joined him in the before was playing chess with Nezu. He had learned a lot of tricks from his mentor.  He rarely won, but at least he could hold his own for a time.

It was quiet for the first few opening moves. The soft clinks of the pieces shifting around the board were the only sounds, along with occasional slurps of tea.

After taking a pawn, Nezu broke the silence, “Was there something specific you needed to discuss, or is this just a friendly visit?”

Izuku leaned back in his chair so he wouldn’t be distracted by trying to calculate his next move. “I wish this were only a friendly visit, but I would like to ask your advice on something.”

“I would be happy to help if I can.”

“Touya and I still plan to rescue Eri. But after that disastrous meeting with Nighteye, we need to rethink our strategy. We don’t want to leave Eri in Overhaul’s hands while Nighteye drags out his investigation. If it comes to it, we are both prepared to do it by ourselves and damn the consequences.”

Nezu could see the determination in the young man. Smoke had so much potential, one he wanted to help mold. He couldn’t let him get derailed from his bright future because the heroes won’t act quickly enough. “I’m sure we could come up with something less drastic.”

Izuku shifted in his chair. “We have a few alternatives, but they would mean involving other people. Probably heroes.”

“Smoke –“ Nezu started before he was interrupted by Izuku.

“You can call me Izuku, if you like.”

“I would like that, but only if you drop the honorifics and call me Nezu,” Nezu preened as his newest kit nodded in agreement. “Izuku, you are at a hero school surrounded by heroes. There is no one here who won’t want to help rescue a child from an abuser. You can ask for help. We want to give it.”

The principal was hard to read because he didn’t have the same tells as humans do, but he had spent enough time with Nezu in both worlds that he felt confident that Nezu was being sincere.

“Ok,” Izuku said, focusing on his callused hands twisting in his lap. He took a deep breath before shifting his attention back to Nezu. “I need help.”

Nezu smiled in his own unique way. “Let’s hear what you have come up with, and we’ll see how we can make this work with the best outcome possible.”

“Thank you.”

…

After school let out that afternoon, Izuku headed to their training gym, where he found Touya and Aizawa chatting.

When Touya noticed his arrival, he looked at him pointedly and asked, “Did you really threaten the president of the HPSC?”

“Um. Well…” Izuku rubbed the back of his neck and looked anywhere but at Touya.

“Oh my God, you did.”

“I believe there was blackmail involved, too,” Aizawa said with dry amusement, adding fuel to the fire. Sure, Mic was the loud, dramatic one, but Aizawa got satisfaction by feeding into it.

Izuku glared at him in betrayal. “Not helping!”

“I wasn’t trying to help.” Aizawa didn’t even bother trying to hide his creepy grin.

“How come you didn’t tell me?” Touya asked with confusion. They didn’t discuss what had happened to get the HPSC to release him. It didn’t occur to him that Izuku was involved. Thinking back on it now, he should have known that Izuku wouldn’t have stayed out of it.

“It didn’t come up,” Izuku said defensively. Touya’s dead stare had him quickly add, “We had more important things to deal with.”

Izuku didn’t want to talk about it now or maybe ever. He was embarrassed about his actions. When he hung up the phone and the adrenaline from the call died down, he felt sick to his stomach. He hated having to stoop to their level. He would absolutely do it again (because Touya!), but he didn’t want to have to.

Touya gave him a long look and, noting his partner’s discomfiture, changed the subject. “How’d it go with Nezu?”

Izuku's eyes lit up, recalling his meeting. “Good. I think we have a solid plan. Nezu will handle the legal aspects, including any warrants or licenses. We just need to get our team finalized for the raid.”

“Is this plan going to involve Nighteye Agency?” Aizawa asked. Logically, Nighteye should be involved since he had the most up-to-date information on the Shie Hassaikai. However, based on the animosity between the other hero and the two men in front of him, he didn’t see how that was an option.

“No, not exactly,” Izuku said cryptically.

There was a lightness to his voice that set off Aizawa’s alarm bells. They’re up to something. “Explain,” the hero insisted.

After the plan was explained, Touya tried and failed to maintain his composure. Izuku was once again graced with Touya’s laughter. Caught up in watching his partner, he missed Aizawa ducking into his capture scarf to hide his amusement.

Aizawa cleared his throat, getting Izuku’s attention, “Don’t you think that’s a bit petty?”

“Yes.” Izuku’s eyes sparkled with mischief.

Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose. “Is this your idea or Nezu’s?”

“Mine, but Nezu supported it.” Izuku bounced on his toes.

“Of course, he did. He lives and breathes chaos.” The two of them together were going to give him gray hair. He needed to find ways to keep Midoriya too busy to join their plotting. The world wasn’t ready for the three of them banding together.

“Are you going to join us for the raid?” Izuku asked Aizawa.

“Yes, someone needs to be the responsible adult.”

“Hey. I’m responsible.”

“Debatable.”

As much as he was enjoying it, Touya interrupted their verbal spar. “I got your text, so I went ahead and talked to Snipe and Midnight. They both agreed.”

“Perfect. That should round out our team. We’ll set up a meeting soon to go over the details.”

The conversation was interrupted by Midoriya and Shinsou’s arrival. They converged on Touya with enthusiasm when they noticed him. They had heard about his abduction and were glad that he was back. They bombarded him with questions about where he had been, his health, and the commission, like the nosy teenagers they were.

Once the boys had calmed down, Izuku addressed Midoriya. “The provisional license test is coming up next week. How are you feeling about it?”

“Good. I’m nervous, but I feel like I have a good handle on my quirk now,” Midoriya answered. Izuku was proud of how confident he sounded. He remembered being a nervous wreck about the exam.

Midoriya was currently capable of handling 20% of [One for All] without strain. He also had good control of [Blackwhip], [Smokescreen], [Danger Sense], and [Fa Jin]. [Float] was still a work in progress, and [Gearshift] was on hold for now. He had everything he needed to pass the test. It was up to him now.

“You’ll be fine. Is there anything specific you want to work on today?”

“Switching between quirks is still something I struggle with. Maybe more of that?” Midoriya asked.

“Sounds good. After the exam, we’ll work on using them simultaneously.”

Midoriya nodded eagerly at that, and Izuku switched his attention to Shinsou.

“Shinsou, what about you? Is there something you want to work on today?”

Shinsou wasn’t needed anymore to help Midoriya connect with the vestiges, but they both benefited from having someone with comparable skills to spar with. Even though Shinsou started at a disadvantage because he wasn’t in the hero course (yet), training with Midoriya had pushed him to get better fast. When he got his chance to transfer, he would be ready. Honestly, he could probably beat at least half of 1-A at his current level.

“I need to get better with my capture weapon,” Shinsou said.

Izuku had a great idea to tackle both of their goals. “Sounds like a game of tag is on the menu. Ash and I are going to join you today, so let's get warmed up.”

The two boys perked up at that and rushed off to start laps around the gym. Touya didn’t join their training often, but when he did, everyone cranked it up to eleven.

“We are?” Touya asked.

“It’ll be fun.” That was met with a raised eyebrow.

“C’mon, we haven’t had a good workout in a while, and we need to keep our skills sharp. We have someone counting on us.” Izuku said before he trailed after the boys.

“That was a low blow,” Touya grumbled as he caught up to Izuku. Izuku rolled his eyes and giggled.

Shinsou noticed how the other two leaned into each other as they jogged. “Do they seem different today?” asked Shinsou, watching them on the opposite side of the gym.

Midoriya looked past Shinsou to see what he was talking about. Even though they were jogging, Touya kept touching Izuku. A poke here and a tugged curl there seemed perfectly innocent, even if they seemed excessive. However, the looks that accompanied them were definitely not.

“Ohhh,” Midoriya said as what Shinsou said started to make sense. “I think the pining is over.”

“Thank, fuck.” Shinsou’s outburst startled Midoriya, who gave him a wide-eyed look.

“What? That wasn’t a secret, was it?” Shinsou asked.

Midoriya snorted, “I guess not.”

“Maybe they’ll be distracted enough that we can kick their ass for once,” Shinsou said.

They were not. It was so unfair that they weren’t even using their quirks or support items and still beat them handily. Even when they both teamed up against one of them.

Smoke and Ash were a well-oiled machine. Their teamwork was nearly flawless, each covering the other’s weaknesses and slipups. Midoriya thought their evasion techniques might even be better than Aizawa-sensei’s.

Not that he would ever, ever say that out loud. His breath caught when he glanced over where his sensei was to find him staring back at him.

‘He can’t read minds, can he?’ He took a step back, so Shinsou was between him and Aizawa-sensei before taking another breath.

After training, Touya and Midoriya began cleaning up the gym as they did at the end of every session. Touya paused before lifting another mat to wordlessly nudge Izuku. He jerked his head toward the door where Midoriya was lingering.

As Izuku approached Midoriya, he asked, “What’s up? Did you need something?”

“It’s not a big deal, but if you have a minute, I could use some advice,” Midoriya stated hesitantly.

“I will always have time for you,” Izuku stated firmly. He steered them both over to the bench along the wall so that they could be comfortable for their discussion.

“It’s about Kacchan. He hasn’t let up on asking questions about you and my ‘mysterious’ training,” said Midoriya fidgeted with his fingers.

Izuku knew that Bakugou was going to force his way into his business at some point. It looked like that time was getting closer.

“What have you told him?” Izuku asked.

“Nothing really. I’ve been avoiding him as much as I can.”

“That’s not going to last forever,” Izuku sighed. For as self-centered as Bakugou seemed, he was just as nosy as the worst gossip. And even more pushy.

“I know, but I don’t know what to tell him. Or what I can tell him.”

Izuku could see that this was wearing down Midoriya’s nerves. He didn’t need this added pressure with the provisional license test on the horizon. “What do you want to tell him?”

“Well, I don’t like lying to him. Plus, he always knows anyway. I kinda want to tell him what’s going on. Maybe not everything,” Midoriya said. He gave Izuku the puppy-eyed look that was begging for help.

‘Oh, damn. I’ve never been on the other end of that look. It’s weird. And effective,” thought Izuku.

“But you don’t know where that line is,” Izuku said.

“Exactly.”

“This is your story just as much as mine. I would appreciate it if you left out anything about our quirks and Touya for now. Maybe ask him to keep it to himself. The rest I’ll leave up to you. You are going to need allies, and regardless of our history, Bakugou would make a great ally.”

“Are you sure?” Midoriya studied him to see if he was truly ok with it.

Izuku’s firm hand squeezed Midoriya’s shoulder. He locked eyes with Midoriya and said with intent, “I trust you.”

Midoriya could feel the tears welling in his eyes, but he held them back the best he could. He wasn’t going to cry now. Later, in his room, in the dark, maybe. For now, Midoriya reeled in his emotions. “Ok, thanks.” He promised himself he would live up to that trust.

Izuku pulled him into a hug. He knew what was going through the other’s mind. Being trusted to handle big decisions was new and exciting, but terrifying.

Midoriya was steadier when they broke apart. He started gathering his belongings when he stopped and turned back to Izuku.

“By the way, how are things with Touya?”

The abrupt segue caught Izuku by surprise. He sputtered, and his cheeks reddened, thinking about the events of the last 24 hours. He was sure that those thoughts were evident, going by Midoriya’s knowing grin.

“So, you are together now?”

“Yeah,” he sighed, glancing over at Touya, who was putting away the last of the mats. He felt the fluttering in his stomach when bright blue eyes met his green ones.

He was so caught up that he forgot Midoriya was there. He almost jumped when Midoriya cleared his throat to get his attention.

“You look happier.” Midoriya’s smile this time was warm. He patted Izuku’s shoulder as he stood up to take his leave.

“It suits you.”

Midoriya turned back to him at the door. “By the way, when did this happen?” he casually asked.

“Yesterday, why?”

“Yes! All Might owes me 4,000 yen.”

“Hey!”

Chapter Text

If you'd like to tell me

How your story began

I'm sitting right here waiting

And no, you're not alone anymore – One Ok Rock

The moon was full on the night the raid team gathered on top of a building overlooking the Shie Hassaikai compound. This gave them a clear view of the base and the patrolling guards.

Eraserhead handed out earpieces to Snipe, Midnight, Ash, Smoke, and Bubble Girl. These were to keep in contact with each other and the man (rat?) in the chair. Nezu would be monitoring the raid from his office at UA.

Bubble Girl had surprised everyone at UA when she showed up with all the information that Nighteye Agency had on the Shie Hassaikai. Apparently, the meeting at the agency was the last straw for her. Nighteye’s behavior shocked her. His callousness and lack of empathy toward a child were just too much. She decided to quit and find another agency, but she wanted to save that little girl. She gathered up all the intel she could and took it to Nezu.

Nezu convinced her to stay at the Nighteye Agency until after the night of the raid. That way, if any new information came into the agency about Overhaul, she would still have access to it. He promised to help her find another agency to transfer to after the raid.

She and Snipe were going to be the team’s lookouts. They would be positioned on opposite sides of the compound so they could keep watch on the entrances and let the others know about any external surprises.

While Smoke knew the general layout of the compound, many of the details were unknown to him or had been forgotten. Based on Bubble Girl’s stolen data, the upper levels housed the rank-and-file members, while the hidden underground level was where Overhaul, his trusted advisors, the Eight Bullets, and most importantly, Eri, lived.

Nezu’s voice came over the link, “I can take control of the external cameras as soon as you are ready. Remember, find the security room before they notice the feed is looped.”

Smoke responded as the unofficial leader of the raid, “Got it.”

Officially, Eraserhead was in charge, but they all knew that Smoke had the most experience with this particular group. Eraserhead agreed to defer to Smoke, unless he was needed.

“I’ll get in position, and then we can start,” Bubble Girl said before she shimmied down the fire escape to make her way to the back entrance. A couple of minutes later, they heard, “In position.”

“Is everyone ready?”

With no protestations, Smoke said, “Nezu, we’re a go.”

“Video feed is looping,” came through their earpieces.

Snipe took aim at the two guards at the front entrance and shot them with tranquilizing darts. As soon as they hit the ground, Bubble Girl called out, “Rear entrance is secure. Backing off to the observation point.”

Midnight climbed on Eraserhead’s back while he launched his capture weapon at the fire escape on the yakuza building. Smoke and Ash joined them using grappling hooks.

Midnight and Smoke moved to the rooftop vents that recycled fresh air to the upper floors of the building. Once they got the cover off the main air return vent, Midnight began pumping her sleeping gas through the vent.

The assault was going to be a quiet one, if everything went according to plan. They chose a time of night when most of the occupants should be sleeping. Using Midnight’s quirk through the vents to subdue the hopefully sleeping occupants was one step to prevent unwanted interference.

Ash and Eraserhead had managed to get the door to the roof open and were waiting for the signal to enter. When Midnight calculated that enough of her gas had penetrated the topmost floor, she gave the signal.

They had been provided with masks that covered their entire faces. The masks protected them against Midnight’s quirk [Somnambulist] and were equipped with infrared sensors. The sensors would detect hot spots and heat signatures, like a person’s body heat. They should work through closed doors and thinner walls so they could sense whether or not a room was occupied without opening the door.

Quietly, Ash, Smoke, and Eraserhead pulled on their gas masks and disappeared into the building with Midnight following close behind.

They split up to secure the top floor, securing everyone they came across with rope or zip ties. They found the security office in the front corner. All the officers were out cold. Smoke made sure to disable the alarms just in case anyone managed to avoid the sleeping gas and made it to the security office. It wouldn’t stop someone determined to alert the rest of the compound, but it would slow them down.

By the time they had locked down the top floor, Midnight’s gas had penetrated the ground floor. Securing the ground floor went as smoothly as the upper floor. While taking care of the rank-and-file members, they found the entrance to the secret passage to the underground level.

The four gathered at the entrance. Smoke took charge of putting in the code to open the door. It took several tries, since his memory wasn’t perfect. Once they got the door open, they let Nezu know they were headed down.

A hallway extended in both directions once they got to the bottom of the stairs. This was where the group split up into teams. The underground level was the most dangerous part of the raid. Overhaul and his main henchmen were housed on this level. They couldn’t be left to run free. Both teams were tasked to subdue everyone on the underground level.

Ash and Eraserhead had the additional task of retrieving Eri. Ash and Eraserhead headed in the direction they estimated that Eri was being held.

Smoke and Midnight were to confiscate all the data and samples in the lab. They headed in the opposite direction down the corridor.

Midnight directed her quirk under the doors of each room using a flat tube and a siphon attached to her hero costume. Smoke would sweep in and tie up the unconscious occupants. Smoke was surreptitiously using the newly acquired [X-ray] to confirm that no one was hiding. Things were going smoothly until Midnight informed him that she was nearing her limit.

They knew that she wouldn’t be able to subdue everyone with her, which was why they had worked with Power Loader to create canisters of her sleeping gas that could be used instead. It was more difficult because they would have to open each door before the canisters could be used. In some cases, the yakuza members were either not asleep or were woken by them opening the door and setting the gas bombs off.

While their silent takeover of the base was compromised and their scuffles got louder, no one in the underground came out to investigate. Maybe there were fewer people down here, or the residents were used to some noise in the dead of night.

When they finally found the lab where the quirk-canceling serum was created, Midnight kept watch while Smoke ransacked the office attached to the lab. Nezu had provided him with a couple of USB flash drives for any computers he found. One was used to download the accumulated research. Once that was done, he would connect the other one, which was loaded with a virus that would wipe the hard drive and overwrite it repeatedly until it was unrecoverable.

If, for some reason, their raid was unsuccessful, at least the yakuza wouldn’t have the research. It also kept any information about Eri from being entered into a police database. While they were supposed to be secure, Smoke didn’t trust the HPSC from accessing it. The last thing they needed was for Eri to catch the interest of the Commission.

While he was copying the hard drive, Smoke located and secured the already completed bullets and the gun used to fire them in a locked drawer in the desk. They all had blue labels. He remembered that the blue-labeled ones were temporary quirk erasers. There should be bullets with red labels that were the permanent quirk erasers.

‘Damn it, no red ones. They must be kept elsewhere. Probably in Overhaul’s quarters.’

He needed the red ones for his plan to work. A beep indicating that the copying was complete interrupted his thoughts. As he switched flash drives to start the computer wipe, he realized he would have to improvise. He grimaced as an idea came to him. It wasn’t what he wanted to do, but he would at least have a backup plan in case everything went sideways.

He rifled through the rest of the desk until he found what he wanted: the red labels. He peeled the blue label off one of the bullets and replaced it with a red one. He loaded the gun with the red bullet and put the rest in a pouch on his suit. A beep let him know that the virus was uploaded, and he pocketed the drive. They didn’t want to leave any evidence behind. The operation was sanctioned, but there was no need to leave any evidence of their tampering with the computers.

“Lab secure,” he whispered into the mask as he approached Midnight’s location at the door to the lab. He nodded to her, and she led the way deeper into the base.

…

Ash and Eraserhead were having an easier time. Most of the rooms they passed were empty. No hot spots signifying human occupation were found in any of the rooms in the main hallway. They still physically checked them just in case someone was able to mask their body heat, but there was no one.

The surveillance they had set up before the raid showed that all of Overhaul’s inner circle, including Overhaul, were on-site. The deeper they moved into the base, the more nerve-racking it was becoming.

The hallway dead-ended at another crossing hallway. They decided to head left and clear that side before backtracking to the right one.

They ran into the first of the Eight Bullets about halfway down the hall. The masks indicated that two people were in the room, and based on their lack of movement, they were asleep.

Ash eased open the door while Eraserhead silently rolled a gas bomb into the room. When they were sure no one would wake, they entered the room to find sleeping quarters for four. Based on the information they received from Bubble Girl, the two occupants were Yu Hojo [Crystallize] and Rikiya Katsukame [Energy Suck]. The other two beds were empty, but the bedding was disturbed.

“We’ll need to keep an eye out for the other two,” Eraserhead whispered. Ash nodded as he silently tied the two up.

They had just cleared the next room when the door at the end of the hall opened. Two men entered the hallway, loaded down with snacks and drinks. They must be the ones who were missing from the disheveled beds. Through the open door, they could see a kitchen.

A man with long black hair was turned toward the other man as he stumbled down the hallway. “Hurry up! Let’s get this party started.”

The other man had a cloth with eye holes tied over his head. He laughed at the stumbling man’s antics until he noticed the intruders.

Ash ran through his mental list of the Eight Bullets. “[Food], and [Sloshed],” he said to Eraserhead as they spread out across the hall. They needed to contain them at the end of the hall to keep the villains from alerting anyone else.

Eraserhead lifted the edge of his capture scarf, ready to bind the closest one, when it was suddenly tugged away from him. That’s when they noticed a tall, thin man with shoulder-length blond hair standing in the open doorway to the kitchen.

“Shit, [Larceny],” Eraserhead said as he snagged the end of the capture weapon before it could be dragged away. [Larceny] was a strong quirk, and it was dragging Eraserhead closer to the group with his capture weapon.

Ash stepped forward and fired up his quirk, flames covering his hands. The other two villains took a few steps back due to the heat. Before either could gain their footing, Ash threw a fireball at [Sloshed], who was closest. At the last moment before the fireball was released, a wave of dizziness hit Ash, and the fireball went off course.

‘Damn [Sloshed].’

Fortunately, it swerved to hit [Food] and set the cloth covering his face on fire. His screaming caused [Sloshed] to look away from Ash. That distraction cost him as Ash got close and sucker punched him, knocking him out.

[Food] had finally stopped screaming and had rounded on Ash. His makeshift mask was half burnt, exposing part of a huge mouth with sharp teeth.

‘I need to stay away from that one,’ thought Ash.

A tight cluster of fireballs forced the villain back into a corner of the hallway where he couldn’t maneuver. He pulled the pin on a sleeping bomb and tossed it into the corner to knock the man out. The insane man lurched forward and caught it midair… with his mouth. And swallowed.

While a flabbergasted Ash was trying to come up with another plan, smoke started coming out of the man’s nose, and he passed out.

Ash snorted. ‘That was unexpected.’ 

Eraserhead had easily captured [Larceny]. With his quirk erased, [Larceny] was faced with one of the best hand-to-hand fighters in the country. Even with his hidden knives, [Larceny] didn’t stand a chance.

They dragged the unconscious and bound men back into the kitchen so they would be out of sight before continuing their search.

Five bullets down, three more were still loose in the underground, plus Overhaul, Chronostasis, and Mimic.

No one else was found at this end of the hall, so they headed back to the other branch.

The noise from their earlier fight must have awakened the two men in the second room in the other branch. Their heat signatures showed them standing and advancing on the door, probably to investigate the noises.

Eraserhead yanked the door open before they could reach it. He and Ash darted into the room, flanking the door. The sudden movement caused one of the villains to activate his quirk. A transparent barrier separated the two villains from Eraserhead and Ash. The barrier quirk belonged to Hekiji Tengai, another of the Eight Bullets.

Eraserhead could erase the barrier quirk, but the other villain inside seemed a little too eager to get to them. He was shouting at the barrier guy, who was calmly trying to ignore him.

“Let me at 'em. They look tough enough. I bet they can fight.” That must be Kendo Rappa with [Strongarm].

“Don’t be foolish. The dark-haired one is Eraserhead. He’s a pro hero.”

While they bickered, Ash and Eraserhead plotted. Their plan in place, the barrier quirk was erased. When Rappa noticed, he hurled himself at Eraser with a wild grin.

As Eraser began an all-out brawl with Rappa, Ash shot toward Hekiji Tengai with the barrier quirk. A right hook from Rappa wrenched Eraser’s head away from Tengai, and the shield rose again with Ash trapped inside.

“Now that you are trapped inside my barrier, we can watch together as Rappa beats Eraserhead to death. Then he can get you next,” Tengai said with confidence dripping off him.

Ash gave him a lop-sided smile, “Do you really think it’s a good idea to be trapped in a bubble with a fire user? You’ll be ash before you can blink.” Ash lit his hands on fire again but didn’t move toward the villain.

“Why aren’t you attacking then?” asked the confused villain.

“Because I don’t need to,” Ash said as his foot nudged the gas bomb he had activated inside the barrier. The smoke from his flames had masked the bomb’s fumes. The villain yawned and blinked at his miscalculation before crumbling to the ground. When the villain passed out, the barrier dropped.

Eraserhead went flying past him into the wall. He was looking a little worse for wear with the bleeding head wound and tears in his uniform.

“Need some help?” Ash asked as he dodged a punch from Rappa. Eraserhead tsked and launched himself back into the fight.

The fumes from the sleep bomb were slowly filling the room, but not fast enough. By the looks of things, Eraserhead might actually die if Ash doesn’t help him. That Rappa guy hit hard!

Double-teaming the villain slowed his assault down enough to allow the fumes to knock him out.  Ash secured both villains while Eraser took a minute to staunch some of the bleeding from a head wound.

Once he was patched up, he growled, “Let’s go,” and headed for the door to the corridor, which was thankfully still clear.

Only one heat signature was detected in the next room. And it was small. Ash’s heartbeat picked up as he approached the door. He carefully twisted the knob. It was locked. This was the first door that they had come across that was locked.

Eraserhead stepped up and started picking the lock. Ash paced behind him, keeping watch on the corridor and the hero’s progress.

After what seemed like hours, the hero said, “Done,” and stepped back. “I’ll stay out here once you confirm that the girl is inside.”

Ash didn’t want to scare Eri if she was behind the door. He took a deep breath to steady himself and eased open the door. The room was plain, but he could see some toys scattered on a shelf along one wall. He opened the door further to see a bed along the opposite wall. The bed was empty, and the blankets hung down to the floor.

‘If I was a kid, that’s where I would hide,’ thought Ash, eyeing the space under the bed. The blankets didn’t fully screen the space, but he couldn’t see anything in the dark. Then, he saw the blankets rustle.

‘Gotcha.’

He caught Eraserhead’s eye and nodded. The hero stepped out of the room and closed the door. They didn’t want to scare her, but one imposing stranger was better than two.

Ash pulled down his mask so Eri could see him. He remembered that masks bothered her due to her stay with the yakuza.

“Hello, Eri,” he said softly, projecting as much calm as possible. He sat down on the floor so that he wasn’t towering over her. She needed to feel safe enough to come out on her own.

The blankets rustled again. A moment later, the blankets parted, and terrified red eyes peeked out.

Ash smiled warmly at her. “There you are. My name is Touya, and I’m here to get you out of here.”

“You are?” came the shaky response.

“Yes, I am. You are not safe here. I came here to get you out.” He let that sink in before continuing, “Can I take you away from this place to somewhere that is safe?”

“They won’t let me leave,” she said. Her voice was sad but sure.

“We won’t give them a choice,” Ash said firmly but without bite.

“They’re going to hurt you.” She watched him carefully to see how he reacted. She was sure he would back down because no one liked to be hurt. She knew she wasn’t worth whatever pain was coming for them.

“No, we won’t let them hurt you or us. My friend and I are really good at fighting and sneaking around. We won’t let them near you. Will you want to come with me and get away from Overhaul?”

She gasped, hearing his name. She hadn’t forgotten about him, but she didn’t know the man knew about Overhaul. Why wasn’t he scared?

“I know you’re scared, but I’ve been looking for you for a long time,” Ash said.

“Do I know you?”

“Not yet, but I know you. I can’t wait for us to be friends.” She didn’t understand the soft look he gave her, but she found she liked it.

“What are friends?”

“They are people who look out for you. They only want the best for you. Friends take care of each other. Love each other. Would you like to be friends with me?”

She still looked uncertain.

“You don’t have to decide now. If you don’t want to be friends with me, I will still help you. We can find you some friends together.”

That sounded nice. Maybe she should take a chance.

“Ok”

Ash sighed in relief. “Great. For us to do that, we need to get out of here. Are you ready to go?” He smiled and held out a hand to her.

She scurried out from under the bed and stood in front of him. Slowly, she put her hand in his. His smile brightened.  

“It’s good to meet you, Eri. Shall we go?”

She nodded.

“Can I carry you, or do you want to walk?”

She hesitated only a moment before she held up her arms in that universal sign, and he scooped her up in his arms, settling her on his hip.

“Ok, let’s go. Eraserhead is right outside. He’s a hero and is going to help us get out.”

He left his mask dangling around his neck as he entered the hallway. They had one for her, but he would rather avoid that for now, knowing how nervous masks made her. Eraser pulled his mask down when she stilled as she noticed him.

“Hey, Eri. I’m a hero. My name is Eraserhead. It’s very nice to meet you. Let’s get out of here, yeah?” She nodded shyly.

She leaned into Ash and watched curiously as the new man, Eraser, turned away and spoke to seemingly no one.

Ash chuckled softly, “We have a couple of other friends down here with us. He is letting them know we found you and are getting out. They will be right behind us.”

“What about Overhaul?”

“Don’t worry, little one. They know all about him. They can take care of themselves.” He rubbed circles on her back, which seemed to calm her down. He didn’t realize how stiff she was until she slumped against him as he continued to soothe her.

He waited with Eri while Eraserhead checked the rest of the rooms in the corridor. They needed to make sure everyone was secure, and no one was still awake and loose.

While they waited, Ash pulled a small stuffed green bunny out of his pocket. “Can you do me a favor and take care of my friend here?”

She reached out a finger to pet the stuffed animal. She looked at him questioningly. He held it steadily until she grasped it in her tiny hand before pressing it to her face. “So soft,” he heard her whisper to his delight.

When Eraser returned, the three of them made their way back to the stairs.

…

Midnight and Smoke detected a smaller heat signature behind one of the doors. Midnight quirked up an eyebrow, and Smoke shrugged. They weren’t expecting Eri to be in this area, but she could be. Just in case she was in the room, they deferred yanking the door open and tossing in a gas bomb. Instead, Midnight eased open the door.

It was not a little girl’s room. There were no toys, books, or anything childlike in the room. A computer screen glowed from a desk on one side of the room. A game was being played on the screen, but there was no sign of a player.

They jolted when they heard a voice swearing. The high-backed chair hid the small, seated game player from their view. They only knew one yakuza member who was that small. Mimic.

He was dangerous to their plans. They had to secure him quickly. His quirk was tricky and could alert anyone still awake and free to intruders.

Midnight quickly pulled a gas bomb out of her pocket and pulled the pin. The sound of the pin must have alerted Mimic. He whirled around in the chair.

A large, muscular arm burst through the black body suit he was always seen in. The arm hit the bomb, sending it into a corner. It continued to emit fumes, but it would take longer to take effect now that it was across the room.

The muscular arm pulled the hood of the suit down, and long spiky blond hair emerged. The man started yelling and used his freed hand to try to get the rest of the suit off. It seemed that the man was bigger than he appeared inside the bodysuit.

‘Did he have a transformation quirk? No, bad Smoke. Pay attention. Geek out later.’

Smoke punched Mimic while Midnight bound him to the chair with her whip. It was several minutes until their assault on him allowed the gas to take effect, and he was finally out. Unfortunately for them, Mimic's struggles and yelling were too loud.

When they opened the door to the hallway, they came face to face with Overhaul and Chronostasis.

“Who are you?” Overhaul growled. He tugged at the fingers of his gloves threateningly.

“You can call me Nemesis,” Smoke replied acidly.

“Who the hell is Nemesis?”

“The goddess of vengeance.”

Overhaul scoffed. “I don’t know how you got down here, but I’ll make sure you never get out.” He pulled off his gloves and slammed his hands on the ground. Large spikes raced across the floor toward Smoke.

Midnight had moved to the side of the hallway where she could keep an eye on Chronostasis, who had been coolly studying them. He had his hands in his pockets like he was unaffected.

She was lucky she was watching him so closely. After one punishing attack from Overhaul caused dust to billow through the hallway, she noticed that Chronostasis had removed his hands from his pockets and now held a gun.

Overhaul lost sight of Smoke due to the dust. He paid for that mistake when a fist came out of the smoke and landed solidly on the man’s jaw. The force was enough to cause him to stumble back but not fall.

The overprotective Chronostasis raised the gun and tried to find the wielder of the fist, who had disappeared back into the dust. Midnight’s whip snatched the gun from the distracted man’s hands and delivered it into hers.

She shoved the gun in her pocket. She knew how to fire a gun, but after witnessing her attempts at the firing range, Snipe had her banned. That was alright with her; she loved her whip.

“Don’t ignore me, big guy!” Midnight yelled at Chronostasis to keep him from joining Overhaul in his pursuit of Smoke. She got his attention but underestimated how fast he was, and his aim was far, far better than hers.

Multiple hairs were plucked from his head and shot at her. Ducking, dodging, and redirecting them with her whip, she managed to evade most of them. But one of the smaller ones got through and struck her in the arm. Her movements immediately slowed like she was moving through Jell-O. Now that she was down, the villain stalked toward her. She had only managed a squeak before he was on her. He picked her up by the throat and pinned her to the wall.

“Why is the pro-hero Midnight inside our compound? What business do you have here?” He demanded as he shook her, where she was pinned.

A loud, scream from the other two brawlers diverted Chronostasis’ attention to the other fight. Overhaul was bleeding from multiple places and was favoring his right foot.

“Chrono, help me eliminate this bug.”

“Yes, boss.”

Midnight was dropped to the ground and dismissed as the villain headed to Overhaul. She struggled to break through the quirk, but it was no use. She looked around for anything to help her when she spied the gun that had fallen out of her pocket. Luckily, it fell near her hand. Of course, it just had to be her left hand.

‘I can’t be any worse with my non-dominant hand, right?’

Slowly, she managed to pick up the gun and point it at the retreating villain. She took a deep breath. Channeling all the tips that she could recall from Snipe’s lessons, she slowly exhaled and squeezed the trigger.

‘Holy shit, I hit him.’ Right in the ass, too. She began cackling wildly as the man fell to the ground. Smoke gave her a thumbs up before jumping back into the fray.

From her spot on the ground, she watched as Smoke continued to bob and weave around Overhaul’s attacks. Some of the spikes struck him, but she noticed very little blood. She thought they must have been superficial.

Overhaul, on the other hand, was a bloody and bruised mess. She noticed he used his quirk on himself periodically, but Smoke would surge back and cover him with new ones. Finally, Smoke tired of the cat-and-mouse game, so he pulled out his own gun and shot Overhaul.

Overhaul’s quirk immediately shut down, and the spikes froze in place. He let out a frustrated screech.

“Once I get my quirk back, I am going to take you apart over and over again before I finally kill you,” Overhaul screamed.

A deranged smile broke across Smoke’s face. “Once you get your quirk back?” Giggles and then crazed laughter flooded the corridor. “You should check the bullet.”

Overhaul glared at Smoke before scanning the ground around him to find the bullet that he had been shot with. All the blood drained from his face when he saw the red shell casing.

“What did you do?”

“What do you mean? I thought you wanted to rid the world of quirks. Surely as the head of the movement, you would want to lead the way and be the first, wouldn’t you?” Smoke tilted his head mockingly.

Overhaul growled and launched himself at Smoke. He found himself yanked to the side by a whip-wielding Midnight, who had recovered from Chronostasis’ quirk. She used the last of her sleep gas to knock Overhaul and Chronostasis out.

“Aw. I wanted to punch him again,” pouted Smoke.

Midnight snorted, “Let’s finish up and get out of here.”

After a bit of first aid to make sure they didn’t bleed out, the remaining two yakuza members were tied up and deposited in Overhaul’s quarters. Smoke did a quick search of his quarters and found the red-labeled bullets tucked in the man’s nightstand. He pocketed them before following Midnight.

…

Eraserhead and Ash, with Eri tucked in his arms, were waiting by the stairs when a man in a dark cloak slipped quietly out of a nearby room. The three froze when they saw the gun in his hand.

“What are you doing here?” the man rasped. They could feel the power behind the words. This was Shin Nemoto, the last of the Eight Bullets. His quirk [Confession] was not combative, but his handling of the gun demonstrated a skill that shouldn’t be ignored.

Eraserhead shifted so he shielded the other two with his body but was compelled to answer by the man’s quirk. “We are here to save a little girl and take down the yakuza compound.”

“You dare sneak into the Shie Hassaikai base and try to overthrow us?” The man was incredulous. “You are not taking the girl. She is ours. Hand her over, or I will shoot,” Nemoto demanded.

Eri whimpered at the man’s demand. She gripped Ash tighter as he shifted her away from the villain.

“Over my dead body,” growled Eraser.

…

Midnight and Smoke got the message from Eraserhead that Eri was secure and that three were waiting for them by the stairs.

In his excitement, Smoke practically ran down the corridors. As he came around the last corner with Midnight trailing, he saw a man in a black cloak pointing a gun at the three waiting by the stairs.

The man appeared to be ranting at them. He pointed the gun at Eraserhead and fired before anyone could move. Eraserhead’s hand grabbed his chest and went down. Smoke had the villain knocked out before he could even think of firing again.

Midnight rushed over to Eraserhead, who was lying on the ground. Tears were leaking down her face as she ripped open his suit, looking for the entrance wound.

A deep sigh came from the prone hero. “Would you please get off of me?”

“What? I saw you get shot in the chest. How are you ok?”

“Body armor. We all have it on under our costumes since we knew the yakuza liked to use guns,” Ash said.

“Nobody told me about it,” an indignant Midnight said.

“Oh, my bad. Since we couldn’t figure out a way to incorporate it in your costume, I forgot,” Smoke said sheepishly. She rounded on Smoke and started smacking him.

“Can someone give me a hand so we can get out of here?”

“You getting old, Eraser?” teased Ash as he reached out with his unoccupied hand.

“While that bullet didn’t kill me, it did pack a punch. Let’s get out of here.”

They snuck out the back entrance in case anyone else was watching the front. Bubble Girl was ecstatic to see Ash carrying Eri out of the base. After fussing over them for a few minutes, she waved them off as she retreated to her observation point. She and Snipe were going to stay watch until the pickup team arrived to round up all the yakuza members.

They piled into the van they had used to transport the team to the site. Smoke joined Ash in the back seat with Eri sandwiched between them.

“Eri, this is Izuku. He has been looking forward to meeting you, too,” Ash said as he buckled her seat belt.

“He has?” She eyed the other man, noticing his costume was similar to Touya’s.

“Is he your friend?” she asked Ash.

“Yes, he is. He is a very special friend.”

Midnight stifled a laugh from the driver’s seat. They were so sweet it hurt to listen to them. Shouta rolled his eyes and called Nezu. They had removed their earpieces when they parted from Snipe to avoid unnecessary chatter over the airwaves.

“Nezu speaking.”

“We’re headed back.”

“Does Smoke want to make the call or should I?”

Shouta glanced back to see the three chatting comfortably. The two men only had eyes for the little girl between them.

“He looks a little busy right now. I think you will have to do it.”

…

“Hello, Sir Nighteye.”

“What do you want, Nezu? Got any more villains you want to palm off on me?”

“Now don’t be bitter. I have some good news for you.”

Nighteye grunted.

“We have just completed our rescue of the girl held by the Shie Hassaikai.”

“What! You interfered with my investigation! You have ruined all my hard work and set back the investigation by months, if not years.”

“On the contrary, our raid was sanctioned by the police and the Commission. During our rescue, we found evidence of all their illegal activities.”

While the raid team was infiltrating the base physically, Nezu was hacking the security office computers. They were full of details on money laundering and drug dealing, among other illegal activities. 

“Since we couldn’t let the criminals roam free with so much evidence against them, we secured them in their base. Our team wasn’t large enough to bring them all in, so we are leaving that to you. We’ll even let you take credit for the bust.”

Neze smiled smugly, hearing the scream of rage through the receiver.

“Oh, and you have two hours before the sleeping gas wears off. Good luck.”

There was no one around to witness Nezu cackling so hard that he fell on the floor.

Chapter Text

I won't cross that hidden danger line

It's a loud and dark world

But I think I found the light – Black Veil Brides

Soft, even breaths were the only sounds in UA’s infirmary in the wee hours of the morning. Tousled silver hair was splayed across a pillow in a secluded corner of the clinic. The bed Eri had been tucked away in was out of view from most of the clinic to avoid disturbances from any new arrivals. Interruptions were unlikely since it was Saturday and no heroics classes were taking place, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be training accidents.  

Two chairs were pulled up to the bed. Touya, in one of them, had his chin propped on his hands with his elbows perched on the edge of the bed. He kept his eyes on Eri as she slept. Every creak and shuffle coming from the hallway caused him to flick his eyes to the doorway until the sounds faded away.

Izuku, in the other chair, had his head pillowed on an arm at the foot of the bed where he could watch both Touya and Eri. He could see just the corners of Touya’s mouth turned up. He had that sweet, soft look that he always had when he was with Eri. Izuku was pleased that it had returned.

Last night was a lot, but he was content with the results. When they got back to UA, Izuku and Touya stayed with Eri while Recovery Girl checked her over. They reluctantly left her in the hero’s care when they were called to the debriefing (after reassuring Eri that they would be back as soon as they could). They were fortunate that UA and Nezu had such a good rapport with the local police, and they were allowed to do all the interviews at UA. Izuku and Touya hadn’t wanted to be too far from Eri in case she needed them.

Once the debrief was over, Izuku and Touya took turns cleaning up so they wouldn’t leave Eri alone. She had been asleep when the meeting was over, but they weren’t taking any chances with her waking up without one of them there to reassure her.

Now that they were showered and comfortable, the adrenaline had dissipated. One of their biggest concerns since coming back had been resolved. The ever-present throb of worry hadn’t been noticeable until it was gone. The feeling of relief was palpable, leaving them boneless with exhaustion. Izuku just let his mind drift with the joy that brought him. No catastrophizing, no overthinking, no thinking of the next obstacle. Just enjoying Eri’s rescue and Touya’s nearness.

He must have nodded off because the inky sky visible through the window by Eri’s bed had lightened considerably. Touya’s head was now also pillowed on his crossed arms on the bed, but he wasn’t asleep. Touya was watching him with half-closed eyes. He reached out and gently tucked some hair out of Izuku’s face.

“We did it,” he said with a soft smile.

“Yeah, we did.” Izuku grinned, savoring their win.

“I’m glad they let us go. I really wanted to be the one to pull her out of there,” Touya said.

Nezu had convinced the police and a judge (somehow) that the two were crucial to raiding the base. Their familiarity with the base and details on the yakuza members tipped the scales in their favor. However, the judge put restrictions on them since they weren’t pro heroes. Neither could use their quirks to attack any of the yakuza unless they were attacked first, which was why they were each paired with a pro hero.

“Restricting us to using our quirks only in cases of self-defense was fair,” Izuku said.

“Hmm. I only used mine once to make some of the eight bullets back off. I wasn’t even really aiming at them. They were just panicky and disorganized.” Touya described his encounter with [Food], [Larceny], and [Sloshed].

“He ate the sleepy bomb? What the hell!” Izuku muffled his giggles, so they didn’t wake Eri.

“I know, right? That guy was nuts,” Touya said.

Remembering the debriefing, he quietly chuckled, “The police were so shocked that you did the entire raid without using your quirk once.”

Izuku rolled his eyes. “Like quirkless people can’t kick ass? Although, to be fair, they don’t know what my real quirk is. I think it is still listed as [Superpower].”

[Superpower] had an obvious tell that would have given him away if he still had it. He wondered if anyone had noticed that he never used his “official” quirk. He was pretty sure that Aizawa and All Might noticed during training. Nezu, too. As for the rest? He paused to consider whether anyone had or not.

He shrugged, “They can believe what they want. They wouldn’t have been able to tell that I used [X-ray] to make sure no one surprised us,” Izuku said.

“[X-ray]?” Touya asked.

Izuku sat up quickly and whispered dramatically, “Oh my god, I totally forgot to tell you about that. I found out something new about my quirk after we met with Nighteye. Between you disappearing and getting kidnapped, everything has been so chaotic that I never got a chance to tell you about it.” He proceeded to explain about his trip to the cemetery.

“Wow. Ok. That’s a lot.” Touya was stunned. Being able to acquire the quirks of the dead made Izuku seriously overpowered. He already was, but this was just extra.

“I know. I have ideas.” Izuku had this faraway look in his eyes. Touya could almost see the wheels turning in his mind. When a manic grin spread across Izuku’s face, he leaned back in trepidation.

Noticing the movement and the look, Izuku’s shoulders dropped along with his smile. “I don’t mean it that way. I am not going to become All for One.”

“I didn’t think you could even if you tried, but some of your ideas are scary.”

“Scary? Whatever. Just let me know if you notice any megalomaniacal tendencies.” After getting reassurance from his partner, Izuku continued, “I want to use it to help people. If I can figure out a way to do without drawing too much attention to myself and my quirk.”

“Yeah, that quirk could make you a target for every villain in Japan.”

“And the people closest to me.” Villains would have no qualms about using his family and friends against him. Blackmail. Threats. Kidnapping. He felt a chill run up his spine just thinking about it.

Not liking the dark turn the conversation had taken, Touya tried to lighten the mood. “I’m still mad that I didn’t get to beat up Overhaul.”

Izuku giggled at Touya’s very obvious pout. “It was so much fun. I beat him up, and then he fixed himself with his quirk. Then, I got to do it all over again. I don’t think he realized how satisfying it was. He must’ve thought he was wearing me out.”

“Instead, he was fulfilling your every fantasy,” Touya said with a smirk.

Izuku scooted closer to him. “Well, not every fantasy,” Izuku said, peering up at him through his lashes.

“Not in front of our daughter!” Touya said with fake outrage and a suppressed smile threatening to break out at any moment.

Fortunately, their antics did not disturb Eri’s rest. She was still sleeping peacefully.

“Do you think they’ll let us keep her?” Touya asked, his voice laced with worry.

“I don’t know. I hope so. Nezu has some ideas on how to help, but he can’t control social services. Regardless, we are going to do everything we can to make sure that wherever she ends up, she is safe and happy.” Izuku said with a hard edge of determination.

Nezu was meeting with Eri’s assigned social worker this morning. They had informed social services immediately after the raid and let them know that Eri was at UA under Recovery Girl’s care. Today, there was a meeting planned with her assigned case worker.

As if the thought summoned them, a soft knock came from the infirmary door. Izuku rose to let in Nezu, Aizawa, and a sharply dressed woman.  

“Oh, good. You both are awake,” Nezu said. “Ine Kusumoto, this is Izuku Midoriya and Touya Todoroki. They assisted in the rescue last night. Kusumoto-san is Eri’s social worker.”

Kusumoto was a small woman, all angles and sharp edges. She was dressed in a navy suit dress that oozed professionalism. Her hair was pulled back close to her head and wound in a neat bun. The image she presented should have made her seem severe, but when added to her small size and sparkling eyes, it somehow made her fairy-like and ethereal. Izuku could see how children would be at ease in her presence while still keeping adults in check. This first impression was promising.

“You two are the ones who wish to be her guardians?” she asked in a clipped voice, each syllable sharp and clear.

“Yes, Kusumoto-san,” Izuku responded with some trepidation at her tone. Maybe this wasn’t as promising as he thought.

She immediately started interrogating them. “Do either of you have a foster license?”

“No,” Izuku admitted awkwardly.

“Do either of you have a job?”

“We are consultants working for Nezu,” he said more confidently. She appeared unimpressed, and with a raised eyebrow, she compelled him to elaborate. “We provide analysis and strategic support for villain apprehension.” She gave him and Touya a once-over before giving Nezu a doubtful look.

Nezu just nodded and smiled.

“Where do you live?”

“Here at UA.”

“Hmph.” The piercing look she gave them both left them uneasy.

She approached the bed where Eri was still sleeping. Her features softened as she took in the sleeping girl. In a low voice, she asked, “How is she doing?”

Touya answered equally softly, “She has been sleeping soundly. No nightmares.”

“Good. I look forward to meeting her when she wakes up.” She turned back to the door. “Come, Nezu-san. We need to discuss arrangements.”

She passed through the door with Nezu trailing behind. At the door, Nezu addressed Aizawa, “Eraserhead, I believe your presence will be necessary as well.”

Before Aizawa could follow, Touya snagged his elbow. “What do you think is going to happen?” Touya asked.

“I don’t know, but she has an excellent reputation. She’ll make sure that Eri is in good hands,” Aizawa said. Sensing their worry, he tried to reassure them, “I’ll let you know if I find anything out.”

The infirmary door closed quietly, leaving Touya and Izuku to their vigil at Eri’s bedside with a new set of worries.

The visitors must have disturbed Eri’s slumber because she woke up a few minutes after Aizawa left. Recovery Girl checked her over and ordered breakfast for all three from Lunch Rush. While Izuku fetched breakfast, Touya kept Eri company.

After they finished their breakfast, Touya and Izuku were called to a meeting with Nezu and the social worker. They left Eri in Recovery Girl’s care while they headed to a nearby conference room. They found Kurumoto, Aizawa, Present Mic, and Nezu sitting around a circular table.

“Now that we’re all here, we can go over the plan for Eri’s care,” the principal said, taking control of the meeting.

“Until we can confirm that all the yakuza have been detained, it has been decided that Eri needs to be in the protective custody of a pro hero. Based on the volatility and risk associated with Eri’s quirk, Eraserhead was deemed most appropriate to take over her guardianship and to provide her protection. Eraserhead has the perfect quirk to keep Eri’s quirk in check. With him and his family housed on UA’s campus, she will be safe and protected. Present Mic has agreed, and she will be placed with them in their on-campus apartment.”

Touya started to rise, but Izuku held him back with a hand to his chest. He caught the other man’s attention and shook his head. This wasn’t the time to start a fight. They needed to make a good impression and consider how they could change the situation once Eri was deemed safe.  

“However, we understand that it is your intention to become her permanent guardians, so we have come up with a solution to make transitioning easier if social services allows you to take guardianship in the future,” Nezu explained.

“You’re all going to come live with us!” Present Mic exclaimed, unable to restrain himself any longer. Aizawa huffed in exasperation next to him.

“Thank you, Present Mic. There is an empty apartment next to Present Mic’s and Eraserhead’s quarters in the faculty dorm that you can move into. Power Loader has installed a connecting door between the apartments, so you are all under the same roof, so to say.”

Kurumoto said, “Nezu and Aizawa have explained about your connection with Eri, but I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t make sure you were suitable guardians. Living together with Eraserhead and his husband would allow me to see how you all interact and how Eri adjusts.”

Izuku shared a look with Touya that seemed to calm the hot head down. He addressed Kurumoto, “If Eraserhead and Present Mic are willing to have us, then we would gratefully agree to these conditions. In the meantime, we will work on getting our foster licenses in the event we are allowed guardianship when the protective custody ends.”

Kurumoto kept steady eye contact with Izuku as she leaned back in her seat, as if to gauge his will. She decided to press just a bit more, “However, if Eri does not thrive in this situation, I will make changes as necessary.”

He knew this was a test for them. He reached for Touya’s hand hidden under the table to steady them both. Her words were hard but sincere.

Touya set his jaw and finally spoke up, “We only want what's best for Eri.”

“Wonderful! Now that everyone is agreeable, we have some papers to sign,” Nezu said, breaking the tension.

---

After all the papers were signed and the social worker took her leave, Touya and Izuku headed to their apartment to pack up for the move. They hoped to get everything moved before Eri was released from the clinic this afternoon. She had a few more tests before she was cleared to leave.

“I think that may have been the best outcome we could have hoped for,” Izuku said, pushing open the apartment door. He would miss this place. It was like their little hideaway from the rest of the world.

“I guess.” Touya was still a little dejected as he listlessly packed up his belongings.

Izuku, always the optimist, tried to inject a little positivity. “Hey, we get to stay in her life, and we’ll be living together. That’s a win. And if we play our cards right, we will convince social services that we should be her guardians.”

“I know you’re right, but we have to live with Grumpy and Loud.”

Izuku laughed, “It’ll be fun. Like a big endless sleepover.”

Touya full-body shudders. “More like a never-ending nightmare.”

Once they were all packed, they headed over to the faculty dorm. Using their newly issued access cards, they passed through the empty common area, which was similar to the student dorms, on the way to the elevator.

They reached the top floor and exited the elevator. Izuku hesitated before taking a deep breath and knocking. The door whipped open almost immediately, and they were greeted by a beaming Present Mic. He was practically vibrating with energy.

“No need to knock. Our home is yours now,” he said, waving them inside. They shuffled uncomfortably inside, slipping off their shoes and putting on house slippers.

“Thank you, Mic,” Izuku said.

“Nope. We are living together now. Call me Hizashi. Yamada works too, if that’s more comfortable,” the hero said cheerfully.

The apartment opened up into a spacious living room with a large kitchen along the back wall. Present Mic, or Hizashi, pointed out a hallway on the left that led to his and Aizawa’s bedroom and bathroom. The doorway on the right side of the living room connected to the adjacent apartment, where they would be staying.  

They headed to the connecting door, which led to a smaller living room and kitchen with two bedrooms on the opposite side. They dropped off their stuff in the larger bedroom and checked out their space.

Their bedroom was fine for the two of them, and the smaller bedroom would be perfect for Eri. Everything was very plain, but they could decorate it however they chose.

Recovery Girl could only officially release Eri to Aizawa, so they went back to the infirmary to sit with Eri and wait for Aizawa. Fortunately, it was Saturday, and there were no classes, so they would be able to move around campus without too many prying eyes.

Eri’s eyes lit up as they entered the infirmary. She was sitting up in bed, no longer wearing the hospital gown she had on earlier. She was wearing pink leggings and a white t-shirt with a yellow bunny on it.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Izuku said warmly as he pulled up a chair. “It looks like you got some new clothes. How do you like them?”

“They’re nice. Miss Midnight gave them to me,” she said shyly. She ran her hands slowly down the pale pink leggings.

“Ms. Midnight has good taste. You look pretty in pink,” Touya said as he perched on the end of the bed. She looked at him with wide eyes and shifted closer to him. “Really?”

“Prettiest girl I know.” He smoothed a hand over her hair. He grinned at Izuku as she leaned into it.

When Eri started chewing on her lower lip, they looked at each other worriedly.

“Sweetheart, is something bothering you?” Izuku asked, trying to project calmness.

She looked back and forth between them. They knew she was trying to decide if she could trust them or not. “Mr. Mic was here with Miss Midnight, and he said...” she trailed off, still unsure.

“Did he say something to bother you?” Izuku asked.

“He said that I would be living with him now.” Her lip trembled as she dipped her head, hiding her eyes. “I thought…”

“You thought you would be staying with us?” She nodded. “Well, the good news is you’ll be staying with all of us. Me, Touya, Mic, and Aizawa. We’re all going to be living in a big apartment together.”

“Really?” She peeked at him through the curtain of her hair. Her eyes were hopeful but nervous.

“Yep! All of us together! It’s going to be so much fun,” Izuku said brightly.

Touya rolled his eyes at his partner’s enthusiasm. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned down to her level. “I need to ask you a very important question.”

She looked up at him curiously. “Ok.”

“What is your favorite color?”

Her nose scrunched up in thought. She rubbed her hand over the leggings again and whispered, “Pink.”

“I think pink suits you. That will be a great color to paint the walls of your bedroom, don’t you think?” They wanted to give her choices. Something she had never been afforded while living with Chisaki.

She nodded, her eyes bright and wide with interest.

He searched for paint samples on his phone and held it between them so they could both see. “Why don’t you help me pick out what shade you like best?”

After a lively discussion of the different shades of pink, a color was chosen, and paint was ordered for tomorrow’s delivery.

While it would have been nice to take Eri out to a store to pick out things she would like, her safety was more important. They would have to depend on what they could find on the internet and have it delivered. So, while Touya and Eri discussed paint, Izuku went a little wild ordering things for Eri with the card provided by Nezu.

Around lunchtime, Aizawa arrived to collect Eri. He pulled a chair over to the bedside to speak to Eri. “Hello Eri, do you remember me from last night?” He said, giving her all his attention.

She nodded hesitantly.

“My name is Shouta Aizawa. You can call me Aizawa or Shouta or anything really. I don’t mind. I will be your official guardian. That means that I am responsible for your health and safety. But you will also have Mic, Izuku, and Touya watching out for you, too, as unofficial guardians. Does that sound good to you?”

She looked at Touya and Izuku to make sure they agreed. “Yes, please.”

“Did they tell you we are all going to be living together?” After getting affirmation, he continued, “Good. Are you ready to head over and see your new home?”

“Ok,” Eri said, holding her arms out to Izuku. Izuku chuckled and lifted her down from the bed. She stayed between Izuku and Touya as they followed Aizawa out of the infirmary.

Hizashi had lunch ready for them when they arrived. His silly stories and funny voices instantly charmed the little girl. Packages started arriving after lunch, and the three newcomers spent the afternoon settling into their new rooms with help from the two heroes.

Finally satisfied with the day’s work, it was decided that painting the walls could wait until the next day. That would allow for the fumes to air out before bedtime.

After ordering takeout as a reward for all their hard work, it was time for bed. Eri almost fell asleep in the bath, but they managed to get her settled in her new room.

While Touya insisted on reading her a bedtime story from one of the many books that Izuku had ordered, Izuku was in his and Touya’s room making mental lists of all the things they still needed to do.

When Touya finally slipped into the bed with him, he rolled over so he could see the faint light from the strategically placed nightlights playing over his boyfriend’s face. As he curled up in Touya’s embrace, he let his mind wander through everything that happened in the last 24 hours.

“I still can’t believe that just the seven of us took down the Shie Hassaikai. I knew that we could do it, but I was still worried something would go wrong. When we raided them before, there were dozens of heroes and police, and we didn’t make it out unscathed,” Izuku said into the dark.

“Nighteye died in the previous raid, right?” Touya asked.

“Yeah.”

“Too bad he didn’t come with us, then.”

“Touya!”

“Sorry, sorry. I don’t really want him dead. I just want him to suffer for being an asshole.”

“That’s fair. I don’t want him dead either. Forcing him to take credit for a raid he didn’t participate in will drive him crazy. His pride won’t allow him to easily accept praise for someone else’s work. I’m satisfied with that as reparations for his treatment of us.”

Touya slid his arms around Izuku and pressed a kiss into his temple. Just as he felt the tug of sleep pulling at him, he noticed the man in his arms was trembling. That was a tell-tale sign that Izuku was spiraling about something.

He reached over and turned on the bedside lamp. Studying his partner, he could see flashes of anger and regret flicker across Izuku’s face.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked. No response, not even a trace of recognition. He just kept staring at nothing. Touya tipped up his chin so they were face-to-face, “You can talk to me, you know?”

The physical touch knocked him out of whatever trance he was in. “I was just thinking about how no one died during the raid. The last raid we were part of, people died. Shigaraki died. I killed him.” His voice shook, and he dropped his head to press into Touya’s chest. The sadness and regret were coming off him in waves.

“We had to kill him. We were out of options.” Touya tried to reason.

“I know, but…”

“But what? Did you think you could save him? Because we went over every option we had, and the odds weren’t with us. It was him or the rest of Japan.”

“I know that. Shigaraki is the only person I ever killed on purpose. I’m not counting the nomu. They weren’t people anymore. But Shigaraki was a person, and I ended his life. And I have to live with that for the rest of my life.”

Fingers brought Izuku’s head up to face Touya again. “You weren’t alone out there. We all played a part in that raid. We were all responsible for his death. You don’t have to carry that alone.”

“I guess.” Izuku’s shaky smile didn’t fill him with reassurance.

Before Touya could bolster him some more, Izuku continued, “But here we are again in the same situation. Shigaraki, the Doctor, and All for One are still alive. What do we do now? I don’t want to have to kill anyone again.”

Touya tucked him in closer and rubbed circles on his back. “Hey, it's ok. This time is different. The circumstances are different. We’re different. Maybe this time we can find a way to save them without killing them.”

“I hope so. I don’t want to raise a child with blood-covered hands, “Izuku said, face pressed into Touya’s neck. It was a long time before Izuku settled down and fell asleep.

Once Izuku finally passed out, Touya found he couldn’t sleep. He didn’t normally have a hard time sleeping, but the last few days were an emotional roller coaster. His mind was having a hard time shutting down his runaway thoughts.

Their side of the apartment didn’t have some of the essentials yet. Dishes, including cups, were some of the missing items. So, he wandered over to the other apartment to get a glass of water.

A low light was left on in the kitchen that shone a small pool of light in the center of the kitchen. He found a glass and poured himself some water. He was just about to head back to his room when he sensed a presence somewhere near the breakfast nook on the far side of the kitchen.

Squinting in the dark to try to see who it was, he didn’t notice that the presence had moved. A hand on his shoulder caused Touya to yelp and drop the glass.

Shattering glass and thumping feet were followed by bright light. A rumpled Aizawa hovered by the light switch, staring at the scene in front of him.

“Sorry, I thought you saw me.” Touya whirled as the voice came from behind him.

“Shinsou? What are you doing here?”

Shinsou self-consciously rubbed his neck and said, “Um. I live here.”

Touya looked up to Aizawa with a raised eyebrow. “Really? No one told us.”

Shrugging, Aizawa said, “No one asked.”

Then Touya realized what had happened. He grinned at Aizawa. “So you took my advice. Good. Now you have your own kid and can leave mine alone.”

“Technically, they’re both mine,” Aizawa smirked.

Touya narrowed his eyes, “Bring it, old man!”

“What’s going on?” Izuku said as he wandered in, rubbing his eyes. Spotting the addition, “Oh, hey, Shinsou.”

“Did you know that Aizawa adopted Shinsou?”  Touya addressed his partner.

“Fostered, not adopted,” Aizawa said.

“Yet.” Touya grinned knowingly at the stoic man.

Hitoshi looked back and forth between them, “You know, it’s rude to talk about someone when they are standing right here.”

When they ignored him, he glanced over at Izuku, who was laughing at him, like a traitor.

“I hate all of you.”

Chapter Text

Made a wrong turn, once or twice

Dug my way out, blood and fire

Bad decisions, that's all right

Welcome to my silly life– P!NK

Summary – New normal

Sunday morning was both hectic and peaceful. Integrating three more people into the Aizawa-Yamada household was a challenge. Their family already had a system down. The household had a rhythm to it. Yamada cooked, Aizawa cleaned, and Shinsou helped when he was not in his own dorm.

Now with three more people and extra space, responsibilities had to change. Touya volunteered to help with the cooking. Izuku was voluntold to help with the cleaning.

“Why do I have to be on the cleaning team? I can cook!” Izuku declared.

Touya snorted, “You can reheat. Not the same.”

“Hey! I kept us alive while we were in the field.”

Touya gave him that look. You know the one that made you rethink your whole life to figure out what you missed. What had he missed?

“When it was your turn to cook, we used the meal voucher card at local restaurants,” Touya said in a deadpan voice.

“I was doing my part to bring business to the local restaurants. Zashi told me it would help the local economy,” Izuku defended.

Touya laughed at that statement. “I asked Zashi about that. He told me that the whole voucher system was created to make sure you ate properly. You kept showing up at the resistance bases and raiding their nutrition bar supply, which was supposed to be for emergencies only. Once Zashi and the rat figured out what was going on, they created the meal voucher system. Did it benefit the other resistance members? Yes, it did. But it was created because of you.”

“What? Really?” They did that for him? He wasn’t that bad, was he? He recalled the skipped meals and gnawing hunger from early in the war. Maybe he did have trouble adjusting to life on the run and lacked a steady source of income.

“Yes, dumbass. They were saving you from yourself.”

Ok, they may have had a point. It made so much sense now that he had all the pieces. Izuku deflated and accepted it as the truth. “Fine. I’ll take on cleaning duties.”

Once that was sorted, they put together a loose schedule. Izuku and Touya would be Eri’s main caregivers, with Aizawa overseeing them since he was her official guardian and overall responsible for her.

By the time Eri’s social worker, Kusumoto, came by in the afternoon, the four adults had worked out a solid plan to care for Eri, including quirk training, therapy, and education. It was a lot, but she was worth it.

When Kusumoto arrived, she was given a tour of the expanded apartment, which she viewed with some skepticism. After the tour, she whisked Eri off to her room, closing the door in their faces for a private chat with her charge. She looked slightly less annoyed when she appeared again with Eri trailing behind her, happily sucking on a lollipop.

The adults gathered in the living room and went over the care plan they had developed. The plan seemed to mitigate some of her concerns. She passed on a list of recommended therapists specializing in child trauma and abuse. She also had some good suggestions about reintegrating her into society and finding peers her own age when the time was right.

“While this set-up is unusual, the four of you have made a concerted effort to provide proper support for Eri. I am going to approve her placement.” A sharp look from her tempered their excitement. Meeting each of their eyes, one by one, she continued, “Don’t disappoint me.”

…

The rest of their Sunday was a lazy one. Touya and Izuku set up with Eri in the larger living room so that Eri could get used to everyone. They colored, watched movies, and got to know each other. Aizawa and Yamada joined in periodically.

It was also the perfect location to meet the resident cats. The expansion of the apartment and the addition of new household members had them hiding from the unusual activity. Once everything was settled, their curiosity got the better of them.

The first one to emerge was an orange tabby missing an ear. His name was Bastard, which they agreed to refer to as Bas for Eri’s sake. Next came a long, sleek black cat they called Queen.

Both were rescues and weren’t particularly friendly around strangers. But as soon as Bas laid eyes on Eri, she became the chosen one and followed her everywhere like a shadow.

Queen kept away from everyone from her perch on the cat tree. Yamada said she was watching her subjects. That was until she discovered the living furnace that was Touya. Then she could be found regularly curled up next to him anytime he sat still for more than a minute.

Izuku was crushed that Queen hissed at him and Bas ignored him. When Hitoshi dropped by for dinner, both cats twined through his legs, demanding attention and pets. The traitor laughed at Izuku’s pout.

That evening, after dinner, they were all gathered in the living room. Eri and Izuku were sitting on the floor around the coffee table, coloring and sketching. Touya sat on the chair behind Izuku and started messing with his hair that was still damp from his after-dinner shower.

Touya was combing gently through Izuku’s hair with his fingers, tugging out the knots. Once he was happy with the detangling process, he began splitting the hair into sections before weaving them together.

Izuku was so used to Touya playing with his hair that he wasn’t really paying attention until he noticed Eri move. She got up from the floor so she could see what Touya was doing.

“What are you doing to his hair?” Eri asked shyly. She was still nervous about asking questions. Apparently, questions were not allowed before being rescued. She was intently watching Touya’s hands as he braided the other man’s hair.

Touya smiled at her and said, “I am braiding his hair. Do you like it?” She nodded, still focused on watching his hands.

“When my hair gets this long, it’s hard to control. Touya braids it for me to keep it out of my face,” Izuku said. Mesmerized by the braiding, she softly touched her own long hair.

When he reached the end of the braid, Touya pulled out a hair tie and secured the end. “What do you think?”

“It’s pretty,” she said with wonder.

She looked over at Aizawa and Yamada, lounging on the couch. Yamada was smiling at them with the remote held loosely. He had been flipping through the channels until Touya started with Izuku’s hair. Aizawa was lying with his head in Yamada’s lap, petting Queen, who was curled up on his stomach since she couldn’t fit on the chair with Touya.

Yamada noticed her looking at his long hair. “Are you wondering if I braid my hair?” At her nod, he continued, “I braid my hair sometimes when I don’t have hero duties.”

“Not me. Braids give me a headache. I just go with the natural look,” Aizawa added, when Eri’s gaze shifted to him.

“Same,” Hitoshi said without looking up from his phone. He was on the opposite side of the coffee table from Touya in a matching overstuffed chair. He was sitting sideways with his legs draped over one arm and covered with a soft, fluffy blanket.

Hitoshi looked up when he noticed the hush that covered the room. Izuku, Yamada, and Aizawa were all looking at him incredulously. Izuku’s lips were parted as if he were midsentence. Yamada seemed frozen, and Aizawa was frowning.

“What?” Hitoshi asked, wondering why they were all looking at him strangely.

Yamada was the first to shake off the shock and said with amusement, “We share a bathroom. You have almost as many hair products as I do.”

Then Izuku threw his two cents in. “You were my best friend. I spent endless hours in your room. I’ve seen your whole routine.” He waved his arms in the air, gesturing at all of Hitoshi. “You do not have a natural look.”

Hitoshi sputtered and turned red before pulling the blanket over his head. A muffled, “I hate this family,” was heard from under the blanket.

Eri shifted closer to Touya. “Does he really hate us?” She tried to whisper, but everyone heard her anyway.

Touya snickered at the loud groan from the mortified boy. “No, he’s just a drama queen. He got caught in a lie and is embarrassed.”

Hitoshi’s head emerged, “Eri, I don’t hate anyone. They're just being mean and picking on me.” Izuku rolled his eyes at his friend’s antics.

His head down, Hitoshi fiddled with the edges of the blanket. After a moment, he asked in a tight voice, “Did you really mean that?” Izuku looked up at the question. Hitoshi had pulled the blanket around him like a big, fluffy hug. 

“What?” Izuku asked.

“That I was your best friend?” The doubtful and yet somehow hopeful look broke Izuku’s heart a little. He had forgotten how much Hitoshi had struggled to make friends.

“Well, yeah. You, Mei, and Neito were my best friends,” Izuku said matter-of-factly. At the wounded huff behind him, he leaned back until his eyes met Touya’s. “You know you were always more than just a friend.” At Touya’s pleased look, he turned his attention back to Hitoshi.

“Neito? You mean that asshole Monoma?” Hitoshi grumbled at being grouped with the obnoxious loudmouth from 1-B. Izuku smirked at the confusion mixed with horror that colored his expression.

“Language!” Yamada said. He jerked his head toward Eri, who was listening intently. Hitoshi gave him an apologetic look.

Izuku leaned over and covered Eri’s ears. “Yep, that asshole,” Izuku replied. Aizawa snorted as Yamada threw up his hands.

“Any two of you were bad enough. All four of you together were a train wreck.” Touya interjected.

“Oh, please. You enjoyed egging us on. Probably just to see Aizawa’s hair turn gray in real time,” Izuku laughed.

“Once a problem child, always a problem child,” Aizawa said so seriously that they broke into giggles.

“Honestly, I’m surprised I haven’t run into Neito. He was always such a nosy gossip hound. He definitely knows something is going on,” Izuku mused.

Yamada picked up on an earlier thread to take the focus off Hitoshi and his existential crisis at the thought of a friendship with Monoma. “Why don’t you cut your hair, if it bothers you when it gets long?” he asked Izuku, who sat up straight at the question, his eyes lit up with mischief.

The others were confused when Touya snagged Izuku’s braid and pulled on it until he was facing his partner upside down. A red-faced Touya said, “No. Don’t you dare.”

“But, Touya, it’s adorable,” Izuku teased as he put on his best puppy eyes. The emotions Touya flickered through finally landed on resignation.

Touya rolled his eyes and, with a nonchalant “Whatever,” released the braid. Izuku bounced in excitement.

“Touya won’t let me cut it,” Izuku said, grinning madly.

“Why?” Aizawa asked, now invested in the conversation. He knew Izuku well enough now to know that whatever the answer was, it was going to embarrass his partner.

“It’s because of Eri.”

“Me?” Eri asked, tilting her head as she watched the giddy man next to her.

He beckoned her over and held her hands gently. “Yep. Do you remember how we explained that Touya and I come from the future where we knew you when you were a little older?” Eri nodded.

“We loved you very much. Still do. You were fascinated with braids, and Yamada used to braid your hair all the time. Touya was jealous and thought he could do better. He wouldn’t let me cut my hair so he could practice different styles to try on you.”

“That is the cutest thing I have ever heard,” Yamada said, hand clutching his chest over his heart.

“That’s why I went along with it,” Izuku grinned at him.

“Petty, too,” grumbled Aizawa.

“Especially since Yamada never even noticed there was a competition going on,” snickered Izuku.

Touya got up and glared at his partner. “Come on, Hitoshi. Let’s go soothe our wounded pride with ice cream. We can plan our revenge.”

While the other boy disentangled himself from his blanket, Touya held out a hand to Eri. “What flavor of ice cream is your favorite?”

She slipped her hand into his and looked up with confusion. “What’s ice cream?”

The silence was deafening. Touya noticed she was beginning to get uncomfortable and scooped her up in his arms. “It’s a cold, sweet treat. I think you’ll like it. Come on. We’ll have to try all the flavors until we find your favorite.”

The somber quiet in the living room was broken by Izuku, “I want to punch him again.“

“But harder, right?” Aizawa added.

“Yep,” Izuku replied. Yamada hummed in agreement.

…

The next day, they were starting on their new routine. Izuku would head to Nezu’s office in the morning while Touya took care of Eri. They would have lunch together with Yamada and Aizawa if they were available. Then Izuku and Touya would swap roles in the afternoon.

When they noticed Aizawa was missing at lunch, Yamada reminded them that he had accompanied his class to their provisional license test today.

Something about the test was nagging at him. He couldn’t put his finger on it. He had called Midoriya the day before to wish him luck, so that wasn’t it. He had passed the first time around. This time, Midoriya’s even stronger and has better control than he did when he took the test.

Sure enough, a couple of hours later, he got a text from Midoriya with a photo of his new provisional license. Why did he always look so nervous in photos?

Everything was going smoothly all day, so when Aizawa’s phone rang after dinner, Izuku froze. Maybe the other shoe was about to drop. The man’s angry expression and his stomping to the door didn’t bode well for a peaceful ending to the day.

Yamada emerged from the kitchen, where he was putting away the last of the clean dishes. “Everything alright, Sho?” Yamada asked.

“No, two of my students snuck out and are fighting at one of the training grounds.”

Izuku shot up from the couch where he had been unsuccessfully trying to entice Bas with treats. “Ground Beta?”

Aizawa turned to glare at him as he wound his capture scarf around his neck. “How?” he paused to pinch the bridge of his nose. Exhaling slowly, he asked, “Did you know this was going to happen?”

“Well, uh…”

Aizawa shook his head at him. “We’ll talk about it when I get back.” The door slammed as he rushed out.

“I didn’t think it would happen again,” Izuku said to the now-empty space by the door.

“Again?”

Chapter Text

Everything going wrong now

Nothing as it seemed

Is ever meant to be

I had the world, I held it in my hand

Turned it to the ground

Just to watch it land – Any Given Sin

On Tuesday afternoon, Izuku was trudging across campus to the Class 1-A dorm. Yamada agreed to watch Eri for him, since his afternoon was free, so Izuku could try to diffuse the situation between Midoriya and Bakugou. He promised Aizawa he would do his best, but he was still upset from last night’s scolding

He was wearing one of Touya’s oversized hoodies, forgoing the usual face mask and depending on the large droopy hood as a disguise. The trip to Class 1-A’s dorm wasn’t far, and everyone was in class. He could just pull his hood down in the unlikely event he ran into anyone.

He hunched over as he plodded along, his head so low that the hood almost obliterated his vision. He was muttering furiously under his breath. Whenever he had an altercation or heated disagreement with someone, he relived it for hours, sometimes days, until he could reconcile whether an apology was justified or not. While he had already apologized, he wasn’t ready to let it go.

“It’s not my fault. Well, it sort of is my fault. But I can’t remember everything! Except that’s not true, I did remember it. Who forgets the first time they get house arrest? I’m pretty sure I even wrote it down somewhere. I just thought it wouldn’t come up. Still, I should have said something to Aizawa at the very least.”

Aizawa didn’t let him brush it off. He reminded Izuku that he was trying to prove he was responsible enough to care for a child and that the responsible thing to do was give Aizawa a heads-up. Maybe the whole fight wouldn’t have happened, and they could have found a better, more productive, and less dramatic way to air their feelings out.

Aizawa’s lecture would have probably been ok. He could have lived with that, maybe not with his dignity intact, but he could have handled it. Except he had to open his big mouth.

“I really should have never mentioned Toga.” If she had shown up at the provisional licensing exam, he would have known it as soon as Aizawa returned.

“I’m such a dumbass.”

The second reaming from Aizawa was… colorful. Who knew the man could rage at him so quietly, so that he wouldn’t wake up Eri, but still be so utterly terrifying. Honestly, it was worse than being screamed at. It was like being cornered by a Doberman that was all low growls and snarls, with every little flinch tracked to make sure you weren’t trying to escape. Not that he could have if he wanted to, being wrapped up in Aizawa’s capture scarf.

Touya was no help whatsoever. He and Yamada were watching them over the back of the living room couch. Yamada knew better than to interrupt, but Touya, not so much.

During a lull in the berating, Touya remarked with a sly grin, “I told you he was into bondage,” Yamada gasped, Aizawa glared, and maybe snarled a little at him. Izuku just turned red.

We could have moved past that, but then he went too far when he said, “After this, are you gonna marry Mic and kill Midnight?”

He was then wrapped up in the capture scarf and pulled over the back of the couch and dropped next to Izuku. Eventually, Aizawa ran out of steam and just left the two of them tied up in the capture scarf while he went to take a shower. He was not impressed with what he found when he came back.

Touya had found a way to pull Izuku on top of him and well…They were banished back to their side of the apartment and Aizawa wandered off grumbling about sanitizing his scarf while Yamada wisely ducked behind the back of the couch to muffle his laughter.

Touya continued where he left off once he maneuvered them back to their bedroom. He flushed as he flashed back to Touya’s skills with his tongue and lips. It wasn’t a hard stretch to imagine Touya as a biter, but Izuku didn’t know he would enjoy it so much. He was grateful that his hoodie covered up the evidence of Touya’s interest. Izuku shivered thinking about the teeth marks on his shoulder.

Lost in thought, he jumped when his foot connected with the bottom step leading up to Class 1-A’s dorm, ‘Ok, maybe this is not the time to relive last night’s escapades.’

Trying to get his head in the game, he sat down on the steps to collect his thoughts. He thought back to the other fight at Ground Beta and what Aizawa told him had happened last night.

The first time around, the fight was caused by a jumble of Kacchan’s guilt about All Might’s retirement, his loss at the provisional license exam, and his suspicions about Midoriya’s quirk. He had thought that Midoriya telling Kacchan about the whole time-travel thing would take the heat out of his anger. Looks like he miscalculated. Time for damage control. He braced himself for the coming drama, because with Bakugou, there was always drama.

A wave of nostalgia hit him as he pushed open the door and stood at the entrance, removing his shoes and shoving his feet into guest slippers. Looking into the common area, everything was exactly how he remembered it. Same comfy couches. Same patched walls, evidence of the rowdy gremlins housed inside. Even the angry blond he could hear grumbling in the kitchen was familiar.

The wide-eyed and startled Midoriya wiping down the dining room table was new, though. (Of course it was. How would he ever have seen himself in the common area? He really was a dumbass.)

Midoriya dropped the cloth he was using and rushed over to him. He thought he caught a flicker of [One for All] being used in his rush. “What are you doing here? Should you even be here?”

“Calm down. It’s fine. Everyone else is still in class, and Bakugou knows about me. So, it should be fine.”

Midoriya got even more agitated and dragged Izuku by the arm back to the door. “You need to leave. Hurry before he…”

“Deku! Where did you run off to?” They heard heavy footsteps coming out of the kitchen and crossing the common area floor. They were still out of sight but wouldn’t be for long.

“Why are you so nervous?” Izuku squinted at Midoriya, noting the shaking hands and wide eyes. That in addition to the sweating and squeaky voice was painting a suspicious picture. “You did tell him, didn’t you?”

Midoriya cleared his throat, “Well, um, about that…” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked off to the side, unable to meet Izuku’s eyes.

“Oh my god, you didn’t tell him,” Izuku leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling. While telling him about the time-travel may not have solved the anger issue, not telling him probably made it worse.

Midoriya, like him, was terrible at lying most of the time. Especially to Bakugou, who knew him a bit too well. Bakugou would have clocked it as soon as Midoriya opened his mouth, and he hated it when Midoriya kept things from him. Did that make sense? Of course not. Whether that was rational or not was beside the point.

“Ok, do you still want to tell him?” Izuku finally said, shifting his attention back to Midoriya.

“Yeah. I just didn’t know where to start or how to start.” Midoriya was twisting his fingers so hard, it looked like it hurt.

Izuku sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. “Would you like to do it together?”

“Please. Maybe Kacchan won’t kill me if you’re there,” Midoriya pled.

“I wouldn’t count on it, but we can try.”

“Deku, you better not be slacking off!” Bakugou said as he rounded the corner and spotted them by the doors.

Then he noticed Midoriya wasn’t alone. He squinted at the intruder but directed his words to Midoriya, “Who is this loser, and what are they doing here? You’d better not be trying to get out of the cleaning by going off with this extra.”

“No, of course not, Kacchan,” Midoriya said, waving his hands in denial.

“Not an extra,” Izuku said under his breath. He forgot that while Katsuki was hard of hearing due to his quirk, he could read lips fairly well.

Bakugou noticed and took offense, “Huh? You wanna start something?” He advanced on them, fists clenched and jaw set.

Izuku rolled his eyes. He knew there would be drama. “Oh my god, dial it down, sparky,” Izuku retorted.

“What did you call me? Who the fuck are you? And what are you doing with Deku?” Bakugou continued to stalk toward them, glaring and suspicious.

Izuku sighed and glanced at Midoriya, who was chewing on his bottom lip. “Look, let’s go sit down and talk.”

“Talk? What is there to talk about, asshole? I’m going to kick your ass out of our dorm, and you can slink back to whatever hole your crawled out of.” Bakugou said dismissively, crowding Izuku toward the door.

Izuku pushed his hood back, exposing his face, and said, “Because there are things you should know.”

“I don’t need anything from you. Hold on, I saw you outside the gym the other day. Do you have some sort of transformation quirk? Is that why you look like Deku? Although I can’t imagine anyone wanting to look like that loser.”

“Hey!” Midoriya squawked.

“Nope. I’m exactly as advertised,” Izuku said cheerily. Bakugou’s eyes widened briefly before narrowing again in disbelief.

“Explain,” Bakugou demanded.

“Let’s get away from the entrance and we’ll explain everything,” Izuku said calmly.

Bakugou gave them both one more long once over before he spat out, “Fine.” He turned his back to them and stomped off deeper into the common area.

Midoriya and Izuku settled on one of the couches with Bakugou taking a chair across from them. Once they were settled, Midoriya looked at Izuku like he was at a loss.

“Get on with it. I don’t have all day,” Bakugou grumbled with his arms crossed.

Izuku rolled his eyes but decided he had better kick off the discussion before it devolved into a brawl. He did not want to have to explain more holes in the walls to Aizawa.

“I’m Izuku Midoriya from the future,” he stated flatly.

“Bullshit,” Bakugou huffed in annoyance. When neither of them responded right away, he leaned into Midoriya’s space and directed his next question to Midoriya. “That’s impossible. You don’t believe this guy, do you?”

Midoriya hesitated before responding,” Uh, yes.” He hunched in on himself, the last threads of his confidence melting away.

He doesn’t understand why he finds it so hard to talk to Kacchan. He becomes such a such a nervous mess around him. He has a quirk. He has friends. He has All Might on his side. Now he has future him supporting him. He should be on top of the world. Why is it Kacchan who gets to him? He can feel Kacchan’s eyes drilling into him like lasers, demanding attention, demanding answers.

Izuku noticed Midoriya gripping his hands together and avoiding both of their gazes. He knew those signs, Midoriya was trying hard not to spiral. It wasn’t helping that Bakugou was glaring daggers at him.

‘These two are exhausting together. I now understand why Aizawa got so exasperated with us.’

They both jumped when he clapped his hands to get their attention. It was like they forgot he was here; they were so wrapped up in their own worlds. When they were both looking at him, he tried to get them on track, firmly holding back his exasperation.

“It’s true. Nezu even confirmed it. You could ask him if you want. But whether or not you believe me, it’s still true. A quirk sent me back two years into the past.”

Bakugou took in the familiar face covered in freckles. The hair color was the same, but it was long and braided. Deku never had his hair that long. He had more scars, but there were some he recognized. While it was wildly improbable, it would be too easy to check with Nezu to confirm that what he said was true. It looked like they were telling the truth.

‘Seriously, though. Two Dekus? Why am I cursed like this?’

When the tension dropped out of Bakugou’s frame, Izuku knew that he relented. He felt Midoriya relax when he too realized that the other boy believed them.

After what seemed like an eternity, Bakugou finally spoke, “How?”

“It’s a long story.”

Bakugou clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes, “We’ve got time. Spill.”

“Ok, fine,” Izuku sighed.

He explained how the war started and how parts of Japan became isolated by the rampaging bands of nomu. He told him about the death of All for One. He told him about the creation of the resistance and their work to save people and stop Shigaraki’s forces. He explained their strategy leading to the final confrontation with Shigaraki. He described the final battle and how he killed Shigaraki before ending up being thrust back in time.

“So, you just left everyone behind to clean up your mess,” Bakugou said when Izuku finished the condensed version of his past.

“Not on purpose,” Izuku spluttered. “I didn’t have a choice in the matter.”

“You probably left it to me to clean up your mess, like always,” Bakugou complained.

“No, I didn’t.” Izuku averted his eyes.

Bakugou noticed that the man couldn’t meet his eyes, “What are you hiding from me?” he asked.

Izuku briefly looked at Bakugou. He knew that expression. He wasn’t going to let this go. He sighed and explained, “You weren’t at the final battle.”

“Why wouldn’t I be there at the final battle? Unless you did something to keep me away to make yourself look better. Afraid I would show you up?” Bakugou groused in annoyance.

“Not exactly.” Izuku rubbed the back of his neck and looked away to avoid those piercing red eyes demanding answers.

Bakugou studied him suspiciously. “Ok, what is up with that face? You’re acting as if something happened to me. Did I die?” He saw the conflict and sadness cross Izuku’s face. “I did, didn’t I? I can see it in your face. You owe it to me to tell me!”

When Izuku didn’t answer right away, he targeted Midoriya instead, “Did you know about this? You better tell me what you know.”

Midoriya choked as he was caught in the cross fire. “No, we never talked about you or what happened to you in the future.”

Izuku held up a hand to stop Midoriya and frowned at Bakugou, “First of all, we don’t owe you anything. If anything, you owe us an apology for being an asshole our whole lives.”

A flash of guilt flashed across Bakugou’s face, but he didn’t say anything else. Just stubbornly stared at Izuku.

“Second, I do think this is something you should know. It might help you avoid…” He cut himself off when he realized where that remark was going. He cleared his throat before continuing, “Anyway, it might help you to know.”

He gave a pointed look to Midoriya, who had been quiet since he was shushed by Izuku. It only took him a moment to get it.

“Oh, I can stay here and finish up if you want to talk with Kacchan privately?”

Izuku nodded and thanked him. Bakugou rolled his eyes and got to his feet. “Fine. Let’s go to my room.” He stormed off. Patting Midoriya on the shoulder as he passed, Izuku followed the other boy into the elevator.

Bakugou’s room was still the same. Clean, neat, and organized. Everything in its place. Bakugou sat down on the bed and shoved the desk chair toward Izuku with his foot. Izuku took a seat and leaned back, observing his oldest friend.

“Well. Get on with it,” Bakugou said sharply.

“Alright, but this isn’t a pretty story,” Izuku warned. Bakugou tsked but didn’t say anything else.

Izuku began, “The war against Shigaraki was brutal. Some areas of Japan were quickly isolated due to the fighting. Ashido’s family had moved to the north of Japan not long after she started at UA. Right after the war began, her family became trapped in a small city outside of Sendai. Nomu attacks kept supplies from reaching them. Mina became increasingly worried about her parents.”

“You, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Ashido decided to try to break through the nomu blockade and get her parents and anyone else out that they could. You recruited some heroes to fill out your team and headed to Sendai.”

“From what I heard later, things started off really well. You had a good plan and had created a safe passage from the east side of the town and people were evacuating to Sendai.” Izuku stopped talking and looked down at the floor. He hadn’t told this story before, and it was turning out to be harder than he thought.

“Then what happened?” Bakugou’s question pulled him back to the story.

Izuku took a deep breath and continued, “Shigaraki attacked from the north. He had been operating further south, and that’s where most of the lookouts had been posted, south of the city to catch wind if he directed his forces to Sendai from the south.”

He looked up and stared directly into Bakugou’s eyes. He needed the boy to believe the next part. He knew that this wasn’t the same boy, but he knew how he thought. He was worried he would blame himself for what came after.

“No one expected an approach from the north. No one. Your team was blindsided. Shigaraki’s nomu army found and eliminated the sentries to the north and were upon you before you knew it.”

“At some point in the fighting, Kaminari went over his limit. You were all trying to herd him back to the safe area, when a nomu broke through the front line and barreled directly for Kaminari. Kirishima was closest and went to provide cover. You were on the opposite side of the skirmish but tried to get to them before the nomu struck. You didn’t make it in time. Kaminari made it out just fine. But…”

“But?” Bakugou said, his voice cracked and hoarse.

“Kirishima didn’t. The nomu was too big, too strong, and too fast. His quirk couldn’t hold out long enough and he was crushed,” Izuku said, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.

He sadly looked at Bakugou, “I don’t think you understood how much Kirishima meant to you until that moment. I don’t know if it was a platonic or romantic thing and it wasn’t my business. But losing him so suddenly broke something in you. Your rage was cataclysmic. You attacked the nomu wildly without restraint. Once it was down, you didn’t stop. You kept going until all the nomu were killed. But it wasn’t without a cost. You destroyed your hands in the process. One hand was unrecoverable and the other needed extensive surgeries to repair.”

Bakugou was pale and trembling slightly. He was trying to hide it by gripping his hands together, but Izuku could tell.

“I went to see you right after you made it back to Tokyo, but you refused to speak to me. You refused to speak to anyone for a long time. Your parents took you to Korea to recover fully. You hadn’t returned to Japan before I came here.”

“What was the point of telling me this?” Bakugou was breathing heavily and squeezing his hands together.

“There are a couple of reasons you need to know. One, you need therapy. Don’t look at me like that. You do. You need to learn how to control your emotions. Find safer outlets for your anger. With help, maybe you’ll never go overboard in this lifetime.”

Bakugou grunted. It wasn’t an angry dismissive grunt, just an acknowledgement. Maybe there was hope for him.

“Two, you have some great friends that love you. You need to figure out what they mean to you and learn how to express it properly. At the end, you were alone. Only your parents stood by your side. You pushed everyone away, no matter how hard they tried. You shouldn’t be alone. You deserve to have friends support you.”

Bakugou looked up at that. His eyes were shining with tears that he wouldn’t let fall. “How can you say that I deserve friends? I was such a dick to you. And apparently to everyone else, too.”

“Yeah, you were. But I know deep down there is a great hero buried under all that bluster and tangled emotion. I want you to find him.”

He held Izuku gaze for a beat before looking away.

“Anything else?”

Izuku shook his head, “No.”

“Then get out.”

Izuku huffed in amusement and stood up to leave.

“Does Deku know about this?”

“No, and I’m not going to tell him,” Izuku stated.

“Why not?”

“It’s not his business. If he wants to know about it, it’ll have to come from you.”

Bakugou stared at him before lying down on his bed and rolling over to face the wall.

Izuku let himself out.

…

Izuku found Midoriya on the first floor putting away the vacuum cleaner in the janitor’s closet. It looked like the cleaning was done, at least in the common area and kitchen.

“Are you all done?”

“For the most part. I need to take the trash out, but that can wait until later,” Midoriya said as he shut the closet door.

“How did everything go?” Midoriya could see that Izuku’s eyes were red.

“Ok, I think. I’m guessing he won’t be down until later. He’s going to need some time to process.”

Midoriya nodded. “Ok. I’ll check on him later.”

Then he smiled and nudged Izuku, “Since we have some time, why don’t you tell me about the new niece I seem to have acquired.”

They plopped down side-by-side on a couch so Izuku could show him all the photos he had on his phone. Once he was done gushing about Eri, Izuku brought up something he had been thinking about for a while.

“I have been thinking about [One for All],” he said, pulling up his legs on the couch and turning toward Midoriya.

“Oh, yeah What about?” Midoriya perked up at the new subject and turned to mirror Izuku, so they were face to face on the couch.

“I know that [One for All] can be passed on by exchanging DNA along with the will of the holder. It got me thinking. What if each individual quirk could be passed on to a new user outside of [One for All]?”

“I never thought of that before. Since I’m the first one who has access to all the quirks held inside [One for All], no one else could have tried it before,” Midoriya muttered.

“I lost [One for All] once [All for One] was destroyed. But I was thinking that if we could transfer the quirks out of [One for All] before it dissipates after [All for One] is destroyed, maybe we can save the individual quirks,” Izuku said.

Midoriya was excited thinking about it. He had been spending so much time practicing with the new quirks that it would be disappointing if he lost them all.

“That’s an interesting theory. We should test it.”

“Ok, we can do that. You could try to pass one of the quirks to me like a normal transfer, just with the will to only transfer that quirk and not all of [One for All]. I can always transfer it back with [Lend]. If it works, then we may have a solution on how to save the other quirks when [All for One] is destroyed,” Izuku was eager to see if his idea worked.

“It would certainly make it easier for me to become a hero with the quirks I have now. I have practiced so much with them, and I would have to start over with [Lend]. I’m not even sure how I would explain [Lend] or how I would even use it. I’m sure we could find a way, but I have become attached to my quirks, especially since getting to know the past holders. Plus, the comparisons to [All for One] may be too difficult a hurdle to overcome if the public ever found out. No offense,” Midoriya said sheepishly.

“None, taken. That’s the whole reason I was thinking about this. It would be so much easier to use the quirks you know. And I agree, the whole [All for One] thing would be a significant roadblock. But maybe we can avoid that altogether,” Izuku agreed.

“I think it’s worth a try. Do you want to try it out now?”

“Alright. Let’s do this.”

“Um, which quirk should I try to transfer?” Midoriya scrunched up his nose in thought.

“I don’t have a preference. It’s your choice. Maybe ask the vestiges.”

“Good idea,” Midoriya said. He closed his eyes to let his mind drift. He had gotten pretty good at meditating. His ability to connect with the vestiges had improved so much, it only took a few moments before he found himself in their shadowy realm.

…

‘Hey, guys,’ Midoriya said as the lurking shadows approached. The closer they got the clearer they became. Once they were all present, he asked, “Were you listening to what we were discussing?”

Uncle Yoichi sidled up to him and slung an arm around his shoulders. “We heard. We don’t know if it will work, but we would be willing to try it. If it’s true that [One for All] will disappear once [All for One] is eliminated, having a backup plan is wise. Plus, I like the idea of our quirks outliving [All for One].”

Midoriya smiled up at the man and wrapped an arm around his uncle’s waist. “But which one should I try to transfer. There’s no guarantee that it will work. Something could go wrong. I would hate to lose any of you, if the worst happens.”

“You should probably try to transfer one that you have the least experience with. You put so much time into some of our quirks. It would be a shame to lose that experience,“ Daigoro said, sagely.

“Of course you would say that. He has the most experience with yours,” Bruce said, punching the other vestige in the shoulder.

“It’s just the truth! Besides, my quirk is the best. He can’t take a chance on losing it,” Daigoro defended.

“You are such an arrogant jerk. All our quirks are strong,” Bruce angrily retorted.

“Boys, play nice. I’m sure we can figure this out,” Nana stepped in to try to sooth their ruffled feathers.

“Mine. It should be my quirk.” Kudo’s voice boomed over the others.

“You can’t just decide things on your own. You’ve done that before and…”

“No, he’s right,” En said. He had been quietly listening to the others’ arguments but agreed with Kudo that his quirk was best to experiment with. “Midoriya has the least experience with it. He may not be able to get enough training in to safely use it before he gets confronted by Shigaraki or All for One.”

“Plus, you all would be happy to see me go,” Kudo said with a hint of sadness coloring his voice.

“Don’t say that. Are we mad at you for keeping secrets from us? Yes, but at the end of the day we are a family. A dysfunctional one, but still a family. We would get over it eventually,” Hikage said.

“Yeah, we don’t want you to go away permanently. You’ve been with us too long. You’re part of us now,” Yoichi said.

“Thank you, I didn’t know you all felt like that.” With a little more lightness in his tone, he said, “It should still be me.”

After more back and forth between the vestiges, they agreed that testing with [Gearshift] was best.

…

“They agreed that we would try with [Gearshift].”

“Ok. Do you want to try it now?”

Midoriya nodded and closed his eyes so he could focus. He pictured Kudo and felt for his quirk. He separated [Gearshift] from [One for All] so he could see the blue glow from the quirk shining on its own. Once he had the vision firmly in his mind, he wished for Izuku to have it. He opened his eyes and plucked a hair from his head.

“Eat this.” They both broke into giggles thinking of their reaction to All Might all those months (years) ago.  

Wiping the tears from his face, Izuku remarked, “We should have thought of something else besides eating hair, but this’ll work for now.”

Midoriya reached out to Izuku to pass on the hair, but before he could drop the hair in Izuku’s palm, there was a brief flash of blue light that zipped from Midoriya to Izuku. Then, Izuku felt the quirk pop into place.

“Did you feel that?” Izuku asked a stunned Midoriya.

“It was like a rubber band snapping.” He was looking at the strand of hair still in his hand.

“Let’s see if this works,” Izuku fired up [Gearshift] and a blue glow surrounded him.

“You have it already! How did that happen?” Midoriya was stunned at how easy the transfer was and how it happened when nothing physically passed between them.

“I don’t know. Maybe because our DNA is the same, it just needed the will to transfer. Maybe because I have held it before, it transferred easier. Or maybe it was [Lend] working in tandem. Regardless, that was much easier than I was expecting.”

He studied the blue glow, before becoming distracted and seemingly looking off into the distance. It took him a moment to figure out what was tugging on his attention.

“Hold on, I think Kudo is trying to talk to me.”

‘Hey, Kudo.’ He smiled thinking of the last time they “spoke”.

‘Transfer me back. Hurry.’ Kudo demanded. His presence was muted and slowly fading.

‘I was going to…’

‘No time. Just do it. Now!’ He sounded desperate and his voice was so faint, he could barely hear it.

Izuku switched his attention to Midoriya. “He wants me to transfer him back to you. He seems frantic. Are you ready?”

At Midoriya’s nod, Izuku grabbed his hand to aid in the transfer. He could do it without, but it was faster and easier with a direct connection to the recipient.

A slight blue glow flowed down Izuku’s arm to his hand, where it flowed over to Midoriya as the quirk transferred back to Midoriya. They were both so caught up watching the glow move from Izuku to Midoriya that they didn’t notice the front doors of the dorm open.

There was whoosh of ice slithering across the common room floor until it encased Izuku from the neck down. Then Midoriya disappeared behind a wall of uniforms.

“Keep your hands off him, villain!”

Izuku looked up into Iida Tenya’s eyes. His gaze moved slowly around the room taking in each member of the crowd. The last few trickling in the door encompassed the remaining 18 students from Class 1-A.

“Shit.”

Aizawa was going to kill him.