Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

(I'm going to skip the stuff before sludge villain but if you want me to try writing it I can)

'Take a swan dive off the roof and hope for a quirk in you next life, damn Deku 

A sad smile graced the face of one Izuku Midoriya as he fished his notebook out of the pond

"Great, months of notes and research, becoming food for the koi just like my dreams," he said with a small sigh as he threw the notebook in the tall metal trash can by the school’s gates, then glumly walked home.

As he walked through an underpass he pulled out a small, steel die with golden numbers one through twenty. He fidgeted with the almost-sphere of the d20, rotating it in his fingers as he began to mumble,  "Stupid Kacchan, always putting his foot in his mouth, he didn't mean that right? But Mom says it doesn't she? So did dad before he left, the store clerk, the librarian, th-" He was cut off as a choked sound of grief rose from his throat.

Izuku slumped against the wall of the underpass he walked through on his way home, its old walls and moss covered manhole as familiar as his own hands. He collapsed  letting his backpack hit the ground as he began to cry, thick rivulets of tears running down his face as he finally gave  up his dream in a bout of agonized sobs. The sound of crashing metal echoed through the underpass, making him stop and freeze.

"W-who's t-there," Izuku called out his head still laid against the wall as he looked at the dilapidated ceiling of the underpass.

"Don't worry about it, I just wanted to ask you a question" said an ominous voice from the tunnel.

Izuku thought it over and remembered the years of torment, and all throughout it having that one unanswered question...well two if he is being honest. "Ok, sure, what is the question."

"Are you using your bod- Fuck, you're a kid? "asked the sinister voice as it transitioned to a confused tone, as it asked this Izuku looked over. He was startled to see a wave of sludge rising in front him as it ballooned from the manhole.

"Wha-"he didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as he was surrounded in a wave of sickly green sludge, causing him to drop the dice, it clattered to the ground with a small ring of metal on stone.

"Don’t worry kid, I've got you it’ll be all r-"the sludge was cut off as an iconic voice reverberated through the tunnel, its tones as familiar to Japan as their own flag. All Might had arrived.

"DELAWARE SMASH!!!" said the booming voice, unaware of the small steel die as it glowed with an ethereal energy, the number 20 backlit on its top.

As he shouted a gust of wind ripped through the tunnel, the force blowing through the sludge and the hidden teenager, forcing the sludge away from the teen as he crashed harshly against the ground with a loud *Crack*.

As Izuku lost his consciousness, his vision fading slowly to black, the only things he could see were the horrified face of the Number One hero and an odd blue screen that floated in the air.

           Initiative rolled, you have unlocked the system, LVL 0 [The Tutorial] will begin now. 

Chapter Text

[Initiative Rolled: Beginning Tutorial]

[Loading; 10%]

Izuku was in a void?

[Loading; 25%]

An ocean?

[Loading; 35%]

He held out his hand? Hands? Eyes? Ooze?

[Loading; 40%]

He shook his head? Anger? Fear?Mind?

[Loading; 50%]

he could see!

[Loading; 64%]

There was color, feeling.

[Loading; 72%]

He reached out and pushed the.... Color? Emotion?Pers-Ting?

[Loading; 8^&5%]

The Thin-MIKUMO! Mikumo was cold, it was warm, it was scary, it was him.

[loading; 95%]

He Pulled

[Loading; ER{}R*&#2ndej%$#%]

[System ERROR]

[Resetting]

[Returning to Source]

[Failure]

[Opening Protocol X]

[Player Chosen]

[Loading]

Mikumo tried to RIP OUT

Izuku tried to Hide

They tried to ESCAPE

[SYSTEM DOWN]

Chapter Text

[ERROR]
[CONT-^#|%\]
[WH@T?]

Midoriya Grabbed, pulling himself through a world of… paper? 

[N(3&:^{%{^O!!!]
[ST0oO0P]

[Rebooting]

…

[Reboot Complete]

[Welcome Player, Please tell us your Name]

Was that…Water? He pushed his hair back with his hAnDs/CLAwS/TenTaCLE???

His Eye/Eyes/Crystals, couldn’t see/hear/smel l ??

Who?

Who am I?

He was slipping, he was tired,he was-

who was he?

“N-NO!/Shit! REM-Remember!/God damn it!, My name is Izuku/Mikumo Akatani/Mydoriya!”

My name is Izuku Mydoriya

My name is Mikumo Akatane 

My name is Izuku Mikudorya 

I live in Jap-Amer-Earth?

My name is MIzukumo Akaroya.

My name is Izuku M-,what was it?

My Na-I am-Calle-.-.-

I am Izuku/Mikumo Mydoriya/Arana!

No! My Name is M izu katane Akaroya!

[Input Recognized: Mizukatane Akaroya]
[Checking Database]
[Username Inalid]

[Admin Contacted]
[Complete]

No/What that’s not our My name

No/Fuck you!, send us me back!

[Input Recognized||/Generate: Meeting]

[Generation Complete]

Chapter Text

What? Where, only White, White, White…is that a table?

“Hello Mizukatane, nice to meet you,I see you lack a character for the game?”

     Normal people tend to react poorly to being surprised, they typically react with either anger, or fear. Unfortunately, with the advent of quirks, this has changed to spontaneous activation of said abilities. So it is little surprise that when a white haired old man and a table appeared from thin air Mizukatane, fought the dual instinct to freeze or lunge forward. They both ended up sitting silently with their shared eyes open wide.

“Whatfuck offare youold mantalking aboutsend meI wantback hometo go back home.”

The man grimaced, his long beard seeming to deepen the cavernous wrinkles in his face as he did.

“Hmm, first let’s do something about…This,” he said as he gestured at the horribly mangled soul/spirit/entity in front of him.

As he waved his hand, a pulling force splits the two. The two now separate souls stare at each other. A short, messy haired black-green teen and a taller, more muscular man with scraggly hair and deep eyebags in a dark red almost  black shade.

The old man’s eyebrows raised up, the edges blending with his long hair as he leaned back and opened a folder that appeared with a small flick of the wrist.

“Huh, that’s odd,” his voice took on a strange lilt as he stared up at the ceiling and spoke. It was almost as if he wasn’t speaking to them. ”Never seen the boss have a fuck up this bad.”

A sound like crackling paper and a scent like old ink filled the room, causing the old man to sit bolt upright his eyes blank before he relaxed, and sighed, as he leaned back in his seat tossing the folder into the air behind him causing it to fold onto itself until it disappeared.

”Shit, this is gonna be such a damn pain running a dual character party, he told me to plan for a solo character,” he leaned forward, placing his head into his hands as he groaned exhaustedly, “Why do I have to be the DM for this shit? God damn it.”

Izuku raised his hand from where he sat, trembling in clear hesitation.

”S-sir, who are you? And W-what is going on?”

Mikumo sighed loudly as they interjected, ”God damn it kid, I know that you give us that issue with speaking up but damn, you suck at this. My turn. Who the fuck are you, old man? And-”

The man continued to rant, continuing until he realized that he could no longer be heard.

The old man leaned forward and sighed again, his shoulders finally relaxing from their tense position, “My name is Ed Greenwood, head of this portion of the multiverse but you can just call me your Destiny Manager or DM for short. And welcome to ^{>?|^]!¥,” he reached up and snaped his fingers twice, causing the void around them to change into a small office. "But for the sake of your extended sanity just call it your quirk space.”

Midoriya leaned back, his eyes blown wide as he looked confusedly around the space room they were in, "So this is… my quirk?”

Greenwood settled deeper into his chair as he looked Midoriya in the eyes. ” Yes and no, under normal circumstances you would have manifested it when you were lucky, as is the standard procedure . But you entered a critical status physically as well as mentally while also being inflicted with strong outside stimuli. That, along with the power of your destiny as a H3/?() being left empty manifested this…system error.”

Midoriya leaned forward curiously, "Wh-what is my d-destiny? I-I'm sorry I co-couldn't underst-tand that-t."

Greenwood slapped his head. chuckling lowly as he did, "Sorry, I sometimes forget that humans can't understand all the words we use in Primordal. In your language H3/?() roughly translates to Hero or Main Character. It just means that your existence is a set event in your reality.''

A loud ring punctuated the end of his statement causing Greenwood looked down at his hand, now holding a circular pocket watch and groaned loudly, “Bloody h---, just great we’re almost late to boot. Alright, I get you are curious, but according to the handbook you only get eight questions, two of which you just expended. We also have to do them while we work through character creation, for the sake of brevity. And sorry Mikumo,'' he looked pityingly at the black-red shadow, "your destiny is a 3/7@, in common that translates to Extra or Side Character, so you don't get a lot of input. The first time was your only question, you interrupted before I could warn you.”

Mikumo, now sporting a visible white gag only glared.

"Ok then, Midoriya. Here you go," Ed snapped again, a packet of papers appearing in Midoriya's hands as he does so, " This is the standard paperwork for an awakening of your level, its, just the normal mumbo jumbo about fulfilling your destiny and not becoming an evil overlord. Luckily we don't need R-108 because you didn't die, you just got close. Which is good because that paperwork is a bitch and a half. Anyway, please sign along the glowing yellow line. If you don't want to we can terminate your timeline right now. ''

Ed then scribbled on a new piece paper that he then held it out to Mikumo. As he did so Midoriya shakingly signed along the line, causing the paper to dissolve into pure light that then flowed into his body.

"Alright then, I filed the paperwork to register Mikumo as a system aid so you don't get terminated by the antivirus software in...'' he again checked his watch, "Ten seconds. If you want to do that we can just terminate your contract, if that is the case please sign here for immediate expulsion."

As Mikumo heard this he recoiled back, his head shaking  side to side with vicious intensity.

Ed smiled as he clapped his hands, the room dissolving back into the void as he did so.

"All right then! System Command: /Register|| Admin Code;@^&*72¥."

[Checking Player Registration Database ]
[Player Identified; Midoriya Izuku]

[Registered Anomaly||Classification: Helper||]
[Helper identified; Akatane Mikumo]

Chapter Text

When Mikumo opened his eyes he expected  to be back in the underpass, after all there was absolutely no way he had just died. Right? He was sorely disappointed. The room he came to his senses in was like an office, with the normal desk, two chairs, stacks of paperwork, and an old customer. The only things out of place were the fact that the writing on the papers was gibber- Celestial, and the fact that the old man was a god.

‘‘Finally awake I see? It was quite boring to wait for you all by my lonesome. Especially given that I need your help for this next process.” 

The suddenly jovial tone of Ed startled Mikumo, causing him to quickly assume a defensive stance. The old ma Ed’s lighthearted chuckle and grin just further put him on edge.

Mikumo’s eyes darted around the room, his posture became even more tense as he noted the absence of Izuku Midoriya. His voice grated out, untainted by slime for the first time in years, “Where’s the kid old man, as far as I’m aware we’re a package deal.”

Ed just held up his hands, his posture relaxed and non-threatening,"Don't worry, I just needed the kid to be out of here for a minute while we talked.”

Mikumo’s posture did not relax at these words, his tone biting as he inquired, “Why? It is the kids' quirk after all.”

Ed just sighed, a small frown graced his face for his following words, “Because, he wouldn’t want to hear this. I’ve barely gotten any information from corporate about the kid but even I know that he is a real hero at heart. He would hate to inconvenience another, even if it was not his fault.”

Mikumo slightly relaxed at the fondness in Ed’s tone as he remembered his own experiences with the kid when they were one, “Yeah, the kid is a real ray of sunshine.’’ His tone hardened as he properly processed the words he had heard, “How am I being… Inconvenienced? I really don’t like the sound of that.”

Ed flinched as it was mentioned, seeming to sink in on himself as he replied, “I may have… under-expressed the conditions of activation for his quirk. This quirk was always present, just dormant due to a lack of energy from his soul.” Ed began to fidget with his hands at this, a small sheen of sweat appearing on his brow, “but you see, when you were both hit.. You.. you were in contact with him. In a moment of frantic desperation his quirk… absorbed you. Your souls became intertwined. Under normal circumstances his quirk would have cannibalized itself to restore his vitality but it instead latched onto yours, turning you into the battery for his abilities. Your quirk is gone.”

Mikumo’s reaction was abnormal. If anything he seemed relieved, calmly accepting that fact with a small smile.

“Ok, so why does this mean I am here? We could have had this meeting in that other office.” As Mikumo’s apparent acceptance permeated the room he relaxed, calming his nerves and letting his body revert to a natural position.

Ed’s smile sharpened, his unearthly nature apparent in that simple expression. “It’s your office, thought you would like to be introduced early. It makes sense after all, if your quirk is the battery then your soul is like a circuit and Midoriya’s is like the device and controller.”

Mikumo’s flat tone and blank gaze lazily bore into the god as he stared at  his eyes, “So you wanted less paperwork.”

Ed’s eyes refused to make direct contact as he hurriedly strode to the desk and began flipping through the piles of folders and papers 

Until he finally grabbed onto the one he was looking for.

“AHA, this is the form. Alright here,” As he finished speaking he threw the paper at Mikumo’s face, where it dissolved into pure light before forming an array of blue screens.

“Wha—“

“Now, onto character creation.” Said Ed his face split with a wide and almost human grin that chilled Mikumo to his core.

Then the world exploded in light, pain, and familiar panels.