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Chapter Text

Midoriya Izuku, better known as the supreme leader of New Japan. Villain name Deku aka 'useless'. 

"It’s what I'm supposed to be according to society and exactly what I'm going to be for the rest of my life... Or Until something changes." Was what a young teen with dreams holding by shreds once said. 

"Then let's change it!" his friend, Toga offered. 

"It's impossible..." is what he said back then. 

"What? No way! There's nothing impossible for you!"

She turned out to be right. 

But. Although back in the day he was the one who initially run to Bakugo's rescue it was Toga and her near inhuman reflexes who slashed through slime with two of her notebooks and rescued both, enabling the heroes on the scene to get the situation under control. 

She was complimented as savior and Midoriya was scolded for endangering everyone with his thoughtless action. Bakugo was for once the background character. 

Toga realized her friend's distress too late. Back on the way home, he assured her that he was fine but needed time to think... And she took it at face value. She agreed to give him his space... Of course, she did! He's her best friend after all! One that understands and accepts her fully even if she's a little weird! So how could she not return the favor? 

He went missing the very next day. 

In the following months, she spent half of her free time with madam Midoriya and the other half training... In the field. By looking everywhere she could, going as far as disguising herself as an older people to ask around bars. 

She missed him so terribly... And she didn’t even know what had happened… 

Why was he gone? Why hasn't he said anything to her?   

At the time of friendly advice she was changing her shoes so she had no idea of the 'take swan dive off roof' fiasco... But. She knew that Bakugo had something to do with it. She could see it in his ragged posture; he did something even he regretted. 

She ended up stabbing him in the shoulder at one point. He didn't tell anyone; he knew he deserved it. They ignored each other for the rest of the school year. 

When the day of UA exams came part of her wanted to say ‘fuck it’... to run away toward the darkest parts of the city and don't stop moving until she finds her best friend, the one person she can truly be herself with. 

But because they promised to take the entrance exam together... A small part of her hoped he would show up, smiling sheepishly as if he simply was late rather than gone for months... And it was more than enough to make her come there.  

He didn't. 

But she held onto the hope to the very moment she was standing before the gates to the testing area. That's when the realization truly hit her; he's gone. 

Her best friend is gone and she was powerless to do anything about it. 

"Begin! "

She run forward with a deafening battle cry. She swung from lampposts, kicking robots' heads right off their bodies. She tore at their cables, threw whatever object she could find... At one point she bludgeoned a few of those with a road sign. 

Others knew better than to come anywhere near her. 

When the zero pointer showed up she didn't run at it because she noticed a girl under rubble. No. She saw an enemy too big to take down and just rushed in... Because it felt like a physical manifestation of her failure to protect one person she held dear. 

She felt as if that huge robot was mocking her pain and for that... For that, it was going down. 

She climbed up on it with a near inhuman speed and even though her arms were bleeding from all the scrapes and bruises, aching from electricity running through robots she mauled... She didn't stop until it did and even after it ceased its movement she still grabbed at its inside not caring for the current flowing through her veins nor droplets of blood sizzling when they met hot circuits. 

But when the signal rung she immediately stopped. Most would assume tears falling from her eyes were from pain, that with adrenaline leaving her she was left vulnerable to her injuries. 

They did hurt, yes… But she didn’t pay them a second thought. 

"Where are you?" She whispered into the air, looking somewhere into the distance with unseeing eyes. 

Needless to say, she got in. Most teachers were deeply impressed with her determination... Only the principal and gruff-looking man had noticed the deep sadness itched into her movements. The powerless anger that rung deep... So deep in fact that they could find a similar one in their own pasts.  

Toga wasn't initially planning on staying in the hero course. Rather than happy, she felt bitter. But... Midoriya used to geek out so much about UA, it was full of heroes... And there's Nezu. With all those resources at hand, she surely could do more. Make them help her find her friend... And whoever dared to take him. 

Because even if his things had disappeared too and the police had deemed it a case of a runaway kid rather than kidnapping she couldn't accept it. He would have taken her with him if that was the case. They are best friends after all!

The day before UA she slept in Midoriya’s house, on the futon that had been bought because of her frequent visits. Her parents let her because the boy lived far closer to the school and she could be really persuasive.

She really didn’t want to spend any more time in that suffocating place she should be able to call home.

When the school day arrived it instantly began sourly for her; the first person she spotted in her new class was Bakugo. Their eyes met and with her fierce glare and the guilt he was still feeling, it was him who looked away first. But before she could murder him with her eyes alone someone approached her, not having noticed her unfriendly expression. 

"You're the cute girl that saved me from that huge robot! Thank you so much for that!" Ochaco said joyfully and right after introduced herself. 

Usually, Toga would be squeaking over the brown-haired girl. She was so precious! 

But. She just... It wasn't the same when she didn’t have her best friend by her side, muttering up a storm about all the cool quirks around. 

"No problem, I was having a pretty bad day and just wanted to hit something... Big targets are good, no? I'm Toga Himiko... Nice to meet you."

Their teacher showed up shortly after, scaring the living daylight out of most of the class. Not Toga. She was good at spotting others even… Especially when on edge. And nowadays she’s always on edge.

They were forced to undergo quirk tests and she absolutely hated it. Not because someone would get expelled. Not because it felt unfair. No. She felt deep-rooted desperation because of a friend whose absence only seemed to grow. Even before the test truly began, at every single step she took, her thoughts went to him and her brain just wouldn’t shut up!

‘He would know what hero this hobo man is. He knows all heroes and UA has only heroes as teachers!’ 

‘Even without a quirk, he would find a way to not place last! Maybe he’d be able to use his analysis skills somehow?’

‘He would be so happy to note all those new cool quirks down!’

She nicked the highest boy – the ones with multiple hands – since she could somewhat use mutation quirks. 

‘And you figured it out thanks to Izuku’

She apologized with a sugar-sweet smile for the scratch and the boy assured her it was alright. She took his form on the grip strength test, using the additional limbs to get a better score. 

“Wow! That’s so cool! You can shapeshift?” Ochaco asked her afterward when the teacher’s attention was on getting the next part ready and done with.

“Pretty much, what about you?” the blonde answered, so used to being the brave one inquiring about others' quirks for her friend that it would feel weird not to do so. Even if it made her sad the second words left her mouth. 

Well… He would have probably already figured out what this girl’s power is anyway… 

“I can make things weightless!”

A boy of name Mineta Minoru ended last and got expelled which was good for everyone involved because Toga saw how he gaped at her. It made her skin crawl and wish she had a knife with her to make him close those disturbing eyes forever. 

The next day they had a practical exercise. When All Might entered, her stupid, stupid self glanced behind her but instead of familiar green, she saw her frog-like classmate. She instantly turned around again, blinking so as not to shed tears. 

Izuku was so happy when All Might saved the two of them from the sludge villain! She was too because seeing her best friend so bright made her so joyful she kind of wanted to stab him! Not that she would, if she asked he would give her his blood anyway. And then when the hero said he doesn’t have time to answer questions and jumped away with Izuku grabbing onto him…

She shook her head and went to change into her hero costume. It was a cute school uniform with a yellow cardigan and shorts-skirt. It had a lot of knives hidden under folds and she had a pretty massive mask-like bandana with a picture of sharp teeth smiling printed on it. 

It’s her idea but Izuku’s the one who drafted it for her so rather than changing anything… She gave that exact sketch to whoever was making her costume. 

“Wow! It’s so cute and fits you very well! Mine is a bit too tight…” was what Uraraka greeted her with.

“Thanks… It looks good on you though!”

She ended up paired with her against Bakugo and Tenya. She, of course, went for the blond who surprisingly enough stayed with his partner near the bomb, the two protecting it together. 

Toga waited so long for a chance to hurt him. Not just a little stab like she had done in Aldera – she would have killed him was she not worried about the police; what if Izuku suddenly returned? She couldn’t be in prison then! – but a deeper one. She wanted his bones exposed. 

“What? Don’t tell me you’re suddenly scared now!” she provoked, dodging his well-timed blasts and waiting for her moment to strike while Uraraka and Iida were at an impasse; the latter grabbed the bomb and with his speed managed to dodge the girl every time while she had no ammo to use her quirk on.

But. Toga isn’t just out for blood. She knows just how much worse mental pain can be than physical one. Rather than simply killing, she rather break the ones she hates piece by piece… 

She doesn’t know why Izuku is gone. She doesn’t have a face to blame… But the closest one to that is Bakugo. And as such... Because he stood in the way or even completely destroyed her future with someone she cares about so much… She shall break the blond. Little by little. 

All the pains her friend was ready to let go of and made her forgive too? Now that Izuku was gone so was her mercy. She was going to make this asshole pay. 

And she doesn’t even need to use her quirk for it.

She let him get a hit, gritting her teeth and pulling through the pain of the clear shot at her shoulder. She grabbed his arm and threw him a few feet before Iida, hoping to make the boy trip. Since Bakugo used his sweat in the attack – that dislocated her shoulder, by the way – he didn’t have enough to change his line of flight while the other boy didn’t notice the incoming projectile and ended up hit with his partner.

Uraraka took this chance to touch the bomb and send it flying.

“Hero team wins!”

They returned to the room everyone was gathered in and Toga was chosen MVP for her risky but effective move. Bakugo was angry but more than at anything or anyone, he was furious at himself. Lately, everything seemed to be going to shit for him... 

They were about to finish the conversation of this pair when Iida raised his hand.

“I’m sorry but I find it quite bothering… Why did you not use your quirk in the exercise? It is highly risky to go fight villains without using it!” the boy stated.

Past Toga would find a way to answer that without giving away not-very-liked information about how her quirk worked. She wouldn’t want others to dislike her because she was ‘weird’, because she consumed blood and found it absolutely fine… Amazing even.

But you know what? She didn’t care.

“I need someone’s blood to transform into them. There was no time for that.” She said with a shrug as if that was the most normal thing ever.

She wasn’t met with the reaction she expected, mostly. There were a few grimaces here and there but people stayed quiet about it and moved on to the subject of the next pair quickly and Uraraka, surprisingly, stayed at her side. She didn’t mention the newly learned detail of her friend’s quirk but rather chattered about the exercise.

It was… Nice. 

But after the lesson, All Might asked Toga to come to talk to her in the teacher lounge and she couldn’t help but expect to get scolded for some reason. 

It wasn’t what had happened. Instead, she was given two huge secrets. The first, about the hero’s small form, and the second of a powerful quirk given from person to person… 

She had been given the secret of One For All and an offer. 

“…I want you to be my successor!” the man said, in his small form, putting his hand forward as if for her to take.

‘Why couldn’t you choose Izuku? With this power… He wouldn’t have been gone…’ flashed through her mind but she accepted without a second thought.

“Of course, I will! No matter of danger!”

“Haha! As expected! You’ll make a fine hero!”

He had no idea that at that moment what she was thinking of was not saving people but rather finding whoever took Izuku from her and tearing them apart, limb from limb. Of gathering all their blood, such beauty not belonging with such vile creatures, and spraying it all over the city... Painting a welcoming parade for the return of her friend or drowning the land in grief if he was- No he couldn’t be. He’s too strong to be truly gone.

Indeed, how right she was…  

Chapter Text

The very next day Iida approached her at the lunch. Uraraka got up, ready to defend her friend when the boy bowed.

“I am deeply sorry about my behavior! I did not think about the constraints of your quirks and said something rude carelessly!” 

Toga furrowed her brows, confused.

“That’s fine.” She said. 

“Thank you for your understanding!” the boy said, bowing once again and then straightening. “I shall take my leave then!”

They watched him go… And sit on his own. 

“I feel kind of bad for him.” Uraraka mused. “I initially thought he's a stuck up but he apologized so I don’t think he’s a bad guy…”

Toga was reminded of the time when she was nine and her family moved to Musutafu. It was her third day at Aldera that while talking with her new classmates, and laughing over their lunches she finally noticed the plain-looking green-haired boy and inquired about him since he was really cute and 'totally her type' how the upperclassman would put it.

The way the girls scorned him, laughed at his quirklessnes… It didn’t bode well with Toga. Because it was the exact type of people who, if learned the truth of her Transform quirk, would leave her behind without a second thought. The fakes that wouldn’t follow their heart desires… Just like she couldn’t, too busy pretending to be little miss perfect for her parents' sake. 

But this... This could be her first step so she got up with her food. She still remembers what she said back then, so very happy to for once be able to say what was truly on her mind.

“Better to be quirkless than a gossiping bitch, no?” she asked with a sugary sweet smile and left.

She thought she would regret it. After all, her parents told her to be normal for a reason, right? If she destroyed her friendships by taking this first step toward her true self… It surely would make her miserable, no? 

But it didn’t. She felt only joy, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she sat down and introduced herself. 

“Hi! I’m Toga Himiko! You may not remember me even though we’re in the same class since I just arrived here, like, three days ago and we didn’t really talk but! I want to be friends!” was how she thinks it went.

And then the boys became a stuttering mess. But she already knew he was Midoriya Izuku thanks to the usual routine of teachers calling out names. 

At first, he wasn’t a very fun company. Randomly spiraling into a murmuring spree, unable to look her in the eyes and barely capable of answering her in full sentences. It was fine though because he was cute and~! He always was hurt, totally her type! Bruises and burns rather than stabs but that will do too!

But after only a few weeks he started opening up to her… And she ended up opening up to him. It wasn’t even a full month that she told him her little secret; she needed to consume blood to transform. She was pretty sure he would be too terrified of being on his own again to be scared of her.

Rather than with any kind of trepidation though, he looked positively giddy. He started mumbling up a storm and by now she learned how to decipher him just enough to realize he was excited about her power. That he had theories that he wanted to test… That he was willing to offer his blood willingly. 

“A-ah sorry! It must be so weird for me to want to give you my blood so you would transform into me and test my theories-“ is probably how he ended that mumbling and for the first in her life, it was her who was nervous.

“No!” she said quickly, feeling as if she had found someone who understands instead of just simply being around. A friend. A true, actual friend. “I want to check it all out with you!”

And from there they only grew closer. By the end of the next month, she was ready to throw fists with Bakugo. By the third, she actually did which her parents and school didn’t like but left her off with only scolding this time. She was furious but ended up agreeing not to do it again. 

Not because her parents wanted that. Nor because teachers told her to stay a calm collected lady they knew her as. No. Because Izuku asked her to not destroy her chances at UA; he wanted to go there with his friend, with her!

That’s when they made a promise to try for the hero course at UA together. And if that doesn’t work out maybe Shiketsu…

Back in the present Toga felt like she would start weeping angrily if she continued this line of thought so she got up with her tray. Uraraka looked confused.

“It can’t be just us girls forever.” The blonde said with a shrug and the brown-haired girl quickly understood, also getting up with a chuckle. 

“True!”

And that’s how they became a trio. They ended up scouting Tsuyu the next day, making them into a group of very mismatched people. They were a lovely company though!

So everything was going well… When the media storm happened. Toga barely stopped herself from stabbing them. When her friend goes missing they don’t spare it a second article but they force themselves into UA to the point of gates closing on them because All Might is here?! How’s that fair?!

Her friends readily noticed her foul mood and tried to lift her spirits which she appreciated enough to share the secret she held close to her heart; a dear friend who had gone missing. Rather than simple condolences, the three offered to make posters and put them around the city… To go looking around together. 

It meant the world to her. 

That day Yaoyorozu has been chosen as class president and Iida as vice president. Lunch was extremely eventful and the trip to USJ was even worse.

But unlike the terrified students frozen to place or Bakugo and Kirishima who rushed at Kurogiri, Toga dove right into the throng of criminals. Some might think she was trying to help her teacher but in truth she simply wanted… Needed to stab someone. 

So she readily drank the blood of one of them and then began the massacre. Well, she didn’t really kill anyone since she didn’t have time for finishing them off (and the paramedics who arrived sometime later stopped the bleeding just in time) so she simply fought the furthest she could from her teacher so as not to get taken down by him, taking blood from person to person and bringing mayhem to the battlefield.

When the black beast grabbed her teacher and smashed his head into the ground she stopped for a moment.

‘It’s listening to that villain’s orders so you can use your transformation to give new ones.’ Her inside voice whispered in a voice so very familiar to Izuku’s that she moved before she could think. She slashed her knife but… It did nothing, stopped by the black beast.

“What do you think you’re doing, minion?” the man asked angrily, turning toward her. “If you want yourself killed that badly…”

Thankfully for Himiko a tongue grabbed her around the waist and brought her back, surprising the man enough that he didn’t send his monster after them immediately.

“What is going on? We have a traitor?” Shigaraki whispered to himself but then Kurogiri appeared next to him, informing him of a student who had escaped. “Fuck… We won’t be able to kill the final boss with more heroes present…”

He started angrily scratching at his neck while Tsuyu and Toga, still disguised as one of the criminals, retreated but then he suddenly stopped with a smile. Not that any of them paid him enough mind to notice.  

“We can kill some kids, destroy this idiot’s pride…” he said, grinning. 

The good news is that no one died that day. The bad one is that Tsuyu ended up in critical condition and All Might acquired a spiderweb-like scar on his face. He was victorious, of course, he was, but yet… No one could put themselves to feel happy with their classmate in unsure condition and the number one hero hurt. 

The symbol that was meant to never crumble… To never even waver.

Toga didn’t get in much trouble. She was merely scolded by mummified Aizawa. But it was the least of her worries. As if she hadn’t just lost her best friend – because no matter if it had been days, weeks, or even months… She still misses him dearly – another one was in the hospital. Yes, it quickly turned out Tsuyu was, thankfully, in stable condition but she shouldn’t have been so hurt in the first place.

All Might assured Toga that it isn’t her fault but… She had been given such a powerful quirk to boot her already good skills. If she just learned how to use it sooner… If she was only a little bit smarter…

‘If only Izuku was here to help me figure it all out.’

But life continues… It always does. Quietly and gloomily, with no one in class A able to feel truly excited about the incoming Sports Festival when their friend is in hospital. Toga felt terrible. She didn't even want to stab things or see blood; she’s so tired of having those she likes taken away from her!

She needed a distraction. Badly. That’s probably why when she noticed a purple-haired boy sitting alone in the cafeteria she approaches and invited him to sit with her and her friends.

“Why?” he asked, clearly distrustful. 

“Because why not~!” she answered, fake cheerfully but when his expression didn't change she let the exhaustion she truly felt show on her face. “I have too many thoughts and getting a new table buddy will make for a nice distraction.”

He looked her up and down, a bit of sympathy showing in his eyes.

“Class A?” he asked and she nodded. 

“Yeah.”

She was sure he wouldn’t join them but he did. And on the day of the Sports Festival, the four of them ended up in one team when the second stage began. Of course, they got to the tournament round; it wasn’t hard with everyone focused on Todoroki and his billion points. 

By now Toga figured out how to summon One For All, cloaking herself in it to make herself faster and stronger. She nearly killed herself when she first attempted it though; she simultaneously broke pretty much all of her bones which let her tell you, hurt like a fucking hell and a little bit more. But she learned her lesson and afterward used only, like, ten percent instead of going all out.

To be completely honest she wasn’t all that interested in winning even if All Might told her to ‘announce her presence’ or whatever. What’s the point? Being the best isn’t her shtick.

But it is of someone she doesn’t like. So of course she gave her all and a little bit more to stand highest on the podium and look straight into the camera to which she whispered ‘come back’, hoping against hope that the one she wanted to see it would be watching.

He was but she had no way of knowing it.

She decided against taking the offer from Gran Torino. She can always go for some study about One For All with him in her free time. For interns… Ideally, she wanted to go with Hawks since he both was good in reconnaissance thanks to his feathers and stabbing but turns out birds of a feather flock together or something.

She didn’t care for Best Jeanist at all… And Edgeshot while not having very good searching capabilities could teach her a lot about combat. Pressure points, canceling presence… Those are things she already knows a thing or two about but would like to learn more about.

She grew to regret choosing him. 

Hosu had been attacked by Nomus and she wishes so badly she could have been there to stab that Shigaraki asshole to death! And Iida seemed pretty shaken up about whatever had happened there but he refused to elaborate on. The most she got from him was something along the lines of ‘I put shame on the name of hero Ingenium, I shall strive to be a better hero from this day onward!’. 

So she had no idea of a person they age that had accompanied Stain and stopped the man from mauling Iida. She had no idea of the two ending up going different ways and just how fickle the fate would be for her best friend… 

Or perhaps how fickle it would be to her who had grown so very close to her classmates?

The next months passed by mostly calmly. Shinso got transferred to their class since he did well at the Sports Festival and they had an empty spot. It was cool all things considered. Tsuyu returned to school shortly after interning too. Iida didn’t seem quite the same since internships, sure, but it wasn’t drastic enough to make Toga feel like she was about to lose someone. Again. 

She was doing alright. Don’t get her wrong; she still visited madam Midoriya as often as she could, feeling safer at that house than in her own... And she still missed her best friend dearly. Her thought drifted to him at times and his voice would whisper plans and ideas to her quite often… 

But she was able to drown all that in the normalcy of everyday school life. Becoming stronger and stronger until no one could stand in her way… Until she'll be able to take everything and everyone down and protect those she cares about! And shed the beautiful, beautiful blood as a nice bonus while she’s at it!

Training camp was shaping up to be a wonderful trip even with how exhausting it was. Toga got tons of blood to train with which was awesome even if it was really tiring changing her forms so quickly! And One For All she was doing extremely well with, all things considered. 

But then blue flames appeared… And smoke. 

Toga couldn’t care less about Bakugo getting kidnapped. She was kind of worried about Tokoyami though since she liked most of her classmates other than the blond. The bird boy was friends with Shouji and she grew to be somewhat of friends with him since the school year began. 

This whole thing… It was well planned. Although most students got knocked out, no one had been critically injured and only two villains had been apprehended… Both, strangely enough, have been knocked out by a third party, someone who was neither a student nor one of the present there heroes. 

Kouta, a boy accosted by one of the aforementioned villains, told them of a shadowy silhouette that came and knocked out Muscular so suddenly, that he couldn’t even glimpse their face. He thought he saw a smudge of green but Toga wasn’t privy to that information. 

If she was perhaps she would have joined the rescue efforts of Kirishima, Yaoyorozu, and Kaminari… 

Chapter Text

Bakugo was not afraid. 

He wasn’t.

If he was honest with himself though, he would have to admit to being terrified when he had been lured away from that idiot Icy Hot and everything went dark. Not that it was the worst part. Waking up at some bar with villains around him, including the guy that scarred All Might – All might himself! – wasn’t either although he would occasionally show up in his nightmares for the foreseeable future.

No. The true terror came in the shape of a very familiar silhouette. It might be a good thing that Bakugo was initially gagged because he isn’t sure what would leave his mouth. Angry ‘Deku!’? Or maybe remorseful ‘Izuku…’? Who knows... It might have as well been bewildered ‘Midoriya’ or maybe sound not much reminiscent of human speech.

The boy was sitting on a barstool, drinking a glass of what seemed to be orange juice. He didn’t seem all that concerned with all the villains around him or how the aforementioned kidnapped two students. His green hair was even messier than Bakugo remembered and partly hidden behind a dark hoodie. The most unique thing about it was its huge pockets one from which a notebook was sticking out. His pants were of a similar black hue that looked… Plain. Just plain.

When someone Katsuki thought dead – because of him nonetheless – turned toward him… That face was so similar yet so very different that the blond was completely at loss of what to do... That he would be even if he wasn’t completely unable to move or talk. 

Those green eyes were tired but not in the same way as before. Once upon a time, they looked at Katsuki with the kind of deep-rooted exhaustion only being told multiple times your dreams are worth nothing and are unachievable can bring. The sparks that shone within those green pupils whenever the nerd talked with bun weirdo were swapped for something… Less happy but more confident. Bored even. 

He didn't give an impression of someone who had been brainwashed or lost all his will to fight and that was why he was here... Rather, he looked like someone who came to the realization that this was the place he belonged to... That while society might shun him, here he can flourish and reach for whatever goals he might have since he clearly doesn’t plan on being a hero anymore. 

Resignation and acceptance of his place; this is what could be read from his body language.

‘And who’s fault is this?’ inner Katsuki sneered. 

“Long time no see, huh?” the boy mused, putting the glass down and casually walking toward the two abductees. Bakugo was unable to decipher what bird face was feeling exactly but concluding from his restraints, lack of Dark Shadow, and raised up feathers, he wasn’t too happy. 

There were many things Katsuki wanted to say if he ever met the nerd again but right now the only thing he could do- the only thing he knew how to do was to glare. 

“Well, I wasn’t counting on having a civilized conversation with you anyway.” Midoriya noted drily, a slight amusement bleeding in his voice. Something was different about him. It became especially clear as the boy turned toward the bird face with a smile so charming, so eloquent that for a moment Bakugo couldn’t help but be convinced it wasn’t Deku after all. “Tokoyami, I believe?”

The boy didn’t answer verbally – although unlike Bakugo he wasn’t gagged – but he did nod. 

“Would you be willing to have a civilized conversation?” that damn doppelganger of the nerd asked. 

“Conversation…?” bird face repeated dumbly, so very easily falling for those damn mind games. Ha! Katsuki is better than getting right into the enemy's trap!

“Yes. While kidnapping isn’t an ideal form of making acquaintances Shigaraki here decided there’s no way around it.” The boy said, sending a side glance toward the villain. To be completely honest Bakugo expected that mad man from USJ to get angry and murder the nerd’s double… But rather than that the villain shrugged.

“Is there?” he asked.

“I would like to believe so.” Fake Midoriya said, rolling his eyes and then looking back at Tokoyami. “Back to the subject though. Would you rather stay restrained here or talk in a more comfortable setting? Although my word might not mean much to you, for all it’s worth I swear no harm will come to you should you choose the second option.” 

The room was silent for a moment. Bakugo glared daggers at both his classmate and fake Deku, willing the former to not fall for whatever scheme was going on and for the latter to spontaneously combust.  

“Civilized conversation does not sound terribly threatening.” The bird brain settled on and…

“Wonderful!” the fake said smiling as brightly as the real nerd used to and took keys out of his pockets. “Please don’t try anything because it would be counterproductive. Contrary to how this place might look we have good lightning and one of us can use blue flames which are both very hot and bright.” 

That stupid bird-brained idiot nodded and without a hint of hesitation fake Midoriya freed him from most of the restraints that kept him on the chair. A pair of cuffs stayed on his hands and Dark Shadow didn’t make his appearance. 

“Huh, an Emitter then.” The fake mused to himself; another evidence in Bakugo’s book as to why it couldn't actually be the actual nerd. He would have had started mumbling by now. “Alright, please come with me. I believe it would be more comfortable for you to converse with only two of us present.” 

The fake looked distinctly in Shigaraki’s direction. The villain scoffed but didn’t say anything. Bird brain didn’t seem sure how to react and as such when nerd-alike walked toward nearby doors, that idiot followed. 

“And no one saw them ever again.” A dark-haired male who looked as if someone had mistaken him for a box of turkey and left in the oven for too long said. 

“We know too fucking well that if Player 2 left you would go with him.” Hand Fetish grumbled. “And so would that lizard pokemon.”

“I’m not a pokemon!” the aforementioned lizard stated indignantly. “And you’re right! I’m a firm believer of Stain and he had trained him personally!” 

“Why didn’t you go to Stain then?” Shigaraki said in a mocking tone. 

“We’ve been through this already.” Overcooked Hamburger said with a deep sigh. 

“Why am I even wasting my time and skills on you all…” a guy in a gas mask joined the discussion. 

“Because you love us!” another weirdo with half black half white mask stated happily before promptly crossing his arms with “I have no idea why we even took you in.” 

“Stop fighting, ladies.” A woman who could probably bench press everyone here said, looking at her nails. “Why is it that the second little green leaves you all start fighting like kindergarteners?” 

“My thoughts exactly.” A magic guy joined in. Seriously, how else is Bakugo supposed to describe him? 

“Shut up, all of you! I am the boss here!” Shigaraki stated with a scoff. “And he’s just my strategist so you’re supposed to listen to me!”

“Isn’t it better to listen to the strategist, though?” The denial guy butted in. “Understood, boss!” 

What a circus. 

“Anyway, since Player 2 is occupied I can as well explain things to you.” Shigaraki noted and casually went into a fat load of bullshit. If Bakugo was fine with winning even if it meant being a villain he would have had become one a long time ago and already but the extras here in their places! But it simply isn’t who he is… Who he is supposed to be. 

Luckily for Katsuki’s survival, right after his gag had been taken off so he could answer, the doors opened and the attention instantly returned toward fake Izuku and bird brain who… Seemed calmer…? What the fuck is wrong with this extra?! 

“So how did that talk go?” the guy in the corner asked. 

“We came to a mutual agreement to disagree.” Deku's look-alike said with a shrug. “Tokoyami’s a reasonable guy though.” 

“Likewise.” That fucking traitor answered with a nod, returning to his seat and not getting strapped back in only because he’s a damn idiot who doesn’t have enough brain cells to think about escaping from this hell hole in the first place!

“Oh, I see you tried communicating with Kacchan. How did-?” the fake asked but that was... Too much.

“DON’T CALL ME THAT YOU FAKE!” came out on its own and that god-awful look-alike had the audacity to raise an eyebrow.

“Really? Oh please, you’re smarter than this. We’ve known each other since we were literal babies. I would like to believe that you at least know how to tell me apart from some look-alike.” 

“I can and you’re not that damn nerd! He would never associate with villains!” Katsuki was quick to shoot back. 

“I used to share such a mindset yet, ironically, I tried to be friends with you so badly.” 

“Are you calling me a villain?!” Bakugo couldn’t help the anger that overflowed his veins. He just couldn’t. All the fear evaporated now that he had been faced with the ghost of his childhood friend… Of a person he bullied so badly he just disappeared. 

“Are you calling yourself a hero?” the fake asked, raising an eyebrow. “Should I remind you what you told me last time we talked? You know, about the rooftop, swan dive, and hoping for a quirk in the next life. While we’re at it, it’s far too time-consuming and ineffective overall, all things considered.”

Bakugo went quiet at that. Because maybe… Just maybe it was Deku after all. 

“What do you mean by that?!” the Lizard guy asked, clearly angry. “He said something like that to you?!”

“We’re unlocking your tragic backstory right now?” Shigaraki asked with an unreadable expression. “Cool.”

“Whatever. It wasn’t the worst thing to happen to me that day anyway.” Midoriya, the actual one, said waving his hand as if it wasn’t important enough to pay a second thought to. “At least it was enough to get it through this thick skull of mine that heroics are for flashy quirks, not people who actually want to help.” 

“Hero industry being fucked up? Color me shocked.” Overcooked Hamburger said in such a fake tone that even Cementoss with hair would pass as more natural. 

“They care only for fame, not for people!” Dinosaur from discount stated heatedly. 

“Anyway, let’s finish here.” Shigaraki said and everyone actually went quiet. The man then turned toward Katsuki. “So? Do you want to win with us or lose with those pathetic hero wannabes?” 

Although Bakugo knew it was a terrible idea… How could he react any differently than glaring vehemently at the villain and opposing even more strongly? 

“Fuck you, I rather die than win by your rules.”

That’s when a TV turned on and a deep chuckle resounded throughout the room. Katsuki had a sudden feeling that he made a mistake that nothing could fix. 

“Well, it is not an unexpected outcome, is it Midoriya?” the man said and the way he casually addressed the nerd, that he even knew his name… It made Bakugo feel sick to the pit of his stomach. But it turned out that things were about to become far, far scarier. “Since things progressed as such and he is so willing to throw away his life how about taking his quirk and putting it into more capable hands such as yours, Izuku?”

There were so many things wrong with what had just been said that Bakugo didn’t simply stop breathing, he actually dissociated for a solid minute. He does remember the answer that was given, he isn’t weak enough to just forget such a vital piece of information! But… It feels as if he had heard it through a fog... No, more as if he wasn't there yet even though his body was. 

“With all due respect, sensei, why would I want it when there’s a far better one I have my eyes on?” 

The man chuckled. 

“Ah, that is correct. Compared to Overhaul, Explosion is simply a child’s toy.” 

“Exactly.”

There were so many unnerving things about it all Bakugo wouldn’t be able to even begin unpacking them. Instead, his head simply became empty except for one thought. 

‘Is this how I’m going to die?’

But as it tends to happen… When all hope seemed lost a miracle happened.

“Pizza delivery.”

“Fuck.” Midoriya stated oh so eloquently right before the wall had been broken right through by an incoming train wreck also known as All Might. Most missed the expression the hero made at noticing the green-haired boy but the individual himself didn’t. 

He simply gave a sad smile to the blond before everyone had been either knocked out or captured by Kamui Woods’ branches. 

“You must have been scared… But you have to worry no more for I am here!” 

It would have been far more reassuring was it not for what happened literal seconds later. Namely, all the members of the League of Villains and two students vomiting black liquid that took them away.

Bird brain had at least enough sense to try freeing him but he had neither keys nor was he able to use his quirk. As such when the pro heroes had been decimated by the monster that arrived and the league closed in on them he could just stay by the blond's side, putting on a brave face. Beak? 

But the two hadn’t been attacked. 

“Just let them be, guys. We really have better things to do than kidnapping right now.” Deku said and you know, Bakugo isn’t stupid. He knows that Shigaraki wanted them for a reason so of course, he wouldn’t listen so easily. 

“Not worth it, huh?” the man mused instead. “That’s true. We should focus on sensei now.” 

Bakugo wasn’t there for the outcome. Bird brain grabbed the chair he was on and dragged him toward the half-conscious heroes. One of them was in a good enough state to grab the two students and bring to toward safety where Kirishima, Kaminari, and Yaoyorozu stepped in to help. While normally they would be scolded instantly there was no time for that and the students were simply left to be while the professional returned to the fight.

Meanwhile All For One punched All Might a good distance away and after a spiel along the lines of ‘do whatever you want, Tomura!’ he forcefully activated Kurogiri’s quirk. Shigaraki didn’t want to go but Midoriya put a hand on his shoulder. 

The villain was about to shake it off but…

“We’re still weak. We’ll just make it harder for sensei if we stay here.” 

And although Tomura absolutely didn’t want to listen to that… Through the last few months that Midoriya had spent there, he had been a huge help. And he reminded Shigaraki of sensei a lot. That’s actually the foremost reason why he held the boy and his words in such high regard. 

“Sensei won’t lose.” He whispered although he knew it was more of wishful thinking. 

“Keep an eye on him, Izuku! Those forsaken by society must look out for each other!” were the last words they heard before stepping into the black hole and disappearing.

For Tomura they were everything.

Midoriya saw right through them, yet he couldn’t deny they held some truth…

Chapter Text

Tsukauchi was tired. No, exhausted would be a better word... Is there a word describing even more profound bone-deep weariness that comes from your friend facing a monster that nearly killed them years ago and did cost them their stomach? Because even that wouldn’t be enough to describe what he felt because, of course, other factors just had to come into play. Shigaraki being Nana’s grandson? It was a massive blow. But yet, as if it all still wasn’t enough there was also the case of Midoriya Izuku.

A young quirkless teen that run away from home over a year ago and hasn’t been seen for months after, as if he had just disappeared into thin air. His first appearance was at Hosu when he stopped Stain from killing one of the students on internships; Iida Tenya. From the boy’s statement, it seemed that the kid ended up as the Hero Killer’s apprentice but their ideals clashed when the man tried to kill someone so young, who still could change. Or so Midoriya supposedly believed. While Tsukauchi's quirk lets them know when someone is lying, it is subjective rather than omnipotent so if someone is deceived so is the detective.

Stain had been, thankfully, caught right after Kamino, having had become frantic after All Might’s last battle which resulted in a mistake. 

But he had followers. Dangerous followers. Part of whom joined the League of Villains even before the man’s capture, which up to this point seemed somewhat strange but after Kamino... After Midoriya’s appearance became clear; they couldn’t reach the man they looked up to so they went for second best, his disciple. Now that he had been caught… More were likely to come. 

Dangerous... The situation was even more than just that because Midoriya didn’t seem to simply have some following, a few connections… He had an impact on people. 

“I’m telling you, you damn detective! Something was wrong with him! That stupid nerd always wanted to be a hero, no matter what anyone told him, it doesn’t make sense for him to just go and become a villain!” Bakugo Katsuki, one of the kidnapped students, snarled. Some people might have been deceived by his fury but the detective worked in this field long enough to see the little tellings.

The twitch here, a shudder there. Hands in fists so tight they were about to draw blood… There was something more to it. Something that would remind Tsukauchi of Toshinori if the anger was taken out of the equation.

Guilt.

“I understand,” Naomasa said with a friendly smile. “That is why I am talking to you right now. I need more information to have a full picture. All For One… The villain All Might had faced is a terrible enemy. He is a master manipulator.” 

“Master my ass! Deku is too stubborn to fall for some stupid mind games! No matter if it was teachers, me, or even his own mother, no matter how many people told him he couldn’t be a hero he always held onto that stupid hope! Only that weirdo blonde, Toga, ever believed he could do something and everyone knows she has few loose screws!” 

Tsukauchi nodded in understanding to encourage the boy to keep talking. Those were important information. If Midoriya truly had so much resolve to push through, no matter others' opinions… How did he end as he did? Was it a little push that send him stumbling to where he is now? Or had someone targeted the boy, seeing a chance to poison a hopeful young mind? It would fit well with All For One’s modus operandi… But it didn’t explain when or how Stain came into the equation. 

“This question might seem strange but it is very important in the investigation. Was Midoriya a fan of heroes or was he skeptical of them? What was his opinion on All Might?” 

‘Never meet your heroes’ is a quote that had been known for centuries. There’s surely something to it if it stayed alive for so long. 

“Skeptic? That idiot was the biggest hero fanboy anyone had ever seen! His room was full of posters, figurines, pens… Whatever merch you could get, he’d have it laying somewhere! Especially All Might, we- he was obsessed with him and the hopeless dream of being like him even though he obviously never could since Deku’s fucking quirkless!” 

The anger became different now. More desperate. It was obvious the boy was thinking about how things would have gone had he done some things differently. It was plenty obvious that his relationship with Midoriya wasn’t the best… Most likely wasn’t even a good one. Tsukauchi had a hunch there was bullying involved but… It’s a bit too late to do something about it, isn’t it? 

“Thank you for your honesty,” Tsukauchi said, not letting his emotions show. Toshinori’s guilt might not actually be unfounded… “Is there anything else you would like to add?”

The blond was quiet for a moment. He had already retold the events of the kidnapping, mentioned the ominous ‘Overhaul is better than Explosion’ and all the important details… Now only the matter of Midoriya was left. Of the boy who disappeared over a dozen months ago just to return as a villain.

“It…” the boy began, for the first time unsure of where he should look. Up to this point, he either glared at the wall behind Tsukauchi or straight into the detectives' eyes. “It isn’t completely his fault… He’s an idiot to get near villains, don’t get me wrong that’s stupid above all stupidity! But it… He isn’t some type of an evil mastermind, when you catch him you shouldn’t just dump him with the rest of those villains…”

“Thank you for your input, Bakugo,” Tsukauchi said with a kind smile. “Rest assured, we won’t just simply write him off, we’ll do everything in our power to help.” 

“You better do!” the boy scoffed and that’s how the conversation ended.

The next one was Tokoyami. Here… The situation somehow got even more complicated. It, to an extent, made Tsukauchi feel as if something was very wrong; as if the danger was far bigger than anyone expected. 

“Bakugo mentioned that at one point you went with Midoriya, the green-haired boy, to talk?” he inquired and the boy nodded, his quirk – Dark Shadow – staying close to him, hugged into his side like a cat that was equally as scared of confrontation as ready to fight to protect their favorite person.

“That is indeed the path that had been taken.” The boy confirmed. “It was… Bizarre.”

The boy didn’t seem scared or traumatized. While reading from expression was pretty much impossible, his body language, especially his shoulders showed that while he might not feel relaxed – normal when interrogated and shortly after rescue – he didn’t seem as on edge as the blond. 

“Bizarre? Could you elaborate on that?” Naomasa inquired, putting his hands on the desk and intertwining his fingers. The conversation was being recorded so the detective could make notes later and for now, fully focus on the victim. “I would like to hear as many details as you feel comfortable sharing.”

“It was confounding on the moment of arrival. The impression I was given was that of Bakugo recognizing the individual, Midoriya, and he too made a remark that would insinuate it had not been their first meeting. Then he offered, I quote ‘civilized conversation’ and sworn no harm would come to me had I chosen to accept such and if I was not to do anything rash. As I and Bakugo were at the mercy of the villains I felt it was a better option than simply waiting for things to unfold and as such, I had agreed. He then took all the restraints but quirk repressing ones off and lead through nearby doors…”

Tsukauchi would have been quite afraid of what was about to come next was it not for the boy’s extremely collected body language and the fact that he still had his quirk. The worst-case scenario clearly hadn’t happened... So what did? 

“It was a corridor. He then took doors to the right and I followed. Rather than the horrors I have imagined, I was met with a room. A simple one, bed desk, chair… What I imagine a temporary place of resistance would look like. No soul to it but not empty enough to feel like a prison cell. He then took a seat on the chair and pointed at the bed for me to sit on, which I had done still feeling on edge.”

While so far nothing bad had happened and no harm came to the boy Tsukauchi couldn’t help but feel goosebumps. According to Bakugo’s statement, All For One seemed quite close to Midoriya, even if only to make the blond more distressed… But right now detective was starting to get the feeling the villain had actually taken a liking to the boy… That they shared a specific similarity. 

Hm... At one point Bakugo mentioned ‘notebooks’ of Midoriya, Naomasa might need to inquire about those.

“Then we talked. He… Was not what I had come to expect. While calling one working with villains kind might seem quite strange, that is exactly what I would describe him as. He explained that Shigaraki wanted to recruit more people to his group and had his eyes on Bakugo for his sheer power and me for my… As he had put it ‘dark’ quirk. Adhering to his words it would seem we had made an impression at Sports Festival… At that point, I had felt at more ease and inquired why Toga had been glanced over. After all, she wields quite tremendous strength and has an impressive fighting style. I remember that moment quite well for he went quiet and I felt fear at the possibility of having had crossed some kind of line. But no wrath came, rather a sad smile and to quote, ‘we had a bit of argument there’ with we suggesting him and Shigaraki.”

Tsukauchi nodded and since the boy stopped, as if awaiting an explanation the man decided to give one.

“Bakugo, Midoriya, and Toga attended the same school.”  

“Ah, it explains that deep-rooted sadness of times past gone…” Tokoyami mused to himself before continuing. “We talked for a bit more after that. He had assured me that my classmates shall be alright and no deaths would come from summer camp. Vain hope as it might be… In the belief of my intuition, those words of his seemed to ring true and I chose to trust them. He then told me about the unfairness that meets those with quirks society does not look at favorably and although the points he made had the merit to them I refused ever wanting to join villains. By that point I felt quite at ease, enough to not fear honestly speaking up my mind. He then told me he would do his best to help me return home safely and we returned to the room I initially woke up in.” 

After which came the part Tsukauchi already had heard and it was pretty much the same although told differently. Tokoyami had an interesting way of speaking after all. 

“Is there anything you would like to add or ask?” the detective inquired when the boy finished his recollection of events and the student nodded readily.

“That boy, Midoriya… It is hard to convey through words for as much as I would like to say he seemed conflicted that is not quite the impression I had gotten… Instead, he had this air to him, similar to my classmates and even some heroes I had the pleasure of meeting. Of someone who wants to help… At the moment of escape somewhere deep I felt saddened that he went with villains, that he could not come with us. This is not the life meant for someone like him… Even if scorned he did not seem like the person to desire revenge.” e

“Thank you,” Tsukauchi said. “I might contact you at a later date if I need more of your input on the case but for now please try to rest after those stressful events.”

And with that, the second interrogation came to an end. Talking to Inko Midoriya about her son’s reappearance was… Painful. While Hosu event had been put under the clause of complete secret in attempts of finally catching Stain… This time he had to speak to her. 

It was heartbreaking. She cried, she screamed, and she denied her son ever being able to become a villain. She wailed, blaming herself for not believing in him, for apologizing to him rather than assuring him that even without a quirk he could achieve something. She was inconsolable but how could he blame her? The more he heard the more tragic the tale of Midoriya Izuku became. 

“Please, detective, please help my little boy!” was how that conversation ended, with the woman not able to hold her emotions anymore and becoming a blubbering mess. 

Then it was Toga Himiko’s turn. She seemed to be the closest person to Midoriya before his disappearance so of course, he had to question her. Though he already expected that rather than shards of villains influence too subtle to notice back then he would be presented with a tragic tale of a boy who could no longer stay quiet so he run to those that screamed the loudest; villains. 

The girl managed to keep calm for the entirety of two minutes, right until the fifth question. It’s worth mentioning that the first four were about her name, occupation, and such; details meant to make sure she was who she presented herself as. 

“How would you describe your experience in middle school with Midoriya? To precise, what kind of person was he?”

 It was as if he had opened some forbidden gates. In a matter of seconds, her expression went from perfectly devoid of emotions to a myriad of feelings. There was deep-rooted sadness, desperation, fury, and nostalgic sweetness of times long gone.

“He’s my best friend and the best, the nicest, the most amazing person anyone had ever met.” She stated instantly, in a tone of someone daring you to just try disagreeing. “He was bullied for being quirkless but he never fought back… He only ever stood up for others! But he wouldn’t even let me stand up for him! I once punched someone in the face for being an asshole and get this! He convinced me to never do it again so I wouldn’t get a mark on my record! I agreed because he wanted us to go to UA together… We were supposed to become heroes! A duo that would protect others while staying true to ourselves, to what we love! He was the only person ever who I could tell anything to and share anything with because he wouldn’t judge me!” 

“Have you noticed anything weird before his disappearance?”

She put her hands into fists and unlike Bakugo she actually did draw blood.

“A lot had happened but I think… I was an idiot. When he run toward the sludge villain- when I run after him… I shouldn’t have just listened to heroes compliment me when they talked shit to him! Because I know, I could see it on his face that they scolded him for rushing in! But then he told me to give him space and I was so stupid to do that instead of staying with him, of being the supportive friend he had always been to me!” she yelled and tears started spilling from her eyes. It was painful to look at. “He isn’t a villain… If he’s on the other side then that’s us who are villains!”

Their conversation ended shortly after that and although it was the shortest it was seconded only by Midoriya Inko in making Tsukauchi feel absolutely miserable about this whole situation. 

And as if that wasn’t enough he still had to talk to Toshinori about this all. 

Chapter Text

Since Eri can remember she didn’t have much. At least she doesn’t think so; it’s hard to tell when she has only herself to talk to. Well, technically she could converse with toys she sometimes gets but then she might be heard by Overhaul or his people and get in trouble… 

And she should never talk to any of them unless asked a question she needs to answer. After all… The kind people die because of her and the rest hurts her. 

That’s exactly why that encounters left her with a memory she held onto tightly. A memory that she could never let go of because she feels like it’s the only thing she has left in that cold dark room, surrounded by silence. A memory of warm arms around her, a bright smile, and words so sweet she barely can believe she had been given them, even if they can never become true.

Even though she got reassembled for that escapade she could never ever regret that one. Never. 

When she found an opening to run... Of course, she did. She wanted to see the outside world so badly it hurt more than all those tests and even mean words telling her how terrible she and her curse are. It was already dark but she didn’t care. It was cold but her freezing skin made her feel alive like she was a human after all, not a cursed monster.

In those dark alleyways, running as fast as her legs would take her even if she knew she would be caught soon, she bumped into someone. It was terrifying. Her heart was beating like crazy and she wasn't sure herself what the words she stuttered out were. 

“Hey, there, no need to be so nervous!” she heard a friendly voice, something so rare she thought it might have been just her imagination. She looked up and was met with eyes so green she couldn’t take her own away from them. “What happened? Why are you out in those clothes, aren’t you cold?”

He crouched down and he was so close, so unafraid of her. She was mesmerized. By those deep green eyes, in the color outside she couldn’t reach and the warm voice that could never be addressing her... Not without incoming tragedy. 

“What’s going on there?” a gruff voice asked, a shadow landing behind the boy, and Eri stumbled back, nearly falling. The boy reached out and steadied her and she knows she shouldn’t- she couldn’t but he was so warm, so nice that her arms wrapped around him in a hug she longed for so terribly. She expected to be pushed away but rather than that, she was embraced. 

Tears streamed down her face and it felt so good to be able to cry into someone, to be comforted rather than brought even lower.

“There’s a lost child here, you scared her.” The boy said, unseen to Eri glancing at the dangerous man standing behind him. 

Unknown to Eri the man just rolled his eyes. 

“Hey, hey, everything’s alright… You’re safe with me!” the stranger assured and she nearly choked on her next sob. Oh, how she wished she could have stayed with him forever! 

But she couldn’t even dream of such magnificent things. Although just a child she could hear the footsteps behind, could feel the sudden tension in the boy’s body. She didn’t want to let go, she didn’t- but she would never, ever forgive herself if this nice person got hurt because of her.

“Eri.” A monotone voice called. She recognized it as one of Overhaul’s trusted men. One of the strongest. “Come here.”

She didn’t feel ready to move but even if she wanted to, the boy’s strong embrace kept her close. Oh, how she wishes the time could just stop… 

“Kid… They are dangerous.” The man with a gruff voice said. “It wouldn’t be smart to begin a fight with them now.”

She didn’t understand the hidden meaning; the slightly accented ‘now’. What she understood though was that this boy would get hurt and so, she forced herself to take a step back, freeing herself from an embrace she longed for so badly. 

She looked at him, her eyes meeting the green once again. She couldn’t make much more of his appearance from behind the hood he had on. But she knew he was kind and didn't deserve to die because of the plague she was born as. 

So she turned away, running back toward the life of pain. But as she let go, as she moved to leave… She could feel a whisper. Soft, exactly like what she imagined morning wind to be like. Ruffling hair, playing with leaves, and giving the kind of reassurance human words can’t convey. Yet here they were…

“I’ll save you. I promise.”

She didn’t look back. If she did her resolve might have wavered and she couldn’t let him die because of her. So she returned ‘home’ and quietly took her punishment. It was worth it. All this pain was worth the few seconds of safety. Any pain Overhaul could put her through was worth that promise. 

So she waited. Day by day, she waited. No matter how many minutes, hours, days and weeks had passed. She waited and waited, holding onto that memory and that promise. Because it was everything she had other than a cold room, lifeless toys, and words she didn't want to hear. 

She could pull through any pain. She no longer hoped that she wouldn’t be reassembled one day. Because what if the nice boy came for her like he promised? If he came for her and she wasn’t there? No. She would pull through to see him again, to be able to be hugged again! 

She would wait however long it took.

She had no idea of the investigation on yakuza the duo of Midoriya and Stain had done before Hosu; before their paths separated. She had no idea that she was the final factor that made the boy walk right into the lion's den. Of all the planning he had done, of charismatic manipulator he learned to become- 

She just knew that he promised and she wanted to believe with all she had that he would come even if she had no idea how he could do that. Because she knew that it was impossible but so did seem the kindness he had given to her. 

And then, one day, she saw him. 

A dark hole opened right in her room and he stepped through. She recognized him instantly. Not because of his green eyes but because of his promise; who else could it be? Who else would have come for her? 

So ignoring all the pain, all the doubts that Overhaul implemented into her head, she run to him. If it was anyone else she would fear the rejection, being pushed away and scoffed at for her curse. But he no longer was just a memory... He was an ideal. A dream. 

And instead of disappearing he lifted her up and gave her the same bright smile she couldn’t believe actually existed and could be meant for her. She wished so badly she could return it but instead, she started crying, hiding her face in his shoulder. 

“Sorry it took so long,” he whispered and stepped back through the gate, taking her with her inside an abandoned warehouse; the current hideout of League of Villains. Even after calming enough to look around, she wouldn’t care though. 

She felt so free and happy it was overwhelming. She would have probably fallen asleep from the exhaustion of all the crying she did was it not for the sudden arrival of a few unknown faces. She looked at them with huge terrified eyes.

“Happy now that you rescued the NPC?” a ragged-looking white-haired man asked. He looked unhappy which instantly made Eri danger senses spike. What if he hurts the nice person?!

“Yeah. Very.” The kind voice answered and she glanced up. He didn’t look scared… So everything’s alright, right? “Since you’re back here plan is progressing well?”

The man shrugged and went to sit on a half-broken sofa where he crossed his arms.

“My clone still needs to do the kamikaze thing. You and Sensei should be wrapping things up with Overhaul.” 

Eri felt a shudder go down her spine from just hearing that name.

“Just wrapping? They should be done by now.” The nice boy said and she stole another glance at him. He rolled his eyes and she tilted her head, curiously watching him. She didn’t really know anything else than that he was nice. Was he strong? He must be to be able to save her! The strongest! “Team distraction is late with their signal though…”

As if just waiting for him to say that, his phone pinged. Eri blinked when he took it out with one hand, holding her with the other. She knew it! He is super strong! 

She usually isn’t curious since being curious means pain but… Because it was her safe person, a dream come true, she dared to glance at the screen. 

Distraction

Stained Lizard: Done

Magnificent: We’re hiding in the arranged spot. Can probably stay here for another fifteen minutes before they find us.

Eri looked with amazement as the boy easily tapped an answer with only one hand. 

Strategy#2: Good. We’re processing as planned.

He then clicked red 'x' and tapped another line of letters, a new message already there. It was weird for Eri; why there was only one sound earlier then? Is it made like this on purpose? She didn’t ever get to use a phone so she has no idea…

Raid

Hot: Done but m overheatng

Hot: Fuck part of screen melted

Once: WERE ALL GOING TO DIE

Once: I mean we’re totally fine no worries but we could use some help ;--;

Strategy#2: Clonogiri will be there in sec

Eri glimpsed ‘Takedown’, ‘Gassing’, and ‘Finders Keepers’ among what she guesses are some kind of groups? But rather than any of those, her savior clicked another one.

Transport

Strategy#2: Kurogiri stay on position, Clonogiri go get Raid team. You know meeting coordinates.

Black Hole#2: Done

Eri was startled by the black hole opening again and two people appearing. One looked kind of funny and the other seemed really scary. Parts of his skin were purple, something seemed to hold him together and he had a bitter expression. He walked up to the sofa and fell right on top of the other man.

“What the fuck?! You’re hot!”

“Tomura, language!” her savior called out. 

“I’m going to get actual burns because of him!” the white-haired man argued back, trying to push the other one off himself but for some reason he kept his pinkie fingers up. Eri tightened her grip around her savior slightly.

“Don’t worry, everything’s alright. Overhaul isn’t going to hurt you ever again.” He assured with a bright smile and she felt new tears appearing in her eyes. She was so happy it hurt. 

She hid her head in his shoulder once again and didn’t raise it until she heard a familiar voice but coming from further than it should. So she looked up and her eyes widened at the sight of the same exact person that was holding her but standing a few feet away. 

“Clone Sensei decided to help clone Tomura with final destruction. If you have any questions talk to my clone, I just got a new quirk and I need to lie down.” He said and Eri instantly felt a pang of deep guilt since he looked kind of sick. But when he looked up and their eyes met he still smiled and gave her a small wave before promptly pushing both scary-looking men off the sofa and laying there.

The black-haired one decided to stay on the floor which Eri guesses make sense; he said he’s hot right? And the ground looks like the one back in her room so it’s probably pretty cold. The other one got up and grumbling something she couldn’t hear went to sit on a nearby box. 

“He looks peachy!” a funny-looking man said. “Oh no! He must be feeling super sick! Do we have blankets or something?!”

“Just shut up and let him sleep.” The white-haired man replied. 

Eri then looked back at her savior, wondering if it would be alright for her to ask questions. She still found him her safe space! She just… Slowly was starting to understand that she knows so very little about him and she doesn’t want to destroy everything by saying something stupid!

“Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything but can you wait a little bit? Not everyone is back yet and I’m worried they will get hurt if I leave them to their own devices.” He said and she would have nodded just as fast even if he told her to wait a full week for any answers. She would accept it with no objections even if he never told her anything about this situation. 

Because he said it kindly and she is starved for kindness. 

A bit after that a high lady, lizard person, gas mask boy, a man in a funny hat, and a misty man came. They looked kind of scary overall but… Eri's pretty sure that they are with the nice boy. Though she isn’t sure what exactly they are. Subordinates? Family? 

She stayed quiet as her savior checked if everyone was alright and then she listened intently as he explained to her that they are a League of Villains. That they are people who had been hurt by society and want to change it… 

“But…” she whispered when he finished explaining, hoping against hope he wouldn’t hate her even after knowing the truth. How nice can a person be? There is a limit… There must be, especially when it comes to her. “I’m cursed… I made my father disappear…”

Instead of anger, of mean words, of fear… He patted her head, giving her again this bright smile. How can he offer so much? How can he still make this expression at her of all people after knowing that she’s a plague?!

“You know… One might say that everyone is cursed. But we live on, trying to find happiness despite that. So you’re just like us... Like everyone else.” He said and she felt as if she couldn’t breathe for a moment. There were so many emotions in her, amazement, disbelief, happiness… Hope.

So much hope that the droplet she felt before, at his promise, the sliver that was worth everything to her… It was nothing compared to her current feelings.

Can... Can it really be true...?

“Really?” she whispered.

“Of course! Why would I lie?”

She fell asleep shortly after, exhausted from all those emotions. It wasn’t a short nap, the kind she was used to; not sure when someone would come in, taking her for ‘tests’. 

No. It was a deep, restful slumber. 

Chapter Text

Hawks wasn't happy but honestly, what else could they realistically do?  

Between Meta Liberation Army and League of Villains who now lacked their leader, it seemed obvious to Hero Commission who they should send him after… Who he should infiltrate. 

It was a mistake as they would learn in due time. 

He had a chance to talk to a cautious Dabi. To try wriggling his way into the team of misfits and learn just how dangerous they are. But Hero Commission miscalculated. They thought that it was luck that let the league take down the yakuza and that Overhaul's defeat was due to his very own quirk erasing bullets which leftovers heroes found in the rubble. 

To be completely honest that assessment was only logical with everything they had found. It made sense not just for them but also for Hawks. The only difference was that the hero had field experience and his intuition screamed that something was going terribly wrong... But it would no matter what they did, wouldn't it?  

Still. He became part of the Liberation Army, he gave a book with coded information to Endeavor and he even managed to get Tokoyami for interns to help him get ready for a future that was shaping up to be about ready to take all that they know down. 

What a pain. 

Hero commission seemed blinded to it but he could see it clearly; things were falling apart. League was quiet. Too quiet. Most thought that they simply hid but Hawks just knew that they were planning something. And something big at that. 

Endeavor, although number one officially, stayed the same in the public's eye. He lacked a huge inspiring fight to his name that could prove him a pillar of All Might's kind. He was simply a number two who moved one spot higher... He wasn’t even all that popular with people; while some liked his cold demeanor toward fans most didn’t appreciate it. 

And then Deika happened and puzzle pieces finally started fitting together. 

Everything clicked instantly when he met the mastermind of the league... When he realized that Shigaraki had always been just a front, a face of the league while it was someone else controlling things from behind curtains. 

Initially, he didn't even notice the plain-looking green-haired boy. Which is the first red flag. The teen was far too close to the league's core members not to be important. 

The other red flag was Shigaraki. While some might think Hawks' biggest strength is his speed alone few are privy to the realization of just how perceptive he is. And this is exactly this quality that let him realize sooner rather than later that the man was younger than he should be. Most would overlook it. Think that the big fight in Deika didn’t leave any traces on him because of an amazing healing quirk but Hawks could see the little changes. 

The last warning was more of a sledgehammer rather than a simple red flag. The hero knew something was up when the plain boy... Midoriya Izuku had approached him with a beaming smile and bright eyes that would make most feel at ease. Well, maybe a little overwhelmed because who in their right mind is so happy for no apparent reason? 

"Hawks! I'm a huge fan of yours!" The boy said and although he sounded genuine the hero could feel that something was up. Maybe because he had been approached in a dark empty corridor?  

Only the two of them here... A perfect opportunity for confrontation. 

"Haha, I get it a lot! Quite a few people in Liberation Army seem to like me!" He answered and was it a shameless attempt at intimidation through 'I have connections here'? Yes. It was. But a guy does what he needs to do in order to save the world and his own ass. 

"I know! Did you know you even have a fan club here? I've just joined them, they are great people!" The boy said and it felt like such a big 'back in your face' tactic that Hawks couldn't help but let his smile fade with a sigh. 

"I have a weird feeling you have some doubts about my presence here..." He noted, fishing for a reaction. 

The boy kept on smiling brightly. 

"No, of course, I have no such feelings! I know perfectly well why you are here and what you're trying to accomplish. We're quite similar in that regard." 

While it could be easily overlooked… Hawks could feel a cold shudder go down his spine. Not because he felt as if a madman was talking to him but rather as if the boy actually did know. 

"Oh? You're an interesting one, aren't you? Now I'm curious what do you think my plan here is exactly."

"To stop the war and destruction that would come with it." The boy answered easily. The gig was up... But if that was the case why not bring someone here with him? They are alone here. Does the kid feel overly safe because Hawks is a hero? "You're on the side of the current society." 

At that moment Hawks couldn't help but think 'Hero Commission would want me to silence this kid... Wouldn't they...? '. 

But it wasn't something that he wanted to do… That he would do unless absolutely necessary.  

"Pretty farfetched but sure let's go with your theory. What about you then? Didn't you say we're similar?" He inquired and the boy sighed, his smile fading away. The kid suddenly looked so very tired... 

"I understand your need to keep your true intentions hidden and will proceed while keeping it in mind but please don't misunderstand; I know it isn't simply a theory." The boy said in a hushed tone, getting a bit closer to the hero and then taking a step back and deciding to lean on the wall nonchalantly. "Well! By similar I mean the two of us don't want needless bloodshed. Really, why do you think I ended up where I did?"

Hawks didn't know how to approach this kid, what to say... So he decided to just ask the question that was weighing on his mind. 

"What side are you truly on?"

"I wish I could say that none but... I'm afraid if I'm honest with myself it’s pretty clear; on the one that wanted me." The boy said with a shrug. "And I'm going to help them because that's what I ever wanted... To help people. Which includes stopping them from going for a full on war. That wouldn't end well for anyone."

"Well... Sides and theories aside it's something we can agree on," he noted. 

"Which is the point of this conversation. I just wanted to both warn you and let you know you have an ally in me. It depends on the actions you take though. As long as you're working for everyone's good you have nothing to worry about... But if you do something drastic expect me to react in kind." 

Even though Hawks could feel a shudder go down his spine once again in the span of this short conversation... He wasn't about to back off. There was something else worth inquiring about even if it may invoke this strange… Dangerous boy’s wrath. 

But, anyway, it's better to know the line from the beginning than risk crossing it later on, in a crucial moment. 

"And what a quirkless teen could do to number two hero?"

But rather than the answer he actually wanted... Knowledge of whether the kid managed to get quirk from All For One before the villain's capture or not... 

The boy chuckled, showing no indignation whatsoever. There was no anger on his face and neither did the rest of his body language show any ire.  

"Wouldn't it be more accurate to say number one? It's a matter of days before you surpass Endeavour in the ranking." The boy pointed out casually and Hawks could feel there was some hidden meaning behind it but he couldn't fully grasp it quite yet. He’s pretty sure it’s either an intimidation tactic or a threat; a mute ‘I’m curious who is behind that wonderful anti Endeavour campaign’. "But as to answer your question... Funnily enough unlike heroes, villains tend to listen to what I have to say."

The boy then turned around and took a few steps before stopping and glancing back at Hawks with a far less bright and more calculatedly pleasant smile. 

"That was a good strategy but I'm afraid after a decade of relentless bullying your words won't bring much reaction." 

And with that, the boy left. 

Hawks was very careful in sending his feather after the kid but... It ended in a glassy enclosed area, a jar probably before it could pick anything of interest. 

Hawks fully expected some kind of retaliation. To be questioned or treated with more suspicion but it seemed that Midoriya didn't react at all.  

Great. Now hero needs to additionally find out the 'drastic' that the kid mentioned so as not to cross the line that would make them into enemies. Right now Hawks couldn't really afford to get any foes inside the Liberation Army. Especially in the shape of a league member... 

Hm... He might ask around about him. See if people know he is quirkless; it would be quite strange for them to accept someone who ranks so high yet lacks meta ability, right? Right?

Wrong. 

Hawks didn't begin questioning right off the bat so as not to tip off the kid about plans and... Well... Somehow in only three weeks since the league took over the meta liberation army the boy managed to worm his way into the good graces of pretty much everyone. 

"Midoriya? Great boy, I'm telling you! If only my kids were so driven and polite!"

"Huh? Him? Yeah, I've talked to him. He's a cool fella. He gave me so many ideas on how to improve my quirk! No surprise he's the leader’s right-hand man!"

"Ah, Green! Love that guy! I was kind of skeptical at first, you know he doesn't even have a quirk but when you think about it doesn't it prove our point even further? Even a person without meta ability can see it's part of us and not only accept it but also help us fight for our rights!"

"I totally recommend you to go to him for a quirk analysis! He's really great at that! Ah, just a quick warning he doesn't have analysis meta ability, he's just really smart!"

"Midoriya? Uhm, who...?"

"The green-haired plain-looking boy from the league." Hawks offered although he wasn't expecting much by now. 

"Ah, him! I didn't have a chance to talk to him yet but I heard that he's a great guy. I wish I get to talk to him soon! Since our meta abilities define us and he doesn't have one I'm so curious about what he's like in person!"

The opinions on him were pretty much unanimous. Those who met him liked and respected him and those who didn’t were curious; some more so than others. No one said anything about him not belonging here though.

He, of course, conveyed it to Hero Commission since it was a pretty big deal but those idiots… Those half-wits pretty much laughed at it.

“A quirkless kid in Meta Liberation Army? You shouldn’t pay him so much attention, he’s the kind of problem that will solve itself. Better focus more on the league as a whole… Especially so on Shigaraki Tomura and his main assistant, Kurogiri.”

He did so. Not because he agreed with them but to be honest… Even if they took this threat seriously what would happen? Would they tell him to take rid of the boy? Would they have him try sewing seed of discord between Midoriya and others? Ha. It would be impossible and suicidal. 

Hawks is a charismatic guy and he knows it. He’s also from not so stellar background and can empathize with people who had been through a lot but that kid? Whatever tragic story he has it somehow made him capable of finding a common ground with pretty much everyone. 

The hero ended up talking to the kid a few more times and even he grew to like him!

It’s terrifying. This boy… This boy can bring change. A huge one. And he can seemingly do so without even fighting! He just offers help, words of support, and people follow him- and Hawks can’t even say it’s bad because he feels that the boy genuinely cares about them all! That he really just wants to help and was it not for Midoriya… Wouldn’t a war rage on by now? 

But while a full on war was terrifying and the hero was happy it didn’t seem anywhere near happening… Re-Destro and Midoriya got along worryingly well. Hawks had the pleasure or rather displeasure of talking to that man quite a few times and while he seemed pleasant, one didn’t need to know that guy long to realize just how unstable he is…

Well, observation had proven to Hawks that Midoriya is weirdly good at dealing with borderline crazy people. He wonders why… 

Anyway, as far as Hawks was concerned things weren’t too bad. As long as those guys were trying to change things peacefully he was fine with it. So what if they end up overthrowing the heroics industry and everyone will be able to use their abilities in everyday life? He actually doesn’t really mind that idea… Imagine how much easier dealing with criminals and even villains would be if the police force didn’t just apprehend already defeated foes but also took them down on their own. 

Yeah, some could argue that heroics are important for the economy but come on, would it really change that much? Current heroes could simply become celebrities or they could be some kind of special force in the police. Whatever. Hawks doesn’t really care either way as long as he can finally get some well-earned rest… Honestly, lately, he feels more stressed coming home and having to deal with Hero Commission than with his undercover mission. 

Not that he wouldn’t step in did the need arose!

But maybe it's the fault of this exact thought… Of this complacent mindset that things went as far as they did? That the teen ended up pretty much capable of becoming the next governor if he so wanted… And if he was a little older, Hawks supposes? 

The hero wasn’t sure how to feel about it all. A change- a new age was coming. Did he want to stop it? Or did he want to see it happen? 

He didn’t know. Neither option felt fully right. 

Chapter Text

Nezu knew it all was going to end up in disaster. Of course, he did.

Well, technically there were five scenarios in which it didn’t and overall they had around a nine percent chance of happening. He could partake in activities that would raise it to around thirteen but! Then he risked eighty-two additional possibilities of UA getting involved in a power struggle and quite a few battles if things don’t work out.

Nezu was willing to see society fall. Why? The answer is quite simple although some might view the steps leading to it as complex. It all begins with similarity; he can see some of his own dark past within the one currently overseeing the Meta Liberation Army. Huh, did you think he knew nothing of its existence? Ha, as if. He is not just well aware of it but can also imagine how things went for it with the data he has.

Well, for it and a boy different in eyes of society, belittled for differences that made communication impossible… One of bright mind and who run away, leaving behind everything that had built him… Who had to fight to be accepted and within time grew to hold quite an admirable power… Yes, it does sound similar, does it not? Nezu can, funnily enough, see his own although askew reflection.

But it is, of course not enough to make him decide upon his current, neutral approach. How could he let his clear mind be clouded by such a little thing as a sentiment, emotions? No. That would simply not do.

Or perhaps it would, after all, all things considered. Because is it not spite that holds him back from diving right into this train wrack and fighting an impossible battle of keeping the world peaceful? He could help. He has plans upon plans on how to make things work out.

The thing is; they wouldn’t listen.

Yes, his opinion is well-valued in some matters. Only some. Because rather than a genius he truly is, humanity seems to perceive him more as an animal with intelligence only slightly above what they are capable of. The respect they hold for him? Ha. For Hero Commission, it is just an act. He is useful to them because he shapes young minds into heroes that fit the current mold. They- he and them, are like parasites to each other. Because he would hate to call it symbiosis; they just take from each other until one can provide no more. There is no loyalty nor much trust. Just two parties living mostly at peace.

He knows how they would treat his words. Like a joke. Because even though he had been principal for years now they would tell him that he simply does not understand how humans work and for him not to get involved in their business. If he gave them a warning they might take it the wrong way, branding him a traitor that plans to cooperate with Meta Liberation Army.

Oh, wouldn’t it be just perfect for them? Call him out on what he had not done, ignore his words, and poof… Take his position and put someone brainwashed by them in his position.

Nezu knows how it works, how they think, and what they are capable of when their own positions are threatened. People tend to call him a sadist but really… It’s nothing compared to those people. When looking at it objectively who looks worse? Those who would crush any hope of change to keep their money flowing or he who might try running over students with a bulldozer from time to time – never to the point of hurting them, of course – yet helps all those young minds grow and prosper even after what humanity put him through?

If looking at things from a strictly analytical perspective it is obvious that acting rashly is a bad idea. The probability of a war starting was huge but taking the first move would be counterproductive; there is only a five percent of chance that the initial aggression will come from Meta Liberation Army. But joining them would mean being marked as a traitor and losing his fine establishment.

Keeping things peaceful would be a lovely outcome but with the chance of it happening so low, he simply couldn't count on it and he wasn’t exactly looking forward to sacrificing everything he had built for people who wouldn’t even hear him out without lashing out at him. He doesn’t mind a bit of mayhem either. 

Really. It all is a clear picture for him; he has to stay neutral. Truly neutral. Staying to the side until he can’t anymore.

Hurt as he might have been in the past by humans, he does not wish war upon them… Well, upon those around him. For he cares about those who accepted him as an equal, as their leader even; the workers of his fine establishment, students, and fans since he has quite a few. He doesn’t care for the rest all that much.

Rather than protecting the flawed system that hates not just him but even its own kind, he finds focusing on protecting those around him a far smarter option.

“What is it this time?” Aizawa asked, walking inside without knocking. It would have irked Nezu was it not for the fact that the black-haired individual lived in a constant state of stress. As an underground hero, he could see the incoming danger clearly. Maybe he didn’t have an as good overview of the situation as Nezu but really, who does?

The point is; Aizawa might be the only person in the world who can barge into the principal office without knocking, go straight for the kettle and brew coffee instead of tea without having his life go terribly wrong. Who knows what is the reason for it? Is Nezu just too soft for his past students or maybe he just grew to like having someone who although vary of his smarts trusts him?

“Ah please take a seat first!” Nezu answered cheerfully, his cup of now only slightly warm tea already positioned on the table in the corner. The principal was quick to take a seat on the sofa and after finishing making his coffee the man reluctantly took a seat too.

Nezu wishes Aizawa wasn’t instantly aware something is wrong whenever they meet up for a drink but what can you do when it is the only logical conclusion? Ah, one more reason to like the man. He doesn’t tend to get his judgment clouded by emotions.

“I believe you are well aware of both Meta Liberation Army and the massive connections they possess,” Nezu said, putting his paws together to offer body language indication of the beginning of a serious conversation.

“I am.” The man said readily, taking a sip of his coffee and then putting the cup down and giving all his attention to the principal. “They seem to have some strength in numbers… Hero Commission is strangely quiet and Hawks public appearances are rarer so it is only logical to think the danger they pose is impossible to ignore.”

Nezu laughed because ah! How nice it is to talk to those who share at least some basic understanding of the situation, who can make logical conclusions and to an extent keep up with his own opinions!

“Were they trigger happy, we would be already be at war!” the principal explained happily, deciding to take a sip of his tea before continuing. “Yes, you have heard me correctly; not simply a battle but a war. As you must have already noticed, so far they are trying a peaceful approach to this situation. They want to bring a change that Hero Commission is not likely to accept.”

The man groaned and melted into the sofa, putting a hand to his face as if to hide from the outside world; or rather its stupidity. Nezu smiled because really, he could relate.

“So what you’re telling me is basically that people had gathered to peacefully negotiate changes and we’re going to end up with war because Hero Commission is too full of themselves to accept any idea that doesn’t fit in with their own?”

Nezu clapped happily.

“Exactly!” he confirmed. In such moments he could fully understand humans' inner need to coo at their young ones whenever they succeeded in the smallest of ways. Ah, social structures are such enjoyable concepts~!

“What are you planning?” was the next question and a good one at that! A very good one indeed!

“Nothing,” Nezu answered with a smile. “In such situation, any action we take is going to put us against one side so the most logical option is to simply not act until absolutely necessary.” 

Aizawa furrowed his brows and the principal could already see the question in the man’s eyes. ‘Are we just going to wait for a war?’

“Then we’re just waiting for a war to begin?” ah yes, it fits within the margin of error.

“Put in other words; we can either start a war now or wait, hoping that Hero Commission sees reason. We can both tell how unlikely the latter is, no?”

Aizawa sighed.

“But this approach is only going to make things worse…” he murmured, massaging his forehead. Nezu had been both a teacher and a hero before becoming a principal so once again, he can relate.

“We are not making the final decision here. We are simply pawns waiting to make a move that will decide whether we get swept under current or stay afloat.”

The rest of the conversation was not of much importance. They discussed some of the exercises, especially bringing more that would be helpful for students in case of a worst-case scenario; first aid help in extreme circumstances, the art of disguise, and the likes.

Things, of course, didn’t go crumbling down within a week or two. No.

It was perfectly peaceful and calm as if no storm was on the horizon for a year. The next one brought up some minor red flags; the people were getting impatient. Hero Commission agreed to talks and even some new laws had been drafted out but even with people's massive support for those, they didn’t pass.

The next one was the beginning of the end to put simply. Hero Commission began a huge campaign against Meta Liberation Army, giving society crumbs about their existence and painting them as enemies of everyone; as cruel masterminds that wanted to abort current quirk restrictions to wreak havoc, to be able to do what villains do without laws being able to stop them… To destroy the heroes people so love!

It would have been more effective when All Might was still operating but… They still ended up reaching out to him so he could help the campaign. And that idiot agreed. Since class A – with his successor, Toga Himiko – had graduated he left UA and so Nezu could do nothing about it. For a retired hero, Toshinori Yagi was hard to reach… And borderline impossible to talk sense into.

Meta Liberation Army’s answer was about as good as Nezu expected. They stormed Tartarus and freed All For One.

If it wasn’t so tragic it would have been funny. Because while most shook in their boots, Nezu knew what was the actual intention behind it. It wasn’t about the power that the man possessed; it was about intimidation. While Hero Commission waits with cold sweat on their brows for the man’s next appearance, he is most likely not going to appear.

It’s a wonderfully planned fear tactic. Meta Liberation Army wants to show just what they can do; they are planning to win without All For One showing himself because what they wish to achieve is proving themselves to be just as big of a threat if not bigger. The man of people's nightmares is simply going to sit back and watch… Just as he had done for all those years when All Might thought he was dead.

But, sadly, Hero Commission didn’t seem to get the memo... To understand the threat looming above them and rather than trying to go about things peacefully they used that occurrence to paint Meta Liberation Army as a huge threat that has to be dealt with, otherwise, the whole world will fall. They even went as far as reaching out to other countries, saying that if the problem wasn’t dealt with here, the hundred years old cryptid would surely go for world domination.

And he knows how it goes; people scared of losing something very dear to them will be quick to lash out. Additionally, humans tend to be scared of the unknown and when they are scared tend to attack before asking questions, before trying to understand…

Aah. If people could just talk… But no. And now half of Japan is angry at their attempts at peaceful change being ignored… And sadly, rightfully so, while the other half feels that they have to fight to protect what they hold dear.

It’s the fourth year with tension strung too thin that something seems to snap. Overall… It doesn’t take much. Though, honestly, with current circumstances even less would be enough to begin the madness.

Hero Commission accuses someone of being part of the Meta Liberation Army and arrests them without a reason. A deep background check on Nezu part tells him that they were wrong… But by the time they themselves realize that it is already too late. It was the victim’s sister that was part of it and it didn’t take her long to react.

It wasn’t anything big. Barely anyone got hurt, a small group of Liberation Army came to rescue the guy, and although Hero Commission was in wrong, they reacted as if it was the God-given proof no one can deny and began action ‘extermination’.

When Nezu thinks about it a lot of those would be funny if not tragic. It was so very similar to the beginning of the quirk era; to when quirkless were the majority and put down those with power. It was beginning all over again but ironically with a boy with no special power leading those witch such to make everyone able to use their quirks... To be fully themselves as they advocate.

The next year resulted in the physical division. Aichi prefecture and a few near ones became part of what Meta Liberation Army called ‘New Japan’ and began slowly taking over more terrains while Hero Commission with people tangled in their lies or simply those who could not stand to see change, fighting tooth and nail to get those lands back and stop their enemy.

Nezu just watched. He and Aizawa both advised their students to take a defensive rather than an offensive stance on the subject and although the school as a whole didn’t firmly state what side they were on, they made sure the new students wouldn’t leave the establishment with warped view on the subject. Although, of course, they couldn’t be given the whole picture because Hero Commission would be then out for even UA’s blood.

Still… If someone would be to look deep enough they would realize that Meta Liberation Army was more defensive while heroes were on the offensive. While most would say it was because the latter was stronger, the truth was that they were pretty equally matched… The former simply used tactics that would bring the least casualties for both sides.

And… As Nezu had foreseen it was all without All For One even making an appearance.

Chapter Text

Aizawa wasn’t even tired anymore. He ascended above exhaustion, above such pathetic feelings as wariness or, pff, fatigue. It was exhaustion that was feeling Aizawa by now.

War is never pleasant. It is a spider web of battles, ones that are prolonged from just minutes or hours into months… Into years. People get hurt and people die. Families lose their close ones, and friends are left to morn those they laughed with only days prior. 

Trauma, blood, and tears are suddenly walking step by step with everyone. Because no one is safe… Not anymore.

At the beginning of the war, it stayed around a specific area. Yes, there were stray fights here and there but they weren’t all that different from villain attacks… And these, ugh these… Now that heroes were focused on the battlefront, crime rates skyrocketed. 

Only in the ‘hero’ area though. Meta Liberation Army let everyone use their quirks so even if a criminal showed up, they were usually quickly subdued by others. Aizawa had to admit; those people didn’t just stand and watch, they did act. But isn’t it how it all began? 

Though he knows it would illogical to put all blame on them. It was a fact that they did try the peaceful approach but Hero Commission just had to have things their way. Even if it meant massive bloodshed. While he hated it and didn’t find their ways reasonable… He wasn’t about to join the Liberation Army. 

Try as they might to sell the idea of being the ‘good guys’ let’s not forget that their core members are the ones from the League of Villains. You know, the ones that attacked a bunch of first years and nearly killed a fifteen years old girl. Actually, those kids were extremely lucky that it was the worst that had happened back then because only a moment of hesitation from any of them might have ended in corpses… 

So yeah. There was no ‘good’ side here. And that’s exactly why he stayed where he was, technically under Hero Commission’s jurisdiction but not exactly loyal to their ‘cause’. If he had to say who he was following he would point at Nezu. Say what you want about the principal but as many chances as he had with that big brains of his he never began any war. He was extremely peaceful, all things considered.

Unlike current times.  

“Something’s weird here…” his comms came to life and he heard Mayhem, also known as Shinso Hitoshi. Not a very heroic name but that’s exactly the point; in those trying times making everyone unsure who exactly he was or what side he was one was what he needed to operate efficiently. “I send you the meeting location. How fast can you be there?”

After checking the coordinates Aizawa put his coffee cup down and opened the window. 

“How fast do you need me there?”

“Preferably now, but I probably can stall for ten or so minutes…”

“I will be there in three.”

Soon enough he spotted a familiar blur of dark colors and landed next to Mayhem, his eyes going to the dark car parked in an alleyway.

“Kidnapping?” he inquired out loud, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yeah. I’ve seen two but they talked about others joining soon with the abductee. But it’s weird…” Mayhem started but there was no more time for talking. Another car stopped near, screeching to halt from a far bigger acceleration than was safe. 

“Fuck, get her, and move! We run into Lemillion and we barely lost him!” one of the newcomers said loudly enough for the two underground heroes to hear. The other grabbed a young teen with hair so white they were impossible to miss in the dim lighting of the alleyway.  

Eraserhead gave a nod toward Mayhem who answered in a kind. The latter instantly moved down, unnoticed.

“You didn’t! He’s coming here right now!” he yelled in panic, using his voice changer to sound like one of the men he heard earlier and all of them looked around in panic.

“What?! Where?!”

Instead of the blond, he got Eraserhead jumping down and grabbing two of the men with his scarf and knocking them out before they could as much as think about activating their quirks.

The guy holding the girl nothing short of threw her into the back of the car that was just waiting for that and made a run for the driver seat but whatever was his quirk he obviously didn’t expect it to stop working and he took himself out by slamming headfirst into doors. The impact was big enough that he broke it, sending the glass shards raining around his unconscious body. 

The last one, for some reason, looked indignant. 

“What the hell you’re doing?! This is a member of-!” he began, too angry to notice a silhouette behind him that easily knocked him out. That’s the moment the girl seemed to wake up because they heard a bang. Shinso was quick to open doors for her and try to calm her down which, of course, turned out to be a challenge.

She pushed through him, jumping to her feet and grabbing a nearby trash bin lid from a lack of a better weapon around. Well, she also had her hands cuffed together, most likely to make it impossible to use her quirk. She clearly realized that trying to run away and leaving her back to them wouldn’t be very smart. That’s why she opted for a defensive position near two walls since the two of them were standing right next to the closest escape route.

“I know we might not look very trustworthy but please calm down, we’re heroes and-“ Eraserhead said, keeping a safe distance away so as not to startle her further but she didn’t seem reassured at all and instead cut him off angrily.

“That’s exactly a reason not to calm down!” she exclaimed, her hands shaking badly enough that they could see the jittery movement on the trash lid she was holding. “You’re heroes! You’re with Hero Commission who is behind this whole damn thing!”

Mayhem and Eraserhead exchanged glances. So she was from Meta Liberation Army… And possibly some kind of bargain chip in eyes of their ‘superiors’. 

Shinso glanced at his mentor, quietly asking what to do so the man sighed and turned toward the downed guys, easily finding a small silver object. He took the key and since the girl was clearly not letting him get anywhere near, he threw it toward her. 

She flinched but her eyes did flutter from them to the key.

“This whole war blurred some very important details. Heroes are supposed to help, to protect... Not to go around kidnapping kids.” The man drawled out. “So get those cuffs off and go find your family. We won’t follow you if you don’t feel safe in our presence.”

He expected the girl to be more conflicted with how defensive she was so far but only after a second of thought she put the trash lid to the side – it was still close to her, easy to reach – and quickly took the cuffs off. Eraserhead moved to the side, to leave her space to walk through. Mayhem followed in his steps.

“I…” she began and part of him was expecting thanks, part something along the lines of ‘that doesn’t mean you aren’t evil!’ but what he got was quite different. “Do you know the way to Aichi prefecture? They… Drove me for a while…”

By now it was pretty clear that Shinso left talking to him so Aizawa sighed and pointed in the right direction. 

“You might need to take a detour though. If it’s truly Hero Commission that is after you, you shouldn’t take the main road and try to stay close to the alleyways. They are rather dangerous these days though.”

The girl took a few steps but rather than leaving she stopped and looked back at them, her brows furrowed in thought. 

“You… Aren’t you going to be in trouble for helping me? If the Hero Commission is really behind this?” she asked and Aizawa shrugged.

Really, if he was going to be in trouble for saving a teen from kidnapping, for telling her to go home to her family… Then that’s exactly the way he will go down. He’s a teacher and a hero, not a mindless follower or a monster.

“They will brand you a traitor.” The girl said as if he simply wasn’t understanding the severity of it. 

“You rather have me kidnap you? Don’t overthink it, just go.”

She didn’t. 

“I’m not someone who lets others get hurt just so I will be fine!” she stated with a resolve he haven’t seen in a while on the faces of his students. She looks old enough to be just about to finish junior high… “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not letting myself get kidnapped! I’ll just… Well, erasing memories of the last five minutes should do…”

She murmured the last part under her breath and walked up to one of the criminals. Aizawa watched her carefully, ready to react if she did anything dangerous. He furrowed his brows as she put her hands on two of her kidnappers and got up after a moment of shining. She then did the same to the other two.

“We can call it even then.” She said, turning toward them. “You saved me and won’t get in trouble for that… Plus you know what my quirk can do. By the way… You look like you know rooftops pretty well so... Would it be possible to get to Aichi prefecture through them?”

“Not all the way there.” Mayhem entered the conversation for the first time, knowing that he was in those areas more often than Aizawa who tended to patrol more to the south. “But it would be better than alleyways.”

“Alright, thanks.” She said and jumped a foot in the air when Lemillion suddenly jumped from under the ground with a boisterous “Stop, you kidnappers!” but then he froze glancing around before his eyes ended on the duo of underground heroes. Although Shinso stayed perfectly calm outside, the man could tell the kid got quite a scare.

“Oh, I see there was no need to worry!” he said with a friendly laugh. Aizawa glanced toward the girl wondering if she would react in a similar kind she did to the two of them but rather than straight out defensive, she looked slightly conflicted.

“So… You all just wanted to help and aren’t going to stop me from going home, right?” she asked. 

“Of course! Though I would feel safer accompanying you there or if someone you know came for you!” Lemillion stated, clearly not realizing the girl’s circumstances. She got a calculative look on her face and then glanced at Aizawa. 

What was she planning?

“I don’t think that’s a good idea… Since my family lives in Aichi prefecture.” She said, clearly waiting for the reaction. Huh. Was she fishing for how he would react? If the blond would turn against her and if he did, if Aizawa would come to her aid?

Thankfully Lemillion, wrapped in Hero Commission as he might be, isn’t one to let a kid get hurt.

“Oh.” The blond said. “But it’s even more dangerous… The fighting on the front isn’t… Well, a good place to even be near…”

“I will be fine.” She stated with steely resolve though not angry. Whatever she wanted to check, it seemed that Lemillion had passed her test. 

“Eri?” someone called out and all eyes moved toward the newcomer. The girl instantly run toward him while the other three froze.

Midoriya Izuku. The right-hand man of the Meta Liberation Army who made his face known to everyone last year. He, who uses the alias Deku; useless. Because that’s what, according to his words, society used to call him and that’s what fighting against him is. His spiel back then didn’t just make a splash, it created a whole damn tsunami. 

A young, powerful man known to be quirkless although it is not a sure thing with All For One’s backing. 

“Good to see you’re alright.” He said with a bright smile, hugging her back but looking straight toward three heroes who stared right back, all of them ready to act. “Well, that’s kind of awkward…”

The girl was quick to realize the danger and let go of him, standing before him like a bodyguard. It looked comedic with the difference in heights; she didn’t even reach his chin. 

“I’ve just come to get Eri so I would be grateful if we could avoid any unnecessary violence… How about you just let us go and as thanks, I’ll forget about this whole kidnapping fiasco?”

To be completely honest… Aizawa was fine with the Hero Commission facing the consequences of their own actions but it would only make the conflict worse and Japan was already split in two... Even three with the addition of foreign heroes coming to help stop the Meta Liberation Army. They really don’t need to escalate things. 

And while they would most likely be capable of defeating him, it honestly wouldn’t bring any good. If taken to Hero Commission, this guy… No older than Shinso would most likely get killed. Which would definitely end in a riot from the army. Then things would really get bad.

So as the oldest Aizawa decided to be the one to give the answer.

“Fine.” He said simply.

“I knew you’d be reasonable!” Deku said brightly and taking the girl's hand into his, he turned around.

“Wait,” Lemillion called out and Midoriya looked back. “I have a question! Why did you start a war?” 

The actual leader of the Meta Liberation Army had the audacity to look at them with big round eyes and go:

“I didn’t.” but he must have noticed Aizawa’s eyes screaming ‘bullshit’ because he continued. “I was doing everything I could for things to end peacefully. Right now I’m just trying to win with as few losses as possible to stop all this bloodshed.”

And with that he walked away, hand in hand with Eri. Although the two should be on edge since technically heroes were their enemies, they didn’t seem worried at all. Deku didn’t look back even once and Aizawa could hear the girl’s quiet chatter until it faded away.

“He’s that scary guy behind Liberation Army?” Mayhem asked in disbelief. “He looked like the kind of guy to help grandmas pass the streets.”

“Isn’t it even worse?” Lemillion whispered. “And if everything he said is true… Isn’t Hero Commission… Aren’t we the bad guys?”

“You’re always the bad guy from the other side’s perspective,” Eraserhead said with a sigh. “Let’s go. There are still villains to catch.”

At least criminals are easy to deal with; they do something wrong and hurt others so they need to be stopped. Mostly no moral problems here. 

But this war? It isn’t as easy to deal with… To even truly chose a side.

Chapter Text

When Toga heard that voice she literally threw everything she was holding – in the process nearly chipping the plate she was washing – and run toward the salon, looking with wide eyes at the figure on TV. 

She had to rewatch it later because while she could hear him perfectly clear she just couldn’t process the words. Because it was him- her best friend ever, standing there with confidence she had never seen on him. With a delicate smile that made her heart ache so badly and a voice so very alien yet so clearly his. 

He looked different than she remembered and yet was pretty much the same. Green locks she broke three combs on, green eyes she wished to see even more than her precious blood, somewhat pale face, and freckles that she had tried to marker into various shapes on more than one occasion. 

It was him. But how could it be him? If it was him he would have reached out to her. He would have said something, told her that he is fine. Back on the day of Kamino, over seven years ago… She thought it was the last time she would ever see him, even if it was just a grainy video that tried its best to follow All Might’s fight rather than the league members in the background.

She wanted to kill Shigaraki so badly. Because then… Maybe her best friend would be back? If he just replaced her… Surely if she murdered the one he befriended she would have him back, wouldn’t she? 

She trained hard. No one could defeat her; even Bakugo when she went into full battle mode. She became, pff, a pro hero. She took every occasion she could at infiltration missions and waited with bathed breaths for something concerning the league. But it was all out of her reach.

She was furious.

It’s not that she was single-mindedly chasing after her past friend. No, she made new ones! She grew extremely close to Ochaco, loved to hang out with Tenya, no one was better to watch dramas with than Tsuyu and she would literally cut her finger off for Hitoshi. 

But while she cared for them deeply… There was a special place in her heart for her best friend. 

And since she hadn’t the chance to talk to him, to see him all those years… In her memory, he stayed the same. Who knows maybe he even grew into that idealized version of all the good things she knew and thought about him? In her mind, he was like a ghost… A shadow sitting on her shoulder and helping her through the hardest of times. Always with her. 

She talked about how she felt with her friends but Tsuyu, the ever blunt one, asked her something along the lines of “Isn’t it a little much?” and Ochaco followed with “Yeah, not to be mean but it sounds kind of obsessive…”. Tenya and Hitoshi seemed to agree so she never mentioned it again. 

She hid it even deeper in her heart. Who knows? Maybe that’s part of the reason why she was so hellbent on speaking to him at least one more time? Maybe it had taken over her from the inside out? But surely, if she met him once again and saw that he is a completely different person from who she liked- loved so much she would be able to let go?

She wouldn’t be able to kill him, that’s for sure. Because say what you want about her but she does care. She might be obsessive, she might be weird… Hell, she even might be dangerous! Whatever All Might have seen in her… He surely was mistaken. She isn’t a hero. She’s just a girl that does what she wants to do and tries to protect what she holds dear. 

She still remembers her first kills when the war came. Others kept on reassuring her that she had to, that they would be the ones to take her down did she not protect herself... They acted as if she was a scared little lamb.

But she was in fact a bloodthirsty wolf. She loved what she had done; stabbing people was so satisfying! Not having to worry about whether they die or not? Pretty damn cool! 

‘Killing isn’t very heroic Himiko.’ The little Izuku on her shoulder said but she shrugged. 

“You shouldn’t have left me then. We could have been real heroes then.” She whispered to him… To herself.

But whatever. She isn’t crazy. Tsuyu would tell her to her face if she was. 

Back to the subject. When Toga saw him... When she heard his spiel… You know, when she fully understood, when she finally processed his words…  She once more but far more strongly had this overwhelming feeling that he was the same and yet completely different.

“Stop letting them call you Deku! That’s mean!” she remembers telling him once. She remembers because he looked at her with such a sad smile that she felt like putting war paint on her face and beheading all those who dared ever call her friend that.

“It’s just a word…” he said back then. 

But on the screen, this confident person wearing her best friend’s face…

“You might call me Deku; yes, the one meaning useless. That’s what society had called me in the past and that’s what it shall call me now… Or rather how they will call the attempt at winning against me. Because now I am a voice for all those who want to finally be free and trying to silence us will be useless!” is what this current version said.

And part of her was happy. Among the deep ache, the hurt… She couldn’t help but feel a sliver of joy. Because this Izuku knew what he was worth. He was her best friend but without that terrible burden weighing him down. He truly could do anything now!

Through all those years she learned a lot. She had quite a few lessons with Aizawa sensei about the art of infiltration, of patience, of waiting for the perfect moment to strike… With her natural predispositions, all this practice, her quirk, One For All, and experience in the field she got as a heroine there was quite literally nothing that could stop her from infiltrating pretty much anything.

So now that she knew where he was she went straight into the lion’s den; to Meta Liberation Army’s headquarters. She learned how the things worked there, she observed. Whenever she saw the silhouette of her best friend she wanted to talk to him so badly… She wanted to kill everyone around him until he had to look at her. So they could play together, paint each other nails… So she could doze off on his shoulder while he murmured to his heart contents, creating a nice white noise in the background. 

But she knew better than acting rashly and destroying the one chance she had at talking to him... At finding out how much was truly left of her best friend. And the possibility came sooner than she expected; only a second week into her visits to Liberation Army. 

“You know… Lately, I’ve been having this feeling as if someone was observing me. I guess it was you?” He said lightly. He wasn’t frowning but his smile didn’t feel very different from that because it wasn’t the beaming smile she was used to. 

She couldn’t help but feel happy though. He noticed something amiss and gave her a perfect chance to talk to him, face to face! She knew that he walked into that empty corridor with her – disguised as some random man – not that far behind him for a reason! See? She still knows him well!

“Yeah~! Because I want to talk! Don’t you think you’re a big meanie for ignoring me for so long?” she asked pouting but she didn’t let go of her disguise. She wanted… She needed him to realize it was her. Prove to her that she wasn’t the only one holding her best friend close to her heart. 

She isn’t sure what she would do if he didn’t recognize her. She was willing to give him a hint, maybe two but if he didn't realize it was her even then… She thinks she would shatter. Like glass. Sharp, dangerous glass. Because if she cared so deeply about him all this time for him to simply forget her… What are emotions even worth? Does loyalty even exist?

But. Even without hints, his eyes widened and she could feel her whole body heat up in anticipation. Because he must have realized it was her, he must-

“Himiko?” 

She couldn’t stop the happy squeal that left her as she threw her arms around him, letting her disguise melt away. 

“W-wait!” he yelled in the flustered tone she knew so well from whenever she used her quirk without overlapping clothes and inevitably ended naked. She isn’t a nudist! She just knew he would look away anyway and he got so nervous! It was so cute! 

“Don’t worry, don’t worry I have special fiber cloth that I can use without clothes overlapping!” she assured him, not letting go of the embrace yet. She giggled at his sigh of relief. 

“What were you thinking coming here?! Everyone knows you’re a heroine! What if someone realized who you are?” he fussed over her and if it isn’t how heaven feels then she won’t bother goming there. 

Because it’s him. It’s really, truly him. Her best friend. The same as in her memories, in those sweet sweet times she just couldn’t let go of… But it was well worth holding onto them! Because he’s here! Because it’s him and he not only remembers her but cares for her! Just as she does for him! Because he had held her in his heart just like she did! 

“Nah, you’re the only one smart enough to figure me out.” She said with a huge grin he couldn’t see because she wanted him in her embrace for a bit longer. “You know, I’m really happy you knew it was me so quick… But I’m also very angry that you left me for so long!”

And while she didn’t exactly want to she let go of him so she could look at him. She didn’t like this sad look on his face but it was relieving. Because it meant that he regretted not seeing her all this time.

“I’m sorry… I just… I didn’t want to destroy your chances of becoming the amazing heroine you could be! I would just weigh you down and I didn’t want that…” he said and it hurt. In a way that very little if anything ever could. 

“I didn’t care about being a hero! I was happy to try for UA only because we were supposed to do it together!” she answered instantly although those times were long gone. But he needed to know. He needed to know that she missed him just as badly… That she needed him far more than he seemed to realize. “I went to the exam because I hoped you’d be there… I didn’t drop out because I wanted to be stronger to be able to see you again! To hurt those who hurt you!”

“I’m sorry…” he said looking down and you know what? 

She instantly forgave him for making her wait for so long. Because she thought she had lost him but here he is. Because her best friend is here and she doesn’t care for the price, for everything that happened meanwhile... 

Because he’s finally back.

“It’s fine… But you absolutely can’t disappear on me again!” she demanded and he looked up, startled. As if expecting her to be angry at him. 

She never could be. She supposes she just cares too much; ha! It’s even worse than the obsessive thingy! 

But… What should she do now? She wants to be with her best friend! But she doesn’t really want to give up on all the friends she made at UA… She doesn’t really care all that much which side wins nor who dies, only the lives of those she cares about matter. 

They can talk this out though. Because it’s her best friend so she can tell him anything and she knows he will listen. He won’t judge. That’s why none of her other friends could ever replace him. He simply is the best.

And that’s exactly how it went; they discussed the situation peacefully. They agreed on her coming to visit him while staying on the other side of the barricade. She had been presented to people in Liberation Army as a double agent; as their spy in heroes' ranks. After the Hawks fiasco, people were hesitant but trusted Midoriya enough to accept her. They soon grew to understand she was one of them and it was perfect. She could talk about her love for blood and they didn’t take it as weird! They said it was completely natural with the kind of quirk she has! 

She had some trouble getting along with Eri at first. Because Toga felt a bit as if the girl had taken her place but with Midoriya’s efforts the two managed to find a common ground and grew to like each other quite a bit. The blonde became part of their weird mist-matched family! 

She had so much fun painting nails with them! Not only Magne, Izuku, and Eri but also Dabi joined! She didn’t like Shigaraki all that much so she simply avoided him. Exactly as she did with All For One; because she might have, kind of, ended up telling her best friend about One For All and the two of them readily decided it would be bad for her to face that guy in any way. Thankfully he seemed amused enough with the current situation to not pull anything. 

Mr. Compress and Kurogiri were fine. Too serious though. Unlike Twice, she liked Twice a lot! He’s a funny fella! And she liked to talk about Stain with Spinner. She kind of likes that vigilante, well, villain. And Mustard is just meh! Even though he’s around her age he’s, like, too stiff… Super lame!

But overall it was so very great! She spent the next two, or maybe was it three years? Anyway, she spent a lot of time living happily! She fought in the war and met up with her UA friends! They even took her explanation of her suddenly ever joyful attitude; she told them that she wanted to be more like All Might to give everyone hope in those trying times so she kept on smiling! They not only believed her but also applauded her for staying strong! Her mentor himself was super proud too! Hehe~!

The foreign heroes started irritating her a bit though… They were acting as if Japan was theirs! And why? Just because Meta Liberation Army took more of the country by now and Hero Commission can no longer fight against them with their own strength? Pfft, losers! She hopes they all get killed and Izuku takes over everything soon!

Oh… If only that was what had happened…

Chapter Text

Toga was furious. No, scratch that, enraged wouldn’t even begin to describe what she was feeling. She was a step away from committing mass murder. Hero Commission was fucking lucky she was at her home when it happened. Her belongings weren’t though. 

Plates went flying, glass was shattered and her microwave ended up embedded in a wall. 

She should have foreseen that! She should have been more careful, keep a better eye on them! She could have- she must have done better but she didn’t! She failed so damn miserably she would kill herself if she didn’t have those- those fuckers to murder!

As full of negative emotions as she was she didn’t instantly move. No. She knew that in this state she would make mistakes and end up apprehended before she could finish every single one of them off. She wouldn’t be able to slowly torture them until they wished they had fallen to Izuku’s feet and rolled like fucking dogs on the ground the first time he brought up the postulates of Meta Army.

They arranged a meeting. A peaceful talk. Hero Commission wanted to find a compromise because Japan was nearly gone; the little area they had under their control was more under foreigners. New Japan was faring far, far better, and yet, Izuku agreed to that. 

She didn’t go with him because he assured her they wouldn’t dare to try anything; if he had died Meta Liberation Army would go ballistic and Japan couldn’t afford that. What they would accomplish by getting rid of him would be making a martyr, a symbol out of him, one that would destroy whatever chance of victory Hero Commission had left. 

She believed him, of course, she did. Because why shouldn’t she? He’s super smart so things definitely would happen exactly as he planned!

But they didn’t. She was finishing some cleaning, she doesn’t even remember what she was doing... The TV was on in the background and she glanced there from time to time, smiling at Izuku’s sure-to-come victory in that political battle when she heard a gunshot.

She was instantly in the salon where she saw Eri and Izuku’s body, encompassed in a light which soon disappeared into a familiar black hole. But even in that short moment, she could see the blood pooling not from an arm or leg but from the head. 

She had never before, even once, disliked blood. Was it the enemy’s or even her own, she always enjoyed seeing it. But now? It felt disgusting. How dare it… How dare it seep outside?! It has to stay inside her best friend for him to be fine… For him to be alive! 

It took her more than an hour to finally calm down enough to get to Meta Liberation Army's headquarters to check if Izuku was alright. 

She was met with faces that didn't convey good news and crying Eri. 

For a moment Himiko didn't feel. There was no anger, no sadness, no nothing. She just stood at the doorframe, blank-faced and looking but not fully seeing. Somewhere at the back of her head, she wondered if her heart shattered and she won’t feel anything ever again but she didn't care about that voice. Because it wasn’t his. 

And then she heard it and her head whipped toward Kurogiri who seems to be comforting Eri.

“He is not dead, we simply do not know where he is exactly. I am positive your quirk healed him-“

“But what if he was dead?! I can’t Rewind dead! If he was alright he would have called us! I made sure to Rewind only body, not his memories and…!” the girl yelled but before she could finish her thoughts she started wailing, the pressure of the situation being too much for her.

“What happened…?” Himiko heard her own voice asking and for a moment she wondered if it was her ghosty little Izuku helping her get the question out because she lacked the strength to speak herself. 

“I took everyone back but something strange happened… I believe Eri’s quirk came into contact with mine if a strange way… And sir Midoriya got transported somewhere else than us.”

‘He disappeared’  her own voice whispered and she couldn’t help but start laughing. Cackling like a mad man. She told him to never disappear again and what does he do?! Haha! But she doesn’t feel angry! She’s relieved! Because she rather have him alive and somewhere unknown than dead! 

“I’m going to kill them.” She said, instantly stopping laughing. Her eyes furrowed and her iris became slit. “Give me names and faces. I will murder them all.”

“Our priority should be to find him first.” Mr. Compress spoke for the first time since everyone returned. “We need you, lady Toga. We can’t let Hero Commission and those beasts from other countries get to him first.”

She hated it but… He was right. She needed information. She wanted to enact revenge so badly but if by doing so she lost a chance to see her best friend again she would absolutely hate herself. So she gave a single nod.

“They won’t be able to hide anything from me.”

This is how she ended up learning that it wasn’t actually Hero Commission’s plan to assassinate Izuku. It was other countries who decided to let Japan destroy itself by aggravating the inner conflict. Himiko carefully noted in her memories all names she heard concerning this matter.

Then another important piece of information came. A theory. Turns out that they knew what Eri’s quirk was. Toga also learned that a mad inventor from UA and even Nezu had an idea of what had happened… One that although outlandish made perfect sense.

The girl didn’t just simply Rewind Izuku but rather… Sent him back in time. That’s around the time Toga started realizing that all those people kept remembering things incorrectly and forgetting important details. 

And soon it turned out to be happening to pretty much everyone but her.

And it wasn’t the only curious thing. In the middle of the battles that returned with doubled force, buildings that had been downed returned to their places. Long destroyed areas become perfectly fine. 

Toga kept on observing Hero Commission. Kept on informing Eri and others of what was happening. After no longer than three days it was pretty much a sure thing; Izuku had been sent back in time and the timeline was changing. 

Himiko wasn’t sure how to feel about it. She should be happy; he surely is going to change things for the better! He isn't going to leave her this time! 

But why aren't her memories changing at all? Why the world is resetting so slowly? She always thought that if time travel had happened it would go like bam! Done! 

She didn't have to wonder about it long. Turns out, Hatsume Mei had created a strange mix between a teleportation and time travel machine. With help of Nezu and someone named Melissa Shield she supposedly found a way to put coordinates to a person rather than a place so if they send something or someone through it, they would go right where... When Izuku was.

Hero Commission was planning to kill him in the past so the current future would have never had a chance of happening. And Toga was absolutely not going to let that happen. 

They had only three spots and readily chose two people who turned out to be Bakugo and Kirishima. Toga was quick to act, knocking Kaminari out, taking his blood, and leaving him with Meta Liberation Army so he wouldn’t be able to come and destroy her disguise. She would have killed him but he was her classmate and she liked him quite a lot.

With Kaminari’s communicator in her possession, she called Bakugo. 

“I got ya!” she yelled in the receiver.

“What the fuck are you talking about?! And didn’t I tell you to contact me only in case of an emergency?! I’m right about to go to an important meeting!” his angry voice answered.

“No, but dude, that’s super important that I managed to deceive you so badly! You know about this whole remember wrongly forget stuff thing? I got you guys, I remember everything and I’ve just been making stuff up! And you totally bought it!” she laughed stupidly, perfectly mimicking Kaminari.

Bakugo was silent for a moment.

“You what?” he hissed into the transceiver. “Fucking hell… Do you know how important that shit is?! Damn it… Are you serious right now? Tell me everyone who was in our class.”

Toga easily gave her class roaster with no hesitation whatsoever.

“Yo, there’s no need to be so angry! It was a harmless joke, you know?” she added.

“Shut the fuck up and get your ass to Hero Commission’s Headquarters right fucking now.”

Toga smiled sharply and readily moved there. She knew they wanted to send those whose memory didn’t fluctuate into the past but she didn’t expect Bakugo to already be onto their plan. But she wasn’t complaining! It worked just fine for her!

She ignored Bakugo who hit who he thought was Kaminari upside the head.

“Ouch! What’s that for? Come on, you don’t know what jokes are for?!” she said indignantly, fully immersed into her character.

“Yeah, calm down Bakubro… Chargebolt didn’t know how important it actually is…” Kirishima added and Toga made a stupid face.

“Huh? What’s so important?”

“You’re about to fucking learn!” Bakugo yelled and grabbed her by the back of her jacket and dragged her toward one of the rooms. 

“He does remember without changes too?” a woman that Toga wished she could stab in the face badly asked. 

“Yeah. Unlike others from our class, he could easily give the full list.” The blond answered readily.

“I don’t think it’s enough… We should ask more questions.” A man to the side said. “Chargebolt, right? Who is Midoriya Izuku also known as Deku?”

She made a slightly sour face.

“The guy from Meta Liberation Army! The one super high on hierarchy, who else?” 

Some people in the room looked slightly confused. 

“He is…?” someone whispered.

“Of course he fucking is! He’s the reason why we’re here!” Bakugo yelled angrily. 

The woman in the middle of the long table nodded, glancing at her notes.

“Our memories are getting worse and terrain changes faster… We need to act as soon as possible…” she said and glanced up. “Let me explain it once again. It is theorized, with a high probability of being true, that Deku had been sent to the past and is changing things. The only thing that can stop him and fix our current timeline… To make things peaceful… Is to go back in time too and eliminate him.”

Toga kept her face serious and body language appropriate. She didn’t let her anger show. If she did, if they found her out… She might be unable to change things, to destroy their plans. 

To save her best friend. 

“You… You want us to go back and kill a kid…?” Kirishima asked.

“Yes.” The woman answered without a hint of hesitation. “I know it sounds terrible but it is, sadly, the only option we have. And you three are the only ones so far we found to remember everything clearly so it has to be you. We can’t risk sending someone who would forget the objective.”

She said. 

“We will do it. We are heroes so we will save the world no matter what.” Bakugo stated determinedly, clenching his fists.

‘You always wanted him dead anyway, didn’t you?’ flashed through Toga’s thought but she stayed silent and kept her expression simply serious. No anger. There’s no place for mistakes. 

“I’m happy to hear you don’t lack resolve. We do realize the mission we are giving you is an extremely hard one from a moral standpoint… But I feel reassured that such fine heroes are the ones to go. We will send you right away since we don’t know how much longer we have before Deku…” she stopped and blinked. She seemed to be conflicted about something before glancing down at the paper before her and continuing as if nothing had happened. “Before Deku changes the future and makes it impossible to stop him. We already have spare clothes, money, and equipment ready for you… Well, except you Chargebolt since you’re late addition. But we’ll make one before we send you. It might not be as well-fitting as for others though.”

“It’s fine… We will have more to worry about than clothes and stuff! Well… We had worried…?” Toga said, perfectly conveying Kaminari’s tendency to joke in face of fear. 

“Continuing… Try to make it as quiet and little known as possible. Be careful upon arrival, we don’t know how close or far from the objective the teleportation will happen. We also packed English currency so after eliminating the objective you can go into hiding since we don’t know whether you will somehow fuse with your past bodies or arrive in your own.”

“But I barely know English…” Toga whined and got an elbow into her side from Bakugo. She’s going to stab him for that among other things when she gets a chance.  

“Whenever hardships or hesitance come… Remember why you are doing it. Think about everyone who died in this war and those who can be saved by you. Don’t let your hearts waver because you’re our last hope.”

Blah, blah, blah. Oh, what a glorious speech! Sad thing it is in fact a load of bullshit meant to convince them to kill an innocent kid!  

They got some more words of encouragement, pointers, and whatever. She didn’t care all that much. She was kind of curious about when they were going to get their disguises but turned out there was no time for that; someone run into the room, yelling that the changes were happening at a rapid pace and they really don't have any time left. Throwing a random wig at their heads and calling it a day was an even worse idea than not having one at all so they ended with just hoods. 

And with that Himiko followed after the other two, mostly quiet but making small nervous jokes while making sure to keep her voice trembling just enough to sell the act of being Kaminari; ditzy, well-meaning, and afraid of their mission. Of having to kill someone. 

She could, of course, try to stab those two and escape. Leave everything to Izuku. But it was too dangerous; Kirishima would most likely be able to counterattack and getting them both down fast enough would be pretty much impossible with Hero Commission people all around. She would then get surrounded and if her classmates aren’t down, with them and everyone else here even One For All wouldn't be enough to assure her victory. She had better chances in the past where there not only weren’t Hero Commission people breathing down her neck but the three of them also needed to be far more careful about who they could show themselves to. 

After all who would believe the crazy tale of coming from the future to defeat back-then quirkless boy because he would become a supreme leader of New Japan? Ha! She herself would hardly believe that! Not because she doesn’t believe in her friend but because she knows he isn't really a type that would try taking over the world.

Sadly she wasn’t able to send one last message to Eri but it was fine. Toga already explained all about this mission earlier, when Hero Commission was merely beginning to plan it. It’s fine. They will meet again… In the past, Himiko guesses.

It will be so weird to see everyone young again! 

She stepped into the machine with a backpack full of necessities prepared by Hero Commission but before she could get worried about how many things could go wrong… 

Everything went dark.

Chapter Text

Midoriya Izuku, twenty-five years old, with ten years of experience in living to the side of the law and as a charismatic leader for more than eight… His last thought before the bullet hit him, right in the head?

‘Well, fuck you guys.’

Because wow. He goes beyond to make sure Shigaraki doesn’t go nuclear on the poor unsuspecting society, he becomes analysis buddies with scrounge of Japan – not that it wasn't plenty of fun after initial terror – and when the war actually comes he does his utmost to limit the casualties on not just his but both sides. 

And what does he get in return? A bullet in the head! But honestly, what else was he expecting? Well, he thought they would be smarter than taking him all the way from the pedestal of the supreme leader of New Japan – fuck you Dabi for giving him that title, he was fully fine being Deku the strategist – to a position of a symbol… Of a legend that had died trying to resolve things peacefully. On live television. And with hundreds of people watching in person. 

What were they even thinking doing that?! Shooting him in the head was paramount to shooting themselves not just in the foot but hand, and a lung too! Now they are just going to slowly bleed out! 

Midoriya didn’t see nor feel Eri. What he did experience was the phenomena people liked to talk about when faced with death; re-living your memories.

Though to be completely honest, Izuku expected it to happen in chronological order. Instead, he could see it all as if rewinded. The bullet going back, him coming to that god-forsaken ‘Peace discussion’… Spending time with his friends, with people from Meta Liberation Army… As it progressed the speed of his memories passing by seemed to accelerate. 

Talks over tea with All For One who had been Rewinded by Eri. It was dangerous, Midoriya isn’t going to say it wasn’t… But that was a risk he had to take; breaking the man out of Tartarus and then letting the girl heal him. It was fifty-fifty that the man would be amused enough with everything that was happening and let it be or just takes over the world. Unlucky as Izuku might be, he was pretty sure it was actually fifty-one percent to forty-nine so he went with it. 

It worked really well, all things considered. Shigaraki stopped whining, tea time analysis with cryptid was fun and the aforementioned legend of underground decided to just observe things. Which, you know, made sense. Izuku is objective enough to admit that he is one of a kind disaster so why would someone who’s nearly immortal not just watch things unravel and step in after it stops being so interesting? There will be time for him to act but there probably won’t be another tragedy of Midoriya’s sort. 

And you know what? That’s fine with Izuku. He might have been a bit of an experiment, a game to that centuries-old super villain but oh well. Midoriya would figure out what to do about that guy sooner or later. You know, all those years taught him that it’s good to go about things one at a time. Unless you need to make five different plans in case of emergency but that’s beside the point.

Yeah… Breaking All For One out of Tartarus… Meeting Toga after years... Finally showing his face to the world... Eri’s quirk training which was far easier thanks to Twice and his Double which counted as living matter… Giving the girl talk about how her quirk isn’t a curse and she doesn’t have to be scared anymore… Further and further into time his memories went.

The destruction of Yakuza… Clone All For One defeating Overhaul within a minute and taking his quirk and giving it to Izuku… Living in the warehouse and trying to manage inconsolable Shigaraki while taking care of other members of the league too… Kamino… Seeing Kacchan and having a nice conversation with Tokoyami… Knocking Moonfish teeth out with a gun of a higher caliber than anyone Izuku’s age back then should put their hands on and getting Muscular down with sleeping darts that could put down two elephants… 

Well, he told them no killing and they went and tried to murder kids anyway so they deserved it. Even All For One agreed with taking them down! Though rather than because of the whole murder of innocent it was because ‘if they cannot listen to simple orders there is no need for their presence here’. 

Learning under All For One the art of charisma… Well, manipulation. The beginning of their analysis conversations. The first time Izuku saw the cryptid… Him spending time with the league, approaching them for the first time because he couldn’t deal with Stain anymore... Fake hero spiel? It wasn’t Midoriya’s cup of tea but it was bearable. Killing kids wasn’t. And he was still a kid back then, lost and not sure what to do with himself. Though he was pretty good at stabbing, parkour, paring, and such… And definitely more confident then-

Ah yes. After all those months under Stain’s tutelage came that wonderfully terrible day. Deciding to leave so he wouldn’t bring Himiko down with him… Not being able to do anything against slime she did defeat so easily even without using her quirk… Being told by his hero that someone like him – quirkless – can't be a hero. And, of course, the good old ‘take swan dive off the rooftop’. 

Oh, how many times did Izuku thought about doing so. He probably would have done so, had he not gone through the questionable pleasantry of running into Stain and becoming his apprentice. 

High school was full of both bitter and sweet memories. Everyone but Himiko hated him… But she was fully capable of making him feel like his life was worth something after all. She believed in him... It was weird, back then. Because in his eyes she was so very amazing! As amazing as Kacchan even if her quirk wasn’t even half as flashy! But she was so strong, so clever… She definitely could do anything she put her mind to!

Him vomitting his theories over her quirk with her reacting with excitement rather than with disgust... And then the day his best friend approached him. He isn’t going to lie, back then he was half convinced she was dared to come to talk to him and was going to leave, laughing at him who thought they could truly be friends. It didn’t happen though. 

The rest of the memories were just bitter. His young self was… Lonely. Sad. Lost. Hopeful, yet unable to shake off the voice whispering in his head that he could never be a hero- he could never be like Kacchan who used to be his friend...

Funnily enough, his father’s face was blurry. Just like other things that didn’t make a big impression on him… The ones that felt more like a background to the story of his life. 

But oh, wasn’t it a trip for his memories to go far enough that he actually could see him and Katsuki getting along. It was… Weird. To after being called Deku, after the terrible ‘I’m sorry Izuku’, after the visit to the doctor – who seemed a bit too familiar – and after all the bullying… To see him and Kacchan so small and happy, playing without a care in the world.  

Planning to be heroes together. To do- to be the best. Not just the blond but them both. Izuku had completely forgotten that once upon a time they were equals. Truly, in eyes of both of them. Just two friends with dreams bigger than both of them combined were… 

Oh, how fate sucks.

As it was coming to the end… Or rather the very beginning, Izuku had a sudden overwhelming feeling. 

‘I don’t want to die.’

If he didn’t exist in the plane of memories right now… Ones that were quickly coming to an end, he would have cried. Wept as he had done in his younger years, in a way he hadn’t done in nearly a decade.

‘I want to see my friends… My family again.’

He promised Himiko he wouldn’t disappear again. He promised Eri he would see her grow to become the strongest person ever… He promised Twice to go on ice creams and cotton candy after the war is over. He still hasn’t finished that game he and Tomura have been trying to beat for the past three months in the silvers of free time they had- and Magne still didn’t get to show him that new nail polisher she got herself last week! He promised Dabi he wouldn’t get killed at that stupid ass meeting! Kurogiri, Spinner, endless members of Meta Liberation Army, even Re-Destro and past generals… Fuck, for all he knows the scrounge of Japan might miss him too! It’s hard to get a good quirk analysis pal according to him! 

All the reasons, small and big… All the people good and bad… They who had cared for him. Both when he truly was quirkless and later when he posed at such despite having Overhaul. 

It couldn’t be the end. No. It wouldn’t be the end. Until his consciousness truly fades- it isn’t over until he can’t do absolutely anything. As long as he is, as he can think… He can find a way!

The thought and resolve happened in what could be a split second or maybe minutes… Who knows, in some way weren’t those months? In any case… He reached out for Overhaul because he could still feel the quirk. Even if it had to be used through touch and he felt as if his body was gone… How could such a little detail ever hope to stop him?

He can reassemble himself. He can bring himself back… He must return. 

He realized he was surrounded by overwhelming light only after it had disappeared. And then- then was darkness and everything was so terribly blurry. His thoughts were all over the place, no longer able to create logical sentences. It was like the moment before falling asleep, just far, far weirder. 

And with that, he existed as if through a fog for a few months, not that he could tell it. Everything he knew- everything he was made of was muddled. Misshapen. But it was slowly coming back together, rebuilding. 

Through that strange state, he subconsciously held onto everything he had. Everything he had gone through. Because how could he let go of those precious memories? No matter how painful they were, how hard his life had been… Wouldn’t letting go mean betraying them? Those that helped him, who cared for him… And those that he helped. Those he saved, who he lead when they were lost… 

And it would mean betraying himself. The person who had been hurt by the world enough as it was. He hated himself enough in the far-away past of his memories. Through all those years he grew, he learned to love himself; to realize his true worth. He became someone to not be trifled with not just because of the strength of those around him… Not even because of the quirk he had been given.       

It’s all him. It’s his strength; he came to where he came because he is him. Kacchan would never be able to go this far. Not through this path. Even Himiko wouldn’t.

All Might wouldn’t either.

So Izuku would never, ever let go of his memories!

Never…

“Quirk evolution theory.” All For One aka sensei aka Shigaraki said as if he was throwing a Frisbee disc toward Izuku who took a seat, already used to that. By now he enjoyed whatever subject the man brought up. 

First-time such a conversation occurred? He nearly fainted because; what does it mean?! Is it a test?! If he answers incorrectly will the villain kill him?!

“Rather than a complete destruction everyone is viewing it as I would say quirks simply lose some of their limitations. So rather than beginning from a low point and growing into full power, they appear nearly fully formed. While it might be dangerous, it isn’t all that terrifying. The fact that quirks show around the third to fourth birthday doesn’t change. So we merely need to make special counseling lessons and make sure rather than panicking, kids know what to do even in case of more destructive abilities suddenly showing.” He answered after a moment of thought. 

“And what if they start appearing earlier? Additionally, controlling emotions is hard even for adults so how can a child learn to control those in case of a quirk-induced emergency?” the man inquired with one of those creepy smirks of his. At that point, Izuku still thought it was so scary because of the villain’s disfigured face but after a few years, he grow to realize All For One simply mastered the art of grinning creepily.

And for whatever reason, he deemed it perfectly reasonable to offer trauma inducing experience of seeing those to Izuku. Tough luck, nothing new here.

“They won’t. They might actually show later. All things considered, evolution is meant to help us, not destroy us. Yes, some accidents will happen and people will get scared but that’s just quirk appearing for the first all over again. I feel like people aren’t learning anything from history… And kids have this special quality of looking up to adults as if they know everything.” Midoriya couldn’t help the slightly sour expression wriggling its way onto his face. There’s a reason his mom’s words hurt as much as they did. “So all in all, it’s just our current system that’s fucked up.”

“My thoughts exactly.” The scrounge of Japan said in that casual gossipy tone that made Izuku wonder whether those creepy smirks were really the weirdest part about the guy. Centuries-old super villain? Well, sometimes he felt more like a centuries-old gramp that’s just waiting for his kids to come visit him. For the life of his, Izuku could never figure out whether it was a manipulation tactic or was that terrifying man just less horrific than expected. “Is there any specific subject that grabbed your attention?”

“Yes, actually. Quirk awakening; I’m curious if someone who had been given quirk by you can go through it.” Izuku said and well… Even Stain wasn’t powerful enough to scare off Midoriya’s mumbling habit. It stopped happening as often though and nowadays only showed when the boy felt it safe to delve into it. “Technically it should be since the user can make full use of the power and even if sometimes a little different, has its the fundamental characteristics… The genetic code gets changed too so while I suppose it would be somewhat impossible for awakening to happen right after getting a new quirk since the body, neurons, subconsciousness, and such are unused to it and defensive mechanism wouldn’t look for that new quirk for protection if a user had it for a while… A few years let’s say, it seems somewhat possible…”

“Disappointingly, I have yet to see such an instance happen. The strain of awakening is usually connected to a near-death experience that leaves the subject either dead or unable to function as they had done previously. Since it is hardly possible for those born with a quirk, as you have pointed out it would be even harder for someone who had acquired it later on… Although I would not call it impossible. It would take a very special case to happen.”

For some reason Izuku just instinctively blurted those words;

“I am a very special case.”

All For One laughed. 

“Indeed.”

Chapter Text

“Dear, calm down…” Hisashi tried but he knew very well his words would have no effect. His own lip was twitching upright and honestly, it was hard to keep it down. 

“I’m calling Mitsuki!” Inko yelled, barely having taken her shoes off before running into the kitchen to make herself tea with one hand while holding a phone with an already dialed number in the other. 

“I swear Inko if you bought another set of matching baby slippers for your and my kid I’m going to make Hisashi feel intimidated by the number of flowers I’ll get you!” the blonde greeted her with her usual half threatening half pleased tone. 

No one would probably ever understand their friendship but that’s fine. Normal people can have normal friendships.

“I’ve just returned from the scan! I'm going to have twins Mitsuki!” 

“WHAT?!” the woman yelled so loudly Hisashi cringed from his spot in a nearby room where he put down baby pajamas Inko couldn’t help but buy on their back home. She went ‘we need double the clothes since we have double the kids!’ somewhere along happy sobs and you know… He can’t really argue with that logic. “Damn it! You beat me at my own game!”

Inko couldn’t help the startled laughter that left her. It made her next words lose any edge they could have had otherwise.

“Having a baby is not a game or some kind of competition!” 

“Oh yeah? Why make two right after I make one then!” 

Although Mitsuki would sound serious to those who didn’t know her well, Inko knew fully well that it was a joke and she admits to having a terrible sense of humor because she was laughing so hard she had to abort her mission of making tea to go sit down.

“Well, I would say it’s Hisashi’s fault.” 

“What did I do this time, pray tell.” Her dear but dramatics loving husband asked, taking a seat next to her.

Hm… How did the saying go? 

“Ah yeah, speak of the devil and he appears!” Mitsuki yelled into the receiver loud enough for the man to hear it too. 

“Greeting to you too, Mrs. Bakugo,” Hisashi said just loud enough for the blonde to catch it. Inko gave him a side glance and he looked at her with his most fake innocent expression.

“You’re lucky I’m in the fifth month, ‘Mr. Midoriya’, because I would punch you if I wasn’t.”

The man rolled his eyes.

“Correction, if you weren't in the fifth month you would come here right now and punch me. We both know that were you physically present here you would not hesitate to punch me even if your kid was about to arrive.”

Inko sighed.

“Please, can you just over it?” she asked. “Call each other by name and the surname war will be over.”

“He shouldn’t have begun it,” Mitsuki said simply and Hisashi rolled his eyes. 

“I will leave it without comment.” He opted to say. 

“I thought so, nerd!” Mitsuki yelled and Inko nearly choked on her spite when she heard Masaru’s quiet ‘please don’t call others nerds, dear’ and Mitsuki’s even quieter ‘sorry’. 

Hisashi actually did choke on his spit and spent the next minute coughing. 

“Do you want to go shopping in a week?” Inko asked before the blonde could make an inquiry about her husband’s dying sounds in the background. 

“Hell yeah, I do! I’ve been waiting for an excuse to go to the city!” the woman agreed instantly but before Inko could offer for Hisashi to drive them… “Masaru will be happy to take us there!”

“Take you where?” the aforementioned’s voice could be heard. He had been ignored.

“Alright, message me time later! I think I need to check if Hisashi is still breathing…” Inko said since it had been awfully quiet. Either her husband finally caught his breath or was dead. 

“Yeah, yeah…” Mitsuki said and then grinned. Don’t ask how Inko knows, she just knows. “Call me if he isn’t so we can harvest and sell his organs~! 

“I will be sure to. Bye.” 

Turns out Hisashi left the room to make tea for both of them not to crawl to his final resting place. 

“What was that about harvesting organs?” he inquired, raising an eyebrow. Inko swears Fire Breath isn’t his only quirk. He must have some kind of heightened senses. 

“Technically, you aren’t a smoker in the traditional sense so your lungs are probably fine,” Inko said simply with a shrug and the two just looked at each other, unblinking for a few seconds. 

“Yeah.” He finally admitted. “They would sell for a good penny. Mitsuki has the head for business. I’m surprised she never sold any of her enemies' livers.”

“You,” Inko said, furrowing her brows. “You just called her by her first name.”

He smirked.

“If she finds enjoyment in planning to put my insides on sale I can endanger her sense of youth by calling her Mrs. It is a fair deal, no?” he asked and you know… It was a pretty sound logic all things considered.  

“I hope our kids get my character and Mitsuki’s get Masaru’s.” 

“Need I remind you of the flamethrower accident?”

“How many times do I need to tell you that it wasn’t planned! I panicked! I nearly fainted from all that stress!” she was quick to defend herself.

“Your past classmates still call you Fighter Fire duo. It didn’t happen once either.”

The woman threw her hands up and then took her tea and moved to leave the kitchen but stopped and glanced back. 

“I could always put the fire out with my tears anyway, you know.” She said. “And the fact that I kind of expected how it would end didn’t mean it was planned.”

And you know… She wouldn’t exactly call that starting a war but still. Those words were the exact reason for what happened the next day.

“All Might onesies…” Mitsuki whispered, like some kind of ghost haunting her. “On sale… Buy two get one free…”

“You know how Hisashi feels about All Might,” Inko said, putting six of them in her shopping cart. Mitsuki blinked silently asking why her friend was buying it then. “He mentioned flamethrower accident.” 

The blonde started cackling and would have run toward the aisle with hero-themed merch was it not for the fact it didn’t sound very safe. So instead she power walked there and Inko followed after her, grinning. 

People looked slightly terrified, watching the blonde cackle madly while going through baby clothes while a woman next to her smirked, looking specifically at All Might-themed items with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Inko was well aware of all the weird looks they were getting. But you grow used to that after some time with Mitsuki. To be honest she did even before meeting her… Masaru and her were good friends in school and for whatever reason, they always got in trouble. Not the ‘consciously trying to cause trouble’ kind but rather ‘someone threw a bottle of hair spray at him and I was afraid he would accidentally explode it so I tried to grab it with my quirk and ended up making it go off creating a flamethrower flying over his head and ending up scorching up our classmates' eyebrows’.

In her defense that happened only twice. With hair spray at least. Well, good thing no one had realized the Acid Sandwich tactic because Hisashi wouldn’t ever let her live it down. It wasn’t exactly dangerous, she and Masaru did their research beforehand. It simply causes sleeplessness. There were some other side effects like dry mouth and dizziness but really, what else were people expecting? That thorn gal from parallel class literally left scars, although barely visible, on Masaru’s arm, and the dim-wit sitting two seats behind Inko had the bright idea to put a confetti bomb in her desk. She had a black eye for a week after getting hit with a part of the wood when it exploded. She would have forgiven him if he apologized rather than going ‘should have dodged, small things attraction!’. 

“Let’s go eat curry from the northern stall,” Mitsuki said, bringing Inko back from the land of reminiscence. 

“No way! It’s so spicy Hisashi literally couldn’t stop breathing fire after two bites! Wouldn’t it be dangerous for the baby?!” Inko said, her eyes drawn to the gaudiest, brightest ‘I am here’ printed on a tiny-sized t-shirt, every letter in a different color. She took three in case Hisashi ‘accidentally’ burnt one. 

“I did my research, it’s totally fine,” Mitsuki said, rolling her eyes. “Besides, I know my kid is going to love spicy food so why not give him a taste early on?”

Inko shook her head good-naturedly. 

They finished their shopping, ate some food, and returned homes where Hisashi died on spot upon seeing all the hero-themed things she bought. Inko rolled her eyes, stepped over him, and went to put them in their place with quiet ‘don’t be so dramatic’. Of course, she hid some because she knows that accidents tend to happen... Specifically to hero-themed items in their house. 

After a minute or two, the not-so-dead body got up and just stood in the doorframe as if an unholy creature unable to walk inside the sacred land of their kid… Kids room. 

“Why?” he asked with so much pain in his voice that Inko couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“Why not?” she shot right back without even glancing at him but then she slowly turned around to face him with an eerie smile. “And I hope you do realize that if those mysteriously burn or disappear you will have the pleasure of witnessing a flamethrower accident in person.” 

He was smart enough to understand everything. The reason for his suffering, the not-exactly-subtle threat of losing his eyebrows, and why he loves his wife so much. Well, the last he knows well even without reminders. 

“If I was a little less afraid for my life I would be tempted to purposely make it happen.” 

Inko rolled her eyes. 

“You have no fear.” She pointed out, putting the last of clothes in the drawers and walking to the kitchen. She was craving a sandwich with extra ketchup. Or maybe she’ll just get a piece of bread and soaks it in it? Hm… The look of terror on Hisashi’s face would be well worth it… 

“I actually do.” He said, following after her. “But only for a few carefully selected things.”

“Mitsuki’s wrath isn’t one of them though.” She noted, reaching inside the fridge and taking out the bottle of ketchup. She could feel her husband’s stare on her back. Good. Watch and suffer.

“Yours is.” He noted and took a step back when she poured a generous amount of ketchup on a piece of bread looking straight into his eyes. She ate it without even blinking. 

“Would you like a sandwich too, dear?” she asked and she’s pretty sure her husband had never before felt such fear as he did at that moment. 

“I-“

“I’m not hearing a no.” she cut him off and since she was merciful, she used only half of the amount she brought onto her piece of bread. Then she offered the madness that she created to him. 

“Can I at least grill it?” 

“I don’t know. Can you?”

He could and he did. It looked pretty good so they ended up eating grilled bread with ketchup for dinner… And supper. It kind of turned into a competition, somehow. But it ended with a draw. Normally they would probably go a week eating only bread and ketchup until one of them could no more as to assert dominance but they silently agreed not to do so. Inko rather not force their kids into that competition while they aren’t even born yet.

The next months went by smoothly. Mostly. Hisashi put the couch on fire only twice and she might or might have not flooded their bedroom thrice. They both were nervous wracks with the realization ‘oh shit we’re going to be parents!’ becoming clearer and clearer every passing day. And not of one kid but two! Two little angels… Oh dear, what if the room is too small for them? If they don’t get along? Or if they start hating each other because they can’t have their own private little space?! 

“We can always move to a bigger house.” Hisashi pointed out when she mumbled her worries out loud. Huh. She hadn’t done that since junior high. 

“But Bakugos live right behind a corner so they can always help if something is wrong and we can help them too! I want our kids to be friends and grow together!” she was quick to disagree. “Though I also don’t want my little sweethearts to feel like they have no space for themselves…”

“Then let’s just wait for their opinion.” 

You know… At that point Inko was happy. So very happy she felt as if she was living in a dream, one that nothing could destroy. If their kids get born safely there’s nothing more she needs or wants. She can already see this little house of theirs ringing with laughter, her kids and Mitsuki’s running around the hall… Probably breaking things and giving both her and Hisashi a heart attack because what if they hurt themselves?! 

Maybe it’s because she held onto that fantasy so strongly that all little things flew right over her head. Such as her husband slowly starting to work more and more… Well, he had always been a busy man but had done his best to make time for her, for his family. But now, with the power of hindsight, looking back at this exact time… Yes, she could see it. Something was weighing on him, some trouble at work arising… Because he spent only half of the time he did only months prior with her. Even though he was as happy as she was to be a parent. 

But she kept dreaming for a bit longer.

She was overjoyed when her little boys were born, healthy and so very similar to each other. Both with her green eyes and hair but with Hisashi’s untamable locks and starry-night like freckles. Her precious little angels… 

Every mother knows that her kids are special but what Inko Midoriya couldn’t know was that hers were doubly so. Triple even … 

But for now, things were still simple.  

Chapter Text

Darkness, light… Shapes and feelings; everything was weird for a long time for him.

Deeply immersed in what was gone, the sudden change felt like an attempt to force him to give up on his past. Something he wasn’t willing to do although he couldn’t consciously understand why; his thoughts were still a mess, swimming from memory to memory. 

He could hear crying. He was vaguely aware that he was crying too because suddenly every breath was so painful, it was ripping him apart from inside out. The air was cold, so much colder than it had any right to be and everything felt so very wrong!

There were blurry shapes and voices but he didn’t pay them any mind. He held onto his memories. He lived through them again and again, some deep, deep part of him keeping them on repeat so he wouldn’t forget. He couldn’t. He didn’t know why nor how he would be able to piece all those little recollections together but he knew that he had to hold onto them. He couldn’t lose even one or- or something would happen! Something bad probably!

He was blissfully unaware of the truth for eight months when everything was still blurry and even the things, faces, that came into focus felt like passing images. And they only strengthened his deep-rooted resolve to hold onto his precious memories. Because sometimes he could see his mother’s face… Auntie Mitsuki, All For One – Rewinded one – too. 

He lived in a fog. Sometimes he reacted to the outside world and sometimes he didn't; because he couldn't truly tell which one was which. He didn't talk at all. What if he said something out of the order and the memories would crumble?

Unknown to him, Inko was slowly starting to get worried. While one of her sons was putting his first sentences together, the other one was always quiet. Usual check-ups didn’t show any problems though so she wondered if she should sign him up for a more complex one. 

Whenever Mitsuki came with Kacchan, Izuku would simply watch. He saw himself interact with blonds and sometimes it felt right but sometimes it felt wrong. Like something was out of the place. The perspective kept on changing; sometimes he saw his childhood friend from a third perspective and sometimes from the first… They got mixed up in his mind a lot.

He often saw himself too. Running around, drawing, talking to mom. 

‘Weird…’ a thought whispered from behind the fog. ‘It seems different… Why do the childhood memories show so often?’

Changes didn't happen instantly. He slowly started interacting with the outside more and more, as if walking through molasses. The realization slowly started to settle in. When it was just outside the reach… That’s when he found himself speaking for the very first time. 

There was only he and himself here, in a colorful room that fit perfectly with the size he remembers although it lacked a lot of merch he knew from his more recent memories. 

“Are you part of the memory?” he asked. Well... tried to. The words came out jumbled, they didn't sound quite right. His voice was higher pitched and his tongue felt weird in his mouth. It was the first time he was so well aware of its existence.  

It all felt so real... All those sensations- isn't it all too vivid to simply be a memory? 

The other him squeaked in what looked like joy but Izuku got startled so badly by the sudden noise, reaction, that he actually fell on his rear. Some distant part of his mind noted that the distance to the floor wasn’t very far.

“You speak!” was probably what the other him said but Izuku can’t be one hundred percent sure. Well, to be completely honest he wasn’t even fully sure of his own name. Hasn’t his mom been calling him Mikumo for a while now? But was this ‘for a while’ part of the memories? It has to be! If it isn’t… What does this mean?

His brain hurts. 

Other him- Izuku, this is Izuku, run off calling mom happily. Izu-Mikumo- what’s his name? He got up slowly and soon enough found himself in mom’s arms. 

“Mikumo! Did you really just speak to your brother?” she asked with excitement. 

Brother. Wasn’t he an only child…? No, but it doesn’t make sense. Oh, right, mom is waiting for an answer… So he nods. Did he speak to his brother though? That... He isn’t entirely sure of. His head really hurts now…

“Can you say mom?” 

Huh. That’s simple enough.

“Mom.” He says and she bursts into tears. Happy ones, he thinks. Why though? 

She ends up leaving him to play with actual Izuku of this strange memory-not-really-memory world while she talks animatedly through the phone. His look-alike babbles happily about something and Izu- Mikumo? Is able to make out, like, half of it because wow, his habit of mumbling did not work well with baby spelling. 

But he gets the gist of it; Izuku gives his favorite toy to him. He can’t help but blink at it; he remembers it. He’s pretty sure it’s his very first All Might figurine ever, the beginning of his massive collection. But… He saw some more toys depicting the hero around.

“Thanks…” he whispers, trying to figure things out. 

“Let’s play heroes!” Izuku lisps. “We are going to save mom!”

And with that, the poor, confused boy gets dragged into a game he remembers playing alone. To get used to it all... It takes another few months of interacting with his family and slowly getting hang of this tiny body that feels so alien yet is everything he knows.

He realizes the truth slowly. Very slowly. Because he can’t simply accept the truth, oh no. He is Midoriya Izu- Mikumo and who he is if not an overthinker? 

So after a handful of weeks spent processing it all, the nearly four years old sits up, fully awake, staring at darkness while his twin is sleeping on the lower part of the bed. He had finally realized- no, accepted, that he had stopped just relieving memories a long time ago. He is in the past…

Well, not exactly. After all, if it was time travel why would he have a brother? Though on the other hand, it would be only logical to think this madness had happened because of some kind of shenanigans with Rewind and Warp Gate. Because Eri wouldn’t let him go to that discussion unless he took her with himself and Kurogir was somewhat of the driver. Gate driver. They both would be quick to react and their quirks probably clashed…

So he got sent to another dimension? Past? Past of another dimension? What about Overhaul? Didn’t he try using it when he was getting Rewinded? Did he create some kind of interdimensional hole in Kurogiri’s quirk? 

How does he get home? Can he even go home? What if he took over some poor kid’s body?! No, wait, he’s pretty sure he’s the consciousness that had been here from the very beginning… Just very lost somewhere between memories... Timelines...? 

Wait. He knows that Eri can Rewind without erasing memories and quirks if they were given – that took a lot of testing but All For One was happy to assist – so… Does it mean he still has Overhaul…?

He never tried to use it here, obviously. Since it wouldn’t make sense for him to have a quirk at this time frame; he was quirkless back then after all!

So now he grabs his pillow and dissembles it. He succeeds easily, quietly freaks out for a bit, and then puts it back together. It is harder than it would be back in the days of his glory but it’s easier than he expects. He supposes it’s a matter of experience? Or he went through quirk awakening and that somehow made him end up in another dimension… 

Seems plausible all things considered.

He falls back onto his freshly recreated pillow. Memories and knowledge of the future… Other dimension or not, he’s still a kid and he is tired. 

He wakes up with a start when he hears a thud. 

“Get down! Let’s eat! And play!” Izuku yells and Mikumo instantly realizes what happened; the kid… His brother tried to throw a pillow at him to wake him up but since it was pretty big, it didn’t fly high enough and instead hit the top bed and landed on the floor. 

“Coming.” He answered simply and climbed down. Well, technically he could jump down without getting hurt but mom wouldn’t be happy about that and Izuku would definitely tell her. Because of concern but still.  

“Bakugos are coming today,” Mom mentioned after helping them sit and making cereals for them. 

“Yay! Kacchan!” Izuku yelled happily. Mikumo merely smiled. He… Really doesn’t know how to feel about the blond. His memories are bitter and nostalgic. His little heart wants to believe that things can change… It’s another dimension, right? Things might be different here!

They ate quickly but rather than grabbing his brother and running off to play, Izuku approached Inko.

“Mom…” he said looking at her with eyes that wow, even Mikumo admits that they are huge. “When will I get my quirk?”

“Don’t worry, sweetie! I’m sure it will happen soon!” she assured, leaning down to kiss his forehead. He giggled and run away, grabbing Mikumo’s hand on his way. “Let’s play! Let’s play! I want to be a hero!” 

“Me too.” 

What? He might have memories that make him mentally old but if he’s going to relive his childhood he might as well enjoy it! He spent his own… His first one ended up with him as a villain unless he was playing with his mom. Or at least that’s how he remembers it and you know, it’s been a long time ago.

“Let’s both be heroes!” Izuku lisped happily and then gasped. “It’s like training! When we grow up we’re going to be the best heroes ever!”

Mikumo really couldn’t help but smile. Come on! How could he not? Having a brother that is essentially himself but, you know, without the ballast of decades of memories from a future long gone sounds pretty fun.

“What about Kacchan?” he asked, curious about the answer. 

“Hm… Yes!” Izuku answered with such confidence that Mikumo kind of felt as if his question had been answered. But it wasn’t.

“Yes what?” 

“Yes Kacchan!” 

“Yes Kacchan is going to be the best with us?” 

“Yes!” 

Mikumo isn’t sure what is worse; a toddler’s attention span or that he can intimately understand it. Well, he might be faring a little better but he guesses the simple structure of the brain can’t be changed so easily so he tends to refocus on various things often. Though, to be honest, he’s naturally a quick thinker who either starts mumbling or can’t keep his eyes on one thing for too long- Wait what was the point? 

“Mom! Come here so we can save you!” Izuku yelled. 

“Can you rescue me later, sweetie? Mommy needs to clean the kitchen.” She answered, glancing at them from behind the counter separating the kitchen from the salon. 

The actual four years old pouted. 

“We can draw?” Mikumo offered. 

“Yeah! Let’s draw heroes! Oh! Oh! Hero costumes! Let’s make our hero costumes!”

Did Mikumo use to be this hyper too when he was that age? Probably… Yeah, definitely. 

The activity managed to keep their focus for the entirety of five minutes after which Izuku suddenly got up, deciding it was time for hide and seek. After which he promptly run away to hide. It was so stupid it was cute and even Inko who kept glancing at her sons giggled. 

Mikumo got up laughing himself and, of course, found his brother without any problem whatsoever. The kid should have waited for him to at least close his eyes. 

Bakugos came soon after. Masaru brought cookies which instantly scored him some brownie points with the twins. Then all three kids run away to play. Just half a year ago Mikumo was pretty much part of the background but for the past few months he started joining the two and they all became friends. Which was nice. Terrifying because he knows what’s coming but for now nice.

It was weird to see Kacchan willing to play a part of a villain in their games. Not happily, of course, but agree to it if later the other two would take such role. Who knows? It might be the last time it happens since his quirk showed up somewhere around this time… Somewhat late but not worryingly so.

Mikumo was wrong. It wasn’t the last time they played but only two weeks later everyone could marvel at the boy’s firecrackers of explosions. Well, everyone but him was deeply impressed. As expected, even at this age the boy was quick to notice.

“Oi, Micchan! Be impressed!” he yelled, startling him by putting his hands forward and creating sparks. It brought bad memories and thank goodness rather than trying to judo flip a four-year-old, he stopped his reflexes just in time to make it look as if he was just startled badly.

“I am.” He said.

“You aren’t!” 

Well… What was he expecting? It’s Kacchan he’s talking to.

“I’m not because I know you’re going to get super strong in the future! Then you’re going to make huge explosions, like bam!” he went for a different approach, fully expecting the destruction of their friendship to happen early on in this dimension but…

“Oh!” Izuku gasped, leaning over his brother’s shoulder. “It makes sense! If we use up all our impression here how can we react when you become so much cooler, Kacchan?!” 

The adult part of Mikumo grabbed his heart. ‘Use up all our impression’. He’s noting it down somewhere to show it to the kid when he grows up so he knows how preciously stupid he was. Well, all kids are but still.

“It’s not ‘impression’! You can be impressed but impression is another world! It means something different!” ah yeah, here they go, the condescending Kacchan Mikumo reme- “But there’s admiring and administration!” 

“You’re so smart Kacchan!” Izuku said with stars in his eyes and the blond puffed his chest proudly. 

That was Mikumo’s limit but rather than peacefully laughing his guts out he choked on his spit. 

“Micchan! Don’t die!” 

“Why is he dying?!”

“I don’t know! Kacchan do something!”

“But what?!”

So. Mikumo spend a full minute of his toddler life coughing and barely managing to breathe while the kids panicked above him.

“I’m not dying…” he managed to wheeze through coughs. 

“You are!” Izuku stated and burst into tears. 

“No! Future heroes don’t let people die! You can’t die!” Kacchan yelled and grabbed him by the shoulder, starting to shake him. 

Thankfully the teacher noticed crying and was quick to come to the rescue. In a kind tone, he assured the two boys that no one was dying. By that point, Mikumo mostly stopped coughing but the other two didn’t seem fully convinced so the man told them that the juice they got with their food was magical and could cure 'death by coughing'. The two, of course, believed him.

It was so stupid yet so funny to play along to. 

Chapter Text

You know… Seeing his own father was far more emotional than Mikumo expected it to be. For many reasons. None was heartfelt longing he felt toward the absentee parent of his.

No. What he felt upon seeing the familiar white hair of scrounge of Japan was terror, incredulousness, and ‘are you fucking kidding me’ in that exact order.

“Dad!” Izuku yelled happily, running into his father's arms.

“It’s so good to see you all!” the man said and then looked up, his eyes crossing with Mikumo’s. “Are you angry at dad for visiting so little?”

He was not going to play those games. He might not be sure why he is angry that in this universe All For One is his father – because now he is sure it isn’t just simply time travel. There’s no way that man is his father in his own timeline! Though technically it would make some sens- no! There’s no way! – but Mikumo was fuming. Deep inside.

All For One aka sensei aka scrounge of Japan aka who turns out to be Midoriya Hisashi gasped.

“Don’t tell me you have forgotten me, my son!” he said fake sniffing.

“No! Don’t cry, dad! Micchan’s memory might be weird and we see you less than Miss Hanachi from the next street over but we still love and remember you!” Izuku reassured and you know what? It was double KO.

The absentee father spluttered while the time-traveling child indignantly yelled that his memory isn’t weird. After which he decided to give in to his fate and go hug that bastard. Hopefully, he doesn’t have a mind-reading quirk because things would get weird.

Inko simply laughed and took photos, enjoying this momentary happiness while she could. Since her husband started working abroad two years ago he was coming to visit less and less… She realizes his job is demanding and it’s a far way but she still wishes he was with them more. He missed their little boys' last birthday and was going to miss the incoming one too. He came a week early for it because that was the closest date he had free time on.

Overall… Mikumo won’t lie, it was pretty nice to be able to spend time with his whole family.

“I’m so happy you seem to be doing fine. You got us really worried with the silent treatment!” All- Hisashi said, reaching over the table to tousle his hair.

“It wasn’t silent treatment,” Mikumo said indignantly. Because it wasn’t. It was him being confused over timelines.

“So what was it?”

“Being golden!” Izuku stated, coming to the rescue the best way possible. “Because silence is golden! Right, Micchan? Right?”

“Yes, indeed,” Mikumo said, mustering the most serious tone he could, and then he stared at his father quietly.

“So… Anyway…”

And you know what? Mikumo will probably never feel as powerful as in that moment. He’s confident that being able to intimidate All For One is an amazing achievement even if it had been done by his time-traveling son from another dimension. Wow, life with quirks sure is weird.

Only three days later the man had left and life went on peacefully. Playing together, watching heroes, and doing exercises with little substance in kindergarten. Days trickled by with Mikumo doing his best to not stand out too much since he rather not let everybody know he’s a time-dimension traveler. It simply didn't sound like a very great idea.

He did practice Overhaul though since it’s a powerful quirk that might save his ass or those close to him in the future. He will then go with the whole ‘quirk spurting when in grave danger’ thing which is more of theory than anything but hey since technically it’s possible it will be less weird than him having a sudden mutation completely different from his parents and while his brother does have no quirk at that. Well, that in itself wouldn’t be too bad if it wasn’t for how specific it was; he ain’t getting himself targeted by yakuza, thank you very much.

Which brings up a point he didn’t really want to think about but he probably should… What about the future? What should he do? Things might be a lot different in this universe but what if they aren’t? If League of Villains and Meta Liberation Army stay the same? What kind of madness they would get themselves into without him? What about Eri?!

Well… Since he saved her when he was around fifteen and she was only six then… She hasn’t even been born yet. Well… Many things haven’t happened yet. Maybe Izuku won’t be quirkless after all in this world!

Wait. Wait a damn minute… All For One is his father… So he could give him a quirk! What an asshole! Didn’t he do that because the kid wants to be a hero? Though technically no one knows about Izuku’s quirkless status while the man was still around… And this is another world anyway! Yeah, no way his father of the timeline he is originally from was the number one villain!

With thoughts placated, another year had passed and with their quirks not showing, they would soon be taken to a familiar-looking doctor who would just do a roentgen of their fucking feet and basically go ‘Ya don’t have bone ya don’t have quirk, easy peasy. Hero career? Yeah, can’t do. Say bye-bye to your dreams kids’.

And the worst thing is that it makes sense! Technically speaking, if All For One doesn’t his family entangled in his star-sworn battle with All Might, he wouldn’t want his kids to either become heroes or to have his quirk. So of course he would get his stupid ass doctor to just use that excuse of toe bone… Which is even more useless because if things here are similar to the world he is from, that cryptid asshole is from the first or second generation of quirk users, and as such the evolutionary disappearance of that damn bone is as much of proof of not having power as the horizon proves that earth is flat!

But! The worst part is, it is actually better this way! If Izuku had his mother's quirk he would have figured it out by now. If it was some weird mutation from nowhere he would have too but you know what would be harder to notice? A quirk stealing power! So yeah, it’s probably better for the kid to be quirkless… Not in general but because he has Mikumo who sure as hell won’t let him give up on his hero dreams.

Ah… Why does a five-year-old hs so much on his shoulders?! Well, mentally he is thirty by now… Which doesn’t change the fact that his chemicals and emotional stability are those of a toddler!

Still. This is a chance to change things… He isn’t sure how or to what extent exactly but he can do something!

But as it tends to be; easier said than done.

“Don’t worry, sweethearts, we’re going to the quirk doctor on Saturday and he will surely be able to help you figure out what your quirks are!” Inko assured them one fine evening. Izuku, of course, became hyper and grabbed his brother's shoulders, shaking him as if he was some kind of rattle. He’s more of a rattlesnake than a toy since he could probably bring a whole district down with Overhaul- but that’s beside the point.

“I don’t need one.” He said with a shrug, which made Inko widen her eyes in shock and Izuku gasp, deeply offended.

“What do you mean you don’t need quirk?!” he asked and then slapped his head on Mikumo’s forehead. Ouch. “Are you sick? You’re definitely sick!”

“I’m not sick. I just know that quirk doesn’t make a person. I can be anyone I want even without one.” He said, crossing his arms. You know, it felt wrong to say while having not only a quirk capable of great destruction but an awaken one at that. Not that he knew what quality exactly it had; he had some theories though and they seemed pretty solid.

“But, but… How do you want to be a hero without a quirk? Can you be a hero like All Might without quirk?” Izuku asked, furrowing his brows.

“Well, even with quirk I don’t think anyone can be exactly like All Might. I mean, it’s important to make your own brand and all…”

“Oh my, it's as if I'm listening to Hisashi…” Inko noted and Mikumo instantly turned toward her.

“Dad doesn’t like heroes!” he pointed out.

“Well… It's as if I'm listening to Hisashi if he was smaller, cuter, and liked heroes.” She said, crouching down to pinch his cheeks.

“Mom! Don’t!” he whined but well, he can’t really blame her. Baby cheeks just have this effect on people. Oh, why was he born so round-faced… People’s desire to grab his face and go ‘look at this cutie pie!’ probably won’t be gone until junior high… 

But that’s honestly the least of his problems.

“Izucchan, Micchan, when are you going to get your quirks?” Katsuki inquired the next day, the two of them sitting opposite Tsubasa and two other kids.

“Mom’s taking us to quirk doctor on weekend! We will know then!” Izuku yelled happily and Mikumo rolled his eyes.

“Mine can stay a mystery forever. Like some sort of secret weapon.”

“That would be kind of cool…” Tsubasa noted between bites of his sandwich.

“But how can you train your quirk then! You’re going to stay behind me and my amazing quirk!” Katsuki said, showing off his firecrackers and getting awed sounds from everyone but Mikumo who was starting to kind of feel as if the blond was trying progressively harder to impress him. Him specifically since he hadn’t given much reaction so far.

He had seen this quirk at work for years and with far much intensity… Yeah. Ouch.

And he supposes he’s a bit of a ‘cool friend’. You know, the calm one… Team mom and all that jazz. After all, while he mostly acts like a kid whenever a need arises he is the first one to help everyone talk things out, calmly explain who was in wrong, and the likes… And he is far less hyper than his brother and other kids. Teachers love him for the fact that he is the one and only child that never drew over anything that shouldn’t be drawn over. Katsuki’s squiggly drawings, for example, were on two walls, three desks, under the carpet, and even on the teacher’s cup. One that is always left in the staff room. No one ever proved the kid going inside.

Saturday came soon and with it a lot of stress for Mikumo who knew what was going to happen. He knew better than to hope for things to be different here. Honestly, it was shaping to look more and more like his past than another dimension… And while it would make some sense fuck no, surely he would have realized that All For One is his father? Yeah, sure some people said he looked kind of alike to the man and his mom had pretty much no photos because they disappeared mysteriously which would also make sense because if the villain was afraid of someone connecting dots he-

“I know you’re nervous boys but don’t worry, I’m sure everything is going to be just fine!” Inko assured them and… They both had started muttering, didn’t they?

“We’re going to learn what our quirks are!” Izuku yelled, throwing his hands up and Mikumo is pretty sure he would have fallen out of his baby seat if he wasn’t tucked in it so securely. Had he really been so energetic as a child?

Well, you know what? Don’t answer that question. He knows the answer.

Soon enough they were at the doctor’s office. The feet scan? Totally fine. But. Then Mikumo learned that there were more tests after all. Not just questions about quirk, no. Brain roentgen. Something which he didn’t remember at all and sure, that terrible day had been literal decades ago but… It was weird.

Izuku went first and since Mikumo didn’t trust this change to what he knows at all so he decided not to take the risk. While walking up to the machine, he purposely tripped two steps away from it. The tears came easily with his inhuman pain tolerance brought back into the human category. He sniffled and the man sighed.

“Come on, kid, let’s just get the scan done.” The doctor muttered and well… Flooding the room probably won’t be enough.

So he nodded, put his hands on the machine while getting up, and while making an impression of fighting his tears off in truth he used Overhaul to make a few parts lose, moving them just an inch to the side… Nothing big enough to make people think of a foul play but just enough for them to go ‘who the fuck sells that terrible quality of medical equipment?!’.

While he remembers the current timeline up to a certain point as if through a fog, he is fairly certain that he hadn’t had any kind of roentgen done to him in the past years. And you know, the time quirk activity usually shows in the brain.

It would make sense to believe awakening made Overhaul work when the user is partly unconscious, putting him back together automatically. Since the most likely theory is that Mikumo nearly got Rewinded into nonexistence and warped to the closest area to… Well, himself? Like, to him existing...? Anyway, it ended up being his mother's womb... Where awaken Overhaul decided to use present DNA to rebuild him. Listen, he knows it might be a bit farfetched but Tomura can literally decay things with touch and Mr. Compress put people into marbles. It isn’t that weird.

So the conclusion is; either the doctors would have already noticed that Mikumo has a quirk or Overhaul had been in some kind of undetectable state to a certain point. Well, there’s always the possibility of doctors just checking kids' vitals and that’s why they didn’t realize that something was amiss and with his toddler self refusing to talk for a pretty long time they were more focused on whether there was something wrong with his hearing but-

Focus. Mikumo, focus. The point is; this is very likely the moment that will either let them know of his little secret or not. Sure, breaking the machine isn’t a perfect outcome but…

“It worked just a minute ago! Do they make medical equipment from trash?!” the doctor said angrily and well, at least this is working out for Mikumo. “Ugh… Well, whatever. It’s practically impossible for monozygotic twins to have different quirks and actually impossible for one to have power and the other not…”

Well… Yes but actually no.

The two then returned to Inko and Izuku who were waiting nervously, seated in the main part of the doctor’s office. And then that asshole, that buffoon, that insensitive prick…

“You wanted to be heroes, right? Better give up. You’re both quirkless.” And Mikumo would lie if he said that he never wanted to punch someone in the fact so badly but it was a close second. “According to the scans and the presence of additional toe joints it is practically impossible for you two to have quirks.”

Izuku pretty much shut down. Mikumo had to put his all into not punching the doctor in the face.

Chapter Text

The drive back home was… Well. It was a thing. That happened. 

“Do you want to get food on the way back, boys?” Inko tried but…

“No need,” Mikumo answered glancing at Izuku who was… He didn’t start crying yet so at least the vehicle won't get flooded, he guesses? 

When they got out of the car they made a weird kind of line. Izuku went first with worried Mikumo behind him while Inko followed nervously after them. When she opened the doors and his twin took his shoes off and bolted to the room with the computer and already knowing what was coming, Mikumo was hot on his heels. 

Inko closed the doors and quickly went to her sons. They both were on the swivel chair, with the All Might saving people clip on-screen with Izuku holding onto Mikumo like a lifeline. Although the latter’s air supply was slightly cut off he didn’t dare to move. 

“M-mom… Can I be a hero and save people like All Might even without quirk…?” he asked in a shaky voice. 

Inko was quiet for a moment, tears appearing in her eyes which made the boy get teary too. She stumbled forward but her words had been cut off even before she could utter that heart-breaking and hope-shattering apology.

“Of course, you can,” Mikumo said loudly in an authoritative voice. Even if it was too high pitched to demand respect it still rung powerful in the silent desperation of the room. Although small in body, he held the experience of years of not just painfully hopeless battle against society but also victorious warfare. He grew tremendously in those years and now he was going to help this version of him realize his potential. “It’s the heart that makes a true hero!”

Inko didn’t agree but she didn’t deny it either. She simply kneeled next to the chair and put her arms around them so now Mikumo was being doubly suffocated. And additionally, the other two will probably drown him with all those tears but oh well… At least this time those aren’t as painful as they were back then… 

The next day the Hero Analysis For Future Number 1 came to be. 

“You know what is as powerful as quirks? Information! If you can spot enemies' weaknesses you can defeat them even if you’re technically weaker!” Mikumo said and Izuku nodded determinedly. It was nice that the inherent quality of their waterfall tears also made them more resistant to puffy eyes so with a new day everyone was practically as good as new. 

“How do I spot enemies' weaknesses, Micchan?” 

“I’m happy you asked!” Mikumo grabbed the mouse and changed the current page on the screen to a video. “This is…”

“Crimson Riot!” Izuku yelled excitedly.

“Yes, this is Crimson Riot. If you watch carefully, you can see that he makes sure to not get hit in specific areas. All quirks have limits so it seems there are some spots where he can get hurt more easily.”

“But why would we think how to hurt a hero?” Izuku asked, tilting his head.

“Because if we can see this then villains can too. If we can spot weaknesses easily, we can look for them in ourselves and our allies to help them improve!”

“Oooh! That’s super smart! You’re the best Micchan!” 

Ah, too bright! 

They spent the rest of the day mostly analyzing. Mikumo was going to teach his brother basics and lay the groundwork for him since he already had gone through it all and learned not just the most effective way to do those but the most effective one specific to him! And while he’s at it… Code. They need to use code because if someone sees his own notes there’s no way in hell they won’t realize there’s something strange about him and his level of expertise. 

Of course, determined as he might be, a five-year-old is a five-year-old and they had to take quite a few play breaks; to run around chasing each other, to go save their mom from the evil dishwasher – don’t ask – and watch hero clips.

You know… Even after everything that had happened, Mikumo didn’t start hating heroes. Because he loves the ideal; people who want to help. Who will come to the rescue… Even if no one came to help him and he had to get all the way up himself. Yes, Stain had helped him learn how to fight and without a league, without Meta Liberation Army he wouldn’t have had the power to change anything but honestly, does a person capable of changing things truly on their own exist? Change is brought by waves, waves of people that are willing to act. 

No one might be the wave on their own… But they can be splashes. All Might was such a splash and so was All For One. Powerful as they might be, how much would that power be worth if no one believed in them and followed them?

Midoriya Izuku was such a splash too. Does Midoriya Mikumo want to do it again though? To be completely honest… He’s a bit tired. Everything he had accomplished... It took so much work, so much energy! It left even him exhausted, not that he ever let it show. He created such an amazing version of himself; strong, undaunted, able to win against any hardship… But kind, someone who will do his best to help you. Someone you can put your trust in. 

Sitting on his bed wide awake while Izuku is soundly snoring beneath, Mikumo couldn’t help but appreciate the person he had become. He did many bad things, terrible things. When following Stain he didn’t react until a kid his age nearly had been killed. He finished Overhaul off himself. 

But he saved many too. Not just in a big way as for Eri but in little ones too. League and Meta Liberation Army both, they trusted him and followed him not because he had power. No. They were willing to be his power because he had helped them. He reached out to them so they were willing to do the same for him. 

He laid down closing his eyes. The memory of Kacchan slapping his offered hand back at the bridge came unwarranted. 

Ah. Yes. He has to live through school again. How lovely.

“So? What are your quirks? Did the doctor find out?” was what Katsuki greeted them with. 

“No,” Mikumo answered easily while Izuku looked down, not wanting to admit to the truth. 

“What? What a useless guy! When are you going to learn what your quirks are? I want someone strong to train with!” the blond yelled, throwing his hands up and letting out his firecrackers of explosions. After mostly getting over his bitter memories, Mikumo couldn’t help but find them fucking adorable. 

“I- we don’t… Um… Can… Can’t we train without quirks…?” Izuku asked quietly. 

“No! Because then villains will win! And we can’t let villains win!” 

“You don’t need a quirk to wi-“ Mikumo began but…

“We are quirkless!” Izuku blurted out with teary eyes and a loud sniffle. “The doctor said… Said… It’s practically… Practically impossible for us to have quirks… Because of the toe joint...”

Oh, precious baby self… Why had you to be so honest at this point in your life?

“Yeah. Anyway, how was your weekend Kacchan?” Mikumo said trying to do some damage control. If he acts like it isn’t a big matter it won’t be perceived as one, right? 

The blond’s head turned from twin to twin, thinking which one to address and it probably was the only time Mikumo thought ‘please be egocentric and make it about yourself’. 

“How are you going to be a hero quirkless?” the boy asked which was… Weird. Sure it had been so long ago Mikumo can’t remember anything other than key events but he was pretty sure the switch from a friend to bully was instant. 

Thankfully that wasn’t the case here and the question made Izuku perk up, quickly wiping away the incoming tears.

“By a lot of thinking! Micchan is teaching me how to find weaknesses super quick so I can win even without a quirk!” 

Mikumo fully expected questions and hesitance. 

“Cool. So! This weekend I had a curry eating competition with mom, who can eat the spicer one! Me and mom made this super amazing chili pepper portion and she started crying because of it and of course I didn’t but it was too spicy even for me! Dad won!”

Oh… Why wasn’t the five-years-old Katsuki of his timeline so easy to manage? 

For a while things were fine. Things didn’t change too much and Mikumo actually dared to hope this timeline would be different in a positive sense. Playing with everyone was pretty funny, and training his quirk from future in secret was a nice exercise too. Analysis was hilarious when done with the five-year-old version of himself, mostly because he didn’t expect much and had been presented with the most outrageous ideas and theories ever. No longer shall Nezu be simply a mammal in his mind, from now on he is forever more dubbed Opossuman.

But around a month later came the day that Mikumo didn’t exactly remember but he remembers fully well the nickname that would never leave him it seems.

“Look! You can read kanji here as Deku! Your name means useless!” he said laughing and other kids, of course, followed the suit. 

“I’m not useless!” 

“But you are Deku!” 

Admittedly Mikumo wasn’t present at that moment. Because unlike what one might expect the twins didn’t spend all their time together and while one group was playing in the sandbox, another one was playing skipping. What? The time traveler wasn’t repeating the mistake of being an anti-athletic noodle before his hellish training with Stain!

So, he had just wooed half of his grade with his hopping skills when his twin came running to him with teary eyes. 

“Micchan!” was Mikumo’s only warning and was it not for over a decade worth of reflexes that refused to be forgotten in only five years, the boys would have ended up on the grass. But as it was one of the twins had a handful of the other, crying into his shoulder. “Kacchan said my name is useless!”

“Aren’t names pretty useful though?” one girl asked, confused. 

“N-no, he said it means useless!” 

“Ooh.” She said while Mikumo patted his brother’s head. 

“Don’t think about it, Kacchan’s just being a meanie.” 

Mikumo knows for a fact that no kids were on his side back in his timeline so, of course, he was going to take his poor self’s side. After all everyone… Children, teachers, and even parents – excluding Inko from whom he hid most things – no one would ever react in any wa-

“Play with us then!” the girl interjected and then gasped, going through her pocket and taking something out. “Here! Candy! To make you feel better!”

Mikumo could barely believe his eyes as he watched Izuku let go of him and take the item with quiet thanks. He ate it and then she grabbed his arm, telling him to go play house with her, and the other kid they were with nodded, agreeing. 

Logically it made sense that his presence would change things, quite a lot in fact but still… It was so nice to see his brother… His younger self getting along with others even after learning he’s quirkless. 

It was nice. 

Their sixth birthday came and went with Hisashi All For One Midoriya video chatting with them. He made some excuses that sounded solid for everyone but someone who knew his real identity. It was alright though; quite a few kids attended the party even if they were starting to… Well… Get mean. Kacchan was, of course, one of them. Though there were nice guests too! But they wouldn’t withhold the trial of time, Mikumo knows. With passing days they will start looking more and more down on the quirkless little kid… Until they all turn their backs to him…

He still sometimes falls into the background and feels as if he’s observing memories rather than him being here, this being his present time. The fact of how very different he is than he was at that point in time – thanks to twenty-five years of experience in living – doesn’t make things much better. It feels… So weird. Because he knows who he is but who he knows he is also tends to be Midoriya Izuku who he can see from a third perspective. The perspective of Mikumo. 

By the seventh birthday, only a few kids show up, and Hisashi AFO Midoriya once again video chats. He apologizes that he can’t come and assures them that he cares for them deeply but simply can’t move from America because of complicated circumstances... Which also so happen to be called All Might but that’s an element that isn’t brought up and that only Mikumo is aware of. 

And, of course, a second of letting his eyes off Izuku was enough for the bridge fiasco to happen and for things to go downhill. Some things are just meant to be, huh? Well, even if other kids are scared of Katsuki and follow in his footsteps, Mikumo won’t. He’s fully ready to keep his twin's side no matter what!

It created a bit of a weird dynamic. Izuku just couldn’t be convinced to stop trying to follow Kacchan who was… Well, becoming progressively more mean and aggressive. But weirdly enough only to one of the twins; for some reason, Mikumo got a pass. It was mind-boggling all things considered. 

Other kids avoided Izuku because they didn’t want to invoke Katsuki’s wrath. The blond was mean... Aggressive, and if his past friend stood up for someone, he always got violent. The little green-haired boy, of course, refused to see faults in the boy he admired so much.

As for Mikumo… Not only was he doing just fine, Katsuki actually, somewhat, listened to him and his arguments. To be completely honest it felt a bit as if the blond was trying his damndest to impress him. Because the twin was the cool kid who pretty much never loses his composure? Because he has a vibe of an older sibling you respect? Maybe… But Mikumo personally thinks that it was a bit of a collector's mindset at play. Everyone always praises the blond. Everyone. 

But Mikumo.

It feels a bit as if Katsuki can’t get over the fact that there is someone who hasn’t yet been awed by his tremendous skill… And with time it grew into a challenge of sorts and we all know how Bakugo Katsuki is when it comes to challenges. 

It’s ride or die. 

So yeah. This childhood was far more eventful than Mikumo’s first one.

Chapter Text

“Are you… Sure you want to go…?”

“Yeah.” Mikumo answered readily and then she turned toward Izuku who yelled “I don’t!” even before she could ask. 

Her confusion was understandable, really. This school trip’s main selling point was that the kids would be able to use their quirks freely. With supervision, of course, but still. He, of course, didn’t go on this trip in his past. Nor any other event of this sort. At first, he was too saddened by the fact that he didn't have a quirk and no one would want to sit with him on the bus anyway so he rather stayed home and watched All Might movies. Later on, he really wanted to go to see his classmates' quirks in other actions that when used against him but… 

They found him creepy and he didn’t want to impose so yeah. He never joined. But! Now is his chance to go try it out! Sure, he won’t have all that much to do there technically but he’s curious. And what would another chance at living will be worth if he doesn’t do things he didn’t do before?

He’s just surprised Izuku didn’t join. Yeah, in his own past Mikumo didn’t go but he had no one to take his side and was a bit… A lot depressed that he didn't have a quirk to use. But here the twins surely could have fun together no matter what the trip was about!

“I don’t have a quirk so I wouldn’t have much to do there…” Izuku said, noticing that his family was staring at him intently. “Micchan gets along with everyone so he’s probably going to have fun anyway but I don’t think I would…”

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m sure everyone would be happy with you joining the trip!” Inko assured, kneeling down to hug him. 

“I would have more fun with you there.” Mikumo was quick to add and his twin smiled at him over their mom’s shoulder. 

“We can play plenty when you’re back!” he assured and then looked down. “I just… It kind of hurts that everyone has quirks but… I mean, I’m still going to be a hero and all but it’s still kind of sad I don’t have something everyone else has…”

“I don’t have a quirk either.” Mikumo pointed out although technically it was a lie.  

“But you’re great! Too great! You’d be too amazing if you had a quirk too!”

“Well, can’t argue with that…” 

Inko nearly choked on her snort. 

“Oh my, what a modest son I have…” she said, straightening up and laughing. “It’s hard not to agree with Izuku though, I feel like you could take over the world if you put your mind to it, Mikumo!” 

“Maybe not the whole world but Japan? Probably.” He said because ha. She might think he’s joking but he’s fully capable of that. Well, he was in the future he came from. He still has all the knowledge and skillset from there… Though it would be helpful to grow and build his muscles enough to actually be able to do something in close combat.

“Heroes don’t take over Japan!” Izuku huffed indignantly.  

“There’s a first time for everything~!”

“Micchan no!”

“Micchan yes!” 

“Then I’m going to stop you!” 

“Oh~? Try as you might, brave hero! But I am unstoppable! Bwahaha!” 

Inko then watched them proceed to run five circles around the couch before going to their room where they probably started playing with their toys. She just smiled to herself and sat down in the salon, reading a cooking book with various snacks. It would be nice to make some for the next week's trip for Mikumo and for Izuku to eat at home. 

And that’s exactly how the boy ended up with a backpack full of food and the few things he packed himself buried at the very bottom. 

“Have fun, sweetheart!” 

“Yeah! Tell me all about your adventures when you’re back, Micchan!” 

From the very start, it was eventful. Huh. Now Mikumo is kinda curious… Had it begun with his backpack suddenly drowning in snacks or should he count the madness from the second a seat next to him was taken by none other than Bakugo Katsuki? 

“The extras been fighting which of them was going to sit with me. It was irritating.” The blond huffed, crossing his arms. “At least you're quiet.”

You know… There was a part of Mikumo that didn’t like the blond. For all the past suffering, for his attitude toward his twin… For the fact that once upon a time no matter what Deku did, he could never get along with his very first friend. 

But… The majority of him was happy. That he got another chance. He lived again and could do things he hadn’t had a chance to do in his past life. He might be thinking like an old man – even though he wasn’t even thirty when he had died! – but he wants to enjoy it. He wants to let things unfold and greet them with open arms.

That’s exactly why he goes;

“I have a lot of snacks.”

It’s hard to describe the feeling Mikumo had at the baby version of someone who was his enemy, bully, and a friend smiling at him with such bright eyes and happily exclaiming; 

“Not more than me, I bet!” 

It was such a stark contrast to the last memory of his timeline's Katsuki… To those hateful red eyes looking at him from a distance, quietly wishing to make his famous threats of killing into reality. 

“We can check.” Mikumo offered, mentally shaking those thoughts off. If he’s going to live again he’s going to live to the fullest. And if he is a kid again he can as well enjoy being childish! 

So. The two of them ended up with the majority of their backpacks on their knees, carefully balancing the growing mountains of snacks and counting them. Mikumo won and oh if it wasn’t ironic that it was by the grace of the chocolate bar Izuku had gifted him with. 

Katsuki was only a bit of a sore loser at that; he got over his anger when offered half of the aforementioned treat. 

Somehow rather than ending up with Mikumo looking through the window and Katsuki talking with the kids around, they ended up gushing over All Might and showing each other their favorite fragments of the man’s fights on their phones. At some point, a kid behind them mentioned a game from early two thousand, Blaze in Space, and the whole bus ended up downloading it with everyone fighting to score the highest… Or rather everyone trying to beat Mikumo’s score. 

Katsuki managed to do so and wow, in all his thirty years of living in two timelines, Midoriya is pretty sure he had never seen the blond quite as happy. 

“Come on, Micchan! Try to beat that so I can beat you again!” 

Ah, here it comes; another line to write down in his ‘Baby Quotes’. He is making copies for both Izuku and Katsuki for their fifteenth birthday if it is the last thing he does. No- better. He will smuggle those into their backpacks on their first day of UA. My, my… Now he is tempted to break into school grounds just to put a surprise for the two but no, he isn’t going to do that! Unless…

When they arrived at their destined location the kids were pretty much vibrating with excitement. He wasn’t but he still ended up in the front of the group and that’s because-

“Come on, I’m going to show you the biggest explosions ever!” Katsuki yelled happily, dragging him by the hand, leaving everyone behind. 

Now that Mikumo thinks about it… It’s pretty ironic. In his first life, he wanted to be friends with blond so badly and failed miserably. Here he’s fully fine with being ignored and not bothering him so Katsuki decided to be friends. Kind of. Probably. 

Mikumo knows better than thinking so positively when it comes to the blond. 

So. Next half an hour Midoriya spends with Bakugo trying to impress him with his… Well, to be completely honest those were still firecrackers but pretty big ones! At times they even looked a tiny bit like explosions they would one day be! 

Thankfully after that, another group of kids had arrived – it seemed that another school was having a trip here at the same time – and Katsuki quickly became the center of the attention, freeing Mikumo who was quick to escape. He wanted to watch how everyone is doing! He wants to note down the level his classmates are on so he can then see how much they improved throughout the years. When do quirks stop growing? Or maybe they don't? Is it truly the technique that gets polished later on or maybe they steadily become more and mo-

He glanced purple from the corner of his eye and he instantly looked up, all his thought process forgotten. He couldn’t help but approach a boy that was standing to the side, very clearly not having a lot of fun. Mikumo was curious why he wasn’t using his quirk like everyone else; was there no one who wanted to act as a test dummy? Yeah, that’s probably that.

Because this, this is Shinso Hitoshi. A friend of Himiko that she told him quite a lot about. Not in a malicious way of giving an enemy information to use against an individual! She might have explained the boy’s quirk but only because back then Izuku figured out the gist of it and was curious about specific details… Half of which even the blonde had no idea about. 

“Hi!” he greeted cheerfully. Huh. With all the babysitting for the kids around he usually did, he had forgotten how nice it was to just go and make friends. 

“Uh… Hello…” the other boy greeted, glancing to the side. Dear God, why are baby versions of everyone so cute?! If he saw toddler Himiko he would probably faint! 

Come on, how can this little shy bundle of nerves be the same cool underground hero Mayhem?! Like, Izuku had the pleasure of stumbling upon him this one time Eri nearly got kidnapped by Hero Commission – fuckers are lucky nothing happened to her – and let him tell you, he would literally ask for an autograph was the situation not so serious back then!

“Why aren’t you using your quirk?” he asked, tilting his head but since he didn’t want to pressure the boy too much he quickly introduced himself to take a bit of importance of the earlier question out. “I’m Midoriya Mikumo! What’s your name?”

“Shinso Hitoshi…” he answered, bringing his hands together and twiddling his fingers nervously. “I… My quirk is a bit of… A mental one… I need another person to use it so I can’t really do it…”

“I’m another person.” 

The boy blinked and glanced up, their eyes meeting for a moment but then Shinso instantly looked down again.

“Why aren’t…? I mean, you aren’t using your quirk either…” 

Huh. Was he trying to avoid asking questions? Hm… With this type of quirks there oftentimes is a bit of adaptation phrase where the power becomes stronger rapidly, making it go out of control. For example, there was a pretty well-known case from I-Island of a girl who could initially only make someone’s thought be heard out loud by touch but when she was around eight it developed fully, seemingly in a day, and it turned out that she could make someone’s thoughts hearable even if she touched them with stick she was holding. It then took her a while to realize how to not instinctively activate her quirk and instead do so only whenever she consciously wanted to. 

“You know how some people are born with additional toe joint which means they are quirkless? Yeah, that happened so I’m just chilling.” Mikumo said with a shrug and the other boy looked at him with wide eyes before once again staring at a nearby wall. 

“Well… If you don’t mind… I mean, most people don’t really like my quirk… It’s Brainwash, that’s what it’s called. I can, uhm, give simple commands after I ask a question… I have some problems and sometimes it activates accidentally when I ask something so… Sorry.”

Himiko would probably literally kill to know how precious baby Shinso was. 

“How simple commands? Could you make me go find a dog? Or only tell me to, dunno, walk to the bench on the right? Could you give me two commands? Like for me to go to that bench and then sit down? Is there something specific you want to check about your quirk? I don’t really have anything to do so I’m happy to help you with any theory you might have!” 

“R-really?” was this an excited stutter?! Why must children be so precious?! 

“Of course!” Mikumo answered and right after felt… Foggy. It was a somewhat similar sensation to that time he was walking somewhere between the memory line and the real world but… Different. He supposes that if he had to describe it, back then his thoughts were all present but badly jumbled while now they felt as if they were locked behind a glass pane.

And he just looked at them… And they looked at him… And he looked at them… And they looked at him… And wow, it isn’t that bad of a feeling.

“I’m sorry!” the boy yelled panicked and grabbed Mikumo’s hand with a little more force than strictly necessary. Instantly, the fog cleared. 

“So… How often do you accidentally Brainwash someone when you ask a question? Do they need to answer?” Mikumo asked, deciding that reacting as if nothing had happened was paramount to saying ‘no problem!’ anyway.

“It depends… Usually when I get very conscious about asking a question… And yeah, they need to give a verbal answer. And, uhm, it doesn’t work through phones.” 

They ended up sitting in the corner of the room, hidden from everyone’s view thanks to two kids who seemed to be building a wall with their quirks. They mostly just talked but Shinso used his quirk to give some commands too to check how much he could actually do. He needed a lot of encouragement to try anything at all though. He was a good kid who seemed really afraid of hurting someone with his power. 

But after around an hour, the boy seemed to open up, and seriously, what a precious baby Shinso was! Do you know that he has a cat? He called her Vodka because his father once said that ‘vodka always makes me feel warm’ and Hitoshi to this day has no idea what it is or why his mom seemed a mix of terrified, amused, and angry until he explained that he thought it meant some kind of blanket. Back then he was too afraid to ask what it actually was and Mikumo ended up explaining that it was simply a type of alcohol. 

The “Oooh” Shinso made was fully worth going on this trip in the first place.  

Chapter Text

Mikumo wanted to save Tomura. He wished he could but the guy was five years older and into the life of villainy since he was like, nine. 

In past… Future, Midoriya would have despaired over the things he couldn't do and people he couldn't help endlessly. But he learned to accept that some things… Hard as he might try, just aren’t possible. It would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic that it was Hero Commission that taught him that; he had done everything he possibly could to stop the war from happening. He even fucking died in the end. But even in the somewhat likely event that it wasn't actually one of them pulling the trigger, they should have checked whether the premises were safe. That’s the bare minimum they would have done if they wanted peace after all.

And yes. That’s how Mikumo spend an unknown amount of time; sitting wide awake in his bed, trying to explain to himself that no, he couldn’t do anything. Not for Tomura… And not for others either. Because he’s a child. Even if he becomes a vigilante in a few years, let's say when he's ten… Who would listen to him? Follow him? 

Part of him wanted to try. To reach out to them, to do something to help… But he knows. He knows painfully well that he can’t really do anything for them. Because every single one of them ended where they did because of reasons and he isn’t vain enough to think he can stop those reasons from happening… To magically make Endeavour a good father, make sure Jin’s life works out, that Spinner finds purpose in his current life and-

Stop. Stop thinking about it. It isn’t helping. Thinking about them all is not helping. 

He misses them so badly but he knows he can’t reach them. And the tears come because he wishes so badly he could make everything right, save everyone… But he can’t. He would have to give on this new family of his, leave Izuku to fend for himself, and then he doesn’t even know if he won’t die painfully in the underground since he’s just a kid right now! Mikumo could try, he could! But then he would end up forsaking this life!

“Be selfish…” he whispers to himself, angrily wiping the tears away. “This one time… Be selfish.”

But he can’t. It’s as if he’s physically incapable of putting himself first. But you know what he is capable of doing? Of throwing everything just to save someone. 

So that’s what he decides to do. No more guilt, no more despairing over the future that won’t come for the second time. His family from that time… While victims of circumstances, they also made their choices. Just like Izuku of that timeline rather than taking swan dive moved toward the unknown and ended up becoming a fucking general-politician-god-knows-what-else. Supreme leader of New Japan his ass. He was a young man with good intentions and a tad bit too much charisma training from All For One for it to be healthy. 

He’s going to let it go. Not forget; he will never forget those precious memories. But rather than mourning them, he will accept that they are gone and new stories shall be written. If he gets a chance to help he will. But he needs to- he wants to live again. To be happy. He wants to see Midoriya Izuku the quirkless boy with dreams succeed. 

With that thought he lets his head hit the pillow and starts analyzing possibilities until he tires his brain enough to fall asleep. 

It’s been a while since that faithful trip and he still keeps in contact with Shinso through a chatting app of this time. He doesn’t know when it will go bankrupt but it definitely will because he doesn’t remember anyone using it in the future he knows of. It also became a routine to teach Izuku close hand combat every few days. 

But that’s that. Life goes on without many changes… 

“Micchan! Micchan!” is the only warning he gets before getting crushed with Izuku. “Get up or we’re going to be late for school!”

“My liver…” Mikumo whined and it gave the wanted result.

“Sorry!” his twin yelled sounding honestly apologetic and then quickly got down. “Come on!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming…”

The school was… Fine. The kid could be nicer to Izuku but at least they weren’t as bad as Mikumo remembers them to be in his own past. Though, technically, if they were picking up on his twin and he stayed quiet then he just simply doesn’t know about it… But the kid surely wouldn’t be able to hide it from him of all people, would he?

At recess, Izuku still stubbornly follows around Kacchan who in turn stubbornly tries to impress Mikumo. Honestly, the boy isn’t sure whether it’s hilarious or terrifying. Katsuki acting like a feral dog is a normal occurrence but like a puppy that wants to be praised? That’s weird as fuck and the time traveler found himself trying to distance himself from the blond. By various methods.

“Micchan stop playing with girls!” 

Mikumo looked up from his freshly painted nails and simply stated “no.” with complete deadpan.

“I’m more fun to play with!” Katsuki tried but ha. Mikumo cannot be swayed so easily!

“Can’t do. I promised Hashi to braid her hair.” 

Most kids lacked the confidence to stand up to the blond in any shape or form. Girls though are the special kind of creatures that tend to get ferocious when faced with a threat to their princess hairstyle.

“I will literally break someone’s bone if I don’t get my hairdo done today.” She stated. 

“What the-?” Katsuki began but before he could even think about trying to intimidate her with his firecrackers she smiled, looking straight into his eyes.

“I. Will. Don’t try me.” 

“Come on Kacchan! We can play with Micchan later!” Izuku called out and the blond huffed.

“Don’t tell me what to do Deku! I’m saying we’re playing hide and seek now and you’re seeking!”

“Okay!”

When the topic of next trip came Mikumo was fairly confident that unlike in his own past, Izuku would join. He seemed really excited about the thing when he heard about it but-

“I don’t want to go.”

Inko and Mikumo blinked and exchanged surprised glances.

“Why? Don’t you want to hang out with Mikumo and your friends?” she asked and he shook his head.

“Everyone is going to train their quirks to become stronger! So I need to become stronger too! But I don’t have a quirk so I won’t be able to become stronger with them!” he explained. “So I will stay home and do analyzing and jogging and I will lift weights and I will become as cool and smart as Micchan!” 

Inko blinked once again.

“What are you writing?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “When did you even take this notebook out?”

“It’s my ‘Baby Quotes’ notebook. I’m going to show it to Izuchan and Kacchan when they grow up.” He explained. 

“Hey! If I’m a baby you’re a baby too!” Izuku huffed indignantly.

“Then write my baby quotes too.”

“I will! Right in the middle of Hero Analysis so then every time we read it together we see them!” 

Oh my… What a genius he was at that age. Be aware of Midoriya Izuku and his mad revenge skills!

“Alright.” Mikumo agreed with a shrug.

Skip forward two weeks, Katsuki once again took a seat next to Mikumo. He was progressively looking more and more like a very stubborn puppy that chose its owner and there was nothing in the whole hell and back that could change his mind.

“You help Deku with homework!” the blond said accusingly. 

“Yes, I do help Izuchan with homework,” Mikumo answered slowly, wondering what the fuck was it about. 

“You’re good at explaining stuff! It isn’t fair he gets your help and I don’t know!” the blond said, crossing his arms. “Old hag is terrible at explaining things…” 

“How about your dad?”

“He tries. And by tries I mean fails miserably. He thinks it’s all soooo easy he can’t even properly describe it!” 

“Alright, alright... If you ever get stuck on something or need help with homework just tell me, I will help.” He said and was he expecting to suddenly awaken a beast because he used the word ‘help’ to Bakugo?

Yes. He was. 

“You better be as good at explaining as that nerd claims!” was given instead.

Mikumo supposes big brother vibes are strong in him or something.

Admittedly, Katsuki would be a completely different person if the adults and generally people around acted a little less… You know, ignorant but Midoriya never expected one presence to make such a difference. 

Though did it really? Izuku was still Deku and the blond still was extremely confident and bold… The only real change was that there was one person his age he respected rather than showing a sliver of admiration only to All Might and his parents. Well, Masaru because he always ended up fighting with Mitsuki but that was just tough love that they tended to show each other.

The journey to their destination went by quickly with nice conversations and some competing in mobile games. Plus eating snacks between those. Outside the bus, Mikumo managed to lose Katsuki somewhat quickly after which he found Shinso; turns out their schools have the same schedule for trips. Something about both having funding from the same source, Mikumo thinks.

They found a nice dark corner for themselves and spend the next two hours that kids had to play around with their quirks talking. Which included training Brainwash; Shinso was now accidentally taking control over people far less! Which while good, wasn’t good enough for other kids to speak to him comfortably. 

“They call me a villain sometimes…” the boy said quietly as if entrusting a very important but painful secret to Mikumo... Because that’s exactly what he was doing. “I hate it… I want to be a hero, not a villain…”

“And that’s exactly who you’re going to be,” Mikumo assured. 

“But can I really…? There are so many people with such cool quirks…”

“And you’re one of them. Trust me… I promise, you’re going to be a hero. An amazing one that saves people no matter what others tell him… And even if someone else in his place would hesitate.”

“Wow, you sound so confident…” Shinso said, blinking. “Have you… Seen someone really cool who… Kind of reminded you of me…?”

“Yeah,” Mikumo said and went blank but Hitoshi was quick to pinch him to bring him back. “It’s more of meeting in a dream, I guess… But I did! He was called Mayhem and was really cool. He used a scarf-like thing to fight! And in that dream, he saved a little girl and reunited her with her family.”

Maybe he shouldn't have said that maybe he should... Whatever the case might be he did so welp. What will be will be.

“I wish I had a dream like that too… But Mayhem doesn’t sound like a very heroic name.” Shinso noted, scrunching up his nose.

“You know how dreams are! Some elements are just weird!” 

“That’s true…”

They ended up meeting every two months since the trip was a regular thing. Izuku stubbornly stayed home to analyze and ‘train’ by lifting whatever heavier items he could find around the house. Things were calm and the eighth birthday came and went, as did the ninth… 

It was sad that Midoriya couldn’t visit Shinso for birthdays and vice versa but they lived a fair distance away from each other and their parents sadly didn’t have time to drive them. So instead the two friends ate a cupcake on the nearest occasion after their birthdays. 

Anyway, after returning from the trip Mikumo readily shared the story of how his day went and of course, his twin did the same. 

“I was in the park today.” Izuku chattered, drawing his sixth sketch of a hero costume that day. Whether it was for himself or Mikumo, no one might ever know. “To jog. Since it’s so close and auntie Mitsuki lives right behind the corner mom said I can go alone if I return quickly… And a girl approached me! She mistook me for someone but even then we talked for a bit but she had to go… I hope I see her again so I can introduce her to you, she seemed really nice!”

“What about stranger danger?” Mikumo asked, leaning over to poke his twin in the forehead. Oh, why must survival instinct be so hard to come by in this generation of Midoriyas? 

“Ouch!” Izuku said, pouting. “You didn’t see her! She was so sad, Micchan! She told me she lost someone close to her and that I reminded her a lot of him… And she didn’t give me anything or tell me to follow her so there was no stranger danger! And there were people in the park!” 

“Good. Remember to be careful! If you ever got hurt me and mom would be very sad!” 

“And dad,” Izuku added. “Stop forgetting dad!”

“Yeah, he too.”  

They were quiet for a moment, the actual pre-teen focusing on his drawing while the other one wrote with Shinso. 

Hm… Maybe he should write to Himiko? Ah, no, no need to complicate things! She will move to this area and go to their school in around a year or so! Because, surely, the little things he had changed wouldn’t make that not happen, right? 

“Oh, right, I was wondering Micchan… Do you know a lot about tinkering?” Izuku asked.

“No. Should I?” Mikumo asked, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, I know how to fix a microwave so if you broke something I can probably get it back to working.”

“Whaat?! There is something you’re not super smart about?!” 

“Hey, I’m not all-knowing!” 

“You’re secretly learning French in English classes and still get best marks!” 

“And you’re supposed to keep this secret, well, secret. Which isn’t done by yelling that out loud.”

“Right, sorry… It’s just strange, you always seem to know everything, you know? You learn so quickly and even Kacchan asks for your help with some subjects!” 

“That’s one of those secrets that cannot be shared… Because otherwise, I would have to kill you.” Mikumo said, putting on his sinister smile but guess what? While most would at least flinch Izuku rolled his eyes. 

“Just admit to being a genius, time traveler, or having had been reincarnated already.” He said and laughed at the face his twin made.

“Is it really this obvious?!” 

“Yeah. For me at least. Mom’s convinced you’re just smart and really hard working. I think she thinks that it’s Kacchan tutoring you not the other way around.” 

“Still. Aren’t you curious about the time travel reincarnation genius thingy?” Mikumo asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I feel like you would share it with me already unless it was… You know, painful.” Izuku said, his face growing more worried. “I talked with mom about stories when we were kids. She told me you didn’t speak for three years.” 

“I guess it is kind of painful…” Mikumo mused. “But I mostly came to terms with it all. I might tell you all about it one day… But first, let’s survive junior high.”

“Oh come on, junior high isn’t that scary.” 

“But kids aren’t too nice, are they?” 

Izuku stopped drawing for a moment but quickly returned to it, trying to act as if the mentioned fact didn’t bother him at all.

“It’s fine. Really. They can be a little mean at times but it’s not like it’s them against me or anything.” Izuku said and then looked up with a smile. “They know you’d beat them up if they beat me up.”

“You shouldn’t be so happy about it,” Mikumo said, rolling his eyes and getting up to ruffle his twin's hair. 

“No! Do you know how long it took me to comb them this morning?!”

Mikumo grinned.

“I know.”

Chapter Text

Eri was fifteen, angry, and hurt. 

At first, she was only the first one because rather than furious she was resolved. She felt she had no time to spare to think about those assholes that dared to hurt Izu, that she had to work hard because if she did she would surely see him soon. 

But he was gone and the anger was suddenly not as much surfacing as overflowing. It is in that anger that she said a lot of mean things to everyone. They forgave her after she apologized, of course. They understood what she felt.

She was right there. And she couldn’t do anything- No, worse. She could. And she failed. Why from all the times her quirk had to fail her then?! Because it wasn’t a matter of Kurogiri sending Izu somewhere far away. She can feel it. Deep within herself… She knows that it was her fault. That she Rewinded him too far, be it to a child that could do nothing in whatever place he appeared or completely out of existence. 

And this is where the hurt came into play. 

She… She pretty much collapsed. She didn’t even care to lock the doors to her room. She just stayed there. Laying in the bed and stewing in the pain. She barely got up to eat and she did it only because some deep part of her thought ‘what if he’s back and I’m the one dead?’. 

The second day after he disappeared, she sat in the middle of his room and looked at memories. Albums with photos, drawings of her and Izu… She had his notebooks too. She didn’t dare look inside at first but after a while, she got an overwhelming feeling that the only thing she could do was to read through them. 

How else could she feel his presence again?

At times she could imagine him sitting right next to her and reading the words out loud. She couldn’t stop the tears that came but every single one that fell on the pages made her grasp at her hair and scream because she- she just had to take this precious treasure out and destroy it!

Others tried to talk to her. To make her feel better… But they couldn’t. Because important as they might be to her… They aren’t him. Big brother, father figure… The little light of hope that enveloped her and showed her the world outside of that terribly dark cell. 

She felt as if she was back there again. 

But then she noticed the updates she was getting from Toga. It didn’t bring her will to live back. 

But then things started changing ever so slightly, her precious pictures and albums disappearing and reappearing, with the photos just slightly different. Everyone was going slightly crazy too; they talked about things that never happened and even looked confused when she approached them. Not as if they had forgotten her but rather remembered her differently. 

When Toga shone a light on the situation Eri could suddenly feel herself coming back to life. He wasn’t gone! He was in past! But why does the whole memory thing doesn’t affect her? 

‘Because you need to go to the past too. To protect him.’ Her mind supplied, unknown to her, only hours before Toga would be brought into the past. 

League members, confused as they might be, were quick to offer to go with her to the past although it was unsure if it was even possible... If they wouldn't simply disappear. So she refused. And, anyway, last time only one person – Izu – was sent back so it was likely that she couldn’t take anyone with herself if she wanted to go there. Sure, she could try sending them first and staying behind but last time it took a lot out of her and who knows if their current presence doesn’t collapse before she can try again? 

Surprisingly… All For One ended up taking her side. 

“Unlike most of us, she is not well known, no matter of time frame. Warning Hero Commission of our actions would not end well.” He said calmly and then turned toward her, looking straight into her eyes. She held his stare. “I believe you will do well.”

She smiled.

“I will.” 

They got her a backpack full of resources ready; cash, pepper sprays, knives, guns, tasers… Some snacks. As if she was going on some weird school trip rather than to the past. 

When she was ready the members of the league said their goodbyes, knowing that the next time they would see her, they would most likely not remember her at all. 

She didn’t cry. The last they were going to see of her was her determined face look and a small, reassuring smile. So with all the heartfelt words... With even Tomura telling her not to go and die, she gave one last bright grin. 

“See you in the past, guys!” and when Kurogiri made a warp gate for her, she took a deep sight, let her power flow, and stepped inside. She reached for the same feeling that was rushing through her back then when Izu disappeared. 

She didn’t target her power at Kurogiri nor herself but rather the gate, the time itself and let it flow. 

It hurt. It felt as if her body was being ripped apart but ha! Isn’t she well acquainted with that feeling? So she gritted her teeth – she has those, this isn’t Overhaul, this is her own doing because she can’t let things end like this! – and held onto her goal. 

It didn’t feel like an eternity. It wasn’t especially long, it was in fact so short that when she could breathe easily again... When her horn became small and she could open her eyes, she thought she had failed. Tears prickled at her eyes and she rose to her feet, taking out her phone. Instantly, she could see it having some trouble and had to reboot it.

When it turned on again the date was… Well, she was sixteen years into the past.  

She succeeded. She was in the past. 

She laughed and run toward the busy street, checking on her phone how far from her Musutafu was. That’s where Izu used to live and she wanted to see him so badly! To meet him again… She was overjoyed to see it wasn’t too far from where she was and that she would probably need to only take a bus. It was merely a thirty-minute drive to see him again!

On her way there, looking through the window she smiled to herself, reminiscing. 

She was a polite little girl… For a while. Then what people called the rebellious stage kicked in and she became a devil. She swapped Dabi’s hair dye for a pink one, unknowingly by Tomura played his games and progressed them just enough to make him think he’s going crazy… She convinced Twice that she’s actually a princess from a faraway country, stole Mr. Compress’s hat, and put the blame on Mustard… 

Why? Because people tended to call Izuku chaotic and she wanted to be just like him. Though, admittedly, it took her a while to realize that the all madness that surrounded him had happened accidentally and no matter how hard she’d try she just can’t get the trouble magnet quality he possesses. He simply exists and stuff happen. 

She grew to like being mischievous though and Izu assured her it was alright. So she embraced that part of herself. Mixed with charisma she picked up from her favorite person and the little shit attitude she had learned from both Tomura and Dabi… Well, combined with her extreme determination it made her a very interesting figure in the league. 

She was confident, powerful, and liked to cause a little chaos. At least that’s how others would describe her. Honestly, she thinks she is a little underwhelming when compared to them all, even with her extremely strong quirk she could use somewhat well. 

‘Oh trust me, we were nowhere near the level you are on when we were your age!’ Izu said to her once and instead of preening at a compliment like some might she remembers furrowing her brows and going;

‘But you’re on a different level now and I live now so I have to work hard to catch up to you!’ 

He cried proud tears at that and she found herself realizing that it’s the kind of person she wants to be; not one that simply strives to reach out and go beyond the level of someone her age. She wants to be able to keep up with anyone… To be strong enough to even the field no matter where, when, or how she is. 

Her bus stop came and she left quickly. She decided to go to Aldera although she wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted to do. She told herself that seeing him, in one piece and alright would be enough but she had a feeling she would end up running to him even if made all eyes go to her. 

Getting this much attention on herself wouldn’t be good when she isn’t even sure if Toga and those two assholes that are supposed to get sent to the past to assassinate Izu are here yet or not…

So she decided to walk around first. There was a park here. He told her stories of how he played there when he was younger and about the bridge accident with Bakugo that happened nearby. She wanted to see this place. 

So she went to that park and there… There she saw him.

“Izu!” she called out reflexively and he turned around with a confused expression while she run toward him with tears in her eyes. 

“Um… Hello…?” he asked, his confused face making her earlier smile drop. Because… 

Because he doesn’t remember her. 

It seems she had… She had erased him after all. He had disappeared, was gone… And she was in this place, unable to reach her home again. Because her future might be already gone, replaced by a new one… But it’s weird. Why was that present changing and crumbling in the first place? If she didn’t send Izu back, things surely wouldn’t have had changed and Hero Commission wouldn’t be sending people here to kill him unless-

Unless those assholes were planning to send their people to kill Izu in the past no matter what. They were the ones who broke their future, making it crumble away so the new one without him could happen! 

“Are you alright…?” the boy asked and Eri realized that this wasn’t time to get emotional. It might not be the exact Izu she knows but… It’s still him. Just younger… Not having had done all the things he would one day. Not having had saved her yet… 

Was she so small when they first met? No, she thinks she was even smaller.

“I’m sorry…” she said, trying to wipe her tears away. “I… You look a lot like someone I lost… He meant a lot to me.”

“Oh.” The boy said, his eyes saddening as if her own pain was hurting him. Hah… Even though so much smaller he doesn't seem that much different... “I’m really sorry for your loss…”

“It’s alright…” she assured although contrary to her words and somewhat steady words her tears didn’t want to stop. “I don’t think he’d want me to be sad… What do you think?”

“Of course, he wouldn’t! Who would want someone they care about to be in pain?” the boy was quick to say and at the same, it hurt so badly yet felt so good to hear that. She realistically knows Izu wouldn’t blame her at all, she tried to save him after all! He had gotten shot, it’s not like it’s her who killed him! But yet, that old, deep-buried part of her felt so very guilty… 

“Thank you…” she said and she just couldn’t help but hold onto the conversation. “Hey, what do you think about heroes?”

Izu told her that once upon a time he used to be a huge hero fanboy and while she could see it somewhat clearly in his notebooks, she still thought he was exaggerating. So when the boy started chattering away she had been taken off guard but the familiar pace of his muttering soon put her heart at ease and she finally managed to stop crying. 

“O-oh, sorry! I started mumbling!” the boy said after a while and she shook her head with a soft smile.

“No, don’t apologize! You made me feel much better!” 

“Really?” he asked, looking genuinely surprised. Eri would literally fight anyone for this child. It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t remember her, he’s still Izu, her precious older brother... And savior. 

“Yeah! Thank you!” she said with a bright smile. “I hope we get to talk again! But I should probably get going…”

“Right! Me too! Or mom’s going to start worrying! So, uhm… See you?”

“See you.” She said, raising her hand in goodbye while he turned and run away, glancing back to wave too.  

She then closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and turned around. Izu tried so hard to stop the war… Would she be able to do it with her knowledge of the future? Stalking him to protect him would be weird and very ineffective since she doesn’t even know if those assholes and Toga are here yet…

An information network would be a good thing to begin from. 

She grinned to herself, ideas quickly slotting in their places, leaving her with plans that she was fully capable of putting into life. She will have to be careful though, both about Overhaul and All For One since she doesn’t feel like it would be a great idea to stumble into them too early. The former for obvious reason and the latter because she could barely trust him in the future not to mention now that they had no connection and he’s only going to see a strong quirk in her. 

Yeah, she could heal him but even if he paid the favor back he would also be a pretty big danger. Without Izu here she’s pretty sure he would simply take over the world and that would be the end of it. In her future, her big brother wasn’t sure why the man hadn’t done it in the first place and took that calculated risk of helping him because it was pretty much the only thing he could do. It was complicated.  

Anyway. Making League of Villains would be both suspicious if Tomura already thought of that name and make people wary. She didn’t want that. While she might like a bit of chaos… She also wants to help so there’s a title that fits the organization she would make far better.

League of Vigilantes it is then~!

Chapter Text

Everything seemed to be going well. Very well in fact. So well that Mikumo should have realized sooner that something was about to go terribly wrong. After all, when did he ever have a good time without things inevitably blowing up in his face spectacularly? 

It was only a few weeks until their tenth birthday and three or so months before Himiko would move in… When something that changed things too much to be normal happened. 

The first red flag was that when the bus parked next to the school he noticed Mitsuki. Katsuki had been going home on his own for a while now and the blond looked confused too. The other warning was when the boy greeted her with “What are you doing here old hag?” she didn't react with anger.

“Come on, let’s get in the car… You too, Mikumi, I’ll drive you home.” She said instead, eerily calm and quiet.

Both of them instantly got into the car and didn't dare to make a peep until the woman stopped at a red light and Katsuki couldn't take the stilled tension anymore.

“What is it?! What happened?!” he yelled, startling everyone in the car. 

“It’s…” the woman began and after glancing into the rear mirror to look at them she sighed. “Izuku got attacked in a park.”

“What?! By who?! A villain?!” Katsuki continued his loud questioning, hiding the worry he felt under anger not just from people around but from himself too. 

Mikumo on the other hand… He just looked wide-eyed at the back of Mitsuki’s seat. So far… Everything different from his memories changed because of his intervention. And not too drastically, all things considered. Yes, Katsuki is nicer but he still calls Izuku Deku and picks up on him as do other classmates even if it is far less severe than it was in the future-past. Befriending Shinso isn’t a huge thing either, since they barely even see each other and mostly just write.

But this? This is huge and not really connected to his actions. The domino… Is it starting to wreak havoc? Is it Mikumo’s fault? 

“Calm the fuck down, brat!” Mitsuki said, driving again when the light turned green. “He’s alright, someone stepped in so he’s fine… Inko’s really worried so I came to pick you both up. We will go visit Izuku tomorrow.”

“And what if I want to see him today?!”

“Then I will show you a fucking photo of him because he needs some peace and quiet, understood?!” she yelled and parked since they were already before Midoriya’s home. It wasn’t even a three-minute drive. “Are you alright, Mikumo?”

He glanced up meeting Mitsuki’s worried gaze and nodded with a small smile. 

“I’m not the one you should be worried about.” He pointed out and moved out of his seat. “Thank you for giving me a lift… See you tomorrow?” 

The last part he said turning toward Katsuki who was quick to nod.

“No villains would dare to show up when I’m present!” 

Ah, yes. As confident as ever. 

Mikumo waved while walking up to his doors where he rang the doorbell and had been near-instantly brought into a slightly suffocating hug. 

“I’m so happy you’re alright!” Inko said, very clearly paranoid after whatever had happened. He returned the embrace but rather than staying in it, after a moment he wriggled free. 

“What happened? Where’s Izuchan?” he asked and a second after getting out of one pair of arms he got pulled in another hug.

“Micchan!” 

After which the boy started sobbing into his twin's shoulder. Mikumo made soothing circles on his brother's back. 

“It’s alright, you’re safe now…” he assured, feeling a pang in his heart at how it reminded him of whenever Eri would wake up with nightmares of her time with Overhaul. But even more than this, he felt guilt at the possibility of it being his fault that this poor kid got attacked... That he did something that ended up in a domino effect that endangered Izuku. 

Mikumo isn’t exactly sure when but they both ended up on the couch with Inko sitting beside them. Unlike one might expect it didn’t take the boy long to calm down, just sniffling from time to time. 

“What happened?” 

Inko glanced at Izuku who looked down, not sure how to put it. 

“I went to the park to jog…” the boy spoke up, his eyes suddenly steeling with resolve. Well... It isn’t that surprising. Let’s not forget that his own reaction to the slime villain all those years ago was… You know… Although he nearly died, he cared more about the fact that he met All Might. 

It was such a terrible experience, yet after everything he had gone through he barely gave it a place in his massive archive of trauma-inducing events. It was just a villain being villain rather than his childhood friend telling him to kill himself or having his precious Hero Analysis made into fish food. 

“You don’t have to talk about it, sweetie…” Inko assured, putting her hand on her son’s knee with a reassuring smile. 

“I know. I… I don’t want to be scared to talk about it… I want to be a hero so I should put my head high and move on!” Izuku said and took a deep breath. The woman wanted to say something but what could she? “The park was pretty empty so after a bit of jogging, I decided to go back since it felt kind of dangerous being alone there… There were some people around, I think I saw someone in distance but it’s all kind of hazy… I think someone called out to me but it’s hard to tell since there was a loud sound and something hot and bright like a fireball flew right over my head… I- I froze and looked back… I saw three people, one had a raised hand and was wrestling with another one and the third didn't really do anything… The one that helped me, I think, yelled for me to run so I run for help! But when police came they were gone but the scorched ground was still there…”

Fireball like. Hot and bright… It did ring a bell but it was impossible. There’s no way. 

“They called you? By your name?” he asked quietly.

“I might be wrong because I was really scared but… I think that person yelled ‘Deku’… It was weird, he sounded so angry… It felt personal…” 

“Of course it wasn’t! It was just some mad villain on the loose!” Inko assured instantly, pulling not just Izuku but also Mikumo into a hug and crying over what had happened… Which made the former bawl too. 

The latter though… He couldn’t help but worry. To overthink. But really, was he simply being paranoid? It was too strange to ignore. Someone randomly trying to kill Midoriya Izuku with a scorching bullet while angrily screaming ‘Deku’ at the top of their lungs hit a little too close for comfort. 

There would be no sense in sending Bakugo to another dimension when the future was still moving forward… But it would to the past if the present of the world he died in was getting affected by his current actions. Yes, it is far-fetched but after learning of All Might’s injury, All For One's existence, and One For All a transferable quirk, it seems only natural to aim high with his theories. His life never could be too normal, couldn’t it?

Later that day a police officer came to ask a few more questions about the incident; they didn’t want to stress the boy further by asking him to come to the station. Mikumo was able to stay with Izuku while the latter was being questioned about that event as mental support. Inko was present too but unlike one of her sons, she was fully sure the attacker was some kind of random villain just trying to hurt someone. 

That night, as if it was some kind of weird tradition, Mikumo stayed up. Just sitting on his bed and looking into empty space, thinking. If it truly was Bakugo who were the other two people? At one point Izuku mentioned that he thinks he saw red so Backdraft? No way the boy wouldn’t recognize him though… The same goes for Snipe with his red cape and Vlad King… Someone younger...? 

Hm… Habuko Mongoose, hero name Medusa? Though if they were with Bakugo it would be more likely to be Kirishima Enjirou aka Red Riot. 

The third person helped but that doesn’t render the choices too much. Shinso Hitoshi, Mayhem, proved to find a child’s life worth more than Hero Commission’s words. Mikumo would like to believe it was the same for more UA heroes than just the purple-haired boy. There was also the possibility of the person being from another school too… Or Himiko. It would make sense although he doesn’t have any proof it was her. Just as he can’t be sure the other person is Red Riot… Or even the attacker is Bakugo also known as Ground Zero. 

“Hey, Micchan… Are you asleep…?” 

Mikumo was startled by his routine of randomly staying awake at ungodly hours because he has too much on his mind being broken. Pretty badly at that. But he long ago grew out of useless flapping and that’s exactly why he merely froze rather than jumping right out of the bed. 

“No. Are you?”

“No… And I don’t think I’ll fall asleep anytime soon… Do you want to talk…?”

“Sure. What about?” 

The room was silent for a moment.

“How was your trip?” Izuku finally asked. 

“It was alright. Kacchan sat with me again… He couldn’t live down the fact that I was noticed reading a random book on English and still done better on the test than him. I had to tell him it was just a different exercise book and he demanded I lent it to him so yeah… Now I need to get a new English textbook.” 

His twin laughed quietly. 

“You should have just said the truth then!” 

“He would probably explode if he heard I’m reading French novels and still doing as good, sometimes better, than him!” Mikumo said and yeah… He should probably get some more answers wrong on purpose but it hurt so badly to do that… 

“He wouldn’t! Probably…”

They were quiet for a moment.

“He’ll be visiting tomorrow. He got really worried when auntie Mitsuki told us you got attacked.” 

Izuku just hummed in answer and went quiet for a moment. Mikumo moved to the side to look down. His eyes met so very familiar green eyes. 

“What’s on your mind?” 

“I… It’s just… If it was Kacchan or you, I bet you wouldn’t even be scared… And I just run away…”  

Mikumo couldn’t help but think back to the slime villain. Personally, he’s pretty sure he blocked out most of the memories of the attack on himself… But he remembers Katsuki. Those red, terrified eyes looking at him… Asking for help… 

“We would.” He said, not breaking eye contact. “Villains are terrifying. You know… All people… All heroes start small. At one point in our lives, everyone is scared. The thing that makes us brave is moving forward despite that.”

‘I smile to deceive my own fear.’ Was it what All Might said back there at the rooftop? That memory feels so hazy yet so clear at the same time… It was one of the main reasons why he left his house. Why he run away to either die and let the world prove to him just how useless he truly is or to actually find his strength. 

“It’s hard to imagine All Might ever being scared.” Izuku pointed out and Mikumo chuckled, deciding to get down and lie down next to his twin. 

“I think he’s just very good at hiding his fear.”

The other boy gasped, offended, and nearly pushed his brother off the bed. 

“How dare you! All Might is the best! He isn’t daunted by anything!” 

Oh, he is… But it’s not time for that. 

“Fine, fine, whatever you say.” He agreed instead and they went quiet for a moment. Mikumo did have something to say but he wasn’t sure how. “I think… I think that maybe that person that attacked you today… That they have memories of the same place I do. I think they have mistaken you for me.”

He didn’t want to burden his twin with the story of his past-future. But it didn’t feel right to stay quiet about it. To be completely honest… If Izuku demanded to know everything now, Mikumo would tell him. Because he felt guilty.

But this is his past self, isn’t it? So he knew that getting the explanation wouldn’t be the first thing on Izuku’s mind…

“If that’s the case… Then I’m glad. That they run into me, not you.” 

But even knowing himself so well, Mikumo still spluttered at that answer.

“Didn’t you just say me and Kacchan wouldn’t even be scared?!” he asked, a bit louder than he expected but not loud enough to wake up mom. 

Izuku shrugged lightly. 

“Well… I don’t care if I’m scared as long as I can protect someone. And maybe it’s a little stupid but being able to protect you, Micchan… Makes me feel really strong!” he said and beamed. It was the kind of smile that made Mikumo realize that whenever others shaded their faces with their hands at him weren’t doing it just jokingly. Say whatever you want about him but you can’t deny the fact that Midoriya Izuku’s smile is blinding. 

“Why are you so precious?” Mikumo asked quietly, deciding it was as good time as any to give his twin a hug and a pat on the head.

“Hey! Don’t treat me like a kid!” Izuku said indignantly but didn’t push him away or swat his hand away. 

“I’m not treating you like a kid but a precious cinnamon roll you are.” 

“If I’m precious cinnamon roll so are you!”

“I’m totally fine with that.”

To be completely honest Mikumo was planning to explain at least some things about his past-future and maybe give a warning about the possible danger they might be facing… But he ended up falling asleep. And the next day the two of them barely managed to get up before having Katsuki angrily asking Izuku if he ‘isn’t fucking dead’. 

And at one point that day Mikumo realized that telling his brother that it was Kacchan of all people who tried to kill him just yesterday might not be the best idea. His twin already knows someone might be after him so… Maybe it’s fine to keep the rest a secret for now? Until he grows a little and until he's able to understand better the madness of the future long gone… 

Yeah. That’s probably for the best. 

Chapter Text

The three of them appeared in a forest, in the air. Kirishima a foot above a tree and ended up on a branch, Kaminari a few inches off the ground and landed somewhat gracefully… While Bakugo fell into a small stream. 

 He instantly knew where they are and got five times angrier because now he was wet. He has to murder a kid, a kid he was friends with, and then bullied and fucking told them to take a swan dive off a roof and now he has to kill him! 

Fucking hell… There’s no other way. That fucking nerd will go crazy and bring the war to Japan! Damn it! He wanted to be a hero, why did he end up as a villain?!

‘Maybe because someone couldn’t bear to look at him and made his life miserable for petty reasons?’  a voice speaking in his own tone asked, in his head. Fucking intrusive thoughts, Katsuki has no time for that bullshit. 

“Is everyone here?” he asks, looking up. Kaminari, that idiot, gave him thumbs up. As if they aren’t on a mission to fucking kill someone who might not even be twelve right now! 

“Yeah, Bakubro- Ouch.” Stupid Riot began just in time for the branch under him to break. His sound of pain was so fucking stupid, if that idiot can take Katsuki’s explosions that little fall must have felt like getting patted by a baby! 

“Great. Move your asses, we have a mission to accomplish and we need to do some reconnaissance.” Bakugo said and moved toward the park that was right next to this place that brought old memories. 

“So… Are we really going to kill a child? What if he’s, like, five now or something?” Dunce face asked as if that didn’t already fucking crossed Katsuki’s mind.

Fuck. He can’t just keep his own god damn mind quiet! It’s all so infuriating! So…!

‘Disappointing. You’re disappointing. What an amazing hero you have become, having to kill a kid you, yourself, brought to the edge. To what? Save the world? League is going to appear anyway, you fucking moron.’ 

That doesn’t fucking matter! Deku is a villain, a dangerous one with even worse backing! He needs to die. If there was any other way Hero Commission would have found it! They send Hawks in diplomatic means and how the fuck did that end?! In a disaster! 

‘And didn’t Deku’s death make things even worse? Huh? Didn’t he get shot when coming to peace talks?’ 

Shut the fuck up! It’s- That nerd decided to be a villain, decided to start a war! To take over the damn whole Japan! Supreme fucking leader! 

“Bakubro…? Are you alright…?” Shitty hair asked and Katsuki took a deep breath through his nose.

“Ground Zero. We’re on a mission, Red Riot.” He corrected and then turned toward Kaminari. “It doesn’t matter how old is that fucking nerd now. In a few years, he’ll start a war and we need to protect people. We’re heroes.”

And with that he stomped forward, leading because he knows this terrain the best out of the three of them.

‘As you have always done. You haven’t changed at all, didn’t you… Kacchan?’

Katsuki wanted to scream but it was nothing new so he pushed all his feelings down, until the ever-present shimmer of fury was simply a background noise-

‘Just like Deku was but oh… If he was just a background extra would you had still bullied him so much? Ha. What a loser. Couldn’t even let the quirkless boy hated by everyone be…’

“Huh, my phone works,” Kirishima said. “Oh, wow! We got sent, like, so far in the past!”

Bakugo was about to whip out his own phone when they stepped onto the familiar path of the park and he noticed green in the distance. 

He could see how small Deku was. Was he always this tiny? In the future… He didn’t grow to tower over most people or anything of this sort but even with that mediocre height… Compared to that person, this kid looked so small. Weak.

‘Useless weak Deku… And where are those heroes he so admired? Those that are supposed to protect weak and powerless?’

Why the fuck did it take Bakugo so long to learn that winning was meaningless if he didn’t save anyone? 

“Is this…?” Kirishima asked quietly, finally noticing where Bakugo’s line of vision was at. 

“Yeah.”

“But what if it isn’t him? Guys, I don’t want to have an innocent kid on my conscience…” Kaminari, ever the idiot, said already wavering.

“There’s an easy way to check,” Bakugo said, already raising his arm and taking an aim. Then he let his emotions loose. “DEKU!”

In quick succession the boy looked toward them, Katsuki used his other harm to let out AP Shot and at the same moment, Kaminari moved, hitting Bakugo with his shoulder and changing the trajectory of the attack, making it fly over Deku. 

As if it wasn’t obvious enough what this traitor was doing, he yelled ‘run!’. 

Bakugo was furious for many reasons. Noticing that Kirishima’s hood was blown back, making his rather remarkable hair visible didn’t help either.  

“What the fuck are you doing?!” he snarled, pulling his fist back and trying to hit that idiot.

“H-hey, come on, Ground Zero, it was just-“ Kirishima tried to stop the fight but Kaminari dodged swiftly, and only then did it click. The movement was too light. Too well-practiced; while the electric blond did pick a thing or two about fighting in close range, he mostly operated on distance.

“Queen.” He spat her hero name as if it somehow was a villain on its own. 

“Guys, we really don’t have time for that, we can’t be spotted here,” Kirishima said, looking from one blond to the other.

Although he hated it, Bakugo had to agree with him so he stomped back toward the forest, knowing fully well that the other two would follow.

Soon they were a good distance away and although police sirens could be still heard in the distance, he turned around... Barely managing to dodge a knife that left a small cut on his cheek. Kirishima instantly moved into a defensive position although his body language betrayed that he felt confused and unsure. 

“Toga what are you doing…?” he asked and well, at least he isn’t stupid enough to not have realized that this isn’t Kaminari by now.

The girl smiled although her disguise didn’t yet peel again. She was very clearly planning to keep their friend’s face on as long as possible.

Disgusting. 

“Being a hero.” She answered and suddenly her smile grew so much sharper. “I was willing to give you a chance, you know. To wait and see. But you’re just Hero Commission's dogs that will kill children for them without even batting an eye.”

“We don’t really have a choice if we want to avoid the war from happening again…” Kirishima tried but that psycho laughed in his face.

“Then how about going after Liberation Army? At this point it was Re-Destro who was leading it, you know! Or maybe being there for Izuku and telling him that he actually can be a hero rather than putting him down his whole life and getting fucking mad when he accomplishes something!” the girl yelled, panting by the end of her tirade. 

‘She isn’t wrong.’ That treacherous voice in his head whispered but as always, Bakugo ignored it.  

“Because appearing from the future and telling him that he will become supreme fucking ruler of New Japan so he can as well become hero would go so well!” Katsuki yelled right back because he didn’t know what to do. Ever since the day that fucking nerd disappeared… Since the training camp… The blond felt as if he could no longer make his own decisions because those only ended in tragedy and suffering. Everything he had done in the past… Didn’t it lead to Deku becoming a villain? To the war? 

In the end... Wasn't he the one responsible for all those deaths? 

“Of course, it wouldn’t according to Hero Commission! They are the same people who refused to ever talk things out peacefully! It’s their fault the war began in the first place!” the girl answered just as heatedly but even if there was a reason in her words, Katsuki could no longer hear it. Because something clicked and it made him too furious to judge things properly. 

“You’re a spy?!” he screamed, pushing Kirishima away and stepping toward her with his hands smoking. “All this time… You’ve been actually on that damn nerd’s side! I should have known! You always were weird! What the fuck did All Might see in you?! Why would he train a backstabber?!”

Suddenly her anger seemed to evaporate and she smiled so widely that Katsuki felt all his hair stand up.

“You’re the backstabber, Kacchan. And can’t even get your facts straight. If anything… I’m actually too loyal.” 

“So you don’t care for those idiots that you hung out with in UA, huh?! You don’t care if Round Face, Square Glasses, Eyebags, and Frog will go and die in war because you’re so fucking sentimental?!” 

He knew that if they actually fought things would get bad. Heroes of this time would show up and everything would go to shit; even if they didn’t get caught, they would become wanted villains. Right now the most that was seen of them were colorful splotches because not even mentioning stress, with the brightness of AP Shot and distance it was pretty much impossible to make out their faces. 

And their fights – Toga’s and his – always ended up big. Explosive… And bloody. 

“I do but I’m not just going to abandon my best friend! I’m not you.” She stated heatedly and oh, how did he long to punch her in the face… “You’re all weird… Weren’t heroes supposed to help? To be the good ones that protect?! And you, who held yourself in such high regard are just going to kill a kid! A kid that doesn’t even remember the future because Izuku sure as hell didn’t look like the Deku we know!”

At that Bakugo made the mistake of glancing at Kirishima who looked more lost than ever, which pissed Katsuki off so much it was impossible to put into words.

“What?! Are you going to go and say we let the war happen again just because you don’t have the guts to kill a villain?! Because they didn’t have hundreds of people killed yet?! Or maybe you suggest we fix things with fucking friendship and shit?!” 

“No, that’s not it! I just… He really didn’t seem to know what’s going on and it’s kind of weird because if it wasn’t him then why was our present changing…?” Red Riot was quick to answer. 

“Because it was all a fucking ploy on his part?! Because he knew we were coming and tried to put our guard down like a coward he is?!” 

‘Just like a rabid dog. Bark some more!’ the voice in his head cackled reminding Katsuki why nowadays he could hardly go a day without wanting to kill someone, preferably himself. 

He was supposed to be the best. How did he end up arguing that they should kill a fucking child? 

“Stop that bullshit and just admit already that you just want to kill him.” Toga hissed and he froze. It wasn’t true. “Ever since I joined Aldera… You hated him even before I came, you always hated him. It must be so much fun to have a reason to actually kill him!”

It was the last straw. The explosion came to life as if of its own but Kirishima grabbed his hands, using hardening to stop it from reaching anyone and giving away their position anymore than they already did. 

“I know you have some disagreements but we’re in past! We shouldn’t be arguing!” he said and then looked at Toga with the kind of harsh expression that Bakugo has hardly seen him give even to actual villains. “I understand your points… But you don’t really have the right to tell us how heroes should act. What did you do to Chargebolt? How long have you been spying on Hero Commission?”

The girl huffed and took a step back, looking at them with pity.

“’I killed him’, is that the answer you expect? Because then I have to disappoint you. I just locked him up. And I’ve only been observing them since that so-called ‘peace talk’.” She said and shook her head. “You know… People might call me crazy but at least I’m not blind like you two are. It’s a pity, I liked you Kirishima.”

And with that, an electric-like current that could be easily mistaken for Kaminari’s quirk started flowing on her body, and in an instant, she moved. Apex Predator as she called the technique was extremely powerful and changed its properties depending on whose shape she took. While Kirishima with his hardened skin would be fine even in a prolonged battle against her, Katsuki wasn’t quite as lucky.

In a battle of attrition, she would, no doubt, win. Because she had always been fast, not overly strong but fast… But after developing Apex Predator she went from toothpick into something who could bench-press half of their class. He could deal with both even if it would be a challenging fight but adding to that electricity? Every attack, even if blocked… It left the surge tingling on his skin and it was only a matter of time until the intensity would be too much.

Yeah, technically they had the upper hand with Kirishima there but he was far too slow for her and while he is extremely good at defense, his technique still has its limits. Be it the time or the amount of damage. Not even mentioning that it is Toga they are dealing with. She isn’t afraid to play dirty and the second Katsuki goes down? She would probably scream at the top of her lungs capacity for help so someone would come and what would Kirishima be realistically able to do then?

So while it wasn’t a clear win scenario for her, her chances were decent, hate as Bakugo might admit it.

But before the battle could truly begin… They noticed movement and by the time Katsuki dodged an incoming blade – why the fuck does Toga always have knives on herself?! No matter of form place or even time?! – the girl was gone. 

“Stop right there!” they heard and of course, they went running because what else they could they fucking do?! 

It isn’t their time… And their mission had been sabotaged. They need a place to make a plan and a good one on that. If they get caught rather than taken seriously they will definitely be marked as insane. Even with proof, they could bring by showing their phones, it could be easily chalked up to being a well-planned murder attempt! Not even mentioning that people of this time, unaware of the terrors of war would be disgusted with the very idea of killing a child to stop countless tragedies from happening!

Fuck… The more Katsuki thinks about it the less trusty they would sound to anyone. If at least that fucking Deku had a somewhat powerful quirk! Or even one at all! But no, he doesn’t! And no one is going to ever take him seriously before he actually starts taking over Japan! So the two of them would be at best taken to the mental ward! 

Fucking hell… At least Bakugo knows this area well enough to know where to hide from cops.

Chapter Text

“Can I hack your phone?” 

Mikumo, only a few months short of physical eleven years and thirty-six mentally, blinked and turned around, looking up from his Hero Analysis nine point one. 

“Does it still count as hacking if you get my permission?” 

“I didn’t hear a no!” 

Half amused half curious, the time traveler glanced at his phone and snickered at a monkey-shaped green blob that made a small clunky animation of first sneaking onto his screen and then searching through his photo folder. After a few seconds, it grabbed a bunch of pixels and run away, off the screen. 

“Oh no, what did the little thief take?” Mikumo asked, getting up and walking to lean over his twin’s shoulder to check the laptop's screen. 

“Ha! You thought it was a photo but look at this!” Izuku said proudly, presenting one of the notes mentally older teens made. It read ‘remember to water crops’. “What does it even mean?”

Mikumo patted his brother’s head. It meant to check if he can grow plants by modulating them on a molecular level by mixing seedlings with water and maybe some dirt.

“I’m good enough with the fickle art of hacking to be safe. I’d be impressed if you found the hidden folder in which I hold actual photos I care about.” 

Izuku froze for a second and then his eyes widened comically.

“Do you really have a hidden folder or are you joking?” 

“I do.”

“Alright, I have a new goal I guess…” 

“What happened to the tinkering? Didn’t you want to learn how to make support gear?” Mikumo asked, pulling his chair to sit beside his brother who turned to look at him, for a moment forgetting about his ‘monkey see, monkey take’ program. That’s literally how Izuku called it. It seems they are meant to be terrible at making names no matter of timeline. 

“I still do! But I’m trying to figure things through a tutorial first since I don’t want to make mom waste money on pieces and parts that I will probably end up making blow away anyway…”

“Making mistakes is part of learning… I mean, I can see what you mean but if you’re so afraid it will go wrong we can just go for one of those scraps selling places or something.” Mikumo offered and Izuku hummed in thought. 

“Sounds good. If I had main a structure and had to buy only smaller, finer parts and maybe some tools it would definitely make the costs much lower and even if I ended up wasting it all it wouldn’t be of that much difference since it’s mostly trash anyway… We could also ask around neighbors if they don’t have some old parts they want to throw out and take them but I still need a place where I could do it all since I don’t want to bother you and mom and I know I will end up staying late at night doing some last-minute adjustments-“

Ah, yes. The famous muttering. But. The ‘trash’ part reminded him of something.

“Hey, google Dagobah Beach.” He said, instantly making Izuku return to the world of the living. 

“Wait, you mean that… Trash beach…?” the boy asked and the exact moment he understood his twin’s intentions could be seen on his face. “That’s a perfect place for getting materials since no one cares what happens with that place! That’s one problem off the list!”

Good. In the future after a few years of war and getting this part of Japan under his rule he had done some cleaning. Not, like, killing people who didn’t agree with him or something; cleaning in the literal sense. You’d be surprised how many places Hero Commission left as trash bins that had hidden a beautiful scenery. Also, Overhaul is surprisingly amazing at not just taking rid of but also recycling all those abandoned bathtubs, microwaves, and the likes. 

 “As for the place… I really don’t mind if you change our room into the lab of a mad scientist. It would be pretty fun, to be honest, and we can always buy mom ear muffs. You’d probably have to banish the figurines to the closet though.” 

“Nooo!” Izuku yelled, literally falling off the chair to the ground in despair. “Not the figurines! How can you even bring up the idea of closeting All Might?!”

And here goes another quote for Baby Quotes; ‘closeting All Might’ is far too hilarious to let go of.

“You can hang them around the bed like some weird talismans.” Mikumo offered, snickering to himself. If All For One ever decided to visit he’d probably get a heart attack or two. 

“Hm… I wonder if mom would be very angry if I taped them to the walls and ceiling…” 

“How about just making a shelf for them?” 

“I would have to completely relocate half of our posters!”

“One must learn to sacrifice something in order to gain something of greater value,” Mikumo noted. “So, when do you want to go to the Dagobah to hunt for spare parts?”

“Today? I’m so excited to start tinkering with things! Though we should probably make a contamination zone since I don’t think those things are going to be very clean…”

“Sure.”

That’s exactly what they’ve done and after telling mom they were going out for a walk they went on an adventure. One might wonder if Inko wouldn’t be too worried to let them go on their own after the incident that happened only a few months prior but the funny thing is that from the two, Mikumo turned out to become more overprotective. Nowadays he barely left his twin out of his line of vision and you know what? 

After one long conversation about safety precautions and such, she ended up realizing that push come to shove Mikumo would probably be better prepared for anything – all the way from a sudden fire to a massive villain attack – than her and so, as long as they were together her mind felt mostly at ease. They both might be just children but it was obvious one of the twins was exceedingly mature for his age. It has its pros and cons, of course. While it’s nice to have someone to help her and provide support, she wishes it wouldn’t have to be her son. Dependable as Mikumo might be… He’s still just a child.

“Do you think Kacchan would like to join us for the trash collecting sometime?” Izuku asked on their way there, waving to one of their neighbors. There was something both sad and extremely cathartic about seeing his younger self interacting so easily with people.

Mikumo’s pretty sure by the age of eleven he hardly dared to say ‘good morning’ first to people around. It wasn’t his neighbors' fault; they were nice people! But he was so used to staying quiet, trying to become one with the background so as not to bring other people's wrath at himself for the simple act of existing… 

But this time it’s different and while most kids are still assholes the bullying isn’t even a quarter as bad and, most importantly, their relationship with Katsuki is pretty much perfect compared to what Mikumo’s was to the Bakugo of his times… 

You know, the one that very possibly is out to actually kill him. When he’s literally a kid. 

“He’s probably going to laugh in our face and then show up before our doors demanding to know when we’re going to move our asses so he can show us his prowess at finding the best trash,” Mikumo said, remembering that he had been asked a question. He might not mumble as often as his younger self and as Izuku, but his thoughts tend to go over the place all the time.

“Probably. Hm… I think I’ll wait until I can show off something before telling him about the tinkering thing!” Izuku said, clenching his fists determinedly. “I’m going to impress Kacchan!” 

“Oh? I’m hurt, aren’t you going to impress me too?” Mikumo asked, putting a hand to his forehead and making a mock hurt expression.

Izuku rolled his eyes.

“You’re more of a doting parent than mom. You’re going to be impressed even if I make a soda volcano.”

Mikumo opened his mouth, thought about it, and nodded.

“Yeah. I would make tons of photos that would go into my secret folder.” 

“Since when are photos of me with soda volcano worth having a special, hidden folder?”

“Since always. I ain’t letting suspicious people go through my family photos.” 

“You’re weird Micchan.”

“Yet you still respect me.”

“I mean, All Might can be pretty weird sometimes too. Like that last interview, when he doubled over crying from laughter over the most basic knock-knock joke ever.”

It was probably because – concluding from timelines and the man’s media avoidance for the past few months – he was still recovering from having his stomach pulverized and at one point the interviewer accidentally pushed the table, making it press the exact spot the injury was. All things considered, Mikumo was impressed the man managed to play it off as laughter tears, he can’t imagine how painful the wound had been for the first few months. Both physically and emotionally.

“We all have our little quirks even if we don’t have quirks.” 

Izuku made a screeching noise.

“I hate the fact that I can’t argue with that.” 

Mikumo grinned and soon enough they saw the breath-taking mountain of rubbish. Well, not because of the smell at least since there were mostly bigger items rather than rotten food and the likes. Though, admittedly, the coppery scent in the air mixed with the sea breeze wasn’t what any of the twins would call pleasant. 

“Let’s go for a treasure hunt!” Izuku yelled and then sprinted down the stairs, enthusiastic to go through the countless pieces of garbage. 

Mikumo didn't instantly run after him. First, he looked around because it was a perfect chance to attack, with very few people wanting to ruin their day with the fresh smell of rust and mold… So many places to hide bodies while also there was little to no chance of people finding corpses here in near future.

So the boy looked around, furrowing his brows. He didn’t feel observed, not really. Not in the past few months and not know but if his theories are correct and it is Bakugo who’s after him then the attacker knows where he lives. Knows this area perfectly, knows Aldera like his own pocket, knows Izuku’s habits and timetables… 

And yet for those past months, there was no hide nor skin of him to be seen. It makes sense too, with police having looked for the ‘crazed child attackers on the loose’. There must have been quite a few precautions taken and, admittedly, Mikumo even saw heroes that didn’t patrol this area in his own timeline passing by the park a few times. Izuku was ecstatic at their appearance so welp, at least he has something out of a near-death experience. Good for him, Mikumo supposes. 

But still… Would it be safe to assume that Bakugo and whoever is with him won’t show here for a while? He's most likely waiting until caution here lessens which will take a while. Or maybe he’s waiting for a specific moment? The day he run away? Sludge villain fiasco? USJ? Summer Camp?

Mikumo shook his head and walked down a somewhat clean path, making his way toward Izuku. He stayed far enough so they weren’t in each other’s way but close enough to keep an eye on him and be able to react if someone unwanted showed up. 

To make things a little more interesting and a little easier for his twin, Mikumo used Overhaul to reassemble items and reassemble them with mold, and some of the grim left to the side to be taken away by the wind. It’s good training too, not very demanding yet focusing on the finer details of his quirk. 

As he’s putting his treasures into a small heap a few feet away, his mind goes toward Eri. 

‘She’s already been born.’ His brain whispers. ‘She’s six months old now.’ 

So her quirk won't show up for the next three to four years; she was too young to remember how old she was exactly when she made her father disappear. He’ll have to think about what to do about her. He really doesn’t want to join or take on the yakuza at the tender age of fourteen. Don’t get him wrong; he could. With all the experience he has with his quirk and Awakening that not only strengthened it but also most likely gave it an additional quality – that he still isn’t one hundred percent sure about since if he's correct in his assumption it would be… Problematic to try out – he could take on Chisaki. Not to sound vain, but he can take everyone in yakuza. Not at the same time but he’d find a way to neutralize them, one by one.

But it would put both his identity and family at risk so no. Giving anonymous info about what is come to heroes? Could work if he had a way of convincing them he isn’t some jokester and without altering yakuza of his excessive knowledge of their lair’s layout and plans... Well, future plans, he supposes. 

“Micchan, how?!” Izuku yelled, walking up to the pile and glancing through it. “And those things are in a far better state than most of what I found!”

“Are you really jealous of my trash digging skills?” Mikumo inquired, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yeah, who wouldn’t be?” 

A few months later it turned out that Kacchan too, was jealous of his trash rummaging prowess.

Teenagers are weird.

Chapter Text

It has been eleven years.

For some reason, Mikumo can barely believe that he’s already eleven years old physically and thirty-six mentally. It’s weird. He can’t help but think it isn’t normal as he looks at the candles.

“Make a wish!” Inko said and laughed, pulling Katsuki back. “Come on, they are the ones that are supposed to blow the candles!”

“I know!” the blonde answered, huffing. 

“I’m ready!” Izuku said, with a beaming smile.

“One… Two… Three!” Mikumo yelled and right after the last number they ended the lives of poor unsuspecting candles. 

‘I wish this timeline is peaceful.’

‘I wish to be a hero!’ 

The few kids around cheered and soon enough everyone had a slice of cake. Katsuki tried to take the lead as he tends to do but many things are different than they used to be in Mikumo’s own childhood. The fact that Midoriya Izuku isn’t celebrating his eleventh birthday with his mother only is one of them. So, of course, he readily brings some more changes; one of them being the fact that he pretty much forces the blond to let someone else make decisions for once. 

They’ve already been through this conversation; something along the lines of ‘it’s our birthday, Kacchan. We’re going to do what you want on yours but you’re going to do what we want on ours’. It didn’t go smoothly, of course, but unlike the Bakugo of future-past Mikumo knows of, this one could actually be reasoned with. All things considered, he seemed happier than in the other timeline but that might be because by now Mikumo remembers Bakugo of his world as always angry, condescending, or a mix of both. 

They play, they talk, they laugh… Everyone is having fun and Inko had taken at least a hundred pictures so far. By the time everyone goes homes, Mikumo is tired but happy. Well, it is a bit more of a bitter-sweet feeling because he realizes that he probably won’t ever again spend his birthday with Himiko but… He already came to terms with that thought back then, all those years ago, when he run away from home. And sure, she, later on, joined it with everyone from the league but still. 

He went through that realization once. It shouldn’t hurt so much.

He knows how to force the pain down and move on. Even if he didn’t, he could always chalk up his mood to exhaustion. 

The next day is Sunday and by now it’s a tradition for twins to go to Dagobah Beach to scavenge for treasures. Mikumo is a curious fella who couldn’t help but get pulled into the whole tinkering jazz, alright? Though it shouldn’t be surprising seeing how much Izuku took to it and how the two are pretty much the same person but at various stages in their life… Mentally. 

Sometimes Katsuki joins them, sometimes not. At least in the beginning his presence wasn’t a constant thing but within the next year, he started joining them more and more. Turns out lugging scrap parts through the town is a pretty good workout route and the blond decided it was also a pretty solid training regime. He had to have decent muscles in his arms to keep them steady while using his explosions, after all. 

Oh yeah, he still didn’t manage to impress Mikumo. Terrifyingly though, rather than more and more frustrated he was only growing more and more determined to change that fact. It starts to feel like some kind of final goal, you know, like the thing you need to do to finish the game or something. Though in this case, it’s the game of life, Mikumo supposes.

It’s weird but kind of flattering, to be honest. And absolutely hilarious although in a subtle rather than outright way. 

“We totally need to make drones. Or robots. Or androids. I don’t know yet, I would like to make a mechanical hero, you know, like programming myself a sidekick or something but when I think about all the finer working I would have to iron out to make them unable to be hacked and used against people I just go; nope. No way. Not in this decade at least.” Izuku chatters, easily sorting through trash. At one point he literally throws a microwave over his shoulder, onto an old mattress and Mikumo finds himself asking; why didn’t I go digging through trash at my first timeline? 

“Let’s get into UA first. I’m sure Nezu would be interested in that little project.” He says. Part of him wants to mention Mei because she was crazy famous for her insane genius in the art of creating support items of all kinds but he shouldn’t know of her existence yet. There is only so much knowledge from nowhere he can get away with.

And if there is anyone who could invent time travel and send Bakugo to kill him in the past it would be her. Nezu probably helped though. Hm… With Hero Commission connections they might have gotten someone from I-Island too… 

“There’s no way he would want to waste his time on my stupid fun project! He’s the principal of the most famous hero school in Japan!” 

Mikumo thought back to the time he spend smsing with the creature from a burner phone for a few months before Hero Commission went psycho mode and the principal could no longer stay neutral… And as such, they were enemies who could no longer discuss in depth how the sun would taste if it was a fruit. Don’t ask. That’s the weirdest conversation they had, he swears.

“Who knows… It wouldn’t hurt to try asking for his help if you began that project, would it?”

“It could. What if he thought I’m planning on taking over the world and kicked me out of school?” 

“Let’s not get so ahead of ourselves… World is a big place. Japan, though, is a fair game.” 

“No. We’re not taking over Japan”

“I’m not saying we are! Just that we could if we tried.”

Izuku rolled his eyes but then paused.

“Actually… I wouldn’t be even surprised if you did.”

“But I’m not going to,” Mikumo stated readily. “At least I will try not to.”

“You think you could take over Japan by accident?” Izuku asked, raising an eyebrow but then suddenly turned around and jogged to a nearby pile. A-ha! A rust-free fridge! Well, at least it looks rust-free… 

“Totally. Just like I accidentally tamed Kacchan.”

Izuku actually tripped at that. He was quick to get up and stare at his brother, looking like someone who really wanted to say something. He even went as far as opening his mouth but… Then he closed it and sighed. 

“Just don’t say it to him. He might actually try to kill you.”

‘No, unlike my world’s version of him…’ the bitter thought came suddenly and uninvited so Mikumo promptly kicked it out. 

“Come on, if I didn’t know how to deal with Kacchan he would be on warpath with me from the very day one.” 

Izuku made a thoughtful expression.

“Well… Auntie Mitsuki did say he was fighting her from even before day one.”

The thought was so outrageous yet fitting that Mikumo actually cried tears of laughter. Ah, yes. That’s Katsuki for you.

The next day went by smoothly. Unlike in his first go, Mikumo didn’t hate school. He didn’t feel like everyone was staring at a quirkless freak that could achieve nothing, like everyone but one person was out to get him and if he dares to as much as look up and meet their hateful stares he will make something terrible happen, will bring Himiko into a fight that will destroy her chances at becoming a heroine she deserves to be so very much for being friends with such a freak-

Wow. It was such a long time since he had… Those kinds of thoughts. But it seems even with his thirty-six-year-old mind he isn’t safe from hormones. How lovely that now the memories of his past puberty in which everyone hated him will haunt him. So nice. 

Still. It wasn’t all that bad. He had Himiko. He shudders to think how bad things would be without her at his side.

He’s grateful he can protect Izuku from that kind of childhood… And that he can have a peaceful one himself. One in which people don’t just tolerate his presence but actually respect him and like him. He wishes they felt the same toward his twin – who’s, in essence, him but still young, naïve, and stupid – but you can’t have everything, can you?  

Time passed peacefully. Everything was so very nice it was hard to accept at times. For nothing to go wrong or to fall apart... It's just so strange.

He still does go on trips, whenever those happen and Izuku stays either with Inko or Masaru whenever she has a shift to take since the man works from home. Mikumo teaches his twin hand combat and learns with him the mysterious art of tinkering, the two of them able to study two separate things and then explain those to each other, making their progress so much faster. They analyze together and it’s so much fun to have someone who thinks so much alike you to work with! Even if Izuku's thinking is, of course, more childish and less experienced because of obvious reasons.

Even Katsuki isn’t making any problems! Yes, he’s still far too confident and driven to a scary point but honestly, how could the blond exist without those two aspects on overdrive? He’s simply a likable asshole rather than a bully that left literal scars on Midoriya Izuku-

That’s beside the point.

The thing is; t’s so nice it puts Mikumo on edge. Because things are never that good for him… They never work out so well. He put his blood sweat and tears into so many things that after initially looking wonderful had blown into his face so spectacularly! For fucks sake, he got shot in the face when he thought he could talk things out peacefully for once!

He was waiting for the other shoe to drop. It made him so tense he nearly judo flipped Katsuki at one point and he actually did that to one of his classmates. In his defense, they knew he was on edge and someone had dared him to sneak up on him. Mikumo, of course, apologized for that... Though, to be fair, the boy did too. It became a class joke that would circle between them for years to come and ended with him getting nicknamed Yamikumo by Katsuki which literally means ‘dark cloud’. Later it evolved into just Yami. 

Well. Mikumo didn’t expect the blond to keep on calling him ‘Micchan’ forever since it didn’t work very well with his tough act. 

Anyway, the point is, it was already after his twelfth birthday that he realized a few very important things. Within just one name, one vigilante, everything clicked into place and his theories had been cemented. 

Mary.

Himiko always liked that name because for most people it brought to mind one of two words ‘queen’ or ‘bloody’. She always liked cute things and princesses but after getting her hero license she decided that she isn’t a princess. She’s a queen now. And that’s how her hero name was born. As for bloody… Well, she likes blood. That’s it. 

So yeah. She likes the name Mary and if she couldn’t for some reason use Queen as her alias, that’s what she would have chosen. So it's plenty obvious who it is when a new vigilante appears, leaving ‘Mary’ scratched in the blood of their victims, who Mikumo could recognize as terrible people. To give a few examples; Muscular, Moonfish, Toxic Chainsaw... And the list will be only getting longer. 

If the boy is right the next ones to die might be Mummy and Flect Turn who are not just dangerous and deadly but also far weaker now than they will be in just a few years.  

It all made sense. The person that told Izuku to run back then was her. There wasn’t some kind of split in people send after him nor was it a random passerby helping. Himiko must have learned about Hero Commission's plans and managed to get sent to the past with the others.

She’s likely either hunting the other two from the park or they rather than going after him, who is a kid with no strength yet, are trying to take rid of her first. It’s especially possible with how she proved to be fully capable of going around killing and making a name for herself without anyone having the slightest idea what her quirk even is.

Why she didn’t reach out to him hough? Was she too busy? Didn’t want to risk endangering him and his current life? Or…

‘She mistook me for someone’

Oh. Was she the one who approached Izuku back then? It all made sense! That she had mistaken him for someone ‘she had lost’… If he didn’t recognize her she must be sure that his future self was lost, his memories of that time gone! So right now she just focuses on taking down the worst villains she can and keeping an eye on Izuku’s assassins. 

But, surely, at some point, she would have noticed that there isn’t one but two Midoriyas. Though… He could completely understand why she wouldn’t go and ask the other one if he remembers her. Logically speaking, he shouldn’t have memories of the future. 

It seems that she had been brought back in time with her future body as had been Bakugo and the third person. So it would be only logical to assume that since he had been born here a normal way, he wouldn’t remember anything of the future! And if one of the twins was to have those memories after all, of course, it would be expected from Izuku, not Mikumo. After all, it was Midoriya Izuku who became Deku, the supreme leader of New Japan. 

Well… Fuck. 

Himiko is here. Not her younger version that didn’t end up in this school and he wouldn’t even know how to approach without looking weird- there’s Himiko from his world here. His best friend. The only part of junior high he is thankful for. The only reason why he doesn’t wish he had been home-schooled. 

And he has no way of reaching her. 

He can’t just put up a piece of paper with ‘I remember you’ in his window or something of this sort because it would also give this information to Bakugo and the other assassin. She sure as hell isn’t just walking around the streets without her disguise on and while he could probably tell it is her after talking with her, it’s physically impossible to just talk to everyone in the whole city. Not without people moving somewhere else meanwhile with one of them possibly being Himiko.

If she doesn’t approach him, he has no way of contacting her. She doesn’t exactly exist in registries either; the only Toga Himiko is a civilian of Japan, her younger version... This timeline's version.

The only sliver of hope to find her would be to become a vigilante which is, sadly, pretty much impossible. 

Unless…

No. That’s a terrible idea. Absolutely, horribly stupid one and he honestly isn’t going to do that!

Chapter Text

 “What do you want?” Dabi asked, putting on his irritated expression. Eri was twelve and not impressed with his attempt at looking like he didn’t want to talk to her.

Everyone wants to talk to her and that’s not her vain speaking. She just has eyes and can make somewhat keen observations. And really, what else is there to be thought when just this week he left Tomura with first-degree burn for not leaving the second he was told to do so and he didn’t even throw ‘get out’ in her direction now? 

“How do I become strong?” she asked, walking up and leaning over his shoulder to look at whatever he was doing. He was painting his nails so she guesses he wouldn’t try cooking anyone alive anyway right now. He’s weirdly focused on always painting them flawlessly. 

So instead of nudging him or calling for his attention, she waited patiently for him to finish. He had only three fingers left to paint and she was willing to wait even with his slowpoke pace of a perfectionist who would probably burn alive if he as much as spilled a droplet on his skin. She’s patient.

“Is it some kind of survey or have you finally realized who’s the best?” he asked, turning toward her and keeping his hands before him. He looked funny but she didn’t smile, keeping her face perfectly blank.

“Survey. And Izu is the best.” She said, folding her hands over the back of his chair. “Tomura said to just destroy things or ask Sensei for quirk which, you know, sounds stupid. Spinner told me to follow someone strong but just copying others isn’t going to make me truly strong. Mustard told me to just train my quirk, which... Fair point, I guess but I’m looking for something more!”

“And Deku?” he asked, waving his hands slightly, willing them to dry faster. 

“’By surviving’ which, is fair and I guess it did make me far stronger than I used to be… But I need more! I need something mine.” 

“Why are you asking others for it then?” he inquired, raising an eyebrow. It’s the most expressive he can be, actually. Without making blood seeping through his staples at least.

She was determined to train hard. Soon… Soon she’d surely be able to heal him with her power!

“Because we’re shaped by our surroundings and we mirror the strength of those we admire. I’m not able to make an objective decision. You might be though. Having more opinions is always good too.” She explained and he chuckled.

She would never admit to it out loud but whenever she made someone happy she wanted to grin until her cheeks hurt. She didn’t do that, instead opting to keep eye contact and raising the corner of her mouth ever so slightly.

“You’re so much like him it would be scary if it wasn’t so funny.” He said and she couldn’t help but smile now. It felt like such high praise! “You know what’s the biggest difference?”

“What?” she asked, already expecting something unexpected. If Izu is her big brother then Dabi is that weird uncle that ignores you half of the time and the other confuses you, yet you still like him. 

He’s weird, alright? 

“He looks like broccoli. You look like a little lamb.”

She furrowed her brows.

“No. I look like a unicorn.”

“No. You look like a little lamb. And you know why?” he asked and she tilted her head, willing him to continue. His grin was unnerving and that’s all the more reason she wanted to hear the answer. “Because you’re wolf in sheep’s clothing. The cutest little thing for some but biting off heads of poor unsuspecting others.”

She laughed because the smile wasn’t enough anymore. 

“You called me the cutest!” she pointed out and he rolled his eyes.

“I also said you’re biting heads off.” 

“Dabi thinks I’m the cutest~!” she said in a sing-songy voice, running outside and through corridors, soon stumbling upon Izu. 

He looked tired so she slowed to a stop, her giddiness fading slightly. She wished she could bite off the head of whoever made him seem so exhausted. 

Still, he smiled at her.

“Oh? What got you in such a good mood?” he asked and she grinned.

“Dabi called me the cutest little lamb.” She said. Slightly reshaping the man's words was completely worth Izu nearly choking on his spit in the sudden burst of laughter. 

“Well, I’m not surprised! You are the cutest little lamb!” he said, beaming right back at her. 

He had taken to calling her little lamb after that and so did Dabi but for the latter, it had a hidden meaning known to only the two of them. 

She was planning to tell Izu about that meaning when she becomes stronger. 

She looked in the mirror and smiled. Even with her hair dyed black – with the same brand Dabi uses – she still looked cute rather than scary. Her pinkish-red eyes always seemed big but unlike what she expected, they stayed doe-looking as she grew; a quality that the green contact lenses she was now using didn’t change. Even when she finished her disguise by wearing a fake horn, she looked more like an innocent little gazelle rather than a predator she was.

Good.

She wasn’t going to tell anyone the meaning behind her alias; she was going to show it. Just like Deku took ‘useless’ and made it into what his enemies felt, she would do the same. 

Lamb because she’s wolf in sheep’s clothing… Because she will make her enemies feel like small, powerless lambs.

She wasn’t vain enough to think things would be easy and indeed, they weren’t. But, to be honest, they weren’t as hard as she expected them to be. She was fully ready to realize that her knowledge of the future didn’t give her as much edge as she hoped it would, to build everything from pretty much scratch and without any help.

Instead, she easily came into contact with Giran, near immediately got back Twice as her comrade, found a nice lair and she had only two gangs to kick into the curb to get it. She didn’t even run into any asshole heroes. She spotted Eraserhead in passing once but was quick to hide before he could notice her. Hate as she might to admit to it… She relies heavily on her quirk. Not because she never tried learning how to fight! According to the league, she could definitely kick anyone her age!

But even now the man isn’t her age and he has years of experience so yeah, she’s not dealing with him. She isn’t stupid. Maybe reckless sometimes but she isn’t a moron.

Getting most of the other members back wasn’t too hard either. She knew a lot about them after all. Mr. Compress and Magne… They needed only a small nudge to join her and giving it was laughably easy when she knew them so well. Spinner didn’t do anything illegal at all when she first approached him but he jumped right on the occasion to join the League of Vigilantes. She knew she would have to wait a year or so before going for Mustard since he isn’t even out of junior high yet and he decided to begin a life of villainy after finishing it. Tomura and Kurogiri were off-limits since she didn’t want to deal with someone of All For One's caliber. Not yet at least. 

Dabi, as expected, was a bit harder to deal with but not as much as she expected him to be. He was suspicious about someone approaching him, who had barely joined the world of the underground. That, she did foresee. 

What she didn’t see coming was just how… Fragile he was. Maybe that’s because he wasn’t someone to show weakness easily. While she did comfort him a few times, he never really… Go into detail. Of his feelings, she means. 

He told her what scum of a father Endeavour was. He told her of his hatred. He told her of what he wanted, of the family he abandoned because he felt that they had abandoned him- and it was all very sad! But it was her who felt sad. He was angry. Or calm. Always something between those two. 

She knows he wouldn’t willingly admit to weakness but oh… If it wasn’t an experience to see him so much younger. So lost. So scared. So very different from the Dabi she knows... Unable to fully hide his emotions because while his pokerface might be good against those who don’t know him, it did little to her who could read him quite well even after he had years to master it.

“Who are you?” he demanded upon seeing her and she left the shadows, smiling in a way that made people see her as no threat at all. 

Surprisingly, it wasn’t the case with Dabi. He was still tense and after the encounter, she felt so stupid for not realizing instantly all those little things that became obvious afterward. But it was hard to look at him differently than the strong person she knew him as, even if he did look a bit different... Even if compared to before was only slightly older than her now, By four, maybe five years.

“I’m Lamb.” She introduced herself, waving lightly. At that moment she thought he seemed on edge because he could already see the wolf in sheep’s clothing she was. “I’d like you to join the League of Vigilantes.”

 “Is it your hobby to go around, asking random people to go play with you?” he asked, leaning back. It looked as if he wanted to run away which was so very weird to her. Wasn’t he always ready for a confrontation? 

“No. The list of people I’m looking for is pretty specific for now.” She said, realizing that the easiest and fastest way might be to tell him the full story. To just explain that she’s from the future and show him their photos together though… Would he believe her even with that evidence? Or would he think she’s some kind of crazy stalker who somehow edited those? 

“And just how did I end on it?” he asked, his suspicion not fading away. 

She sighed. She expected him to join somewhat easily; when telling her about his time before league, he didn’t seem very content about it. He actually admitted to his beginnings being pretty damn hard! 

“By being strong enough.” She answered with a small shrug. 

“And how would you know how strong am I?” he asked and well… Maybe there’s no way for her not to look like a crazy stalker.

Ah, think Eri, think! What would be the best explanation? What would make him trust you enough to join? Izu always says ‘slightly misshapen truth is the best kind of lie’ so…

“Let’s just say I have a time-related quirk.” She said calmly, raising her hand to look at her nails. She let go of the friendly little lamb act since it clearly wasn’t doing her any favors right now. 

She could feel his gaze boring into her, trying to gauge whether she was lying or not. She felt slightly nervous but it was nothing, really. She told the truth and if she has to, she can always show him the photos. She can also go for the big guns and tell him she can heal his wounds… And now that she thinks about it, even with this dim lightning… They look so much worse than she remembers them to be but, admittedly, she hadn’t seen them for years even before going back in time. 

“Fine.” He said, taking step toward her. “But if you try anything I will burn you to crisp.”

She rolled her eyes and motioned him to follow her after which she turned around and started walking. She could hear his footsteps right behind her.

“I know what you’re capable of. Right now even better than you.” 

She didn’t mean to sound so creepy but oh well. Happens. He did follow her and that’s what matters!

Now she needed to broaden her connections to groups outside of her own. The question is whether she should put someone as a fake leader or fully embrace the role. Both have their pros and cons… Well, she can always make the figure of the big boss mysterious, hard to reach, while it’s simply her. Core members will know the truth but as people join with time, as conversations of alliance and cooperation arise… She can always act as a mediator and if she decides that giving away the identity of Lamb being the big bad boss will be more advantageous she will do so then. 

Yeah. She needs more control and more power over the underground. She still remembers how angry and helpless she felt after learning about Izu getting attacked in the park. Yes, she couldn’t have known that would have happened since she had no idea Hero Commission dogs arrived yet, and yeah, nothing truly bad happened thanks to Himiko but it still makes her angry.

With that, days readily trickled by. As of now, she was doing her utmost to find all the other three time-travelers. Two to dispose of and the third to invite to the League of Vigilantes. Though so far it seemed that Himiko was trying to pull the lone wolf act, targeting the worst kind of people.. Though, to be honest, she might have also not heard about Lamb and her vigilante team yet. They aren’t exactly well known even if they could very possibly burn this city to the ground.

Not that they would! Izu would probably be sad if they did. It’s pretty close to his home after all. 

“What are you sighing so much about, Lamb?” Dabi asked, crossing his arms. She turned toward him with a dry smile.

“Not about you, that’s for sure.” She shot back easily and he rolled his eyes.

“Obviously. You wouldn’t look like someone pissed in your cereals then. So?”

She couldn’t help but snicker. By now he trusted her enough to be the little shit that she missed so much. Who would have thought that even a few months without his smug-asshole attitude would be enough to make her long for it? 

Huh... It's been a while since she arrived at this time now that she thinks about it... 

“I’m just thinking about the things that have to get done, people to be recruited, people to be killed…” 

It was his turn to chuckle.

“It sounds weird coming from a kid.” He noted and she raised an eyebrow. 

“You’re four years older.” She pointed out.

“And I’m not leading a vigilante organization. I’m just following orders.” He said with a shrug. “Wouldn’t it make sense for little Lamb to do so too?”

“Maybe it would.” She agreed easily but although her body language was at ease her eyes were shining with the kind of determination that made other people waver. “But the only person I’m willing to follow is gone.” 

Although not completely and she will be sure to talk to him again. Become friends with him again although this time it will be her fulfilling the role of the older sibling. 

She needs to make things safe first, namely get rid of Bakugo Katsuki and Kirishima Eijiro. 

Chapter Text

Kirishima can understand Aizawa sensei on a deeper level now because oh god, how can one be so exhausted and yet keep on going? It really does feel as if determination – adrenaline and caffeine too – are the only things keeping him upright nowadays. 

He wishes he could go back to times when he thought getting five hours of sleep is far too little. Right now he would be so thankful for four... Three even! He’ll take two too. The few one-hour naps he manages to take throughout both day and night are not enough. 

He isn’t complaining though. All things considered, his nonexistent sleep schedule is the least of his worries even if the one that keeps making his thoughts foggy and body sluggish. He wouldn’t be making as many mistakes as he is with full rest but that’s a vicious circle that’s hard to get out of; he and Bakubro both keep on tripping every two steps and then they have to go back three to avoid detection.

Kirishima wishes so badly they could reach out to one of their classmates, friends, teachers… Anyone. 

‘You cannot reach out to the past Hero Commission. Even with proof, they will most likely take you as villains since time travel was… A very touchy subject. We apologize but you will have to rely only on yourselves when you're there.’ 

And Kirishima can imagine Aizawa sensei’s reaction to two of his not-even-students-yet telling him they need to kill someone. A kid. A quirkless kid that doesn’t even know what is going on and why someone is after his life-

“Focus Red Riot.” Bakubro hissed and Ejiro slightly shook his head. 

They have been tailed for a while now and if they don’t shake whoever is the pursuer off, there won’t be hope for even half an hour nap. So focus, brain! Focus if you want to get some sleep today! 

Kirishima nodded and took a deep but quiet breath. Lose them. Move to the next city over and hopefully, you will be able to get a break. He doesn’t care how short it is, just please, let him have those four divine hours of sleep. 

“Now!” Ground Zero yelled and created a massive explosion. Kirishima run right through the smoke, getting to the other side of the alleyway and moving to the rendezvous point they settled on a while ago; a mostly abandoned bus station where vehicles stop thrice a day. One of which will happen in about ten minutes. 

Bakubro will be fine. He can take care of himself and contrary to what one might expect he can sneak around very well. Though, to be honest, he’s just good at everything he does which is super manly! But saddening how the blond can’t see just how great he is and always wants more...

Kirishima nearly fell asleep while standing but was awakened from his reverie by the light of the bus. He glanced to the side and stepped inside.

“Could you wait a minute, sir? My friend will be there any second!” he requested with a smile that was friendly but careful as not to show his teeth. They were both very specific and made people feel slightly threatened, especially when coupled with a dark hood over his head. 

The man behind the wheel glanced back, at the bus in which only some guy with earphones was sitting, looking through the window uncaring for whatever was going on around.

“A minute.” The man agreed and thankfully only a few seconds later Kirishima spotted his friend power walking toward the bus station. He got in and Eijiro thanked the driver, paid for both their tickets, and sat at the very front. 

They were quiet but didn’t let themselves relax; they couldn’t let themselves make a stupid mistake, like falling asleep. They both were at their limit and really needed a moment to breathe. 

Two stops later they got out and started walking, weaving through back alleyways and parks until they finally got to the suburbs. From there Bakugo lead them through the path they both were familiar with. 

Hiking with his friend made Kirishima emotional but he forced his tears back. Even if he won’t be able to see their timeline Kaminari and Mina… And Tetstutetsu… And Aizawa sensei, and Tsuyu and Shouji and- no matter if he doesn’t get to talk to them ever again. Making sure the war doesn’t happen is more important. They won’t lose anyone this time. They will protect everyone!

But oh, how he wishes he could go for one last hike with what back in UA was titled Bakusquad. Or to gather with everyone, his classmates, and teachers and just, you know, see them all again… Talk to them all…

“I will take the first watch.” Bakubro offered, because of course he did. Although the total wilderness was pretty much the only place they could be safe, it still was too risky for both of them to go to sleep at the same time. 

“Give me half an hour or so, you need rest too,” Kirishima said because god knows, they don’t have enough energy to argue. It would have been funny wasn’t it so tragic; they got along so well nowadays… Because they had no energy left for as much as friendly banter. Half of the time they discussed things with looks only since talking was tiring and loud. 

“Fine. But you’re waking me after half an hour too.” Katsuki grumbled, knowing fully well that’s exactly what would happen. After those short naps, they would get a longer one, when the other isn’t at risk of falling asleep even while standing.

They kept on walking and his legs hurt which sucks so Kirishima focused hit thoughts on other things instead. He glanced from tree to tree and then, inevitably, his memories went way back.

This mission gave him mixed feelings from the very beginning. 

Eijiro isn’t a hateful person and once upon a time, he was a bright-eyed hero hopeful who would never take the possibility of subduing by killing into consideration. Never. But you know how it goes… War changes people.

Many heroes died. Hawks, Endeavour… While those two were a huge blow to all of the society, it was the more personal deaths that made Kirishima understand the ever-growing fury of his friend. Because not all of their teachers had made it. Their classmates were mostly fine but… Few acquired serious injuries and Hagakure disappeared; they didn’t even learn about her fate. Had she been killed and simply no one could spot her body among the rubble? Maybe she fell unconscious with no way of anyone finding her and helping her? Maybe she would be still up and going if only a little more cautious had been exerted by her teammates, by her friends…

Kirishima will never forget that one conversation he had with Aizawa sensei, after the death of yet another familiar face.

“I told you at the very beginning that life isn’t fair.” He said back then, his voice completely empty. “Heroes risk their life. How many times do you think they can miraculously come out on top... Not just victorious but also alive?” 

It isn’t exactly because of the words that Eijiro will never forget them but rather the sentiment hidden deep underneath it. Aizawa sensei was ready to die for others, that was clear ever since USJ. What more shaking, what Kirishima was able to realize only after that conversation, years after his first year and with some experience already to his name-

Aizawa sensei was ready to see his colleagues die. 

And it made all the jokes about his act of grumpy cat so much worse. Because it would be easier not to care. To isolate oneself from others and be a truly lonely wolf because then all those losses wouldn’t hurt as much. But the man did care.

Kirishima could never convey with words how much he respects their homeroom teacher. He barely would be after just USJ but after all those years, understanding just how strong this complicated, grumpy man was- Eijiro could barely wrap his head around it. 

So yeah. Kirishima’s morals, strong as they were… Didn't truly hold as firm as he wishes they could with everything that was going on. That’s exactly why after hearing that because of his unwavering memory he will be sent to kill a child he didn’t instantly refuse. His old self, naïve self, would call Hero Commission crazy and leave right there. To be completely honest, he feels that Aizawa sensei would do exactly that, saying how it is illogical to just murder a kid even if they did keep their memories of the future... He'd say how things could- should be changed another way and he would find some valid points-

But it’s Aizawa sensei. He’s kind and strong in the most painful way, in the way that makes him take on all the suffering, all the glares, and venom to protect someone else… Fully accepting that they may never as much as spare him a thought, even less a thank you. Someone like him might actually stand a chance of changing things without murder.

But Kirishima isn’t him. Neither is Bakugo although the blond is extremely talented and strong! All things considered, the two of them are still young and stupid. The best they can do is to listen to those who have lived far longer than them and know what needs to be done even if the two of them are the ones who have to do it.

Eijiro can do this much. He can show the fraction of strength Aizawa sensei shows and do something that no one will pay mind to but that will save them from war… From all those death.

‘But it isn’t something Aizawa sensei would ever approve.’  

He forced the thought down. Let Hero Commission's spiel talk over it, explaining why it was so important to kill Deku before he can become as powerful as he is in present; where even his death is bringing endless destruction... Even making their timeline collapse. He’s simply too dangerous. That’s obvious. 

Kirishima was relieved, happy even when Kaminari joined them. For a bit he let himself think ‘we can do this’. 

But then he sees a child. A scared child that nearly gets killed and Eijiro is frozen because that old idealistic part of him is screaming at him because he sees someone weak and innocent… Someone in danger. But the rest of him knows that it’s something that has to be done, that he should stop the kid- a child, how old could he be?! Eight? Twelve? He still remembers his baby-faced classmates from USJ. They were so young then and this boy is even younger! 

So he stays unmoving. He isn’t happy with himself but he knows that even if he did react he wouldn’t be proud of himself anyway. He was actually relieved that Kaminari did what he did, that they all went running- but it wasn’t Kaminari. It was their classmate, yes, but one that turned out not to be as trusted as he believed. 

Toga was a traitor. 

And part of him can’t fault her for that. She’s a bit like All Might and All Might is a lot like Aizawa sensei. Unimaginably strong, holding such a terrible burden just to protect others from as much as hearing about it. 

He… Didn't exactly take a side. He could understand both of them. So he just tried to diffuse the situation because they really didn't have time for this with cops most likely already on the lookout for them and if they came there… What then? What would become of the mission then? 

His worries, of course, came to fruition. For the smallest fraction of a second, he actually considered following Toga... Once more becoming that bright-eyed hopeful hero that would never go for lethal force. But he knew what needed to be done and without a second of hesitation followed Bakubro. 

Because he knows a little bit more about the blond than Toga does. He understands his friend more than most people do. They are, in fact, close enough that Kirishima knows that Bakubro wasn’t the best person in junior high. That Deku had once upon a time been a powerless quirkless boy unable to do anything against his classmates, his seniors, his teachers… His past friend… All those people, making poor kid's life absolutely miserable.

Eijiro knows of the guilt, of the nightmares, of a different kind of fury that burns in Katsuki, roaring for no one else’s blood but his very own. Because he made stupid mistakes that brought a tragedy upon them all... Because he wasn’t simply a terrible kid but a complete asshole- a monster. 

Bakugo Katsuki is, in fact, the one who wants to be part of this mission the least. 

Kirishima isn’t the brightest but he isn’t a complete moron. He might be dense but might be also the one single person in the world who truly knows what’s going through Katsuki's mind. The blond feels responsible for the birth of the supreme leader of New Japan. For creating Deku who lead an army through countless victories, through all those terrible battles that ended with pain and suffering.

Katsuki feels that this is something he must do, that it is his fault. Kirishima knows that far too well because bad as he might be at sneaking, he too had taken lessons with Aizawa sensei on that matter and he so happened to hear Katsuki talking to Hero Commission while Toga in Kaminari’s skin was getting resources for the trip.

He literally asked if he could be the one to be killed in past, admitting to the Hero Commission to being the reason for the raise of Deku the villain. 

They refused, of course. But even if they brushed it off quite easily Eijiro will never be able to forget it. 

“This place’s fine.” Bakugo’s voice brought him back to the world of the living and Kirishima pretty much fell to the ground, passing out the second he was laying. 

His dream was a jumbled mess of cities they have been running through those past years. They both kept on running and running, and somehow Kirishima felt that they… The structures around, it all was locked up in a huge hourglass and the time was trickling by so very fast. 

He dreamed of Toga’s bloody murders – why couldn’t she just be on our side…? – of losing Bakugo somewhere along his mad dashing through cities, of everything falling apart, the pieces whirling around- 

“Time’s up.” Katsuki’s gruff voice brought him to the world of awake. He opened his eyes, instantly startled into a sitting position and although his eyes felt as if they were on fire – just... Just one more, please, he was so tired – he forced himself to smile. 

“Rest well, Bakubro!” he said because he knew, oh he knew well, that no matter how strong his friend is, he needs support too. 

The blond, unsurprisingly, also seemed to fall asleep the second the laid down. There’s only so far determination, guilt, and anger can take you, Kirishima supposes. 

‘Back to thinking’ Eijro thought to himself drily. Honestly, those days he felt as if his own mind was going to be the end of him. But there’s just so much to worry about… The pursuers, the fact that Midoriya Izuku wasn’t an only child in this timeline, Toga’s unknown location- they didn’t even have time to get a solid night's rest, not even mention trying to figure even one of those really important staff… 

But they would manage. They have to. That’s what heroes do, after all. 

Chapter Text

Things happen.

Bad things, terrible things, tragedies of the kind yet untold- and good things too, Aizawa supposes but while taking them for granted would be illogical, it also would be simply stupid to get too vain from all the little successes. 

But this. This day- the man dared think it was one of the best ones he had in the past few weeks. The streets were quiet and he had to deal only with some drunkards looking for a fight. Well, it was more of him knocking them out in two punches; and there were three of them. So little energy used to deal with them… Oh, how he wishes all the battles could end like this. Although wouldn’t he get complacent then? 

And yes, he knows of the new group forming. League of Vigilantes, was it? He has mixed feelings about them. He doesn’t exactly mind vigilantes as long as they aren’t overgrown toddlers running around and trying to get themselves killed and they don’t use excessive force. But. This group… They are either far too good to be called newbies or have no presence whatsoever and are going to fall apart soon. Nothing between. The police department seems to be believing in the latter since they can’t get any info on the members and are even speculating it’s a group of teens joking around. 

It’s logical to find them not all that dangerous with such little presence but Aizawa, being Aizawa, has a bad feeling about them and he knows better than to ignore this. But… He hasn’t stumbled upon any of them so it’s safe to assume they aren’t operating in the areas he does and, by extent, aren’t his problem. So he isn’t going to worry about them because other districts have capable people that can take care of them. 

At least more capable than an underground hero that got unprecedented fame as a teacher after only three years in the fine establishment of UA. Not for good things too; he is known for being strict, ‘grumpy’, and expelling people. He knows what they whisper about him and you know what? They always make hilarious faces when they realize he might or might have not heard them and they are trying to gauge his expression to learn whichever was the case just for him to show absolutely nothing. 

So yeah, League of Vigilantes? Not his business. Same as Mary although that one is far more problematic. Concluding from the name most think it is a female and you know what? That’s the most police have on the case. That and the fact that they are extremely powerful. And they kill villains. 

They had been seen once, actually. Muscular had attacked downtown and the Water Hose duo rushed to stop him even though their chances were… Well, less than good. The only reason they survived was because of someone’s arrival. At that time they both were badly injured, one with heavy head trauma and the other going in and out of consciousness. They gave… Contradicting statements. One was convinced that at one point he had seen a young heroine clad in a costume and confidently facing the opponent while the other was sure that she witnessed a bulky mean facing off against the villain. Things were blurry for her but she was positive the newcomer was of a very close size and build to the foe.

What was learned from that was that Mary was either a young female or male. With maybe some kind of shapeshifting or illusion or strength quirk. Really, it left everyone with more questions than answers but at the very least it was known now that the vigilante wouldn’t kill innocent witnesses. Well, as long as they knew those would most likely be unable to give a clear statement of what had happened at the very least- 

Aizawa furrowed his brows, wondering why the fuck was he thinking about that when he was having one of his very rare chances to rest. Third-years were on interns, second-years had a special lesson with Nezu instead of homeroom and while he was supposed to have one lesson with first years today, it was about hero names, and Midnight for once decided to be logical. So she took over it fully and with only some talking to Nezu Aizawa could just stay home. And sleep.

Which he would do if his mind would shut up for a second but habits are hard to take rid of and he’s used to thinking over all possibilities and dangers as naturally as breathing. So with no other choice… He grabbed his cat that was just walking by the sofa and laid down, putting Bitter on his chest.

“Purr loud enough to make all demons retreat into hell.” He demanded and the cat, very happy to have him home did as instructed. “Louder. I can still hear my thoughts.”

He reached out and scratched her ear. Bitter readily went plus ultra and he could literally feel the purrs reverberating from his chest through his whole body. People might judge him all they want but it was one of the very few ways he could go to sleep... An actual sleep, not a nap, that he would wake up from within the next hour with a nightmare that would sour his mood for the next few hours if not days.

With the purring machine determined to keep all evil of this world away with their sheer determination, Aizawa got not two not three not even four or five but six! Six whole hours of sleep! Overall it is nine if he counts the nap he got right after returning from his usual patrol!

And it isn’t all! He woke up without nightmares, without old tragedies worming their way into the front of his thoughts.

He... He was well-rested. 

Oh, if it wasn’t a weird feeling to not need a coffee the second he opens his eyes. 

He moved to a sitting position and upon being sent a questioning meow, he found himself spending the next fifteen minutes or so just… Petting his cat.

“Good thing Recovery Girl doesn’t know of your healing powers or she would get… Really bitter over them.” The man said, grinning to himself. 

The cat meowed at him, pleased. He isn’t sure whether it was because of the amount of petting she got today, of his longer presence than usual, or if she could feel that he was showing her a part of himself even Present Mic and Midnight weren't privy to see nowadays but whatever the case might be, Bitter seemed very pleased.

After a moment Aizawa got up. The feline was quick to jump onto his shoulder, feeling that he wasn’t in rush and she could let herself be clingy today. 

“Can you believe what sleep does to people? I feel like making myself actual dinner from real ingredients.” He mused under his breath, moving to the kitchen where he put her down so both she and him could eat. Well, she could instantly but he and his body haunted by the energy he rarely got, went to make himself pancakes. It might be three pm already but who cares? 

He ate, finished grading the rest of the papers he had to go through – he went through the majority after his usual three-hour nap – and then, inevitably, ended up looking through forums and news, including the ones specifically made for pros. It would be illogical to waste his time on some pointless movies. 

With one hand holding his phone and scrolling, the other on Bitter to do some more petting, he found himself relaxing in a way he had forgotten even existed. No news of dangerous villains. Mary is in hiding right now. League of Vigilantes is still quiet… 

By eight pm he is well aware of everything he should be of and puts his phone down. He gets up, stretches – second nature to someone ready to jump through a second store window anytime – and decides to do what must be done; shopping. He has no idea when will be the next time he will be able to restock on such necessities as cat food and coffee. You’d be surprised how hard it is to buy anything at the ungodly hours between his patrols and teaching.

He opens his doors fully ready to go out and ignore all the side glances people give him… At the same exact moment, his doorbell rings and he is faced with Yamada.

“Wow, that was fast.” The blond says you know what? 

Aizawa takes everything back. The only necessity he needs is some more sleep with the only loud sounds coming from Bitter. So he closes the doors in his friend’s face.

“Shouta!” 

With a sight, he lets the nuisance of his life inside but he hopes that Hizashi realizes that the only reason he isn’t outside is that the blond was smart enough not to speak while using his quirk. 

“I thought you’d be happier to see me!” Yamada whines, taking his shoes off and soon taking a seat on the sofa. Bitter, the traitor, is quick to jump into the visitor’s lap. 

“I feel like I’ve lost three hours of sleep just by looking at you.” Aizawa groans but against his words, he goes to the kitchen to make teas for both of them. 

“I would lend you mine, but I feel like you’ve actually slept longer than me today since you have a day off!” Yamada yelled after him and then, blessedly, went quiet. 

The only sounds in the apartment were now the quiet hum of the kettle, purring of Bitter, and the blond’s whispers of ‘who’s the prettiest kitty? You are! Little pwetty lady’. The chance of Hizashi thinking he wasn’t hearable from the kitchen was equally big as him realizing fully well he was being heard and not caring a single bit.

“What do you want?” Aizawa asked, putting the cups down. If it was to simply hang out he would most likely have brought Midnight with him; for whatever reason no matter how busy she is, she always lets herself get dragged into inconveniencing her favorite grumpy man. 

“Oh right!” the blond yelled as if only now remembering the reason for his arrival. “You won’t believe it, Sho! I’ve seen a kid-!”

“You’re a teacher. It’s literally your job to see kids.” 

“Let me finish! Geez, I would think you don’t want to listen to me if I didn’t know better! So, the thing is, I just began my patrol route so it was literally four AM! Maybe even a bit before that… Anyway, the point is, I stumbled into a kid! In a dark alleyway! And ah, how can I even put it into words!” Yamada went right into telling his story, quickly growing maybe not frustrated and not quite hysteric yet but somewhat agitated. 

“How old?” Aizawa asked, deciding against taking a sip of his tea in case the information turns out to be so incredulous he spits it right out.

“Twelve,” Hizashi answered without a second of thought. Huh, it wasn’t that bad then. How does he know with such accuracy though? “So I go to him and ask hey, whatcha doing here? Are you here alone? How old are you? You know, the usual stuff.” 

While a twelve-year-old running around empty alleyways at four AM sounds like a recipe for a disaster, it doesn’t explain why Hizashi seems so agitated. 

“And?” he inquired because he was actually curious by now. The blond opened and closed his mouth a few times and then threw his hands up. Now, this was a rather rare and unexpected sight. Yamada Hizashi, Present Mic, the loudest hero known to current date… Not knowing what to say?

“Sho, do you have an illegitimate child or baby cousin or something?” 

Now, Aizawa was very thankful for thoughtfully not taking a sip of tea. 

“What does it have to do with anything?” he asked, barely managing to keep his expression calm. Deep inside he was somewhere between indignant, amused, and dumbfounded. 

“He was- it’s as if I met you but mini version! Messy black hair, red eyes, vibe of someone who would backtalk to someone even after getting stabbed!”

“That last one was very specific…” 

“Ah, no, nothing of that sort happened! But! I told the kid that he might get hurt and you know what? He just looked at me and with the most deadpan expression I have ever seen on a child’s face, and I know you! He went ‘good luck to anyone who tries’! I tried to get him back to some safer part of the city but he said that if I forced him to go anywhere it would count as kidnapping and he would yell for help! And I tried to explain to him that he shouldn’t go around dangerous places and at that hour at that but he pointed out that the area is neither off-limits nor is he prohibited from going for a morning run at ungodly hours!” 

Oh no. There’s no way- surely, no one would have gotten the same idea Aizawa once had but never truly went with since it was far more logical to just keep up with the normal route of hero school. It sure beats dying on some back street. 

“I even subtly mentioned vigilantism and how it’s bad and I kid you not, he gave me a ten-minute long lecture on how he isn’t breaking any law, and even if he did help someone but without the use of quirk it wouldn’t count as vigilantism!” 

So. There's just so happen to be a deadpan kid who among a few other traits shares the same idea thirteen years old Aizawa had. 

Shota looked down at Bitter who was quick to run to his side and start rubbing against his legs, purring like a miniature tractor.

“Did you materialize demons from the deepest parts of my soul?”

“Meow?” the cat answered, looking up with wide green innocent eyes. 

“So… Mini version of you with permanently red eyes and freckles counts as a demon from the deepest parts of your soul?” Yamada asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Children count as demons in general. If they are under ten I am not even risking looking at them.” 

“So, anyway, I have a feeling it won't be the last time I saw this kid so I thought I would share it with you… And ask for your help if it becomes a daily occurrence.”

Aizawa tends to return home right at four AM so he would miss the kid… And he would have to use some of his precious nap-before-UA time to meet that child…

“Only if things get out of control.” 

Yes, he was fully expecting to be facing the kid by the end of the month.

Chapter Text

“How early are you getting up?” Izuku asked after the fourth day. He probably was trying to set his alarm on such a time he would be able to see his twin leaving but no such luck so far. 

“Yes,” Mikumo answered with a grin, passing by his twin and going straight to the bathroom to get rid of the dye. His contact lenses were already safely tucked into his pocket. Red, just like Eri’s eyes. 

He wanted to die his hair blond – to a similar hue to Himiko’s – but his green locks were too dark for that so he decided to go all the way to the black because why not. And while he was at it, he styled them in a way that hid one of his eyes and used Overhaul to make them less curly and more droopy. 

Dying and then washing the paint off his hair would be far too much effort to do every day if it wasn’t for Overhaul which made him able to pretty much skip all the procedures and simply redo his hair into its normal state. It took a bit of time to do at the first few attempts but by now he could probably use some off-brand white dye in a way that would give miraculous effects. 

Anyway, this whole get-up was to avoid questions... For Izuku. If it wasn't for his twin he would forgo the disguise. 

“How early?” Izuku repeated the second his twin stepped outside, this time with hood down and his green hair visible. 

“Around three am,” Mikumo answered and his brother furrowed his brows.

“Are you training without me?” he asked accusingly. 

“I’m telling you this in great trust; I might or might not be a borderline vigilante.” 

There were many ways Izuku could react to that. Many, many ways. But he, of course, chose to say:

“You need a quirk to be a vigilante.” He said but must have realized how it sounded. “I mean, unlike for hero, it’s pretty much required. By definition, a vigilante is someone who uses their quirk without a license.” 

“That’s why I’m a borderline vigilante. I also keep in mind other formalities, just so you know that you aren’t in any way hiding any illegal behavior on my part.” Mikumo explained easily, the two of them moving toward doors to go for a morning jog. They met their mother who sleepily said good morning before going to get breakfast. 

They continued their conversation already outside. 

“You aren’t doing anything too dangerous, are you?” Izuku asked and you know, it’s pretty telling of how much trust he has in his twin to first question the technicality of being a vigilante without quirk and only then his safety. And even then without all that much worry, knowing fully well that out of two of them Mikumo was the one more likely to keep to safety measures. 

“Nope. Unless we count back talking to Present Mic.”

“You met Present Mic?!” Izuku yelled, grabbing the attention of a girl on the other side of the street, out on a walk with her dog. The boy sent her an apologetic smile and she shook her head, her body language saying that rather than angry she was thinking ‘ah, kids’ affectionately.  

“Yeah, more than once. I feel like he purposely tries to see me whenever I’m up and going at ungodly hours. Do you want me to ask him for an autograph?”

“Can I just go with you? Please? Pretty, pretty please? I will go home straight after, I promise, I won’t do the technically legal vigilanting! Not until I’m confident in not getting myself killed by some random thug…”

Mikumo sighed.

“Alright, but you’ll have to wake up at three am.” 

“Sure!”

At which the conversation came to halt because they were at their destination. They rang the doorbell and Katsuki came out only a few seconds later. 

“Come on, slowpokes! Don’t tell me you already got winded on your way here!” he called over his shoulder, having bolted the second he locked the door.

Used to it, Izuku instantly shot after his friend while Mikumo sighed and started jogging after them. He knew it would end as it always does; they sprint, trying to show each other that they can go just a little bit further than the other, and end up panting on the grass, barely able to catch their breath. That’s usually when Mikumo hands them two water bottles, rolling his eyes. 

It is exactly how things went.

“How… Do… You not get… Tired…?” Katsuki asked through huffs, not even trying to get up yet.

“I do. Occasionally.” 

For a moment the only thing that could be heard were passing cars, wind, and two kids desperately trying to feel like they had enough air in their lungs again. It took a moment.

“If you weren’t Deku’s twin, I would think you aren’t even human,” Katsuki said, getting up and starting to jog. He knew the other two would be able to keep up easily so there was no need to wait. 

“Maybe we both aren’t human?” Mikumo asked. 

“What would we be then? Aliens?” Izuku asked, taking his usual spot on Katsuki’s right while his twin was on the left of the blond. 

“Maybe? It would explain why you’re quirkless when no one else is!” 

It would probably sting was Izuku not far too used to his friend’s brutal honesty… And far more confident than the supreme leader of New Japan was at that age.

“You know what else would explain the lack of quirk?” Mikumo asked and was sure to make jazz hands while giving the answer with complete deadpan. “Genetics.”

Among talking and mostly friendly banter they finished their jog and returned to their respective homes to get a shower and get changed into school uniforms. They still had some time before having to go but that was no problem; they all had their own ideas on how to use it. One was lifting weights, one tinkering, and the last one programming. 

The school went by just fine though it was a bit weird to… Not hate it. Things have been changing slightly, inch by inch but by now they were completely different than they used to be.  

The next morning Izuku crawled out of his bed, looking half-alive for the entirety of ten seconds it took him to remember why he was getting up so early. At the realization that he was going to meet Present Mic he immediately got a sudden boost of energy and easily got changed in their shared room after which he started bouncing in place, waiting for Mikumo to get out of the bathroom.

He blinked in surprise at seeing his twin’s get-up.

“It wouldn’t be good for people to think you’re the borderline vigilante when you get into UA.” 

“Makes sense.” Izuku accepted easily but then he realized something. “Do you get up, dye your hair, go out, return, and wash the dye off every day?” 

“Yes. Now get your notebook and let’s go. You don’t want to miss Present Mic, do you?”

A minute later they were outside, Izuku with a hood over his head so as not to get his looks too acquainted with the borderline-vigilante’s presence. Even if this kind of outing is supposed to happen only once. 

After a bit of walking, Mikumo stopped near one of the alleyways and Izuku did so too, waiting excitedly. He barely could contain his joy when he noticed a familiar silhouette of the hero.

“There’s two of you today!” the hero exclaimed, throwing his arms up and then turning toward the teen whose presence he was expecting. “What part of my spiel did get lost in translation so badly that you brought someone with you?”

“It’s a one-time thing. He wouldn’t leave me be if I didn’t let him talk to you.” Mikumo answered easily and huh, Izuku has been strangely quiet…

“Yeah! I’m a huge fan!” ah, here it goes. “You’re such a cool hero and your quirk is so amazing! How loud can you actually get? Can you activate your quirk while whispering? What happens then? Does it sound like normal speaking? Can you use your quirk while making low sounds? Have you ever tried opera singi-?”

Present Mic glanced from Yami – how the dark-haired boy introduced himself – to the other one. While he was used to excitable fans this level of energy was something new! 

“Calm down, little listener! I didn’t catch half of that!” he called out since the former showed no signs of offering help and the latter wasn’t slowing down at all.  

“Oh, sorry… I came to get an autograph, actually! I don’t want to waste your time!” Izuku said, quickly putting his notebook forward, together with a pen. 

“Haha, no problem! I’m happy to have such an energetic fan! I mean, when someone shows so much joy at seeing me at such an unreasonable hour my work feels fully appreciated!” the man said, readily taking a notebook and the pen. He whistled at a drawing of him. “Nice sketch you have here! Do you want me to write something specific for you?”

“Just an autograph is fine!” Izuku assured readily and barely could stop himself from vibrating with excitement as he got his belongings back with a signature. “Thank you so much!”

“No problem! Rather than thanking me, I would rather have you ask your friend here to stop going around dangerous places in the middle of the night!” 

“It’s morning. Early morning.” Mikumo pointed out. 

“And he wouldn’t listen anyway. I can make him promise to be careful though!” Izuku added readily. 

“Well… That’s better than nothing! Now just to put my mind at ease… You just came to talk to me and you aren’t planning to join him on his questionable sightseeing, right?”  

“Yep! I’m going right home!” 

“Good.” Present Mic said with a relieved smile. One kid cheating system was enough. “Is it far from here? I don’t you to get in trouble on your way there!”

“I will escort him so no worries,” Mikumo interjected and after short goodbyes, everyone went in their directions. 

Present Mic was so going to tell Eraserhead on them, Mikumo can feel it in his bones. But there’s nothing any of those two can do, except maybe, telling his mother about his early morning escapades but they would have to have her number, know who she is or where she is. Which they don’t and aren’t going to learn. 

Anyway, after getting Izuku safely home, Mikumo spent the next hour and a half just walking around, occasionally saving someone from mugging or assault. He didn’t try his luck trying to look for drug dealings and such. Sure, it would be more likely to catch Himiko’s attention but he has to stay careful. 

He needs to do enough to gain some interest from the underground but not enough to put himself and his family in trouble. Which is pretty much impossible but you know what? It might be his only chance at her realizing that he does remember and coming to find him so he's willing to take this risk. 

Because, sadly, he can’t just go and find her on his own. It’s Himiko after all, he’s pretty sure even after the past two years of her activity police have close to nothing about her current persona, Mary. She’s just good as that. 

Mikumo returned home twenty minutes before six AM and quickly got changed into jogging clothes and got his hair back to its usual green state. Then he went running with his brother and Katsuki, suffered through the boredom of school – mostly by writing with Shinso and browsing the internet – and came home where after eating he quickly did his homework and helped Izuku with his. Then they talked about a new coming hero and his quirk before getting to tinkering with a break to spar. Then supper, some more tinkering, looking through forums for the villains' fights, some more talking and sleep. 

Rinse and repeat. 

Not that his route didn’t change. It did, a lot in fact. Sometimes the two of them would go around the city, hoping to see heroes in action. Other times Katsuki would come knocking to get help with his own homework although as they grew older it happened less and less. It never truly stopped though. The sparring wasn’t always the same too, since the blond would occasionally join them after learning of their martial art training. 

And within those passing days, unsurprisingly, one very early morning Mikumo stumbled upon his favorite grouch. Not that he knew Eraserhead personally. They stumbled upon each other only one time after all but he had heard quite a bit about the man from Himiko… And a bit from Stain, surprisingly. As an underground hero, he was respected by the bloodthirsty vigilante-turned-villain. 

“Present Mic told you on me, didn’t he?” he asked the second he noticed the dark silhouette drop quietly into the alleyway, a few feet away from him. If the man was surprised by being spotted so quickly he didn’t show it.

“Your words indicate you did something worth telling on.” The man pointed out. Mikumo could instantly tell why he’s Shinso’s favorite hero… Oh, right. He should probably get an autograph for both his friend and twin since he had stumbled into the hero. 

“Not really. It indicates that Present Mic finds early morning strolls something worth nagging over and telling on.” He noted. “Anyway, we’re both busy people so how about you give me two autographs and we both return to whatever we were doing?”

“Two autographs?” Eraserhead asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. I so happen to know two people who would enjoy an autograph from you very much. You know what? Make it three. I want one too.”

“Kid, if you’re actually going around dangerous places just to get in trouble so heroes save you and you get to meet them is both stupid and actually illegal.” 

“It’s not what I’m doing and I honestly don’t even want to run into any heroes since they tend to go ‘what are you doing here at this hour? Are you lost? Do you need help getting home?’.” Mikumo answered readily and reached into his pocket. “Of course, I don’t have any paper with me… Well, since the autograph is off the table I suppose we can just go our separate ways.” 

“Have it crossed your mind that I approached you because I wanted to talk about your worrying habit of going on ‘early morning strolls’ around not exactly safe areas?” 

“Yes but by now I’m sure you gauged my reactions enough to realize I’m no ordinary stupid teen and I’m not going to stop no matter what you try to scare me with. Trust me, consequences of one’s own actions can be only so scary.”

Eraserhead seemed to actually be thinking it over. 

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You’re asking yourself for trouble and there’s only so far confidence can take you before everything goes crumbling down.”

“Oh, I know,” Mikumo said and turned around, deciding to go toward the main street since he had a feeling the man wouldn’t just let him be if he went deeper into alleyways. “Lowering your guard for only a minute gets you a bullet in the head.”

And with that, he left… 

Because, sadly, he had spent too much time with the league not to make a dramatic exit. 

Chapter Text

So… Mikumo kind of gave up on the idea of borderline vigilantism. It didn’t mean he stopped his ungodly hour escapades. No. He was far too stubborn to let Present Mic and Eraserhead think he gave up because he got scared or something. 

The thing is; their area is pretty safe all things considered so the most he did was occasionally stop a drunkard or three from doing something they would regret… Well, they still regretted it when getting their ass kicked by a teen but shush. 

The people even started talking about him! Not in ‘a new vigilante’ way but rather ‘that helpful sleep-deprived boy’… Though after he saved those older teens from a knife-wielding mugger he found forum posts about ‘Musutafu cryptid’. For whatever reason, it quickly grew out of control, with theories so far-fetched that no one with the slightest amount of rationality would believe.

To give an example, some thought he was thousands of years old vampire that was somehow behind the beginning of the quirks. Another popular theory was that he was a ghost of a vigilante from the quirk-manifestation era who after dying stopped understanding the flow of time and still thinks he is in those times so he goes around helping and hiding from the curious gazes. Another one, made by Izuku because why wouldn’t he jump on the bandwagon, was that their dear cryptid was a time traveler that phased to their time occasionally to help in little ways that wouldn’t break the timeline too badly. 

Oh yeah, there’s also a theory that he is a clone of some hero, made by villains in an attempt to fight fire with fire but he run away because of his inborn indestructible moral compass. Mikumo is pretty damn sure that the user behind it, ‘FutureMicrophone’ is no one else than Present Mic. And concluding from one single ‘stop’ written under his theory, the user ‘Imspleeing’ is Eraser who might have actually been sleeping when making an account. There’s also a slight possibility that ‘Sexy_Dawn’ is Midnight but he isn’t fully sure. They are either her or someone who figured FutureMicrophone’s identity and joined the bandwagon because they are a fan of his. Just like Izuku – aka ‘MIghtyMIght’ – had done. 

So yeah, Mikumo wanted to become a borderline vigilante and when authorities get a bit too trigger-happy to cleverly point out how he isn’t breaking any kind of law but instead he got a whole damn fandom. He just might make some kind of grand entrance with lights flashing and smoke machines going off to give the alien theory some more merit since it’s pretty interesting but no one seems to pay it any mind. 

But well… It’s fine. He figured that he is most likely going to meet Himiko, the future one, anyway. He’s pretty sure that with her… Slightly obsessive-stalkerish character she will learn that her past self didn’t come to Aldera and then she will get worried about how the sludge villain incident will go – after all, she did save both his and Bakugo’s asses in the end – so she will surely come there. He just needs to somehow let her know he remembers her and here they go! No more problems with finding her!

As for his two assassins… After all this time of calmness he is somewhat confident that rather than attempting a sudden attack as all those years ago, they are waiting for some specific event. Perhaps later on the day of the sludge villain attack since he remembers going home and Bakugo bypassing him with ‘you thought you could do something you useless freak or was that an attempt to kill yourself?!’ or something along those lines before stomping away... Leaving him alone to rethink his life choices after which he decided on… Well, disappearing from everyone’s lives.

That would be the perfect moment to strike, actually. They most likely think he doesn’t remember the future and might expect him to go maybe not the exact same route but a similar one… Well, even if he didn’t decide to run away, they don’t lose anything by putting a trap on that day but if things go as they did, it would be a perfect chance to kill him. And to specifically kill him that was going to become a supreme leader of New Japan rather than his twin; the unknown part of the equation. Hopefully, they aren’t brainwashed by Hero Commission enough to just go and kill a completely innocent kid. One that’s actually going to be a hero at that!

Anyway! With days passing by in somewhat normal peace, the twins' thirteen birthday soon came. By this point, they barely were expecting a phone from their father and rather excitedly awaited the party with their friends. Mikumo was especially happy because Hitoshi was planning to come; he had to take two different buses but he was determined to make it there.

He did without getting lost and let Mikumo tell you… That day was hilarious. Poor Hitoshi, meeting both twins for the first time, kept mistaking them for each other… Which to be honest was completely normal, expected even, since they not only kept the same hairstyles but also liked the same type of clothing. The fact that the only difference in their attires was that one had ‘pants’ written on their t-shirt and the other had ‘jeans’ didn't really help either. 

Funny as it was, the twins are good people who don't want anyone feeling embarrassed for confusing them so at one point they just… Accepted whatever name they would get. For example.

“Um… Izuku…” Shinso said unsurely to Mikumo who looked at him with a small hum of ‘you have my attention’. “Can you remind me everyone’s names…?”

And the boy dutifully did so. There were five other people invited, four of their classmates including Kacchan and a girl from parallel class. The one who gave Izuku cany all those years ago. Turns out she was pretty cool to hang out with. 

“Oh, thanks,” Hitoshi said and quickly scurried away to who he thought was Mikumo. The real one thought about telling his friend that he’s actually himself but... He didn’t want Shinso to feel so on edge the first time he is here and the poor kid looked so disappointed every time he got the twins wrong!

So, he let his friend talk with Izuku who he thought was Mikumo, while he himself went to grab a cupcake. He ended up getting challenged to a dance-off which he accepted because why the heck not? And with that, he and Katsuki had quite possibly the most intense non-lethal battle of their life with four kids watching and cheering them on. 

Meanwhile, Izuku was talking with Shinso and wondering very intensely whether he should explain that he wasn’t actually Mikumo or not. Talking about Brainwash was so interesting! Even though Izuku had to piece some things on his own since, you know, his twin doesn’t just go around spilling details of other people's quirks, especially when the aforementioned people don’t like others knowing about their power. 

“So… After that conversation we had about complicated commands being many simple ones I’ve been thinking of a way around some of the Brainwashing’s limits,” Shinso said, glancing around to make sure no one else was listening in. He didn’t want others to hear him and call him villain, thank you very much. This is pretty much the first birthday party he had attended since he was seven or so. “For example, if rather than going ‘tell me what your favorite dish is’ I could go ‘think about your favorite dish’ and then ‘say what you’re thinking about’.”

“Oh, that makes sense! If we assume that all except the most basic functions may not as much get turned off as get muffled, then you need to first bring something to forethought before bringing it outside!” Izuku agreed easily. “Do you want to check that theory?”

“Yeah but maybe later? I mean, it’s the middle of your birthday.” Shinso pointed out and Izuku laughed, pointing at the circle in the salon. They could hear the music coming from the TV.

“I’m pretty sure Kacchan is asserting his dominance in dance battle so I don’t think they are going to miss us for another few minutes or so.” He noted.

“Well, it’s your birthday so I’m not going to argue if you want to do it. Are you ready?”

“Yea-!” Izuku began but suddenly his mind became… Muddled. He could still see and hear everything but it was so far away, a bit like whenever he is half asleep so he isn’t sure whether things that are going on outside are actually happening or if it’s already a dream. Later he would be able to note how weird it was to have his mind quiet for a moment but for now, he just stared at Shinso, feeling as if his head was full of cotton rather. 

“Think about your favorite dish,” Shinso said and that was easy. Katsudon. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

Izuku opened his mouth and answered but it was so weird because he wasn’t sure when or how he said that. He could hear the word leaving his mouth but it was so far away as if it was Mikumo saying it from behind him. 

Then Shinso pinched him and he blinked.

“Oh wow, that was so weird but also kind of cool! Everything felt so foggy!” he commented and only after Shinso’s eyes widened in horror did he realize that Mikumo wouldn’t say that because he had already felt his friend’s quirk in action.

“You’re Izuku…” Shinso whispered and he looked so scared for some reason that Izuku couldn’t help but feel guilty.

“Yeah… We felt bad that you felt bad for mistaking us so we just kind of decided to… Not correct you…? I’m sorry! We didn’t want you to be nervous! It’s pretty hard to tell us apart! When we try even mom has a hard time doing so! I didn’t mean to deceive you or make you feel bad or anything!” left his mouth with a speed that he suddenly realized the other boy probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with. “Sorry! You probably didn’t understand a word I just said because I was talking so fast…”

“No, no worries, Mikumo does it too,” Shinso assured quickly.

“Not as much as I do… Sorry again, I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable or anything.” 

“It’s fine… It’s just… People don’t really like my quirk so it was kind of scary to learn that you’re… Well, the twin I don’t know all that well.” Shinso said and then furrowed his brows in thought. “I should have realized sooner though. Your remarks were a little less specific than Mikumo’s since, I guess, he knows my quirk better.”

“I was trying to quickly make sense of everything… Sorry again, I felt like it would be weird to just go ‘sorry, I’m not Mikumo, he’s somewhere over there’.”

“No problem, really… I guess it was for the best. I feel like I was nervous for nothing now that pretty much the worst-case scenario I was thinking about took place and ended just fine.”

“What exactly was the worst-case scenario?” Izuku asked, ever the curious one.

“Accidently brainwashing Mikumo’s twin. It was pretty specific yet it still happened.” Shinso mused and the boy couldn’t help but laugh quietly.

“If it makes you feel better the worst-case scenario I can think of ends up happening half of the time.”

“Oh?”

And with that, they ended up talking about how unlucky they were right until the others decided to get them back to the main party. After all, it would be pretty weird to celebrate someone's birthday when they are sitting a few feet away. 

“With this many people we should play hide and seek!” the only girl in the group said, grinning. 

“We aren’t babie-“ Katsuki tried but had been promptly cut off.

“It sounded a lot like volunteering to seek first, don’t you think guys?” Mikumo asked with a grin.

Shinso had a sudden ‘how could I mistake them’ feeling. As little as he did get to talk with Izuku, it was enough for him to realize that those two were pretty much the good and the bad twin. Though technically the latter still was really cool and all… Which doesn’t change the fact that he is pretty good at being little shit.

“It did!” one of the boys readily agreed. 

“Whatever!” Katsuki yelled and turned around, hiding his eyes behind his hands. “Twenty… Nineteen…”

And with that everyone went scurrying to find a perfect hiding spot. The game ended up taking half an hour because one person couldn’t be found and didn't dare make a peep while Katsuki absolutely refused to admit defeat. Contrary to what one might expect rather than boring it was extremely entertaining to see the blond stomping around, checking every nook and cranny.

“What are you doing, dear?” Inko asked at one point when the boy checked the room she was in for the third time.

“Looking for Yami!” he huffed and left.

“We’re playing hide and seek!” Izuku was quick to add and the woman chuckled.

“Oh my, good luck then.”

Shinso was honestly impressed. He feels like the blond checked every part of the house. Even wardrobes weren’t safe. It seemed that Bakugo felt here as if it was his own house.

At one point Shinso left them to checking the twins' hero-clad workshop of a room while he went to eat some snacks. So here he was, a handful of cheetos in one hand and a glass of fizzy drink in the other when he saw something falling from the top of the fridge.

Something green. And big. 

Mikumo left the kitchen and their eyes met. The boy gave a small nod of greeting and Shinso did so too, although he was locked in place in shock. He then watched the boy pass him by and crawl under the table holding snacks.

He put the glass down and returned to the rest with his Cheetos not eaten yet. 

“You,” Bakugo said, stomping toward him like an angry bull. “You look like you know something.”

And Shinso, with no fear left in his heart after knowing Mikumo hid on the fridge for the past forty minutes or so, took one of the Cheetos, put it in Bakugo’s hand, and went:

“Ask Cheetos gods and you shall know.”

The blond looked at Shinso, at the snack he had been gifted with, at Shinso again and then he gave a single nod. A minute later the game of hide and seek finally saw its end with Katsuki victorious. 

But for what price?

Chapter Text

“What to the actual ever-loving fuck?!” Katsuki whisper yelled, holding both his and Izuku’s test. 

It was one more thing to add to the list of things that were so weird and new that even though he had been living this life for over a decade now, Mikumo still found himself dumbfounded at such a reaction from the blond. Well, it was a similar one to his past but in completely different circumstances because this fury was righteous in, you know, the actually right way.

“You wrote the same thing! You used ‘huge’ and I ‘enormous’ which is the same damn thing so why did you lose a point here?!” he continued his tirade, shaking his test with an expression somewhere between furious and shocked because honestly, seriously, what’s wrong with their teachers? Yes, they aren’t exactly the best but come on! In this part of the exam, they were supposed to translate sentences from Japanese to English and it wasn’t as if they had to use the exact words that their teacher had seen once upon a fucking dream! 

“It happens,” Izuku said with a shrug. Mikumo could relate though he honestly couldn’t care less. He already got stressed about those things once. He knows the teachers won’t go far enough to destroy his overall grade and those quirk-obsessed maniacs won’t be the ones checking his UA exam. 

“You! What did you put there?” Katsuki turned toward Mikumo and before the boy could answer, his test was already in the blond’s hands. “What to the actual, honest to not just ever-living but fucking hell? You lost a point for ‘great’?! Fingers used the same word and got a point here!” 

“People are assholes, Kacchan.” Mikumo explained and the blond was about to yell something along the lines of ‘and you’re fine with this?!’ when the green-haired menace continued. “And it’s easier to let them have their way for a little while before looking at them with a smile from the podium they could never reach. Really, they are so pathetic it isn’t even worth wasting our nerves on them.”

Somewhere between depths of ever-burning magma inside Katsuki, he felt laughter bubbling. One that he barely stifled since he doesn’t want that asshole of a teacher to scold him… Not that he would give the blond any kind of permanent record. Wow, what double standards this school has…

“That was brutal.” He noted out loud, letting twins have their tests back. 

“Even though it might be kind of true… You shouldn’t be so mean, Micchan!” 

“Better to be mean than a wet noodle like you, Deku!” Katsuki said readily, ever the one to point one others’ shortcomings. 

“I’m not a wet noodle!” Izuku huffed back, crossing his arms.

In his own past, Mikumo could never even hope to be this close to Katsuki after the reveal of not having a quirk. And he will probably never stop being amazed at how much having a sensible, mature presence in his school life, changed the blond. 

“Even if you were, you’d still be my favorite twin.” Mikumo decided to say. 

“You have a very low standard if you’d accept wet noodle as your brother,” Izuku noted, raising an eyebrow. 

“And yet, he refuses to accept that I and my quirk are the best things this school had ever witnessed,” Katsuki grumbled. 

“I mean, this school had also witnessed me.” Mikumo pointed out but before the blond could get him down his high horse, the teacher decided it was high time to get something done rather than just talking about nothing with the excuse of checking their mistakes on tests and learning from them. 

That weekend twins weren’t meeting up with Katsuki for a sparring session since both of them had been invited to Shinso's birthday. Funnily enough, he had been born exactly two weeks after twins. 

Mikumo kind of expected Bakugo and the other person from the future to jump at them while they were outside their usual comfort of Musutafu but he supposes it wasn’t very likely. If they didn’t go after him whenever he was on a school trip why would they be awoken to do some murdering now? Unless they were either well hell-bent on killing specifically Midoriya Izuku or wanted to get both of them down at the same time.

Anyway… Nothing had happened. Mostly. Mikumo might have noticed someone stealing a purse from an older woman and calmly hand the gift he was holding to his twin before promptly giving chase. There were no people around and if he didn’t use quirk it didn’t count as vigilantism but rather being a polite, respectful youth that helps their elders, alright?

So he caught up to the thief whose quirk seemed to be making small smoke clouds and he simply grabbed the purse, hit the man in the knee with it, and after giving the guy a withering glare he returned to the old lady that tried to catch up to them. She thanked him profusely, gave him a chocolate bar, and then promptly called the police. The thief tried to run away but the purse had once again been used as a weapon and after one well-aimed hit from the lady, the man stayed down. 

Well, it counted as self-defense since the guy nearly made the woman fall and hurt herself while taking her purse earlier and how could she know he wouldn’t try to do something to her now?

“You’re so cool, Micchan!” Izuku, who also gave chase although was slowed down by what he was holding, said with stars in his eyes.

“You’ll have time to fanboy over me later, we need to get to the bus,” Mikumo answered readily. The two readily moved and soon enough were greeting their friend. 

The party consisted only of the three of them but the twins didn’t comment on it, instead overwhelming Shinso with all the theorizing they did about his quirk. They had double the ideas to test out and happily offered to be his lab rats. 

Understandably, he thought that they are weird. But he would literally fight anyone for any of them… Even if he’s positive that Mikumo would be more likely to kick both any opponent of his and Shinso at the same time. 

Oh yeah, since all of them wanted to get into the hero course in UA, they ended up sparring… And Hitoshi might or might have not been handed his ass to him with far more bravado than he expected. Well, than he expected from Izuku since he looked pretty harmless; when it comes to Mikumo all bets are off. That guy would find a way to fight the sun and win.

After a successful birthday party and a promise to meet up again… Hopefully, more often than twice a year, the twins went back home and life moved on at its usual pace.

“I’m just saying that nitroglycerin is used to treat angina and you never had it so explosions might not be the only thing your quirk is capable of…” 

“What the fuck, Yami?” 

“In general it helps with opening blood vessels.”

“And what am I supposed to do with that?”

“I’m happy you asked…”

It was a lot of fun to be able to discuss Katsuki’s quirk with him. Mikumo never thought he would get a chance to do that… But it seems to have had become a norm for him to do all the things he once couldn’t even dream of.

“What if you punched someone at the same time you brainwashed someone or gave an order? What if you brainwashed someone but lost consciousness before you could give an order? What do you think, Eraserhead’s Erasure would completely cancel brainwashing on someone or would simply stop you from activating it and the order already given would be proceeded with?”

Thinking about Hitoshi’s quirk was a ton of fun too! Having people he could discuss their powers with was great in general.

“I don’t know, I don’t know, I think unless he punched them they would stay under the Brainwash but I wouldn’t be able to give a commend but unlike you, I’m not some kind of analyzing mastermind so I don’t have fifteen different theories of how exactly his quirk works.”

“You probably have around ten. I mean, he’s your favorite hero so you definitely have some ideas.” Izuku noted, sitting in a corner and praying the parts he is putting together finally fit. If he has to go through another five microwaves to find this one little piece he needs, he’s literally going to punch something.  

“Stop selling me out.” Shinso hissed although both of the twins knew he wasn’t actually angry. 

“No worries, I already know you have exactly eight theories and one headcanon,” Mikumo said assuredly.

“How the fuck…?” Hitoshi whispered although, in reality, he had only seven theories. Still, it was weirdly close. 

Ah, yes. Day by day... What a strange thing to have such a peaceful life. It's something not very well known by the Midoriya Izuku of the future long gone.

FutureMicrophone 

Guys, guys, look! I have proof of the vampire theory being wrong! 

[Cryptid_Garlic_PNG]

Imspleeing

Why the fuck is the kid eating garlic? 

PrettyLittleLady

OHMYGOSH CRYPTID ON PHOTO

CRYPTID EATING GARLIC ON PHOTO- wait, I upp the question; what the fuck?

FutureMicrophone 

I bribed him with a limited edition of Midnight t-shirt

Sexy_Dawn

Makes sense~! Who wouldn’t get bribed by that?

MaxDLass

A cryptid? Unless the ghost theory is going down too

MightyMight 

He might have just wanted to eat garlic and took the t-shirt while he was at it. 

Mamafia 

He’s literally eating the garlic on that photo so it’s pretty obvious he isn’t a ghost DUH

MickeyWoof

Guys. Guys. It might be photoshopped don’t get so hyped

FutureMicrophone

YOU DARE ABUSE ME OF LYING?!?!

Sexy_Dawn

Oh~! What kind of messages you write for your autocorrect to change accuse into abuse?

HotChickenBoi

-> Reply To MickeyWoof

Dudde it’s too bad of quality to be photoshopped

MIghtyMIght

While technically it wouldn’t be impossible to edit a photo and then worsen its quality, I too believe it is real deal

CalmTheFuckDown

It is true.

MickeyWoof

And how would you know?

CalmTheFuckDown

Because that garlic was fucking delicious.

[Yo_Its_Ya_Cryptid_PNG]

And with that, the whole forum went mad, with people trying to check the user but he had already deleted their profile. It wasn’t unheard of or even that rare of an instance for the cryptid to come to the forum but they didn’t write very often either so whenever they did… Well, servers went wild. 

Mikumo chuckled to himself, glancing at his twin who rolled his eyes. He had a special hidden folder just for the occasion of showing up at the forum, giving a short or cryptic answer, proving his existence, and then instantly deleting his current account. He’s having far more fun with all those crazy theorists than he expected to.

“Are you planning to drop there a photo of your hero license after you get it?” Izuku asked, raising an eyebrow and Mikumo nearly choked on his own spit because how did he not think about that earlier?!

“I’m so going to make Cryptid into my hero name and watch people fight with actual pitchforks about whether I’m actually Musutafu’s cryptid or not. While still going around doing not exactly vigilantic things.” 

“Well… Good for you, I still don’t know what my hero name is going to be!” 

“You’ll figure it out eventually, no need to worry now.” 

Ah, yes… The days were truly passing by peacefully…

“I swear if you got shot I’m going to hire a detective to find your guardian and force them to force you to stay home.”

“I didn’t get shot!” Mikumo said indignantly because he isn’t stupid! He learns his lessons and he already got shot enough times to be careful about people using guns against him! Those enough times meaning once in the head. “I know better than to get involved in gunfights without a gun!”

The criminal that was at fault for the current situation had been already taken to the police by Present Mic. Mikumo wasn’t sure whether he was thankful or extremely disappointed with his luck that this one time some actually dangerous individual showed up both heroes decided to visit their favorite menace… And as such he was now being lectured by one and he would most likely get nagged by the other the very next day. 

“Why did I hear a gunshot then?” Eraserhead asked but he was calm; he could see that Mikumo was fine. 

“Because someone shooting doesn’t mean they will always hit the target?” 

“So you got shot at.” 

“But I didn’t get shot! I noticed a gun and knew to duck behind a dumpster so I’m fine!”

“You saw a man with a gun in a dark alleyway and decided to grab his attention instead of instantly going to look for authorities?” the man asked, very clearly about to give Mikumo a talk about safety measures that the boy would never forget.

“And what if I did try to back off without getting his attention but he still noticed me anyway?” Mikumo asked because he’s a sarcastic little shit. Even though it’s true. Mostly. He might or might have not stepped on that can on purpose because he knows that this guy had some beef over some petty shit with a man living in the house right next to Midoriyas'. And it just so happened that said neighbor tends to come to a specific shop around this hour... And to which this alleyway is a shortcut to, and things could get really ugly-

“Problem child, stop summoning demons and explain yourself.”

Mikumo blinked. Huh. Since when did he start trusting the man enough to let himself fall into his mumbling habit? Or maybe rather than that, he should wonder when did he exactly start summoning demons with his murmuring...

“I actually tried to just step away but a can happened. It’s honestly not my fault that I apparently look like a target dummy.” 

Aizawa sighed and massaged his forehead.

“Shouldn’t you be a little more shaken up by nearly getting shot?”

Mikumo shrugged, showing no anxiety whatsoever. 

“It could have been worse. I could have actually gotten shot. I’m fine so why wouldn’t I be fine?”

The man shook his head and the two were quiet for a moment. Mikumo was just about to go on his merry way back home when the man, surprisingly, decided to speak up. 

“Are you planning to become a hero?” he asked but just as the boy opened his mouth, the man glared. “No, I don’t mean full-on vigilanting. I mean legally permitted hero.”

Mikumo isn’t sure whether he is more frustrated about being cut off before he could even say anything or that he was so predictable. 

But rather than thinking about it, he actually considered the question. In this timeline, he always went along with Izuku and Katsuki saying they will become heroes together but… Does he really want to be one after all he had been through? He sure as hell doesn’t want to become Hero Commission’s dog… But. 

“I just might.”

Because that’s what Mikumo always wanted and why shouldn’t he try? He doesn’t have to let go of his dream again. Even if he knows he will inevitably have to. He will end up ignoring his heart’s desire and doing what has to be done to keep everyone safe; rather than simply becoming a subordinate of those assholes, he will aim to become part of them, to bring a change from within. 

“Good,” Eraserhead said and something in that easy acceptance of someone whose quirk he had no idea about, if he even had one… It made his dream so much harder to let go of. “Try for UA.”

And with those words that sounded like an order, the man left. 

Mikumo, surprisingly, for once was going to listen to the authority figure.

Chapter Text

Times passes by quickly when you are having fun. 

Standing between Izuku who was making quick notes in his notebooks and Katsuki who tried to look like he didn’t care but was stealing glances at the new-coming heroes, Mikumo felt the slightest bit out of place. Because it’s this day but it isn’t. 

Glancing at the blond, thinking about the person he had become… It’s hard to imagine him telling anyone to take swan dive off a rooftop. Except, maybe, a villain. 

“Whatever, let’s go before we are late!” Katsuki finally said, only after the criminal had been apprehended though.

“Oh! Right! Sorry!” Izuku was quick to apologize, putting his notebook back in the backpack.

It wasn't long before the three of them arrived at school.

It was weird to go through this day because he remembers it so well, yet all the little things felt so new and alien. Though to be fair, he couldn’t remember a single subject taught today from his gone future. The only details that stayed in his memory were concerning the tragedies of that day after all.

He listened with half his attention, as always finding it all boring. It was a matter of refreshing his knowledge after all since he had already learned it all once. So he mostly read through his ever-growing forum, glancing at the teachers from time to time.

They hated him, he knows. But they knew that if they made too much trouble for him or his twin he would make them pay with doubled power. It happened only once before their realized not to mess up with him. He’s pretty sure the principal is still waking up in the middle of the night, thinking about those lawsuit drafts Mikumo had offered him that one time. 

Soon enough the papers went flying and here, here it comes.

“Of course, all of you want to be heroes!”

“Don’t put me in the same bag with those extras!” Katsuki was quick to say but unlike in the memories of the future long gone, he stayed seated, crossing his arms with a small smirk. “We all know who here is going to UA and becoming the next number one!”

“Mikumo?” someone at the back asked but their courage swiftly withered under the blond’s heated glare. 

“Ah, yeah, both Midoriyas are planning to try for UA.” The teacher noted, glancing at a paper on his desk. 

“Well, everyone can try.” a guy to the side of the class huffed. “But not everyone will make it.”

“You included.” The person sitting behind him noted and pretty much everyone laughed at that wonderful comeback.

It was so weird. If Mikumo hadn’t spent over dozen years in this new timeline, he would have probably thought he had got sent to a mirror universe. 

Soon after the bell rang and Mikumo barely stopped himself from flinching when he saw oh so familiar scene of hero analysis laying on the desk, Izuku quickly packing his thing with the blond right over him, reaching for the item-

“So you’re trying for the hero or support course?” Bakugo asked, picking up the notebook and throwing it into Izuku’s backpack. “You’re such a slowpoke.”

“Both, actually. My first choice is the hero course but if I don’t get in I’m planning to get transferred later on.” Izuku answered readily.

“Hero course and general. I’ve been thinking about trying to get into Hero Commission.” Mikumo gave his answer. All three of them had already packed their belongings and turned toward doors.

“Hey, Bakugo! Wanna go hang out at the arcade?”

Mikumo expected the blond to accept and so, passed him by, with Izuku following behind. The two changed their shoes and went straight home. Of course, the mentally older could have changed their route, knowing what was awaiting them near the underpass but he didn’t want his twin to miss out on a chance of meeting All Might.

Personally, he wasn’t sure how to feel about meeting the hero again. Yes, the blond had pretty much broken his heart by going ‘no, you can’t be a hero without a quirk’ but… Well, Mikumo is terrible at holding a grudge. The only person he ever truly hated was Overhaul for literally torturing an innocent child and making her feel like she was cursed. And, anyway… It’s not like he didn’t hurt All Might. When their eyes met that day, in Kamino, the hero looked so guilty...

So yeah, they were even for all he cares. To be completely honest, he kind of feels bad for the hero because from the man’s perspective it most likely was because of ‘you can’t be a hero’ that Izuku of that timeline became a villain… And ended up under All For One’s ‘influence’. Though All Might had his part in that decision being made, he wasn’t the only reason. Bakugo of that world, all those people belittling him… The fact that he couldn’t do anything against the slime villain who Himiko so easily faced… And that he didn't want to bring her down. 

The point is, he doesn’t hate All Might. He isn’t sure how happy he is at the prospect of seeing him again but he isn’t all that bitter. And, anyway, after all those years he knows that the hero honestly didn’t mean anything bad, wasn’t even looking down on him. All For One let it slip that before One For All their symbol was actually quirkless. 

“Oi, nerds!” 

Huh?

“Huh? Weren’t you going to the arcade, Kacchan?” Izuku asked, stopping to let the blond catch up to them.

Even more changes to the timeline. That’s probably good… Though Mikumo is kind of afraid. This day is a perfect opportunity for the assassins from the future to strike.

But alas, the blond caught up to them and they resumed walking. 

“Of course not! Hanging out with those guys is a waste of time. Fingers just wants to feel like a cool kid by hanging out with me and I don’t feel like getting dragged down by those extras.” Katsuki huffed. 

“So unlike him, we aren’t dragging you down?” Izuku inquired, something Mikumo’s own younger version would never dream about saying. 

“Don’t be so smug just because you have an absolute minimum of a brain to do something productive with your life.” The blond was quick to retort, rolling his eyes.

“Hey, do you wanna bet?” Mikumo asked, stopping. The two did so too, glancing at him curiously.

“On what?” Katsuki asked, never one to back away from any kind of challenge.

“Let’s each try to foresee two things that will happen today. The one who will be the closest gets free bentos from the other two for the rest of the school year.” Mikumo said with a grin, glancing toward the underpass and the manhole that was only a few feet away from them.

“And why would I want bentos from you two?” Katsuki huffed, crossing his arms.

“I’m in!” Izuku chirped readily and made a thoughtful expression. “I think we will see Kamui in action today again and… Hm… I think Shinso will call you within the next two hours!” 

“I bet we won’t see that wood guy nor blondie for the rest of the day! And that auntie Inko will end up crying over one of you nerds for some reason!” Katsuki was quick to join. 

Mikumo shook his head with a mischievous smile.

“I bet we will stumble upon a villain within the next three minutes and…” he said, his grin growing. “That All Might will end up saving us.”

“Micchan! You should at least try!” Izuku huffed and for once Katsuki nodded, whole-heartedly agreeing with the green-haired boy.

“Exactly! What’s the point if you’re literally just making up impossible nonsense!” 

“Oh?” the boy hummed, wondering if he made a miscalculation and he’d wait for sludge villain for another five minutes or so. He hopes not, it would be nice having free bentos from the other two. “And what if I’m right?”

Katsuki looked him straight into the eyes.

“There’s no way in hell that’s going to happen. If it does I will start calling you Yami-sama.” 

Izuku gasped, noticing the sludge villain leaving the manhole a few feet away from them. 

“Yami-san will suffice,” Mikumo said and grabbed the two who froze in fear upon seeing the criminal, pulling them back. 

“Oh! Hello there! I guess you will rat me out if I get one of you as a bodysuit… So let’s go for a hostage situation!” the villain declared, lunging at them. 

Mikumo expected that. So he waited for the perfect timing to push the two to his sides away and roll right underneath the incoming wave of sludge. He could literally feel parts of the enemy brushing his back but as expected, while the villain had a special kind of mobility thanks to his half-liquid body, he still couldn’t just reach back and grab the boy. 

“How about not?” Mikumo inquired politely. 

“How about yes!” the villain yelled and then turned toward Izuku who was quick to scramble away, making more distance between himself and the villain. 

In Mikumo’s memories, the time from the moment he was being suffocated was nothing short of eternity but realistically it had to be seconds so…

The manhole shot up once again.

“Do not fear! For I am here!”

And with that, the sludge villain had been defeated and gathered into bottles. 

“Haha! Sorry for that! I don’t tend to make such mistakes but I’m in a new area!” the man said. “Now if you have anything you’d like autographed give it here, I need to get this villain to the police station quickly!”

Mikumo didn’t lose any time, taking out Izuku’s notebook – since his twin was frozen in shock – while Katsuki quickly reached for some paper too. They got signatures of the number one hero and just as expected…

“Now I’ll take my leave! The villain won’t give himself to the police on his own!” 

“W-wait! I have a question!” Izuku said and Mikumo blinked. 

Well… He shouldn’t be surprised, should he? Even with so much more confidence the question was surely burning at him because to be completely honest… Except for his twin, no one believed in him. Yes, Katsuki accepted Izuku’s chase after his dream – which was more than could be hoped for once upon a timeline – but in the end, he was just a teen. Scared boy trying to push forward even if deep inside he was full of doubts. 

“No, I cannot wait!” All Might yelled and crouched.

In the two, maybe three seconds before he jumped Izuku looked to the side where instead of nothingness he was met with Mikumo’s determined eyes. The latter wouldn’t be able to tell you why exactly he gave a small nod to his twin but he did and it was all that was needed for the boy to do something extremely stupid and keep one part of the past timeline the same. 

It isn’t that Mikumo wanted his brother to go through that terrible event of being told by his idol that he can't be a hero but… He felt that it was the right thing to do. To let Izuku know that other people aren’t perfect and even if they mean well, they will say things that are both hurtful and wrong. Because he will become a hero anyway and prove All Might wrong. 

No. Not just prove him wrong but rather… Remind him that a true hero isn't just about having muscles. 

But that’s a subject for another time because now… 

“What the fuck?” Katsuki asked, looking from the manhole that now stayed unmoving, to the sky and then at Mikumo. “What to the ever-loving honest to God fuck?” 

“Huh, I didn’t think what happens if we get a draw...” The boy mused instead of somehow answering the inquiry.

“How the fuck did you know it was going to happen?!” Katsuki demanded but rather than furious-angry he was confused-angry.

“Nothing bad had happened to me in a while and I have terrible luck. Also, someone saw All Might in the city earlier.” Mikumo answered with a shrug. Technically he wasn’t lying. The hero gave a chase to a villain and there was no way in hell no one would have noticed the number one hero. Though now that he thinks about it, it’s weird no one wrote about it yet… Maybe they were waiting until the villain was caught to have the article nicely finished? Or they couldn’t believe their eyes?

“It’s too fucking insane for my brain. I’m going to waste my time in the arcade hall after all.” Katsuki decided and left, seemingly unable to deal with the madness that Mikumo was.  

Well… Now it would be good to head to the place where the sludge villain landed the last time before someone gets hurt. 

With that thought in mind, the boy started power walking in that direction but... He heard an explosion. He knew that there was no way Katsuki got caught by the villain already and if he gave it half a second of thought he would find it weird that the explosion was relatively quiet and coming from an alleyway where no one seemed to be but…

His feet were moving before he could think about how suspicious it was. Because his mind was too focused on the fear that it was Katsuki after all, grabbed by the villain and put through that horrible experience of drowning in vile liquid, of helplessly struggling, feeling like no one would ever come… With those fierce eyes filled with nothing but fear, asking for help that wasn’t coming and-

He registered movement but as he raised his arms to protect himself it was already too late.

Something crunched and his vision went dark.  

Chapter Text

Dabi wouldn’t describe himself as the most trustful person. Neither would he say that he’s exactly easy to get along with. 

He had been through some shit, alright? He has issues. A lot of those. He ain’t gonna lie. Rather, he prefers to fully embrace all those shortcomings and go for the throat of the person that caused those because family? Home? Ha. Those are beautiful lies no different than heroes; those fake assholes that present themselves as oh so kind and full of justice while abusing those they are supposed to protect not even as their job but because they literally brought them into this world!

He’s digressing though. The point is; when he decided to become ‘Dabi’, to leave behind his previous life and look for a way to get the revenge he wasn’t expecting to get lucky in any way. He was fully ready to walk a path of pain and ash. Melted bodies and fear. To do whatever has to be done to get enough power to one day just walk up to that abuser and say ‘look at the monster you created, father!’, to look in those terrified eyes… To laugh as the ‘fire hero’ melts into even less than ash!

But he met Lamb.

It was ironic from the very beginning. Because he believed himself to be a lone wolf and yet, at the very beginning of his path a little lamb had appeared. A dangerous one, something at the back of his mind warned immediately upon spotting her. 

He wasn’t sure what to think about her and the fact that she, apparently, knew the future. He wasn’t planning to become friends with her nor to trust her. He followed her because he wanted to use her to get higher before discarding her. Just like he had been discarded. 

Because he doesn’t need people. They are all cowards anyway, just like his mother who never took them away from that monster, who never told the world of the abuse… And his siblings. The sister who tried to get along no matter what was done to them, the brother who stayed quiet, unable to do more than just glare… And the perfect masterpiece. The one Dabi had been replaced with. 

He discarded all those stupid relationships because he isn’t like them. He isn’t going to quietly roll onto his back and take it all without as much a word. He’s going to let his actions speak, he’s going to let them scream! 

But Lamb was… Different. It was as if she knew him, actual him, not the little scared boy that could barely speak in fear of making his father angry or worse, disappointed- 

So rather than a villain, Dabi stayed as a vigilante. Because the longer he stayed with her, the more he learned. Of himself, of her… And of the future she came from. By the second year in her ever-growing group, he had a full story… And he believed her. Because she knew him better than he knew himself; he was still figuring things out while she already was well-acquainted with the real him. The him that he would one day be.

Well, the photos she had on her futuristic phone helped too. 

He might have, kind of, at some point… Became her right-hand man. Maybe. While few others – namely, Twice, Mr. Compress, Magne, and Spinner – knew of her time traveling and were core members, Dabi was the closest to Lamb… To Eri. And hate as he might to admit it… It’s nice to be worth so much in someone’s eyes. To have a firm spot that can’t be shaken even if a person becomes younger and by extent weaker because of time travel. 

Dabi is a lot of things but among those, he’s pretty honest with his feelings so although not exactly happily he had to admit that having a companion, a friend… Wasn’t a terrible feeling. He might actually take it over a lone wolf act. But little lamb is the only exception because for the most part human interaction is irritating. Though he admits, he’s kind of disappointed that this whole Deku guy doesn’t remember the future, he sounded fun to hang out with.

Anyway. He was pretty much the person Eri aka Lamb trusted the most and that’s exactly why he ended in a specific part of Musutafu on the day of Mt Lady’s debut. 

Shit was going to hit fang today and the girl was convinced that Hero Commission's dogs from the future were going to come and try killing kids. Why doesn’t it surprise him? Endeavor’s superiors attempting to murder children because those can possibly bring a change to the future? You know, the kind of change for the better that happens peacefully, but they couldn’t bear to lose even the slightest bit of their power… 

Dabi had plenty of runs in with those two already but sadly they were pretty damn good and hard to kill. Still, the only thing they could do was running because unlike Dabi they seemed to not have anyone capable of healing their wounds. Honestly, even if they did there’s no way in hell that person would be on Lamb’s level; that girl was literally able to get his body back to the time when half of his skin wasn't a victim of necrosis.

If he wanted to, Dabi could literally just go back to his old life. Return from the world of the dead and try to play house but the very thought made him feel disgusted. He much rather stay here-

A few steps into another alleyway ended in a huge cloud of dust rising and if he was the tiniest bit less experienced in hand-to-hand combat he would have probably been taken down. Thankfully he was pretty damn good and even with a hindered vision he dodged and countered although with less power than he’d like to. 

He had to be quick. He hadn’t heard nor felt explosions so there’s a high chance that the other guy isn’t here and that... That would be really bad.

After the unsuccessful attempt at Dabi’s life, the guy could be heard running to the other side of the alleyway and after weighing options, the vigilante decided against risking running into the trap and went in that direction only after the dust mostly cleared up. He was met with a split path and was about to go left when an explosion from the right grabbed his attention. 

He had a sudden feeling that he knew exactly what was going on so he run in the direction of noise, meanwhile giving general coordinates to where the man from earlier should be into his communicator. Spinner better move his ass before something bad happens.

With worst possible speculations in mind and a very bad feeling, Dabi arrived in an alleyway just in time to see one of the twins – fucks knows which one – run in and get grabbed by the explosive guy who was hiding behind a dumpster. Rather than thinking, Dabi reacted on instinct, sending a small fire projectile straight at the man’s face and rushing forward.

It happened so fast. The guy twisted the kid’s neck and fell to the ground to dodge the attack. Dabi had no time to think about the teen’s clearly unmoving body because the hero rushed forward, explosive hook connecting and sending him flying straight into the nearby wall. 

“What? Hero Commission wasn’t happy with just kid’s blood so now you want to kill me too?” Dabi mocked because there was no way in hell this much pain was going to faze him. So he spat blood to the ground at the same time sending a wave of blue flames toward the man who didn’t say anything. Rather, he propelled himself up with a snarl and grabbed the windowsill with one hand, aiming the other at the vigilante.

Although the explosion didn’t make anything crumble, the building did shake and Dabi who was hell-bent on hitting the blond with a fireball ducked in the last possible second. If he wasn’t using cremation-temperature flames he would have felt the heat of the explosive projectile flying over his head.

Dabi felt grim satisfaction when he managed to nick his foe in the shoulder but the man must have realized just how bad of a position he was in. Someone was bound to react to the sudden noises. With one arm injured he wasn’t able to propel himself all the way up to the roof and ended up landing a few feet away and retreating. 

Dabi began pursuit but after no more than three steps he stopped abruptly and turned around, remembering the reason for being here in the first place. 

Was it not for the fact that authorities or even just onlookers would show up any second now, Dabi would have froze. But there was no time for hesitance so he quickly approached the body. Part of him didn’t want to believe that the kid just got his neck broken right before his very own eyes but… Even with things happening so fast he’s certain of what he saw. Yet… As he approached, the head didn’t seem to be in the wrong direction and-

The corpse moved up and turned its head toward Dabi. The motion was so sudden and seamless that the man actually jumped up in fright.

“You- didn’t you just get your neck broken?!” he asked, trying to make sense of what just happened. 

The boy just… Looked at him for a few seconds, blinked, put his hands to his neck, and after making sure that indeed, it wasn’t broken, he shrugged. 

“It seems pretty unbroken to me,” he noted and then furrowed his brows. “I think someone is coming.”

“I mean, you nearly got murdered by a crazy asshole who then tried to explode me so it would be weird if no one did.” Dabi pointed out, already starting to walk away. He rather not have to deal with the police, thank you very much.

“Let’s get out of here then.” The kid, you know, the one whose neck Dabi saw snapped like toothpick, said as calmly as ever and run by him, stopping on the other end of the alleyway when he noticed that the man halted. “Aren’t you coming?”

What the fuck?

“Have you ever heard of stranger danger?” Dabi asked, moving again. He caught up to the boy and ended up following him as the kid expertly weaved through backstreets and then lead them to a fire escape and up it, not stopping there and taking them through the rooftops to a nearby district. 

And with that Dabi would like to correct his earlier question into; what to the ever-loving actual fuck?

Only after climbing down did the boy finally address the vigilante’s question.

“All things considered I’m confident you’re in more stranger danger than I am.”

“Oh? And why is that?” Dabi asked, raising an eyebrow. If Eri aka Lamb wasn’t so confident the future Izuku was gone, his memories lost, the man would be sure that this kid did actually remembers… 

“Because I know who you are.”

Wait. Wait a damn minute-

“You do remember future,” Dabi said and it wasn’t supposed to sound so accusatory but according to Eri when she talked to the guy he didn’t remember her at all and they were supposed to be really close so why would he act like he didn’t know her? 

The boy blinked. 

“Do you?” he asked but before the man could give the answer, the kid shook his head. “No, Eri told you, didn’t she?”

“Why didn’t you tell her?” 

Since the teen clearly didn’t need Dabi’s input to know exactly what was going on, the man could as well ask a question of his own.

“If my conclusions are correct, she stumbled upon my twin who has no recollection of future whatsoever and since he’s Izuku and doesn’t remember, she assumed that I’m gone.” The boy explained. “And sadly I didn't know she came back in time too. Even if I did, I'm the one who taught her how to stay hidden so finding her could prove pretty hard.”

Alright… So Deku guy, Midoriya Izuku of the future, actually does remember everything. But he isn’t Izuku anymore. Wow. He has some big news for Lamb. But there’s still one very important question…

“Weren’t you supposed to be quirkless at this point in time? I know I saw that asshole break your neck.” 

The expression the boy made was… It resonated with Dabi. A deep hurt that was quickly growing into rightful anger… The kind of burning fury that couldn’t be freed because right now it couldn’t reach who it was addressed to. 

“What else was I expecting…” he hissed so quietly that the man could only read the words from his lips. But then the ki- the man in kid’s body closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and looked up with the dregs of that same rage carefully hidden in those deep green eyes. “I returned back with the quirk that so happened to awaken from me getting shot in the head… Or the time mumbo jumbo. A mix of both, most likely.”

Wow. This guy was sure shaping up to be exactly what Lamb described him as; kind and fully capable of taking over the world. It’s pretty terrifying how clear it was just from this short conversation. 

“So… You got Rewinded into the past and into a baby but kept your memories…” Dabi summed up although it sounded far too insane to be true.

“Yes, although for the first few years I wasn’t fully aware of what exactly was going on. If my theory is correct, Overhaul needed time to fully grow and manifest for me to make sense of not as much all the memories I had as the fact that I was actually alive.” 

“Shouldn’t you be more fazed by all this insane shit?” 

“Oh please, I’m sure Eri told you all about the madness of my life. What is there to be surprised about?” the kid asked, rolling his eyes but before they could continue their conversation, his phone rang. “Give me a second, I can feel in my bones it’s important.”

“Sure.” 

Because honestly, what else was Dabi supposed to say?

So the kid took the call and-

“Was it you or Izuku who run into that sludge thing?!” could be heard all the way from Dabi’s spot and he stood a few feet away from the kid who for some reason still looked perfectly calm.

“You can probably guess from the fact that I picked up.”

“No, I can’t, because you’re fully capable of running straight into a villain and then picking up as if nothing happened.”

“Fair point. It was Izuku. I assume from your words he’s fine?” 

“Yeah, All Might saved the day but since it wasn’t you, I’m hanging up to call him to scold the living hell out of him.”

“Understandable have a nice day.” He said and after hanging up looked at Dabi. “What’s your phone number?” 

So yeah. That happened.  

Chapter Text

It might have not been visible for mere mortals but Mikumo was angry. 

A habit he thought he had already lost – the one of moving before thinking – brought him straight into danger, then he didn’t react in time and as a cherry on top, he got his neck fucking snapped by Bakugo.

Well, at least he’s confident in his theory of what exactly Overhaul’s awakening does! Now his body remakes itself into the safest state passively when he’s out cold... Or literally dead.  

He didn’t let his emotions take the better of him. That’s why rather than going after Bakugo to tell him what he thinks about murdering children, he opted for talking to Dabi. The biggest threat went after Mikumo so Izuku should be fine, especially with a very high chance of Himiko arriving… 

And yes, he wanted to meet her but now, standing before healed Dabi, he was confident the blonde wasn’t his only ally that returned from the future. Finally some good news on this overall terrible day… Which soon grew even worse when he learned through Hitoshi that his twin ended up running into a sludge villain again. 

Midoriya Izuku, no matter of timeline, truly can’t get a moment of peace. 

So instead of exchanging some more pleasantries or explanations, Mikumo got Dabi’s number, offered his own, and then immediately went home to check up on his twin… And learn what the fuck had happened while he was having his neck twisted by Bakugo fucking Katsuki of the future.

Mikumo supposes the list of people he hates is too short with only Chisaki Kai on it and it needs a new addition. But first things first…

He arrived home to the scene of his mom hugging the living daylights out of his twin. Somehow she noticed him through tears and ended up embracing both of her kids. 

“I was so worried!” 

Unsurprisingly, it took her a while to calm down but after she did the two teens were quick to depart to their room. 

“What happened?” Mikumo asked, taking a seat near the desk while Izuku moved toward his bed but decided against falling face-first on it. He was slimy and grimy from clawing at the sludge and then kneeling on the ground...

Who would have thought… Getting told that he could actually become someone by his hero hit like a truck right in the heart. 

“All Might told me I can’t be a hero, I went down to look for you and Kacchan, I saw sludge villain and realized it must have been my fault that All Might let go of him… And then I saw he had a hostage, a kid who seemed even younger than us and he looked so scared… So I moved before I could think, threw my backpack at his eyes and All Might ended up saving me. Again. The heroes were about to give me a scolding of my life but they had to go, there was some commotion a few streets away… I was kind of tired at that point so I just decided to go home and All Might kind of caught up to me to tell me that I can be a hero after all and that all heroes show signs of greatness when they are young by moving before they can think which is exactly what I did…” was the answer given in a speed that would make people think the boy was speaking in some kind of code. Meanwhile the talking, he grabbed clothes and moved toward the door. “Give me a moment, I really need a quick shower.”

“Sure thing,” Mikumo answered. Personally, he fixed whatever signs of scuffle and roof-jumping that were left on him with Overhaul when no one was looking so as not to worry anyone. 

“So, anyway, All Might is going to train me and… How to put it… Some secrets had happened so yeah. You’re not the only mysterious twin now.” was Izuku’s greeting upon walking into the room again. Now he did fall face-first onto his bed. “I’m meeting him at Dagobah Beach tomorrow. Can you help me stop Kacchan from, kind of… Going there ever again? Because of secret reasons?”

Mikumo chuckled. He had a weird feeling he knew where it all was going but there’s no way All Might would have chosen Izuku over Himiko. No way. Even if the blond doesn’t know her yet. 

“Sure thing.” 

Izuku blinked and turned to look at his twin.

“So… You’re not going to question all those mysterious secrets?”

“If you could tell me you already would have done so. And you respect mine so what kind of twin would I be not to respect yours?” 

“You’re the best,” Izuku said with a bright smile. “You’re banned from coming to Dagobah too though.”

“What?! Why? Where am I supposed to get my scrap metal from?!” 

 “Alright, fine. You’re banned from coming there tomorrow. Later we’ll see.”

“Fine,” Mikumo said and then watched as his twin’s eyes closed and the teen fell asleep. Well, it isn’t exactly strange after all the emotions of today… 

Personally, he took his phone out to inform Hitoshi that if his lecturing hadn't already happened, it will have to wait because Izuku’s asleep. After that, he wrote to Dabi.

Have you talked to Eri yet?

He didn’t have to wait long for an answer.

Yeah. She wan

Time and place

Mikumo guesses she did the exact same thing she did in the future on more than one occasion; stole Dabi’s phone to write to her favorite person.

Now as to answer her… Mom would definitely be too worried to let him go anywhere so soon after the sludge thing but he doesn’t want Eri to spend the whole night turning from side to side, wondering whether he really does remember or was it some kind of cosmic fluke. 

[Coordinates] in ten minutes?

Yeah

He got up and was about to put his phone down when he got a new message.

What the fuck she just went running

We are at least twenty minutes from there

She better not try to steal a car to get here faster

He put his phone in his pocket and quickly made a human-shaped lump in his bed with his pillow. He then walked up to the window and opened it, moving outside. He closed it as well as he could and made his way down. He then started walking to the park, checking if Dabi wrote anything back. He did.

You make stealing a car sound easy

Spinner taught her. Taught all of us. Just in theory though

I'm checking this info with him

Mikumo was already at the park when he got the next message. 

Anything else I don’t know about that I should?

Magne can literally paint nails in her sleep. Better than Mr. Compress awake.

How do you even know that?

The same way I know you’re weak to sour jellies. 

If it ever gets leaked out ill kill you.

Bold to say to someone who knows your biggest weakness.

What are you going to do? Throw sour jellies at me?

You do not want to know the answer to that question. What I can tell you is; Future Dabi hasn't messed with my cereals ever again. 

What the fuck did you do?

Mikumo sat at the swing, glancing around as if Eri was going to pop up any second now even though not even ten eight minutes had passed since he went out of his house. 

WHAT DID YOU DO

He smirked to himself, realizing that Dabi had answered that question for himself already. There were only so many things that could make him write in all caps. 

Hopefully, you already learned from your future mistakes

From everything Midoriya Izuku had ever done with the quirk Overhaul, the petty revenge of reshaping sour jellies into Dabi’s favorite cereals and then putting a thin layer of their usual chocolate on them was probably his favorite. The face the man had made was of such instant regret that even Tomura seemed to feel bad for the entirety of ten seconds before bursting into laughter so profuse he started crying. 

Don’t you ever dare touch my cereals. I will burn everything you love, I swear

Start with equality. It’s pretty flammable anyway

Duly noted

Mikumo smiled, far more softly this time. Even if it isn’t the same Dabi he remembers, he is still him. Just a bit younger. 

“Izu!” 

He instantly got up and run toward the incoming silhouette. Disguise or no, he could never mistake her for anyone. But oh how weird it was, that now she was actually taller than him. They met halfway through and hugged as if the other was about to disappear.

“It’s you, right? It’s really, really you?” she asked, already sniffling and for the first time in what felt like forever he felt his eyes getting damp. It wasn’t one of the exaggerated waterworks Midoriyas were known for but rather a few stray tears that he wasn’t fully sure were of happiness or longing.

“You grew!” he said instead, and she laughed through the tears.

“You, it’s you who shrunk!”

There were so many questions in his head and surely she had tons of her own but rather than asking them, they spend a while just… Standing there. In each other's embrace, happy to have part of the future that already crumbled away back. 

When he finally stepped back, he grabbed her hand. Just like in the old days, he lead the way. They ended up on the swings, looking at each other, trying to wrap their heads around just how much had changed. 

“So… I guess I met the wrong twin back then…” she mused half to herself half to him, already expecting him to know what she was talking about. Like some kind of all-knowing entity but honestly… From her perspective he did know everything, he was this powerful figure that could do no wrong, make no mistakes. 

“Yeah. It’s weird, to be honest. He is Izuku, he’s me but… We’re so different because of all those memories I have.” 

“What even happened?” she asked. “I thought… I thought I Rewinded you into nothingness…”

“At some point of all this time-traveling, my quirk awakened. I think that now it passively remakes my body into the safest state whenever I’m mortally injured, about to disappear, and such… So technically I’m immortal, I guess.” 

“That’s good.” She said, her expression growing angry. “Dabi told me what happened. I knew those… Those fuckers were after you and people can be terrible but how can someone just- just snap kid’s neck!” 

Some dark part of Mikumo’s brain couldn’t help but wonder if their teachers… The ones from the future timeline would have looked at it and as always went ‘it’s just boys being boys’. 

“Yeah… If it was Izuku not me…” he admitted quietly, clenching his fists. “But let’s not talk about this for now! How did you get here? And have you contacted Himiko yet?”

“I’ve been trying to reach her for literal years,” Eri said with a groan. “And I got here the same way you did, I used Rewind in Kurogiri’s warp gate. It was a super weird feeling.”

It definitely wasn’t as easy as she made it sound. Mikumo isn’t stupid and he had been analyzing quirks for decades now, for her to time traveler the same way he ended up here… It definitely was more of a deadly trip through a jungle rather than a walk in the park but rather than saying it out loud he reached to pat her head.

“I’m proud.” He said with a bright smile and unsurprisingly, Eri burst into tears. Not the kind she used to, quiet and terrified. Neither were they explosive like for some people. Rather, they simply strolled down her face while she returned his smile, wiping them away with her hand. 

She wasn't happy about not being able to keep them in check but she wasn't ashamed of them either. They were simply a small inconvenience.  

“Me too.” She said, putting on a brave confident face. “I’ve become a leader in those years, you know! I created League of Vigilantes and I found most of our friends! But I couldn’t reach Tomura and Kuogiri for obvious reasons and I have no idea where future Himiko is either… And we didn’t manage to get those two fuckers from future down yet, they are just so slippery!”

“That’s to be expected… Bakugo isn’t stupid.” Mikumo said sourly. 

“If he wasn’t he wouldn’t be Hero Commission’s dog.” The girl huffed and he shrugged.

“People get blinded by their emotions quite easily.” He pointed out. “Anyway, how did they even get here? Into the past, I mean.”

“Our timeline started to… Change, I guess. People’s memories started getting replaced by others, completely different, things changed their places… So we all thought you ended up in the past. Himiko went to spy on Hero Commission and learned they got some smarty pants to make a time-traveling machine… Well, it was more of a teleporter since, apparently, it was easier to send people to where you were even if it was in past, rather than strictly into the past… Whatever, you can ask her about the details when we find her. There were some people whose memories didn’t change me, her and those two fuckers included… I guess Himiko did her usual thing and got sent with them. I’m not fully sure, I think I went back before her.” 

Mikumo blinked. 

“So… It is the past after all. Not just alternate dimension…” he said quietly.

“Yeah, seems so.” Eri agreed and snorted. “They literally destroyed our timeline by trying to kill you.”

“And they learned nothing from it.” Mikumo mused, making the girl’s mood fall slightly. 

“Anyway… What are you planning to do?” she asked. 

“I was kind of hoping to finally fulfill my dream of becoming a hero… But I guess it’s fine if Izuku does it. What I need to do to stop the war from ever happening… It’s pretty obvious.” 

“Well… You’re my hero.” She noted and then raised an eyebrow. “And by pretty obvious you mean you’re going to take over Japan much faster with our knowledge of the future?”

“What? No! That would still end up in war! I was thinking about a fully peaceful option.” 

Eri got up, suddenly looking extremely angry.

“You tried the peaceful option already! And they killed you!” she yelled with furious tears burning in her eyes. 

“I know, Eri. I know.” He said, getting up too. The girl instantly went quiet and still, hearing the ever so rare note of exhaustion seeping into his voice. “But I don’t want people to die. If I can stop terrible things from happening… I will try my best to do so. That’s the kind of person I am… No, that’s the kind of person I chose to be, despite everything that had happened to me.”

She hid her face in her hands, trying hard to hide her sob.

“Why are you so kind?”

Although she wasn’t ashamed of her tears, she was angry at them. At how much his kindness hurt. She wished so badly that he could be selfish. At least now, after he nearly died… For the second time at that! 

“Because the world would be a terrible place if no one was. I rather not risk it.” 

She shook her head, finally managing to get her tears under control. 

“So what’s that peaceful plan?” she asked.

“Joining Hero Commission. We will need to somehow get Meta Liberation Army to not begin a war anytime soon though.”

The girl nearly choked on her own spit. 

Chapter Text

That conversation went… Well, all things considered. The harder part was taking his leave; none of them wanted to say goodbye yet, even though they knew they would meet up again soon. And they both really needed to get back respectively to home and base.

Thankfully by the time Mikumo was back Izuku was still asleep and Inko didn’t seem to have checked the him-shaped lump on the top bed. Well, she didn’t really have a reason to do that but still, he was worried it would have happened. His luck isn’t the best after all.

Since it was still relatively early he ended up doing some planning. He would need at least four years to get into Hero Commission; three for high school and one for actually getting into their ranks. He is somewhat confident in his ability to get people to his side. Doubly so in this life; if he managed to repair his relationship with Bakugo there’s pretty much nothing impossible for him.

And, technically, in the worst-case scenario, he can try going back in time again. Though he would prefer not to; how many times can you relieve your youth before it starts grating on your nerves?

The next few days went by peacefully. Though kids in their class nearly got a heart attack when Katsuki started calling Mikumo ‘Yami-san’ even though the twin told him that he doesn’t have to.

“I don’t back away from my promises!” the blond snarled angrily at that.

Keeping him away from Dagobah Beach turned out not to be all that hard. He actually seemed content that they opted to train without, you know, using literal trash. He seemed pretty suspicious when Izuku started hanging with them less and less but Mikumo is good at excuses and the twin using all his time to learn as much of the fickle art of tinkering as humanly possible before UA made sense.

It was sadder that Mikumo got banned from visiting Dagobah Beach except for a few carefully selected times of the day. He grumbled about it but like a good secrets-respecting twin he is, he didn’t try learning anything he wasn’t supposed to. Mostly because he already knows about All Might’s injury from his own timeline… As for One For All, well, Himiko and All For One gave him enough data.

Those few months before UA exams were mostly calm with one exception that happened only a week after Mikumo got his neck snapped.

“It doesn’t count as an excessive force if villains need their limbs to use their quirks!” Katsuki argued back, a heated discussion happening between him and Izuku.

“Yes, it does! Because we all know you’re amazing enough to defeat anyone without blowing their limbs off!”

“Yeah? And what if they are a supervillain, All Might kind of strength villain?!”

“Then we are all doomed.”

“Seriously, Deku?“

Mikumo’s phone rang and he paid the other two no mind as he picked it up. It was from Eri so, of course, it was more important than two kids arguing.

“Have you seen the news?!” she asked sounding clearly agitated.

“No, what happened?” he asked, a note of worry making it into his voice which was instantly noticed by the other two who stopped bickering and glanced at him.

“Toga nearly killed her classmate!”

Mikumo stopped walking.

“What?”

“It’s all over the news! ‘A teenage girl brutally attacks her classmate’… I sent others to be on the lookout for her but I hoped you could shine some light on the situation because it’s super weird…”

“Alright.” He said, glancing at the other two who now had their whole attention on him. He forced his shoulders to relax. “Where are you now? I’ll meet you there.”

“I’ll send you coordinates.” She said and then hang up.

“A friend of mine needs my help.” He explained.

“You looked really serious for a moment…” Izuku said, worriedly.

“It was Cheetos guy, wasn’t it?” Katsuki asked, wanting to prove himself more knowledgeable than others.

“Nope. It’s a friend I finally made contact with after a long time of not talking.” Mikumo explained and since it was the part of the road they needed to separate at, they said their goodbyes. Twins were home within the next minute thanks to the half-jog pace of one of them.

“Do you need any help?” Izuku asked, ever the one to fuss over others.

“No worries, it’s just… How to put it… I’m pretty sure I know what’s going on and I just need to meet up with that friend and talk about it.”

“Oh, alright. Good luck!”

“Thanks but I think you need it more.”

Izuku pouted slightly but rather than arguing about it, they both got changed and ready to go. One to the beach to continue his training and the other to whatever place Eri chose as a meeting spot. They left their mom a note they were out in the city so she wouldn’t get worried if she got home before them.

Mikumo had to wait a few minutes for the bus but half an hour after leaving the house, he was already sitting with Eri in her headquarters. She had bought a whole block; turns out future Mr. Compress left a list of winning numbers for quite a few lotteries and some notes about where to invest for profit.

The boy wasn’t surprised. At all. It was quite expected to be honest.

“It’s so weird…” Eri said after she brought a tea for both of them and pretty much fell onto the couch, deciding to lay partly on him. It reminded him of the old days when she had trouble falling asleep unless he was right next to her. “Himiko is a hero! An actual one, not some murderous dog on Hero Commission’s leash! Why would she do that? Did she get manipulated? Targeted by villains?!”

“I don’t think so,” Mikumo said and since her head was right next to his legs – her horn was actually partly stabbing into him but it was in its middle-sized version so it wasn't exactly sharp – so he decided to braid her hair. “Himiko… Didn’t get along well with her parents... And most people she hang out with before we became friends. From an outside perspective, she looked like a typical easy-going girl everyone wants to know but whenever she tried to mention her love for the blood they called her weird. I mean, it made sense to me. It’s her quirk after all and most people put a lot of importance into their quirks, love them… So of course they also find whatever makes those work very important. It’s all really fascinating and you know, it wouldn’t make sense for me to judge her when I was the weird one with my interest in quirks.”

Eri blinked.

“So… She just snapped…?” she whispered as if to herself. “She was tired of everyone acting as if she was cursed just because she loves what she loves…”

“That’s my guess,” Mikumo said and the girl slid off the couch and sat before him.

“Whatever monstrosity it is, change it into something more acceptable.” She said, pointing at one of the braids that went from the top of her head and flopped onto her face at a weird angle.

“Alright, alright, I might have forgotten how to do it after so many years.”

“You can figure it out by trial and error.” She offered with a small shrug and promptly returned to the subject. “So she’s our Himiko just… Well, one that didn’t find acceptance so she decided that she can as well be hated as long as she’s herself?”

Mikumo hummed in agreement, undoing the braids he had just made, one by one. 

“She’s strong and very skilled… But the fact that she can stay hidden among enemies unnoticed for weeks on end doesn’t mean that she likes being on her own.” He mused and smiled sadly to himself. “It’s kind of ironic now that I think about it… By forcing her to be normal, by calling what she loves weird… She was forced into a path of a criminal... Of a monster, exactly as what they saw her as. But if you just accept her as she is…”

He trailed off and Eri nodded slightly.

“She’s so warm.” She agreed. “I mean, she is kind of weird even when you accept her… But everyone is.”

“And while we’re at it… We really need to find our Himiko. I can’t imagine how alone she must feel, thinking that the only people who remember the future are her enemies... Believing that I'm gone and not knowing that you’re here…”

“Yeah…” Eri whispered, feeling her heart aching for the blonde. She herself found most of the people she cares about and is living with them once again. What's more she has Izu back! Wait… “I just realized I should probably stop calling you Izu since you’re Mikumo now.”

“Please don’t call me Miku.”

She chuckled.

“You’ll be Mi then. Or maybe… Hm… Umo?”

“Uno?”

“Reverse!”

They laughed and he tousled her hair lightly since he didn’t want to destroy all the hard work he put into the lace braid he had just finished.

“Mi is fine.” He said and that’s the exact moment Eri’s phone decided to ring. She glanced at the screen and raised an eyebrow, picking up.

“What?” she asked.

“I found the little maniac, what am I supposed to do with her?” Dabi asked, clearly not very happy.

“Recruit her, duh,” Eri said, rolling her eyes and putting the call on the loudspeaker. She got up and took a seat on the sofa, grabbing her tea and calmly sipping on it.

“Hey, do you want to join the League of Vigilantes?” they heard Dabi’s voice.

“Why would I when you just called me a maniac?” …and Toga’s.

“She doesn’t want to join.” The man then said, clearly speaking into the phone rather than to her.

“I didn’t say I don’t want to! I asked why!”

Dabi sighed and it sounded as if he turned toward her.

“We’re a group of misfits. Is that a good enough reason?”

“No, because now you’re calling me a misfit.” She said and a pout was hearable in her voice.

“Oh no, have I hurt your feelings? If I only gave a shit.” Dabi drawled out and wow. Eri is never ever letting him recruit anyone ever again.

“Dabi I’m literally at headquarters right now, don’t force my hand into your favorite cereals,” Mikumo said and everyone was completely silent for a moment.

“You told him about the sour incident?” Eri asked quietly but her question was answered by Dabi’s sudden change of attitude.

“In League of Vigilantes, you can be yourself without getting judged. No matter how fucked up the society thinks you are.” He said quickly but at the same time monotone voice, as if he was reciting the verses he heard one too many times. “And, anyway, you pretty much run from home after stabbing someone, didn’t you? I think joining some group is a better alternative to sleeping in a literal dumpster.”

“You’re talking from experience?” the girl asked with a little lilt to her voice. To Eri it sounded as if she was happy but Mikumo could tell she was tired. Probably from the police chasing her.

“Maybe. So?”

“Alrighty! But I want to talk to the cereal guy, he sounds like a delight to be around~!”

“You just want to terrorize Dabi with me,” Mikumo noted.

“I can already feel us bonding!” she chirped and he couldn’t help but smile.

“I can already feel myself regretting this all,” Dabi said and sighed. “We’ll be at headquarters within an hour or so.”

And with that, he hung up.

“Time to put up my disguise on, I guess,” Mikumo said. “Can you borrow me your dye?”

“Sure.”

Five minutes later he was back in the salon and the girl gasped.

“You’re Musutafu’s cryptid!” she yelled and for some reason, she sounded betrayed.

“Yes, is it that weird?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No! But I can’t believe I ever tried to explain to myself there’s no way it’s actually you! I mean, human you… I kind of believed in the ghost theory. I was actually going to check whether it was the case in person when I had some free time…”

“But leaders don’t have free time.” Mikumo pointed out with a sigh, drinking his tea now that it was cold.

“I mean, I have some right now.” Eri noted he raised an eyebrow.

“How much paperwork are you ignoring this very second?”

Her face instantly paled and he couldn’t help but laugh. He then reached out and patted her head.

“I want to say hi to Himi- Toga before I go so how about I help you while we wait?”

The girl, understandably, looked conflicted. It was clear she wanted to spend some more time with him peacefully, like the good old days but the offer of having him help her with that madness was so very tempting…

Well. It will be like old times but this time around she will be doing paperwork too rather than just watching him!

“Yes, please.”

And oh how happy she was that she took his offer. Viglanting isn’t legal but having a whole flat without reason would make people suspicious, something she couldn’t really afford. It was already hard keeping her existence a secret, she couldn’t risk uncomfortable questions. Yes, with Giran’s help she managed to keep doubts away but it wasn’t the kind of one-time work to do. To keep up appearances, they presented themselves as a firm that focuses on investments and returns. Spinner, ironically, was the one who gathered the least attention so he was the boss in name but while he does try to help as well as he can with paperwork... Well…

Only Mr. Compress knows a bit of how to deal with those. So to keep things working Eri had to figure everything out with pointers from Giran and her memories of Izu at work to lead her.

Having him here showed her just how ineffective everything she was doing was but being who he is, he noticed her unease before she could get truly upset and told her how proud he was of everything she had managed to accomplish.

“I think I would just drown under all this paperwork at your age!” he commented and she snorted despite herself.

“No way.”

And that’s how Dabi found them; nose deep in documents. He was planning to do a tactical retreat but Toga happily greeted the two, bringing attention to their arrival.

“Hey, aren’t you the Musutafu’s cryptid?” she noted after getting a better look at Mikumo who sighed deeply.

“Am I really this popular?” he asked, very clearly not all that happy with his fame.

“Duh! Are you a ghost or not? Can I stab you?”

He rolled his eyes.

“No stabbing. Unless we spar, I guess. Then it’s a fair game.”

She squawked, already loving it here.

Chapter Text

Mikumo could tell Hitoshi and Izuku about the rescue system point – Katsuki doesn’t need it anyway – and he could also abuse it himself.

But what would it be worth? Those two… They were training so hard to get in. To become heroes. They have every right to go and prove themselves, to show the world that no matter what others think, they can be what they want to be. They can achieve their dreams. 

As for Mikumo… Well. Getting into Hero Commission after the hero course wouldn’t be impossible. Admittedly it would be much easier after the general course since while the former has practical heroics in their material, the latter focuses strictly on academic knowledge. Something which old-timed people that don’t like change such as the ones in Hero Commission like to see on CVs of potential candidates. 

People who are strong enough to be heroes while also having smarts to boot are dangerous after all. 

So, joining the hero course would just mean making things harder for himself. That’s exactly why Mikumo was planning to completely ignore rescue system points and go strictly for the robots. If he fails he will go to the general course and get the easy way. If he doesn’t… Well. When did he ever make things easy for himself?

And with that positive thinking, he went to Katsuki’s house. 

“Where’s the other nerd?” was what the blond greeted him with.

“Good morning to you too,” Mikumo said, waving to auntie Mitsuki right before the boy slammed the doors behind him. He quickly locked it and the two started walking toward the school of their dreams. 

Hah. What a bittersweet feeling.

“Yeah, morning, whatever. So?”

“He’s doing some last-minute training.” Was the only somewhat true thing Mikumo could offer. He saw Izuku on his way back from his usual cryptid shenanigans and his twin was, as always, heading toward Dagobah Beach. 

“If he’s late to the exam because of some stupid shit I’m going to punch him.” 

“If he’s lat to the exam I’m pretty sure he’d punch himself before you could.”

They went quiet when boarding the bus because it was loud and they didn’t really feel like yelling over all this noise. When they left though…

“Hey, do you want to make a bet?” Mikumo asked with a grin and the blonde opened his mouth with ‘fuck no’ freezing on his tongue. It was easy to tell by his expression.

“What kind of bet?” he finally asked. 

“After we finish the practical part of the exam let’s make a bet on something. It can’t be too obvious so nothing like ‘I’m going to get the first place’.” Mikumo explained and although his grin should have been enough of an indicator that he wouldn't lose, the blonde continued the conversation. Actually, that might be exactly why he seemed to want to take that bet; to prove that he can win against all odds. 

“So if I said Deku is going to place in the first ten it would count?”

“Yeah, it would.” Mikumo agreed, a bit surprised by the example.

“Then that’s my bet.”

The time traveler stopped from the shock. 

“What?” left his mouth before he could stop himself which he immediately regretted. He could see from the blond’s expression that in his book he had already won by the mere fact of taking his mysterious friend off guard. 

That’s the moment Hitoshi approached them but seeing they were in the middle of some discussion, he simply raised his hand in greeting and stayed to the side of his favorite menace. 

“You heard me. I bet Deku is going to place in the first ten in the practical exam.” Katsuki said crossing his arms. “And if I win the bet I don’t have to call you Yami-san anymore.”

Mikumo shook his head and smiled. He actually likes that nickname so...

“Then I bet there’s going to be some kind of hidden system of points or evaluation or something. And we’re going to learn about it only after getting our scores.” Mikumo said confidently. “And if I win… You can’t correct people who call you Kacchan nor get angry at them for the first week of school.”

“And what if you both win?” Hitoshi interjected, raising an eyebrow.

“Then no one wins,” Katsuki stated instantly, very clearly not looking forward to having more than two people call him by that old nickname. 

“Do you want to bet too, Hitoshi?” Mikumo asked with a grin and unlike Katsuki, Shinso decided to listen to his survival instincts rather than pride.

“No, thank you. Anyway, where’s Izuku?” 

As if the universe was just waiting for that question they heard someone calling up to them.

“Wait up, guys!” 

They turned around just in time to see the boy who was running toward them trip and nose dive into the pavement. Well, it seemed like that would be the case but a girl he was passing reached out and managed to grab his hand. Rather than pulling him back, it seemed that she stopped his descent. For a moment he just hung in the air before she finally brought him back to steady feet and put her hands together. 

Uraraka Ochaco. Quirk Zero Gravity. According to Himiko, she could arm wrestle a tiger into submission.

“Sorry for using my quirk on you but I thought it would be bad luck to trip right before the exam!” her cheerful voice could be heard from where they were standing.

“A-ah, no need to apologize for helping! Thank you for that, it definitely would be bad luck to go to the exam with a busted nose!” Izuku answered with a nervous chuckle.

“Anyway, we should get going!”

“Oh, yeah!”

Katsuki facepalmed. Hard. And then pulled his hand down his face, scowling.

“I can't believe I bet on this.” 

“Don’t call my brother ‘this’.”

“Fine. I can't believe I bet on that.”

Mikumo sent him a very unamused look. But there was no more time to argue since they really needed to go and take their seats. He sat between his twin and the blond… Who turned to him the second the fourth robot was explained.

“It doesn’t count.” He said.

“Yep, it doesn’t.” 

“What doesn-?” Izuku tried to ask but the same boy who mentioned the fourth robot got up.

“You two!” he said, looking straight into Mikumo’s eyes – who glanced at him – from all this distance away. “If you are planning to talk away at such an important moment you might reevaluate your choices of coming here today!”

Katsuki’s vein showed itself in full glory but before he could get up Mikumo pulled him right back down and put a hand on his friend’s mouth. Not very delicately mind you. What followed was a long, long stream of curses MIkumo could all understand, muffled as they were.

Thankfully Present Mic was quick to grab everyone’s attention, finishing the explanations within no more than a minute and telling them to get to their locations. Mikumo prayed for the blue-haired boy’s life; in other words, that he wouldn’t be in the same field as Katsuki.

He himself ended up with a lot of unfamiliar, the only exceptions being Ibara who was hard not to know about with her powerful quirk and one rather familiar beak. Both are definitely going to get in. Which is great because he especially wants to question Tokoyami about his quirk. It’s sentient! Do you know how rare those are?! 

“Start!” 

Mikumo hadn’t to be told twice and rushed forward with others chasing after him. He could, of course, take things easy. He’s nearly forty mentally after all and among other things he trained with Stain. Not that it saved him from getting his neck snapped… But he’s not going to let that happen again because he has no more faith left in his timeline’s Bakugo anymore-

Anyway, the point is, rather than doing things the normal way… Well… Mikumo drop-kicked one pointer, destroying it, and then rolled to the side where he grabbed a road sign and threw it like a javelin at a three-pointer.

Those things were far more fragile than he expected and he absolutely loved that fact because there were so many ways he could defeat them.

Twenty-five points of pointedly ignoring his ‘let’s help this random person’ senses later was when the zero-pointer decided to show up. 

Some kids started running around in panic but Mikumo knew they would be fine and didn't go to calm them down. Neither did he go to that girl that nearly got hit with stray piece of rubble. He absolutely wasn’t going to take advantage of rescue points, he was going to either get into the hero course on villain point only or he’s going to the general cour-!

“Aah!” 

Aaand he’s running. But. He stopped when he noticed Ibara moving her vines to save the kid that very obviously thought he could defeat a nearby robot just in time and miscalculated how fast the zero pointer was moving. But that idiot, that absolute moron, tried to destroy another stray robot while the girl was saving him and part of it ended up flying right into the girl’s face. Mikumo realized that he had started moving again only after already grabbing the piece of metal.

He blinked at it and barely stopped himself from bashing his head into it. Ibara was fully capable of protecting herself! Well, technically, she was far younger than in his timeline so her vines might be weaker and it was flying pretty fast and was sharp enough to make his hand bleed so if it cut through her shield it could have ended badly but she was alive and didn’t exactly seem traumatized by robots in his timeline so there’s no way she would have gotten badly hurt now of all tim-

“Many thanks, good-hearted stranger.” The girl said with a small nod, putting the boy she had brought closer down and turning around. “Now we must go, for God helps those who help themselves!”

Well, they haven’t to be told twice and all three of them run for dear life. 

“The exam is over!”

The boy crumpled to the ground, adrenaline stopping pumping the moment zero pointer froze behind them. The girl didn’t seem much better yet rather than sitting down or catching her breath, she put her hands together.

“Thank you oh all-mighty father for the strength you have given me in this exam.”

It was somewhere between hilarious and terrifying how right after saying that her legs gave up from underneath her and she started falling with a small, surprised “oh”. 

Mikumo, of course, caught her and helped her sit down.

“Do not overwork yourself, we are but mere mortals.” He said trying to speak her language. 

“Ah, you are right, brother! What a sinful lamb I am, forgetting my own limits!” she replied and he guesses his attempt at communication was successful? Somewhat?

The third kid looked confused. Which was understandable. 

Since unlike the other two Mikumo was fully alright, he left them to Recovery Girl's expertise and exited the field, returning back to the main campus. He was first to arrive, next was very pleased Katsuki after which an extremely depressed-looking Hitoshi came.

“There’s still the sports festival,” Mikumo assured him like a good friend he is, patting him on the back. 

Before Shinso could say anything, Midoriya’s phone rang with the ID showing his twin. He picked up with an already raised eyebrow.

“What did you do?” he asked, expecting pretty much anything.

“I broke both my legs and an arm.” Was the answer he actually wasn't ready for.

“You… What?” Mikumo said but although his interlocutor couldn’t see him, he shook his head. “You know what? You can tell me in person. Where are you now?”

“At Recovery Girl’s office. I was hurt too badly to have everything healed with my energy so I’m getting a cast.” 

“I’ll wait for you at the main entrance.” He said with a sigh and then hang up.

“What did he do?” Hitoshi asked, raising an eyebrow.

“He broke both his legs and an arm.”

“He what?!” Katsuki roared and Mikumo honestly couldn’t tell whether the blond was impressed or terrified. “How?!”

“You can wait for him with me and ask him yourself.”

That’s exactly what he did. He and Shinso both.

“What the fuck Deku?!” was what Izuku’s sheepish smile was answered with. “What did you do?!”

“I punched a robot. Very hard. That robot was a zero pointer. Also, I kind of, maybe, have a quirk?”

Everyone went dead silent. 

“So… After fifteen years it turns out that you do have a quirk… That breaks your bones…” Shinso said, slowly as if not fully believing the words that were leaving his mouth.

“Congratulations.” Mikumo, ever the calm one, stated showing thumbs up.

“That’s fucking impossible.” Katsuki pointed out. “What kind of idiot would miss that kind of quirk?!”

“Two quirks, actually because I’m fairly confident it’s impossible for one twin to have a quirk and the other not,” Shinso added and suddenly both his and blond’s eyes turned toward Mikumo.

“I’m not going to actively try breaking my arm.” He said but turns out Katsuki's glare had a reason for its existence in this case.  

“I swear if you have some kind of betting quirk…” 

“I don’t.” Mikumo was quick to assure. “And it wouldn’t make sense for me to have some kind of future-based quirk. With what Izuchan has, it is most definitely something more physical.”

“Does your martial prowess count?” Hitoshi inquired. 

“No. Good as I might be, it isn’t a quirk.”

“Could have fooled me,” Shinso noted and the three of them finally stepped outside UA gates and started moving home. Hitoshi was the first one who had to take a different direction. 

“Anyway, how did you do Deku? You must have gotten a lot of points with all those bones you broken.” Katsuki commented, unknown to Izuku thinking about his bet. 

“I got four. Then I broke my bones on a zero pointer.” 

Katsuki stopped and so did the twins after a few steps. For once the blond wasn’t angry. No. He smiled very pleasantly.

“Run.” 

Izuku hadn’t to be told twice. 

Chapter Text

The twins ended up running all the way back home. Izuku because he was being chased by, for some reason, extremely pissed off Kacchan and Mikumo because he wasn’t going to let his twin get murdered over a bet. 

The blond didn’t chase them all the way to their home. He yelled that he will see them tomorrow – which was either threat or a promise, possibly both – and took a turn toward his own house.

“Why was he so angry?” Izuku asked, huffing. They run a good distance. 

“We made a bet. He betted on you getting in the top ten on the exam.” 

“Oh.” The boy breathed out, double as disappointed in himself but then he blinked. “Why would Kacchan bet that?”

“Shock factor, most likely. He got even me off-guard. Not that I don’t believe in you, I just don’t believe in him believing in you.” 

They entered their home and went to the kitchen to make dinner. They wordlessly started preparing noodles with vegetables.

“So… How did you do?” Izuku asked, cutting carrots. 

“I got twenty-five points,” Mikumo answered, boiling the noodles.

They were quiet for the next few minutes. It was clear to the time traveler that his twin wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how to go about it. He decided to give him time.

So… They finished the dish, they eat it, they left a portion for their mother… And then in silence went to their room... 

“Just say it.” Mikumo finally spoke with a sigh, taking a seat at his desk.

“You don’t have a quirk.” The words tumbled out immediately. “I know we’re twins so it shouldn’t be possible but it’s… It’s about that secret and it’s kind of insane, and you probably wouldn’t believe it except it’s you we're talking about so you probably would after all but still, it’s super hard to believe-“ 

“Hey, calm down, it’s fine,” Mikumo interjected since his twin was stressing over this whole thing needlessly. “And as a matter of fact, I actually do have a quirk.”

Izuku blinked.

“What?”

“Yeah.”

“But it’s impossible!” 

“Not really. We’re just both quirkless and have quirks.” 

Izuku opened his mouth, closed it, and then put his hands to his mouth and sat down. He seemed to be having at least three different life crises at the same time. 

“How?” he finally asked.

“That’s a long story. In short, though, I was given this quirk in the future and then I kind of time traveled.”

For some reason after only a few seconds of looking as if he fell into the wrong universe when he wasn’t looking, Izuku took a deep breath.

“Okay. It makes sense I guess.”

“In which part does it makes sense?” Mikumo inquired, raising an eyebrow.

“In you part. I was already expecting you to be a time traveler.” 

“Fair point. Oh, while we’re at it, there are two guys from the future who want to kill me. And you. Technically we’re the same person, I’m just you who have memories of the future timeline.” 

“You lost me at the killing part. You’ll need to explain in more detail.” Izuku said. Wow. It seemed that this part was so outrageous that rather than go ‘someone wants to kill you?!’ his brain went the ‘what the actual fuck?’ route. 

And you know what? 

Mikumo gave him the full story. How he was a single child, bullied for being quirkless, became friends with Himiko, how the day of his first encounter with All Might went, how he decided to leave as not to pull his friend down with him… How he stumbled upon Stain and had been told for the first time in his life that quirk isn’t what makes a true hero… 

About USJ, about stepping in when Stain tried to kill a kid in Hosu… About joining League of Villains in hopes of stopping them from killing anyone from inside… Of domino which made Midoriya Izuku of the future into a supreme leader of New Japan. Of his death and awakening of quirk that saved him… And made him become his own brother.

It sounded too outrageous to be true.

“I…” Izuku began, no anger or disappointment showing on his face. Mikumo couldn’t help but feel relieved. He knew his twin wouldn’t hate him after hearing it all but you know… There are things you can’t help but stress over even if you know they won’t happen. “Are you okay?”

The time traveler blinked, suddenly realizing how long it had been since he had heard this question. In this life, he had always been a steady presence, undaunted by anything, whatever might happen. Eri didn’t ask either, in her eyes he was the strongest after all. Unbreakable and unstoppable. 

But. It is a fact that he had gone through quite a bit and being the supreme leader was pretty stressful. Hero Commission was killing him with their stupidity… And they actually did end up murdering him. Well, technically in the end it wasn’t strictly them but someone who came there from outside Japan but still. It was their fault that it had come to it.

And for the first time in decades he took a moment to think; ‘Am I okay?’

“Yeah.” He said not because he didn’t want to worry his twin but because he actually was alright. “All things considered… I’m relieved I’m back here, in the past. I can change things. Save more people… Stop the war from ever happening. Though I can’t deny it, I’m angry at Hero Commission for literally sending someone to kill me… Us… That is not okay.”

“It isn’t.” Izuku agreed quietly. “I… Uhm… I think it’s good you shared it with me. I know I can’t really help since I know nothing about the future… But I’ll do my best to help you protect everyone!” 

“I know,” Mikumo said with a smile and then walked up to his twin to tousle his hair despite his protests. “But your job is to focus on your studies! Don’t overthink the things I just told you, I’m not alone with it all anyway. Apart from assassins, there are also two people from the future on my side here.”

“What? Really? Who?” 

“Himiko and Eri. Do you remember all those years ago when a girl approached you and mistook you for someone she misses? It was Eri. She was talking about me. And Himiko is the person that stopped Hero Commission's dogs from killing you.”

“Wow… It all sounds so weird…” Izuku mused, still trying to wrap his head around it all. “And here I was thinking that my secret was earth-shattering.”

“The one about One For All or All Might’s injury?” 

Izuku, understandably, screeched.

“How did you know about those?!”

“I did the exact same thing you did after the sludge villain attack. It was Himiko who saved Kacchan from the slud- oh right, later he grabbed Kacchan and I run to the rescue but I couldn’t really do anything because I wasn’t as awesome as I am now. And Himiko got One For All… And told me all about it.” 

“Sorry… I was planning to tell you about it too after I make it my own!” 

Mikumo grabbed his slipper and threw it right at his twin face.

“Stop apologizing!” he yelled. 

“Sorr- put that slipper away!” 

That’s the moment Inko walked through the front doors and upon hearing her son’s scream of anguish decided to go see what was going on. She glanced inside and her kids froze, Mikumo holding a slipper while the other one was laying on Izuku’s lap. 

“Understandable.” She said and retreated to the kitchen where she found dinner already made. She smiled, shaking her head good-naturedly.

Ah, what a pair of angels she has! 

“Anyway,” Mikumo said, casually headshotting his twin with his other slipper. “I’m pretty sure it goes without saying but don’t tell anyone about my time traveling. All Might, Kacchan, and Hitoshi included.”

Izuku saluted.

“And you’re going to stay quiet about All Might’s injury and One For All.” He said quietly so as not to have their mom overhear them. 

“Wonderful… By the way, do you want me to fix your arm?”

He had never before seen his brother’s eyebrow go this far up.

“Huh?”

“The quirk I have is called Overhaul. I can pretty much reassemble anything. You need to stay in the cast though cause I don’t want anyone getting suspicious.” 

“I have so many questions,” Izuku whispered in awe. “But yes, I want to see it in use!”

And with that, he got his twin's bone right to its original state… And he also did some fixing to ligaments because all the breaking that had been done to Izuku's body wasn’t really doing him any favors.

“Wow, that’s so weird.” 

“Yeah, I know. Do you want to write your questions down or just barrel through them at a mach speed?”

“Of course write! I want as many details as possible!”

And that’s how they spend the rest of their day. The next one they met up with Katsuki and went out for ice creams to celebrate the blond’s whooping seventy-plus points – it was hard to count them exactly with his speed of destruction – and Izuku's sudden sprouting of quirk.

“If you’re bet is wrong no one wins…” Katsuki mentioned at one point, while a kid across the street was looking with fear in his eyes at one of the blond’s half-bitten-off scoops. Yeah, Bakugos have this weird feature to them that they are completely immune to foods' spiciness and coldness. “But if your bet is right the nerd might have gotten in first then after all.”

“If there was a hidden point system for breaking bones he would place first,” Mikumo noted drily.

“Can we please forget about all the bones I have broken? Micchan is going to help me with getting my quirk under control so there’s going to be no more breaking of anything.” 

“I bet you’re going to break a bone on the very first day of school,” Katsuki stated after which he took another bite of his ice cream. Terrifying. 

“I mean… It isn’t impossible…” Mikumo noted, remembering the slumber party in which Himiko told him about her first day in class A while painting his nails. Aizawa sensei is even more terrifying than Katsuki the ice-cream devourer. 

“Whose side are you on?!” Izuku asked indignantly. 

“The side of truth.” 

They walked around the city for a bit longer, just talking and, well, mostly bickering but not in a bad way. Mikumo still found himself wondering if it’s really happening sometimes. How can things be working so well for him? Is this really possible?

That day went well though after getting home Izuku started fidgeting. He put his nervous energy into tinkering so Mikumo decided against questioning what was stressing him so much; it probably was because of the exam.

But the next day Izuku had shared his worries and awakened a beast.

“All Might isn’t messaging me back! Do you think he’s disappointed in me? I barely got four points! He must be regretting choosing me as his successor…” 

And oh if it didn’t strike a nerve. But, Mikumo wasn’t furious yet.

“Did he even help you prepare for using One For All?”

“Well… No… But there was no time! I barely finished my training on the day of the exam and that’s why I got the quirk then and-!”

“Are you telling me?” Mikumo cut in and Izuku gulped. “That he gave you quirk capable of changing air pressure with just a punch and didn’t prepare you in any way to use it? And just send you to the most important exam of your life?”

“It isn’t his fault that I needed more muscles to be able to inherit this quirk safely! I mean, he gave me advice too!”

“What kind of advice?” 

Izuku went quiet and wow. Mikumo never wanted to punch All Might so badly. The time he had been told he cannot be a hero included.

“What advice.”

“To… Well… Basically to just use it now that I think about it…”

Mikumo's facepalm was so loud that he wouldn’t be surprised if their neighbors had heard it. 

“I gave him the benefit of doubt. I thought he couldn’t really help Himiko since he was quirkless before One For All…”

“All Might was quirkless?!”

“…But he’s clearly just not fit to be a teacher. Dear God, what was he even thinking? Was he thinking in any timeline? Himiko broke all her bones, you broke most of your bones…” 

“Well… It’s like a sacred torch, right? So he probably didn’t know that it’s so much stronger than when he had gotten it…” Izuku offered quietly, afraid that if he said the wrong thing his twin would go and assault All Might with words. Very painful and kind of true words.

“You don’t understand,” Mikumo said, grabbing the bridge of his nose. “All he had to say was to lower the output of the energy and adjust it accordingly as you grow used to it. That’s it. Himiko also distributes it evenly over her whole body because of her quirk but you can try it too. Unlike going for a punch with one hundred percent of power, putting a thin veil of it over your whole body can’t hurt. Just please for god’s sake, lower the output. Start with, I don’t know, five percent or something.”

“Alright,” Izuku said with a sheepish smile. “Should we go outside to check it out?”

“We can go to Dagobah Beach, there’s a lot of space around there,” Mikumo said and then sighed to himself. “I wish I knew where my timeline Himiko is… She definitely would be much better of a teacher…”

“Anyway…” Izuku said, grabbing a change of clothes that he tends to work out in. “Is there anything else I should know about?”

“Visages of past users but it won’t happen to you for another ten years or so.” 

“What?!”

“Yeah, Himiko started seeing them after reaching one hundred percent of power without, you know, breaking all her bones. She had weird dreams at first and then she kind of unlocked a new ability… Her quirk lets her transform into people whose blood she consumed and thanks to One For All’s power up she can use their quirks but after that whole dream thing she could change into the user before All Might, Nana. Without any blood or anything. I have no idea how it would work with you though.” 

“Why didn’t All Might mention that…” Izuku whispered to himself, furrowing his brows. He seemed sad at the prospect of his hero hiding things from him.

“Because it didn’t happen to him, according to Himiko.” 

“Oh. Maybe it’s a thing that happens to people who already have had quirk…?” 

“Not really. One For All had just reached singularity. It hadn’t happened to Nana either.” 

“Oh… Alright.”

They jogged to the beach and found a nice, deserted spot. Izuku took a deep sigh and closed his eyes trying to figure out how to use One For All. Hm… Micchan mentioned that his friend, Himiko, has a transformation quirk… It probably works a bit like the outer layer changing her appearance… So he can try to imagine it in such a way, as if the energy was rising to the surface, encompassing his whole body like some kind of weird energetic armor. But rather than the overwhelming power he had used on the entrance exam, he focused on using just a sliver of it. Only a cup out of the whole pool. 

“Huh. Cool.” Mikumo commented and Izuku opened his eyes, feeling weirdly electrized.

His mouth opened in shock upon noticing green lightning-like currency dancing on his skin. It was pale and since it didn’t really hurt he curiously lifted the amount from what he imagined to be one percent to five. He took a few steps and it didn’t hurt but it definitely needed some getting used to.

“Wow, that’s so weird…” he commented.

“I wonder if you shine in dark…” Mikumo mused. 

Izuku grinned, excited for all the experiments the two of them were going to conduct.

Chapter Text

Mikumo was not amused.

“Don’t worry Micchan, we will remember you,” Izuku assured, patting his brother on the shoulder.

“And we will kick your ass at coop lessons,” Katsuki added, ever the charismatic one.

“At least you’re in hero course,” Hitoshi grumbled.

“Do you want to bet that someone from their class will get kicked out within next week and leave a spot open for you?” Mikumo asked, thinking of the stories of Aizawa’s expulsion rate. Without Himiko joining class A he is pretty sure whoever got in instead of her won’t last there very long.

“For fuck’s sake, stop making impossible bets that always end up happening if it isn’t your quirk!” Katsuki said, for some reason pissed off by Mikumo’s future foretelling prowess.

“I just got lucky a few times.” The boy said, rolling his eyes. “Anyway see you, I need to find my own class.”

Soon enough he was in his class where he didn’t even have to try to make friends.

“My dude! Look, we’re twinsies!” Tokage Setsuna said, putting a lock of her green hair to his and admittedly, a few darker strands of his were in a similar shade.

“We’d be triplets then since I already have a twin brother.” He noted and she chuckled.

“The more the better! I’m Tokage Setsuna, you?”

“Midoriya Mikumo. You can call me Mikumo to avoid confusion when you inevitably met my twin.”

“You can call me Setsuna then, little bro!”

He raised an eyebrow.

“When did I become your little bro?”

“When I called you little bro, duh!”

“Oh!” they heard someone gasp and turned to look at Ibara who approached them with a smile. “How blessed I am for our paths to have crossed again. Surely it must be a sign that we are meant to lead the lost lambs together!”

“Yeah, it’s nice to meet you again too!” Mikumo answered with a smile, not wanting to spend the rest of the year using eighty percent of his brain to communicate with her through her own language. “I’m Midoriya Mikumo, happy to make your acquaintance!”

“How sinful have I became to not even offer my own name! I am Shioaki Ibara, it truly is a blessing to be able to follow the path of mercy with you!”

“I’m confused. No, wait, I take it back! I’m Tokage Setsuna! Blessed to meet you too!”

Before they could continue, a massive grim-looking man walked into the class and cleared his throat. Everyone instantly took their seats.

“Greetings everyone, I am your homeroom teacher, Kan Sekijiro, better known as Vlad King. I hope to help you on your path to becoming great heroes.” He said while everyone went dead silent, expecting a very strict teacher. He made the first impression of someone who doesn’t tend to joke around. “Now, while I realize that choosing class representatives is very important it would not do to have you make a decision blindly! What's more, it is extremely important to be on good terms with your allies so I want you to use this lesson to introduce yourself to all your classmates and learn a bit about them! Tomorrow we will either choose the representatives or wait until the day after if you feel you need more time.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment, expecting him to continue.

“What are you waiting for? Go make some friends!” he ordered and Tokage pretty much teleported herself out of her desk to lean over Mikumo’s.

“No. We already introduced ourselves to each other.” He said and passed her by, walking to Reiko Yanagi that seemed quite surprised at that.

Mikumo had always been curious about her quirk since he learned that it was noted as ‘Poltergeist’ in the registry. Why not ‘telekinesis’? Sure, it might have been simply a choice of preference, not wanting the name to be too basic but since he’s here… He’d like to become good enough friends with her to be able to quench his thirst for knowledge without making her feel too weirded out.

So, he introduced himself and they talked for a bit. Unknown to him she was quite pleased; most of the time people seemed to hardly be able to understand her because of her quite intricate speech, but so far he had no qualms about it. But they had a whole class to introduce themselves to and as such, they soon had to go to other people.

It was nice to talk to all those people that, once upon a time, were his enemies.

After the introductions were made and people started to fall into groups, Vlad King grabbed their attention once again. This time he offered a rundown of the incoming lessons and gave them their syllabuses, after which he told them that they can go home. They were quick to evacuate, talking and laughing, beginning the year with high spirits.

“Oh, look, some class seems to be having practical lessons!” Tokage said, waving at him to come closer. He did so with a sigh, looking through the same window as her. “Do you think they are second years? Oh, look! That guy looks exactly like you from this distance!”

“Because it’s my twin,” Mikumo explained and she blinked.

“What?! Don’t tell me… Haha, one of the twins is in class B and the other in class A!” she started cackling, finding it absolutely hilarious. “What’s his name, anyway?”

“Izuku.” Mikumo offered and the two of them just spend a few minutes there, watching the other class do some kind of physical tests. With the use of their quirks.

“Man, I’m jealous! I wish we could show off like this too!” she said.

“You shouldn’t be. If I’m correct their homeroom teacher is Aizawa… Known for once expelling his whole class.”

“It does not sound very merciful…” Ibara noted and Tokage jumped from the fright, falling to the floor but quickly getting up.

“Since when have you been here?!”

“Huh? I did not think my presence would be unwanted, I apologize for being so vain as to assume that…” the vine-haired girl said, already taking a step to leave.

“No, no! It’s totally cool and, anyway, you fit super well with us! Look, we all have green hair!” Tokage was quick to assure. “You just surprised me with how quiet you were!”

“Ah, I see. I apologize then, I should have made my presence known. I simply wished not to disturb you.”

“It’s totally fine!”

“But as to address your earlier words… I don’t think he’s bad for expelling students. He isn't a teacher at UA for nothing so I’m sure he must have had a good reason to do that.” Mikumo said, his eyes looking somewhere far away. “You know… A hero career is a dangerous one… And not everyone realizes that they might die on this path.”

His words probably would have had more impact was it not for the fact that Izuku chose this exact moment to not make a turn in time and run straight into a tree. He looked dazed only for a few seconds before continuing the long run.

“Ouch. It must have hurt.” Tokage commented while Mikumo facepalmed. He gets that his twin is doing his best but maybe he should try to be a little bit more careful... He literally learned how to use One For All without breaking bones less than a week ago and is still getting used to this new technique of his he calls Full Cowling.

“Is… He alright? The impact looked quite severe…” Ibara noted worriedly.

“He’ll be fine. He definitely broke his nose though.” Mikumo noted.

And with that, they just continued on quietly watching but it turns out that there was only ball throw left…

“Did that kid just got expelled?” Tokage asked, raising an eyebrow at a boy who had purple balls instead of hair that run away crying.

“Definitely,” Mikumo said. “But looking at his reaction… I’m pretty sure he’ll be safer not becoming a hero.”

“A hero must be brave for he stands not just for themselves but for all the weak and lost,” Ibara said, nodding.

“Exactly.” Mikumo agreed. “And since you mentioned weak and lost… I’ll excuse myself and go look for Recovery Girl’s office because I have a feeling my twin is going to be visiting her on daily basis.”

“Understandable, see you tomorrow!” Tokage said with a chuckle, waving at him.

“May the rest of your day be blessed!” Ibara added.

On his way to the Recovery Girl’s office, Mikumo was faced with Katsuki who crossed his arms, his expression saying enough.

“Hey, you were right too and you don’t have a betting quirk,” Mikumo said in his defense.

The blond didn’t say anything because he knew that his friend was right. Before the silence could get weird though, Izuku left Recovery Girl’s office.

“It’s not my fault the tree was so close to the running track!” he said defensively after taking only one look at the two.

“It is.” They said at the same time, not even glancing at each other in surprise.

Izuku decided against arguing and the three of them moved to the main gate where they stumbled upon Shinso who seemed to be waiting for them.

“So, how was the first day?”

“He broke his nose.” Mikumo said at the same time Katsuki snarled “That idiot broke his fucking nose”.

Hitoshi raised an eyebrow and looked at pouting Izuku.

“Why did you break your nose? How?”

“He run into tree,” Mikumo explained and got three questioning looks. “I saw it through a window.”

“Anyway! How was your first day, Shinso?” Izuku asked, hoping to make others forget about his amazing performance. Hey! He scored fifth! He also made two new friends – the nice gravity girl and the strict blue-haired boy who turned out to be actually really nice – so he thinks this day went really well overall!

“It was fine. I didn’t really talk with anyone though… It’s going to be a long time before I get transferred…”

“Or it fucking won’t because look at that, we did get an idiot expelled from our class.” Katsuki snarled, looking at Mikumo as if his great guessing luck was a felony.

“And Izuchan did break something.”

“You’re both insane at this whole betting thing,” Hitoshi said, rolling his eyes.

The way home went peacefully and after eating dinner Mikumo put on his disguise, hid his freshly dyed hair under a hood, and told Izuku that he’ll be back in two hours or so. Rather than questioning anything, his twin simply said ‘see you’.

Twenty minutes later he was sitting in Eri’s office, helping her with the most urgent of her paperwork. The rest she could deal with on her own later.

“Still no leads on where Himiko is?” he noted, after obliterating a pile that the girl was literally crying over just a few days prior. Not that she would ever admit to it.

She nodded with a sigh.

“She can literally be anyone.”

“I hope she isn’t doing anything too dangerous…" he mused before promptly going into an even more dire subject. "Anyway, it’s high time to rescue you from this timeline.”

Eri furrowed her brows.

“As much as I want to punt that asshole’s face into the ground… I’m not sure if we have enough power to take him down, not without getting caught while we’re at it. We’d need some kind of warper or for Twice’s clones to be able to do it on their own… Technically we could try to reach out to Tomura but it would be pretty suspicious…”

“I was thinking about working with heroes,” Mikumo said. “I could introduce you to Eraserhead as an informant. I believe he’s trustworthy enough to let your identity stay a secret.”

The girl give it a thought but her face showed that she wasn’t fully convinced.

“If we get heroes to help I won’t be able to join… And you won’t be there for past me…”

“Yeah, but she will be safe. And with Eraserhead on the case, we won’t have to worry about Hero Commission trying to use her.”

“I guess… But what if he gets in trouble for protecting her from them?”

“Then we change plans and go nuclear, razing them to the ground before they can even learn anything about us.”

Eri clapped her hands with a huge smile.

“Alrighty then, when will you introduce him to me, your loyal informant, Lamb?” she asked and he chuckled, leaning forward to pat her head.

“I’ll talk to him about it. We probably won’t be able to get it done by the end of the week with USJ incoming… Ah, we have to do something about it too. There’s a big chance of Ground Zero and Red Riot coming to interfere and while it’s mostly good I don’t trust them not to use that occasion to try killing Izuku. Himiko is very likely to be there too…”

“I can make an anti-villain USJ squad.” Eri offered readily.

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you but use clones so there’s no danger of you guys getting caught, alright? And try not to interfere too much, we don’t want All For One to take interest in your organization.”

“Will do! I’m just going to make sure no one gets killed and hopefully get Himiko to finally learn of my existence in this timeline…”

“Good. Hm… She could help with the yakuza raid too.”

“Make sure to tell Eraserhead that your little informant wants in. I deserve to punch Chisaki in the face at least once.” She said and he chuckled.

“Alright. I’ll tell him that you know so much about the situation because you’re a survivor of the yakuza's experiments. Before they realize that’s impossible in this timeline's standards you’ll already be off their radar.”

She beamed at him in a way she had learned from him. Ah, so bright…

“Is there anything else you need help with? If not, I’d like to hang out with everyone.”

“Am I not enough for you?” she asked with a pout but already started walking outside, to look for others.

“You are more than I deserve.” He answered readily and she chuckled. Before she could say anything a blond blur run by her.

“No knife hugs,” Mikumo said, dodging her attempt at not exactly ending his life but liver and Toga was about to pout when the realization hit her and she grinned.

“So normal hugs aren’t off the table?”

One thing lead to another and Dabi ended up witnessing Mikumo trying to walk to the other side of the corridor with Eri clinging to his one side while Toga was on the other.

He was quick to retreat back to the kitchen. 

Chapter Text

“Before I say what I want to say, I'd like to assure you that I absolutely didn’t do anything life-threatening since the last time I’ve seen you.”

Aizawa’s eyebrow shot upward without any conscious effort.

“What did you do?” he asked, staring at their local cryptid. He was hoping to get a better look at him because his facial features were very similar to the kid from his class who was already shaping up to be a problem child. He broke at least five different bones at the exam and then his nose on the first day of school. Credit where credit is due though; he did continue even as blood streamed down his chin.

“I didn’t do anything but I’m going to! And this something is setting you up on a meeting with an informant that knows a lot about yakuza.” The kid answered, his voice growing far quieter.

Aizawa’s brow twitched.

“And how pray tell, do you know someone like that?” he asked not even planning to hide his distrust.

“It all began when she literally run into me on a street, escaping an abusive asshole but that’s a long story that I’m not going to share with you. The point is, she escaped the yakuza and would like to offer her guidance in taking them down. They have a literal child in their custody and trying to make quirk-affecting drugs from her blood. She's four. The thing is, the informant I mentioned is hiding for obvious reasons so I hoped you could cooperate with her while keeping discreet about her circumstances. You know, not asking too many questions and all that jazz.”

Aizawa closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He knew this kid would end up in something big at some point. He could feel it in his bones… But at least rather than running headfirst into it or doing something illegal he came to him, a professional hero.

“I can promise to keep everything about her utmost secret but I need someone to confirm whether what she says is true. We could arrange a neutral meeting place for that. What’s her name?”

“She goes by Lamb.”

Aizawa gave the kid the most deadpan stare he had ever given.

“What?”

“You’re telling me you know this vigilante that even I have barely any info on and she shared all this highly sensitive data with you, a high schooler?”

“I know you’re part of the forum and that you expect even weirder things from me.” the kid had the audacity to say.

He wasn’t wrong though.

“I assume you’re going to be responsible for setting the place and time of our meeting?” he asked instead.

“Yeah. The area and time right now would probably be fine but if you prefer some other place or later hour tell me, we can figure something out. You can just write to me, actually, since you have my phone number, and it kind of counts as an emergency.”

“Alright. I will contact a trusted detective and message you when he’s free. I’ll leave setting neutral ground with Lamb to you.”

“Good.” The kid said and turned around, moving to leave.

“How’s UA?” Aizawa inquired, deciding to confirm the similarity he saw between this kid and the problem child.

“It’s been only a day how is it supposed to be?” the boy answered without a second of hesitance, glancing back. “I’m disappointed I didn’t end up in your class though.”

“So you’re the other twin,” Shouta noted off-handedly and the kid confirmed his suspicions with a grin.

“Yeah.” He said but rather than finally leaving he made a thoughtful expression and then fully turned toward Eraserhead. “Do you take recommendations?”

“For what?” Aizawa asked, once again raising an eyebrow.

“For that empty seat in your class. I have a perfect guy for you, nearly as tired as you and ideal for the underground heroics. He’s in general course.”

Aizawa sighed.

“I don’t play favorites.” He said.

“Neither do I. I know for a fact he’s going to become a hero, it’s just a matter of time and it would be nice if he could start training with you sooner rather than later.”

“Why are you so confident he’d be training with me of all people?”

“Too much explaining. Shinso Hitoshi. Just take him for a few lessons and see for yourself.”

And with that somewhat mysterious words, he left.

You know, Aizawa doesn’t have enough free time to just randomly grab students from general studies to train them. But. It isn’t randomly taking someone if you're following a recommendation. To be completely honest Shouta was intrigued too, he wanted to know what about that boy made Yami – or rather Midoriya Mikumo – so sure he would become a hero.

He first, of course, checked the files on the boy. Shinso Hitoshi, quirk Brainwash. He got thirteen points, not enough to pass for hero course but still a good sum for someone with a none offensive quirk. Aizawa remembers him from the exam too, he obviously had some training, unlike most kids.

So when it turned out he had his free hour while class C had homeroom – a period well known to be spent on wasting time – he just went there and borrowed the kid. There was something extremely amusing in the way the kid’s face stayed mostly calm but his body language fully betrayed how nervous he was.

“Acquaintance of mine was confident you have what it takes to be a hero. I am not one to ignore potential and as such, I decided to give you a chance. But it is up to you whether you take it.” He explained as they walked through corridors.

“O-of course!” the boy said quickly. “I’ll do my best… More than my best!”

Aizawa opened the doors to the gym and turned around, throwing a PE uniform at the kid with a grin that Midnight called the most unhinged thing humanity had ever witnessed.

“Then get changed. Three training sessions; if you prove to have potential in that time I will talk to Nezu about transferring you to my class.”

“Yes, sir!”

As promised, the boy did his best and didn’t pull any punches. He wasn’t on a terribly bad level either, he clearly learned some martial arts. By the end of the period, Shinso was barely breathing but didn’t dare to ask for a break.

“Come here tomorrow after your classes,” Aizawa said and although he did say he would make his decision after three sessions… Well, he could already tell what it would be.

Shinso nodded quickly and then went to get changed since he still had classes to attend. He could barely focus on those, too excited and dumbfounded by what had just happened. When the long break came he was quick to approach his friend.

“You won’t believe what happened.” He said, ignoring all the new faces sitting with the one he knew well.

“Eraserhead offered to bring you through a hellish training?” Mikumo asked and Shinso had never felt so betrayed yet so grateful in his whole life.

“Are you the acquaintance that recommended me to him?!” he asked, sitting down next to his friend, completely ignoring a dark green-haired girl that was listening in rapt interest.

“Maybe, or maybe my betting prowess proves yet again to be undefeatable.”

“And you're still trying to bullshit us into thinking it isn’t your quirk,” Katsuki said, walking up to them and putting his trace down. Izuku arrived shortly after him with two only somewhat new faces; the scolding square glassed boy and the gravity girl.

The vine-haired girl gasped.

“How can you utter such sinful words?!” she asked and then seemed to start praying.

“Who the fuck is this?” the blond inquired and the girl spluttered after which she closed her eyes and seemed to focus very hard on ignoring the world around to cleanse her mind of impurities. The other green-haired girl started cackling.

“This is Ibara and Tokage, my classmates,” Mikumo said, pointing at the two and then introducing the rest of his pack. “This is Izuku, my twin, Kacchan… Call him Bakugo or he might actually bite you and Hitoshi. Call him Shinso, though he won’t bite you if you call him by his name.”

“You made it sound like Kacchan is my fucking name!”

“Isn’t it?” Izuku asked.

“No, fuckhead! I’m Bakugo fucking Katsuki!”

“I mean, to be fair because of you I thought Izuku’s name is Deku.” The gravity girl noted. “Still, it’s a pretty cool nickname and fits you well! You have this ‘I can do anything’ feel to you!”

“You can call me Deku then!”

“I apologize for cutting in but I believe it would be polite to introduce ourselves too! I am Tenya Iida! It is a pleasure to make your acquaintances!”

“Oh, right! Sorry, I’m Uraraka Ochaco! Nice to meet you all!”

“Anyway, I’m super excited for tomorrow! We’re going to have our first practical lesson!” Uraraka said with a bright smile.

“We too!” Tokage replied with a grin. “I’m so going to kick everyone’s asses!”

“Why must you be so violent…” Ibara asked quietly, seeming to be on brink of tears.

“While it is important to give our all I do agree with Ibara! Your attitude seems needlessly competitive, heroics consist of the rescue efforts too and we cannot be sure of what we shall be doing!”

A day later he turned out to be as correct as wrong since the lesson consisted of both cooperation and fighting. It was rather eventful but class A had nothing on class B…

“I am here! Coming through doors like a normal person!”

Most kids burst into cheers upon seeing the number one hero but Mikumo hit his head on the desk. The only person who saw his reaction, so very full of desperation, was All Might who sweat dropped but didn’t comment on it, instead opting to continue with the lesson. He gave out hero costumes and lead everyone to field B.

While changing into his hero costume – quite similar to his twin’s, minus the bunny hood and with a darker color scheme. What? As a supreme leader, he was usually just going around in his favorite t-shirt and black jacket, he has no sense of fashion – Mikumo came to a decision that he will give the blond a chance.

The exercise, overall, wasn’t too bad. Though, personally, he would have chosen something that gave them a bit more time to make up a strategy, and with a bit bigger groups… And not something so random. Yes, you can’t ever be sure who you will end up facing against but they are just beginning heroes so for now rather than possibly throwing them under a proverbial truck it would be better to opt for pairs that would force everyone to give their all but have a chance at winning.

Mikumo could keep quiet about it though. He could bite his-

“Young Midoriya, your quirk is unknown, right? Since your case is quite special, maybe your pair shouldn’t be chosen by fate…”

Ah yes. Izuku’s papers couldn’t be changed without Mikumo’s being too so he ended with ‘unknown quirk’ but from All Might’s perspective, he is quirkless. It's obvious that the man is simply worried about someone with no quirk facing a classmate with an extremely powerful one but.

Even if Mikumo didn’t have far more experience he would have still been pissed. Well, if he truly was just a quirkless student he would quietly deny the offer and shyly draw his lot.

“I don’t think-“ Tokage, unlike All Might, could feel the danger but it was too late.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Mikumo said with a pleasant smile. “As such, I would like to face Setsuna, Honenuki, and Kendo.”

He was going to use every trick in his book to show All Might that he doesn’t need coddling… Rather, other needs coddling from him.

Honenuki spluttered, All Might froze with his trademark smile not fading away, Setsuna started cackling and Kendo opened her mouth.

“I… Wouldn’t that be a little unfair?” she asked.

“That’s the point, isn’t it? To teach us that heroics are dangerous and we won’t always have good chances against our opponent.” Mikumo answered readily and then grabbed a paper from the second box. “Villain, huh?”

How ironic.

“Are you sure, young Midoriya? The fight shouldn’t be too easy for either side!” All Might tried but he had already lost his chance.

“I am. We can go first.”

“Are we really doing it?” Honenuki asked.

“Oh boy, I feel it’s going to be hilarious!” Setsuna said and patted her friend on the back, not very lightly. “You got this, Miku!”

“I actually do and that’s exactly why you should start preparing,” Mikumo said with a grin, deciding to ignore the newly acquired nickname.

“Since it’s what you specifically asked for I won’t hold back.” Kendo joined the conversation with a small smile. “I can understand the need to prove oneself.”

“Thank you.”

Soon enough he was walking through the building with a mad grin on his face. He left the bomb hidden behind a few well-placed boxes, in the segment of the building leading to the rooftop. Setsuna shouldn’t be able to spot it in the dark unless she’s checking that area very carefully and if things go according to plan she won’t have time for it.

He smiled to himself as he finished his preparations right after the heroes got a signal to begin.

Mikumo climbed onto the windowsill and moved through it outside, walking around to the entrance where he could see the back of Setsuna’s head. He grinned to himself. As expected, unlike ten years into the future she needed to keep most of herself together. It seemed that she had sent her ears and hands inside.

So, of course, she didn’t hear him coming. She screamed in surprise as he grabbed her from behind, putting capture tape around her and pulling her further outside. He noticed that she had also sent one of her eyes out and she glared at him with the other still present for scaring her.

“Tokage Setsuna had been captured!”

He smiled pleasantly and shrugged for the camera. He then climbed onto the nearby windowsill, right before the ground softened, leaving the girl to get stuck in it. She made a very unamused face but there was no one to see it… No one but her own returning eye; Gosh, she can’t believe she got caught so easily! They were supposed to be the ones hunting Mikumo down!

The boy scaled the building and jumped inside through the window he left opened for himself earlier. How weird it was for plan A to work instantly, without having to go for B or C... And D was kind of really cool. But it’s good, he supposes.

Now, as for the other two...

The biggest danger is Honenuki. While Kendo has far better offensive potential, Mikumo can deal with brute strength. Not being able to move though? That would be his loss and getting out of Softening would be pretty much impossible in this mostly empty building.

Honestly, now it’s just a game of cat and mouse. With Setsuna gone the two need to find the bomb on their own or catch him; the latter is clearly easier than checking all the rooms in this building so he just needs to take them on a wild goose chase.

That’s exactly what he did, showing himself just to duck into a nearby room before any of them could reach him and then climbing to another floor through the window. Honenuki would randomly activate his quirk on things he had already touched, hopping Mikumo would get stuck but it only made things easier for the boy; the two were clearly opting for luck rather than a strategy by now. Which is understandable, they are still kids after all, not the professional heroes who account for all possibilities.

At one point Kendo started smashing through walls in hopes of catching up to him but well… No such luck. When they realized they wouldn’t be able to get to him, they separated and started to look for the bomb.

Mikumo couldn’t help but act a little mischievous so he climbed all the way to the rooftop and put the crates aside, pushing the bomb to the edge and sat crossed-legged, awaiting heroes.

He didn’t get to do ‘take a step closer and we’re all going to die in the rubbles of this building’ because before they could arrive at the top of the building…

“Time is up! The villain team wins!”

Chapter Text

“I can’t believe he won so easily against all three of us…” Honenuki murmured, walking around the building to put everything he softened back to its previous state. Kendo was by his side, helping him find all the rooms where he turned the floor into overcooked jelly. 

“Yeah… It felt like we could do nothing… He just kept on disappearing from right my eyes!” 

“Sorry for that guys,” Mikumo said and they both startled, their heads turning toward him. He was sitting on a windowsill with a sheepish smile. “But except Setsuna, I knew no one would be able to catch up to me when scaling buildings came into play.”

“How did you even learn to do that, dude?” Honenuki asked, looking deeply impressed.

“Through practice. Anyway, don’t be too harsh on yourselves. Leaving Setsuna to find the bomb while the two of you moved forward to catch me with your number advantage was a solid plan, you just had too little data on my skills.”

“You don’t know about ours either and yet you perfectly countered us.” Kendo pointed out and the three of them made their way down the stairs. 

“Finally! I thought you have forgotten about me!” Setsuna yelled upon spotting them. They were quick to free her and she got up, stretching. “Man… I knew things weren’t going to go as planned but that was too much! Did you really have to go after me first?”

Mikumo shrugged.

“You were the biggest threat to the bomb.” He said. 

“True that.” She said, throwing an arm around his shoulder. “By the way, where was it?”

“Near the rooftop.”

“Gosh, I should have started looking from the top then!”

They returned to the rest of the class, half of which was dumbfounded and the other impressed in a very loud way.

“That was so cool! How did you scale that building like that?! Please teach me how to do that! I’m not afraid of falling!” Tetsutetsu yelled, steeling his hands and hitting one into the other to show that he wouldn’t get hurt if his climbing didn’t go very well.

“Yeah! Very impressive!” Tsunotori Pony said smiling brightly.

All Might cleared his throat.

“Indeed! You have shown us that heroes should never underestimate their opponent, no matter of circumstances! It is important to always show caution and not let one’s guard down! I believe there will be no buts to the statement that young Midoriya is the MVP of this round, no?”

“Nope, he deserves it,” Tokage said. “Man! I have so much to learn still! Good thing I have strong opponents though!”

The rest of the fights went far more smoothly. Yes, there were some easier victories but none came even close to the Mikumo’s simple yet strong performance. After the lesson ended All Might asking him to stay behind though.

“I feel a need to apologize, young Midoriya. I feel that my comment might have seemed degrading to you and I assure you that I had not meant it in such way!” the hero said, ever the earnest one.

That’s probably the reason why Mikumo, while no longer a blinded fan, couldn’t really hate the man. Yes, the guy is simple-minded but so are many others. He’s full of flaws but so is everyone else. Try as he might pose as a perfect symbol, he’s just a human.

“I know. And it’s not like I reacted perfectly. I could have simply said I want to take part in this whole shuffle.” He said because, well, deciding to beat kids who just began high school wasn’t exactly his proudest moment. Angry as he might have been, he shouldn’t act so carelessly, what if they think they are worth less than they really are just because he, mentally forty or so, decided to throw a tantrum?

“No, the fault lies on me and my thoughtless words! But! I am happy that there is no harm done! So I will take my leave now!”

Aaand here he goes. Running away. Through doors. Like a normal person. Mikumo shrugged and went to the cafeteria, easily finding a table that was quickly shaping up to be his usual one. Izuku, Katsuki, Uraraka, Tenya, Ibara and Tokage were already seated there. 

“Yo.” He greeted Hitoshi who was too standing in the queue for food.

“Huh. I expected you to look at least tired after the practical lesson. And maybe a little excited.” 

Mikumo shrugged. 

“It was fine. I kicked asses too fast to get tired though.”

Shinso snickered.

“I wish it was so easy for me too.”

They got their food and joined the rest.

“I defeated Kacchan!” Izuku boasted. 

“We won by the power of cooperation!” Uraraka added readily, the two of them beaming. Shinso had to shield his eyes from them. 

“Cooperation my ass! He broke his arm and you threw a fucking crate at Four Eyes!” Katsuki was quick to retort. 

Ibara very pointedly looked at her food, either managing to drown out the sound of swears or having already given up on trying to stop blond from saying those.

“It was a very close battle but I must admit, breaking your arm to win an exercise seems like going a little too far!” Iida said, chopping the air with his hands. 

“I wasn’t planning to initially! But in the heat of the moment, it was either punch very hard or lose and I really wanted to win against Kacchan at least once in my life!” Izuku defended.

Their bickering was stopped by Tokage laughing so hard she accidentally send her nose flying into her pudding. She was quick to get it back though.

“You broke your arm to win?” she asked and Izuku unsurely nodded which send her into another fit of giggles. “Yo, Miku, why didn’t you just teach him some of those sick moves of yours?”

“I did. They just wouldn’t work against Kacchan who can literally fly with his explosions.” Mikumo said.

“Oh! Right! How was your battle exercise? I’m super curious!” Uraraka asked, looking with puppy eyes at the trio.

“All Might made the mistake of pissing Miku off and long story short this guy, this absolute legend…” Setsuna pointed at Mikumo with both her arms. “Single heatedly defeated me, other recommended student, and Kendo!”

“Please do not use such language!” Iida said while Uraraka gaped for a moment.

“What do you mean he defeat recommended student and you two?! That’s insane!” she said, looking at Mikumo so intently he felt a little embarrassed, and guess what? The supreme leader of New Japan isn’t immune to blushing.

"I'm recommended student too!" Setsuna yelled but had been completely ignored. 

“Oh stop that. That’s disgusting.” Katsuki said, pointing his chopsticks at Mikumo.

“Modesty?” the boy asked, his embarrassment quickly replaced by sass.

“Exactly.” 

“If there is one good thing in me not being in the hero course yet it is that I neither have to get my ass effortlessly handed to me by Mikumo nor Izuku’s arm broken on my face.” Shinso drawled out. 

“I would never break my arm on your face!” 

“It would take some effort to hand your ass to you.”

“I would effortlessly destroy you,” Katsuki added, not one to let himself be left out. 

That day class B had its representatives chosen – yesterday they decided to wait for after the practical lesson – and Mikumo had been named as president with Kendo becoming the vice one. He decided to swap places with her which she was very confused about but agreed to with only a bit of convincing. 

Good, he knows she grew up to be a great leader and he doesn’t want to steal that chance from her. He had done enough leading in his past life anyway. 

In the evening Eraserhead sent Mikumo dates at which Tsukauchi would be available but rather than calling Eri to get the meeting set up, he decided to wait until after USJ because that would definitely change timestamps quite a bit. Ugh, why did Tomura have to attack so early?

The next day Mikumo had to get through a throng of media vultures. Unlike his twin he knew better than to give them any attention and simply dragged his brother through the sea of bodies, getting them safely to the school grounds. 

The day went by mostly fine but when they came to the cafeteria… 

‘Fuck you Tomura’ his mind whispered when one of the terrified students elbowed him in the gut. He had endured it because otherwise, it would be his food getting roughhousing and he would like to eat today, thank you very much. 

It was amusing to see Iida become a sign above them all. It was somewhere between hilarious and mildly terrifying when he looked to the side and witnessed Ibara looking at the boy with wide eyes shining with admiration. 

He had more important things on his mind than that. And yet, after the next lesson ended and they were waiting for the next teacher, Setsuna and Ibara ended up talking. Above his desk. Why? No idea!

“I saw the way you looked at the glasses guy, you like him, don’t you?” Tokage asked and the other girl blushed, her eyes moving toward the window.

“I have no sinful thoughts but a simple feeling of admiration for him…” she said and then started curling her vine around her finger. “I would feel greatly blessed if we had a chance to talk more… He looks like the type of guy who would take me to church every Sunday…”

“I can’t believe I just heard that,” Setsuna said, blinking. “But to each their own, I guess! Good luck to you!”

“Ah, thank you for your well-meant words! I am sure that if we are destined God will lead us to each other… But right now it is important to focus on investing in our talents, learning how to save those who need our guidance!” 

“Good, good… Now maybe you should go to your seats? The lesson is about to start.” Mikumo spoke up. Ibara apologized and quickly went to her own while Setsuna stayed for a bit longer, with a sharp grin that didn’t foretell anything good.

“Jealous you aren’t the one who caught her eye?”

“I’m more likely to catch your eye. Literally.” He answered without missing a beat and was rewarded with her returning to her seat with a quiet snicker.

History went by calmly enough but only ten minutes into English Present Mic – among other heroes – had been called by the principal to immediately gather at the main gates. 

“Class president, you’re in control until I return!” the man said, hiding his unease behind a smile and handguns. He left hurriedly, leaving uproar in his wake.

“First an alarm and now this… It’s quite worrying…” Kodai noted, just loud enough for the people around her to hear.

“Maybe some crazy reporters hid inside the campus and teachers need to escort them out?” Monoma offered, keeping his face and tone calm but his tense shoulders betrayed his unease.

“Calm down everyone!” Kendo called out, standing up and walking to the middle of the class. “Midoriya, can I ask you to help me take over this class?”

“Sure though, for the record, I don’t think you need any help.” He said getting up and walking up to her. 

“Thank you.” She said with a bright smile and then turned toward their classmates. “I am sure heroes will be quick to take care of whatever problem had risen so for now let’s focus on the material! Regrettably, my strength doesn’t lie in English so those of you who feel confident in your knowledge of this subject, raise your hand!” 

Pony needed only a moment to decipher the words before putting her arm up with a smile. Kodai, Shishida, and Komori were the other ones she spotted before glancing to the side, noticing that Mikumo did so too.

“You see? Your strengths seem to complement my own quite well.” She said and then clapped her hands together. “Everyone, please focus on the exercises in your textbooks, if you have any questions please come for the guidance of one of your fellow classmates who had just raised their hand!”

After which she went back to her seat just as Mikumo did. When Setsuna came to him he was fully expecting her to start idle chatter but he was positively surprised to see she had some questions and genuinely wanted to learn. 

“I also wanted to check how good you’re at teaching. I’m planning to make a list of your strengths to give other people insecurities by showing it around~!” she noted between exercises and he sighed, shaking his head good-naturedly.

They worked well for the next few minutes but soon enough they started getting anxious. 

“What you think about talking exercise?” Pony offered at one point, standing up to grab everyone’s attention. “I happy to give examples!”

With the possibility to talk among each other, even if in a language most didn’t know amazingly well, their unease slowly melted away. Soon enough laughter was filling the classroom from all the stupid mistakes they made and how weird their pronunciation was at times. 

Soon the lesson ended and they moved to their next one, wondering what now… But it soon turned out they would be finishing early today because their history teacher – Midnight – was still out with other heroes and there was no one to replace her on such a short notice.

On his way home, on a seemingly empty street, he felt eyes boring into him. He looked to the side, into an alleyway that even now, with the sun still high in the sky, was full of shadows. 

There, he saw a silhouette. 

“You promised not to disappear on me again.” At first unfamiliar voice said, the person stepping closer with their disguise slowly dripping down, showing golden eyes and blond hair. “Is… Is it really you? Eri wouldn’t lie, you remember me, right? You’re my best friend, right?!”

She sounded borderline insane but that’s not why Mikumo’s heart stopped for a second. No. Rather it was because of guilt.

Unlike her, who had approached him so very carefully, he sprinted right toward her. For once it was him who nearly brought them both down in an enthusiastic hug.

“I could never forget my best friend.” 

Understandably, she started wailing, cradling him as if he was about to disappear yet again.

Chapter Text

Toga wouldn’t describe herself as kind or even good. She would shamelessly call herself selfish because she’s also honest.

She has many shortcomings, she knows it. She lacks the ever-important drive to save just to save that most of her classmates have. Really, she just finds joy in the adrenaline drumming under her skin, in the bloody people around her. As a heroine she could literally stab ‘bad guys’ and be admired for it!

Something most people would find creepy but what she takes great pride in is how she loves. 

Unlike most people when she says she would do anything for the ones she loves she means it. Her love is so overwhelming it includes but isn’t limited to even becoming them!

Once upon a time, she was alone. Her parents ‘loved’ her. In their simplistic, disgusting way that locked her in a prison, the kind of prison that she felt like she couldn’t escape unless she was willing to lose everything, to be hated and never ever liked by anyone-

And then she met him; her best friend. He accepted her and her love. He let her be him. He never ever tried to lock her in that terrible cage, never spoke of that disgusting fake love that is used to force others into being who they aren’t. He loved like her although in a different way. The same yet so different… Which is fine! Because that’s exactly the point of love, isn’t it? The real, actual one. To accept. 

She loved Ochaco. Toga’s love had to be subtler in this case though. It couldn’t be as grand as for her best friend who understood but even then, Himiko loved her dearly. Because she was strong and pretty! Adorable yet deadly! Everything Toga always wanted to be! And even if only for training and missions, she let Himiko be her. 

There were also Tsuyu, Hitoshi and Iida. She loved them too! Not like Ochaco or her best friend though. While for the first two her love was endless just like for her precious blood, for the latter it was more like her love of fighting. So similar yet completely different!

Yet another type of love she had was for her mentor, All Might. With all the passing time, little words of encouragement and warmness that her parents didn’t seem keen on giving her… Yeah, that’s the type of love a family should have! And she felt similar kind for Aizawa who the class ended up jokingly calling Dadzawa whenever they were sure he wouldn’t hear!

She didn’t love Dabi nor Magne nor Twice… She was starting to though. The more time she spent with them… Even Eri whom she was initially jealous of – the girl had so much time with her best friend after all – quickly grew to be one of her most favorite people ever!

So much love. 

And when Toga thinks about it, when she returns all the way to the past… All this happiness began with her best friend. It’s because of him that she had joined UA. That she had gotten so many friends and teachers that truly cared and accepted her, weird as she might be. 

It only made her love him more. So much more that it hurt. 

She didn’t regret her decision to go back in time. To save him. She didn’t regret it even as he looked toward them with those wide, terrified eyes, and she had to yell at him to run... As she realized that he didn’t remember. 

She didn’t regret anything. Their future was changing… If she wasn’t here if she didn’t stop those two… She would be left in a future where she had never met him. Where she has never began to love so deeply it tears her from the inside out. It hurts but she will never let go.

Because she would do anything for those she loves. Them, who are all gone now. 

Ochaco she knows- Tsuyu, Hitoshi, Iida, even All Might and Aizawa… She knew the version of them she knows would disappear. She just didn’t know her best friend would disappear too. And since he did, since she was left all alone in this past… She didn’t know what to do. 

It was like that time when he left all over again. Somehow it was both worse and better. Because he doesn’t remember, he’s dead- but he’s alive. She can go and see his smiling face, so much smaller than she grew to know. So young. So happy.

She’s selfish but she would do anything for those she loves. So she goes on a killing spree to take down the most dangerous villains she can remember because she knows that this time... This time he will be a hero. He will reach his dream and she will be with him all the way there, in the shadows, protecting him. 

She won’t let him disappear again. Even if he doesn’t remember, even if she never gets to talk to him like they used to… She will protect him. She will protect everyone she loves. 

As she stalks through streets, as she steals blood, and sleeps in the most obscure of places she quietly wonders if she has gone insane. Sometimes she thinks she did, sometimes she thinks she didn’t. On a rare occasion, she can hear the voice of one of her loved ones in the back of her head.

‘You’ve always been a little crazy, you know!’ Ochaco says with a little giggle. Not a malicious one. ‘We all are, to be honest!’

‘Insane people do not question their sanity!’ Iida reminds sternly.

‘You should probably ask a professional if you feel this way, ribbit’

'Yeah, you're insane. Who isn't in this class?'

‘Ahaha, no worries young Toga! We all have those moments, it’s only natural with the stress that accompanies saving lives!’ 

‘Set up a meeting with Hound Dog. It is illogical to keep quiet with those kinds of worries.’

The little Izuku on her shoulder usually starts muttering. He brings many valid points to both why she is and isn’t insane yet. He speaks only when she isn’t in the middle of something important though. At those moments she usually sits down and just... Listens to him go on and on until it becomes white noise and sometimes she falls asleep to that, taking a nice long nap.

Her routine mostly consists of going back and forth between killing her targets and returning to Musutafu to make sure he's alright... That those two… Monsters didn’t hurt him. For the longest time she is convinced she is seeing double until she realizes Izuku isn’t a single child now.

After that discovery she oftentimes finds herself dozing off, wondering how it would be if she was in this past with them. To have two best friends. But Bakugo destroyed it, like always. After his attack, her family didn’t move in and her past self didn’t meet her best friend!

It pulls Himiko into the deep end. She lives through a bloody haze, from kill to kill. Stalking, waiting, following, observing… And the fact that she can't find Bakugo and Kirishima only angers her further. Because what if one time she is too late? 

On the day of the sludge villain attack, she doesn’t instantly realize that it’s this specific date. When she does though, she doesn’t waste a second moving toward the alleyway that she still remembers so vividly… 

It isn’t Bakugo who got grabbed by the slime this time but Izuku still moves without a second thought and she does too. Well, she tries to but Kirishima rams into her, making them both slam against a building that's under construction. He then proceeds to try holding her down. 

She is strong. Far stronger than most people. But his technique is immaculate and she struggles to free herself. She screams at him to let go of her, she takes shape of Banjo and uses Black Whip but she didn't have it for long so she still finds it hard to control. She ends up making rubble fall on them, nearly crushing them both. 

The heroes come and she quickly swaps her form to Nana, moving into the crowd. She learns of All Might’s intervention and sighs in relief. She can see the back of Izuku’s head; he’s fine. He’s returning home. She follows him like a shadow. She had perfected the art of sneaking around.

When All Might approaches her best friend and offers him One For All she finds herself smiling so wide it hurts. Because she’s happy for him and she’s happy because the person she loves is, in a way, like her! Not exactly her, but will get the same power and they will share something so very important; a quirk! 

Her happiness fades away when she remembers Kirishima. And Bakugo. 

She sneaks away and spends the next couple of months trying to find them. She does stumble upon them at one point and the fight that follows is nothing if not brutal but all of them end up surviving. No one even loses a limb. 

She is angry and USJ is coming so of course she disguises herself as one of those criminals that Eraserhead plowed through in her timeline. She knows how to be patient, she knows when to strike. That’s why she hides in the background and observes. She sneaks up unnoticed on Shigaraki, while her eyes scans surroundings to make sure no one she cares about is in danger. 

When she hears a loud bang that makes the whole USJ shudder, she doesn’t go there only because she notices Izuku leaving the flood zone together with Tsuyu. So he’s safe. Bakugo and Kirishima won’t try to hurt anyone other than him and it must have been them. 

“What the fuck was that?!” Shigaraki demands and then the doors burst open. She uses this moment to throw her knife. Low, not into anything vital so Nomu doesn’t protect the man. 

He hisses and turns in her direction but she’s already gone. She moves quietly, having less presence than a ghost would as she gets her knife back with a red sheen of blood on it. She licks it off, ready to react when Shigaraki inevitably sends Nomu intro fray.

But before that, just like him, she glances up at whoever had arrived. After all, it’s too early for All Might and heroes to be here unless someone told them about what was coming-

She freezes when she spots familiar silhouettes that shouldn’t be here; Twice, Mr. Compress, Dabi… And a female, keeping to the back, observing. Most of her face is hidden under a hood but Toga has a feeling that she knows her. 

But it isn’t possible.

“I am afraid that because of this unexpected distraction, one of the students escaped and will contact heroes…” Kurogiri’s words brings Himiko back to the present and her head snaps toward him. 

“Fucking cheaters… Nomu take rid of them!”

Within the next second Mr. Compress’ clone disappears. Aizawa, instantly realizing newcomers are on his side, lunges toward the main villain while Bakugo – a younger one, one of this world – blasts himself toward Kurogiri.

They can take care of themselves. And Toga feels like she needs to talk to that woman. So she takes Shigaraki’s form and orders Nomu to stop.

It, of course, freezes and afterward, she doesn’t have to look for the hooded woman because she approaches her. 

“Himiko…?” the stranger asks quietly and now Himiko is sure now. She had gone insane. She’s hearing Eri’s voice loud and clear as day. As if she was standing right before her.

Because she is even though it’s impossible. But just in case it is really happening the blonde disguised as the villain nods. 

“I’ve come from our future too, I’ve taken alias Lamb, so find me… And Izu we know is here, he remembers but he isn’t Izuku, he’s the other twin, Mikumo.” The girl explained hurriedly and Himiko felt so many things that she thinks she dissociated for a bit.

“Nomu, what are you doing?! Kill them!” 

With Eri’s clone melts into nothing too before Toga’s very own eyes she can feel her anger burning hotter than Endeavour's flames and she wants to destroy that thing so terribly- so that’s exactly what she does. She lunges at it, grabbing it with all her fingers, making it turn into dust within a blink of an eye. Because she hates it.

She can hear Shigaraki’s cry of shock and anguish and oh, how sweet it is to her ears. How wonderful when the beast doesn’t regenerate, when it turns out that the man’s Disintegration is possibly the only thing that can truly destroy it.

She looks up. Her eyes glance over the situation, over Shigaraki held to the ground by Eraserhead. She meets his gaze and slowly writes ‘Mary’ in the air, knowing he will be able to decipher it, even from this distance. 

She knows All Might will arrive soon so she turns around and leaves, hoping that Ground Zero and Red Riot get caught and are treated as villains. That they are locked in Tartarus forever.

Outside she sheds her current disguise and takes Nana’s form, jumping up in the air to leave more quickly… To get to the city faster. She lands on a rooftop and this time takes En's shape – the sixth user she dreamed about shortly after arriving in the past – after which she moves down. She walks through the labyrinth of the alleyways, her legs leading her to the familiar house but on the way there she notices him.

He notices her too and her heart doesn’t just flutter, it’s right about to take off. For the first time in a long time she feels hope and it’s exactly as sweet as it is painful.

She takes a step toward him and starts babbling, hardly able to wrap her head around her own words. It’s as if cotton is stuck in her ears. She feels something dripping and realizes she let go of her disguise. It feels as if her whole existence is weeping in fear of Eri being wrong. Of it not even being Eri in the first place. Her own quirk is crying with her even as tears refuse to come to her eyes.

Not until she sees his mouth moving and then suddenly she feels a weight in her arms. It’s unfamiliar. It’s nothing like the person she remembers.

But it’s him. It’s him and he remembers and she isn’t alone anymore. 

So for the first time in years she lets all her pain, all grievances out... She lets herself fall apart in his arms.    

Because it’s him, her best friend, so she can afford to show herself.

Chapter Text

Mikumo had no idea how long they spent in that alleyway but he the sky was starting to get red and he really needed to get home now. Mom probably will call a search party for him if he doesn’t at the very least call her within next five minutes.

But Himiko was still crying and she needed him. 

“It’s fine, it’s fine…” he said, patting her back. “I’m sorry… But I’m really not disappearing this time.”

“That’s what you said last time!” she threw at him accusingly between her sniffles.

“I know, I’m sorry… But I promise you, I did everything I could to stay… To remember.” 

Slowly she stopped weeping and with one more snivel, she looked him straight in the eyes.

“Well… I guess you are here now…” she said quietly and lifted her hand to wipe her tears away while still holding him with the other. “I thought I lost you, the future you… My best friend you.”

“I was scared I lost you too before I realized that you’re the vigilante, Mary. I tried to make a bit of a splash so you could find me but I didn’t want to go all the way to becoming an actual vigilante so yeah…”

“Splash? What kind of splash?” she asked, still not letting go. He didn’t mind even if he was starting to feel a little… A lot stiff. 

“I’ve become a local cryptid. There’s a whole forum of people theorizing about me,” he explained.

“Ooh, I didn’t really browse the internet… I mostly did stalking and killing.” She replied nonchalantly and he found himself nodding. 

“I’m happy you didn’t go for anyone too dangerous like Overhaul… Because you didn’t, did you?”

“Not yet!” she chirped, showing her sharp canines off in a grin. 

“Good. We’re planning to take him down with help of heroes though Eri, obviously, wants in. I’ll introduce her as an informant to Eraserhead.”

“I want in too!” Himiko was quick to say, slowly peeling herself away from him but standing close to him. “You’re so small!” 

He threw his arms up.

“First of all, you are barely an inch or two taller! And second of all, I haven’t hit my growth spurt yet!” he said, pouting and she giggled, tousling his hair.

“Even Eri is higher than you now! Oh right, she’s here too, isn’t she? How did it happen?” 

“She can tell you the details, do you have a phone? I can give you her number.” He offered, already taking his out. He send a message to his mom that he run into a friend and to not worry about him while he was at it. 

“Nope~! I’m completely untrackable!” she chirped. “But I’m sure I can find her. Since she knows you remember she definitely isn’t too far from here.”

Mikumo made a so-so motion.

“She has headquarters about a twenty-minute bus drive from here.” He explained and the blonde gasped. “She got it before realizing I remember. She so happened to run into Izuku and get the same idea of me not remembering anything as you did.”

“Wow, everyone had been tricked.” The girl said, rolling her eyes. “Those two assholes from the future don’t know the truth either and we better keep it this way. They are ready to kill children that don’t remember the oh so terrible crimes they haven’t even committed… It wouldn’t go well if they knew that you know.”

“My thoughts exactly. I’m not sure how they are going to proceed now though… Yeah, they did try to kill both me and Izuku even with a change of there being two of us but I wonder if they will really keep at it when rather than running away I’m at UA. They might come to the conclusion that I remember after all or realize that things are going differently than in our timeline…”

Himiko, understandably, scoffed.

“As if they have enough brains left to realize that they are the monsters… The villains here. Hero Commission must have used extra strong bleach on them because there is no rationality left in them!” 

Mikumo, ever the kind one, smiled sadly.

“They just didn’t get to know me. From their perspective, I’m this manipulative mastermind that wants to take over the world and hold absolute power over everyone. I mean, my backstory gives me plenty of reason to get to the top just to watch others suffer.”

“Yes and rather than wanting revenge you still try to help everyone!” Himiko exclaimed, throwing her hands up but quickly bringing them down to cross them. “Look at me, I actually did stab someone innocent because people kept silencing me.”

“Ah, yeah, this timeline's Toga… She’s doing great, thanks you for asking.” 

“Wait… You mean to tell me you talked to her before talking to me? Nuuh, maybe I should have stabbed someone innocent too…”

“No, you shouldn’t. She’s just easier to track down than you so Eri ended up recruiting her… Oh, right, her alias is Lamb. She made League of Vigilantes.”

Himiko made a sound that was somewhere between gasp, groan, and wheeze of absolute disappointment. 

“I was fully convinced I was going insane whenever anything about Lamb sounded even vaguely familiar. Until I saw her at USJ and I kind of dissociated upon realizing I am sane after all and she is here, in this time.” 

Mikumo patted her on the back. 

“To be fair I think not just you but we both are crazy.” He noted and she laughed. Not a short chortle but full-blown laughter that made his words ring more true.

“Everything’s fine for me as long as it’s with you. Even going mad!” she exclaimed with a beaming smile. 

“And vice versa.” He answered with a sharp grin that was a perfect copy of her usual vicious smirks. 

They’ve spent a few more minutes there, just enjoying each other's presence but the sun was now gone from the sky and early dusk was slowly spreading so Mikumo had to take his leave. He gave Toga his number and she learned it by heart so she could call him from some random phone whenever she wanted. And they promised to meet tomorrow after school; he would then show her way to Eri’s headquarters. 

At home, he was met with the sigh of Inko crying over Izuku.

“Who would have thought something like this would have happened?!” she wailed while he tried to calm her down. Upon noticing his twin, the boy looked at him with puppy eyes. “Maybe you shouldn’t have gone to UA! It’s clearly dangerous!”

“Mom,” Mikumo called out a little more sharply than he intended to. He loves his mother! He really does! It’s just… After years with people who saw him for who he is, who unlike her could see through his quirkless status and realize that he can be as strong as everyone else… It irks him a little. “Life is dangerous in general. You don’t need to attend any hero school to get shot one day. But you can attend hero school to learn how to protect not just yourself but also those around you.”

“I know, I know…” the woman said, letting go of Izuku and turning toward her other son. She wiped her tears and smiled weakly. “I just can’t help but worry about my babies… I wish you could always be safe and happy.”

“I am very happy to be in UA! And nothing happened to me, Aizawa sensei, and others… Other teachers protected us!” Izuku was quick to assure. 

“The villains are lucky I wasn’t there,” Mikumo said, crossing his arms. He would have spoilered every single game Tomura was planning to play in the next ten years and lie about his favorite characters dying. 

Burning all of one's small joys is paramount to burning their spirit after all. 

Inko laughed, walking to the table where a pack of tissues was. She cleared her nose and smiled a little more brightly.

“Of course…” she said and rolled her eyes. “They are lucky that Izuku is alright, if anything had happened to him I would show them my wrath!”

“And that’s the spirit I like to see in this household,” Mikumo said with a nod and Izuku snickered.

“You sound old.” 

“I am old at heart.” 

The rest of the day went for them in a rather joyful manner and in the evening they were informed that UA will be closed the next day. Well, he hopes Himiko stalks him in the morning so they can go see Eri earlier. Though, technically, does it count as stalking if he somewhat knows of it and doesn’t really care?

At night, with their mom most likely already asleep, instead of doing the same Izuku decided it was a great time to talk.

“Hey, Micchan.”

“What?”

“I think I saw your friends at USJ.”

“Yeah, you did. Eri and Himiko were there.”

“How did you know?” from the sound of the creaking alone, Mikumo knew that Izuku was now sitting on his bed, holding his head in his hands and looking up thoughtfully. 

“I met her on my way home, it seems Eri told her that I remember our future. It was great to see her again.” 

“That’s good...”

They were quiet for a moment but not long enough for any of them to drift off.

“How did things go? Did Earaserhead get hurt?” Mikumo inquired, partly because he was curious how much had changed and partly because he wanted to know whether he should set the meeting with Aizawa or let the man rest. 

His twin probably didn’t know whether Red Riot and Ground Zero were there and got caught or not anyway. If he did he would most likely have said so by now. 

“Oh… He got part of his elbow disintegrated…” Izuku said, sounding regretful as if he felt guilty that he didn’t stop it from happening. “But he did manage to get the main villain down and Kacchan grabbed their warper! That beast they brought with them had been completely disintegrated, by your friend I think…”

“Don’t feel bad for it, it was a completely mindless beast,” Mikumo assured quickly. “And by disintegrated elbow you mean like it whole or just a layer of skin?”

“Layer of skin!” Izuku assured quickly and then slapped a hand over his mouth, worried that mom had heard him. But even if she did, she didn’t come to ask what he was yelling about at such a late hour. 

“Then it went pretty well. In my timeline taking Nomu down took far more effort and before it was defeated it… Well, I wasn’t there but Himiko told me Eraserhead was in bandages for the next few weeks.”

“Even with Recovery Girl’s quirk?” Izuku asked and Miumo could perfectly visualize his twin’s eyes widening in shock.

“To be fair, he doesn’t seem to have a lot of energy in him to begin with.”

There was a beat of silence.

“True.”

“Did anyone other than villains get caught?” Mikumo inquired.

“No, not that I know of… Uraraka mentioned seeing two unfamiliar people but she was too focused on fighting to give them much mind. She mentioned that they took down some criminals. I think they left before the heroes arrived… And I overheard All Might and detective Tsukauchi talking about how someone left a hole in the side of USJ, I think those two got inside and left through it since no one saw them at the exit. They must have used massive firepower, the whole place shook at one point!”

Yeah… That sounds about right. 

“That’s Ground Zero for you.” He mused under his breath. 

“Who?”

Mikumo shook his head.

“You don’t want to know.”

“But you know what I would have liked to known? That we were going to get attacked.”

“If I gave you warning you would act suspiciously and I would have to explain my future knowledge and Hero Commission would get involved and there’s fifty-fifty in them silencing me. Sorry not sorry, I knew that with Eri coming to interfere everything would end well anyway.”

Izuku sighed so deeply it reminded Mikumo of this one time Eraserhead walked into him explaining to a very drunk man why it isn’t fine to throw cans at windows. But come on! The guy was harmless! He was the crier type of drunk.

Soon after both of them finally drifted to sleep. In the morning they ate breakfast and ended up getting invited – forced – to go around the city with Katsuki. He said something along the lines of them having to ‘show those fucking villains that we are not scared!’.

Only a few minutes into the walk though, Katsuki started looking around.

“I swear, someone is fucking watching us.” He said and to be honest, he was right. Huh. Did his intuition get better or was Himiko just glaring at him for the faults of his future self too heatedly? 

“I don’t think so.” Izuku mused, glancing around. “Not to question you but maybe you’re a bit parano-?”

“If I say that someone is watching us then someone is watching us! How the fuck can’t you feel it?! It feels like there’s literal pressure on the back of my head!”

Ah, so she’s just glaring.

“It’s probably my friend. I promised to hang out with her after school.” Mikumo said nonchalantly and as expected Katsuki’s head whipped to stare at him incredulously. 

“Why the fuck can't your ‘friend’ walk up to us and say something and instead is acting all creepy?” 

Technically it’s a valid question. 

“Well, she clearly has a reason to practice her skills seeing how easily you realized she’s watching.” Mikumo pointed out. 

“It doesn’t explain a damn thing!” 

The time traveler sighed.

“She has a grudge against someone you remind her a lot of. It’s for the best that she didn’t approach because you two would most likely end up fighting.” He explained to the best of his ability. “Anyway, since she’s here I’m going to abandon you to whatever plans you have. See ya.”

“Are you seriously just leaving us for that unnamed extra?” Katsuki asked, crossing his arms.

“Yeah,” Mikumo answered and run away waving to them with a beaming smile. He disappeared into one of the alleyways and you know what? The blond wasn’t even going to question it.

“Dance battle off?” Izuku offered, tilting his head toward a nearby arcade.

“I’m going to absolutely destroy you.”

He actually did but! Izuku did a lot better in a shooting game. They ended up competing in every single game there. Overall Katsuki won but that’s life; you lose some you win some. 

They both did break quite a few records though.

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. 

Chapter Text

Lamb was not afraid nor nervous.

Eri is though. Because yes, she had grown a lot since… That time. Since she felt like she was a cursed child that brings only pain and suffering, whose presence can only destroy. She’s strong now and she knows her worth. She is far more than assholes of Chisaki's kind could ever hope to be! 

But a part of her is terrified too. She wants to defeat him, to go there and save her past self, to punch that man in the face, to Rewind him into nothingness- But can she really? Is she strong enough or is she just living a sweet lie? In her memories, he was always this huge figure, larger than life and capable of devouring all of the world... All light. 

But that’s one more reason to face him. To once and for all prove to herself that in fact, he wasn’t the overwhelming power that couldn’t be defeated but rather a pathetic man using her when she was young… Lost and scared. 

She came to the chosen spot first. She, of course, could have sent a clone to this meeting but she wanted… Needed to do this in person. To go through it all from the beginning to the end. She wasn’t going to hide behind anyone this time. 

And the ones she’s supposed to meet better not try anything funny. Because she isn’t afraid to fight and Himiko is in the area so if the need arises, she will come with aid. 

Lamb turned her head, her eyes focusing on two men that approached her. She was sitting on the swing, her body language showing endless confidence she didn’t fully have. Fake it until you make it, no? 

“Lamb, correct?” Eraserhead asked and she nodded, not moving from her spot.

“Eraserhead and detective Tsukauchi?” she answered in a kind. 

“Correct. My quirk will let us determine whether what you say can be trusted. We can take no risks with such a delicate case.” The plain-looking man said. 

She hummed, glancing around. It was such an early morning that even joggers weren't out yet. Good. There’s no way anyone unwanted will listen in to their conversation; there isn't anywhere to flawlessly hide within ninety feet radius or so. No one should have enough suspicions to come specifically to check what is being talked about here anyway. Except, maybe, those two from future but none of them have a quirk that heightens senses or hides them.

“I have been told you have information on yakuza.” Eraserhead began. “Is it correct?”

“Yes.” She said without a second of hesitation. “I’ve been experimented on by them so I know what’s going on there well. Too fucking well, in fact.”

Tsukauchi gave a small nod, most likely confirming the truthfulness of her words.

“I’ve been also told that there is a child there, can you elaborate on that?”

She felt… A weird sensation, a bittersweet feeling. Because someone knows. She’s going to tell someone about what’s going on there, about her little, powerless self. No need to risk everything for a ray of sunshine on her grayish skin. No need to run until her lungs feel like they won’t work ever again. She’s going to tell them.

Her lips shaped into a sharp grin.

“Oh do I care to elaborate…” she mused, the bittersweet feelings drowning her insides and making her want to do something. Not to scream or cry or even laugh. But still, do something… So she let her words flow. “Eri, now age four. She will be five in December. Her quirk is called Rewind, it brings the living matter back to its previous state… It’s cumulative power. When she first used her quirk she rewinded her father into nothingness. Her mother abandoned her and she ultimately ended up in Chisaki Kai's custody, the leader of the yakuza. He experimented on her, put her apart, and together with his quirk, forced her to think that her power was a curse… That she was a curse.” 

She wasn’t planning to say so much but the growing terror on Tsukauchi’s face, the anger in Eraserhead’s eyes… It made her feel something, something she liked. Maybe it was nice to throw it all off her chest, maybe she just liked the silent agreement that Chisaki is a monster that doesn’t deserve to exist. 

Or maybe even after all those years, a quiet voice at the back of her mind was still whispering ‘what if you are cursed after all? If he was right?’ and she desperately needed every confirmation of it being wrong she could get…

Whatever the case might be, she wouldn’t be quietened. She would say everything she wanted and she would do everything she needed to save herself. Be it her younger or current self. 

“Dear god…” Tsukauchi whispered under his breath as if the silence was starting to suffocate him. “Sir Nighteye noted Shie Hassaikai had been acting strangely for a while now but we had no idea it was this bad…”   

Deciding it was the perfect moment to continue with the subject, Lamb reached out for the backpack resting next to her feet and took out a folder that she offered to the two. Eraserhead was the one to grab it. He then quickly leafed through it.

“My memories of that place… Aren’t perfect. I had someone help me fill in holes.” She said. 

“Who?” the black-haired man asked, raising an eyebrow at the informant.

He was slightly suspicious. How is it possible for not just one person but two with such extensive knowledge to leave yakuza and stay alive? Surely, the organization would their best to find and silence them. 

“The person who saved me.” the girl answered, her tone unintentionally becoming softer. “I would never be able to escape on my own… Not back then at least...” 

Eraserhead glanced at Tsukauchi who gave him another nod. So everything she had said so far was true. In her belief at least.

“I see. You want to help with the raid, correct?” he asked. Although he had far more questions on his mind – who wouldn’t with such bizarre circumstances? – but he decided against voicing them. He promised secrecy and he was going to hold to it because he knows how easy it would be to break whatever sliver of trust Lamb has in them. 

“Yeah. I just want you to let me be, I have a score to settle with Chisaki.” She said and he raised an eyebrow but once again, it wasn’t his place to ask. 

They talked and discussed a few more details before the two left. She didn’t feel safe offering any direct contact to herself and as such, they would inform her about the raid through the same person that set the meeting.

Aizawa wasn’t happy about pulling the kid in this even if it was just forwarding meeting dates but there wasn’t time to go differently about it. They could figure out ways of getting that kid out of such dangerous matters after they save a literal child from yakuza.

With the sudden abundance of information about their enemy, they worked swiftly although cautiously as not to tip them off. They gathered a team, All Might included, and only a week later it was the time for the raid. 

Getting ready for it while having to keep an eye on his overly enthusiastic class – thanks, Sports Festival – wasn’t exactly easy but when Lamb arrived at the meeting place and stiffly took a seat next to him, he realized that he might have it light after all.

She was good at keeping her emotions in check, he has to give her that. Upon their first meeting, she seemed confident enough, as if she was already over whatever terrible things had happened to her. 

But now, with the slightest tremor to her hands, he could tell that the demons of the past were still chasing her. He wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to let her dive back into her very own nightmare but it wasn’t his decision to make.

“What’s a kid doing here?” Rock Lock inquired after they had already gone through details, glancing at Lemillion. Another presence Aizawa wasn’t completely sure about but he had already seen the progress the blond has made and to be completely honest, he might be the safest one of all of them in this incoming raid.

“Lemillion, my internee. I assure you that his skills are on a level that will make him a valuable member of our team.” Sir Nighteye answered. 

The hero didn’t look fully convinced but gave a nod and then his gaze moved toward Lamb.

“This is your intern, then?” he inquired, his eyes meeting Aizawa’s. 

“Partner rather than internee. She’s our informant and will take part in the mission as someone who knows the layout well.” He explained to the best of his abilities. 

“I see.” Rock Lock mused and then gave a nod. “I have no more questions.” 

No one else did and as such, they decided to begin. Sir Nighteye used his quirk to glance at the future and whatever he saw made him furrow his brows but otherwise, left his expression unreadable. He didn’t offer any explanation or words of warning so Aizawa decided against questioning; he knows the man well enough to realize he won’t say anything even if prodded.

Soon enough they were all in their positions and moments before it all began Aizawa couldn’t help but let his inner teacher out.

“Don’t get blinded by the past.” He muttered to Lamb who flinched. “It doesn’t matter what was. It matters what is and will be.”

She didn’t have a chance to answer since it all started and shortly he had been separated from the rest. He was fully capable of keeping himself alive and knew he could put trust in his companions. 

While he kept a calm mind easily, the same couldn’t be said about Eri. Neither of them.

Lamb didn’t feel scared at first. No. It didn’t come suddenly, the emotions of the past didn’t hit her like a sledgehammer. It was slow, so fluid she wouldn’t be able to tell at which point she was running not to enact her revenge but because she felt like she was being chased... 

As if she was the same scared little girl she was all those years ago.

She hadn’t been stopped; yakuza members were too focused on making sure All Might wouldn’t find the right path and stopping the rest of the heroes... People they knew were dangerous, people that didn’t show even a sliver of the same terror portrayed by Lamb’s… By Eri’s mad sprint.

The walls and corridors were as big as she remembered them. She felt as if she didn’t grow at all and she wasn’t even truly sure where she was running, her legs taking her through a familiar maze of pain and fear. 

She didn’t stop even when her lungs started burning. 

But she froze when she finally saw him.

He was as daunting as he had been in her memories. An intimidating figure standing above all, looking condescendingly at those beneath him. She arrived just in time to see Lemillion grabbing Eri from his grasp and one of eight pillars taking an aim. She watched as the bullet shot through the air – a normal one, it’s so much earlier so surely they haven’t started making quirk erasing bullets yet – and the blond took the hit, to protect the little girl. 

It hit him in the shoulder and he stumbled to the ground, blood gushing all over the girl. 

“Look, Eri! It’s your fault! He’s going to die because of you!” the man yelled and the illusion was suddenly broken.

He wasn’t this all-powerful enemy she couldn't even dare to touch. He was a pathetic man trying to break her spirit with his words because even with all the pain he put her through, she never gave up. No matter what happened, how many times she had been reassembled, how many of her escape attempts failed miserably… She would never give in to him. 

“No!” little Eri yelled and with tears shining in her eyes, in her great distress, she activated Rewind. 

“And now your curse is going to make him disappear! Look at what you did and look well because that’s the only thing you’re capable of; destroying those who try to help you!” he continued, walking closer to the hero who screamed in pain as his body suddenly started growing in reverse. But even then he held onto consciousness and endured, raising up to his feet, ready to face the enemy. 

If it continued he would disappear, Rewinded into nothingness. 

Chapter Text

No one noticed Lamb until her hands were already on Chisaki’s wrist. She wanted to punch him in the face more than anything in the world but she didn’t have time for that. In one swift motion, she threw him at his gun-wielding minion and turned around, jumping forward and snatching little Eri, whose quirk was going haywire.

Even in the pain, Lemillion made a feeble attempt at not letting the girl go but with that execrating feeling weighing him down, he lost. He opened his mouth to say something but Lamb glared.

“What are you waiting for?! Go get that asshole!” she yelled at him but thankfully, it was the moment Sir Nighteye showed up, throwing his stamps at the enemy. 

He spared only one glance at Lamb’s glowing form.

The blond was quick to join his mentor in the battle while Lamb sprinted toward the corridor, stopping on its edge to keep an eye on the two but far away so as not to put herself in danger. 

The little girl whimpered in her arms, her power still running on maximum output. 

“Hey, calm down,” Lamb said, in her softest voice and the girl dared to open her glassy eyes. “I’m fine. I won’t disappear.”

Rather than calming her down, it seemed to put little Eri into even more panic as she realized that she was using her power. Her older self understood why very well. 

“Your curse won’t hurt me because I was cursed too.” She said quietly, with the noise of fighting bouncing around the walls. The little girl seemed to stop breathing for a moment. Lamb smiled the kind, hope-giving smile that she had learned from her savior. “But I changed my curse into a blessing and you can too.”

Lamb doesn’t remember awfully much from the times she lost control over her quirk while already with League. What she knows though is that it always began with panic and ended with a sense of safety, of warm presence and steady words. 

“H-how…?” the girl whispered, sounding winded as if it took all her strength to say even this much.

“Because I have been saved by a boy with kind green eyes and the prettiest smile I’ve ever seen. He taught me how to change weakness into strength… How to turn my curse into a blessing. You will learn how to do that too. I promise.”

The light around her disappeared; little Eri had calmed enough to stop using her quirk. Instead, she now wept quietly into Lamb’s shoulder, on verge of falling asleep from exhaustion but before she could they heard Lemillion screaming “NO!”, followed by a loud rumble.

Lamb turned to see Sir Nighteye impaled on two lances made of stone and Lemillion getting a hit on Chisaki just for the man to fuse with someone, growing into a monster straight out of her nightmares. 

Even so, she found herself running toward him, with little Eri holding tightly onto her.

“I’ll show you what we can do.” She assured but before she could Rewind Chisaki…

“Do not fear!” All Might yelled, flying right by her and punching the man outside. “For I am here!”

With that asshole taken care of, Lamb sprinted toward Sir Nighteye. She couldn’t Rewind dead after all. 

“Hold on, we will save you…” Lemillion whispered, having gone straight to his mentor’s side the second the hero arrived. 

“Get him off these things,” Lamb demanded in a commanding tone that was a mix of what she learned from the supreme leader of New Japan and her own experience as the head of the League of Vigilantes. 

“But the bleeding…” the boy said, quickly wiping his tears, not wanting to show this kind of face to little Eri. She had been through enough and seeing one of the people who came to save her in such a state must have been terrible…

“As long as he’s breathing I can save him,” Lamb assured, her voice unwavering. The boy looked hesitant but soon realized that even if help came immediately his mentor’s chances of survival would be... Lacking. She might be his only hope. 

So he did as asked and Lamb was about to free herself from the girl's grasp and put her down to heal the man when Aizawa approached. Without a word, he took the little terrified girl into his arms, and in an instant, the older Eri was sure that it was actually Himiko.

But no matter. 

“Watch Eri, because this is the real nature of our curse,” Lamb said and put a hand on Sir Nighteye's forehead. Light enveloped the two of them. It soon faded and the man immediately moved to a sitting position, looking at his suddenly gone wounds with an unreadable expression. “To heal.”

“Sir Nighteye!” Lemillion awoke from his stupor and grabbed his mentor into a tight hug.

Lamb sighed. She wasn’t exactly expecting to have to heal anyone and to state so explicitly that she has the same quirk as the little girl… She gave heroes too many puzzle pieces and she needed to fix that. So while the two were having a moment of happiness she quickly grabbed them, rewinding their memories to slightly after Sir Nighteye arrived. 

After that, she decided it was high time to retreat.

“Huh…?” Lemillion asked. “What… Why am I hugging you, Sir?”

Lamb caught Eri’s eyes and made a ‘shush’ motion. She can’t Rewind her memories since they are immune to their own quirk. 

“Since everything’s alright here I will take my leave!” she yelled. 

Little Eri, understandably, startled.

“No! Don’t go!” she yelled but Lamb turned only to give her a smile.

“You’ll be alright. Those people won’t hurt you.” She assured with far more confidence than she would be able at the beginning of this raid.

But Lemillion took a bullet for her and Sir Nighteye was ready to die for her… There are more good heroes she can trust other than just Eraserhead. Though now that she thinks about it… She’s curious where the real one is and if he’s alright. 

When faced with a choice to either go up to see Chisaki bashed into the ground by All Might or to look for the dark-haired hero, she chose the latter with a sigh.

Because she isn’t the kind of person who chooses revenge over people and as little as she had actually interacted with him… She supposes she would feel really terrible if he was gone. Because he’s a nice person… A good hero… 

‘Don’t get blinded by the past. It doesn’t matter what was. It matters what is and will be.’

…Yeah, he’s alright. What does it matter if she hurts Chisaki, if she even manages to kill him if someone else dies? Someone nice, who cares about a little lost child who has no one left. 

She walked through empty corridors, stumbling only upon Rock Lock dragging a tied-up man outside. She inquired whether he saw Eraserhead and moved on without a satisfactory answer. She ended up stumbling upon Suneater – another intern, one that everyone seemed to forget about because of how he just quietly sat in the background at the meeting – and the two of them quietly moved to look for the man. 

It was him who found them. 

“What are you doing here? Are all villains already taken care of?” was what he greeted them with. 

“I think so,” Lamb said while the boy next to her nodded. 

“Good. Let’s head to the exit.” he said and although with a limp, he passed them and took the lead. The two followed after him like lost kids. 

“Updates on the objectives?” he inquired instead of letting them stay silent.

“The girl is with Lemillion and Sir Nighteye. The last time I saw Chisaki he was being punched into heavens by All Might.” The girl offered. “And since everything is done with here, I will take my leave.”

The man glanced at her and upon not noticing any serious injuries gave a nod. The second they stepped outside, she separated from them and left blissfully unaware that Sir Nighteye was fully aware of her power thanks to his Future Vision.

But that was something he was going to discuss with Aizawa at later date, after wrapping things up here. 

So he, Lemillion, and Eraserhead who was still holding Eri moved outside. But on the way there the dark-haired male handed the now asleep girl to the blond, grumbling that anyone is better equipped to deal with children than him.

“You seemed to be doing pretty well from my perspective!” Mirio noted in high spirits but in a low voice so as not to wake the girl up.

“She fall asleep shortly after Lamb left.” He pointed out.

“Still! She must have felt pretty safe to fall asleep in your arms!” the blond stated and Eraserhead just sighed tiredly. 

“We should get a doctor to look at her as soon as possible. She is very likely to have a traumatic response to surroundings reminiscent of hospitals and while we can ask Recovery Girl to take a look at her, there are some examinations she isn’t qualified to do.” 

“Indeed… It would be good to be done with as many of those as possible while she is asleep… We need to be careful since we aren’t entirely sure what her quirk is.” Sir Nighteye agreed, watching his colleague carefully.

His visions are a bit blurry at the edges but he is pretty sure that Lamb hadn’t used her memory erasing ability on the brunet and that Aizawa didn’t stop her from using it on them. Which isn’t like him… But right now everything from his manner of speech to the very choice of words and mindset is flawless. It either is him or they are dealing with such a talent at infiltration that Sir Nighteye will probably never again feel fully safe talking to anyone.

“Correct. I will have to stay close since we can’t be sure when she’ll wake up and how she will react.”

They stepped outside and Sir Nighteye made sure to keep an eye on the dark-haired man while they approached their raid teammates. His suspicions were reaffirmed when Eraserhead started wandering away.

“Didn’t you mention you should stay close in case she wakes up?” he inquired, catching up to the possible fake.

The man seemed to notice something behind Sir Nighteye but just in case it was a distraction tactic, the hero didn’t look back. There are heroes around so he wouldn't get attacked from behind. 

Sasaki felt a shiver go down his spine when Eraserhead… The person impersonating him smiled. It was a sharp grin, far more lively than anything the real deal was capable of.

“I guessed that you would see through me.” he said putting his hands behind his back leisurely; it was a display of power, a silent ‘I am far stronger than you, there’s nothing I have to worry about’. “Don’t worry though! I’m not an enemy! I’m with Lamb as you’ve probably already guessed.”

“Why didn’t she mention you then? Why did you sneak in and took the shape of Eraserhead? Where is he?” Sir Nighteye asked and although he used all his stamps against Overhaul, he wasn’t about to back down. 

“My whole shtick is for people not to realize I was even there before it’s too late, you know? It would be counterproductive to tell you about my participation.” The unknown person said, shrugging. “And he’s fine. I wouldn’t dare to do anything to him, I respect him a great deal~!”

Wow, it was so strange to hear this familiar voice, see this familiar face but so very out of character…

“And why should I believe you?”

They chuckled.

“You wouldn’t and shouldn’t take my word for it. You just need to glance behind yourself to confirm it.” 

He refused to do and since he wouldn’t follow their plan, they grabbed a knife and threw it at him with speed only experienced veterans could have. What's more, they disappeared in that short moment he focused on the incoming projectile.

He swore under his breath and looked around but in the end, the only Aizawa he noticed was next to Mirio and most likely the real one. It made sense; he must have just left the hideout, making the fake want to evacuate as soon as possible so more people wouldn't realize the truth.

Sir Nighteye returned to the rest.

“Oh, Sir, something weird is going on… I definitely saw you go somewhere with Eraserhead but then he came without you and he told me he didn’t meet you at all… That he didn’t see me or you at all after we began the raid!...” Mirio explained, careful to keep his voice down.

“I’m positive it’s a case of impersonation. I believe I saw that same person at USJ, they took the form of main villain there and were able to use their quirk.” 

Sir Nighteye’s eyes widened slightly.

“Someone who can use a quirk of the person whose form they took…” he said quietly and then furrowed his brows in thought. “No, it still doesn’t make sense…”

“What doesn’t?” Aizawa asked and since Sir was confident it was actually him this time and apart from him the only people in hearing rage were his student and asleep Eri, he decided to share some of his newfound knowledge.

“Lamb seems to possess the same quirk as Eri but be more well versed in using it. I thought that it might possibly be a mysterious impersonator but I had seen them both in the same place…”

“It might have been a clone,” Aizawa noted and this time it was him getting lost in thought, remembering a detail he noted when looking at Lamb to check whether she was injured. “By any chance had this girl horn been longer earlier?”

“Yeah! Now that I think about it, I was a bit afraid of getting stabbed with it but now it’s small and round.” Mirio answered readily.

“When I was leaving the hideout with Suneather and Lamb, one of her horns was slightly smaller than the other.” 

“Hm… Then for now the most viable conclusion is that Lamb has a quirk that lets her transform into other people and use their quirk.” Sir Nighteye noted. 

“Oh right, she’s our informant, right? Her dislike to Overhaul seemed personal too…”

“She said she had been experimented on by yakuza but had been saved from them. Tsukauchi confirmed her words to be true.” Aizawa said. He promised secrecy and he held to it to the best of his abilities; he did make sure she wouldn’t be caught for helping in this case.

But she was growing to be far too suspicious to ignore. 

“Then we should be able to learn about her true identity and quirk through yakuza’s database.” 

They weren’t. Among all files and after interrogating all members, rather than answers they got more questions. Overhaul haven't even heard about Lamb before and nothing about her sounded familiar to him. Except for her similarities to Eri of course, which didn’t make sense since the girl had no siblings and her mother was accounted for in another country. 

Aizawa had questions, a strong gut feeling he knew someone who knew all the answers, and an even stronger one that the problem child number two would refuse to answer any of them.

Still. It was worth a try with their complete lack of leads.  

Chapter Text

Mikumo had seen many things in his two timelines of a lifetime. Confusing him is no easy deed and he’s confident he can keep straight face in the weirdest of situations. Still, he wasn’t fully sure how to feel when he walked into Eri’s office to a sight of Uravity – not the one from this timeline but rather the adult one – angrily playing chess with Deku while Himiko stood over them, grinning.

“You see? You can get along!”

Eri noticed him first and smiled sheepishly. She shrugged, glancing at the blonde to tell him that she would be the best one to explain what the fuck was going on.

So he cleared his throat and all eyes turned toward him. 

“Wow, I really was baby-faced.” Deku mused and Uravity looked from newcomer to him and back a few times.

“What do you mean ‘I’?! There’s no way it’s you! Look at these cheeks!” she exclaimed pointing at Mikumo who decided to walk up to them.

“What’s wrong with my cheeks?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“They are so chubby and cute!” the girl yelled and never had he heard ‘chubby’ and ‘cute’ be said in such an outraged voice. 

“I told you he was an adorable child! I mean, I even showed you photos!” Himiko pointed out and wow, Mikumo felt very outed for some reason.

“I thought it was because of some filter or something!” the girl exclaimed. 

“Can you get over my pre-growth spurt self and explain what is going on?” Mikumo inquired although he already had an idea of what was going on. Really, there was only one possibility… Alright, more if he takes into account the vast amount of quirks that exist. 

“No, I can’t!” Uravity exclaimed, throwing her arms up. “Fuck, now I know why others couldn’t get over my cheeks in high school! Look at him, so squishy!” 

“I mean, your cheeks are still super cute.” Himiko noted and Eri yelled “ditto!” from the background.

“Please stop, I have no control over my baby genes,” Mikumo said, a slight pink tinge making an appearance on his face. 

“Ladies, ladies, you’re overwhelming the baby,” Deku said, and never in his entire life had the boy felt so betrayed by himself. Ever. 

“One more comment from your traitorous mouth and I swear I’m going to punch you.” 

“He’s even cute when threatening people…” Uravity whispered somewhere between disbelief, adoration, and terror. 

“Yes, yes, I’m fucking adorable now can I get an explanation?” 

“I borrowed Twice’s blood to make clones of those two,” Himiko said, throwing her arms around the two futuristic clones. “We’ve just finished the battle of ideals and now are in the middle of bonding activities.” 

“I have no more questions then,” Mikumo noted. “I would like to hear about the yakuza raid though.”

“About what?” Uravity asked, her gaze subconsciously turning toward Himiko who grinned, not even trying to play innocent.

“It went well. Mostly. Sir Nighteye realized I was disguised but I managed to leave before they could learn too much… He knows about Lamb’s power though.”

“What?! No way! I erased his memories!” Eri was quick to deny the truth.

“He most likely has seen the future. The one in which you heal him… And delete his memories.” Himiko explained readily.

“Well… Fuck.” Eri murmured, massaging her forehead, and then looked up in direction of Mikumo and Deku. “How fucked am I in scale from one to Hero Commission knocking at my doors?”

“Solid six.” Deku offered.

“I would say more of three because according to what Himiko told me about USJ, there is a high possibility of them thinking that she is you, Lamb,” Mikumo said. “As for me… On the scale of one to Eraserhead knocking on my doors, I would give myself eight.”

“Because he doesn’t know where you live?” Deku inquired.

“Because he can check in my file where I live but would probably rather not have to explain to mom the details.” 

“Wait, files? Why would he have files on you?” Uravity asked somewhere between suspicious and curious. 

“Because I’m in the hero course, class B, of UA. My twin is in class A.” 

She nearly choked on her own spit.

“What? You have a sibling?!” she asked, shocked.

“Yeah. This timeline is a bit different from what we know from the future… Also, he’s Izuku. I’m Mikumo now. Call me Yami though, that’s what I go by as a… Well, not vigilante since technically I haven’t broken the law or anything. I’m Musutafu’s cryptid though. Anyway, nice to meet you.”

The woman, who stood up at one point, sat down. 

“Okay. That’s a lot to take in… Does it mean Deku is in the same class as me? I mean, actual me of this timeline…” 

“Yeah. You’re pretty much besties, you two and Iida. Kacchan hangs out with you three too. He didn’t grow to hate me or Izuku in this timeline.” 

Uravity looked as if he just invited a new language called Confusion and spoke to her with it while also using an artificial translator a few times so it would make even less sense.

“I actually have a selfie with them, wanna see?” he asked and she nodded weakly. 

And oh what a strange feeling it was… To see herself from high school smiling brightly, her arms thrown around ever so stiff Iida and baby version of Deku with Shinso and another Midoriya standing to their left, making each other horns. There were also two students from class B on the right; Tokage and Ibara. The former was in a magical girl pose while the latter put her hand as in prayer with a soft smile.

Oh God, how she misses high school. 

“This is madness.” She whispered, hiding her face in her hands. “I’m a clone in the past with my best friend who turned out to have been plotting with Deku who turned out to be completely different than the menace he was supposed to be…”

“I know it’s somewhat of mine word versus Hero Commission's word but I swear, everything I ever did was to stop the war from happening. If I wasn’t there it would still have happened, Meta Liberation Army wouldn’t even try negotiating then though.” 

Uraraka was quiet for a moment and didn’t move her hands from her face.

“I believe you.” She whispered and finally put her arms down, looking up, glancing at everyone in the room. “I… Had my doubts for a while. And… This, this past we are in right now… It feels familiar. I don’t know how this whole cloning thing works but I think some deep part of me remembers some parts that were being changed and collapsing when our future was falling apart… It’s really foggy and far away though, I mostly remember things I did when I last saw Himiko.”

“Time travel sure is weird,” Eri noted from her spot on the couch. “I’m still curious why exactly the four of us, me, Himiko, and those two assholes kept their memories. Yeah, we ended up traveling to the past so it makes sense that we haven’t been, you know, updated or something… But why us?”

“Either through time paradox or in timeline alpha the four of you would have somehow ended going to the past anyway. It makes sense for both you and Himiko, Ground Zero is a logical choice too since he’s extremely loyal to Hero Commission and knows the most about me. Red Riot is a bit strange though I suppose they do work well together…”

“Wait, so those two are here?” Uravity inquired. “Send by Hero Commission? Wasn’t time travel completely banned by them?”

Himiko couldn’t help but cackle the mad kind of laughter that always made Uraraka feel… Maybe not afraid but uneasy.

“Do you think they care about their own laws? They didn’t just send them here, they send them with a mission to kill Izuku! No matter if he remembered the future or not, if he was eight or sixteen!” 

The woman shuddered.

“They wouldn’t.” 

“They did,” Himiko said, her face immediately growing serious. “Mikumo remembers the future but Izuku has no recollection of it whatsoever. They nearly killed him when we got sent here initially, literal years ago. Ground Zero didn’t even fucking hesitate!”

Uraraka felt a shiver go down her spine. Because as much as she would like to deny he was capable of that… She knows he was. He would do anything to achieve his ‘objective’, to win. Once upon a time, she found it admirable even if he was rough around the edges but now… Now it seemed too much.

Because it was obvious Deku wasn’t that evil overlord he was painted as. She might be naïve but she believes she can read people pretty well and be it Deku the clone or Yami-Mikumo-Midoriya-Deku-how-should-she-refer-to-him… They don’t exactly make her nervous or even uneasy. Quite contrary in fact, the current conversation… Now that she was getting over her initial animosity… She felt like they could be pretty good friends.

“Everything’s so weird…” she mused, mindlessly pushing pawns on the chessboard since she wasn’t planning to finish the game anymore. “Bad guys are good guys, good guys are bad guys… And here we are, lost within time.”

“I like that sentence.” Eri mused. “ Lost within time… It describes us pretty well.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment, deep in thought. 

“Anyway is there anything you need me for? I came to check how the raid went since talking about it though phone wouldn’t be exactly safe.” Mikumo interrupted the silence. “I promised kids to spar with them in preparation for Sports Festival.”

“Kids?” Deku asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

“Yeah, Izuku, Kacchan, Uraraka, Hitoshi and Tokage. Iida and Ibara couldn’t make it even though they really wanted to train with us.” 

“Abandoning us to train young heroes? How cruel.” Deku said, putting a hand to his forehead. Mikumo rolled his eyes upon seeing his very own drama queen mode activated from a third-person perspective. 

“World had never been kind to you.” The boy answered and then turned toward the other three. “I will try to drop the day after tomorrow too, but I have to study too so don’t expect me to keep up with such frequent visits.”

“See you!” Eri yelled while Himiko simply waved. Her mood soured a bit upon the reminder that in their own timeline rather than attending high school like her, he was out in the world. 

The sparring session went well. Mikumo made Uraraka – of this timeline – realize that it would be good for her to invest more into her close combat abilities and proved to Tokage that while her quirk is powerful against unsuspecting enemies, those who had time to learn more about it won’t be easily daunted by it alone in one on one combat. Izuku and Kacchan were mostly duking it out, keeping their quirks on the lowest possible output so as not to destroy Inko’s little vegetable garden. Hitoshi ended up mostly sparring with Uraraka and giving her pointers.

The next morning Mikumo got up at an ungodly hour, as always. He decided to be done with Eraserhead’s questioning as soon as possible and as such went onto his usual route… But didn’t stumble upon the man.

So instead he returned home, changed into his uniform, and went to the school a solid hour and a half before the lessons. He can use that time to do some planning about ‘Baby Quotes’ since the original notebook is in disarray and he hasn't given up on the plan of giving a copy to the blond and his twin. He was just too busy with the madness of his life. 

So he either stumbles upon Eraserhead and sets up a time for a conversation about Mikumo’s suspiciously massive knowledge and connections or he works on ‘Baby Quotes’. Win-win situation, isn’t it?

So he was walking through completely empty corridors – completely empty except for Present Mic who took a second take while noticing him and greeted him with a somewhat confused ‘hello little listener!’ before going on with his day – when he noticed two familiar faces.

Aizawa was walking forward with nervous Eri looking around. The man barely raised an eyebrow at the sight of his favorite menace while the girl glanced at him unsurely. Of course, he beamed at her. It was one of his brightest smiles ever, one brought to life by endless relief and happiness at seeing the girl he pretty much adopted safe.

He expected her to look away; at that point in her life, she was afraid of most people. But, strangely, rather than doing that she just… Kept on staring, her eyes widening.

And then as if in a trance she freed her hand from Aizawa’s and walked up to Mikumo.

“Kind green eyes… And the prettiest smile…” he caught her whispering as she approached. Now he was somewhere between confused and ‘damn Lamb what did you tell her exactly?’. 

“Well, thank you.” He said while her outstretched hand touched his own but right after that she startled, making it back.

“You’re real?” she asked with an expression of deer caught in headlights. 

“No, I’m Mikumo.” He said because he just couldn’t stop himself from making a dad joke. He could see Aizawa right behind Eri facepalming. The boy ignored him, crouching down to be on the eye level with the girl, and smiled sheepishly, easily spotting her confusion. “Sorry, that was a dumb joke. You asked if I’m real and people often introduce themselves with ‘I’m name'…” 

“Oh.” She said quietly with a nod. “I don’t think it’s dumb. I think it’s really smart.”

“Thank you! I feel my humor appreciated!” he said with another beaming smile. “How about you?”

She took a long moment to think.

“I’m… Not real either… I’m Eri.” She said, looking to the side but stealing quick glances at him.

He laughed. 

“I’m thankful you told me your name, otherwise I would think you’re Smart with that clever comment!” he said and he could see a sparkle in her eyes. The one from a long, long time ago, when she wanted to smile but forgot how to. Maybe because she had been saved earlier, her lips twitched upwards the tiniest bit. 

Aah! His baby girl is growing up so fast!

He reached forward and she startled but when he tousled her hair she looked at him with wide eyes, confused about the simple notion of affection. He took his hand back and she looked at it longingly which broke his heart a bit. He would have hugged her was it not for the fact that he was afraid of scaring her. 

“You… Do you know a girl… Black hair… Green eyes…?” she asked quietly and he nodded. 

“Yeah, I know her.” He said and although she didn’t exactly smile she did brighten up. 

“Does… Can I really be like her…?” the girl asked and wow, he supposes it’s written in his destiny to be an authority figure with answers to all her worldly questions.

“You’re going to be exactly like her.” He assured in a tone of voice leaving no space for doubt. “You’re already a lot like her, actually. Just keep walking forward and one day you’ll be as strong as her.” 

The girl looked hesitant. 

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Alright.” She said with a familiar spark of determination in her eyes and then turned around, nearly running into Aizawa’s legs. She quietly apologized and grabbed his hand again.

“Problem child, I need to talk to you. Come to the teacher lounge after school.” 

“Sure thing~!” Mikumo answered in high spirit, not wanting the girl to get worried about him.

And with that, the two left… So he started working on the Baby Quotes.

Chapter Text

“I have questions.”

“Don’t we all?” Mikumo shot right back, unable to stop himself. Sometimes his sass is too powerful even for himself.

Aizawa did not look amused. It seemed he wasn’t one to appreciate a good comeback… Told in serious situation… To a very exhausted man who raided yakuza not even weak after his class got attacked by villains… And where he learned that there’s someone out there capable of perfectly mimicking pretty much anyone… Their quirks included...

“Sorry,” Mikumo said before he could feel the wrath of a man on probably no more than four hours of sleep two of which were actually a caffeine-induced delusion. 

Aizawa, mercifully, decided to ignore the comment and get into the subject they were here for.

“How did you end up in contact with Lamb?” 

“It was a chance meeting, honestly.” He answered truthfully. After all, it began all those years ago when she run into him... “But it would be worth noting that I don’t feel fully comfortable answering your question here. Anyone can walk in anytime and you know how they say it, walls have ears.”

The man raised an eyebrow.

“And where exactly would you want to discuss your relation to that vigilante?”

To be completely honest Aizawa wasn’t even surprised when they ended up in the same park where he talked to Lamb. The kid even took a seat on the same swing as she did. Looking close enough, it seemed that one had borrowed some of their mannerism from the other. 

“I want the full story of your relationship with Lamb.” The man said and unlike the conversation with her, he decided to take a seat on the nearby swing. He can feel this will be a long discussion already. 

“You don’t.” the kid shot right back. “Just ask your most pressing questions. I’ll answer whatever I can.”

After calculating all possibilities and outcomes Aizawa decided that pushing the problem child wouldn’t wield any results so instead, he decided to take what he can. For now.

“Whatever you can or want?” he inquired instead since it was a rather important distinction. 

“Whatever I want. Of all people you should know the importance of keeping secrets.” 

“And why would a first-year high schooler have secrets of similar value to an underground hero?”

“Because life has a way of fucking with me that no one sane would believe in.” 

Maybe it’s because of the whole cryptid thing or maybe just the vibe the kid has to him, Aizawa isn’t sure, but he knows that the boy’s words rung far more true than they had any right to.

“Is Lamb actually Mary?” the man asked and didn’t miss the smallest of flinches from the boy. He clearly knew the answer.

“That’s a pretty far-fetched theory, don’t you think?” the boy asked and his redirection further proved his knowledge.

“Nothing is too far-fetched in the world of quirks. So?” 

“Classified. Next question.”

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. 

“Are you in any danger?” the man asked and the boy’s expression went from surprise to confusion and then to incredulousness. It was a rather interesting mix and Shouta decided to precise, hoping to get more reactions that could tell him something. “Are you threatened by Lamb slash Mary into staying silent about the information you have on them?”

The boy took a while to think. Too long for such a straightforward question. So either it was another thing he couldn’t say in fear of being endangered or-

“No. They are safe.” 

“They are. So is there someone who isn’t?” 

The boy shook his head with a dry smile. The kind the man himself uses and is very out of place on a kid’s face.

“You don’t have to worry about it, it isn’t your problem.”

And dumber words had never been spoken to Aizawa. Even by Kaminari after shortcircuiting his own brain. 

“I am hero, problem child. It makes all problems my problem.” 

The kid had the audacity to look at him in surprise and even blink a few times. As if it wasn’t obvious already... There’s a reason Aizawa’s as tired as he is. He could, technically, throw half of his responsibilities through a window and have a good night's rest but he won’t.

Because there are criminals to catch, streets to be kept safe, kids to be taught about the real dangers of heroics... And now, apparently, an adolescent cryptid to decipher. 

“That would make for a very good spiel, you know…” he mused, looking down. His eyes seemed far away though, it was clear he was thinking deeply about something. “You know… You’re one of the most trust-worthy heroes I know… But I’m not sure how much I’m willing to share with you. There are things… So many things to take into consideration. I know you can keep a secret but would you actually do so after learning the whole truth?”

The kid seemed so much older at that moment… So much in fact that Aizawa couldn’t help but feel like whatever secret he was holding, truly was bigger than anything the man could ever imagine. 

“I would.” He assured easily. Not because he was saying those words lightly but rather because he was confident he would keep them. 

Whatever madness problem child had gotten himself into… Shouta wanted to help. And even if for whatever reason he couldn’t, he wanted to at the very least know of the situation to act accordingly. After all, it is hard to make any decision with not even half of the picture.

“I… Need to think about it. I know better than making such huge decisions on a whim.” 

Aizawa sighed, having had expected that. Though it might be for the best that whatever was weighing so much on the kid wasn’t thrown around like candies on Halloween. He had a feeling there is a good reason for the boy’s secretiveness. 

“Fine. Is there anything you can share with me right now?”

“Hm… Well, you’d probably like to hear that my twin has nothing to do with all this madness. Also, I know Mary, Lamb, whoever they are... And although they might seem very dangerous, they are good at heart. They would never hurt anyone innocent.”

“Mary literally has a body count in two numbers.” 

“So does Hero Commission and strangely enough I don’t see anyone making a fuss about it.”

“And where did you get that information from?”

“Well, it’s an approximate amount based on observations so the number might be higher.” 

“It doesn’t answer the question.”

“Anyway! If that’s all you wanted to ask I probably should keep going!” the kid said, getting up to his feet.

“Actually, there’s a very confusing part that would be good to explain. Lamb escaped yakuza experiments, correct? Why is there no mention of her whatsoever and none of the members remember anyone who could even vaguely be her?”

“Well, maybe it’s because of her quirk?” Mikumo asked, his eyes meeting the dark ones of Aizawa. 

“Maybe. But it is highly improbable for her to be able to destroy any and all evidence of her ever being in yakuza.”

“Then I suppose she’s a miracle worker.” 

And with that, the boy left. Aizawa didn’t stop him because he got to know the kid pretty well through those past few years of his cryptid career. He was extremely stubborn and if he didn’t want to answer questions, he would find a way to wriggle his way out of them even if brought into actual interrogation. Which Shouta would like to avoid. 

The next few days went by peacefully… As peacefully as they can with a rowdy class full of students getting ready for the Sports Festival. Aizawa was low-key looking forward to it to see how Shinso will do; the kid has the potential to become a great hero. Shouta already talked to Nezu and if – or rather when – the boy gets to the tournament stage he will get transferred. Really, it’s just a formality. 

Soon the day came and of course, Aizawa got wrapped into commenting with his loud-speaker of a friend. Well, at least he has a good spot to watch this madness unfold. 

Shouta managed to stop himself from both facepalming and sighing deeper than humanly possible at Bakugo’s ‘speech’. This kid, talented as he might be, definitely has a long way to go.

Aizawa fully expected Midoriya to pull something on the obstacle run. What he wasn’t expecting was Mikumo simply finishing the race without much fanfare while Izuku opted for a more explosive approach to the last obstacle, which ended up scoring him first place. 

Well, dangerous as it was, his strategy wasn’t bad. If you ignore the fact that he got ten million points and by an extent, a target painted on his back. 

Curiously enough the brothers didn’t team up. Instead, Mikumo ended up with Shinso, Tokage, and Ibara. An interesting combination, not that it did matter; they simply stayed to the side while the other teams fought, getting stray headbands here and there. Their team landed third place, team Todoroki, team Bakugo and team Midoriya taking other spots. 

And with that, the tournament began with a battle of Shinso vs Tokage. A terrible match for the boy. Since they were on the same team in cavalry battle she most likely knew his quirk and without the capture weapon, it isn’t very likely for him to win against her. She didn’t get in as a recommended student for nothing.

It began as expected, with her ignoring his attempts at goading her into answering and pelting him with body parts, pushing him to the edge of bounds while keeping a safe distance. 

But the situation suddenly changed. 

Unlike Aizawa, Midnight who was not far from the arena could hear what was being said. 

“Hey, it counts as a loss if part of the participant is out, right?” he asked at one point, throwing Tokage’s stray hand into the ground behind bounds. The heroine was about to answer but the girl beat her to it.

“What?! No way it works-!” 

“Get all parts of yourself back and then walk out of bounds.

Anyway, while Aizawa didn’t know what kind of comment had won Shinso the match, he was proud nonetheless. After them, it was time for Iida versus Mei. It was… Well, interesting. Shouta sure is happy that this girl isn’t his problem although he feels a bit bad for Power Loader. 

The next match was Ashido versus Mikumo in which the girl was very clearly overconfident. So it came to Aizawa as no surprise when the boy ended up victorious. His combat skills were nothing to scoff at… Maybe even a bit too much. 

Ibara easily defeated Kaminari and after a short break to fix the arena Fumikage faced off against Yaoyorozu and won. Hm… The girl needs to learn to act quicker and make decisions instantaneously because as powerful as her quirk is if she takes too long to create something she will always end up in a losing position.

Bakugo’s match against Uraraka ended up in a draw – and Aizawa had to remind the audience that they both are hero students for fuck’s sake, it would be disrespectful for the blond to hold back – which later had been settled by arm-wrestling match. In the end, the blond won. 

And then Todoroki froze half of the fight area which was a bit excessive to defeat Sero but well… It was effective. As was Midoriya’s tactic to bring Kirishima closer and closer to the edge of bounds while they exchanged punches and judo flip him over the ledge. 

After a break – that Aizawa used to go get himself a coffee – the next series of matches began. Shinso lost to Iida who pushed him out of the bounds before the boy could even open his mouth. Curiously Ibara took a similar tactic and immediately went on the offensive which scored her the victory. To the boy’s credit, he managed to dodge the first two waves of vines – which required a lot of skill – but the girl was relentless. She clearly knew that if she gave Mikumo any chances, she would have lost. 

Fumikage, unsurprisingly, lost to Bakugo and his bright explosions. The match between Todoroki and Midoriya was… Something else. Many glaciers and some bones had been broken but, surprisingly, the latter used his fire for the first time. And everything exploded. Both boys ended outside bonds and after getting healed up Midoriya won the arm-wrestling match. 

Ibara, taught a lesson from observing Iida’s earlier match, used her vines immediately to trip him before he could use his overwhelming speed against her which enabled her to grab him and throw him out of the bounds. She was quick to walk up to help him up – and unknowingly to Aizawa apologize for her ‘sinful tactic’ – and the two left talking. 

Bakugo versus Midoriya… That was another intensive match. But while both seemed quite skilled in close combat, the former clearly had a better grasp on his quirk. It was obvious that it had manifested far later in the problem child’s life although, admittedly, taking into account his terrible control over it at the entrance exam, he had made huge improvements. If he continues on this pace he will be sure to grow into a force to be reckoned with… And most likely a future member of the top ten hero list. But for now, he still has a lot to learn and ended up pinned to the ground, unable to continue fighting. 

Ibara was no match against Bakugo and with that, the tournament came to an end. But, of course, it was far too calm for the standards of Aizawa’s life so soon after leaving the booth and checking his phone, he learned that Hero Killer Stain had been caught. Apparently, League of Vigilantes had saved Ingenium’s ass. Though the two that showed up – clones, concluding from the fact that one of them disappeared into gray mass upon being stabbed – didn’t really fit the description of any of the people that helped at USJ. But, admittedly, they did keep their profiles low, using masks to hide their faces. 

But as it is well-known, things tend to fall apart all at the same time. Misfortune after misfortune, incident after incident... 

Shigaraki had disappeared from Tartarus with the only clue about whoever took him being a dark mass he spat out which then devoured him, leaving nothing behind. 

So, understandably, Aizawa didn’t sleep well and was on edge his whole patrol route. His classes at least had enough sense to realize he was in bad mood and stay mostly quiet. Tsukauchi didn’t get the same memo though, appearing in UA and grabbing both him and Present Mic.

He had a valid reason to do so though. 

Because they learned Kurogiri’s identity.

Chapter Text

Mikumo was having a good time. 

The Sports Festival was lots of fun. He was fully capable of winning it with all the years of experience he had but he decided to give his opponents a fair chance. So Mina who didn’t take him seriously ended up with her ass handed to her but Ibara who took him as a threat he clearly is has won. 

By the way, yet another massive change in timeline had happened; Todoroki started using his fire. And right after coming home, Izuku took down whatever Endeavour merchandise was in their room. There wasn’t much since Mikumo wasn’t a fan of the man; he knows how the ‘hero’ treats his family thanks to Dabi. He supposed his twin knows now too.

But that’s for the better. Todoroki Shouto of the future had died a tragic death because he ignored his fire side for the entirety of high school… And even after it… 

No need to think about it though! Because things had changed! 

He also already made up his mind about telling Eraserhead about the whole time travel madness after consulting with Himiko, Eri, himself – the clone – and Uravity. The past-future A students were all into getting their teacher into this insanity, the girl didn’t really mind and Deku just shrugged saying he’ll trust his own judgment.

But, you know, right after Sports Festival Aizawa seemed to be in a really bad mood so yeah, no. Mikumo isn’t going to risk getting murdered because he approached him at the wrong time. So here he is, living his life to its fullest, namely finishing editing Baby Quotes so he can print them for not two but three people. Turns out he had more Hitoshi’s citations than he initially thought so, of course, the purple-haired insomniac deserved to get a copy too. 

When his phone pinged he didn't think much about it but then he noticed that the message was from Eraserhead and instantly, he could feel cold sweat at the back of his spine.

‘We need to talk. Now.’ was written to him with an attachment of the park’s coordinates.

Mikumo didn't have a reason to feel like something was terribly wrong but it didn't stop him from getting pretty nervous. But he didn't feel like it was a trap so he saved the file, hid it under a fake name of some boring assignment – Izuku ain’t seeing it until it’s already printed – and got up.

“I’m going to the park.” He threw at his twin who looked up from his notebook with a small “Okay, bye!”. 

Soon he was in his destined location and approached the dark-haired man who seemed… Worse than usual. There was a new kind of stress bleeding into his posture and when he looked at the newcomer, Mikumo could see that his eyes were… Puffy…?

“What is Lamb’s quirk?” the man demanded and there was this tone of desperation to his tone that made the boy feel really nervous.

“Can I, uhm… Get some kind of explanation first…?” he asked because even with everything he had lived through, with the madness that his life is… This situation is too much. 

Because Aizawa, Eraserhead, is the kind of person who stays calm in all situations. Even through times of war, through the deaths of people he cares about… He always was able to move forward, putting his emotions to the side to heighten the chance of survival for those that were left. He’s logical. Yes, he definitely feels like any other person but this… This is so out of character…

“Kurogiri, the villain caught in USJ, matches the DNA of my past classmate. A boy who had died during Hero Work Studies in his third year… He is that boy.” 

“Oh,” Mikumo breathed out, deciding to take a seat on the swing because his legs felt like they were going to collapse from underneath him.

Because he’s a very emphatic person and didn’t need any more explanations to understand everything. He isn’t sure when exactly but he guesses he grew pretty close to Eraserhead – and Present Mic – somewhere along with his early-morning escapades as a cryptid. 

And he suddenly felt so guilty because he knew, he knew all this time that Kurogiri is a Nomu and knows how Nomus are made. He knows but he just- he just ignored it. Becoming part of League of Villains… His beginnings there were about as easy as one might imagine and after months with Stain, the boy got steeled to a lot of things. He learned to ignore the inky blackness just beneath the surface of the greater good he was chasing. 

He supposes he was a bit like Hero Commission after all. 

But. Unlike them, he can admit to his mistakes, to having had been too ignorant. Rather than hiding from hardships behind a carefully built wall of ‘ideals’ that won’t bend even if it will hurt others, he was going to do his best to fix it. Most Nomus might be far too gone but Kurogiri is a special case. Always had been. Maybe that’s why it was so easy to forget what he really was? 

“Lamb has the same quirk as Eri.” He explained quietly because, well, if he’s going to fix things he will need Aizawa’s help. “But she has a far better control over it.”

The man furrowed his brows. 

“Lamb is Eri, isn’t she?” 

Well, that’s the most obvious conclusion no matter how impossible, isn’t it? 

And it’s true so Mikumo nodded.

“Hero Commission can’t hear a word of it. No one can. I’ll tell you everything but it stays between us.” The boy said in a grave serious tone and the man gave one single nod, taking a seat on the other swing. “Lamb, Mary, and two others are from the future. I’m… Kind of too but not the same way as them. They got sent here whole, the same as they were in the future but I just got memories from that time… Memories and a quirk.”

“You ‘got’ a quirk? As in ‘acquired’?” Aizawa asked but he didn’t sound to be in as much disbelief as one would expect. Well, things are already far beyond the line of weirdness that boggles the mind so anything goes, Mikumo supposes.

“Yeah. That’s… Do you know All Might's secret?” 

“I might. Why?”

“Then do you know about a supervillain, the only one capable of injuring him?” Mikumo asked, not wanting to give out the blond’s secret if Aizawa didn't know about it.  

“The information about him is top secret, I know that he is gone.” 

“He isn’t,” Mikumo said and the man froze, he didn’t even breathe for a moment. “His name is All For One. He has power over the underground and managed to survive that fight although he ended up with, arguably, even worse damage than All Might. He can give and take quirks. That’s how he makes Nomus.”

“Then…?” Aizawa asked, a worry showing in his eyes but Mikumo quickly shook his head.

“No, that’s… My situation was a lot different. It’s… A long story. I know that it might sound like I’m a bad guy but let me tell it whole before you come to any conclusions, alright?”

The man simply gave a nod and Mikumo took a deep, although a bit shaky breath. It was… It wasn’t the same as telling Izuku because they are pretty much the same person even if with different experiences. It isn’t the same as Eri, who wouldn’t see a fault in him even if he did decide to just take over the world because why not. Aizawa isn’t one of the league members who did drastic things and had a rather different look on things.

In the end, Eraserhead is a hero. 

“I was a single child. I… I always wanted to be a hero. When I was four I was diagnosed quirkless and since then everyone told me to give up on my dream… No one thought I could make it… And kids weren’t exactly nice. It’s hard being a stupid little kid without something everyone else has, you know? But I wasn’t going to give up, I wanted to help people more than anything in the world… When I was ten, I think, a new person transferred to our school, Toga Himiko. We became friends. Others didn’t become any nicer but she didn’t care about them… Well, she was ready to fight them for me but then she’d get a mark on her record and we wanted to go to UA together so she couldn’t… Sorry, I’m rambling. Anyway.” Mikumo took another deep breath and glanced at Aizawa. His face was unreadable but there was some emotion showing in his eyes. Anger, understanding, or focus though? The boy looked away before he could tell. 

He looked at the sky and continued.

“In the last year of junior high I… Had a pretty bad day. It’s important because otherwise, I wouldn’t go that path, I’m sure of it. So, the thing is, a person that used to be my best friend before the whole quirkless reveal told me to take swan dive off a rooftop and hope for a quirk in my next life and burnt my hero analysis, something I made in hopes of making up for the lack of power with knowledge… Anyway, Himiko was already changing her shoes so thankfully she didn’t hear, she would definitely do something stupid. On the way home we got attacked by a villain, the sludge villain, and it nearly kind of drowned me but then All Might showed up and I really wanted to ask him if someone without a quirk can be a hero like him, because he was my idol but he didn’t have time… I ended up grabbing onto his leg while he was jumping. That’s how I learned about his secret, he was out of time. And then he told me that someone without a quirk can’t be a hero.”

“He landed on a rooftop, didn’t he?” Aizawa cut in, not looking pleased. 

“In his defense, he had no way of knowing I just got suicide baited. So anyway, I got down… The normal way, not by jumping, and I hear explosions and my body just goes to look what’s going on, on autopilot. And I see the guy who told me to kill myself getting suffocated by the sludge villain and I just run in because fuck my survival instincts I guess.”

“Bakugo suicide baited you?” Aizawa asked in a rather dangerous tone.

“Not the one in your class! This timeline him isn’t a racist asshole!” Mikumo was quick to assure. This Kacchan definitely didn’t deserve getting thrown under a bus, especially for the faults of a person he even isn’t. “You’d be surprised how much one responsible adult around, although in a child’s body, can change… But back to my tragic backstory number one, I threw my backpack at the villain’s eye and grabbed Bakugo’s hand but I couldn’t really get him out with my back then noodle arms… But Himiko came to the rescue, pretty much slashing the sludge villain with her book. She’s… She always had been talented in fighting. Her intervention gave heroes a chance to act and they caught the villain. I got berated for trying to help and while I do realize I was extremely reckless, no one was doing anything and Bakugo was suffocating, okay?”

It was a rhetorical question and as such, Aizawa didn’t reply.

“So… he and Himiko got praised and you know… It was pretty obvious for me back then that she was completely different than me, that if I stayed I would just drag her down… Which I now know isn’t true but back then I felt like a misfortune just waiting to happen. So I run from home and I kind of… Stumbled into Stain… And he ended up being the only person ever except Himiko who told me that quirk or lack thereof doesn’t matter, it’s the spirit that makes a true hero. He trained me for a while but I just couldn’t agree with his methods and then I got a brilliant idea to join the League of Villains. Listen, I know it sounds insane but it made perfect sense for me to go there and try doing some damage control… By that time I think I was starting to grow some confidence. Anyway, they… Well, you remember guys from USJ, the ones that came to help, I mean?

“Yes, my head trauma wasn’t bad enough to forget them.”

“Okay, so, except Lamb all of them were in League of Villains. Life takes us on wild rides, you know… So anyway, Shigaraki decided to attack summer camp and kidnap Bakugo because in my timeline he kind of ended up showing a far less heroic side on sports festival and yes, he was far worse than ‘I-will-destroy-you-extras’ Kacchan of our time. Think what you want but I don’t regret ending up with them because otherwise, I don’t know what would happen. There were two villains, Muscular and Moonfish, who were hellbent on killing kids… I might or might have not neutralized them. Sorry, but if a nearly seven feet tall man finds it a fucking game attempting to murder a five-year-old while gloating about how he killed the kid’s parents I don’t think the world will miss him. Anyway, not just Bakugo but also Tokoyami got kidnapped. They were fine though, heroes came to rescue and then All Might fought All For One… The whole world ended up seeing his true form, you know, the lanky skeleton one but he won. The league managed to evacuate though. Do you think it sounds bad?” 

The man raised an eyebrow.

“It isn’t the worst part yet, is it?” the man answered, his voice and face perfectly neutral.

“You bet it isn’t. I’ll skip some details and just mention that we took yakuza down and rescued Eri before another madness began. Namely, Meta Liberation Army. They picked up a fight with the league and Shigaraki ended up defeating their leader, Re-Destro, who swore allegiance to him. It was bad, really bad because Shigaraki’s goal in life was to destroy. I… I couldn’t let that happen, I didn’t want innocent people to die, to lose their homes just because he likes to wreak everything on his way… He got hurt pretty badly in his fight against Re-Destro so under the pretense of getting him healed, Eri used her quirk on him. She didn’t have as much control as she does now so his memories got Rewinded too, to around the time of USJ where he just mindlessly followed All For One's command. So I slowly started taking over the league and the army. I know it sounds bad but the only alternative was to just... Let him go bulldoze the world!” 

“I get it. It was a logical decision.” Aizawa noted and Mikumo felt a weird sense of relief.

Now for the hard part… 

Chapter Text

“…So I became the supreme leader of New Japan, I’m not the one who came up with this title, and I swear, I did everything I could to stop the war but I could literally do nothing. I kept Meta Liberation Army from acting and I negotiated as long as I could! I managed to get All For One to take a back seat and kindly not go on a murder spree on anyone, even All Might! I kept Tomura from trying to destroy everything, I didn’t sell Hawks out as a spy… But it wasn’t enough. Hero Commission refused to talk things out, they backed away every single time we were about to reach compromise! It just wasn’t possible to stop the war from happening, everyone wanted to fight and I could do nothing about it! And even then I did everything I could to limit bloodshed… Hero Commission isn’t someone you can reason with though. At one point they tried to kidnap Eri! It’s actually you, Hitoshi well Mayhem, and Lemillion who stopped that scheme. But anyway, I’m getting all over the place now… The point is, Hero Commission was losing and they called for a backpack from other countries. Which didn’t help all that much so they offered to negotiate. So like a naïve idiot I guess I’m yet to grow out of being I went there. And I got shot in the head. Eri and… Eri used her quirk in warp gate and I got sent into the past but things went out of control, I think, and I got Rewinded all the way to fetus. I know it sounds insane but yeah, that’s what happened. My quirk awakened and it assembled me into the closest safest state, somehow I managed to hold onto my memories although at first everything was… Foggy. But then it clicked that I’m in the past.” 

For a moment, no more than a second, Aizawa hoped it was the end of this tragic tale even if he knew better.

“So you know, I just went on with life, planning to this time somehow stop all those things from happening, fix everything, not let anyone die… Unaware of the fact that the future Hero Commission wasn’t done with me yet. That timeline started changing and they ended up sending people to the past to kill me. Yes, you heard right, to fucking murder a child. If Himiko didn’t disguise herself as one of the three people sent here, Izuku would be dead years ago. If my quirk wasn't awakened I would have gotten killed on the day of the sludge villain attack. So, anyway… Lamb is Eri from the future, she made the League of Vigilantes to get everyone she could from going the wrong path. For the most part she thought I didn’t remember since she stumbled into Izuku first but after getting my neck snapped by future Bakugo I met Dabi and got to talk to Eri through him. Then she managed to reach Himiko, Mary, in USJ and now we’re all in contact. So... Uhm… I know it sounds like a lot of possibilities of the world ending but don’t worry! I’ll figure it all out!”  

You know… There are days when you think the worst possible had already happened and life can’t take a turn for worse. But then the problem child number two decides to tell you the full truth about himself which consists of a war-ridden future and you suddenly realize that no matter how fucked up things are, they can get fucked up more. 

Aizawa took a deep breath. In and out. 

“Is there anything else I should know about?” he asked calmly. 

“Uhm… A lot of things probably… Any questions specifically?”

“You mentioned Toga Himiko going to the hero school. Is there a specific reason she didn’t in this timeline?” he asked because he is confident he had heard about her. 

About her stabbing her classmate and disappearing from the face of earth to be precise.

“Shortly before her family moved here Izuku got attacked in a park by the guys from future sent to kill me, I think her family decided against moving in here because of that, and… Himiko is a specific person. The easiest way to put it… I would say that without me around to nerd with her about things others find weird she kind of… Snapped. She must have been under a lot of stress with everyone expecting her to be their kind of normal.” 

“What are you exactly planning to do with all this knowledge of the future, do you have a plan in mind to stop the war from happening?” Aizawa asked because even if the kid looks like… Well, kid… Technically, mentally, he’s probably Shouta’s age, and wow, isn’t it weird and off-putting. 

“Yes, actually. Take down League of Villains, let All Might deal with All For One, make sure he doesn’t get freed nor Rewinded into his prime… And become part of the Hero Commission. Since Re-Destro swore allegiance to Tomura for kicking his ass, if Himiko does that and takes control over them, with me on the other side we might be able to actually get a compromise this time. Meta Liberation Army’s demands aren’t that world-changing, you know. Just more freedom to use quirks.”

That was weirdly acceptable. Aizawa wasn’t sure what he was expecting but it definitely wasn’t quietly wrapping things up. 

“Anyway, what quirk exactly do you have?” he asked because while technically he could live without that information it seemed rather important to know. 

“Overhaul. And since its awakening, it passively brings me back to the safest state when I’m unconscious. Also, just to spare you confusion… Himiko’s quirk went through kind of… Power up and that’s why she can use the quirks of people whose forms she takes. This timeline Toga can’t do that. Please don’t ask for details about it, it really isn’t my secret to give.”

For some reason, Aizawa’s mind went to the other Midoriya and his suddenly manifesting power. There one kid’s quirk suddenly becomes far stronger and here another one spurts a completely new power… What more both of them in such case are or were – or will be? Future timelines are weird to think about – in UA.  

“Who was sent here apart Bakugo?” he asked instead, to be more ready for someone going after problem children. 

“Kirishima. Their hero names are Ground Zero and Red Riot, by the way. They aren’t likely to be using them though since they definitely wouldn’t want their past selves to get wrangled into this mess.”

Aizawa gave a nod and took a moment to just… Think. This week is already killing him and it’s Tuesday. But it was double mined; yesterday he learns about Stain getting caught – which, at least, is good news – and Shigaraki escaping. Today he had a reunion he really wasn’t expecting and that made him fully ready to actually kill someone. While he’s at it…

“And, uhm…” the kid interrupted the silence, probably thinking that Aizawa’s glare was his fault. “Just for the record… I had no idea about, you know, Kurogiri… I mean, I know that Nomus don’t appear from thin air I just…. It’s not something I really wanted to know about and… Yeah… Sorry…”

Aizawa couldn’t in clear conscience say ‘it’s fine’ because it absolutely wasn’t. But honestly, wasn’t the kid as much a victim of circumstances as Kurogiri who although aided villains somewhat ‘willingly’ didn’t really have any other choice? It’s… It’s a complicated situation.

Shouta believes the kid though. While there were many things he didn’t know about him – up to this point at least – he also grew to learn quite a bit about him. Supreme leader of crumbling timeline or not, he isn’t a bad person. A rather lost one at most. 

“Rather than apologizing tell me whether you know where the person who did this to him is.”

The boy furrowed his brows.

“I can tell you how he looks. He’s the doctor that took care of All For One after he got injured… And he was a quirk specialist in this area years ago. By this time, by now I mean, he probably receded to his hidden lab… I can’t give you the exact location because even in my timeline he was pretty much untraceable but I’m sure if I get Himiko to help me we will be able to get some kind of trail.”

“Is it possible that he’s hiding in some kind of hospital?” Aizawa inquired, keeping his voice perfectly calm although he was feeling far too many emotions to count. He was disappointed at the lack of solid info but happy at the possibility of having more clues than just ‘hospital’. He was terrified at the prospect of that man acting in daylight, pretending to be a normal doctor. He was angry but also felt like getting his hopes a bit higher than they were just hours ago… 

“Most likely.” The boy answered. “And relating to the question you began this conversation with… Lamb is fully capable of Rewinding him, without any risk of taking him too far in time. She can both Rewind just body or both body and mind but with the brainwashing that was done, I think it would be better to go for both… And I know you probably want to get your friend back as soon as possible but I won’t let her do that before All For One is caught. If he learns of her ability we’d all be fucked and I’m sorry but I’m not risking battle comparable to nuke between All Might and him-“ the kid was steadily picking up the speed and although Aizawa could understand he decided to stop him.

“It’s only logical.” He said because yes, he would do pretty much anything to save Oboro from what he had become, to have him return to the happy easy-going teen he once was… But that doesn’t mean that he’s suddenly going to throw all caution to the wind, especially not when waiting a little bit longer won’t destroy his chances of getting his friend back.

In truth, acting rashly could end up in Shirakumo getting taken again, him and countless lives at that. Aizawa isn't going to take such a huge risk just to see his friend sooner. Even if it hurts... Even if it feels as if he’s betraying him. 

“Okay, okay, good… We can probably deal with the league and All For One before summer camp… It’ll be a tricky situation though. All For One has quite a few Nomus at hand and we absolutely can’t let him know that we know. As of now, we have an advantage because he thinks that everyone thinks he’s dead. Around this time Tomura will try to recruit new members but the core members of the league are in Lamb’s league. What's more, I know the location of both his main hideout and the place where they hold most of the Nomus. The only unknown factor is the doctor but he lacks any actual battle power, the most he can do is to use Nomu he keeps close by to transport people to himself. It works by spitting a dark liquid so he can’t really use it on All For One because of his injuries.” 

“It’s better to first find the location of the doctor before attacking. Otherwise, we risk him getting away.” 

Mikumo nodded, furrowing his brows.

“I’m afraid I might need to tell Nezu and All Might about my… Situation. I’m positive that with the principal’s intelligence and the few clues I have we would be able to find a doctor relatively quickly… But it wouldn’t be worth anything if we don't get All Might on board. The Nomus in this time shouldn’t be too strong with exception of the one from USJ and Lamb’s group would be fully capable of slowing them until heroes show up if not defeating them all. Though with you on the board I’m sure you’d be able to get a secret team to stay close to the spot of danger and step into action when necessary… I mean, technically, I could probably take Tomura and All For One down with Himiko’s help but repercussions from Hero Commission and society would be pretty bad, not even mentioning that heroes would probably try to step in taking me as danger-“ once again the kid started accelerating up, now to the speeds Aizawa was starting to have problems with so he decided to comment. 

“In All Might’s case, I can simply tell him of an informant that gave me info about All For One but Nezu would most definitely realize the truth with only scraps of information.” 

The boy sighed.

“That’s for the best… I’m pretty sure Nezu isn’t on exactly good terms with Hero Commission and it might be good to get him on it all, to have him on my side… Yeah, I guess that’s what we’re going to do. I’ll go to him sometime this week and talk about this whole thing. I can help with this timeline Eri too, I’ve already helped her get her quirk under control once so obviously I have quite some experience in dealing with Rewind.” 

“While we’re at this subject, what was that on the corridor? She’s terrified by everyone except the heroes she saw at the raid. Or at least she was until seeing you.”

“I think Lamb mentioned me to her and she recognized me from whatever description she gave then.” 

“That’s enough for today. I will come to you if I have any questions but for now, I need a coma.” Aizawa said, getting up and shuffling away.

“You mean nap?”

“Coma.” He corrected and left.

He’ll definitely get Present Mic on board of raid on the doctor. Midnight too. Though he rather not tell her about Kurogiri’s real identity, not for now at least. He can barely deal with his own emotions and he knows that Nemuri will have no less reaction than he or Yamada. She and Oboro were a team during their second year’s Hero Work-Studies and grew pretty close during that time. After his… Passing… She took it badly enough that they didn’t see her in school for a whole week and most were sure she wouldn’t return, that she would give up on heroics. 

She didn’t. 

Rather she returned with a new kind of determination, of anger running so deep she was more likely to take over the world than to give up on becoming a hero. Both Aizawa and Yamada could relate to that feeling. 

They were all going to become heroes and protect everyone, their colleagues included.

Chapter Text

You know… To be completely honest if Mikumo had to choose between facing Nezu or All For One he would actually choose the latter. 

Not just because he somewhat knows how to deal with the centuries old super villain. In truth it was more because manipulative as he might be, the man has far too much boorish strength. And that makes people overconfident, vain… And most importantly, likely to overlook some details. The villain might believe himself above it but the truth is, all his careful planning always used his overwhelming power as the main ingredient. 

Nezu, on the other hand, is weak. Yes, he could most likely stab someone in the eye with his paw but overall, he isn’t exactly strong. His speed and reflexes while better than for an average person, aren’t all that deadly. To be completely honest even the intelligence isn’t worth all that much unless you take into account one more feature of the principal. One Mikumo shares with him.

A drive. 

Resolve to keep going. Determination to change something. The mammal could use his intelligence to get rich fast and live peacefully. But he didn’t. Instead, he opted to fight against discrimination and not only become a figure of power but a principal of possibly the best hero school in whole Japan. 

He shares quite a few similarities with Mikumo and that’s exactly the problem; the boy loses in the intelligence department and he can’t be even sure his own determination is higher than the principal’s. This isn’t the kind of losing battle he is used to, because up to this point he could always use wit, he could persevere. But how do you face someone who uses the exact same tactics but better?

Nezu would be a perfect ally but also the worst nightmare as an enemy. 

Mikumo wasn’t as worried as one might expect though. After all, in the future he knows the principal didn’t jump on bandwagon of hatred toward Deku. Rather, he stayed to the side, observing and calculating. Whose side he was truly on? No one’s. He cared for his fine establishment and its students. That’s why UA was one of the very few schools connected to heroics that kept on going until the very end. They didn’t try to pick up a fight until absolutely necessary.

It was a gamble. Because well as Mikumo might understand Nezu, he doesn’t know him all that much. He can only guess. That’s why when he sat down to talk to the principal, he didn't try to ignore the initial conversation about tea. They discussed it, both finding green tea too light for their taste and the atmosphere became deceptively light. 

“As much as I love our little conversation I believe there was something important you wanted to discuss with me!” the principal finally says and the boy takes a deep breath. 

He knows what he wants to share; everything. Not in such detail as with Eraserhead because he knows Eraserhead. He trusts him. But with Nezu a bond needs to be built and while to do that information must be shared, there are details that Mikumo would rather keep to himself.

Maybe as a faraway promise for the ever-curious principal or maybe as a sign that he isn’t stupid. Perhaps he simply isn’t willing to give away such things as his greatest advantage – his extremely powerful quirk – or bring trouble to Uraraka by mentioning Uravity. Either be it because he is worried for the domino past can cause to his present friends or he just wants to keep his strengths close, the case stands that he hides nearly as much as he shares.

And the principal listens. Unlike Eraserhead he doesn’t let anything show through his body language and neither does he comment at any point. He lets the boy go from the beginning to the finish of his tale and then takes a moment to form his conclusions.

The cogs are turning at top speed as the last word of the past future leaves Mikumo’s mouth. The principal exudes an air of extreme calmness as he lifts his cup and takes a sip, not saying a word until he puts it back down. 

“While I had my suspicions, I certainly did not expect my most far-fetched theory to be true!” the mammal finally says, putting his claws together. “I believe Aizawa already knows of your situation?”

The boy simply nods.

“I see, I see!” the mammal continues, seeming rather cheerful. But it doesn’t answer Mikumo’s biggest worry; which side will he choose in this timeline? If any... “I must admit, that is quite a lot to process but not a very hard situation to take my stance on!”

“Well, I’d like to believe most would find my approach sensible… But Hero Commission proved me wrong in thinking my thought process was not just logical but also for everyone's best interest.” Mikumo noted since the principal clearly was waiting for an answer of some kind. Most likely to take a better read on his interlocutor’s body language. 

“Ah, yes, Hero Commission…” Nezu said in a light tone but his whiskers twitched in what Mikumo was hoping was irritation. “Regrettably I also found myself unable to reason with them on multiple occasions. I am glad you opted to come to me with your interesting situation! I’m afraid stopping war takes the kind of mindful subtlety Hero Commission is incapable of.”   

Mikumo managed to stop himself from sighing in relief and instead smiled. Technically speaking he couldn’t be fully sure the principal didn’t in fact decide to take him down but was keeping him blissfully unaware… But sometimes you need to stop overthinking for one damn minute and just go with whatever you believe is the right choice. 

It took him a while to learn that lesson.

“Also, technically speaking… Since in no way was I ever planning to time traveler and had been subjected to it against my will, I didn’t break the law. I have a loophole for anything anyone could technically accuse me of.” 

Nezu cackled and you know what? From the little he knows about the principal, he thinks it’s a good sign. 

“Wonderful to see we are on the same page.” The principal said, taking a sip of his tea again, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “And once you become hero, upon doubt you can pardon keeping any secret by stating it is an info of a great detriment to national safety.”

Mikumo couldn’t help but grin. It was definitely going far better than expected. 

“I see… Now, do you still have time, sir? I brought data I managed to compile on the doctor I mentioned and I hoped we could begin our investigation.” 

Nezu’s body language changed ever so slightly but it was enough to tell that there was a deep fury simmering under his skin. 

“I am happy to hear you are willing to begin.”

By the time of internships, they didn’t just have mad doctor’s location but also All For One’s and a well-detailed plan of action. Mikumo joined Nezu for the work studies so he could legally help with the case. Technically, he couldn’t do too much in the field without a quirk but he could help with the evacuation at the very least. 

That was the excuse at least. By now he trusted the principal enough to tell him about his power and they agreed that if things were to go south, he would use it and they would chalk it up as him finally discovering it because of the grave danger he was in. 

The only people suspicious would be those in-known about One For All since it's well known that it's impossible for identical twins to one be born with a quirk and the other without. Since one of them had been given such, the other had to be as well. Unless they had, in fact, had a quirk in the first place after all-

Anyway. Everyone got to their positions; All Might kicked in doors to All For One’s lair, Mirko went after Shigaraki’s location and a few heroes had been sent to the location of Nomu hangar. Namely Mt Lady, Endeavour, Edgeshot, Kamui Woods, and the entirety of Wild Wild Pussycats who acted as if they were on vacation right until the action began. 

The doctor, meanwhile, had his doors kicked in only after learning about the attack on All For One and his forces. Even with few Nomus he kept at hand he had no chance against the trio of Present Mic, Eraserhead, and Midnight. Lemillion and Sir Nighteye were there too with a few other underground heroes but they were more of a backup, making sure no one would be able to leave the location.

Overall, Mikumo would say it went smoothly. Yes, All Might’s secret was out but the biggest threat had been taken care of. As of now, the boy was thinking about his next steps – which included Himiko beating Re-Destro so badly he would abdicate – while leading people away from the area at risk of crumbling.

“You should leave it to us and take a break, you did a great job, kid!” Tiger said, giving his head a pat while passing him. 

So Mikumo started walking toward an area that was at less risk of a random brick collapsing at his head because… Well, he supposes he can take a moment to think. Even if he has an idea of how to deal with the Meta Liberation Army, current timeline Eri is getting great progress, and getting Kurogiri back to being human with Lamb’s help won't be hard, there’s still the problem of-

As if reacting to his thoughts something shot right toward him accompanied by a loud explosion and flash of light. He, of course, ducked down but even then the blond managed to grab the back of his costume and throw him into a nearby wall. He hit it hard enough to leave a dent in the concentrate. A small one, unnoticeable from distance but that anyone close by would be quick to spot.

“What the fuck are you planning?!” Bakugo snarled, stomping toward him right after landing. 

With so many heroes still around someone was bound to come running upon such noise. So rather than fixing his injuries with Overhaul, he left them be to avoid questions. This much pain he can deal with any day. 

“Ground Zero what are you doing?! There are heroes all around, we need to go!” Red Riot hissed, catching up to his partner and grabbing him by the arm to drag him away.

No matter how many years had passed and how much Bakugo grew though… There was one person who could always bring him to the edge, to the boiling point that took all rational thought away from him... Who made him hyper-focus when he should be carefully observing and planning instead. 

“No! I need to know what this fucker is trying to accomplish by speeding things up!” Bakugo answered furiously, pulling his arm back. Not to free it but rather to throw a punch even with Kirishima holding him back. 

Mikumo, of course, leaned his head to the side. Just enough for the incoming fist to make a smoldering crater in the concentrate. 

Well. What attack would have exploded his skull like watermelon. Not that it would kill him... Probably. 

“I’d think you’d at least have enough sense to run, villains!” 

Kirishima managed to harden his skin just in time but Bakugo had no such luck. 

Miruko came barreling toward them like a torpedo and while her kick only pushed the former a few feet away, it sent the latter skidding in a way that looked painful. Even by Mikumo’s standards. Not that it stopped the blond from getting up. 

He and Kirishima both had dyed their hair – former to brown and latter to blue – and wore lenses so the heroine wouldn’t be very likely to recognize them as their younger selves. With the bad lightning and the whole weirdness of time travel, she wouldn’t be very likely to think of those kids… As long as they didn’t give too much of their skills away. 

That’s why Kirishima knew he couldn’t use Red Riot Unbreakable and Bakugo could barely use his quirk at all. Unlike Hardening which could be chalked up to some random protective power, Explosions were far more distinctive. 

The blond knew when to retreat. So he lunged forward and using his knowledge of Mirko’s fighting style that he obtained during one of his internships, he managed to cut her. He wasn’t happy to have to make a run for it but her arrival cleared the cloud of anger that was holding onto him only seconds prior. 

Kirishima learned to understand Bakugo’s thought process so well he started running perfectly a second before the blond dashed. 

Miruko glanced at Mikumo who instantly gave her a nod toward the escapees and since the victim was fine she readily gave a chase. Hey, he’s a hero student of UA so he must be a tough cookie! 

The boy sighed and reached for his communicator. He’s pretty sure his shoulder blades are at least fractured. 

“I’ve just been attacked by two unknown individuals. Miruko gave chase. I need medical attention but can make my way to you.” He said. 

“Stay there,” Ragdoll answered. “Your shoulder blade is broken, you should move as little as possible.”

Well, good to know… And it’s probably for the better that he didn’t fix his injury. The chance she was paying mind when he got hurt was pretty slim with all the rescue effort that came after Nomus freeing but he wasn’t willing to risk it. He will keep his quirk secret as long as possible for strategic benefit. 

Soon enough Pixie Bob came with two golems holding a stretcher. He definitely could walk all the way to the medical tent on his own but oh well, they are professional heroes so he isn’t going to argue. And, to be honest, his body hurts. But what else to expect? As always, Bakugo pulled no punches when it came to him. 

So. He ended up in a hospital and even with a healing quirk at work to speed up the process he still had to spend the next day resting. Technically he needed two months for it to heal fully but after getting his forceful rest he returned to UA and got it healed by Recovery Girl. 

It wasn’t fun. But you know what, contrary to expectations, was? Talking to his mom.

“Broken shoulder blade is extremely rare what were you even doing?!”

“Walking.”

“Don’t you dare sass me, Mikumo! What happened?!”

“I was literally just walking when a mad man went barreling into me. I dodged but I ended up hitting a wall pretty hard. Then Miruko came to rescue and I ended up in the hospital getting super bored.”

“Don’t talk about it in such a light tone! What if something worse had happened?! What if you hit your head instead?!”

“Mom, please, I’m fine.”

“You have a broken shoulder blade! It isn’t fine!”

“I won’t within the next two days or so thanks to Recovery Girl. Really, there’s nothing to worry about. You know, we need to experience everything in our lives and it would be unfair for only Izuku to get to break his bones-“

“Don’t even joke like this!”

“Sorry, sorry. But you must admit, I’m shouldering it pretty well!” 

There was a long moment of silence on the other end. 

“Come on, mom! Should-er I cry about it? I mean, it isn’t some kind of breaking news!”

Despite herself, Inko snorted. 

“Mikumo, you really shouldn’t joke about it… Although I suppose, my needless worrying just puts more on your shoulder…”

He laughed heartedly at that and after a moment she did too. After he finished that conversation he took a photo of himself in the hospital bed and sent it to his twin with ‘I lived’. 

The answer he was graced with was; ‘What about the person that did this to you?’.

Chapter Text

Losing Miruko while hard wasn’t impossible. After interning with her and later many joint efforts Katsuki knew her fighting style and movement patterns better than possibly herself; since she was a decade or so younger than when he last saw her. 

So yeah, escaping her would have been a challenge but not an impossible one. And Kirishima’s mobility and sneaking abilities increased drastically since they got sent to this dark hole of the past. They improved in general which could have been something to celebrate... Was it not for the fact of the madness they had to go through. Keeping themselves hidden, trying to get rid of not one but two Dekus... And as if that wasn't enough there was also Toga, the traitor, and some new fucking league on their tails.

They weren’t supposed to attack until summer camp because it was the best chance they would get with Midoriyas now attending UA which, you know, is pretty much an impenetrable fortress. And Deku isn’t stupid, he’d expect them to be accosted on his way to or from school. 

Katsuki is the one who came up with the plan. He always is when it comes to the actual killing part. Loyal as he might be, Eijiro is a huge fucking softie who wouldn’t be able to take someone permanently down even if his own life was in danger. So he’s usually the distraction while the blond is faced with the hard part. 

But when they were changing their location – fucking Spinner found their last camp – something big happened. 

The fight between All For One and All Might. The one that wasn’t supposed to happen until much later. They watched with equal terror as other people, countless terrified eyes on a huge screen. 

They knew the man would win. In their timeline. But in this one…? So much had changed! Nothing is the same because that fucker Deku is going around changing things! But what does he want to accomplish with this? What is his plan? 

“Maybe he really is trying to make things better…” Kirishima whispered ever so quietly when All Might triumphed. Here too his true form ended up being exposed to everyone but, admittedly, his fight went far more smoothly than in their timeline. There was less destruction, and no civilian All For One could use as a distraction… 

But. Even if everything pointed to things going better Katsuki wouldn’t let himself be deceived. He wouldn’t be like that fucking idiot Toga – but she had always been biased, wasn’t she? Ha! Deku had brainwashed her before anyone could even guess how dangerous he is! But Bakugo always knew, didn’t he? That’s why he always hated him, right? That’s the reason he bullied him, that’s the reason he was an asshole! – because he is better than that. He knows the truth and knows what needs to be done.

So he went running. They weren’t that far away from that madness and since it was Deku’s fault he’s sure to be near, to do whatever his evil plan entailed… 

The blond just run through the streets, through back alleyways, and crossings for a while. When his stamina inevitably run out he simply slowed down but didn’t stop moving. He needed to find that idiot, he needed to stop him from starting a war that would take so many innocent lives, so many good amazing heroes-

He saw the shade of green he was incapable of mistaking for anyone else and lunged.

God, he was so angry he fucking lost control over himself! Forgot how delicate the situation is, how acting before thinking is only going to make this mission fail! And that’s exactly why he ended up chased by number two- no wait, in this timeline Hawks is still alive, Best Jeanist is fine too, so she’s fourth? Or fifth? Whatever! It doesn’t matter, what does is getting away-!

He barely managed to stop before getting himself impaled on red feathers.

“I see you need help, Miruko!” Hawks called out, landing and cutting off Katsuki’s and Eijiro’s escape route. 

The blond could probably escape if he gave it his all. But there was no way in hell he would be able to get his partner with him nor that people wouldn’t realize his connection to his current timeline version. But even then Katsuki isn’t one hundred sure he would be able to run away, he never got to work with Hawks so he doesn’t know his exact fighting style or the level the man is on right now.

“You think I wouldn’t catch up to them? Ha! You must have dropped your brain on the way here!” she answered.

Both he and Kirishima dropped into fighting positions even though they knew they couldn’t possibly win this fight. Not without going on all out, without making it obvious that they had the same quirks as two kids from Sports Festival. What terrible timing… On any other day, the heroes might have seen the two as lesser danger, giving them a chance to escape. But today… 

They got caught. Not without a fight but in the end, there was little they could actually do.

Time travel is forbidden. Not in a light sense. Not even in the way murder is. 

The world is in general agreement that any time traveler from the future would be either locked up for the rest of their life or silenced. The only real exception could be made in the case of the world's complete destruction but since it was technically only Japan in danger, the protocols would be adhered to. That is not something the Hero Commission would ever be lax on. 

Because if someone learned to time travel they could change the history however they wanted. They could break all that is known to humanity, possibly even make it go back in evolution. Travel between alternate dimensions is alright because in the end it’s more of a single change but an actual time travel? It breaks the future or rather the present people know of. 

There is a reason why Bakugo and Kirishima had to stay silent. While their timeline Hero Commission found the situation bad enough to send them back in time, the future one would surely adhere to the laws and find it outrageous to send time travelers because of ‘simple war’. 

After all, even All Might facedown against All For One, the reveal of his true identity, wasn’t big enough to opt for time travel. Although, technically, it wouldn’t be impossible to go back in time and kill the villain before he gained power. But on the other hand, there’s always the silent question of; what if they did try that and ended up giving that terror of a man a powerful quirk of future? What if they already traveled and only made things worse?

Additionally, if other countries learned of this, of Japan trying to save their own ass by sending time travelers it would not end well. 

But that’s just because no one would ever believe that initially quirkless boy – one that looks like he couldn’t fucking hurt a fly – would one day be fully capable of taking over an entire country, possibly even the world because who knows with that fucker. And once branded insane, no one would believe either him or Eijiro. 

So the only thing they could do was not giving away too much and escaping before the truth was out. Katsuki isn’t exactly a mastermind of biology but he’s pretty sure that DNA changes ever so slightly with every passing year, part of it at least… Hopefully, it would be enough for authorities to deem the two of them some kind of relatives of their-current-timeline-selves rather than them.

That’s a stupid hope. He knows. But what the fuck else does he have? Years of keeping to shadows, of caution fucking gone because he couldn’t keep his damn nerves on a leash for five motherfucking minutes!

The ‘it’s not your fault’ look Eijiro sent him before they got separated made him want to scream. 

Because it is his fucking fault. 

‘Everything is your fault, actually.’ The voice in his head returned with vengeance. The fucker had been awfully quiet lately, seems it had been just waiting for this opportunity. ‘Do you really think you’ve seen through Deku’s mask early on? Ha! Stop kidding yourself. You know he was just a kid and you made his life miserable because you’re a cruel fucker. It’s your fault he became a villain. It’s your fault you had been sent to kill not one but two kids. It’s your fault you two got caught. Deku was right to look down on you. You’re a failure.’ 

He wasn’t fucking insane enough to argue with the voice in his head! So he didn’t. Instead, somewhere deep inside, he agreed. 

Because this is true. He had done terrible things and because he got scot-free back then consequences returned with a very high interest rate. And you know what? It would have been fine if it came to bit only him in the ass! But why does everyone else has to suffer too?!

So. Like a little bitch he supposes he turned into when he wasn’t looking, he ended up spending all his time before interrogation on throwing a pity party. Fan-fucking-tastic. He had become the best hero like he always wanted. The actual best in being the fucking worst! 

He immediately knew something was wrong upon entering the room. Because Eijiro was already there and the two of them sat right next to each other, their hands cuffed to a metal desk and fully encompassed so as not to let them use their quirks. It seemed… Suspicious to keep them close.

When the doors opened he looked up with a snarl, ready to play the role of a crazed villain that wasn't actually a hero from the future who came to kill some evil ass overlord. But his expression instantly morphed into surprise upon seeing a familiar, slightly hunched silhouette walk in. In the corner of his eye, he could see the quiet terror he too was feeling mirrored on Kirishima’s face.

Aizawa put his coffee down on the table and sat down.

“Bakugo, Kirishima. I believe we need to talk.” He said, and Katsuki had never in this timeline felt so horrified. Including the early showdown between All Might and All For One, snapping a kid’s neck just to see him completely fine a few days later, and all the times Toga nearly impaled one of the things he needs like lungs or eye. 

“Sen-“ Kirishima started, getting teary-eyed but Bakugo slammed his shoulder into his friend’s. Eijiro turned to look at him and whispered “He already knows.”

Katsuki realized that already. He just… He just wanted to act like he could take control of the situation back. But he couldn’t. He felt exactly as lost as when he began UA, when he could barely look into Toga’s eyes because her hateful stares reminded him that his actions made Deku- back then Midoriya, just Midoriya the quirkless boy, run away from home. 

He was once again Bakugo Katsuki who suicide baited someone he once, although very long ago, had called a friend… Someone who even then came running when seeing his bully in danger. 

Bakugo Katsuki who snarled and yelled ‘I didn’t need your help!’, putting as much poison as he could into an obvious lie. Because he was too weak to admit to the truth. He was too weak to be a good person and save his very own future… Because yes, he is the one who destroyed everything.

He knows that. He isn’t stupid after all. But knowing and accepting something… Those are two very different things.

“I’m very busy so let’s not dawdle. Nezu had taken over the investigation about you two, everything said here will make its way to him.” Well. Fuck. “He and me both know where or rather when you’re from and what you’re trying to accomplish. Now, I would like to know if two of the students I have deemed to have potential really find it acceptable to attempt murder, and on children at that?”

Eijiro’s eyes became glassy at the disappointed look they had been given. Glare would be fine. It would be far better alternative to this… Maybe not exactly sadness or condemnation but rather unspoken ‘I know you two are better than that’. 

For fucks sake! Right now they both are as old as the man if not older! So why?! Why is it so hard to talk back to him?! 

“He told you, didn’t he?” Katsuki spat, quick to connect dots. Nezu, as smart as he might be, wouldn’t know for sure without firm proof. Something none of the two had given him. “Deku manipulated you! What kind of bullshit did he tell you?!”

“That after he ended up as leader of New Japan he got shot during negotiation talks and was accidentally sent to the past. Hero Commission dispatched you and another person to come here to kill him.” 

The blond froze. What… That’s the actual events! Why the fuck would Deku say it all?! Why didn’t he make himself into a victim who did nothing wrong and had madmen going after him?!

‘Your past actions made him into enough of a victim, you know.’ The little asshole in the back of his head whispered. Bakugo wishes he would at least sound like Deku or even Toga rather than himself. 

“If he told you the actual truth you should know how dangerous he is!” Katsuki continued although he knew, oh he knew so well that it was a lost cause.

The disappointment in his teacher’s eyes together with his own guilt, with the past few years of stress… It was wearing him down. He was… He felt lost. His conviction might be made of a diamond but contrary to what old-time advertisements liked to say diamond isn’t forever. It can chip too.

“It is true that with his knowledge, connections, and skill he is extremely dangerous.” Aizawa agreed and the incoming ‘but’ was palpable. “But so is All Might… And I would like to believe so am I.”

“But you are good people, heroes! You save people! He killed people!” 

Why was he arguing? He knows he isn’t right. Not fully. Something felt wrong from the very beginning, from the moment of being given this mission… Of course, it did! Killing a kid would never feel right! But it was for the greater good, wasn’t it? 

It was to save people, not to win. He swears, he doesn’t care just about winning anymore, unlike the person he had been all those years ago, like Bakugo Katsuki who carelessly hurt people around him just because he could-

“And so were you planning to do. Do you admit to being bad people then?”

At this question, Eijiro couldn’t take all the emotional ballast any longer and burst into tears. 

“I never- I didn’t- Hero Commission told us that’s the only way to stop the war! To save everyone! It was supposed to be a mission to sacrifice ourselves to save everyone!” 

Aizawa’s disappointed stare was now aimed directly at Katsuki. 

“I am.” He said quietly, possibly for the first time in his life looking down. Admitting to his complete, utter defeat. “I am a bad person.”

“Do you think a bad person can change?” 

It was such a loaded question. If Katsuki agreed it would mean that he could become a good person… A hero even with all the mistakes he had made. Even the gravest ones. But it also meant admitting that Deku can change, that instead of trying to kill him they could have… They should have helped… 

They could have ignored Hero Commission and risked everything just for the slim chance of saving everyone.

Like heroes do.

“I don’t know.”

But even after all this time… Maybe exactly because of all this time… 

How could he possibly admit to being wrong?

Chapter Text

“Why do you complicate things so much for yourself?” Bakugo asked incredulously, sitting down next to him and Hitoshi nearly choked on his apple juice.

“Huh?” he managed through incoming coughs, looking at the blond with an expression of a very confused deer caught in explosive headlights. Mikumo patted his back with enough strength to make it hurt without it counting as assault. Still, it helped him catch his breath. That or he just already coughed all apple juice that went into the wrong hole.

“You always go for those elaborate ways of getting someone to answer you. Why don’t you just go ‘I’m going to punch you’? Or ask some extremely stupid shit like ‘nice crocks where did you buy them’?” 

“Well, it would be silly to ask villains about their crocks,” Uraraka said. 

“Silly and effective,” Todoroki noted, a new addition to their ever-growing table. Well, now they have two; one taken by Bakusquad and the other for United Midoriya Forces. Don’t ask. 

“You see? Even that dense bastard gets it!” the blond yelled and ignoring Ibara’s offended gasp – she made thirteen only this week and it’s Wednesday – continued. “And it is no less silly than shit-talking random villains. What are you going to say? ‘Your mommy issues are showing, did you forget to do your make up this morning?”

Mikumo who made the mistake of trying to eat some rice promptly choked on it and was Hitoshi not so intrigued in the conversation he would have taken revenge. Instead of him Izuku did so, patting his twin’s back with far more strength than necessary, and that guy can literally throw fridges.

Still, after getting his breath back the boy laughed so probably that tear in his eye was from amusement, not pain.

“That’s highly insensitive!” Iida yelled, chopping the air and accidentally sending his pudding flying. Setsuna threw her hand to grab it before it could assault some poor unsuspecting student. “I’m sorry! Still, you shouldn’t use your quirk without permission, Tokage!” 

“Yeah, yeah, love you too.” The girl answered which resulted in both Iida and Ibara making some unholy noises. 

“Back to the subject. Your advice is highly appreciated and shall be tested.” Hitoshi said very seriously and the blond crossed his arms with a huff.

“It better be! I don’t waste my time sharing my thoughts with those who can’t even tell how fucking amazing they are!” 

Izuku raised an eyebrow, glancing at Mikumo who had his phone under the table, typing down the mommy issues comment. That wasn’t weird. It was the title that made it strange; ‘Baby Quotes 2’.

“Oi, shitty nerd one and two! What are you looking at!” Katsuki yelled, kicking Izuku in the shin. Did he suddenly sprout mind-reading quirk or what?! 

“My phone.” 

“Micchan’s phone.”

Mikumo answered at the same time Izuku did although the latter, understandably, sounded as if he was in pain.

“Making notes? Good.” Katsuki said proudly, blissfully unaware of the gift he was going to get on Christmas. He and two others. 

“Anyway! I’m super excited for the next internships! I had blast on my last one!” Tokage said grinning from ear to ear. 

“Me too!” Izuku said before cringing. “Even though I did get kicked around a decrepit building by an old man.” 

“I have so many questions,” Todoroki said, yet asked none of them. 

“But for once you didn’t end up in a hospital,” Mikumo said with a grin.

“Unlike someone else.” Izuku pointed out with complete deadpan.

“Life is about trying new things! And how many of you can cross breaking your shoulder blade off your bucket list?” 

“Why the fuck would anyone want to experience a broken shoulder blade? It sounds worse than insomnia and trust me, insomnia’s a bitch.” Hitoshi said, furrowing his brows.

“Anyway! I still can’t believe some random sicko attacked you! And right at such big scale action at that! Don’t villains know better than, you know, attacking people when there are dozens of pro heroes still evacuating civilians in the area?” Uraraka asked incredulously.

“I guess I just have that effect on people,” Mikumo said with a shrug.

“Of criminals randomly wanting to kill you even if they risk getting caught?” Iida asked in genuine confusion. 

“Exactly. Maybe that’s my hidden quirk? Sure would be helpful in a hero career.” 

“You are very confusing,” Todoroki commented without showing a sliver of emotion on his face.

“Yeah, and I take great pride in it. Not everyone can bamboozle others with their mere existence quite as well as I do.” Mikumo pointed out, and after a moment of silence with a thoughtful expression on his face, the two-colored boy nodded. 

“Guys, we have five minutes left until the next class.” Uraraka reminded them and then stuffed her mouth with food. 

No one had to be told twice; they all respected their teachers too much to be late for such a stupid reason as discussing Mikumo’s weirdness. Even if it is a power to be reckoned with. 

The class went by calmly and afterward both twins ended up staying behind, both giving an excuse of ‘having to talk to a teacher about something’. 

“I wonder if they are just committing crimes or something,” Hitoshi muttered, for some reason walking part of the way to his bus stop with Bakugo. 

The blond rolled his eyes.

“That fucking nerd would literally break both his arms to stop crimes.” He said.

“Mikumo is a fair game though.”

Bakugo glared at him and wow, Hitoshi feels slightly afraid for his life. Though, to be fair, he mostly got used to that feeling accompanying him whenever he was hanging out with the blond without a meat shield between them.

“He better fucking not. Now back to the important stuff. If you need a response insult their pet. Everyone had a pet at some point in their life.” 

“So… How about I stroll up to a villain and go ‘is it your dog or your brother’?”  

The predatory grin on Bakugo’s face was both terrifying and counted as a sign of approval. 

“I knew you have some surviving brain cells!” the compliment sounded like an insult but Hitoshi was used to that.

Just like Izuku, by now, was used to getting bombshells dropped on him. You know, it would be appreciated to learn about All For One, mortal enemy of One For All, from All Might before his twin. But it would be even nicer to get the full story of the two brothers before the man went and fought his arch-enemy, showing his true form to the entire world. Well, at least he still has some leftover embers so if someone tries to attack him thinking he’s weak now, they would quickly learn that they are wrong but-

“I’m sorry my boy, I should have told you about it all sooner. I’m just still getting used to being a mentor and all the responsibility that comes with it.”

Well. It’s not like Izuku could ever be angry at his life-long idol. Even after getting his dream initially shattered he couldn’t bring himself to hate the man so… Yeah. After all those months of training together and even getting ice creams at one point, the man could yeet Izuku across Japan and the boy would just accept it without a word of protest. Though, maybe, with some yells of confusion and fear because a flight over the country didn’t sound all that appealing without some protective measures- Oh yeah, the man is probably waiting for an answer.

“It’s alright but it would be nice to know those kinds of things earlier… Not that I’m blaming you for sharing it just now! It isn’t like you waited years to tell me that! I just… Even if All For One is neutralized, I still rather know about the existence of someone capable of taking and giving quirks.”

“Again, sorry, my boy. He’s… Not exactly someone I want to talk about.” 

“Well, obviously… But there must be someone or something about One For All that you like to talk about and I like all information I can get to better understand this quirk. Like… If you don’t mind me asking… How did your own predecessor use it?”

Blond’s eyes shone with a special kind of admiration the boy would probably glimpse in his own eyes when talking about All Might. The man readily went into a tale of a woman who taught him how to smile and who could face anything head-on, with her quirk literally letting her look from above at the city, checking for trouble and protecting civilians. 

While they talked Present Mic parked.

“Are you sure it’s possible? I mean I want it to be possible so badly but what if I get my hopes high and get them smashed into tiny little pieces just like glass does when I-“ he said pretty much the same exact thing in the different wording for the ninth time while everyone left the car. 

“As long as someone isn’t dead I can bring them back to whatever state they had once been so if the guy is alive and had once been someone else I can bring him back to being that someone else,” Lamb explained irritably. She was pretty excited to be able to help and she could understand the worry but come on, there’s only so much needless stressing she can take!

“It’s the best shot we have. But even if it doesn’t work… We won’t ever give up.” Aizawa stated solemnly, instantly bringing Eri from mildly annoyed to nervous. 

“Actually, it’s more likely that we would just have to adjust strategy if Lamb’s power doesn't work the first time around because of some genetic technicalities,” Mikumo said, managing to stop himself from rambling about how Kurogiri’s gate kind of counts as living matter, like plants, since Eri was able to use her quirk on it but it wouldn’t rewind him so she probably has to touch specifically the physical part of him. 

“Very reassuring,” Aizawa muttered as they walked inside. 

Getting this arranged was a pain in the ass and it was done in record time only thanks to Nezu. But with Kurogiri – someone connected to All For One – involved Hero Commission, of course, took interest. They wouldn’t just let some random person get involved. And a vigilante at that? Yeah… No. Pretty much impossible.

But. There was a deal made; they had been told that Lamb has an extremely powerful healing quirk and in exchange for letting her keep her privacy she would help with not just Shirakumo but also All Might’s injury. It actually worked spectacularly for everyone because Hero Commission thought they were all smart and in control by first testing her abilities on Kurogiri before, possibly, getting their symbol back. 

But in fact, it was Mikumo getting three objectives done; two people healed and Lamb would have a bit of immunity from Hero Commission. Stupid as they might be, they could never pass the opportunity of getting a ‘powerful pawn’ and in their eyes, the vigilante was simply following whatever they demanded of them.

Mikumo was here as an extra curriculum activity. The cover-up story was that he showed so much potential in quirk analysis that Nezu wanted to have him take a look at Kurogiri and take notes for he is a child prodigy that might see what everyone had missed. In reality, he's here because even if he believes that Hero Commission thinks they are in control and as such won't try anything… Well, they don’t exactly have a good track record in anything that involves him or those around him. 

Plus, he actually is pretty good at analysis and if Eri's quirk doesn’t work as they hope it will on the misty man, he’ll hopefully be able to figure out why.

So they took their positions. Mikumo was on the other side of the glass, simply observing, while Present Mic and Eraserhead escorted Lamb inside. Blond stayed close to the doors while the dark-haired hero walked up to Kurogiri with the girl, his eyes soon shining red to keep the risk of the villain's sudden escape to zero. 

“With such numerous visitors, I must admit to feeling quite nervous…”

He had been ignored. Eri reached forward and put her hand on the physical part of his body, took a breath to calm her mind, and activated her quirk.

She let the mind and body align, both going back and back and back- she furrowed her brows, the familiar crackle of her power flowing with more and more intensity. Faster. Stronger. There were so many things to rewind, so much pain to get rid of. 

When black changed into white she grabbed the metaphorical reins and slowed her quirk. She wasn’t sure how far she should go if any further at all, so she just took rid of some more serious-looking injuries that showed right after he returned to more human form but decided to leave the memories be. She had a feeling his mind was far enough already.

She turned her quirk off and took a step back, steadying herself. Her fake pair of horns stayed the same size, but underneath one, her own shrunk to half its previous size. 

“I think he’s fine but you should probably try waking him up to check.” She said although she kind of wanted to stay quiet. Eraserhead clearly was having an emotional moment. But! Making sure her job had been done correctly is more important! There will be time for feelings later!

The man, as expected, managed to calm himself down with just a single, deep breath. He then put a hand on a shoulder, a very human one, and shook lightly. 

The boy’s eyes shot open and he gasped. He nearly headbutted the hero with his sudden movement. 

“I’m alive?!” he yelled and then looked around, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on. His eyes, understandably, jumped from Present Mic to Eraserhead. “Okay, so, is this like some kind of super weird hospital? And you got a decade older because of stress? Because I’m pretty sure it isn’t how heaven is supposed to look… Though that girl could definitely pass as an angel.”

Eri supposes the onslaught of nervous chatter was normal for the boy because Present Mic rushed forward and grabbed both him and Eraserhead into a hug. Which must be pretty uncomfortable since the latter is strapped to a chair but well. Emotions over furniture, she guesses.

“Guys, I love you too but can you explain what is going on? The last thing I remember is an incoming building!”

‘Welcome to the future.’ Eri thought, some part of her amused with all the time breaking she does.

Anyway! Time to set up a healing session with All Might. 

Chapter Text

“You’re telling me that Hero Commission has someone who can heal All Might's injury? Without any risks? And they are mentioning it just now?” Sir Nighteye asked incredulously, putting the cup with his coffee down.

Tsukauchi sighed. 

“That person is a vigilante actually. Their healing quirk is powerful enough that Hero Commission is willing to just let them be as long as they cooperate.” He explained. According to official information, she was most likely the one who had informed them about locations they used to get All For One down. 

The detective knows that it isn’t fully the case. But Aizawa didn’t want to give him the full story and Naomasa trusts him enough to believe that it is for the best. 

“Hm…” All Might mused. “Is this the same person who helped with the raid on yakuza? In any other case, it would be hard to believe they would actually ignore such a powerful vigilante… But if they are providing so much information and help Hero Commission would be shooting themselves in foot if they tried to go after her.”

“You got your stomach impaled, right?” Gran Torino asked, turning toward Sir Nighteye. “How much chance of survival would you have if she didn’t step in?”

The hero able of glancing future pushed his glasses back, making them shine in a rather unnerving way.

“Less than five... If medics came immediately that is. Every passing minute lowered my chances of survival considerably.”

“She’s a miracle worker then! What are you complaining about?” 

Tsukauchi cleared his throat.

“Yes, I have talked to Eraserhead. Apparently, her healing ability can even fix brain damage. She managed to bring Nomu to its human state.” 

“Well, can you sign me up for a meeting with her? My spine could definitely use some of that miracle-working.” Gran Torino noted. 

“Please keep in mind that she is an extremely mysterious vigilante powerful enough for even Hero Commission to give her some leeway. That’s practically unheard of.” Tsukauchi said, entwining his fingers. 

“And we still don’t know whether her quirk is actually healing or does it have transformation quality to it.” 

“We don’t. Eraserhead does.” Tsukauchi said and kept perfectly calm in face of Sir Nighteye's angered expression.

“Why would he keep such important information for himself?!”

“Because it’s classified. We all know the importance of keeping secrets. Before you say anything, no. He didn’t tell me the details but he assured me the situation is under control and of no threat to society. If you must you can contact him to further discuss it.” 

Sir Nighteye sighed, forcing himself to calm down. He trusts the underground hero and realizes that it would be counterproductive to try hogging him up for answers. If he can’t provide them then he can’t provide them; it’s as easy as that. 

“So… Are we in agreement it’s best to see whether this mysterious vigilante can actually heal up my wound?” All Might asked and promptly got hit with Gran Torino’s cane.

“Have you lost your brain in your fight against All For One? You have a chance to get your stomach back what there’s to think about?!” 

“I don’t know it’s just… It sounds too good to be real. Getting my injury healed? Just like that? For years the best of medics told me it’s a lost cause and no quirk can help!” 

“And they were wrong.” The old man answered easily. “What, are you worried about not being able to use your quirk?”

“No, actually, I still have some embers left and with my body back in its top form I could probably go for another year, possibly even longer…”

Comparing his leftover power to fire, he had three full packs of matches. With his current state, he would burn a whole one just to get back into his buff form and the other two would probably be enough for four to five hits. But without the need to transform… In his peak form, he could just take matches one by one yet they would still create enough power for him to take most criminals down in one punch.

“Then your paranoia is even more stupid!” Gran Torino stated angrily. It was his way of showing worry. 

“He’s right. Lamb, that vigilante, has quite some trust in Eraserhead and would be very unlikely to come without him escorting her and if she tries anything, he can easily stop her.” 

“The choice is obvious then.” Sir Nighteye noted, taking a sip of his coffee. Not without sending a glance toward Gran Torino, quietly asking why all his mugs are either chipped or cracked. The man ignored him.

“Yes… It is…” All Might said, letting himself feel a sliver of hope.

He still has been teaching classes since his fight at Kamino but now that everyone knew of his other form, it's the one he was using. It made no sense to waste his leftover power in a safe environment since he never knows when he might need to act one more time. 

But this… This whole thing, it was a promise of a return to his prime. Yes, he doesn’t have One For All but rather its fumes but with a healthy body, it would be fully enough. He could throw a good punch even without it. All his skills, experience… Even if he just got his stomach back and had to build his muscles from the very beginning, he would be thankful beyond words. 

But that’s too sweet of a thought. That’s an impossible dream and he knows better than to believe in it too much. He was confident that he killed All For One and how much was it worth? That’s why although slightly hopeful he wasn’t confident he could be healed.

His mind wouldn’t shut up though. The meeting had been set up to take place in two days, on UA campus, and he just couldn’t keep his positive streak to a more realistic standard! 

‘It’s would be nice. I could teach young Izuku just like Nana thought me. He wouldn’t keep on seeing me coughing up blood. None of us would have to worry about me kicking the bucket anytime soon…’ 

He turned from side to side, sometimes also laying on his back. Those positive thoughts made him too jittery with excitement to fall asleep!

‘Sir Nighteye’s vision was wrong. I didn’t die even though so many years had passed- even he admitted that something changed. Maybe that’s what changed? That strange vigilante?’

Finally, he sighed and got up, walking up to the kitchen to get a glass of water

‘I could see my successor grow into a fine hero… Nana would be happy too. She tried so hard to stop All For One so I could be safe, so I could live long…’

He let his head hit the table with enough strength that the glass flew an inch into the air. Thankfully it didn’t land weirdly and only a bit of water was spilled. 

‘I could do training exercises in which students would face me instead of just standing to the side and yelling encouragements…’

“Realistic. Be realistic!” he yell-whispered to himself. 

‘But what if it is realistic?’ 

And you know what? He gave up on trying to not let his hopes get too high. If it doesn’t work his heart is going to crumble into tiny shards because he’s a positive idiot who just can’t help but wish for what he can’t have. Well, if it is a hill he dies on he can’t really complain anyway.

The thought… The possibility is pretty sweet after all.

With that, some of his jittery excitement changed into a serene feeling. It no longer was ‘maybe’ for him. Now it was a promise.

The hesitation returned when he walked into Recovery Girl’s office where the vigilante was already waiting with the woman talking to her while Aizawa stood to the side, probably to make sure the heroine wouldn’t overwhelm the newcomer.

Looking at Lamb again, he was reminded of just how young she seemed. Of course, she was older than his students – because she is, right? She has a very youthful face… – but she couldn’t be possibly older than twenty. 

“I am here!” he said cheerfully, completely ignoring his worries. “I see I was the last one to come? I’m sorry, I had some paperwork that urgently needed going through…”

The girl shuddered, whispering ‘ugh, paperwork’ under her breath. Well, he supposes in her usual everyday life she’s a busy young lady!

Recovery Girl went to sit on her usual stool and Lamb looked toward the hero.

“So… You might want to sit down. I heard you don’t have a stomach, right? It’s going to be pretty painful, getting it back I mean. And anesthetic wouldn’t work since my quirk would take them as something to heal too.” She said and in one moment her complete calmness morphed into slight nervousness. It wasn’t very obvious, her words just became slightly faster and she offered more than was strictly necessary…

It kind of reminded him of young Izuku’s rambling. 

“A little pain is nothing to me! Believe it or not, I have been through a fair share of not exactly pleasant wounds… Missing stomach included.” He offered with an encouraging laugh.

“Well, you are the number one hero…” she admitted and walked up to him as he sat down. “Ready?”

He nodded.

It definitely was a far different kind of pain than anything he had ever felt before. Definitely not as bad as getting his stomach ripped to shreds by his arch-nemesis though. It was a bit like sore muscles but upped to an impossible degree and he could feel them through his whole body, insides included. 

And he felt so confused. He knew time was passing but it felt as if it was going backward. Honestly, whether someone would tell him that hours or seconds had passed he would believe both because he just couldn’t tell. 

And then as suddenly as it came, it stopped. 

He took a deep gulp of air, he’s pretty sure he forgot about the importance of breathing somewhere along that weird experience and promptly started coughing since his lungs weren’t ready for such a sudden intake of oxygen. He instinctively put his hand up to stop the blood from splattering all around the floor but none came. 

Lamb patted him on the back.

“Come on, choking on air would be a really stupid way to die.” Her words barely registered as he stared down at himself. If he couldn’t see both Recovery Girl and Aizawa in his peripheral vision, if that girl wasn’t right next to him, he would have thought he time-traveled back to the time before his fight against All For One. 

He barely could stop the incoming tears.

“Uhm… So… It’s probably a lot to process so I’ll just… Go…”

Before she could though he grabbed her into a hug, lifting her into the air.

“Thank you!” he said, his voice easily sliding into its booming quality now that his diaphragm was fully functioning again. He couldn’t stop his tears anymore although, to his credit, they weren’t even half as powerful as young Izuku’s. “There are no words that could convey my gratitude!”

“You can then do that through action, not suffocating me to be precise!”

“Sorry.” He said, letting go of her. She landed gracefully, as expected from a vigilante. 

“It’s fine. I’m happy you're happy.” She said quickly not sure how to react to All Might, back in his buff form, hugging her all of a sudden. He’s lucky she kind of expected this kind of reaction, otherwise, she might have instinctively start rewinding him again, with memory too since that’s what her power does at default settings. “So… Yeah… I’ll take my leave so enjoy your stomach?”

“If you ever need help please come to me, I will do my best to repay your kindness.” The man said very seriously and she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Come on, you don’t help people just to get something in return so why do you think I would? It would be weird to hold helping you once over your head!” she said.

All Might isn’t her favorite hero. She’s very close to Izu- Mikumo. In the future of theirs, he told her once the sad tale of his meeting with the blond after she asked how he ended up where he was. After that, even after Deku assured her the hero didn’t mean anything bad, she hated him. But with passing years she grew to understand that her idol still held a lot of respect for the symbol. It made her a little less hateful.

And now, in this timeline… Well, she could understand why he was so well-loved. He was ready to throw everything on the line to protect others. That’s admirable. 

“I didn’t mean it like that!” the man quickly assured. “It’s just… Having my health back means being able to live longer… To be able to watch the younger generations grow… And that’s a blessing I would feel terrible not even trying to somehow pay back for.”

She shook her head. It seemed that even now he was thinking more of others than himself. Huh, that selfless mindset reminds her of a certain someone. 

“Just don’t die because that would make a lot of people sad.” She said and left the room with Aizawa following after. 

Since she was already here she wanted to visit this timeline’s Eri.

Chapter Text

Toga, or rather Mary, took deep breath and grinned.

The fight wasn’t easy. It was fun, it made adrenaline pump through her veins and her heart beat faster. Nowadays there weren’t many opponents who were strong enough for her to be so battered after a battle. 

“I won.” She said simply, standing over Re-Destro with one leg keeping him to the ground and pointing a knife at him. Although it wasn’t inches away from his neck, many slashes he had already acquired made him understand well that her aim was impeccable. 

The fighting around Deika had died down completely because now everyone was watching with wide eyes the clash of titans. Of a small, unsuspecting woman jumping between forms and keeping up with the beast that was Re-Destro. 

At his defeat, his followers yelled his name in terror but they didn’t dare to move with the sunlight giving the knife a glint everyone could notice. 

“I admit my defeat.” He said quietly, taking in her battered form. Although her injuries must have hurt terribly, she was smiling so widely… She... She truly was the perfect emblem of their ideals. She was so in sync with her ability! He then turned his head toward the crowd. “Everyone! I have been bested and it is clear that this lady had understood Destro’s teachings far better, embracing her meta ability in a way none of us could! From now on you shall call her your leader!” 

After which he looked at her again. 

“If you are willing to let me move, I would like to show my respect to you, leader.” 

She stepped back and although he didn’t even have enough strength to stand up, he moved to a sitting position and then bowed to her.

She wasn’t surprised by how easily it went. Yeah, obviously the fighting part was a close call on more than one occasion but overall, Mikumo’s plan went without hitch to this point. She wouldn’t have believed Re-Destro would give up on his position so easily had it not come from her best friend but since he was confident it would be the case… Well, then it must be the case. And it obviously was.

To be honest, although the technically hard part was done with, it was now the most irritating one to her. The man sure went quick from talking down to her into a loyal puppy. Even though he couldn’t exactly move after all the injuries he acquired he still followed her with help of his most trusted followers and let her go only after she promised she would be back after meeting up with her healer.

Usually, she would sooner crawl away than take anyone's help but when Twice came to offer his support, she let him. Crazy as he might be… Or maybe exactly because of that… She likes the guy. She did ever since she first met him, all those years into the future. In the current timeline, their friendship grew even stronger. On their way he mentioned that Deku-clone – unsurprisingly – ended up getting destroyed. His recklessness never changes, does it? 

Uravity – the clone, of course – joined them a moment later. It seemed that she managed to dodge everything up to this point but ended up flying to the other side of the city. With her and Twice, Toga got back to their headquarters and promptly facepalmed the sofa in Eri’s office.

“No! Do you know how hard it is to get the blood off leather?!” the young woman was quick to comment, walking up to her and slapping a hand on the blond’s face.

Seconds later Himiko was as good as new.

“I know, I know, we just need to clean it off quickly!” she chirped, able to feel the exact same jittery energy she did right before facing Re-Destro. “I need dry cloth, soap, and water!”

Eri quickly went to get the needed items and after watching Toga clean the sofa for a moment she started taking blood stains off too. 

“So… How did it go? You looked pretty banged up.”

“It was awesome! I didn’t have such a close fight in forever!” Toga answered with a huge grin that soon morphed into something… Nostalgic. “How about you? You healed All Might yesterday, right?”

Their whole organization didn’t have a moment of peace since, well, the epic takedown of All For One. But now that everything was done with and even Meta Liberation Army has been somewhat taken care of… They finally have a moment to talk.

While cleaning Eri’s favorite sofa that Toga bloodied. Oops.

“Yep. He was very happy to have his stomach back.”

“Obviously.” Toga said in a ‘duh’ tone and Eri laughed. “I meant it more as ‘did you accidentally Rewind him into a teen or something?’.”

“Of course I didn't! I have great control over my quirk!” the young woman huffed indignantly. “And Mikumo got info on how long exactly All Might got his injures so it was easy to go just as far as needed. It would be very bad if someone learned what my quirk actually is. Extremely powerful healing? Generic enough. But Rewind? If someone who shouldn't, realized I’m Eri, it definitely wouldn’t end well.”

“Yeah… We can’t let just anyone learn about us coming from the future…” Toga said quietly but quickly brightened up. “But~! I don’t feel bad at all that those two future assholes got themselves caught!”

She hated Bakugo for a long time but Kirishima… In her eyes, he stopped being her classmate… Her friend a long time ago. Back in high school, even though he was close to the blond she still liked him. He was nice and bright, in that regard he reminded her of her best friend. Honestly, it was hard to dislike someone like him even if he was a bit intense. But who in their class wasn’t in some way?

She misses that boy, that hero. The one that would never ever hurt someone innocent. 

“Yep. They deserved it. Like, come on, ‘yeah we come here to save the world but oh look, Mikumo just helped take down one of the biggest dangers so let’s go and kill him right now!’” Eri said, donning her exaggerated tone meant for mocking people. “Seriously! How blinded can someone be?! I’m not sure if I should be terrified of Hero Commission brainwashing powers or humanity’s stupidity!” 

“Be of both then.”

“No, I am a fearless young woman. And, anyway, how could I give Hero Commission that satisfaction? I shall never be even remotely scared of them!” 

Dabi entered the room perfectly in time to hear her declaration. 

“I fully agree with fuck Hero Commission sentiment but what is going on here?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I spilled blood on the couch,” Himiko explained and herself of this timeline pushed Dabi to the side to get inside. 

“Whose blood?” she asked with a huge smile.

“Mine… Well, probably some of Re-Destro too.” The older one of them said with a shrug and grinned. “It was a beautiful fight.”

“You should have recorded it for me! Not only you take all the fun, but you also don’t even take any pictures or anything for me!” 

“Sorry, I was too busy stabbing and trying to not get killed.” 

“Anyway, others think we deserve a pizza party for this victory and send me to negotiate since I have an obvious advantage with my looks,” Dabi said, putting his face in his hands without changing his expression from deadpan at all. “Also Toga threatened to stab me in my sleep and last time I checked, there was light hair in my closet so I’m not risking it.”

“I wasn’t in your closet!” this timeline Himiko stated indignantly.

“Oh really? Whose hair those were then?”

“Didn’t Spinner adopt a ginger cat recently?” Eri asked raising her eyebrow. “Also, a pizza party sounds awesome. I want pepperoni.”

“Good! I’ll go tell Twice we can go get balloons!” teen Toga said and happily run out of the room.

“Who the fuck gets balloons for a pizza party?” Dabi groaned and then he turned to the Himiko who proudly stood up over the couch that no one would suspect of having had been full of bloodstains just minutes prior. “Hey, you remember we’re going into the second phase of the Haunt Endeavour plan next week, right?”

“Of course I do!” she said looking at him as if he was stupid. “I have Midnight’s blood and Mikumo is all on board so you can break all the stuff you want with us still able to keep the illusion of it all being just a nightmare~!”

Eri wasn’t even going to question and rather gave them thumbs up.

“I’m proud you’re above killing your abusive asshole of a father and rather had opted to torture him for years to come.”

“Me too. Come on, how could I ever be so stupid to think that just murdering would cut it? Everyone knows consequences of your own actions haunting you and slowly making you go insane are the best.”

That’s the moment Mikumo chose to walk in with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m not sure if I’m disappointed that even without context I know exactly what you’re talking about or that I’m actually willing to help you.” 

“Hey, it’s either this or kill Endeavour so you’re technically saving a life,” Dabi said with a shrug. 

“Come get a seat! You need to hear all about how I kicked Re-Destro’s ass!” Himiko chirped and patted the freshly cleaned sofa. The bowl with reddish water, soap on the table, and a white rag colored with crimson warned Mikumo not to be surprised if he sits on someone’s blood. 

He decided to take that risk while Dabi rolled his eyes and left murmuring ‘I’ve lived through it’. 

Himiko happily told the boy of her battle, how she used blood samples from Uraraka – she’s a blood donor, partly because she likes to help and partly because of free chocolate… Well technically not free but paid with blood – to send Re-Destro up and then un-marbled spikes Mikumo had made for her from metal. How she avoided attacks by changing into Nana and using Float going into the air where she changed into En and made a Smokescreen while falling, mid-fly taking a sip of Dabi’s blood to fall on her enemy like a burning star. 

She didn’t skip over the attacks that Re-Destro managed to land, instead, she boasted about them. How she got up time after time, ignoring pain and with adrenaline pumping through her veins, she went above and beyond... Of how she hadn’t such an amazing battle in years! 

“…And then just like you said he made a leader out of me! That was insane!” 

Mikumo smiled. 

“I knew you’d kick his butt. I’m happy you had fun while at it, though I would rather not have you getting so hurt…”

“Nah, I could still stand at the end, unlike him! So it was nothing for me,” she stated proudly but then her expression suddenly got strangely calm. “Oh yeah, I wanted to ask… Since you told Aizawa about everything… Do you think he would be up to meeting me? I know he technically isn’t my teacher but… Still, I think it would be nice to be able to talk to him again. And maybe to apologize for nicking him at yakuza raid but I didn’t even stab him so I’m sure there are  no hard feelings about it.”

“I’m sure he will have nothing against talking to you. You know him better than I do, he wouldn’t let go of occasion to gather more info on someone as strong as you.” Mikumo pointed out and she laughed. 

“You’re right!” she agreed and then slowly her giggle calmed down into a serene smile. “I’m so happy you got to know him… It feels a bit as if we had been in the same class after all…” 

“Himi…” he said quietly, sad that they never got to become heroes together.

“Oh! Did you get a nickname from him too?” 

“You had a nickname too?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and she gasped.

“I never told you? Somewhere along the second year, he started addressing me as a ‘feral child’ occasionally!” 

Eri nearly choked on her spit. 

“Well, at least you weren’t ‘problem child’.” Mikumo said and the blonde burst into laughter while the other girl could barely believe what she just heard.

“It does fit…” she murmured and then pouted. “Now I wish I had a stamp of nickname approval from Eraserhead.”

“I wonder what would it be… Time child?” the boy wondered out loud.

“I think she would get in your footsteps and be a problem child too… Or maybe trouble child to avoid confusion?” Himiko offered.

“On second thought I can live without Aizawa-approved nickname.” Eri decided. 

“Why, Lamb child?” Mikumo asked with a grin and she groaned. 

“Stop.” She said, trying to hide her smile behind her hand but he knew her too well to be deceived so easily. 

“Why? You don’t like it, sunshine child?”

She couldn’t help but snort.

“You’re more of a sunshine child than her.” Himiko pointed out. 

“No, I am not. I used to be.” He was quick to deny her claim, crossing his arms. “Nowadays I’m a bitter old man in a teenager’s body.”

“PIZZA PARTY!” Twice yelled, throwing a box inside the room like a frisbee disc and opening another one to take a slice. “I’m not going to share any!”

Himiko, with her killer instincts, easily caught the incoming projectile. 

“Let’s go join them because I am not seeing pepperoni here,” Eri said, raising an eyebrow at pineapple at Twice’s slice and cheese abomination Himiko was holding right now. There was nothing else there than the base and one kind of cheese as far as she could see.

They all walked downstairs to the beautiful sight of dozens of balloons in all colors, some with heroes printed on them... All laying on the ground since it seemed baby Toga and Twice didn’t manage to find helium. 

Of course, all the ones with Endeavour’s face printed on them were popped. 

“Where’s my cheesepie?!” Spinner lamented as they walked in and then his head snapped toward them in a frankly terrifying manner. He then run up to them and grabbed a slice out of the box Himiko was holding.

“You call cheese pizza… Cheesepie…?” Himiko, who never had the pleasure of joining a pizza party with Spinner, asked. 

“Yeah. That’s basically pizza dough with cheese. Lots of cheese. Not even a few kinds of cheese but one. Namely, cheedar.” Mikumo explained and the lizard boy blinked.

“Huh, I didn’t know anyone else other than me knew about cheesepie.” He mused and then beamed. “It’s great to meet someone else with great tastes!” 

Eri promptly ignored them, going straight for her precious pepperoni pizza. 

Chapter Text

It was weird.

Listen, he’d like to believe he’s used to a certain degree of strangeness. Like, when you’re a friend with a loud guy with hair styled like a banana – which you absolutely adore and would definitely style your own like this if yours weren’t made of cloud – and an insomniac who makes lesser men tired by simply looking at him, your standards become special. So there’s not much that can bamboozle someone like him!

But going from looking at a swaying building about to crush you and then appearing in what looked very much like an isolation ward in a psychiatric ward with only familiar yet far older faces as a source of comfort… Well, that’s something.

And then your friends – looking a decade older mind you – hugs the living daylights out of you. Well, that’s a normal part considering he nearly died and wasn’t even entirely sure he was actually alive.

Because come on, things can only get so weird in the land of the living!

But it turns out the world was a far stranger place than he expected. And he already expected a lot. So yeah, pretty damn insane.

And getting the full story didn’t exactly make him feel all that better. Turns out he either died or nearly died and some psycho villain grabbed his body and went; ah yes, perfect material for a taxi! And thoroughly washed Oboro’s mind from everything even remotely unclean so all of it, he supposes. After which Shirakumo ended up as an evil minion nearly killing literal high schoolers. Huge yikes, right? He’s somewhat relieved he can’t fully wrap his head around it all because even knowing it wasn’t him, that he was someone entirely different… He’d still feel super guilty.

But as of now, he can barely believe in all this madness.

The next week of his life had been spent under intensive examination to check if whatever had been done to him had really been just puff! Healed, like nothing had ever happened. Everything was fine so far, too fine even. Oboro would expect nightmares of his time as ‘Kurogiri’ at the very least but nope. The only ones he had were of a building falling on him and his loved ones crying over his grave.

Which is dark enough that Shirakumo was nearly ready to admit to Shouta’s ways of insomnia. Nearly! Because he’s a hero and heroes don’t give up! Even on sleep!

This whole doctor poking at him thingy wasn’t too terrible though. Hizashi and Shouta visited him every day and soon Nemuri joined them too and her hug was greatly appreciated. It definitely was more comfortable when he wasn’t strapped to a chair for safety reasons. 

And then, finally, he could go out… He could go see his parents. It went well. His father sobbed that Shirakumo’s grounded for life and Oboro, without a thought, went; 

“Well, I already died so I’m not grounded anymore, I guess?”  

He got hit upside the head but yeah, he deserved that. But what else was he supposed to do? He’s back! Sure, he lost over dozen years of his life but everyone, please, stop thinking about it so much! What they should focus on is that he’s back! He really wishes people would stop worrying so much… Oboro was fully ready to die as a hero and though it happened a bit sooner than expected it’s not like he wouldn’t do it again.

So when his parents tried to talk him into going for a safer career he readily refused. He loves them but no matter how terrified they are of losing him again… He isn’t going to give up on his dreams, on all the people that need help, just because he might die! 

But he did spend a whole week home before returning to his studies. Which were kind of horrifying with the amount of material he has to go through before he catches up to the current third-years of UA. The fact that Nezu decided to personally tutor him was somewhere between heart-warming and blood-freezing. Oboro was in enough pain when he had only one subject with the mammal! 

But alas, the hero must do what the hero must do… 

It was kind of frustrating that Shirakumo had to go through the temporary license exam again but you know what? Let those assholes from Hero Commission have it their way! He’s going to show them that no matter how much some procedures change he’s going to ace them anyway! If there is one thing he is good at it is saving people! He dares say… He’s gravely good at it. Hehe. 

“Oboro?”

He jumped a foot into the air and then turned around with a huge smile.

“Shouta, Shou, my pal, my friend… I have not been thinking about any dark humor jokes you’d deck me in the face for so no need to throw baseless accusations!” he said and his literally old friend raised an eyebrow.

“Since you’re still getting used to the changes, Nezu decided it would be good for you to join the first-years' training camp. It’s more intensive than it was in our time.” The man explained the reason for his arrival and Oboro smiled sheepishly. 

“Oh, yeah, cool, cool, I didn’t get rusty so be ready! I could totally still take you down!”

Although Shouta’s mouth was hidden by his scarves Oboro knows his friend smiled so he grinned too. Ha! See? Times might have changed but he still is the one in a million kind of guy who can make Aizawa Shouta smile! 

“You lost against me every single time.” 

Shirakumo, of course, made an indignant face because that was not true!

“It seems your memories are already giving on you because I did win that one sparring session in the second year!” he pointed out with a victorious grin.

“You mean the one when you and Yamada forced me to fight blindfolded?” 

Well. Turns out the man’s memories weren’t getting all that worse with age.

“Anyway!” Oboro said knowing fully well when to retreat. Does it count as learning his lessons? Probably not since he would totally die for someone again. “I wanted to ask you about that fella that unwashed my brain and all. I didn’t really get a chance to thank her with all the emotions back then.”

“She’s a vigilante.” 

“So?”

“So it will be harder to reach her but can be done.” 

“Wonderful!” Oboro said clapping his hands together, the two of them walking down the corridor. Shirakumo had no idea why he was following his friend when he should be getting home but well… He supposes there’s a lot of lost time to make up for, no? 

They stopped when they heard footsteps chasing after them and they both turned around but while Oboro didn’t recognize the green-haired boy, his friend did.

“Problem child… What is it this time?” the man asked and Shirakumo snickered under his breath. 

“What did you do to get that nickname?” he inquired because he might or might not be too curious for his own good.

“I became cryptid among other things.” The boy answered readily and you know what? Oboro wants to be friends with him. Clearly, a gang with a banana-styled screamer, exhausted teacher, and woman with no shame lacks a cryptid among their ranks. “Anyway, can I talk to you in private for a second, Aizawa sensei?”

“I can wait!” Shirakumo assured readily with a smile and the man sighed. 

The two walked a few feet away and discussed whatever needed discussing in a low tone. Like the good guy he is, Oboro didn't listen in to what they were saying! Not because he didn’t want to eavesdrop but because those two knew how to keep their secrets secret. Sad.

Shirakumo was really curious about this boy now… Huh, he wonders if Hizashi knows more about the whole cryptid thing. He definitely should. 

A moment later Shouta returned to him while the boy went onto his merry way, probably home since it was after school hours for most if not all classes. 

“Sooo what could possibly a cryptid want from you? Except, maybe, asking about the origins of your mythical eyebags?” Oboro asked even though he already knew he wouldn’t get an answer. 

Shouta sighed. 

“Nothing.”

“It didn’t look like nothing.” Shirakumo pointed out but his friend’s glare hasn't become any less powerful with the passing days. “Alright, alright! Anyway, what do you think about meeting up with Hizashi and Nemuri to play monopoly? You did promise me to play to the very end no matter how many hours it takes after graduation!” 

“You didn’t graduate yet.”

“But you did!”

“Fine.”

Shirakumo grinned. Now he just needs to wait until all of his friends have a free day! You know, those guys who are all professional heroes and teachers at the same time… And Hizashi also has a radio station… Well fuck, Oboro might have to wait until his own graduation after all!

Fine, whatever, he can wait! He has a lot to do anyway! Lots of learning, the whole training camp… Wow, he’s so excited! It will be so cool to see all those youngsters from UA doing their best! And kicking their asses will be plenty of fun too! He must make it a learning experience for them though because otherwise Shouta definitely will end up kicking his own ass. And having your ass kicked isn’t a very good look to have.

Next week turned out to be really cool for two reasons. First, he learned from Hizashi all about the green kid’s somewhat secret identity of being the Mustuafu's cryptid.

“Doesn’t it count as vigilanting?” he asked, fully expecting to get affirmation and a grin, commenting on the boy’s confidence to break the law while at the same time attending UA.

“That’s the thing! It isn’t! Because he kept to all finer print details! He has a hidden quirk too… My dude, you would barely believe all the mysteries about that little listener!” 

Oboro was definitely curious. 

“I would, come on, spill.” He was quick to say, going from sitting to laying on the sofa.

It was strangely not weird to hang out with his over-decade older friend in the aforementioned’ very own apartment. As long as he didn’t give it much thought that is.

“So there’s the whole cryptid thing, yeah? I’ll show you the forum later but anyway, he's additionally in the hero course without even knowing his quirk! He told me he was initially diagnosed quirkless!”

“What?” Oboro asked in the tone of a gossiping old lady. “No way, how do you know he has a quirk after all though? If he doesn’t know what it is?”

“Because he has an identical twin who found out his quirk at the time of UA exam! Something about a huge robot about to run over another participant send him flying, literally! The little listener broke both his legs and an arm!” 

“Gosh, that’s too much! I thought that maybe I could become cryptid with all the madness that happened to me but it seems competition is too big!” 

He saw the slightest flinch at the mention of what happened to him but he refused to avoid the subject. He knows others had it far harder than him in moving past it since he doesn’t remember any of it but that’s all the more reason for them to be able to stop scratching at that old injury. He doesn’t want them to remember his ‘death’ every time they look at him and every time he says something even vaguely relating to it…

“Yeah, both little listeners are crazy but anyway! The cryptid one, he got internships with Nezu, can you believe that?”

Oboro, dutifully, gasped and slapped his hand to the sides of his mouth to show even more shock.

“And he survived?!”

“He did!”

So yeah. Next hour or so they spent scrolling through the forum and making the most ridiculous theories about Musutafu cryptid's backstory. The worst – so the best – one they came up with was that he was a dimension-traveling entity that had seen the falls and beginnings of great empires and came to Japan to protect it from the same fate that met Rome. Don’t even ask. 

They, of course, posted that abomination, and a user ‘ItsYourPower’ added to their theory that the cryptid’s father was alternative Eraserhead and the two lost it at that part. Hizashi nearly choked when ‘Imspleeing’ answered with a simple “no.” and Oboro had a similar reaction upon being explained who exactly was hiding behind that name. 

So yeah that was fun. The other great thing was the day of meeting with the vigilante that saved his ass and Shirakumo, with his newly developed crazy theorist streak, was fully convinced the green-haired boy had something to do with setting it up. Don’t ask him how or why but that definitely was the case. Definitely. 

They decided to come to a cat café; a perfect place for any kind of meeting. Especially with a miracle worker who saved you from the undead life of being a taxi for villains. 

Shirakumo didn’t get a very good look at her back then but he’s pretty sure she was pretty. So, he got dressed up better than he would for Shouta’s wedding – if the man ever even had any – and went to the café. His friend, who was here as a bit of mediator since the vigilante didn’t really know Oboro, raised his eyebrow so high Shirakumo was honestly jealous. 

“I need to make up for my first impression.” He answered an unasked question and the man sighed.

“Just don’t overwhelm her.”

“Me? Overwhelming anyone? Never!”

They arrived first but she came not long after, quickly finding them and taking a seat next to Shouta. Well, that was definitely to be able to take in the majesty that is Oboro! 

“I mercifully accepted your request to confess your gratitude.” Was what she greeted him with. “You can either swear complete loyalty or buy me caramel latte macchiato.”

He immediately fell in love.

“Is my eternal loyalty worth only as much as caramel latte macchiato?” he asked trying to keep his face as perfectly blank as humanly possible. His lips kept on twitching upward though.

“I don’t know any cafes that take payment in loyal servants so yep.” She answered with a grin and he couldn’t keep it in any longer and laughed heartily. 

“Jeez, you’re great! I’m Shirakumo Oboro! Thanks for bringing me to the world of the living!”

“I go by Lamb.” She answered and agh! Even her alias is super cute! She’s perfect! “No problem. After all, what’s the point of having super awesome healing abilities if you don’t get to resurrect anyone with them?”  

“Oh yeah! I heard you’re a vigilante? I think it’s super cool.” He said with a stupidly wide smile. Aaah, no! Stop! You need to look chill! Come on, Oboro! 

“Aren’t you a hero student?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yeah, so what?” 

She laughed and he felt extremely proud of himself. Seems like even years of being brainwashed can’t rust his charm!

“Good thing you’re morally flexible, I was kind of expecting 'stop crimes do UA' spiel or something.” 

Their conversation stopped for a moment when a waiter came up to them but after ordering drinks Oboro returned right back to it.

“I mean, yeah, it would be awesome to have you in UA but you would probably be already there if you could. I’m sure you have your reasons so vigilanting is the second-best thing.” 

Her grin softened into a smile. 

“I wish more people had this mindset.”

They spent another hour chatting before she had to take her to leave. She said she would love to talk more some other time so he had high hopes! 

Shouta walked with Oboro all the way to his home which Shirakumo used to the best of his ability, babbling about how awesome and pretty Lamb is. 

“Please stop.”

“…even her horns are super cute! I mean, getting stabbed with those would probably be pretty painful but that’s another cool factor! Do you think she ever took down villains with those? No, she looks too elegant for the raging bull tactic! Though she looked like someone who wouldn’t be afraid to use anything in her arsenal…”

“Go home.” Shouta interrupted him and he blinked. Oh, yeah, they are right next to his house. 

“It was great to have you as my chaperone, Shouta! Hope we do that again!”

“I hope we don’t.” the man answered readily but Shirakumo knew he didn’t mean it. Well, he probably meant it in this exact situation because he’s physically repulsed to anything even slightly romantic but he would definitely be up for hanging out in a cat café like old days. 

So yeah, Oboro returned home in very high spirits…

And with a brand new crush on a very mysterious and powerful vigilante. 

Chapter Text

“I’ve been told you wanted to talk with me.”

Aizawa has no idea what it is about him and meeting at empty parks at the butt-crack of dawn with strange people but it’s definitely happening too often.

“Aizawa-sensei!” the woman answered far too joyfully for his standards and rushed forward with open arms.

He, of course, dodged her. But rather than taking the hint she took a page out of Ms. Joke’s book and stayed persistent. For the next two minutes, they twirled around the swings and trees, one attempting to get a hug and the other doing his best to avoid human contact.

“Stop.” He demanded, actually trying to trap her in his capture weapon but then she threw a flower at his face and he blinked in surprise. The next second she was hugging him from the side.

“Sorry! I always wanted to do that~!” she chirped, letting go of him and jumping back before he could commit some kind of crime of hate, possibly murder.

“Couldn’t you do that to your timeline teacher?” he asked, already irritated.

“Nope! He would instantly expel me in high school and afterward there never really was an occasion…” she said, her smile fading into the kind of longing Aizawa would never be able to understand. As long as he wasn’t suddenly thrust into the past, that is. With many people important to him not even knowing who he is…

Well, he did feel somewhat bad for her but nowhere near bad enough to let his personal space be invaded.

“What did you want?” he asked and a smile returned to her face. She looked slightly unhinged.

“Talk, of course! Not some kind of super special secret talk though I can tell you all about how I took over Meta Liberation Army and how I’m going to keep them from doing anything stupid… But mostly I just wanted to talk to you even if you aren’t the same Aizawa sensei I know.”

“Well, it’s good you’re aware of that. But it should have stopped you from coming anywhere near my personal space.”

She shrugged.

“I heard you call Mikumo problem child. You… Future Aizawa sensei, I mean, used to call me feral child. I suppose you choose favorites after all!” she noted with a grin.

“He isn’t even in my class.”

“But I was.” She said and a look of pain flashed through her eyes, yet she didn’t stop smiling. “It was such madness! We got attacked by villains at training camp and two students got kidnapped! Don’t worry about it though, it was League of Villains and they are already defeated here. Then we had a final showdown between All Might and All For One… Oh yeah, there was this and that too… We faced a lot of villains but it’s fine! I took rid of most of the worst ones so everyone will be safe this time around!”

“You went through a lot.” He noted, not very good at showing empathy. He honestly felt bad for this woman... For this child of the same age as him, lost within time.

“Nah, nowadays I’m fine! You should have seen me when I first arrived here, in this timeline I mean! I was furious and alone, and everything seemed so hopeless!” she said with a laugh. It was painful to watch.

Exactly as he expected soon her giggles turned into sobs and tears came right after. He just… Stood there, to the side.

“I miss them.” She confessed, looking somewhere into the distance. “I loved them a lot… But if I could choose I would do the same thing again.”

She wiped her tears and smiled. It wasn’t as sharp or bright as before. It felt more natural although somewhat subdued.

“I know it’s stupid and people change with time so you aren’t exactly like him… But you’re still Aizawa sensei even if not for me… So tell me… Are you disappointed in me?”

He sighed. It was such a loaded question. She did commit a lot of crimes, and murdered many people, which obviously wasn’t right… But if Muscular didn’t die back then Water Hose Duo would have. How to value the life of those who don’t value the lives of others?

“I’m not although I should be. I believe my self from your timeline would feel similarly. I have a feeling he would be quite worried about your mental state though.”

She laughed.

“Well, I wasn’t a feral child for nothing!”

They were quiet for a moment.

“Thank you.” She said, sounding genuinely grateful. “You know, if you ever want anyone dead  you can always contact me.”

He sighed.

“You can talk to me without the excuse of killing someone for me, feral child.”

Huh. It rolled off his tongue easily. It was obvious it was a nickname he had given.

“Alrighty~!” the girl chirped, beaming. “I know how busy you are so I’ll leave you to get a nap or something! See ya!”

And with that she left, humming a cheerful note.

The man sighed and moved out of the park and to his house, deciding to go through the essays he had to check by the next week and maybe actually take a short nap.

The day went by peacefully enough. The summer break was starting tomorrow and in two weeks the training camp would take place. Hopefully, things would get more peaceful then but for today… Sleep.

The next day, after school, Aizawa met up in the usual somewhat well-lighted alleyway and without a word went toward the location where two time travelers were held with Mikumo following closely behind.

They were… At the same a lot to deal with but also not as bad as Shouta expected them to be. Turns out their trust in whatever Hero Commission had told them was already chipping away and a few conversations with their homeroom teacher from a different time and Nezu were enough to make them see reason.

Kirishima took the possibility of them being in the wrong far easier… But not better. He was feeling so guilty it was painful to look at him and Aizawa low-key wanted to murder whoever in Hero Commission had the brilliant idea to make murderers out of those kids- heroes. They aren’t children anymore. Even if they are far more lost than their selves of this timeline.

“Can you wait outside? It’s not like they would be able to kill me even if they somehow freed themselves and tried to.” Problem child muttered and Aizawa sighed.

“They won’t,” he said and opened the doors for the kid, staying back. He didn’t fully close the doors. He left them cracked enough to be able to hear them and react if a need arose but not enough to make it obvious.

As for Mikumo, he took a deep breath, steeled himself, and walked inside. He calmly moved up to the desk and sat down on the chair, opposite the two.

“Ground Zero, Red Riot.” He greeted with a nod.

Bakugo very pointedly didn’t look at him while Kirishima glanced at him every so often with such sad eyes that Mikumo’s need to help made a valid effort at wrangling down everything else the boy was feeling just to offer some comfort to the poor guy.

“I… We’re sorry. I know it doesn’t mean much with everything that happened… With what we tried to do… And I know it’s no excuse but… We thought it was the only way to save everyone, to stop the war…” Kirishima was the first to speak. “It’s… You know, it’s still kind of hard to think that Hero Commission might have been… Was the one in the wrong. That you aren’t enemy at all.”

“Well, I can guess what they said and how it looked from your perspective…” Mikumo noted. He couldn’t exactly forgive an attempt at the lives of children because personally, he would try to reform even Overhaul if he met him as a child. But he’s the kind of nice that gets you shot in the face. “Though I am curious… What changed your mind?”

“If you really were evil and wanted to take over Japan you wouldn’t help All Might. Aizawa sensei showed us the news of him returning to action, after fighting All For One… I mean it’s all really weird and many things could have changed but in the original timeline he couldn’t continue his career after Kamino so it’s obvious you changed things for the better…” Kirishima explained, not able to keep eye contact.

The blond stayed quiet, not even looking in Mikumo's direction.

“What about you, Bakugo?” the boy asked because he just couldn’t let it go. Some stupid, idiotic part of him, still didn’t want to give up on his very first friend. Even if it had been literal decades since they even were friends. “It’s hard to believe you’d ever think about me as anything else than useless or evil.”

“It shouldn’t be with how well you get along with everyone from this timeline.” He said quietly, with none of his usual flare. There was only a bitter disappointment in his voice.

“You mean Kacchan, I presume?” Mikumo inquired and although he didn’t get an answer he knew that he was right. “To be completely honest I initially completely gave up on the thought of befriending him but… Well, it’s shocking how a responsible adult can impact someone. You know, he never even told me or Izuku to take swan dive off a rooftop. Actually, I’m pretty sure he’d throw anyone who’d say something like that through a window.”

Bakugo took a sharp breath at the reminder of that and Kirishima turned his head to look at his friend.

“I regret saying that, okay?” Bakugo said and no one was sure whether it was to Red Riot or Mikumo.

“I regret living through that day. We never got to talk so I never had a chance to tell you that I didn’t run to help you because I thought you were weak or anything… The sludge villain grabbed me earlier that day and I knew it was pretty much impossible to free oneself from him. And, admittedly, you looked like you required assistance.”

They were quiet for a moment. During those long seconds of silence, Kirishima lightly knocked his shoulder against Bakugo’s and the blond looked down before raising his eyes, to meet the green ones of their interlocutor.

“I’m sorry, Midoriya.” He finally said the words that once upon a time absolutely refused to leave his throat and now felt so very underwhelming. “I regretted how I treated you ever since that day you run away… I knew it was my fault. I knew that I was a stupid fucking idiot who deserved every single bad thing that happened to me ever since. When I saw you at League of Villain all those years ago… I felt like you were a monster I created- like I pushed you so far down you couldn’t do a damn thing but go all the way to the other side. Ever since then, I thought I had to defeat you because it was my fault… So I blindly followed everything Hero Commission said like a fucking moron.”

“I don’t forgive you,” Mikumo said because he felt it important to begin with that. “Not the bullying, that I can forget. Yeah, you could have taken your head out of your ass but this timeline proved that you can be a good kind of an asshole. And I didn’t run just because of you. There… A lot had happened that day. The part I can never forgive you is nearly killing Izuku. It’d be fine if you went only after me, that’s to be expected. But he had no idea of the future and you nearly killed him!”

“Hero Commission said it something that had to be done…” Bakugo said, looking to the side again.

“And since when do you blindly listen to others?” Mikumo asked, crossing his arms.

With that, another uncomfortable silence took over. It’s not like Midoriya couldn’t understand them. It isn’t always easy to see the truth… He talked with All For One on numerous occasions so he knows how good some people are with words. And he could easily imagine Dabi and others from the league as relentless villains if he never learned as much as he did about them…

He could see himself as a cruel vengeful villain if he looked at from an outside angle.

“I’ve talked to Uravity.” He blurted out and Kirishima jumped a little, surprised to have the silence interrupted. He then looked with confusion at Mikumo, wondering what was so important about it. “The one from our timeline, I mean. Himiko could make her clone with Twice’s quirk.”

“She’s the one who took Stain down, isn’t she?” Kirishima asked, immediately remembering their own Sports Festival when Iida suddenly left. Back then Ingenium’s career had been cut short but here no such thing happened. Initially, he thought it was Toga at work but the man had been caught rather than found dead.

“Yeah. She and a clone of me from our timeline, also made by Himiko. He and Uravity get along pretty well after initial problems.”

“That’s good, I guess…?” Kirishima said, not sure how to react to that. Which was understandable. This conversation was uncomfortable for everyone involved but it was something that had to be done.

“So… Yeah… God, this is weird.” Mikumo murmured. “I keep thinking of you of this timeline when talking to you. He’s in class with Kacchan and Izuku. Well, you also remind me of Tetstutetsu because he reminds me of this timeline Kirishima.”

“Oh, you know Tetsutetsu?”

“Yeah, I’m in class with him. He's fun to spar with.”

Kirishima let himself smile.

“Yeah, he’s super manly.”

Aaaand here comes the awkward silence. Again.

“You know… I’ve come here expecting that we would be yelling at each other and holding past mistakes over each other heads… I kind of hoped it would be the case so I could leave angrily and forget about you both forever or something.” Mikumo noted, looking up at the ceiling. “But I’m not enough of a hypocrite to just declare you pure evil when you clearly aren’t even all that bad…”

“But we still did unforgivable things!” Kirishima said quickly, raising his voice in his need to relay just how guilty he was.

“You did no damn thing! I’m the one who tried to kill a fucking child and broke his damn neck!” Bakugo yelled right back, glancing at Mikumo at the latter part of his sentence.

“I stayed quiet and just went with it! I should have tried to change things rather than just agreeing to kill someone!”

“You have been voicing your hesitance from the very beginning! I’m the stubborn motherfucker who was too damn trigger happy to realize how fucking wrong I was!”

“I’m your friend, I knew you didn’t want to do it any more than I did and I still went with it!”

“See? That proves my point.” Mikumo interjected and wow, it felt weird when Bakugo of all people immediately went quiet rather than continuing to yell. “So, the point is… I guess it would be pretty stupid to keep all the problems of the past fester when I finally have a chance to talk things out. So if you aren’t going to just scream at me the whole time I’m here, I suppose I want to talk with you, guys, again?”

“Why the fuck would you want to talk to someone who tried to kill you?” Bakugo asked, some of his usual heat returning to his voice.

Mikumo shrugged.

“I suppose I just never learn from my mistakes. It’s not like you have how to shoot me though, heh.” He said because he’s never going to live down the fact that Hero Commission fucking sniped him when he gave them a chance for diplomacy. “And… I know how hard the whole back in time thing is, so many relations gone forever… I think it would be cruel to not even let you know what’s going on in the outside world and sure, Eraserhead can give you updates too but… Well, class shenanigans are different coming from students than teachers, you know.”

“You aren’t even in our past class.” Bakugo pointed out and Mikumo found it terrifying how he could instantly tell that the blond didn’t want to see him ever again because of his own guilt. Because he thought he didn’t deserve this kindness.

Well, technically it can be his imagination but… He grew up with Bakugo. Two times. He’d like to believe he knows how the blond thinks pretty well.

“But my twin is and we like to exchange stories of our classes’ madness.”

“It would be super manly for you to do that but… You know, you don’t have to force yourself to talk to us.” Kirishima said, once again making Mikumo realize that in the end, they all are, deep inside, the same as they were as the kids.

Yes, they grew up and they made tons of mistakes… But you can’t easily change who you are.

“Well… See you next week then!” Mikumo said with a bright smile, getting up and walking toward doors but he stopped before leaving to glance back. “I won’t let the war happen again. I promise.”

And with that, he was gone.

Chapter Text

“It was too easy. They clearly should have made me fight All Might solo.” Katsuki said, leaning back on the table occupied by the Midoriya twins and their gang. 

“Kacchan, he literally used me as a baseball bat and hit you into a wall.” Izuku pointed out irritably. 

“If you weren’t there he wouldn’t hit me into a wall with you. See? It would have been even easier if I was fighting him alone.” The blond said, and wow. 

“Did you become so vain in UA or have you always been like this?” Mikumo asked. Kaminari and Mina went “OOOOH!” in perfect sync.

Rather than getting furious Katsuki sent them an irritated look and rolled his eyes.

“I see you have problems with words’ meaning. What I have is called confidence. Being vain means seeing strength in oneself where there’s nothing special, I am every part perfect.” 

Shinso nearly choked on his food.

“I was nearly ready to agree right up to the ‘perfect’ part.” He explained his reaction.

“God creates us in his image so all people are perfect,” Ibara added. 

“Well, it is good to believe in one’s own abilities!” Iida noted. 

“You’re all idiots.” Katsuki decided and turned back to his table, deciding to finish his food. 

“How did your final exam go?” Izuku asked, looking at class B members.

“Easy peasy! I was paired with Komori! I just flew my head high above the ground and let her take over the whole area with mushrooms and when there were too many on Present Mic bam! We handcuffed him!”

“She was screaming for the rest of the day because she got hit with one of his ‘yeaah’s.” Mikumo added, the little traitor. 

“It still was an easy victory! Painful but easy!” the girl exclaimed.

“I had been paired with Tetsutetsu against Cementoss but even with the endless hardships we emerged victorious,” Ibara added.

“He kept on trying to bash through cement walls because he didn’t want to be useless and nearly cost his team victory. Shiozaki ended up having to grab him and throw at Cementoss because they were getting nowhere.” Mikumo added and the girl flushed.

“I did what I had to do to help us flourish and do our best in our blessed duty of learning!” 

“I used Bakugo’s advice about confusion tactics to take Midnight down. You’d be surprised how hard she’s to face even when you have a filter against her quirk.” Shinso noted and then pointed one of his chopsticks at the residential cryptid. “And what about you?” 

“I and Monoma got Nezu. It was lots of fun.” Mikumo said with a wide, somewhat terrifying smile.

“Monoma nearly died,” Tokage added.

“I had everything calculated,” Mikumo said, crossing his arms.

“He was literally crying by the end of it.” 

“That’s because Nezu can be scary to normal mortals.” 

“You are scary to normal mortals too!” Katsuki yelled from his table, far louder than he needed to.

“Well, he isn’t exactly wrong…” Izuku, the little traitor, said. 

“Yep.” Hitoshi the Brutus agreed.

Tokage nodded and Ibara very pointedly didn’t look him in the eyes. Iida said a quiet “well…”. Uraraka laughed quietly to the side. 

“I can’t really deny the truth.” Mikumo finally gave up on trying to refute their claims.  

“I’m not sure whether I’m excited or terrified to see you wreak havoc at training camp,” Hitoshi noted. 

“Terrified!” Setsuna stated instantly.

“Excited,” Uraraka said shortly after.

“Oh right, how was your exam? And Iida’s?” Tokage asked grinning.

“I and Aoyama got Thirteen. It was a hard fight but in the end, I managed to use the moves I learned from Gunhead to take them down!” Uraraka said, trying to hide a blush. Huh. Mikumo had a feeling there was some kind of interesting twist to that story. 

“I had the pleasure of working with Tokoyami against Vlad King! It was a great challenge but we managed to escape thanks to cooperation!”

They ate and chattered between bites, soon having to go back to lessons that went calmly enough. And the summer vacation was just around the counter!

When it came they made sure to meet up even though they would soon see each other at training camp. Nearly the whole class went to a shopping center where Mina ended up breaking some of both Mikumo’s and Katsuki’s records which ended in an all-out battle brawl between the three. One that Kaminari was sure to record and Shinso offered to edit later. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Uraraka lost against her emotions and run away from Izuku who blinked but before he could start overthinking her sudden departure he noticed an 'up to seventy percent off' sign in a hardware store and well… He might have less time for tinkering because of all the UA training and learning but! That doesn’t mean he forgot about his hobby! 

“Yo! Billion boy!”

He looked to the side and snickered at the girl’s shopping cart, full to the brim.  

“Hi Mei.” He greeted. He commented that he liked tinkering too at Sports Festival and since then they’ve been occasionally discussing some inventions. He even visited her a few times in the support department. “I see you already took everything worth taking?”

“Of course!” she answered, putting a hand on her hip while holding her cart with the other. It was the big kind, the one kids – both smaller and bigger – like to get inside and race around the shops. He has a feeling she was holding onto it because she was afraid someone would try to steal her great findings. “But! There are only so many drills I need and there are two left at a great price. Come on, I’ll show you all the best sales!”

And with that, she went back inside and he grabbed a cart too, following after her. 

Meanwhile, Uraraka realized that running away from her crush would probably only worsen their bond, and fuck love, she ain’t risking losing her friend! So she returned down and started looking for him… And inevitably her eyes were drawn to a hardware store and familiar pink dreads with fluffy green right next to her. 

She didn’t think, she power-walked there. 

“Oh! Uraraka!” Izuku noticed her first, waving at her happily. “Good to see you! They have really great sales here!” 

She blinked, glancing around. For the time being the contradicting emotions driving her insane have been overwhelmed by the power of good sales. 

“Do they have helmets? My dad was supposed to buy a few for his construction site.”

“No idea! I don’t use those!” Mei chirped happily. “They have goggles though! And welding masks at buy two get three promotion!” 

“Are there any carts left?” Uraraka asked, already typing away at her phone for her dad to give her a list of small equipment he needs and to transfer money to her bank account. She also sent a photo of one of the prices on already sold-out drills. It was a steal. 

“Nope.”

“You can use mine, I want only a few things.” Izuku offered and the only reason she didn't squeal in joy was that her mind was now in bargain mode.

But after getting the list from her father and getting most items, in the back of her head she couldn’t help but scream because they are shopping! With the same cart! Like a married couple! It’s nearly like a date! Really weird but really awesome date! And sure there’s Mei with them but shush! She can be a friend of the family!

“We need someone tall,” Mei said at one point, looking at a shelf that was over all of their heads. On the very top was a set of screwdrivers at half its original price. 

“I can call Hitoshi.” Izuku offered but before she could think, Ochaco spoke.

“You can just lift me.” 

The second her words registered she grabbed a nearby welding mask and hide her face behind it, acting as if she just found it extremely fascinating. 

“Yeah, that would be faster!” Mei agreed.

“Alright! Um… I will grab you around the waist and lift you, alright, Uraraka?”

“Of course! It was my idea after all! Hahaha!” her laugh was so nervous she felt like an idiot but it was partly hidden by clash as she quickly put the welding mask down. 

She felt her face burning as he grabbed her and lifted her without any problem whatsoever. She knows he’s strong but aaah! Come on! 

‘Calm down! Don’t act weird! Grab screwdrivers!’ she yelled at herself in her mind and reached for the shelf.

“Oh, get one pack for me too!” Izuku noted. 

“Sure!” she answered quickly in a tad bit more high-pitched voice than she was planning to. She easily grabbed what she needed to and was back on the floor.

“You do realize this shop has stools? Specifically, in case someone can’t reach the thing they need?” they heard a familiar voice from above and saw Mikumo – who had also been tempted by the ‘sale’ sign at the hardware store – looking at them over the shelf. Since as a twin he’s the same height as Izuku it was obvious he had to be standing on something. 

Izuku and Uraraka immediately got red as tomatoes.

“I have no time for looking for stools!” Mei yelled. 

“Understandable have a nice day.” The boy answered and then disappeared from their view, probably having grabbed whatever he needed and returning to floor level. 

“Well… Let’s say all stools were taken…” Izuku offered and Uraraka nodded quickly.

“Yeah! I haven’t seen any around!”

“Oh, here’s one,” Mei called out from two feet away, holding one that looked like a small case of stairs. 

“How about we ring up our things and go for ice cream?” Izuku asked, not even trying to hide his red cheeks anymore. 

“Yeah, super idea, awesome idea, I heard they have a mocha strawberry flavored one in this shopping mall!” 

“Is that a date or can I join you?” Mikumo asked, walking into the aisle they were currently in, holding a hot glue gun in one arm and a few packs of glue sticks in the other. 

“O-o-of course you can join!” Uraraka answered readily but also with a stutter that was extremely unusual for her. She kind of wanted to take a hot glue gun too and use it to stop talking. She was making it so obvious she had a crush on one of the twins! 

“Y-yeah!” and she made Izuku embarrassed too! Good job, Ochaco! You sure are doing a great job of suppressing your feelings and just being friends! 

“I’m joining too!” Mei said and approached Mikumo. “Because I’m curious what you need this for.”

He grinned and whispered something to her, making her cackle. Well, at least their weirdness took off her mind from her own. 

So they went to register, waited in the queue for fifteen minutes, and after another twenty consisting of Mei and Uraraka trying to somehow pack their things, they finally went for ice creams. Well, the two girls ended up sitting near the fountain with their mountains of bags while the twins were merciful enough to go grab frozen treats for all of them.

“You like her.” Mikumo pointed when they were out of hearing range.

“Obviously, Mei is great at inventing and it’s cool to exchange ideas with her-“

“I mean Uraraka. It’s obvious you have a crush on her.” The boy corrected, deciding to skip over how she too had an obvious crush. That would destroy this dramatic high school love story.  

Unsurprisingly, Izuku instantly went beet red.

“She’s cute, nice, and strong! Who wouldn’t have a crush on her!” 

“Me?”

“Because you had your time for crushes back in your timeline!” Izuku shot right back, pushing his twin slightly.

Mikumo was planning to look hurt but he couldn’t stop himself from laughing. What a great comeback.

“Fair point. I mean, technically my first crush traveled in time too but now I’m both much younger and a bit older than her.” 

Izuku gasped.

“You had a crush?!” 

Wow, now Mikumo actually did feel offended.

“I’m literally you but with different and more life experiences. I had my dense puppy crush moment too. Before running away and taking over Japan. After becoming supreme leader things are never the same.”

“Who was it?” Izuku asked, completely skipping over the whole ‘country domination’ part.  

“Himiko, obviously.” 

Their conversation stopped as they were faced with an underpaid ice-cream seller. They chose their flavors, got strawberry mochi for Uraraka and vanilla with a twist – whatever it was – for Mei. 

Soon after they were approached by Kirishima. 

“Please, stop them.” He said, looking toward the arcade where Mina and Bakugo were still duking it out on a dancing machine. He looked somewhere between terrified, impressed, and on brink of tears.

Mikumo sighed, got up, and yelled in the general direction of the arcade “Kacchan, wanna bet?”.

Five seconds later the blond came power walking, looking like he was about to murder someone.

“I swear if you make one more impossible bet that happens I’m going to sell your kidney on a black market.” 

Kirishima blinked. Well… His wish had been granted, he supposes.

Chapter Text

“All Might!”

All Might smiled at his successor running toward him through the sand, waving happily. Even though it was very early it wasn’t easy finding an empty spot where no one would approach him for an autograph. His identity is known to everyone now after all. But not to worry! The smallest of One For All fumes with his fully healed body is enough to make an escape from overzealous fans and media! To be completely honest, even without using quirk he is very skilled in dodging all those he doesn't want to talk to. Years of experience give you an edge, it seems! Haha!

“Greetings, young Izuku!” Toshinori said. In normal circumstances, he would have waited until they knew each other longer before calling him by the first name but at the very beginning, the boy offered to be called Izuku since it could get confusing real quick. So he had been young Izuku from pretty much day one. 

He blinked when upon getting nearer the boy didn’t slow down and rammed into the hero, grabbing him for a hug. All Might, of course, laughed and returned it.

“What is it, my boy?” he asked, slightly confused but not unhappy. Free hugs from people he cares about are always welcomed after all!

“Sorry, I’m just really happy to see you!” 

Toshinori laughed and ruffled his hair.

“I suppose the fanboy in you won’t ever die, huh?” he asked, taunting good-naturedly.  

“You never stop loving your idols.” The boy answered and well, he had a point there. 

He then reluctantly let go of the hug and beamed at Toshinori. Aaah, so precious!

“I really wanted to tell you how amazing of a mentor you are!” young Izuku said and All Might couldn’t help but smile nervously.

“Nowhere as good as my predecessor was… And I wasn’t all that helpful, regrettably, you had to figure One For All mostly on your own…” he admitted because he won’t ever forget all the broken bones the boy acquired during the entrance exam… And how he happily told All Might the very next day that his twin helped him figure out how to use his quirk without breaking bones.

That had Toshinori thinking and he couldn’t help but admit that he was a lousy teacher if a teenager with no quirk could help figure out One For All faster than a man who had the quirk for literal decades.

“That’s true you aren’t strictly as good of a teacher as Aizawa sensei…” young Izuku said and All Might would blink in surprise was it not for the ‘but’ that he could feel incoming. “But I wanted to tell you how amazing of a mentor, not a teacher you are. You accepted me with all my weirdness and helped me grow… You might have some problems with instructing but you care where it counts!”

“Ah, don’t give me all the credit, young Izuku! Weirdness or not, I am confident you’d make a fine hero even without me and One For All!” All Might assured, this time being the one to initiate a hug that young Izuku was quick to return.

But. 

“All Might?” 

This was young Izuku’s voice. Behind him. But before he could register the possible meaning of that, he was laying on the sand, unconscious. 

The real Izuku took a fighting stance, green lightning cracking on his skin.

“Who are you?” he demanded because although the person looked exactly like him, he was confident it wasn’t Mikumo. 

Well… Very technically speaking, it actually was. Or at least was made from his blood. 

“Sorry.” The look-alike answered with a sheepish smile, taking a step away from unconscious All Might to show they didn’t mean any harm to the man. “I just wanted to talk to him one more time without bringing him into all the time shenanigans. I… There’s something special in the bond between One For All’s mentor and student. I don’t want to butt in that for you so yeah.” 

Izuku blinked, instantly realizing who it was.

“So… You’re Himiko, I mena, Toga, right?” 

The look-alike melted into a blonde woman with sharp eyes and a smile. It wasn’t threatening though it would be easy to mistake it for such.

“Yep, that’s me. Oh yeah, want to set up a meeting some time? I was supposed to tell you about One For All since as a ninth user we share a more similar power output than Toshinori. And there’s the thing about singularity and vestiges…” she noted but before he could answer All Might twitched. Instantly, she transformed into a black-haired woman. 

The hero opened his eyes and nearly fainted.

“Nana…?”

The woman turned toward him with the smile he copied his own from. 

“I’m proud, Toshi.” She said and he rushed to his feet, rubbing at his eyes but as expected, when he looked there again she was already gone.

Toga was scarily good at disappearing. Izuku himself glanced at his waking mentor and by the time he looked toward the woman, she was already gone.

“Are you alright…?” he asked instead and the man laughed.

“Of course! Just really confused! Did I get hit with some sleeping quirk?” 

“I don’t think so?” Izuku answered, not able to put himself to lying but no way in hell was he explaining everything that just transpired. He wanted to respect Toga’s wish to stay hidden. After all, technically speaking, she was his One For All senpai.  

“Haha, I’m sorry young Izuku! It seems this beach feels like home so much I have fallen asleep!” All Might said and wow, now Midoriya is feeling really guilty. “I must admit though, I had quite a pleasant dream!”

Well…

“I’m glad,” Izuku said with a smile. “Oh, right, sorry for being late! Mikumo held me back, he was really persistent I help him finish his turbonuclear gun.” 

“That’s quite alright my bo- his what?”

~~~~

“Mikumo, let’s spar!” Oboro yelled enthusiastically, throwing an arm around the green boy’s shoulder.

“Uhm, sorry, you got the wrong twin.” 

“Oh! Sorry!” Shirakumo was quick to apologize with a sheepish smile. “In my defense, you two aren’t exactly easy to tell apart!”

Izuku, as it turned out, laughed.

“Yeah, I know. I’m used to it.”

So! Oboro looked around and upon spotting another head of green he run up to him, yelling “Mikumo! Let’s spar!” but...

The boy turned around confused.

“Huh, but didn’t you just talk to him?” 

Shirakumo’s head instantly snapped toward the twin he spoke to earlier and the truth was instantly obvious. The cryptid had managed to fool him and was now looking at him with a grin. 

“I’m so kicking your ass for this!” He yelled, once again running up to Mikumo. His threat didn’t have much impact though since he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. Come on, twin shenanigans are always fun!

“You sure can try.” The boy said, very obviously overconfident. It was going to be an easy fight!

He turned out to be correct.

And Aizawa – who had to climb a tree to help Shinso untangle his capture weapon and get down, don’t ask – returned to the clearing just in time to see his rewinded classmate getting judo flipped into a tree by one of the Midoriya twins. He, of course, instantly knew which one it was.

“Problem child, don’t bully him.” He said and while for him and the boy the message was obvious – ‘you’re a supreme leader with well over a decade of fighting experience, give some slack to actual kids’ – Shirakumo got up with an indignant yell.

“Hey! Whose side are you on?!” 

“Yours, obviously, since he wants me to show you some mercy,” Mikumo answered readily.

“That’s it! Get ready to be completely defeated by my super-secret technique!” 

“Is your super-secret technique bluffing about having a super-secret technique?”

There was a moment of silence and then Oboro turned around.

“I’m going to ask your twin for blackmail materials.”

Mikumo grinned. 

“You shall find none for I would proudly show anyone my baby pictures.” 

“We’ll see!”

But, alas, it was Mikumo who possessed all blackmail materials in the Midoriya family.

~~~~

Mikumo silently walked up to Katsuki, gave him a nicely wrapped present, and then did the same to his twin and Hitoshi.

“Hey! Why are they getting an additional gift?” Mina asked, pouting.

“Because they inspire me greatly to be the best version of myself I can be.” He answered solemnly while Katsuki made a sound that was weirdly reminiscent of choking on anger.

“What the fuck is ‘baby quotes’ supposed to mean?!” 

“Show me!” Mina demanded, trying to grab the book from his hands but failing miserably. Kaminari and Sero went for a different approach, rounding on Shinso.

“No,” he said, backing away but… 

“I’m sorry but I need to know,” Mina whispered, having had changed tactics upon realizing Bakugo was more likely to kill her than let her see whatever was inside.

With that, she snatched the book from someone else and Bakusquad huddled around her with Shinso looking over their shoulder to do some damage control.

“Oh Gosh…” Mina whispered, with tears in her eyes, and then read out loud the reason for her immense joy “’I asked mom why I can eat grenades but not bombs and she choked on air, adults are weird.’ Bakugo Katsuki, age six. At this age, he was blissfully unaware of the difference between pomegranates and explosive consumables.”

They heard Izuku snort from the side and Katsuki seemed about ready to kill him.

“What’s so funny, Deku?!”

“’You know, I tried playing villain once and I pushed that boy and he looked really startled so I felt really bad. That day I realized nothing is worth being a villain, even for play pretend.’ Midoriya Izuku, age seven. He explained it in great detail as if I wasn’t right next to him at the scene. I had to get that other boy to tell him nothing happened so he would stop crying.” Izuku read, looking only slightly embarrassed but mostly amused. “I kind of, maybe, remember that.”

“Oh, there’s one about Shinso!” Kaminari yelled happily, clearing his throat. “’Never trust chickens. I was on my uncle’s farm once and one of his kittens went after a hen so I run to grab him before he could hurt it but then the hen suddenly turned on us and it chased us all the way home!’ Shinso Hitoshi, age eight. That’s an understandable trauma.” 

“Mikumo… San. What the fuck?” Katsuki demanded, stomping toward a very pleased-looking twin.

“Do you like it? I’ve been writing those down ever since I was a wee lad.” 

“Why the fuck aren’t there any of your baby quotes, huh?” Bakugo asked and suddenly there were two people cornering Mikumo.

“Yeah, you should have put your baby quotes here too,” Izuku stated, crossing his arms.

“How could I? I have never gone to such heights of hilarity as you three.”

“’Today Kacchan ate my favorite yellow crayon. I was kind of angry at him but also impressed. I never tried, but I think it’s kind of hard to eat a crayon.’ Midoriya Izuku, age six. That’s what he had to say upon being asked by mom how his day went. She looked only slightly concerned.” Todoroki read in a perfectly calm tone, with only the corner of his lip twitching slightly upward. 

Izuku suddenly realized that in his haste to join accusations against his twin, he left his own copy of Baby Quotes on the table. 

“’I had better crayons! Even Deku’s crayons are weird!’ Bakugo Katsuki, age six. I wasn’t expecting much upon asking him how did the crayon taste so I dare say I got more than I bargained for. Also, according to later questions, the red ones taste the best.” Uraraka read and then howled with laughter. “Why did you eat crayons, Bakugo?!”

“I ever only ate one!”

“So why did you say red ones taste the best?” Kaminari called out even though he never ever heard it in person.

“Because that damn nerd sounded impressed with the whole crayon eating thing and he never gets impressed by anything!” the blond yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at Mikumo.

“That’s true. I hardly remember Mikumo ever getting impressed by anything in childhood.” Izuku offered. 

“And does he get impressed by anything nowadays?” Shinso asked, raising an eyebrow. He had already given up on trying to not get dark past he completely forgot about even mentioning shown to everyone. 

And, to be completely honest, it was well worth it in his mind since it seemed there were far more quotes from the other two. And they were pretty amusing, especially coupled with Mikumo’s commentary written next to each one.

“Oh Gosh…” Mina once again had tears in her eyes and was now going around showing a specific quote to people who tried very hard to hide their amusement upon seeing it. After nearly everyone witnessed its beauty, she finally decided to read it out loud. “’All Might doesn’t break recorders! All Might is a hero!’ Midoriya Izuku, age four. He was in hysterics for an hour after hearing the phrase ‘All Might broke all records’ on TV. Mom laughed hysterically for another half an hour upon learning the reason for his mental breakdown.”

Izuku flushed at that.

“I don’t remember that!” 

“Of course you wouldn’t. It was very traumatic for you, after all.” Mikumo said sympathetically and Izuku took a deep breath… And then attempted to drop-kick his twin.

“Kick his ass!” Bakugo yelled because he could pick up a fight with Mikumo any time but Midoriyas fighting? That’s a surprisingly rare occurrence outside spars.

“I apologize for coming la-“ Aizawa said, walking inside with Eri following entering to a sight of Izuku sitting on his twin and yelling something about ‘baby quotes’.

“Pile!” Eri yelled happily, throwing herself at the two. 

It seemed somewhat painful but Aizawa is pretty sure they deserved it. 

“So what was that about baby quotes?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Let me tell you all about baby quotes, sensei!” Mina said happily, running up to him.

“NO!” Shinso yelled because a line had to be drawn somewhere and he isn’t letting his idol and mentor see this madness. Izuku seemed to think the same but he had hands full of Eri… But all had been saved by Bakugo who literally tackled Mina. 

But then Todoroki threw Izuku’s copy of Baby Quotes to Aizawa who easily caught it and opened it, scanning the pages.

“Dude… Are you crying?” Kirishima asked worriedly. 

Shinso didn’t answer, instead, he went to the sofa where people sympathetically made space so he could facepalm into it and never look up again.

Hitoshi would have sworn revenge was it possible to get such a thing against Mikumo. 

~~~~

Mikumo was somewhere between proud and ‘what the fuck?!’. According to Himiko, the next user visions weren’t supposed to appear for another decade or so. 

But here was Izuku, having a weird dream and waking up to his brother on the floor with the top half of the bed barely holding to the lower one. The boy woke up with a gasp but rather than lingering on a weird dream he took the destruction in. 

“I’m so sorry!” 

“It’s fine,” Mikumo said and quickly got up, using Overhaul to fix the damage right before their mom ran in.

“What happened?! I heard a thud?!” she asked, looking around the room.

Sometimes to protect something you must give up some of your pride.

“I fell down the bed,” Mikumo said since he was already on the floor. “Sorry.”

Their mom blinked and then laughed. She ruffled his hair.

“Well, there’s a first time for everything.” She noted. “You aren’t hurt are you, sweetie?”

“Come on, mom. I’m a future hero.” He said, crossing his arms.

“Of course, of course.” She said and patted his head once more before turning around with a yawn.” Good night then…”  

She left and Mikumo crawled back on the top of his bed. 

“Don’t worry about it and just go to sleep. I’ll set up a meeting with Himiko for tomorrow after school and even if you break anything else I will fix it.”

“But what if I hurt you?” Izuku asked, sounding absolutely miserable at the thought. 

“You wouldn’t be able to hurt me even if you wanted to consciously, what makes you think asleep you’ll have more of a chance?” Mikumo deadpanned and his twin was so taken off guard by the confident answer he laughed quietly.

“Well… If you say so… Goodnight.”

There were no more problems until morning. But. When the training exercise came… Well…

“I am as confused as everyone, please stop staring.” He said while pretty much everyone from both classes glanced from him at the screen where Izuku became a galactic octopus or some other eldrich shit. 

“You don’t look confused.” Kaminari pointed out. 

“Neither does Kacchan.” Mikumo pointed out. He’s pretty sure Katsuki either pieced things together or Izuku just told him, anyway, he was confident the other boy knew about One For All. 

“Why the fuck would anyone be confused?” the blond asked angrily, crossing his arms. “His quirk took damn fourteen years to manifest. We just don’t know what the fuck it is exactly.” 

“That assessment is sensible. For six years I have been sure my quirk was simply possessing features of a crow for Dark Shadow was too weak to manifest yet.” Tokoyami noted.

“Oh yeah, I was convinced my quirk is some kind of Regeneration until I was, like, seven and I literally threw my thumb at some asshole! Haha, I still remember his terrified screeching!” Setsuna added, getting quite a few nervous glances. 

Uraraka and Shinso managed to get Izuku’s new octopus ability under control and his team achieved flawless victory. Which resulted in class A victory – Bakugo’s and Mikumo’s showdown was legendary but ended up in a draw; the latter kept in mind the advantage of the experience he had and didn’t do his absolute-plus-ultra-beyond best to win, instead just trying pretty hard – which is fine, you know. 

And so is sitting in the teacher lounge with All Might, Izuku, and Katsuki.

“What the fuck was that?!” the latter demanded. “All Might sure as hell never used anything like that!”

“Past holder’s quirk,” Izuku answered quietly, looking at his hands deep in thought. “I… Mikumo thought it might happen.” 

All eyes went to him and wow, thank you dear twin for your stellar throwing under the bus service.

“Have you heard about quirk singularity theory? Because I did.” He said simply and then sighed. “Don’t worry, I have a friend who has a somewhat similar quirk. It took over a decade for her to... Get to that point.”

“A quirk similar to One For All?” All Might asked, his eyes widening. “Might I inquire about details?”

“No. Sorry. She keeps it a secret. She is willing to meet up with Izuku and discuss things though.” 

“Alright… If you say this friend of yours is trusted I will believe you but please do not share any details of One For All unless absolutely necessary.”

“No worries, we don’t really need to tell her anything about it.” He said.

“You do realize how suspicious you sound, don’t you?” Katsuki asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, but if need might be I can promise with Tsukauchi present that we won’t have to explain anything even remotely close to One For All and she’d be able to still provide some good advice.” 

“What the fuck her quirk is?” 

“Top secret,” Mikumo answered readily. “Any other questions?”

There was a moment of silence.

“Aren’t you jealous Deku didn’t get one but two quirks and you have none?” Katsuki decided to ask and well… To his credit, Mikumo didn’t really precise what kind of questions he was expecting.

“Ah, yes, my day is ruined and my disappointment is immeasurable,” Mikumo answered showing absolutely no sign of regret or sorrow. “Come on, Kacchan. We both know that I’m already strong enough as it is. Me with a quirk? That would be straight-out villain abuse. It’s enough they have you, guys, to face. Any other questions?” 

That’s the moment doors slammed open.

“I want an explanation,” Aizawa demanded and… Well… 

All Might put up a valiant effort of staying quiet but among his attempt at making excuse he and Izuku made eye contact and the boy gave a small nod before promptly delving into explaining. 

Mikumo was impressed that Aizawa didn’t just start screaming upon acquiring another world-changing secret. He definitely did look like he wanted to do that. Or strangle All Might. Both are possibilities that he did not choose.

So yeah... All is well that ends well!

Chapter Text

Kaminari shuddered.

“I’m so happy weddings usually happen only once.” He said quietly, looking into the air with empty eyes.

“I don’t know what’s your problem it was the best wedding I've ever been to,” Shinso said and the blond instantly turned toward him. 

“It was so quiet and collected you slept through the last few hours!”

“And it was the best quality sleep I had in my entire life. I never felt so safe.”

“Are you… Okay…?” 

Before he could answer Tenya walked up to them with a huge smile.

“Thank you so much for attending my wedding! We had prepared an after-party and would like to invite everyone!” 

“I’m in,” Shinso answered instantly and Kaminari soon gave in.

After party felt more like tea meeting with old people. Denki didn’t hate it though. 

~~~~

“You have taken my video game privileges so I shall take your life!” Tenko yelled, bending his hands into claws in Toshinorit’s direction. He stood on the couch while the hero sat on the floor, surrounded by walls made of lego and tied with ribbons.

“Please spare me!” the man said in the most terrified voice he could muster.

“You didn’t heed my pleas!” the boy yelled. 

That’s the moment Eri chose to run into the room.

“Stop, evil-doer! I will not let you hurt this innocent man!” she yelled, bravely standing between the ‘villain’ and Yagi. 

“Innocent?! You have no idea of the horrors he put me through! Just last night he forgot to read me bed night story!”

The girl gasped and then shook her head.

“That is cruel… But you can’t kill him! Then he won’t ever be able to read you a bed night story!” 

The boy took a step back and nearly fell over the sofa. The girl reached toward him but he managed to keep his balance and she quickly returned to her heroic defensive position while he cleared his throat trying to forget about his to-be death by fall. 

“You make a good point… But I found someone else to read me bed night stories!” the boy yelled and wait a moment-

“Who?!” Toshinori demanded. “Did all those times I woke up early to make you pancakes for breakfast meant nothing to you?!” 

The boy looked to the side as if remembering good old times.

“You used to always burn one side.” He then pointed out without a shred of hesitance and raised his head to look toward the hallway. “Now I will kill you and Mikumo will be my new father!”

The boy stepped into the light with a sinister smile so similar to that of All For One that Toshinori stopped mid fake-gasp and nearly choked on air. Eri was quick to pat his back and both boys looked instantly alarmed.

“Sorry, sorry!” he said and cleared his throat. “Oh no! Whatever shall we do, o great hero Eri? It’s two against just you, I could never possibly face such strong opponents even if I wasn’t tied up and locked in lego prison!” 

The girl glanced from Mikumo who now stood behind the couch, in case Tenko was about to nearly fall again, to Shimura.

“Do not fear! For I, too, have backup!” Eri yelled triumphantly. 

At that, the doors to the closet opened and Izuku stepped out. 

“We’ll show those villains the power of friendship!” he said determinedly, walking up to stand next to the girl.

Mikumo gasped.

“Oh no! It’s my good twin! The white sheep of the family!” 

“We might have lost our advantage in numbers but the quality is more important!” Tenko stated and pointed at Izuku with his finger. “You shouldn’t be here! You’re too good for this world so disappear!”

The heroic boy managed to keep straight face for a few seconds but when Toshinori started laughing he couldn’t keep it in anymore. He fell to the ground, holding his stomach. 

“No!” Eri yelled. “His attack had reached my loyal sidekick and the innocent civilian!” 

She then looked down, as if she was about to give up.

Tenko jumped down the couch with a grin.

“Give up, hero… I have the power of giving sudden but sincere compliments at the most unlikely of times!” he said and when she looked up opening her mouth to speak he followed with “Your hair looks really shiny today, did you start using new shampoo or something?”

The girl grabbed her heart. 

“No one else noticed…” she whispered, falling to her knees. “It was present from Oboro… I really like it… But I can’t give up!” 

She quickly rose to her feet and pointed a finger at him.

“You’re my very best friend because you’re really smart and fun to be around! I learned a lot from you!” she stated and he stumbled to the side having learned from his past mistakes. He then fake fell onto the couch. He looked up at Mikumo. 

“She… She used my weapon against me… You must defeat her for my sake…” he gasped and then died. 

“I shall avenge you!” his loyal follower stated and then turned toward Eri. 

“You have a very pretty smile.” She said and he acted as if her words were a blow that actually pushed him back but he didn’t fall.

“You’re sweeter than caramel apples!” he answered, stalking over the couch toward her. 

The remark was so powerful she lost her words for a few precious seconds. 

“Your eyes are the kindest shade of green in the whole world!” she yelled just as he was about to grab her.

He made a gasping sound and started swaying in a very exaggerated way.

“I… I can’t be defeated… I must… Avenge…” he said and started falling but grabbed Eri on his way down. She squealed as they went down. Of course, he made sure she landed on him so she wouldn’t get hurt.

He then, also, died. 

The girl rolled off of him and acted as if she wanted to get up but she too decided that it was high time for her very dramatic and untimely demise. 

“So I guess I’m the only one alive?” Toshinori asked. Izuku decided to act dead somewhere between Tenko’s last stand and his twin showdown against the heroine. 

That’s the moment the front doors opened.

“Thanks for looking after Eri-“ Aizawa began but stopped, raising an eyebrow. He took in bodies laying all around and looked at Toshinori, tied up with ribbons and inside rather massive lego walls. 

“I can explain.” The blond said but it was too late.

The underground hero closed the doors behind him, took his sleeping bag from pretty much nowhere, and decided to go to sleep right here. 

Tenko opened one eye to check what was going on and giggled. 

“Nap time?” he asked and Eri nodded from her spot next to Mikumo.

“Nap time.” She agreed.

“But I’m still in prison. It’s uncomfortable to sleep in prison.” Toshinori said.

“You’ll get used to it,” Aizawa stated matter of factly.

And with that everyone went to sleep, leaving Yagi with the dilemma of whether he wanted to move and incur their wrath or persevere through his somewhat uncomfortable position for the next hour or so. 

Of course, he ended up choosing the heroic option… And somehow fell asleep anyway, destroying a part of lego walls with his body. 

He woke up with a mustache drawn on his face with a permanent marker. 

~~~~

“Sir cryptid… I want to date your daughter!” 

Mikumo turned around on his swivel chair, petting a scarlet macaw. The parrot looked straight into Oboro’s eyes and he was honestly kind of terrified. 

“I love him, dad!” Eri from future aka Lamb said just for the sake of dramatics. 

“But is he good enough for you?” the boy asked and the bird barked. Literally, like a dog. 

“I’m not… But at least I know it! And I know that no one is good enough for her! I might not be the best but I will always do my best for her!” Oboro gave his heated speech. “I would promise her world but for some reason, she doesn’t even want Japan.” 

She rolled her eyes.

“Having Japan is more trouble than it’s worth.” She pointed out. 

“Yep. Not worth it.” Mikumo agreed. 

“Not!” the parrot confirmed. 

“I feel like I’m missing something here… But no matter! I came here to dutifully get a shovel talk and hopefully not get hit with an actual shovel while at it!” 

“I mean, I could tell you that you’re going to die a terrible death if you hurt her but I raised my little girl to be able to take care of herself. If you do anything to her she will literally delete you from existence on her own.” 

“I am only slightly terrified!” Shirakumo stated readily and grabbed the girl’s hand. “And that’s because if I ever hurt her I would be the first one to delete myself from existence!”

“Bold words,” Mikumo noted. “Well, I suppose you have shown your resolve by facing me, the supreme leader of- wait, wrong timeline… Me! The Musutafu cryptid!” 

“What was that about the supreme leader?” Oboro asked raising an eyebrow.

“Nothing!”

“Because it sounds really cool!” 

There was a moment of silence.

“Come, sit with me son, I’ll tell you all about the mistakes of my youth…” 

At some point, they ended up on a sofa with a parrot stealing popcorn from Eri. 

~~~~

“Listen, it’s not that I don’t like murder but overall you’re a pretty decent guy so it would be a pity to kill you.” 

Hawks blinked. 

He was in Meta Liberation Army’s headquarters and he just run into Endeavour. Endeavor that clearly wasn’t Endeavour because he would never admit to Hawks being a decent guy. 

“Thanks, I think.”

“You see? Exactly what I’m talking about! So polite even when someone is kind of threatening you! With a face of someone you respect at that!” Not-Endeavour said, gesticulating far more than the real one would. It looked kind of comedic. 

“I mean, you said you don’t want to murder me, right?”

“Yeah, but I know you’re a traitor and others wouldn’t take it very well so we need to figure something out. You know, I’m not really a big fan of Hero Commission after they shot my best friend in the head. I would totally go on a murdering spree on them but it would be counterproductive since the aforementioned best friend wants peace, not endless carnage and suffering.” 

The situation instantly became far less funny and more serious. Hawks kept his body language calm though. 

“And why would you think I’m a spy in the first place? Come on, you guys have pretty good reasons to rebel, why wouldn’t I want everyone to be free to use their quirks however they want?”

Not-Endeavour rolled his eyes and stepped closer. Hawks gulped, he could feel the heat of the man’s flames. It couldn’t be him but who else could it be? 

“I know how it will end, Hawks. You’ll be better off if you listen carefully because as things are going right now you are destined to die a miserable death with a war happening anyway. That’s not something neither me nor you want. But unless you’re willing to hear me out, your fate won’t change.”

He couldn’t breathe for a moment. Whoever this was… They were even more terrifying than the real Endeavour and that man can be really scary! 

“Let’s talk about it, then.” He said, trying very hard to keep his cool.

He nearly squealed at the sudden change. The non-Endeavour smiled joyfully and twirled around.

“Come on then! I have tea and chicken nuggets ready!” 

He had never been so terrified at the prospect of eating chicken with his favorite hero. 

~~~~

“I am sorry!” Endeavour yelled, his knees slamming into the floor as he kneeled to apologize. Enough tears were streaming down his face to extinguish his beard. “I’ve been a terrible father!” 

Shoto, who up to this point was sitting on his bed and looking through the new theories on Musutafu cryptid looked up and just stared without a word for a moment.

“What.” He finally managed.

“Every week for the last month I had been haunted by the ghost of Touya and I realized that the only failure in this house… Is me… I do not wish for you to forgive me but please know I fully understand what I have done to you… To our family… And I will do everything in my power to fix my mistakes!” 

“Okay…” Shoto said, having no idea at all how to react to that. “You should probably talk to Fuyumi about it.”

Usually, he would be far colder to his father but the part of him that wanted to help people, to be a hero, felt kind of bad upon seeing someone so conceited fall so low. Literally. Whatever dreams he had been having must be pretty damn painful. Shoto is happy his brother isn’t haunting him... Though last time he checked his piece of cake was gone and Endeavour wouldn’t even look at it while his siblings swore they didn’t even touch it. 

Surprisingly the man got up and left, for once deciding to listen to his child. 

After his footsteps disappeared the closet opened and Shoto was fully ready to see the ghost of his brother.

“Midoriya?” he asked when instead he noticed familiar green hair. 

“Listen, I know it might look weird but the truth is far stranger,” Mikumo said and then grabbed something from the closet… 

What he pulled was someone rather than something.

“Coming out of the closet wasn’t how I planned to tell you I’m alive but you returned home before we could evacuate so yeah. Hi little brother.” 

Shoto was quiet for a very long moment. 

“You’re Musutafu’s cryptid?” was what left his mouth, with his eyes barely even lingering on his long-gone brother. 

“Is this really the most pressing question you have?” Mikumo asked, raising an eyebrow.

“According to some theories, you’re a long-forgotten god. Gods can resurrect people so my dead brother being back would make sense. Though isn’t he a ghost?” Shoto said, making a thoughtful expression. “Oh. I get it. You’re both ghosts.”

Dabi, or rather Touya, opened his mouth, closed it, and then, finally, found something to say.

“Yeah. I am a ghost.” 

“Good job at haunting father. You can tone it down a little now though, Fuyumi is going to get worried about him going insane.”

“But him going insane is the point,” Touya argued back.

“But making Fuyumi worry isn’t.”

“Fine, I’ll let him be for a bit. I mean, his reaction was more than I expected so I guess I can give him a break.” 

While they talked Mikumo went to open the window and moved outside.

“I’ll leave you to catch up. I need to do my homework.” He said as his goodbye.

Shoto looked at his brother.

“Do you want to see my theories about him?” 

Touya knew that he really shouldn’t. 

“Sure.”

In the middle of discussing one of Shoto’s favorite ideas, Natsuo walked into a room with a question freezing on his lips. He then screamed. 

Touya, understandably, jumped through a window.

“What happened?!” Fuyumi asked, closely followed by their father.

“I’ve just seen Touya!” 

“Yeah, he’s a ghost is haunting our house now. He’s cool though.” Shoto explained.

Fuyumi decided to get everyone in this house therapy. Herself included.