Chapter Text
“Come on, Himi, I didn’t know I wouldn't have school today when we talked yesterday,” Mikumo said when a silhouette approached him in the alleyway.
It would get kind of weird if it turned out not to be her.
“But to go hang out with that asshole?” she answered and the two of them walked onto the other side of the alleyway, soon walking down the road.
“Kacchan is better in this timeline.” He said. “By the way, we’ll need to drop by my house so I can get my disguise.”
The woman immediately brightened up. The smile looked very natural on the face of the seventh user whose form she was currently in.
“Oooh~! What kind of disguise?” she asked, always happy to see people try to hide their identity but mostly failing. She was still yet to meet someone as good in infiltration and disguises as her.
“The most basic one. Dye and lenses.” He answered.
“By the way did you keep your quirk?”
“Yeah.” He said but decided against mentioning how it saved him when Bakugo snapped his neck. It wouldn’t end well for anyone. “It awakened, actually.”
“Really? What does it do now?”
“It brings me back to the best possible state when I get rendered unconscious. Don’t ask how I know because you really don’t want to know.” He said but well…
“Sludge villain incident?” she asked darkly and he shrugged.
“Maybe. Oh, look, my house. Paced a good few feet away. But close enough for me to try using it as a distraction from earlier subject.”
Despite herself, she snorted. She looked genuinely mad at herself for that.
“I suppose I’ve been angry for long enough, time to be happy! So! We’re totally getting ice creams on our way to Eri, right?”
“How could I deny you such a basic need?” he said and they chattered all the way inside his house. Mom was at work so there was no one to question his old-ass friend.
He quickly dyed his hair, put his lenses on, and threw his hood on.
“Sneak 100,” Himiko whispered while he locked doors and he nearly choked on his spit. He spent the next few minutes laughing and coughing.
“Oh shut up, not everyone has a transformation quirk.” He pointed out, swatting at her arm.
They talked and laughed all the way to Eri’s headquarters, taking a slight detour to get ice creams. They ended up buying two boxes for everyone and two popsicles for them only.
“Remember when we made bloodsicles? Good times!” she reminisced as they took their last turn and were faced with their destined location. Not that she knew it; she was coming here for the first time after all.
“My mom nearly ate one.” Mikumo reminded, pushing the doors open and letting her in. He lifted his hand in greeting to Mr. Compress who was sitting at the reception – in his casual wear, of course – and the man simply nodded.
“Mistakes happen.” The girl said, rolling her eyes. The two went to the elevator and rode to the floor Eri had her office on. They stepped out perfectly in time as Dabi was leaving his room.
“Hi Dabi~!” Himiko greeted with a sharp grin that seemed completely out of place on Nana’s face.
“Is it some kind of intimidation tactic?” he asked, glancing from Mikumo to the woman and then back at him.
“From me? No. From her? Probably.”
“I’m just saying hi! How is it an intimidation tactic?” she asked, crossing her arms.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Dabi, ever the grumpy one, said and passed them, making his way to the elevator. Meanwhile, the two moved on to the room at the end of the corridor. Mikumo knocked and upon hearing ‘come in’ opened the doors. The girl immediately brightened upon seeing both him and the woman she could guess was Himiko.
“We can make a time-traveling club or something.” She said as her greeting and Toga laughed, making a beeline for the sofa that looked pretty comfy.
“Sure thing~!” she agreed, falling onto the soft material. “Ah, this is mine now.”
“When was the last time you slept on something vaguely reminiscent of a bed?” Eri asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Too long, probably,” Mikumo noted, closing the doors behind and walking up to the two.
“Beds are for people with houses!” Himiko exclaimed. “Don’t worry, I showered regularly.”
“How many houses did you break into?” the youngest of the group inquired, somewhere between curious and sarcastic.
“A lot.”
“Anyway, we should set up your meeting with Eraserhead, Lamb,” Mikumo said, slipping into his business persona. “He will come with detective Tsukauchi so they confirm the truthfulness of your words. He promised to keep your secrets though.”
“So, you have time and place already in mind?” she asked and Himiko moved to a sitting position so the other two could take a seat next to her. They did, with him in the middle so both of them could see his phone.
“Those are days and hours they can meet you at. We can choose a spot we want as our neutral grounds.”
“You should choose Shigaraki’s current hideout as those neutral grounds,” Himiko noted with a sharp grin.
“Maybe some other time,” Mikumo replied readily. “What do you say, Lamb? Do you have a spot in mind?”
She grinned.
“The park near your house is enough of neutral ground, isn’t it?”
The boy shook his head and laughed good-naturedly but didn’t say no. In fact, soon he sent Eraserhead the specific date and place, asking if he was still up for the meeting. Around an hour later they got an affirmative response.
Of course, they did. Eraserhead is a real kind of hero so he definitely wouldn't ignore or put off a matter concerning the safety of a little girl.
Of a child that is experimenting on by yakuza...
After being done with this subject, the three of them just… Talked. At one point Himiko just snoozed off with her head on Mikumo’s shoulder, while he and Eri discussed the possibility of traveling to alternate universes through Kurogiri’s warp quirk. It was theoretical wondering that they were never going to try out. Definitely. No way.
No, they actually won’t. Hopefully.
But time passes quickly in good company and soon enough it was time for Mikumo to get back home. Himiko stayed here since she wanted to learn more about Eri’s little organization and discuss a few things. They would be sure to meet soon though.
He returned home perfectly in time to see a toaster-like device explode into his [twin's] face. Which reminds him…
“So, how was your date with Kacchan?” he asked like a smooth little gremlin he is.
Izuku turned around with complete deadpan, looked his brother straight into his eyes, and went;
“You tell me. You’re clearly his favorite twin.”
Mikumo wanted to say ‘jealous much?’ but his brother’s unamused face was just too funny so he ended up wheezing on the ground, laughing so much his stomach hurt. It took him solid three minutes to finally get up, wiping away tears of joy.
“No, really, no one tried to kill you or anything, right?”
“The only person that tried murdering me was Kacchan in sixteen different games. I won seven. It was close.”
“You’ll get him next time,” Mikumo assured and tousled his twin’s hair. Izuku attempted to retaliate by wiping his soot-covered hand on his brother’s face but the time traveler dodged, safety rolling back.
“Drama queen,” Izuku said, rolling his eyes and bringing his attention back to whatever he was trying to make work. “So, how was your little date?”
“Awesome. Me and my girl friends had a blast.” Mikumo said, putting on such an excessively bubbly voice that his twin couldn’t help but snort. “We’re totally meeting again sometime soon, I mean, we didn’t even paint our nails which is tots a crime!”
“Please stop talking like this.”
“Talk like what?” Mikumo asked, still using that ‘yo it’s me, ya girl’ tone.
“You know what? Do whatever you want with your life.”
“Thank you for your blessing, I will always hold it close, deeply engraved into my heart.”
Izuku shook his head with a small smile that his brother couldn’t technically see but knew was there.
Soon though next day came and with it school. Contrary to what Mikumo expected, Tokage didn’t accost him with tons of questions about USJ and if his twin is alive. He’s somewhat sure it was thanks to Ibara; her stare not leaving the green-haired girl spoke of silent warning that no mortal would feel confident breaking. Except, maybe, Katsuki because that kid has no fear in his heart. Only violence.
But there was only so long Setsuna could hold her curiosity in so unsurprisingly when they sat down to eat the lunch, with members of class A – minus Izuku who, how they learned, had been abducted to have lunch with All Might. Well, happens. – sitting right before her, she couldn’t bear to stay quiet any longer.
“So… Is everyone alright?” she began, subtly enough.
“Yes! Thank you for your concern but you need not worry! Our teachers and friends have done their best in that hard situation!” was Iida’s graceful response and…
“How could we get hurt with all those small fries? We obliterated them!”
…Is what left Katsuki’s mouth.
“Come on dude, some of them were pretty tough!” Kirishima, a new addition to their group – Mikumo has a feeling someone new will come soon and they will have to get an additional table – interjected. “But Iida is right! Everyone was super manly!”
“All the villains got caught, right?” Shinso asked since whatever taboo he thought was put on the subject seemed to evaporate.
“Yep! Bakubro actually was the one to bring the warper down!”
“Huh, so you have skills to boot your attitude,” Tokage noted and the blond snapped his chopsticks. It was a common enough occurrence for him to have a second pair at the ready.
“Did you think I’m some fucker who only runs his mouth?!” he asked, fully ready to throw hands.
“Dunno, you don’t look like the type but who knows?” she answered with a grin. “I can’t wait to fight you at Sports Festival!”
“Likewise, I will show you your place, you damn extra!”
“Bakugo, language! And don’t call fellow students of UA ‘extras’!” Iida yelled, chopping the air.
“Huh, I thought he gave up on trying to get through to him.” Uraraka mused.
“Me too,” Shinso whispered.
“Ditto,” Mikumo said but after that comment, he decided to actually focus on his food rather than the conversation. After all, he needs to eat to grow… And he needs to grow for Himiko to stop making fun of him. Ah, he misses his growth spurt.
The rest of the day went by peacefully. For Mikumo at least. He imagines Izuku had to do quite some explaining to Katsuki for whatever had happened at lunch. Time traveler bets that his twin will tell the blond truth about his quirk or at least give a hint about One For All’s true nature.
On their way back home, after Katsuki had already gone his own way, he noticed a silhouette in the shadows and immediately recognized them by their posture alone. He stopped, his eyes meeting red ones peering from behind a dark hood.
“Uhm… Is this someone you know…?” Izuku asked quietly although he could feel it wasn’t the same person as yesterday. The air was… More serious. Dangerous.
“Regrettably,” Mikumo said, his body tense and ready to push his twin away from danger. Ground Zero made no move to attack though and instead moved his head to the side, silently telling him to ‘come here you damn nerd’. “Go home. I’ll join you later.”
“Are you sure…? Something feels… Wrong…” Izuku said worriedly but Mikumo smiled at him, not taking his eyes off… Well, his enemy.
“I’m sure.” He said and unsurely, his twin moved away while he himself approached the man slowly.
He should have learned his lesson about trying to talk things out with people who want to kill him by now. He really should had. But while some instances proved people don’t really change… Well, this timeline also showed that they do. Bakugo clearly isn’t irredeemable.
“How are you alive?” the man demanded but for once didn’t instantly react with violence. For the first time in two lifetimes, he was talking to Mikumo.
“By combined efforts of many people, I would believe.”
“Don’t fuck with me, Deku. I snapped your neck.”
“Sorry but you seem to be mistaking me for someone,” Mikumo said and the blond took a threatening step forward. Ha. This is one of those things that just don’t change.
“Don’t make me repeat myself. I know it’s you. I don’t know how much you remember but you do. What are you playing? What are you trying to do this time?”
Mikumo could, of course, play innocent and oblivious but it would do no good. If there’s one thing about Bakugo that’s more terrifying than his quirk and his drive, it’s his intuition. Ha… He truly is a ‘perfect hero’. Powerful quirk, great resolve, unparalleled smarts, and amazing instincts.
Oh yeah, and going for kids’ heads on the order of the Hero Commission.
“Does it matter if I say the truth? You aren’t going to believe me anyway… You probably aren’t even going to listen. All you’re trying to do is placate your conscience for trying to kill fucking children!” Mikumo began as calmly as he intended to but it was hard to keep his posture when reminded of his greatest shortcoming.
Of the fact that no matter what he ever does… He can never get through to this specific person that he used to admire so very much.
“And look at that, here you go with your damn mind games! If you’re so innocent why can’t you say what you’re trying to accomplish?!”
“Oh really? Here you go then; I want to help people! I want Midoriya Izuku to be a hero like he always wanted! I want to be a hero like I always wanted!”
“And you seriously think anyone would believe this bullshit? You killed dozens of heroes!”
“I never killed any heroes.” Mikumo spat, a fury growing in his heart at such an unjust accusation. "I killed Overhaul because he was torturing a child… I killed Muscular and Moonfish because they nearly killed teens! But I guess they have something in common with the most perfect hero to ever be, huh Ground Zero?”
Surprisingly Bakugo didn’t explode at that. Instead, he clenched his fists.
“You think it’s fun? To be sent to the past to kill fucking toddlers?”
“Fun? Maybe not… But it sure must be great to have an excuse to try killing me instead of just telling me to take a swan dive.” Mikumo noted drily with a bitter smile.
Bakugo literally fumed and the boy knew the blond would attack any moment now. Possibly even start with the left hook; that’s a habit he seemed to have never gotten over… In the past timeline at least.
“At least we wouldn’t have had a war if you took my advice.”
Mikumo should have just denied. Condescendingly ask if Bakugo really thinks he was capable of getting a whole ass army and for what reason exactly he would be pressuring Japan to accept more lax quirk use laws. He should have kept calm.
But it hurt.
“Good to know you really meant it, Kacchan.” He spat because he wanted it to hurt too. He was angry and wasn’t going to let Bakugo leave the demons of their childhood behind because he knows for a fact it haunts both of them.
“Don’t call me that!” the man snarled and pointed at him, explosion at ready. He jumped back, expecting the boy to have whatever quirk he had gotten in the future.
Once again, Mikumo should have reacted calmly. Like a cold calculating guy he is. He should have moved close and taken Bakugo down with Overhaul. Not risk anything, take rid of the two sent from the future to kill him and live on safely, do his utmost to stop the incoming war-
But he just couldn’t. Because even after everything that happened he knows neither Ground Zero nor Red Riot is a bad person. Their view had just been twisted so badly that in their eyes he is worse than even All For One himself. Hero Commission put all the faults, all the deaths on him, and with god knows how much conditioning the two trusted them endlessly.
But at the core, they are still heroes. The kind that somewhere deep inside, despite all his anger and bitterness, part of him admires.
So instead of attacking, he dodged the attack and without even using his quirk, run out of the alleyway knowing that even if Bakugo tried to pursue him he wouldn’t be able to do so for long. He was trying to stay hidden, didn’t want the police and heroes to learn about him so he wouldn’t risk it.
Bakugo didn’t chase him at all.
So he returned home and went on with his life as normal.