Rating: T+
Pairing(s): Midoriya/Uraraka; Kirishima/Ashido; Todoroki/Yaoyorozu; Iida/Hatsume; Kaminari/Jirou; Shinsou/Asui; Ojiro/Toru; Mirio/Nejire.
Genre: Romance; Superhero Action; Thriller; Suspense; Dark Humor; Mature Themes
Notes:
Hello everyone! Zancrow here!
I bring you all the second chapter (first chapter proper if we count the prior one as a "Prologue") of my little fiction imagining an alternate world where All Might is somehow the biggest threat in the world. Also, a fiction with a lot of romantic buildup and tension between a wide variety of characters, some with a lot more chance at happening in canon than others. So, if you're interested in a darker take on the MHA world without it being an outright tragedy, do read on. And don't forget to let me know what you folks think about it, since I'm not that experienced with the Fantasy / Action genre, and could greatly use the feedback!
Disclaimer: Don't own My Hero Academia, or Oumagadoki Zoo.
He had had the weirdest dream.
He was fighting Bakugou, not in itself a weird thing, but in some torn down city; fighting without any rhyme or reason. Also, creepily, a corpse that resembled one of the Academy instructors was there, burnt to a crisp, right down to the bone marrow. It was not an image he would be able to forget any time soon. There was a distinct way that corpses belonging to those with more physically manifested Quirks presented themselves, as the amazing differences between their bodies and those who had a more Quirk-less look were in turn made into ghastly deformations sticking out of their hardening bodies. It was not something he wanted to see ever again.
Also, Uraraka was there, because of course she was. He dreamt of her far more than he did anyone else. Even All Might, despite all the hero worshipping Midoriya partook in, had to settle into a number two placement regarding "appearances or cameos in Midoriya's dreams". Not that he'd ever tell him that. Or her. Definitely not her.
Especially the part that he was half naked. Why though?
He knew naked dreams, or rather, nightmares were a common thing, but why was it mixed with such a violent and nasty nightmare? Wasn't the embarrassment enough? No need for corpses of good people and fights with friends. He remembered he once asked All Might about his dreams, and although Midoriya meant dreams as in "hopes and aspirations", All Might took it a bit too literal.
"Well, last night I had a dream I was in a chili eating contest against Latin American singer Marc Anthony," Toshinori Yagi, otherwise also known as the greatest living superhero All Might, responded in his usual boisterous tone, complete with a straight face regardless of how absurd a statement he had just given. "…I'm not sure how those two things relate, nor to the validity of how the dream played out, but that man can eat chili like there is no tomorrow."
"…I don't think that's what I meant," Midoriya replied, although he let out a quick laugh at the reply nonetheless. "I was asking about future dreams, you know, like goals or hopes. Back in class we begun to discuss that, and aside from aspiring to be the greatest hero, I kinda blacked out on what else I would want to be or do."
"That makes more sense," All Might responded, sitting next to his young ward at the cafeteria. It wasn't an uncommon sight to see the great and powerful All Might spending time with his students, but most people had begun to suspect he did favor young Midoriya above the others. Not many were wary of to just what extent. Still, seeing All Might in his power form, long before he lost the ability at the hands of the vile "All For One", sitting down chatting and gossiping like a schoolgirl was still a sight to behold. As a hero, he would welcome any conversation any youngster would spring on him, so it was not above him to talk to other boys about heroes, cars, video games and even girls, or opposite of that, talk to the girls about heroes, cars, video games and boys. He mostly managed to get such conversations out without sounding creepy. Mostly.
"So, well, I wondered what your dreams were, those that involved no super heroics whatsoever," Midoriya continued, as he saw that it made All Might ponder. The man became pensive, something that was a rarity with him. He remained quiet for a bit longer than Midoriya anticipated, making the conversation feel a bit awkward. When Midoriya was just about to tell All Might that it was alright and he didn't need a reply, All Might spoke up.
"…To find a way to help without the use of the Quirk," he replied, and Midoriya just looked on. "And I know it sounds like cheating, but it doesn't have to involve superhero stuff. Perhaps furthering the reach of my charities, maybe open up an "All Might" themed children's hospital, or even bettering the villain reform programs that I've dabbled in," he continued, and Midoriya just smiled.
"Sounds like you," he admitted, and All Might nodded, but then he added something else.
"I would also like to settle down someday, wife and kids if you know what I mean," he mentioned as an afterthought, but it still made Midoriya choke on air. Wife? Kids? He'd never heard All Might mention either.
"That's a newsworthy announcement All Might!" Midoriya exclaimed, but lowered his tone when he saw everyone in the cafeteria was looking at them. "…I mean, I've never heard you even mention a girlfriend, much less a family. It sounds so cool! Like, Mrs. Might! And All Might Jr. It's like, if there's any one out there that deserves to meet someone great and live happily ever after, it's you!"
"You think so?" All Might asked, flashing his trademark smile at the youth. "The idea of a Mrs. Might, I mean, Mrs. Yagi is an interesting one. But I guess as for All Might Jr., if we're honest, that would probably be y… youngsters like all of you! Ha, ha, ha," he gave a triumphant laugh to hide his manly blush and almost confession. Midoriya was none the wiser. "Not like I'd single out any of you out as a son or anything like that!"
'…He's like a tsundere schoolgirl,' most people nearby thought, not fooled in the slightest by his "denial".
"Yeah, I know," Midoriya replied, but he said nothing else on the subject. He knew All Might could find happiness with someone, someone who'd love him for the man he is. Not the symbol, not the hero. Not even the powered up form. But for the man beneath all that, powerlessness, scars and all. It made him think about himself, when the time came for him to pass One For All to another, would there be anyone like that for him? And no sooner had he thought that, than the mental image of a smiling Uraraka flashed upon his mind. And it caused him to blush a deep red and carry on the earlier conversation to keep his thoughts in check. "Salsa!"
"You want me to pass the sauce?" All Might asked, confused, but beginning to reach for it.
"No," Midoriya replied, realizing it must have sounded out of place, stopping All Might mid-salsa-reach. "I meant that that was the relation between the chili contest and the singer. Salsa, both the sauce and the music. Get it?"
"…I see," All Might responded, placing his strong arm against Midoriya's shoulder as he patted the boy affectionately. "Ha, ha, ha. You really are a smart one! I'd never make the connection! Well done, young Midoriya, well done."
"Anytime All Might," Midoriya replied, but opened his eyed wide when he felt a burning sensation inches from his face, burning his sight by the blinding light of what seemed to be fire burning close enough to his face that he could smell the ashes. He tried to move, but felt his hands tied, binding him in place. He was standing up, or rather, forced into a standing position by chains tied against his arms that pulled them up into a secure place. 'What the?' he panicked, realizing his predicament. 'I'm tied up! Don't tell me that dream was…?! No! I need to get out of here, I need to-'
"Activate your Quirk," a venomous voice threatened him, and he realized it was none other than Bakugou before him; his would-be rival being the source of the fire he had seen, his palms lighting up mere inches from his face, like a Catherine Wheel ignited before him threatening to explode. "And I will blow out your eyes, understood punk?"
-0-
Chapter Two
"Quirks Among Us"
-0-
Midoriya just forced himself to nod at the threat.
"You wanted to talk?" Bakugou continued, seemingly pleased with his response. Or at least as pleased as a pissed off Bakugou could be. "I'm listening, but pull anything funny, and not even the deepest autopsy will be able to identify your sorry ass mug after I'm through with it."
"…Kacchan," Midoriya addressed, yet realized he was in no position to argue. He could get out of the chains, and fight Bakugou again if need be, but he knew that the moment Bakugou saw him even try to activate the One For All he'd decimate him. He was in no position to fight, not now. He also felt extremely cold, which he figured it was thanks to the lack of proper clothing, which one glance downwards confirmed. Or rather, confirmed to an absurd degree. "Why am I naked?!"
"Seriously, that's where you want to start this?" Bakugou seemed simply annoyed that Midoriya's first question was about his current state of dress, or lack of thereof. The boy was hanging by the chains tied to his arms, completely in the nude in that dimly lit room, while Bakugou just stood before him, palm still extended ready to blow him to kingdom come. "I had to search you, you understand, right?"
"Are you serious?" Midoriya, blushing and trembling at the thought, "A cavity search, of all things?"
"What, no, not that," Bakugou corrected, sounding disgusted at the implication. He pointed to a nearby chair, where Midoriya saw that his shirt and boxers rested. "I searched your clothing for a wire or a bug, not you. It's not like I shoved my hand up your ass or anything. And stop making me say gross things! Either tell me where she is, or I'll blast you to pieces!"
"Stop getting yourself agitated!" Midoriya exclaimed, then bit his tongue. Getting into a shouting match with Bakugou, especially this Bakugou, could prove deadly. He had to be smart about this. "Listen, I don't know what's going on. As far as I remember, I was in home, in bed, dreaming, and then I woke up next to that body, and a few minutes later you found me. I have no idea how I got there… here? I don't even know where I am."
"That's a bit hard to believe," Bakugou replied, not believing him but at least calming down a bit.
"I know it must sound crazy, but I'm not an enemy," Midoriya tried to explain himself, to make him see some reason. "My name's Izuku Midoriya, and I know you, we are frie-alli-rival! We are rivals," he settled on that term, but when he saw Bakugou glare, he added, "Friendly rivals, as classmates at UA. We're studying to be Pro Heroes, don't you remember?"
"…Stop that."
"Huh?" Midoriya was taken aback. It was not the response he expected.
"…You keep asking if I know you, right?"
"Uh, yeah…"
"…I know who you're pretending to be," he answered, and Midoriya failed to understand him. Pretending? What did that even mean?
"What are you saying?" Midoriya asked, his eyes wide, as he tried to search for the answer in Bakugou's body language. He simply couldn't read him. "What do you mean by "pretending"?"
"Fuck off with that!" Bakugou roared as his palm was lit a flame, causing Midoriya to brace for impact, but it never came. The explosions remained inches from him, as Bakugou placed his open palm even closer in the most threatening form imaginable. "Stop pretending to be him! Why that idiot of all people?!"
"I'm not pretending anything!" Midoriya roared back, realizing that it could be the only way to "converse" with Bakugou. "You're the one not making any sense! Who am I pretending to be?!"
"That idiot Deku!"
"De…" then it clicked. Midoriya's eyes widened. "Wait! I am Deku! You do know who I am!"
"I said I know who you're pretending to be!" Bakugou countered, palm still lit. "Dead men don't just reappear out of the blue!"
"But I am-wait," he paused, fear striking him down to the bone. "Dead? I… died?"
"Not you faker, Deku," Bakugou confessed, and for the first time, Midoriya saw a hint of pain behind his bloodthirsty eyes, and he realized what he had been overlooking. It was still Bakugou in there. No matter how contradicting a past the two now seemed to remember, the truth was that it was still the same guy he knew since childhood in there. That explained all the threats and the chains and the shouts. He'd threaten to murder him right then and there, but he'd never do it. Because for all his faults, Katsuki Bakugou was not a killer. He was a hero. So Midoriya closed his eyes, and forced himself to regain his composure.
"Can you at least tell me what happened?" Midoriya tried, his tone soft.
"…There's not much to say," Bakugou replied, with Midoriya slightly surprised that he was complying yet said nothing on it. "A villain attacked, I got captured. I was careless, untrained. No hero in sight. Then, for who knows what reason, y-" Bakugou caught himself before he said it, "Deku jumps in, to save me he says," Bakugou recounted, and as he did, Midoriya could see the pain in his eyes appear again. The sorrow expertly hidden away behind his voice. "By the time I was saved, Deku was just a heap of flesh and bones. All I remember was his mother crying, asking them to check again, to make sure, as if that cold corpse could get up from that. So don't come to me with that face. I know of Quirks which can mimic others, Deku is dead, and you'll be joining him unless you tell me who you really are and what you've done with the girl!"
"I am Deku," Midoriya replied, and before Bakugou could reignite his palm, he continued, "I don't know what's happening, or why you remember things that way, but, it's not far from how I remember it. I did rush in to save you, scared out of my mind. I never had a Quirk, nor did I know how to fight. But I just didn't want to see you get hurt. Didn't want to see anyone get hurt. I mean, how could I dream about being a superhero if I couldn't even try to save a friend?" as Midoriya spoke, Bakugou remained silent. His eyes scanning, carefully. "And just like in your version, I failed, but before I was killed, or you were killed for that matter, All Might saved us, he-"
"Don't bring him into this!" Bakugou roared, and Midoriya shrieked in automatic response, clenching his teeth as Bakugou seemed ready to burn him for real this time. "I thought I had misheard you say that bastard's name earlier when you woke up, but it seems you really are in league with him! Is that it?!"
"With All Might?" Midoriya had no idea how this conversation sounded so off all the sudden. "Well, yeah, but, who isn't? You, me and all of our class look up to the guy."
"Like hell I do!" Bakugou shouted back.
"Oh come on!" Midoriya replied in kind. "I can accept you being doubtful of me, but All Might? What do you have against the symbol of peace who lost his powers fighting to save you?!"
"What don't I have…" Bakugou froze midsentence, his eyes wide with shock. "Lost his powers, saving me? That monster hasn't slowed down a bit since this whole thing started, but, damn it! Why do you look so sure of all this nonsense you're spewing?!"
"Because it's true!" Midoriya replied, clenching his fists but avoiding activating his Quirk, leaving that as a last resort. "You're biggest dream, since we met as kids, was to be like All Might. You worshipped him, like we all do! You were so proud of your Explosion Quirk, because it meant you were destined to do great things, to be as amazing as All Might! Maybe even greater! And just like All Might gave up his mantle to me, he gave up what little powers he had to save you! You and I, whether you like it or not, whether this world has turned upside down, we are the flame that brings hope to the hopeless! When the world can go no further, we are the ones that go plus ultra!"
Silence followed.
"…Is that a mockery of a heroic speech or are you actually serious?" Bakugou responded, feeling incredibly perplexed by this all. It all made no sense, yet he couldn't convince himself that this "fake" Deku was telling anything but the truth. Or at least, his version of the truth. For once, he was at a complete and utter loss of how to proceed. 'If he's lying, I could put everyone at risk by just letting him stay here,' he thought, his eyes narrowed, 'but if he's not… No way, he can't be Deku, but damn it, he sounds just like him. Looks just like him too, well, I'd never seen him in his skivvies before though, could have gone without it. But that power, that Quirk, Deku was Quirkless. Unless, that's how he survived, it activated before his death… What the hell am I thinking? I can't possibly be entertaining the possibility of this being true. It can't be-'
"Bakugou!" a shout was heard as the only wooden door to their room was kicked down with a very angry looking Uraraka bursting through. "We never agreed on letting you lock yourself in here to intero-" she began, but froze midsentence when she caught sight of the scene before her. Hanging by the chains was the boy they had just captured, leaving nothing to her imagination, and despite her heroic conviction, her eyes drifted downwards on impulse alone. "OH MY GOD WHY IS HE-AHHHH!"
Her scream was so loud, and her reaction of having her eyes become as wide as dinner plates, then covering her entire face with her hands, forgetting she still had her helmet, causing said helmet to shift in position, and then accidentally activating her Quirk and hitting herself against the ceiling over and over again like a balloon cut loose.
"…Mighty heroic reaction there Uravity," Bakugou commented, sounding more annoyed than concerned, then he turned to his "hostage" and was met by the sight of a crestfallen individual.
"…Just kill me," Midoriya mouthed, his head hung low in shame, his eyes drifting as if he was ready to embrace the cold arms of death.
"You do act as pathetic as Deku, that's for sure," Bakugou noted.
"Why is he like that?!" Uraraka demanded, still in the ceiling and still refusing to look any further. Bakugou eyed her curiously.
"Come down from there, I didn't hurt him," he told her, to which she screamed something neither boy understood. "Stop making so much ruckus woman! Congratulations, you finally saw a dick, now get your head out your ass and help me solve this mess!"
"You created this mess!" she shouted back, her refusal to look still evident. "If you are going to interrogate someone, you don't strip them! Villains do that! Heroes don't!"
"I'm beginning to think that any villain who merely flashes you is going to be the death of you," Bakugou stated.
"Hey Bakugou!" another voice came into the room, and Midoriya felt his spirit leave his body. How many more people were there? "Sorry, man, she got the information out of me, and… dude, why is he naked?"
"Why are you all so obsessed with that detail?!" Bakugou screamed back, but Midoriya's eyes widened at the voice he had just heard. He knew that voice as well, and it wasn't Shinsou as he had seen earlier.
"I guess because it's pretty much the first thing you notice when you come in here," another of his would-be classmates spoke up, Midoriya recognizing that voice as belonging to Eijirou Kirishima.
"Kirishima!" Midoriya blurted out, seeing as the other boy turned to him with a look of mild surprise in his face.
"Wow," Kirishima spoke up, "He does know our names. Freaky."
"Does he now?" another voice entered the room, and Midoriya was met with the sight of a pink-skinned girl he knew pretty well. "Who's this fellah everyone keeps worrying over…?" she paused, glancing downwards and smiling, "Nice!" Mina Ashido gave Midoriya a thumbs up, and he pulled his legs closer to him, against gravity, in an effort to cover himself as best he could. "So… what's my name handsome?"
"Y-You're M-Mina Ashido-o," Midoriya blurted out as his face couldn't become any redder, "A-And please tell me the entire class is not going to come in here!"
"Sorry, but we're all there is," Shinsou came in last, moving to close the door, but noticing it in pieces and merely frowning at the discovery. "What have you learned?" he asked, directing the question at Bakugou.
"The kid believes himself to be Deku," he replied.
"Oh, that boy you mentioned?" Ashido asked, recalling him telling them his "theory" on who the lookalike was pretending to be, and why it was impossible.
"Then that puts us in quite a pickle," Kirishima noted, before he grabbed Midoriya's boxers and placed them under him. "Come on buddy, let's get you covered up! One leg first, good boy, now the other, and presto! You've evolved from naked to half-naked!"
"Uh, I-whoa!" Midoriya began, but was surprised when the chains holding him up were suddenly released, and he found himself on the cold, hard ground.
"Hey, who told you to release him?!" Bakugou bellowed, but he was met by a smack upside the head by Uraraka, one of the few people who could do so without losing a limb. Uraraka then moved up to Midoriya, who made eye contact with her for a moment and immediately shifted his eyes downwards.
"We don't torture here, not physically or emotionally," she reprimanded, before she turned her words to Midoriya. "I'm sorry for all of that. We were out of our wits on how or why you knew so much about us, but I don't think you are an enemy. You don't look like you belong to the Yatsudoki Circus, nor are you one of All Might's Regime…"
"Regime?" Midoriya repeated, his expression perplexed and his voice shaken. That word sounded so alien to him in association with All Might.
"You really don't know anything about these last few months, huh?" she said, turning to Bakugou. "Maybe he really is the kid you remember, waking up now with no recollection of anything."
"Still doesn't explain how he knows about any of you."
"That's true," Uraraka admitted, before she turned back to Midoriya. "Perhaps you can try and explain to us everything you know, starting from that encounter Bakugou remembers. Can you do that for us?"
He had almost forgotten how at ease he felt when he was next to this girl. It was like, despite all his power, all his strength, this was the heroine he could never be without. The one who could save him from anything and everything. A smile that could best any darkness, a light that could never be extinguished. He had no idea where he was, or what was happening, but he knew he could trust her.
Because no matter what world he found himself in, Izuku Midoriya could always depend on Ochako Uraraka.
"…Yeah, I can do that," he replied. For her, anything. "I'll try to keep it focused, but, what I remember, once I was caught by the same villain that had captured Kacchan, and everything was going black, All Might appeared! He…"
And so, he told them his truth.
-0-
They knocked so hard on his door that he was certain they'd break it down before he ever had a chance to answer it. He had to force himself to remain calm, not to act out of line, or the results could prove deadly. Still, fortunately for him, he was able to answer the door to his apartment without anyone barging in uninvited, which was the best possible outcome he could hope for in this situation. The moment he answered the door, he was met by the sight of two officers decked out in riot gear, most specifically, the anti-Quirk kind. Their helmets, of course, sported All Might's twisted insignia; once a beacon of hope, now something else entirely.
It was a sight he couldn't even begin to explain how much it unnerved him.
"Citizen," one of the two "officers", spoke up, and he wasn't sure if it was really a police official behind the mask or one of the many criminals that had been released under the "Empowerment Act" that allowed non-Quirk individuals to join the ranks of the militia, wanted felons or otherwise. "We've been tracking a renegade Quirk user to these very streets. You are aware, that as a Quirk user yourself, to enter this city with a Quirk without a detector is a serious offense. And hiding such an individual carries a likewise serious sentence."
"…I am aware," the young man, Tenya Iida, replied, slowly lifting his left pants leg to show them the leg bracelet placed on it, just above the motor engines that made up his Quirk. "And I have followed these instructions to a fault, as I'm sure you've never received a single complain from me."
The one guard before him turned briefly to his partner a few steps behind, likely scouting the scenario just in case they needed to murder Iida in cold blood, but the other just nodded in confirmation.
"Seems like you are correct, no offenses on your behalf," the first guard told him, but that much he knew. He hated this law, he hated how quickly the people elected to protect the citizens had folded against All Might's demands, despite boasting about integrity and justice. To abandon these streets and their people to the worst of criminals, as said criminals now wore a police uniform. "However," the guard continued, and Iida tensed, "The girl we're scouting for was last seen in this area, and as someone who was once attempting to become a professional hero, we find it suspicious that you'd turn a blind eye to a female in questionable need. At the very least, that is our hypothesis."
"…And a fine one at that, which I'd probably be inclined to pursue before, but," Iida explained, using his middle finger to fix the rim of his glasses is a subtle method of flipping them both off. He needed to keep his temper in check, however, and he knew what it was he needed to say. After all, he had been practicing this very response a few times before they arrived. Quite the number of times actually. "My dreams of becoming a professional hero, or any type of hero for that matter, are currently buried in the Tri-State Cemetery, alongside my brother. If you need any proof of that, go and see the medical record. See just how utterly devastated his heroics left him."
The two guards stared, their expressions unreadable behind their dark helmets. Iida only hoped he sounded as convincing out loud as he had sounded in his head. Because it really hurt to say all this.
"Noted," the guard on the back stated, in a tone that Iida couldn't properly read. Did they buy it?
"…O-Of course," he continued, slipping a bit but deciding to push on through, "If my words are not enough, come on inside, search. You'll find no damsel here, nor any motivation on my part to be a white knight."
They didn't reply, instead, the just barged in, pushing Iida out of the way with a rather strong shove, which he decided against retaliating. And searched they did, each room, weapons drawn and aimed, hoping to catch sight of any female in the vicinity. They had not even asked him if he was alone or not, to which Iida suspected that these two were a bit too trigger happy and would lose no sleep if the found a girl, shot her, and then it turned out it was the wrong girl. The government would probably turn a blind eye, after all; and he much doubted All Might or any of his lackeys were much too invested in conquered lands, as the big man had a lot more on his plate internationally.
Their search amounted to nothing, as Iida figured, and soon the two were out the door. No more words spoken, they just left. Disappointed at being proven wrong, Iida surmised, but he couldn't be more grateful. Violent as they were, what they had in numbers, they lacked in sense. Those people, ex-cons as they were, were obviously not trained in how to properly conduct searches. Case in point? The missed the secret door.
Under the fridge.
A barely visible cellar door.
A "secret" passage.
Iida quickly made his way downwards, hating how utterly powerless the bracelet made him feel, as he could not use the speed he was born with. Not that the bracelet canceled his Quirk in any way, as he doubted even someone of All Might capabilities and connections could manufacture such a device in such an insane quantity, but rather, it simply alerted nearby law enforcement of its use. They could be "forgiving" if you only rarely activated it, by saying it had been an accident or whatnot, but it felt so wrong. It was just wrong to only be allowed unlimited access to your own body if you joined All Might and his policies, as sickening as they were.
He shook his head, he needed to focus on the situation at hand. He had lied, obviously, as even after how much his brother suffered for standing up to his ideals, and despite the tragedy he had lived at the entrance exams, Iida could not turn down a cry for help. And, because of this impulsiveness to do good even in such a lawless world, he found himself with a wanted felon in his cellar.
Or, as he saw it, a young injured girl.
"Are they gone?" the young lady asked him, sitting down on the floor against the wall, right in front on the stairs he was descending from. Below her, a small puddle of blood, not enough to be a cause for concern, but he knew she had been losing a lot more than that. She had appeared in his front door, clenching to her side, bloodied and gasping for air, but still somehow smiling. "I don't suppose you can spare a hiding spot, eh?" she had asked him, and he could never have said no. She looked at him, as he reached down to her and lowered himself, to try and better examine her state. He could see how she examined him in turn, no doubt thanks to her own Quirk, as he could see how her vision seemed to zoom in on him, on his hands as he placed them on her torso. "It's pretty messed up, huh?"
"Not too worry," he assured, moving to the side and opening a nearby drawer to pull out a first aid kit that had been stored here. As she shifted her eyes from him to her current surroundings, she began to notice all the strategic placements of storage shelves and equipment within these walls despite the limited size. Granted, her vision was a little blurry, no doubt because of the loss of blood, but it was clear that this small cellar had been outfitted like a superhero hideout or headquarters.
"I should be thanking you right now," she mentioned, trying to shift her weight a bit to see if it would slow the bleeding but the pain it caused made her reconsider.
"Nonsense," he quickly retorted, already in front of her and getting ready to treat to her wounds. "You came here because you had heard that my brother operated here, and I'm merely keeping the promise that he lived by. So, Ingenium saved you tonight miss, I'm merely an assistant."
"…Mei."
"Pardon?"
"My name's Mei Hatsume," she told him with wide grin he'd never thought manageable with such a gaping wound on her side. The pink haired girl seemed to not mind it too much, which was a testament of the strength behind the cute face. At this thought, however, Iida felt his face heat up a little, and decided it would be best if he kept such observations out of his mind for the time being. "And I didn't quite catch your name, considering you're not the hero I was searching for… not that I'm complaining about my rescue, mind you."
"…Tenya Iida."
"Nice to meet ya," she replied, her voice sounding flirty but pained and exhausted in equal parts. He simply nodded, knowing fully well that her life was in danger and that it was up to him to make sure she'd stop bleeding before she'd go into shock or worse. Iida simply told her he was going to start, to get her consent if anything, to which she nodded and laughed slightly, likely given the lack of choice she really had in the matter if she wanted to survive the night. So, pushing his teenage insecurities to the recess of his mind, he removed most of her clothing without a word, and fortunately for him, she said nothing on the matter. He left her underwear on, less because of modesty and more because it was not an obstacle for the treatment itself. Had it been in the way, he'd have little choice but to strip her fully and act like a professional hero about it. Like his brother would have.
Tensie Iida, better known as the Turbo Hero "Ingenium", had told his younger brother of many of his heroic exploits back before the fall of All Might. Before the world turned to sour and they had been all forced into hiding or subjugation. He had mentioned how sometimes, saving people from burning buildings, he had been subjected to saving people in less than ideal circumstances. But, as a hero, their job was to help, first and foremost. Childish reactions need not be present. And Iida knew this well. His brother, after all, was the man who could face down villains in harsh combat one moment, then spend ten minutes hugging a family who had lost everything in a fire until the ambulance came and they calmed down.
And he could only wished he could offer people half the reassurance his brother's presence did.
That he could offer this girl that reassurance when her life was literally in his hands.
Then his eyes widened, shock hitting every fiber of his being.
"…So," she mentioned, likely realizing what he had just seen, seeing the look of horror reflected from her eyes. "How bad is it?"
As she asked this, Iida could only see a mass of veiny, flesh-like matter sticking out of her side, like a small broken dagger, but very much moving. Very much alive. He had never seen anything like it. Something that resembled a Quirk so much, yet also completely monstrous and inhuman. It wasn't like a knife or dagger in one distinction, which was the bleeding. It wasn't holding the blood back, but rather, it was keeping the wound open, or more like, she was bleeding through the foreign body. It was sucking out her blood like a leech, and in turn oozing it out of its own body. He had no idea how to even begin to know what this thing even was, but he knew he likely had minutes before she was dead.
He got a scalpel out of the kit, and by the time he got ready, she had already lost consciousness…
-0-
"Alright! Enough, stop!" Bakugou blasted out, a very familiar irked expression on his face as he slammed his fist on the hard floor, causing the rest of the group there to turn to him, bothered but not surprised. The six would-be students of U.A. sat on the floor in a circle, as Midoriya had been telling them about how he remembered the last few months. Despite his internal attempts at keeping the story streamlined and avoiding saying details he wasn't sure it would be in anyone's best interests if he shared them (his possession of One For All being chief amongst them, as he simply stretched the truth and told them his Quirk had awakened after he was saved and subsequently trained by All Might); he knew he had the tendency to talk a bit too much. To Bakugou's credit, at least, he kept quiet until Midoriya reached the midpoint of the U.A. Sports Festival matches.
Eijirou Kirishima gave Bakugou an annoyed look, as out all five listeners to Midoriya's story / retelling, he had been the most caught up in the moment, despite that he had been disappointed at being eliminated so early from the tournament.
Mina Ashido laughed as soon as she saw Kirishima's dejected look, as she had figured he'd be fully invested in the story. Not that she herself wasn't, especially given how she had made it to the quarter finals too.
Hitoshi Shinsou looked more annoyed than either one of them, however, but not because of Bakugou's interruption. Rather, he hated how childish it sounded, but it had annoyed him to no end how he had lost in his first round so easily. Especially since Midoriya did not go into detail about how the match had gone in his favor.
Ochako Uraraka, unlike the rest, had stared at Midoriya with a child-like wonder from the start, even politely raising her hand on occasions to ask for clarification or an added detail on anything that sounded off or she didn't fully understand. To her, it all sounded so wonderful. How she had imagined her life to be when she had been signed up for U.A. Before all of this nightmare began. Before being a hero was near synonymous to being a villain. When saving people meant something.
Katsuki Bakugou had listened. And listened. And listened. And he was certain that this nerd was attempting to murder them with words. Like Shinsou's Quirk, just ten times more boring and drawn out. So, when he had enough, he shouted out. He did not expect, however, to have his entire team look at him outright offended that he had interrupted their story time. Like, seriously?
"We are wasting time listening to this rubbish!" he shut back against their judging looks, annoyed that he had to defend his actions to them. "That sounds all great and fun, but it's just that, fantasy! We can't believe that pretty and marvelous life this nerd says we were all living!"
"But it's true!" Midoriya defended, cursing inwardly on just how hard convincing Bakugou was turning out to be. He needed their help, or at least their trust, if he was to have any hope of fixing all of this. "I skipped a whole lot, like most of our day to day classes where we studied for the exams, picked out our suits or codenames, or stuff like that… but, it's all true. It's what we did. At least, how I remember it."
"You have to give the guy some credit," Kirishima defended, patting Midoriya on the shoulder softly, and it reminded Midoriya of how friendly the redhead usually was with pretty much everyone. "If he made up that story, it takes balls to not make himself a total badass and say he lost in the second round of the tournament."
"Shinsou's still pissed he lost in the first round though," Ashido teased, poking him with her index fingers while adding a soft "right?" with each poke. He gave her an annoyed glare at this, but she just cocked her eyebrows at him and grinned even harder.
"I honestly don't think he's making all that up Bakugou," Uraraka said, and Midoriya felt relieved. In all honesty he doubted anyone could make such a story in one siting, nor did he believe he had dreamt all of that. It was real, it had to be, and there had to be an explanation behind it all.
"So what do you suppose we do then?" Bakugou asked, doing his best to hold himself from igniting his Quirk like he always did when he was pissed. "We have a job to do, and thanks to the fact this guy ran into us all "villain-like", we now have no leads on where our target even is or where we're supposed to meet up with Nejire."
'Villain-like?' Deku repeated in his head, offended.
"Nejire Chan," Ashido corrected.
"I'm not calling her that!" Bakugou shot back.
"It's her codename, you should," Ashido doubled down, "Besides, she told us that she would contact us as soon as she found his son, and it was safe to find us. I don't think we should worry too much about her; she is as close to a Pro as you can get after all."
"Still, that leaves us tracking the weird girl before she gets herself killed," Bakugou sounded as tired as Midoriya felt at all of this, even if the latter was still at a lost at what was going on. He had told them a lot about his past, but they had not shared much about theirs, and he suspected it was very different than his.
"She has a name dude," Kirishima interjected, his tone still probably the calmest of all of them there. "Mei Hatsume, right?"
"That's correct," Shinsou confirmed, "Another player that our friend here also mentioned in his story, right down to her habit of inventing crazy things."
"Nejire Chan… and Hatsume's also with you guys, and wait, she's in danger?" Midoriya asked, as his mind flashed at everything that had been happening. He knew something had to be a miss, and it at least explained something. Bakugou's outbursts and insistence on getting information out of him was all due to the fact that they were all trying to save her. Then his eyes widened with shock and terror, as the image of Higari Maijima, otherwise known as the Pro Hero Power Loader, burst into his mind. Or rather, of his burnt and disfigured corpse. He stood up so fast at this thought that it made the entire room jump up defensively in response, all five other kids bracing themselves for an attack. "We can't stay here talking then! We'll solve our confusion later, we have to save her!" Midoriya exclaimed, not fully aware of how close to a five man tackle he had been moments before if he had not talked in the moment he did. "Do you guys have any idea of where she could be?"
The other five, in battle stances and with their eyes glued to Midoriya's body, half expecting his Quirk to flare up in a moment's notice; allowed themselves to relax their stance a bit. Well, most of them. Bakugou was ready to fight.
Before any of them replied, however, Uraraka moved between them and Midoriya, which caused him stagger a bit at this. "…I'm not entirely sure of what's going on, but I can't bring myself to see him as anything else than a confused and lost innocent," she declared, and the rest looked on. Kirishima and Ashido seemed convinced with what she was saying, while Bakugou and Shinsou… not so much. They kept quiet nonetheless. "He knows a lot about us. Even of things we've never told anyone else. About our fighting styles, our… motives," she added that last part with a hint of sadness in her voice that was not lost on Midoriya. "If we keep this interrogation up, we could very well risk Hatsume's safety. I vote we take him with us. Have him help us save her, and take him back to Eraserhead. He'll know what to do much better than we do."
"Eraserhead!" Midoriya repeated, feeling a rush of hope hit him all at once. "He's with you guys?"
"Good work blabbermouth," Bakugou reprimanded, but all it did was earn him a glare from the girl.
"I agree," Shinsou stated, to everyone's surprise. He stepped forwards, inches from Midoriya, and the boy felt himself get a little tensed up by this, but he sort of had an idea what the boy with the vocal Quirk was attempting. "However, just to make sure you know us well; you said we choose super hero code names, which is something any U.A. hopeful has fantasized about at some point or another. So, what's ours?"
Midoriya saw what Shinsou wanted. He didn't much care for the answer, not the content at least. Shinsou knew Midoriya knew of his Quirk. If he displayed any hesitation to reply to him, they would know he was in the defensive. On the other hand, he also knew that putting himself under Shinsou's spell could end with Bakugou knocking him out or worse. He had every single reason to distrust them as they did him. They both knew that.
"You didn't have one yet, actually," Midoriya replied, deciding that despite their differences, he trusted Shinsou. And he waited for the control to take over, but it never came. Instead, Shinsou gave him a soft smile.
"That's unfortunate," he spoke up, but Midoriya couldn't tell what it was he was referring to. "Although, just so you know, I have one now. Eraserhead calls me Synchronoise."
"That's so cool!" Midoriya commented, immediately forgetting about his prior uneasiness at talking to this Shinsou. "But, wait, why though?"
"I told him he should be called "Purple Guy" or something like that," Kirishima added, which caused Shinsou to glare at him.
"Synchronoise is related to sounds, I guess that's the connection," he explained, even if he didn't sound as sure as he wanted to in proving his codename was chosen for any practical reason aside from sounding cool. "Besides, Ashido can't spell it, so that's a plus right there."
"Oh screw you!" she quickly shut back, blushing at the accusation. "It's a long word, and I can totally spell it! But that aside," she quickly added, before Shinsou asked her to prove it and spell out loud. "What's my codename?"
"Pinky," Midoriya answered, then added, "You also wanted Alien Queen, but Miss Midnight felt it didn't sound right."
"Yes, that's it right there!" she said, excitedly, "Eraserhead said the same thing, so I choose Pinky…" she added with a pout.
"And me?" Kirishima asked, puffing out his chest proudly.
"Oh, that's easy," Midoriya replied, "Red Riot."
"Damn right!"
"And you already said mine," Uraraka, or rather, Uravity added, placing her hand on Midoriya's shoulder and smiling at the boy. Despite how weird this entire situation sounded and felt, she still believed she could trust this boy. "But what about him?" she asked, signaling at Bakugou, as she couldn't help herself from asking.
Midoriya stared. Bakugou glared.
"…He never got one either," Midoriya admitted, much to Uraraka's dismay. Something's never changed it would seem, and Bakugou's inability to pick a codename that didn't make him sound like a wanted man was true no matter the world.
"That's an easy guess regardless," Bakugou mentioned.
"…Yeah," Midoriya said, then added, "Although you were partial to being called "King Explosion Murder"."
Three of the five kids burst out laughing, and even the more reserved Shinsou couldn't help but grin at the comment.
"That sounds totally like him," Kirishima mentioned between laughter.
"I know, right?" Ashido added.
"I can just imagine him suggesting that with a straight face," Uraraka mentioned clenching her sides.
"Ha, ha; very funny. Let's try to focus here, get your asses moving, we're going to go pick up Hatsume in the city," Bakugou commanded, as he walked past Midoriya and the others and made his way out of the room, his tone still as rough as Midoriya had expected but at least he seemed to be agreeing to letting him journey with them. Despite this all, Bakugou clenched his fists and bit his lips as soon as he made his way out of the room, his thoughts racing, 'Damn it!' he thought, 'That codename sounds totally fucking awesome!'
-0-
The six of them made their way through the deserted streets of what once had been the outskirts of the Musutafu City. The city, itself once filled with people and heroes patrolling the streets, now a wasteland of debris and unspoken tragedies. Midoriya soaked all of it in, even if he'd rather not. He couldn't believe all this, just a few hours ago, he had been home, everything had been alright… or had he been fighting? He remembered that too. He wasn't exactly sure where, but he knew it wasn't in this world. In his memory, this city, and by extension, this entire Prefecture still stood, as did all of Japan.
"What happened here?" Midoriya asked, his voice echoing through the abandoned streets, creating an eerie effect. He could still see vehicles abandoned, streetlamps broken and glass everywhere. It was like a war had been fought, and no one had survived.
"All Might happened," Bakugou surprisingly replied, despite the youth having kept silent since the six of them had departed towards the city. They all walked across the streets, careful to avoid open spots, as if they could be spotted by some unseen menace at any moment. Midoriya had no idea who or what they were guarded against, but he followed suit.
"…All Might," he repeated, even if it sounded even more unbelievable each time he said it. He had heard Bakugou mention something to this extent before. How All Might was somehow responsible for all of this. How?
"We were as shocked as you, truth be told," Kirishima added, as they all crossed another street quickly. It took them from one empty street to another equally empty one, and it made Midoriya sick to his stomach.
"…But what did All Might do?" Midoriya forced himself to ask, because if it were up to him, he'd rather live the rest of his life without knowing. But, if he were to try and understand his current predicament, he figured he'd have to try and find a source to the discrepancy between his memories and this world's turn of events. And for now, the biggest difference of all seemed to be All Might himself.
"Well… he-" Uraraka began, but was cut short.
"Q and A is later," Bakugou interrupted, Uraraka to frown at him but she said nothing else. Midoriya just looked on, a little bit relieved that he could avoid hearing about that if only for a little while longer. His relief was short, as once they made their way to the city limits, they encountered a harrowing sight that caused them all to turn ghostly pale.
High above, on a torn down bridge that once proudly stood to divide two roads, hung four corpses on display, upside down and skinned like a macabre show of force for the world to see.
"What the hell?!" a clearly shaken Kirishima asked, as his wide eyes couldn't quite take the sight.
"…Those fucking bastards!" roared Bakugou, who had to force himself not to immediately jump towards them, but who was equally taken aback when he saw Midoriya do just that immediately afterwards. "Hey, idiot, wait!"
Midoriya quickly landed on the bridge, his breathing hard and a nervous breakdown threatening to consume him, but he bit his lips hard enough to draw blood in an attempt to keep what little composure he had. The corpses were expertly skinned, with most of the muscle tissue and even brains mostly exposed, and he couldn't possibly tell if it had been done while alive or after death. He much hoped the latter. Their bodies, now impossible to identify outside of an autopsy, were marked by an individual carving in the chest area, a grim mockery of how a superhero insignia would look like.
Four bodies, all displaying signs of Quirks. One had more ribs than a regular human did. Another had animal legs.
"They're heroes, aren't they?" Midoriya shouted at the group down below, his body still shaking.
"…It's them, isn't it?" Shinsou mentioned, his fist clenched and his body quivering slightly. He took a glance at Bakugou, who merely nodded in disgust.
"Are we sure we're ready for this?" Ashido asked, not at anyone of them in particular, "I mean, these circus freaks do this all the time, it's like their calling card… But, we've never actually seen it. All these past few months, we've heard the stories, about how low rank heroes have been appearing dead all over this area… I-If they couldn't… what hope do we…?"
"Now not the time for that!" Bakugou reprimanded, clenching his teeth and turning to Midoriya. "And, hey! Get down from there! We've also been told they booby-trap the bodies!"
"I can't just leave them like this!" Midoriya shot back, and he was about to try and set them free when he felt two hands reach over to his face. In his state of almost panic, he had failed to see when Uraraka had floated up beside him, as she was now caressing his face in a much needed show of understanding.
"We won't," she replied, even if she could feel Bakugou glaring daggers behind her back. "But we have to be careful about it, okay?"
Midoriya nodded. He also pretended not to notice the way her voice almost cracked as she spoke, how her hand were trembling slightly and how her eyes showed tears about to fall. She was trying to be strong, least he could do was try the same.
The two of them turned to the fallen heroes, and it was here he noticed something else about the way they were being put on display. Their bodies seemed to be covered by the same material that was holding them up, which upon a closer inspection was clearly not rope. It was too thin, and it looked… sticky. "…Uraraka, is that?"
"…Spider-webs?" she replied, her tone just as confused as his.
The one of the corpses shifted its head towards the duo.
"Uraraka look out!" Ashido warned as her eyes caught sight of the movement, alerting the two heroes above them moments prior to the corpse somehow "coming alive" and taking aim at them with its undead fleshless fist. Midoriya was too late to react, and even Uraraka failed to activate her powers on time. They both would have been crushed by the attack, had it not been for Kirishima intercepting the hit with his own hardened arms, having jumped up towards the duo the moment he saw the corpse move.
"What the-?!" was all he could say the moment he felt the attack connect with him, as he never expected a deceased body to hit him so hard that it got him off his feet and sent him backwards into Midoriya and Uraraka, blasting the trio off the bridge and into a nearby abandoned building, all across an entire street with one attack. Uraraka managed to get her Quirk activated here, using her "Zero Gravity" to float parallel to the momentum of the attack to safely land with her feet on the side of the building's wall.
"Are you guys alright?!" she quickly yelled out, as she had lost track of the two boys the moment all three of them had been sent flying. It was here she heard two crashes near her, as the buildings walls were broken into. She quickly turned to her sides to see the damage, but was relieved when both Midoriya and Kirishima appeared unharmed within the building itself, both coated in their respective Quirks.
"Still standing, what about you new guy?" Kirishima asked, battle stance at ready.
"I'm fine," Midoriya replied, his eyes glued to the bridge they had been kicked out off, "But, I feel like I've seen this power before."
"What?" Uraraka asked, turning to the youth, "Where?"
A few meters below, the remaining three heroes quickly turned to the opposite side of where the others were sent, as guided by Ashido. She pointed at another building, this one much taller than the one the others fell into, her index finger aimed at the very top. "There," she signaled, her eyes glaring at the object she directed the others to, "The threads seem to be coming from there."
As if on cue, the four bodies held up on the bridge came crashing down, landing near them with a resulting crunching sound that caused the heroes to shiver in disgust, but despite it the four corpses quickly stood right back up, black ooze emitting from where blood should. At the top of the building Mina Ashido had pointed to, a figure stood up, having been carefully watching the events unfold before him.
"Truth be told our intel had suggested five little sidekicks were roaming about, but I see we miscounted by one," the man dressed in an exaggerated suit with a big stripped bow and make-up and / or tattoos all over his face to resemble a demonic clown spoke up, his voice both menacing and joyful. From his fingertips, threads that connected all the way down to the corpses currently surrounding Bakugou, Ashido, and Shinsou, as the three stood their ground with their backs up against each other, battle ready. "I guess that means I'll need a longer bridge."
"Don't tell me that's…?" Ashido asked, her eyes wide with both fear for herself and the others.
"Hierou Michinoke," Shinsou replied, his attention focused exclusively on the clown's fingers for any sign of movement, "Bakugou, Ashido, we can't win this. We have to retreat."
"Yeah, tell him that," Bakugou replied, already igniting his palms and taking mental aim at the villain above them.
To their other side, seeing the villain for the first time, Midoriya, Uraraka and Kirishima scanned the area. Kirishima noted that perhaps being sent flying out of the corpses range could work to their advantage, as they could either assist the others with the corpses, or better yet, take aim at the puppeteer controlling them. But first, he needed to make sense of it all, and his best bet was probably the would-be classmate of his that seemed to know a lot more about them than they ever could. "What do you mean that you've seen this power before?" Kirishima asked Midoriya.
Uraraka kept her eyes shifting from the battlefield and Midoriya, waiting for the shell-shocked boy to reply. His expression then shifted from shock to analytical, in the span of less than a second. "A villain organization from where I'm from had things like that, with that type of power I mean," he replied, even if he couldn't quite understand how or why they had to have such horrible luck. "They called them Nomu."
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