Hey everyone! This is a Final Fantasy X/Boku no Hero Academia crossover, however it can be read as just a BNHA crossover! The FFX stuff doesn't matter too much other than the aeons (her quirk) and the fact that the OC is Yuna's implied reincarnation, though she doesn't know it. It's just the reason she has the aeons, so it really doesn't matter too much! Thank you, enjoy the story!
If you want to see what the summons/aeons look like, and their attacks, search "FFX AEONS" in google images or "FFX ALL AEON OVERDRIVES"
Summary: There are voices in the back of her mind, and they sit still to a hymn that is noiseless. Aiko is not Yuna, nor does she remember being her. It matters very little to her tenants. Summoner AU
Pairings: Todoroki Shouto/OC, hints of Bakugou Katsuki/OC
Aiko has never been alone.
There are voices—of all kinds, some like whispers, like trying to grasp air, where others are strong, commanding, loud, forcing her attention—and they all dwell deep in her mind, quiet more often than not, but so obviously there.
It's not very unusual, in a world like this. Her mother suggests she might have some kind of telepathic quirk with animals, as her own quirk lets her understand and command them. Aiko doubts it by the way they stir at that, their quiet disappearing into a roar of discontent at being written off, and she hums dismissively when her mother stares with voiceless question.
There's something within her that knows the answers. It's an awareness, a wonderful warmth that surges up whenever they awaken; a familiar, lovely thing, and it sings within her bones, within her very blood. The voices sit at ease in her, and she allows them to with a sort of blinded understanding she can feel to the tips of her toes. It stays that way, for a long time.
And then one day, it doesn't.
It starts with a low hum of a song, soon overcome by a low growl, and then they're raging and fighting each other inside her, their voices melding together in an endless scream. It is a fight for domination— not for her, but for them, the ones inside her, all of them desperate in a way, all of them clawing at her insides, trying to force themselves out— for something— something to do with her. Aiko's brain simmers in a lake of confusion, unable to do anything but wait for the war inside of her to end, for a calm to reign, for something that she has no answer for.
Then it's over, all at once, like blocking a waterfall. There is only silence left, an eerie, chilling kind, a wasteland after destruction. It's like they were never even there at all.
The dust settles. The waterfall rumbles.
Something bursts from her skin and roars.
Aiko stumbles to a stop, the cold air biting at her trembling fingers. Above her, U.A seems monstrous in height, the roof embracing the sky, solid and intimidating, all reflective glass and sleek surface. Hopeful examinees push past her, pooling at the entrance, some filled with nervous energy, others with determination.
A shuddering breath escapes her lips, tension lining her shoulders. She tugs at her sleeve as a low, crooning sound echoes in her mind, a ghost-like touch brushing against her face, sharp like a talon but precise and delicate. Aiko closes her eyes and leans in, breathing deeply as the touch weakens, fades into the wind. Valefor, she thought, the tension dissolving like smoke, thank you.
The only reply is a rush of warmth in her bones, a clicking noise in her mind, an insistence that pushes against her stomach and forces one foot forward, and then the other. A little grin curves on the edge of her lip, and she lifts her chin and drives her feet forward. "Okay," she mumbles, biting down a giggle, "I get it, I'm going."
She's lucky, to have friends like these to draw strength from, as she walks to her future as many pro heros had done in the beginning of their careers. She could imagine them walking ahead of her, standing tall and sure of themselves as they head into their new era. She breathes in, determination filling her, and a strong, approving bellow rages in the back of her mind. Please lend me courage, Ifrit, she thinks, as she stares up at the 'H' shaped building.
"I will be a hero," her fists clench, white-knuckled, relentless. "I will help people."
"What the hell do you think you're doing? Mumbling to yourself— you remind me of that useless Deku. Shut the hell up!"
Aiko's body spasms with fright, her heart thundering in her chest, as the speaker makes himself known as he pushes past her, his voice a agitated growl, tight as if he's struggling not to shout his words. She turns and meets eyes that shine like rubies under the wild, spiky blond hair, taking in his ferocious snarl, his wound-up body language, the way his muscles in his throat seem to strain with intensity behind his scarf. Attractive, but more vicious than an angry bulldog. Whoever this guy is, he's not someone she would want to be around.
He gives her one last furious glare over his shoulder, and marches on into the building. She finds herself stiff, blinking with shock. And then his words catch up with her. She frowns and crosses her arms over her chest. "What is wrong with that guy? Does he speak to his mother all mouthy like that? Honestly." Aiko mumbles, shaking her head.
He completely ruined my good mood, she thought forlornly as she passes through the door, distracted.
Going through administration is easy thanks to her teacher from middle school, Nanikawa-sensei, who had already sorted through her forms. She'd already been told that there are a few other students from her school planning to go to U.A, but only for the general course, so she would be alone in heroics. It made it feel a little scarier, knowing that she's all alone against the odds.
The written exam is a blur, but Aiko has studied hard for it, so she leaves the testing room feeling light and confident with her results. The examiners give them a short five minute break in-between for some food. Her stomach feels full of nervous energy, but she forces herself to eat the lunch her mother packed, knowing she'll need energy for the practical exam. She ends up feeling a little dizzy in response, and retreats her focus in pursuit of calming croons and noiseless whispers in the depths of her mind.
Valefor's always been the closest to her, the one that feels more comforting, familiar and playful, warm-spirited and airy. Unlike the others, Valefor never whispers, or speaks— just makes vague noises at her, preferring actions to words. Aiko likes the simpleness of Valefor.
"Hey," a tap on her shoulder startles her out of her thoughts, and she glances sideways to see a red-haired guy with a wild grin standing before her, "They wanted everyone in the auditorium to explain the practical exam— our time's up," he jerks his thumb behind him down the hall, to where students are heading for double doors being held open by two narrow-eyed third years. "You looked out of it, so I wasn't sure if you heard."
He had a good-natured, laid-back kind of sharpness to him. Aiko imagines him as someone driven, by the cheerfully narrow set eyes, mischievous eyebrows and confident stance. "Thanks," she says, unable to contain her smile. "That's real nice of you. My hero."
Taken back, he flushes and laughs a little, patting her on the shoulder in a friendly way as they both began to walk to the auditorium. "It just seemed like the manly thing to do! I'm Kirishima Eijirou, by the way."
"Haruna Aiko," she replied with a broad grin to match his own. Man, this guy is worlds apart from that jerk who growled at her this morning. "Nice to meet you."
"Yeah, nice to meet you too, Haruna!" he says with enthusiasm. "We should probably find our seats, though," he said, peering around. Most students have already found their seats, and sit in either complete silence, or subdued conversation. Kirishima pulls out a slip from his pocket and squints. "I'm in seat 38AB. You?"
She sighs and shakes her head, "I'm 14CA. I guess this is where we split, Kirishima-san."
"Yeah! See you later!" he waves, body straining in a nervous but excited kind of confidence that she wishes she had. He's a cool guy, she thought, waving.
Aiko turns and stares around the crowded auditorium. There has to be at least three hundred students here, despite such a low acceptance rate. She moves towards the stairs, feeling a trickle of self-doubt pool down her spine. "Oh, hey, wait, Haruna-san!"
Aiko stops and stares, head tilted in question. Kirishima leans to the side to let others pass, his hands swinging in the air to get her attention. There are eyes on them, judgemental and curious.
But he just grins, wild and carefree and all-sharp edges, "Do your best yeah? You seem like a manly person! It'd be cool to be in the same class as you!" He gives a big thumbs-up.
His enthusiasm is infectious, and it feels good. Her cheeks flush in happiness, a genuine smile forcing her lips up. "Okay! You too!"
She smiles all the way to her seat, which lies empty in-between a scared-looking blonde girl with a smile that seems frozen on her face and a dark-haired boy who wears an annoyed expression as he toys with his lip piercing. When they meet eyes, he turns away with a huff, while the girl on her left gives a quiet, unenthusiastic, "Hello."
Aiko nods to her, smile becoming more subdued, "Haruna Aiko."
"Hachibana Reiko," the girl says, her voice a wobble. She has a eerie stillness to her, a sense of dread in her dark eyes, forced smile unwavering against the stark paleness of her skin. "Nice to meet you, I guess."
"Nice to meet you," she replied, feeling worry crease her brow. "I don't want to be rude... but is everything okay? You sort of look like you're about to pass out."
If anything, Reiko pales further. "I think I just flunked the written exam." Her fingernail scrapes the side of her examinee card, a quiet, rough sound tearing from the thick paper.
Aiko gives a flinch of surprise, her gut twisting in guilt. She'd felt great about her chances for passing the written exam, but she hadn't even thought of how it must've been for others. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"
She gives a brittle smile, her eyes very motionless, "No, it's oka—"
Her words are lost to the big screen flashing on, the huge, gold U.A logo stark against a blue background. The auditorium stills, gasps echoing through the silence. A man stands in front of it, and with a jolt of excitement, Aiko registers that it's Present Mic in his hero costume. "Holy shit," the boy with the piercing whispers, the first she hears from him.
"For all you examinee listeners tuning in, welcome to my live show today!" He strikes a pose, then throws his arms out in exuberance. His voice is so loud that it seems to ring through her eardrums. "Now everybody give me a HEY!" He turns and places a hand to his ear, as if waiting for an answer.
Nobody breathes a word, the auditorium stock-still, but Present Mic seems unbothered. "What a refined response!" he says, making an exaggerated gesture that she can't really make out from so far away. She forces her eyes on the screen behind him, feeling burning second-hand embarrassment trail up her spine, cheeks flushing with horror.
An elbow nudges her arm, and she meet eyes with Reiko, who looks like her emotions have done a sharp one-eighty. It's the first time the girl doesn't look miserable— instead, her face is stunned, her eyes wide and incredulous, and when she looks to Aiko she clasps a hand over her mouth to cover hysterical wheezing noises, tears gathering in her eyes. A part of her wonders if she's actually going through a breakdown, hiding it through desperate hilarity, but pushes it out of mind. It's not a very nice thought to have, after all.
"Anyway, I'll quickly present to you the rundown on the practical exam!" He continues, oblivious. "Are you ready? YEAH!"
Silence. Nobody replies. Snickers ring through the auditorium, barely audible. Aiko hangs her head, face on fire. The boy to her right lets out a mournful groan, letting go of his piercing in favor of pushing his face into his hands, "I thought he was cooler than this. What the hell?"
"As it says in the application requirements, you listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles!" Present Mic says. Behind him on the screen, the letters 'A' through to 'G' pop up in little boxes, all linking to a main box, which said 'You are here!' Present Mic gestured to the display, "After the presentation, you'll head to the specified battle center, okay?" A pause, then another exaggerated pose, "OKAY?!"
Again, no response. "Oh my god," Reiko whispers around the fingers against her mouth, shoulders trembling. She peers down at her card, trying to calm herself, then whispers, "I-I'm in battle center F, what about you?"
Aiko grabs her card and frowns, "Battle center E."
"There are different types of faux villains, and you earn points depending on their difficulty. For example!" He turns and points to the screen, which is now showing silhouettes of monster-like villains, with the number of points earned under each one. "You see? The goal, dear listeners, is using your quirk to earn points by immobilizing the faux-villains. Attacking other examinees or any other unheroic actions is against the rules— this is a hero school after all!"
"May I ask a question?" a voice yells. A spotlight flickers to life to shine down on a tall dark-haired boy with glasses in the middle group, standing with his hand in the air. At Present Mic's go-ahead, he continues in a loud, stern voice, "On the printout, there are four kinds of villains, if this is a misprint, then U.A, the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of this foolish mistake!"
Aiko blinks in shock at his boldness, a frown pulling at her lips. Those words seemed a little extreme, didn't they? The boy beside her lets out a scoff.
"We examinees are here in this place because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes! In addition, you over there with the curly hair—" he turns and points to a shadowy figure two rows behind, who reels back in shock and makes some kind of gesture that she can't make out. "You have been muttering the entire time, it's distracting! If you're here on a pleasure trip, then you should leave immediately!"
Aiko can't help but be glad that that boy hadn't been near them. Embarrassing someone publicly like that seemed unnecessary. Almost immediately, auditorium comes to life with mumbling and quiet laughter. Reiko giggles beside her, and piercing-boy has his eyebrows raised as he whispers to himself, "He has a big stick up his—"
"Okay, okay!" Present Mic silences them, and shoots a thumbs up at the boy with glasses, "Examinee 7111, thanks for calling in the request."
He gestures to the screen, where the fourth silhouette villain appears, "The fourth type of villain is worth zero points! It's basically just an obstacle that will go crazy in narrow spaces. There's one for every battle center. It's not impossible to defeat, but there's no reason to do so, either. I recommend you listeners out there try to avoid it!"
"Thank you very much! Sorry for the interruption!" Glasses-boy yells, bowing before taking a seat. The spotlight on him dissolves into darkness. Present Mic nods at him and continues.
"That's all from me! Finally, I'll give you listeners a present— our school motto!" he scans the crowd with a huge grin lighting up his features, voice rising to an even louder volume, "The hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said: 'A true hero is someone who overcomes life's misfortunes. Go Beyond. Plus Ultra!'"
Despite having heard the catchphrase before, Aiko can't help but make an intrigued noise, goosebumps rising on her flesh. She can feel her friends awakening inside of her; can feel Ifrit's spirit rising to the surface over all others, Bahamut not far after him, resonating with her, their presence a rough shiver on her senses.
"Now everyone, good luck suffering!"
The screen blinks off.
"Begin!"
She is the first to move.
Aiko drops to the ground, and pushes her palm to the earth, a roar of fire burning through her mind as her veins pulse with energy, a bold, strong being touching her conscious. Her fingers flicker flame, a pulse shooting out from her palm, the grass turning to ashes in a perfect circle and stopping a meter away, the smell of smoke on the edge of her senses. Other examinees give off surprised shouts as the ground rumbles, before the earth beneath her shoots up into the air, a giant sphere of red light shivering from its place— wedged between the ground and the earth she stands upon.
"Ifrit, be my strength," she says, and with a pulse of energy, the orb shatters.
The earth under her feet explodes into smoke. Eyes burning with fire pierce through heavy grey cloud.
