Sorry about the long wait, I had IRL stuff to deal with and a heavy case of writer's block. I wrote and rewrote this chapter multiple times before I was finally (relatively) satisfied. Chapter seems extra long because of that long author's note at the end of the chapter. Please take a break at the [x] marks/paragraph breaks to rest your eyes or whenever appropriate.

Edit: Corrected spelling mistakes in previous chapters, and edited them so that Shimura Nana is addressed as "Nana" instead of "Shimura".


Previously on [Angel on my Shoulder]:

In the wake of Shimura Nana's appearance at USJ four Lost Souls have escaped from One For All, and it's up to Midoriya Izuku and his little sister Kiri to retrieve them. On their journey they encounter those who came before;

The aloof Chen, a bounty hunter who turns out to be Itsuka Kendo's ancestor,

The headstrong Johnny, one of the very first heroes,

The excitable Koko, a dog who can turn into a human,

And the mysterious Aftermath, a strange man in armor who attacks Kiri on sight, claiming that she has stolen something from him.

Aftermath is the one who caused the breach. Desperate and furious, he possesses the uncanny ability to ignore Kiri's Invulnerability and use All Might's trademark Smash attacks. As the battle progresses it is revealed that Aftermath is doing this all for love, and that the armored man they see is in fact a mental projection. His true form is that of a young girl, who breaks down in terror and distress after her defeat. A young girl who has lovely green eyes that look just like Izuku's.


[Chapter 7]

A young boy stood in the ruins of a charred forest, his feet rooted to the broken ground in shock and confusion.

Fear coursed through Izuku's body, a thousand icy spears stabbing into his body and rendering him immobile. Cold sweat ran down his face, heart pounding at a hundred beats a minute. His breath hitched in the parched desert of his throat, much too short and tight. All he could think about was that girl with the green eyes… that poor girl…

He didn't know what to do, lost and frozen with indecision. Time became tar, an eternity echoing within thumping heartbeats and gasping breaths. Hesitation flooded between ticking seconds as he tried to think, tried to move, but his body just wouldn't listen. A small hand tugged at his frantically, pleading for him to snap out of it.

"Izuku-nii-chan!"

The world shifted back into clarity, Izuku's eyes focusing to see the his little sister doing her best to drag him out of the shattered clearing in that child form of hers. His immobilizing fear drained away, melting into a sudden realization that spurred him into action.

"I… I'm fine! Thank you, Kiri." Izuku gasped, shaking his head rapidly.

A strange chopping noise filled the air, distant but rising in volume and closing in. Helicopters, he guessed. The blaring klaxons of Musutafu City's emergency alert system could still be heard in the background, only adding a sense of unease and underlying fear to the situation.

"We have to get out of here." Izuku whispered. "Can you transform?"

The little girl shook her head tiredly, exhaustion clear on her features. She was stumbling unsteadily as they ran, her footsteps and pace uneven. Her super-strength seemed to be missing when she tried to drag him earlier, indicating that she'd been completely drained by the battle. Even worse, she was beginning to shift in and out of reality; doing her best to not turn translucent and retreat back into his mind or shrink back into that miniature form for fear of leaving her brother alone.

This isn't working. I have to help her!

"Here," Izuku knelt down and presented his back to her. "Climb on."

She nodded, clumsily grabbing onto him. The boy picked her up effortlessly into a piggyback, feeling her light body slump across his back as he sprinted across the broken ground. A trio of white helicopters thundered overhead, headed towards the clearing they'd been in only minutes ago. Izuku made it to the main road, his panting breaths seeming to echo across the empty street. Right, the evacuation order… nearly everyone had already left the area.

"Onii-chan…" Kiri mumbled weakly from atop his back.

"Don't worry, it's going to be okay!" Izuku called back confidently despite the crushing uncertainty that he felt.

In all likelihood there would be a police barricade set up on the perimeter. Izuku began to think as he ran, planning for the next obstacle in their path. He could disguise himself and Kiri as civilians who had been trapped or too terrified by the battle to move; there were always reports of those whenever a big battle took place. He kind of looked the part of an injured civilian too, with his bruised fingers and scraped joints. All he had to do now was—

The surrounding area was suddenly blanketed in darkness when something massive blotted out the sun overhead, casting a gigantic shadow onto them. A humongous pink dragon landed only inches away from them, the tempest from its wings nearly bowling him over. Izuku's heart sank, having seen this particular heroine before on TV and knowing exactly how powerful she was.

Number nine on the Hero Billboard Chart. Dragoon Hero, Ryukyu.

Izuku's grip tightened around his little sister, backing away in alarm. With Kiri drained and him unable to properly control One For All, there was no way to escape or fight the hero. Before he could think any longer a taloned hand curled around him and Kiri, Ryukyu taking off with a single flap of her enormous wings.

No!

Fear coursed through Izuku's body like lightning. They were high up in the air now and heading towards the city, towards the perimeter. He couldn't let the heroes discover that Kiri and Valkyrie were one and the same! Not only would that land both of them in hot water, it would also bring about a whole slew of problems that neither he nor All Might was ready to deal with. He struggled against Ryukyu's grip, about to activate One For All in his desperation until—

"Hang on, kids! I'll get you out of here!" Ryukyu cried, her voice tight with worry. "I know you're scared but please, stop struggling! Everything's going to be alright!"

Izuku froze… then the words sank in and he let himself relax slowly, inwardly letting out a heavy sigh of relief. He had misunderstood the situation; the Dragoon Hero had indeed thought they were a pair of injured civilians. On his back Kiri shifted tiredly, groaning and resting her cheek against his shoulder. Ryukyu soared above the ruined remains of the forest, giving Izuku a clear view of the sheer damage that had been done to the land in that single battle between his sister and that mysterious girl. It was a miracle that it took place in the empty forest instead of a populated area…

The boy frowned. Or was it? It looked like Aftermath had tried to get them as far away from the city as possible… perhaps he knew the scale of destruction the battle with Kiri would result in. Static crackled from a device on Ryukyu's ear, coalescing into radio chatter.

"Mama Dragon, this is CP." a voice sizzled over the comm. "Status update, any sign of Valkyrie or the unknown? Over."

"CP, this is…" Ryukyu sighed tiredly. "...Mama Dragon. No sign of them. But I've got two hurt civvies on the way, I'm bringing them back to Scapegoat. Ryukyu out."

"Negative. Your main priority is to locate and subdue both combatants. Do not deviate from the mission. Secure the perimeter and find the targets, do not let them escape—"

"Cannot comply, CP. I am not leaving these kids behind." the dragon-lady growled derisively, her statement final. "Over."

"...Unfortunate." There was another buzz of static the operator switched channels. "Team Bravo and Echo, you are being reassigned to sweep for primary objectives. Hawk one, standby to engage. CP, out."

"CP, Hawk one is on station." a new, confident male voice drawled. "Solid copy, over."

Ryukyu switched channels with a flick of her claw, annoyed. She then turned to the two civilians in her grip with a look of profuse worry. Draconic eyes flickered over Izuku, then onto the slumped form of Kiri.

"Don't worry, kids." the woman nodded reassuringly before Izuku could say anything. "You're going to be okay."

Minutes later they landed in the midst of a temporary operating area, a medical hero quickly tending to Izuku wounds. The boy noted how his light wounds disappeared and reappeared on the healing hero, realizing what the man's Quirk was: the power to transfer injuries to himself. Luckily Izuku managed to lie about Kiri's condition before the hero could apply his power, masking her drained state as simple exhaustion.

"Scapegoat, report." Ryukyu rumbled.

"Zero fatalities so far, ma'am. Got a couple of civvies with a some scrapes and bruises like the kid here." 'Scapegoat' grunted and winced, his transferred injuries fading away rapidly. "Nothing my Transferance won't fix. These two should be the last civilians in the area after bravo team's sweep. If you ask me, it's a bloody miracle there haven't been any casualties."

"Alright, I'm heading back for another look. Keep me updated!"

"Ryukyu-san!" Izuku called, causing the giant dragon to pause and look back. "I… thank you… for saving us."

"Thank you…" Kiri whispered from atop his back, her voice weak and nearly inaudible.

"No need to thank me. After all—" she flashed them a quick, toothy grin. "A hero will always help those in trouble."

With that Ryukyu took off, her massive form diminishing rapidly as she made distance. Izuku adjusted the child on his back, making sure she was comfortable as they slipped past the multitude of heroes and law enforcement moving about. The boy flipped his hood on to make himself even more inconspicuous, knowing they had to get out of here before someone noticed them. He took note of the sheer scale of the operation; there had to be at least two dozen pro heroes and countless police officers roaming around, organizing search teams and rescue parties.

Izuku shivered. It was pure luck that they'd encountered Ryukyu… she had managed to get them past the search teams, eliminating any suspicion anyone might have had about them when they arrived in her grip. He sighed and relaxed slightly, feeling Kiri snug against his back he trudged back home.

Everything had turned out relatively okay from the catastrophic situation and nobody had died. All things considered, it really was a bloody miracle. The electric atmosphere from the battle earlier had dissipated, and things were calming down.

For now.

[x]

In the depths of Midoriya Izuku's mind a small figure shifted into existence, tumbling across the grass painfully. Shimura Nana and Yagi Toshinori whirled to face her, a fiery green soul igniting above the latter's head. A small sob emanated from the little girl that had been controlling Aftermath, her fingers digging into soil as she tried to stand, staggering and disoriented.

"No… I can still…"

She took a single step, her hands clutching at the air and longing for an embrace that was stolen from her. Her frail frame met the soft grass only seconds later, collapsing like a puppet with cut strings.

"Mimi!" Nana cried in horror, dashing over.

Toshinori followed shortly, and together they leaned over the girl worriedly. Her hair was messy locks of ivory, pooling around her head like a glowing halo as Nana cradled her small, doll-like body in her arms. Her pale skin coupled with that beautiful snow-white hair made her look like an albino, or someone that had never been exposed to sunlight. Now that he got a better look he could see that two bony protrusions were sticking out above her ears, a pair of tiny white horns that were previously hidden by her fluffy, voluminous hair.

He finally saw what she truly was. Her slim shoulders, thin torso, and delicate limbs. This tiny little girl was once a wielder of One For All? She was so young… too young, Toshinori thought. She looked like a child... The implications that came soon after made him feel sick.

"Oh, Mimi…" Nana groaned, supporting the girl's head gently. "What happened to you? Why did you do that?"

'Mimi' whimpered and refused to answer, eyes scrunching shut. There was another sob as she tried to curl into a ball, tried to hide from the world and everything else around her. Nana leaned in to hug her—

The girl weakly flung her arm towards Toshinori, her own emerald soul speeding towards her. She spiraled into it the moment she made contact, quickly reuniting with the others upon that shining halo as they flashed erratically, no doubt demanding answers.

"She's…" Nana paused for a moment, hearing what the others had to say. "They're telling me she's unconscious. Must have used all her power—"

"What's going on?" Toshinori whispered. "Who—"

"Her name's Mikumo Akatami, or Mimi for short." Nana said hastily. "She's wielder number four."

"She's..." The breath seemed to catch in his throat. "She's just a kid."

"Mimi's not a kid, she has this genetic condition which stunted her growth—" Nana bit her lip, a complicated expression on her features. "At least, that's what she told us. The most secretive among us all, only ever sharing snippets of her memories. She can be a nasty piece of work sometimes, but she was always someone who thought logically. I never expected her to go berserk like that..."

"But… how was she a villain?"

"There were things about One For All that not even I knew until I got here. Mimi… she…" Nana turned to him, her expression uneasy. There was a moment of silent hesitation before the woman seemed to resolve something within herself, letting out a small sigh. "Mimi hunted for a successor. Challenged every hero and vigilante she came across, seeking but never finding. Into the nightmare again and again until…"

"Until she found someone powerful enough to inherit One For All." Toshinori whispered.

"Not powerful." There was a glimmer of anxiety in her gaze. "Worthy. She searched for someone who matched her criteria; the willingness to sacrifice."

"She knew about One For All and its true nature, how it could be passed down from one person to another. But… it doesn't make sense. How does she know?"

"Mimi was…" Nana shook her head sadly. "Always a little different from us. She claimed she was from an organization that monitored and tracked One For All, to ensure that it would get into the right hands eventually. That when the time was right she'd tell us about it..."

"You didn't think this was a little important to tell me? You should have mentioned how her Quirk was so similar to Izuku's, how both of them can create mental projections—"

"Remember the first time we encountered Kiri?" the woman said hastily. "We only managed to figure out that she was a mental projection with Mimi's help; she's the one who first realized what Kiri-chan was since her Quirk; 'Aftermath' was so similar."

Toshinori thought back to the first time he met Kiri in her child form, when he and Nana were still trying to identify what she was. Back then, one of the previous wielders had warned Nana that the little girl might be some sort of split personality. Mimi. She had been the one to warn them first… because she probably had an inkling of what Kiri truly was. She had the same power as young Midoriya?

Similar, not the same. Quirks are an inherent part of a person's genetic makeup. But for two people separated by decades to coincidentally have such uncommon, esoteric Quirks that were so terrifyingly similar… Something doesn't add up.

"I still don't understand… why? Why would she want to escape into the real world? And everything she said, it didn't make sense! Did she ever tell you of… a goal that she left unfulfilled, or anything similar?"

"No, she was simply content to just hibernate but recently… recently she's been monitoring you a lot. For the past few years, I believe."

He groaned and glanced at the floating green orb, a deep sense of unease flowing through him.

Who are you?

[x]

"Is everything all right, Izuku?" Midoriya Inko asked worriedly from across the living room.

Izuku sighed from his position on the couch. He knew she had every right to be worried, seeing as an hour ago her son stumbled back into their home exhausted, his little sister resting atop his back. Kiri was currently sleeping in Izuku's room, too tired to even eat dinner. Inko immediately panicked when they got home since she saw what happened on TV, but quickly calmed down with Izuku's reassurance that they were both okay. An immense guilt about withholding information on what really happened ate way at him, but it couldn't be helped. Telling her would only complicate matters, so for now he just told her that Kiri had stopped a villain from attacking the city.

Flipping on the TV only proved his claim as the evening news covered what had happened earlier, blurry images and video capturing snippets of their battle with the last shot being that catastrophic final clash in the forest. All sorts of theories and speculation were spreading like wildfire as Valkyrie and her opponent were nowhere to be found. As crazy as it seemed, Izuku knew exactly where they were; one was sleeping in his room, while the other was sealed within him. The image of that young girl still haunted him, her desperate gaze and green eyes seeming to flash across his mind.

Her eyes had looked just like his and Inko's, a distinct trait that was from her side of the family. He had hugged that child out of the blue as well, something that he normally wouldn't have done. Why did he do that? The boy leaned back, eyes closed in deep thought. When he saw her like that, crying and alone... he was somehow reminded of himself as a child, lamenting at the unfairness of the world. Her Quirk was similar to his as well.

Izuku shuddered internally, remembering a little detail that Inko had mentioned upon her first meeting Kiri.

"It was decades ago, sweetie. Your great-grandmother Taiga—my grandmother, was able to create tiny little mental projections too. Little animals the size of her palm that she used to entertain me with..."

Taiga.

"My grandmother's constructs were never this detailed, nor did they have a will of their own. They were just telekinetic puppets… but this girl—she has a mind of her own, doesn't she?"

Telekinetic puppets.

"—it shows that you're not just some brainless puppet. You can think for yourself, can't you? Under different circumstances we might have been friends. Perhaps in a different world."

Aftermath.

Izuku took a deep breath to collect himself. There was possibly some kind of connection between them… or he might just be overthinking things. Yet, there was this odd feeling in his gut that urged him to continue, to seek answers. To find the truth. Slowly, he made his way to the kitchen and helped his mother to wash the dishes, earning him a small smile.

"Mom?" he began nervously after they were done.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Could you um, tell me more about great-grandma Taiga?" Izuku asked.

"Oh? Why the sudden interest?" Inko hummed, giving him a curious look.

"Um, I thought it'd be useful to know more about someone with a similar Quirk. I mean, it may help me to understand mine better."

"I see. It's funny that you brought this up, I was looking through her old photo albums just the other day for inspiration on your costume design—"

Wait, what?

"My costume? What are you talking about?"

Then the realization hit Izuku like a speeding truck, his blood running cold. Aftermath's outfit had looked eerily familiar, almost like he'd seen something like it before. He had seen something like it before: his own hero costume, the one that Inko had presented to him proudly a few weeks ago. The one that had been damaged in the combat exercise against Bakugou and Iida.

They looked like each other.

His heartbeat began to quicken. "Mom, can you bring out that photo album you were talking about?"

A few minutes later Inko placed an ancient book down gently on the kitchen table, prying the pages open with utmost care. Izuku sat down beside her, impressed at the pristine condition it was in. This wasn't just a collection of photographs, but memories of those who came before him. Moments of their lives frozen in time, snapshots in remembrance of his family before him. Inko's family.

"There's your dad…" Inko said as she pointed to a man standing beside her, smiling sadly. "My, he looked so handsome back then. Just like how you're looking now…"

Izuku said nothing, though his fingers curled ever so slightly.

She flipped the page carefully, showing a scene that took place before Izuku was even born. A man and a woman, hand-in-hand, united in holy matrimony. Inko looked so young, so happy in that picture… "Congratulations, Inko and Hizashi!" the caption read in faded green letters.

"And here's my wedding, over a decade ago." the woman whispered. "I still remember as if it was yesterday."

Another turn of the page, another distant memory. Inko as a little girl, standing next to her parents. Together they smiled for the camera, happy as can be. The words "Family vacation, Okinawa beach, April 5th." was written in cursive.

"That's me and my parents."

"Grandma and Grandpa." Izuku noted.

Paper rustled as the pages turned once more, now showing a photograph of young Inko next to a short old woman, the child's hand clutching the a wrinkled one lovingly.

"And that's my grandmother, Taiga." Inko smiled. "She was quite a lively one, even in her twilight years."

Taiga. Izuku squinted, focusing on the old woman's face. For one, her hair was white… but that could easily be attributed to her old age. Her features were already wrinkled with age, too much for him to identify if she'd been the girl controlling Aftermath. He needed to go further back.

History was unfolding before him, as if time itself was rewinding in pages of the book being turned. More and more pages went by, Izuku quickly skimming over photos he found irrelevant. Pictures of people with Inko's eyes. His eyes. "Taiga, triplets!" one caption proclaimed proudly. "Wedding anniversary, November 11th." another caption read. "Congratulations, Taiga and Ryuuji! We love you!" a third one displayed. Even as an adult woman, his great-grandma was tiny. Izuku continued to look further and further into the past, for something he wasn't even sure he'd find.

Then he saw it. In a faded old photograph was Taiga as a little girl, no older than ten years old. This particular photo stood out as her parents looked a little roughed up beside her, the father's clothing even sporting several small tears. The family looked a little shaken, though they seemed ultimately unhurt. They wore grateful expressions, gazes cast at the heroic figure that must have saved them. And standing beside them, arms folded defiantly…

Standing beside them was the armored form of Aftermath.

Izuku gasped, squinting his eyes to read the minute text beneath the photo. It seemed to actually be a newspaper clipping that the family had saved, probably in remembrance of the one that rescued them. "Unknown vigilante saves dozens from villain attack! July 6th, 20XX."

Was this it? Did Taiga mimic the form of the vigilante had saved her family so many years ago? Or perhaps Aftermath was already her projection… but it still didn't make any sense. Why would she be in possession of One For All? Taking a closer look at the photo made him think twice; Taiga had long, wavy hair as a child, but hers was a warm chestnut-brown instead of snow-white. Her eyes were brown as well, not green. Though they looked a little similar, she was not the girl Izuku was looking for. But Aftermath was there…

"Mom, what do you know about this guy?" Izuku gestured at the unknown, knowing that it was worth a shot.

"Not much, really." Inko admitted. "I just know that he's a hero—well, vigilante that saved my grandma. Like I said before, I just used him for inspiration."

"Inspiration?"

"Yup! I used his costume—" Inko pointed at the armoured figure. "—as a basis on what yours would look like when I was making it. I thought it was a neat look for you and it does help that it belonged to an actual hero. The hood design was all yours, with you trying to mimic All Might and everything— but this guy has similar headgear, doesn't he? How strange."

Izuku felt a shiver creep up his spine. So that's why Aftermath's costume looked so similar to his. Inko had designed that green jumpsuit that he used in the combat exercise after the image of the person who had saved her grandmother. Things went full circle.

"Now that I think of it, my grandmother had the same problem with her Quirk back then—"

The boy's gaze shot up lightning-fast. "What problem?"

"The term didn't exist back then, but I guess Taiga was also what you would call an Abnormality. She didn't know how to use her Quirk, just like you. Only difference is that she didn't manage to discover how to use it by herself." Inko answered casually, nodding at the book. "She had a little help from a friend."

Taking a deep breath, Izuku flipped the page one last time… and finally found what he had been looking for. It was another picture of Taiga as a child, looking delighted as she gazed at the tiny, translucent figure of a miniature tiger atop her palm. One of her mental projections, just as Inko said before. But what ultimately caught Izuku's attention was the person next to her, a little girl with pale skin and hair, her lovely green eyes lighting up with an adorable smile. His eyes shot downward to read the faded caption below, squinting to focus on the cursive handwriting.

"Taiga and her best friend Mimi, May 20th, 20XX."

This was her! Izuku did the math in his head, just barely holding back a gasp. The photo was taken 91 years ago, decades before he was born. He thought back to the villain's words, how she had claimed to wait nearly a century for her chance. Aftermath, or rather, Mimi, had met Taiga in the past and was quite possibly the one that taught her how to create and control her own mental projections. Saved her. Without her intervention, there was the possibility that he would have never been born. Somehow this 'Mimi' had infiltrated One For All with a purpose of her own. The only question was why. There had to be a reason for all this, a reason she was so desperate to break out of his mind.

"It's getting late, Izuku." Inko nudged his shoulder gently, bringing him back into reality. "Come on, you should get some sleep. You can continue looking though it tomorrow when you come back from school."

"I… yeah. Nevermind, mom." Izuku closed the book. "I think I found what I was looking for."

[x]

When the boy finally awoke after a good night's rest Kiri was beside him, breathing softly into her pillow. Thankfully she seemed much more relaxed now compared to last night, probably having gained a bit of her power back.

He lightly nudged her, trying for a response. The little girl batted away his hand carelessly while still asleep, letting out a small mumble at the disturbance. Izuku sighed. Well, at least she was alright. He'd leave her to rest for now, not wanting the poor girl to exert herself any further. Before he left the room he made sure to put a blanket on her and leave a small sticky note attached to her hand, instructing her to lay low and take the day off.

Half an hour later he was out the door, waving goodbye to his mother. As he trudged along Izuku couldn't help but feel the noticeably charged atmosphere around him. Everyone seemed to be talking about the battle between Valkyrie and her unknown opponent yesterday, the local tv stations still covering the event. They played shaky video clips of the two fighting mid-air, twin blurs of white and green clashing in bursts of light.

The news report playing atop a gigantic TV screen downtown began with a rather alarming statement; that an unknown villain appearing out of nowhere and battling Endeavor, fleeing when All Might showed up. She had been strong enough to match the number two hero? Wait, she had also mentioned using One For All against him, the 'hothead', but not against Kiri. Why was that? He got the feeling that she had been trying to prove something…

More information was revealed to Izuku as the reporters went on. The public assumption was that Valkyrie had been badly wounded after the fight with this unknown villain, and that there was overwhelming support for her quick recovery despite her not being a true licensed hero. Thankfully, there had been zero casualties… Izuku suspected that the two combatants had planned for it to be that way.

With both Valkyrie and the villain nowhere to be found, there wasn't much more information. The latter was given the temporary designation; 'Sutr', and a request was put out for anyone who has information on him to contact their local police department. Finally, the Hero Association had announced that they would be increasing hero patrols for an indefinite period.

Increased hero patrols, huh. Looking around, he could see that the order was already being put into place. The Hero Association had made a good play; the increased hero patrols would suppress any small-time villains thinking of acting in the wake of the event while simultaneously reassuring civilians that they were safe. The public needed that feeling of safety especially after what happened yesterday.

"Good morning, Midoriya-kun."

Izuku snapped out of his thoughts, looking up to find Iida before him as he began to enter the school. "Ah, Iida-kun! Good morning."

"Did you watch the news yesterday? They had live coverage of the battle between Valkyrie and that powerful villain. Quite the nerve-wracking experience, don't you think?"

"Ahahaha. Ha. Um, yeah." Izuku said nervously, averting his eyes. Nerve-wracking was an understatement. After all, he had gotten a front row seat to the battle through his sister's eyes.

They continued chatting along the way to the 1-A classroom, stopping when the two boys met a familiar face just outside the door. Brilliant orange hair bobbed about as Kendo took notice of them, giving the two boys a little wave.

"Oh, if it isn't Iida-san and Midoriya-san! Good Morning!" she greeted them cheerfully.

"Good morning, fellow class president!"

"M-morning, Kendo-san." Izuku said nervously. Right, she was the 1-B class president after all. She had probably met Iida in that meeting he mentioned previously.

"You two know each other? Networking already... I'm impressed, Midoriya-kun!" Iida nodded, his arms waving about robotically in some strange sort of praise.

"Um, it's a long story."

"You okay dude? You're looking a little stressed." Kendo noted, frowning a little. "By the way, where's Ki—"

"AHEM!" Izuku coughed abruptly out of nowhere, causing both class presidents to blink in surprise. "I, um, er— need to speak with you for a moment, Kendo-san. Iida-kun, why don't you go on without me?"

He'd just barely stopped Kendo from blurting out Kiri's name… there would be questions if word got around that Izuku had a sister in the same school that nobody had ever heard about or even seen. Questions that he couldn't answer. There was also the chance that the teachers might somehow get ahold of this information via's U.A's rumor mill, something that he wasn't willing to risk.

Iida and Kendo exchanged glances, then shrugged. "If you insist, Midoriya-kun."

Izuku let out a small sigh as he watched Iida enter the 1-A classroom, announcing his arrival energetically to those already within. Kendo shot him a confused smile as he walked up to her, not knowing what to expect.

"What's up?" she asked, her tone friendly as ever.

"Well, um. I need a favor from you, Kendo-san." Izuku hesitated. "Please don't tell anyone about Kiri-chan."

"Huh? Why not?" Kendo frowned. "Hey, she's your sis, right—"

"It's really complicated. She's…" Izuku wracked his brains for an answer, before deciding to lie through his teeth in desperation. "We have... different mothers."

There was a short pause where neither of them spoke, with Izuku cringing internally and asking himself what the hell he was saying.

Ah." the girl's eyes widened before nodding in understanding, completely believing his absurd lie.

"Yeah. People might view her differently if they knew." he blurted awkwardly, hating himself for lying yet again. "So, um… please—"

"Right, I won't tell anyone." Kendo scratched the back of her head nervously. "I don't really get it, but I guess you two have your own reasons. Sorry, I didn't know."

"It's okay, and thank you. I really appreciate it." Izuku breathed. That's one problem solved for now. He had to be careful though… building a foundation of lies would only trap him and lead to a mountain of trouble. There was also the issue of yesterday that he had to settle. "Also, Shiozaki Ibara is in your class, right?"

"Yeah, I know her. She's a friend of mine, actually." The girl smirked smugly, apparently misunderstanding his intent. "Oho, what's this? Don't tell me she's caught your fancy? Tell you what, let this onee-san help you out—"

"N-no, it's nothing like that." Izuku stammered.

"Now, now. Don't be shy!" She pat him on the shoulder for encouragement. "I know that girl can look rather unapproachable, but I'll put in a good word for you! After that, whatever you two do is none of my business."

"Um, just tell her that I'm sorry for yesterday. I don't think she particularly wants to see me after what happened."

"Wait, what?" Kendo paused, frowning as Izuku edged away towards his own classroom. "Yesterday?"

"Again, long story."

"C'mon, you can't just leave me hanging! What happened between you and her?"

"I would tell you, Kendo-san…" Izuku gave her a nervous smile. "But like you said, it's none of your business, is it?"

The orange-haired girl blinked, then let out a short laugh. "Hah! I totally walked into that one. Fine, I'll give her your little message." She gave him a little wave as she opened the door to her own classroom. "See you around, Midoriya-san."

"Thanks." He waved back tiredly. "See ya."

Neither of them noticed when a shadowy figure titled their head curiously, peeking out from the corner. Ashido Mina emerged from behind a wall as Izuku made his way into class, a small frown upon her features. She had accidentally eavesdropped on the last part of the conversation, though she didn't have enough context to understand what they were saying.

Something happened between Midoriya and another girl in 1-B? And since when was he so friendly with their class president? I don't think any of us even know them yet.

Hmm.

Meh, probably nothing. Mina shrugged, skipping into the classroom with a carefree smile.

"Ohayou~!"

A chorus of friendly voices greeted her, then went back to their excited chattering. In the background Izuku was listening to a group of his classmates discussing yesterday's incident.

"Man, did you see battle on TV yesterday?!" Kaminari was saying to Sero. "It was absolutely crazy, man. Like watching a scene from a movie or anime."

"I know, right?" Sero grinned. "I couldn't help but cheer for Valkyrie, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! I mean, she did help out during the USJ attack."

"Me too! But that villain was super-strong as well." Mina exclaimed. "To be honest, it makes me a little nervous about what kind of threats we'll face in the future when we're heroes."

Izuku had a grimace on his face as he snuck past them.

"It was so awesome, yet super scary when they were fighting mid-air and stuff!" Hagakure chirped, her invisible hands waving through the air excitedly. "And that part where they fought through the construction site was awesome!"

"I heard the site collapsed." Yaoyorozu murmured. "The construction company's not very happy about it."

"I'm just glad nobody got hurt." Ochaco piped up. "It's almost as if they were trying to avoid populated areas. It was really scary when the evacuation alarms started uptown..."

"I'm not surprised they decided to trigger an alert, especially for a threat of that scale. Apparently there will be increased hero patrols in the entire city, kero." Tsuyu chipped in. "Just this morning I saw twice as many teams moving about, I think they're still looking for signs of the villain."

"Really? Man, hard to imagine that he got away. What are they calling him? Soot?"

"Oh, because of all that green fire and explosions?" Hagakure asked curiously. "Everyone online is saying he has some sort of combustion or fire-based Quirk. There was that big fire blast attack he used in the forest as well..."

"Sutr." Sero corrected. "What kind of name is that, anyway?"

"It's a name from Norse Mythology." Izuku said absentmindedly while in a daze, not noticing that the group turned to face him. "Sutr was a flame giant foretold to battle with the Gods, and the inferno that he brings forth will engulf the Earth. A major figure during the events of Ragnarok, otherwise known as the Twilight of the Gods. Armageddon."

"Woah, that actually sounds pretty cool!" Kaminari grinned, giving him a thumbs up. "Figures a guy with book smarts like you knows about all this stuff."

But I don't. Izuku wanted to say. What? How did I...

Before he could think about what just happened the charged atmosphere in the classroom dissolved as Aizawa-sensei shuffled in, looking very much like an Egyptian mummy with all those bandages circling around his entire body. The man was back at work so quickly despite his injuries, apparently not minding them too much.

Classes went on as usual, Izuku thankful to see that all four teachers involved in the skirmish with Johnny were perfectly fine. He did however feel his heart skip a beat when Ectoplasm-sensei called out his name during math class, but luckily the teacher was just trying to get him to solve an equation. He didn't seem to suspect that the boy was involved in what happened yesterday.

Then it was time for the Foundational Hero Studies class…

"I AM HERE—" All Might entered the classroom, a magnificent cape billowing behind him in his silver age costume. "—TO TEACH!"

The number one hero looked the same as always, a wide, confident smile on his features. Izuku gulped, swallowing his guilt. He… he had to tell All Might. The man had a right to know. Izuku still remembered his reaction to Nana in USJ, how he had been rendered speechless from her smile. Back then, All Might had been hiding it but Izuku had an inkling of how the man truly felt. To see someone precious just slip through your fingers and fade away into nothingness… it probably was like he had lost her all over again. Izuku grit his teeth, making up his mind to tell the man what had really happened yesterday.

"Today we'll be learning about Quirk power classifications!" All Might announced cheerfully. "Naturally, with the advent of Quirks there was also a need for identification and cataloging of such information. As time passed Quirks have also made the baseline human stronger, smarter, and much more resilient, allowing even normal people to survive injuries they would have easily succumbed to in the past. Now then, can anyone tell me what the three types of Quirks that can be identified using the Simplified Quirk Identification System?"

Yaoyorozu's hand shot into the air like greased lightning. "Emitter-type, Transformation-type, and Mutant-type."

"Excellent!" There was a small series of squeaks across the whiteboard. "As you can see, Quirks can be classified into three distinct groups using the simplified standard system. However, fledgling heroes such as yourselves may be required to work with foreign heroes and law enforcement; many of whom may prefer to use the International Quirk Classification System which is a tad more advanced."

"Much like how some countries prefer the Metric System while others use the Imperial one, kero."

"Exactly, young Asui! Although the two systems coexist, here in Japan we prefer to use the Simplified System. The International System is used by many foreign agencies, so it's best that you have a basic understanding of it." All Might nodded. "There are a total of twelve different Quirk classifications, and the easiest way to remember them is through the use of mnemonics; specifically through the use of a rhyme."

"A rhyme? Like, a song or something? Cool."

"That's right, young Jiro! The rhyme is as follows:" The teacher paused to take a breath.

"Mover, Shaker,

Brute and Breaker."

"Master, Tinker,

Blaster and Thinker,"

"Striker, Changer,

Trump and Stranger."

Izuku already knew the words by heart, echoing them in his mind alongside his teacher's voice. Now that he knew Aftermath was just that girl's projection, he could classify her as a Blaster/Master. Though her attacks reminded him of Bakugo's, hers were much more focused and controlled. That move of All Might's that she used; 'Iowa Smash'… instead of a colossal tempest of spiraling wind like the original what came out instead was a gargantuan vortex of emerald flames. Flames that were reminiscent of Endeavor's attacks.

And that other move she used; 'Manchester Smash'. He didn't remember All Might having an attack like that. He should know, he was an All Might otaku, after all. The boy decided to put that aside in favor of analyzing 'Mimi's' Quirk.

If she truly had a Quirk that was similar to his, he could already guess how she was creating those blasts. Using her Quirk to form that projection around her and unleashing it whenever necessary, resulting in those psychic flames that burned with ethereal light. The opposite of Kiri's invulnerability… she pushed her energy outward from every part of her body instead of using it as a shield. A hybrid style that incorporated the combustion aspect of a fire-type Quirk and the psionic capabilities of a projection-type Quirk. In the end she was breaking herself apart to do damage to the opponent, a truly reckless way of fighting.

She didn't create explosions… she was the explosion. A human bomb.

The rest of the lesson was rather uneventful as he already knew what all twelve classifications in detail, along with their countermeasures. When lunch break came he tried to talk to All Might in private, but unfortunately there were some complications that had arisen over everything that happened recently.

"I'm sorry, young Midoriya… we teachers have an important meeting later!" All Might scratched his head sheepishly. "Then I have to attend another meeting downtown regarding the incident yesterday, so I won't be able to meet you after school either. I'll be honest, my schedule is packed to the brim! I'll have to notify you when I actually have time to meet you, my boy!"

"Um, it's okay! Sorry for bothering you but…" Izuku gaze was pulled towards the floor. "It's really important. It has to do with One For All."

"I see… but unfortunately," the hero shook his head hastily. "There are… responsibilities that I have to uphold as the symbol of peace. I promise that I'll make some time for you, but right now it simply isn't possible. My deepest apologies, young Midoriya!"

B-but… Izuku groaned internally, but nodded his head. He had to be reasonable, All Might was the symbol of peace, after all. Millions of people across Japan depended on him every single day; the man probably had dozens of duties to fulfill as the number one hero.

"O-okay. I understand. Um, sorry for taking up your time."

All Might was silent for a second, then broke out into a great big belly-laugh. He laid a massive hand on Izuku's head and tousled his hair, grinning. "Nonsense, young Midoriya! I'm glad you decided to seek me out for advice! If anything, it's a teacher's job to check on the progress of their students! Move along now, you still haven't eaten your lunch!"

"A-alright. Thanks, All Might." Izuku managed to mumble, just barely keeping the guilt out of his tone.

"Don't mention it! I'll make an effort to meet you as soon as I can!"

Izuku watched his mentor go, gulping subconsciously. He'd better start thinking of what to say when the time came. The boy slowly trudged his way into the cafeteria, recent events still heavy on his mind. He should first make sure Kiri was okay when he got home later, then he had to ask her what was going on inside his head—

Did I really just think that? Izuku questioned himself, then groaned softly. It was as if his life had been turned upside-down in a single day. The previous wielders of One For All lived on within him as memories, ghosts of those who came before. Would he become one of them as soon as he passed on that power? Izuku wasn't exactly a superstitious person, but now… he wasn't sure how he was to feel about all this. Life after death, and what came after.

Then there was the issue of this 'Mimi' person, Aftermath's true form and master. He was beginning to suspect that she was somehow related to him, and that photo had shown that she was friends with his great-grandmother.

Izuku continued thinking hard, putting a hand to his chin. Mimi's Quirk was similar to his, and yet... Aftermath and Valkyrie. Offense and Defense. Internal and External. Endothermic and Exothermic. They were seemingly opposites of each other, yet at the same time there were undeniable parallels between the two. There had to be a reason for why she escaped from his mind. Again, he considered the idea of how she had clearly wanted to prove something back then… but to who?

To him?

"Over here, Deku-kun!"

He looked up to find Ochaco and Iida waving him over, having saved a spot for him at their usual table. He smiled tiredly, making his way over until someone behind them caught his eye.

Shiozaki Ibara blinked owlishly as her eyes met his, and for a moment she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief until a warm red tint slowly began coloring her pale cheeks.

"Ah—" Izuku began, reaching out to her.

The thorn-haired girl whirled around and hurried away, blushing furiously. A pair of girls from class 1-B trailed behind her, both shooting Izuku quick glances of suspicion before joining their friend. The boy groaned, shoulders sagging.

I guess that's the end of my social life in U.A.

"Hmm? Is there something wrong, Deku-kun?"

"It's nothing, Uraraka-san." Izuku gave her a tired smile. "I've just got a lot on my mind."

Both literally and figuratively. He decided not to add that last part.

Meanwhile, Mina eyed the green-haired boy from her table with a hand to her chin.

"What's up?" Hagakure said from opposite her, food vanishing into thin air as she gobbled it down cheerfully. "You're thinking about something, I can tell."

"How can you tell?" Jiro remarked dubiously from beside her.

"Well, Mina-chan doesn't really think most of the time so it's really obvious when she does." Hagakure chirped jokingly. "She gets this face of intense concentration that I've only seen in math class."

Mina sniffed the air, taking in several quick whiffs. "Do you smell it?"

"What?" Jiro asked flatly.

"That smell. That kind of smelly smell. The smelly smell that smells… smelly." Mina announced dramatically, smacking her palms onto the table while the other girl rolled her eyes. "Something's fishy around here!"

"Is your steamed fish going bad?" Hagakure pointed out, eyeing the dish cautiously. "You probably shouldn't eat that if it smells weird~"

"Nonono, it's not that… my pinky sense is tingling!" The pink-haired girl tapped her horns excitedly. "Something strange is going on, I can feel it."

Jiro and Hagakure exchanged confused glances, then shrugged.

"Is this what they call 'having your head in the clouds'?"

"More like 'airhead'."

"Hey!"

[x]

Kiri woke up covered in a warm blanket on Izuku's bed, looking around sleepily as she recalled the events of yesterday. Wandering around the empty house proved that no one was at home for the moment, Inko having probably gone out to do some grocery shopping. The girl decided that the first thing she should do was look for Toshinori and Nana, letting out a small yawn as she focused. A second later she was within her brother's mind, wading through a field of colorful flowers as she looked around for the two adults.

After a few minutes of searching she found them, though there was a little complication. The pair were meditating under the gigantic tree that represented Izuku, eyes closed in serene concentration. Nana was somehow in the form of a kid like her and no longer translucent, sitting beside Toshinori as they meditated together. The two were in quite the picturesque position, ironically looking like parent and child.

"Hellooo~" she tried, only to get no response.

Humming, she picked up a long stick and began poking Toshinori in the face for a reaction. Maybe he was just sleeping? Unfortunately her efforts were in naught as the man continued to meditate, seemingly unaffected by his surroundings. Frowning, Kiri floated up to his face and began prodding at his forehead. That didn't work either. She then tried to boop Mini-Nana on the nose for a reaction—

Her world spun into a dazzling array of colors and noise, a corridor of rainbow light stretching endlessly before her. She could hear two people talking, their voices simultaneously close and far…

"—her intent, but she's still not waking up. I've already tried everything else, Nana. We'll just keep focusing..."

"It's not hurting her, right?"

"Of course not. To put it simply, we're lending her our own energy to 'recharge'. If anything, it should make her feel better—"

Kiri poofed into existence, startling the pair mid-conversation. Shimura Nana was still in her child form as she jogged over to the confused girl, a thin, disheveled man following closely behind her.

"Kiri-chan!" Nana exclaimed in surprise. A golden orb of light floated above her shoulder, flickering warmly. "I didn't know you could come in here!"

"Nn." She looked around, confused. So this was what the halo looked like on the inside.

It looked… really normal, actually. She had expected an empty plain of nothingness or some sort of abstract landscape, not… this. The sight of rolling hills and lush fields of green met her eyes, the scene looking like something grounded in reality. But what really drew her attention was the beautiful white walls of the enormous mansion before her.

"Oh, you like the mansion?" Nana smiled proudly. "Amazing, isn't it?"

Amazing was a bit of an understatement. She gazed at the absolutely gorgeous building before her, the vast structure clearly having borrowed aesthetics and intricate designs from both eastern and western cultures. It was a fortress, a castle, a kingdom in itself. Dazzling, exotic flowers lined the perimeter in countless pavilions. The domed top reached right up into the clear blue sky, decorated with a multitude of spires, turrets and towers. The scene was breathtaking, awing the eyes and overloading the senses.

In the main courtyard was what looked like a hospital bed, the girl that had been controlling Aftermath resting upon it. Sitting around her in a circle were the previous wielders, eyes closed in apparent meditation. Streams of multicolored energy flowed out from them and into the unconscious girl, with Kiri assuming it was the 'recharging' process she had overheard earlier. Nana herself wasn't taking part as she was already running low.

Trotting over to the bed, Kiri peeked over the covers in curiosity. So this was the true form of the one that had fought her yesterday. This other girl was the same size as her and dressed in a dark, tattered cloak, wearing a grey wetsuit-like attire underneath. She was so pretty, so… small, like a little doll, Kiri observed. Nothing like the fearsome opponent she had fought.

She's just like me.

"Let me apologize on Mimi's behalf. We never expected something like this would happen…"

Kiri whirled around to face the disheveled man from before, his light, unruly hair blowing in the wind. He was clad in a simple white t-shirt and jeans, looking painfully ordinary for someone who once wielded One For All. An ethereal tether of white energy flowed from his body to the unconscious Mimi; he was the only one that didn't need to meditate for the transference process.

Then the girl realized that she had already seen every other wielder except this man. She slowly began counting off her fingers. Four… five… six. Turning to face him, she found a gentle smile on his features. Sure, he didn't look like much; boasting a thin frame that looked rather sickly and kind of weak. But his eyes… his eyes twinkled like aging stars; pale diamonds that held knowledge attained over a century.

There was no doubt. This man… this man was—

"Hello, Kiri-chan." he said softly. "I am Ichikawa Hiro. Everyone calls me Hiro."

This man was the first and original wielder of One For All.

"Hello." she replied curiously, giving him a little wave.

"I see you're concerned about our little troublemaker." Hiro glanced between the two children. "Unfortunately, she still hasn't woken up since her return."

"The others are doing their best." Nana said, seemingly talking to the golden orb that floated beside her. Kiri quickly realized that was All Might; Toshinori, in an incomplete form. "We still don't know how long this will take..."

Some of the others noticed Kiri had appeared, giving her a few quick greetings.

"Hey, kiddo."

"Friend!"

"Privyet, tiny girl."

"Hello."

She greeted them back in turn, noting that they could change their outfits to whatever they wanted. Johnny now had an added buttoned shirt on, while Koko was in her human form but dressed in an ordinary tank top and shorts.

"What if she wakes up and…" Misha began, frowning as he referred to the unconscious girl. "...she go boom?"

"Then we'll be on her like white on rice in a glass of milk on a paper plate in a snowstorm." Johnny offered helpfully. "There's what, six of us and one of her."

"If we have to restrain her, let's not use our Quirks." Chen nodded towards aforementioned little girl. "We need her calm."

A strange coldness permeated the air, whispers of things long past seeming to escape from the unconscious girl in wisps of grey and silver. Kiri shivered, knowing the feeling all too well but never experiencing them in this format. She reached out and to her surprise, managed to touch a wisp but was unable to consume it. Negative emotions made tangible…

"Brace for memory leak." Johnny warned.

A maelstrom of negative emotions swirled around them and unknown voices echoed through the air in undulating tones, ghostly and foreign.

"A complete failure. She does not have it. However, there is an… unexpected development. Reassign her to Antithesis. If she fails, dispose of her. Simple as that."

"No…" Mimi whimpered, beginning to stir.

"How dare you use my fucking moves, you goddamned little freak! I'll do everyone a favor and exterminate you, you disgusting abomination—"

The girl began shaking horribly, the entire bed rattling and shuddering as if under possession.

"You said it wasn't going to hurt her!" Nana yelled in concern. "Stop the transfer!"

"It's not supposed to! It was never this bad when we did it with Johnny—" Hiro said, gritting his teeth as everyone began pulling back their energies in alarm. "Hang on, Mimi!"

"Pathetic little creature. You're an inferior defect, a mistake. A failure; that's all you were, that's all you will ever be. Weak… and unwanted."

Mimi's eyes shot open, and she woke up screaming. The threads of energy that connected them snapped abruptly with a high-pitched shriek, sending everyone sprawling backwards.

"I'M NOT WEAK!"

The girl exploded from her bed in a whirlwind of green, emerald flames igniting along her arms and legs as she hovered in the air. Wild, unfocused eyes scanned for threats, her pupils narrowing into pinpricks when she realized she was surrounded. Behind her the ghostly form of Aftermath manifested, looming over the girl like a mystical wraith.

Johnny and Chen sprang forward and the armored projection solidified, its hands catching them around the throat with blinding speed. A rocket-boosted kick crashed into Misha before he could react, jets of flame lancing from Aftermath's kneecap as he stomped onto the larger man's chest to pin him down. There was a blur of movement as Mimi scrambled to climb atop her projection's shoulders, her gaze still unfocused and panicked.

"Wait, stop!" the first wielder exclaimed.

Three wielders were held immobile, the adults struggling in Aftermath's grip. Koko arched her back, ready to jump into the fray but rooted on the spot as she looked back and forth between Hiro and Mimi rapidly, clearly hesitating and not wanting to hurt her friend.

Nana was a monochrome blur that rocketed into the air, rebounding off Aftermath's forearm to land on his shoulder. Mimi snarled from atop her projection as Nana caught her hands, extinguishing the psychic conflagration on her palms. A violent crackling began filling the air as the pale girl opened her mouth wide, an unstable sphere of neon flames forming within as she prepared to unleash it at Nana like a dragon's searing breath—

"MIMI!" Hiro shouted, hands held out in panic.

The girl jolted at the sound of his voice, snapping her gaze towards him. Within those wild eyes there was a spark of recognition, then confusion as her pupils began to refocus. Nana let go of her gently, careful not to make any sudden moves.

"Mimi, please." the original said softly, his tone gentle and worried. "It's us… remember? You're safe now. It's okay… nobody's going to hurt you."

Her ragged breathing began to slow, the burning energy in her mouth dissipating. Aftermath's grip loosened, the projection backing away. Mimi's enraged expression melted away into one of terror and she was a little girl again, looking confused and very, very alone. Then her eyes met Kiri's and there was the despair and distress that the vigilante had only seen in those who had lost a loved one.

"I'm… I'm not weak. I'm not!" Mimi hiccuped, her breath hitching while she looked around in panic. "D-don't throw me away."

"Nothing like that is going to happen." the man assured. "We just want to ask you some questions..."

He reached out slowly but she flinched and backed away, looking too much like a frightened child.

"I… I…" She swept her gaze across them as tears beaded at the corner of her eyes, her lower lip trembling. "I'm sorry."

Before anyone could say a word Aftermath's chest unfolded to reveal a hollow cavity, the girl quickly darting inside and sealing herself within. Johnny, Misha and Chen got up slowly, dusting themselves off as Nana hopped off the projection's shoulders. Everyone waited for something to happen but it just stood there, still as a statue and refusing to move.

They were taken aback by how emotional she was; this was a far cry from her usual logical yet snarky attitude. In all the years they spent together the girl could be a handful at times, but never like this. Hiro sighed and made his way over to the stoic projection, knocking on its armored chest softly like a parent knocking on the door to their child's room.

"Mimi? Come on." he frowned. "Do you want to tell us what happened?"

A little sniff emanated from within the armored figure.

"Hey," Chen said gently. "You can't hide in there forever."

"Wanna bet?"

The older woman shot a quick glare at Johnny, her fingers forming a line across her mouth. Zip it. With a shrug of his shoulders the blonde strode forward, lowering his tone to be as delicate as possible.

"Come on, Mimi." he tried. "Everyone's worried about you."

"Go away!" the girl yelled, voice slightly muffled.

"Look…" Johnny scratched the back of his head hesitantly. "I know what it feels like to lose control, to be consumed by your feelings. We can help—"

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up!" she screamed from within the armor, prompting him to take a step back. "You don't know how this feels!"

"Mimi…"

"It was supposed to be me!" More small sobs and sniffling. "It's not fair! I've waited for so long and s-she stole it from me… my chance..."

The wielders exchanged glances, sharing the same bewildered looks. Kiri found herself as the center of attention when they turned to her. She fidgeted around a little under their gaze, a little nervous from the sudden attention she was getting. Everyone glanced between the two projections, already making some sort of silent connection between them. Hiro quietly stood in front of Aftermath, clearing his throat with a small cough.

"Mimi, please." he said carefully. "Tell us what's wrong."

Silence from the armor.

"You can't keep hiding in there forever, Mimi. Even if we all have our differences, we still want to help you."

More silence.

"We're supposed to look out for each other, right?"

Aftermath's chest unfolded like paper origami, revealing a tiny form curled up inside that empty cavity. She let out a small sniff, her lower lip still trembling. The projection slowly reached into itself and carried its master out, holding the girl gently under her arms like how one would carry a cat. All things considered, they would have looked pretty cute if one didn't take the current situation into account.

Mimi glanced around, jaw clenched as she tried to put on a strong front.

"I will take full responsibility for everything that happened." she began, her voice shaky. "I acknowledge that I… I lost control."

"Lost control? You blow up building." Misha stretched up his palm, opening all five fingers. "Kaboom. No more building."

"Actually that was me." Kiri admitted timidly, raising her hand. "I made sure it was empty first."

Misha blinked, then turned his attention back to Mimi. "You blow up forest! Kaboom. No more fores—"

"Words can't even begin to describe how pissed I am with you right now." Nana interrupted him mid-sentence, striding towards the little girl with an infuriated, scathing glare. "You… are in so much trouble young lady!"

"Fuck you." Mimi spat angrily, seemingly regaining her bravado out of nowhere. "Don't act like you're my mom or something."

"Then don't behave like a child!" Nana shot back. "You went out there and threw a bloody temper tantrum in the middle of the city; a rash and utterly egotistical decision with no regard for the consequences! What were you thinking?!"

"Whoa, you don't have to be so harsh with her—" Johnny started.

"I'm being harsh because I need to! Look, I don't like doing this either." She turned back to face the younger girl. "Innocent people could have been hurt! You could have been hurt! I know you were careful in regards to where you were fighting but this… This isn't how we do things, Mimi. I'm disappointed in you."

"Don't patronize me from your moral high ground. People like you are born with a silver spoon in their mouth and think that the world is all sunshine and rainbows!" Mimi yelled, her voice raw and furious. "You don't know me! You don't know what it's like to feel this way!"

"Wait, you two—" Hiro tried, only to be completely ignored. "Calm down—"

"No, apparently I don't know you. I don't know what it's like, so why don't you bloody tell me?!" Nana roared, her voice clearly taking on a stressed tone. "How are we supposed to understand you if when you've always refused to tell us anything? Even now, we have no idea of what's going on. Whatever the issue is, there was no reason to act on your emotions so recklessly—"

"You're such a fucking hypocrite! You're the one who acted on your damn emotions in the first place at USJ!"

"I—at least I did it for the greater good! Need I remind you that you attacked Kiri-chan and drove a quarter of the city into a full-blown panic? I thought you were better than this!"

"Well I'm not! I was always a useless piece of garbage from the start! Is that what you wanna hear, huh?! I'm not afraid of you—"

"And I don't want you to be! What are you gonna do, fight me? This is how it always is with you, isn't it?! All you know how to do is fight… but you can't solve all your problems with violence, Mimi! For people like us it doesn't take much strength to hurt someone, but try working things out peacefully despite all this power in your hands! Then you'll know what self-restraint means!"

"Enough!"

Hiro quickly got between them, ending the impromptu screaming match. "Both of you need to calm down, bickering will get us nowhere. Mimi, we need to know exactly what happened. Why did you cause the breach and fight Kiri-chan? Things are not looking good for your case."

"Hold up." Johnny grunted, standing beside the diminutive white-haired girl. "You know how she's usually content to keep to herself. For her to lash out like this… something serious must have happened. She knew there'd be consequences, but she did it anyway. At least they were careful that nobody got hurt, right? Come on, cut her some slack."

"I agree." Chen took up a position beside Mimi as well. "Even with that horrendous temper of hers, the girl still thinks logically most of the time and isn't so easily swayed by emotions. There must be a reason for her actions."

"Then let's agree to disagree." Nana spoke up, a mix of conflicting emotions swirling in her eyes. "No matter what the issue is, there's no reason to lash out at the world like that. We've always tried to settle our differences peacefully and you… you of all people did something so ridiculously asinine. We care about you, Mimi…" she grit her teeth, her voice unsteady. "I care about you. But this time you've gone too far!"

"I'm with Nana as well. You cross line, leetle one. Scolding is least of your concerns." Misha scratched his beard thoughtfully. "Wait, we taking sides now?"

"Let's not." Hiro muttered. "Koko, what do you think of all this?"

"K-koko is neutral! I'm just a doggy, wan." Koko said quickly, clearly trying to escape the incoming standoff.

"Well..." Hiro nodded towards the tiny girl. "I think that Mimi here has been planning something like this for a while now. Her talk of her plan being ruined, how she waited for so long…"

"It's the boy." A small voice cut through the air like a thrown knife, everyone turning to face a wide-eyed Nana. "Midoriya Izuku. You broke out of here… because you're planning something that involves him! You—" The brunette's expression flashed into one of fury. "I don't know what you're trying to do, but I won't let you hurt him!"

"N-no! I… I…" Mimi's grip around her cloak tightened, much like how the hypothetical noose was tightening around any hope of her escaping. Her eyes were shimmering with anger and barely restrained tears. "You don't understand… I would never—"

"And how do we know that, after this stunt that you pulled?! It seems that you don't care about anyone other than yourself!"

"If I didn't care then I wouldn't have bridged the fucking connection!" Mimi screamed, her voice cracking with emotion.

The fury slipped off Nana's face, replaced by a bewildered gaze. "What?"

"Back at USJ. It was me. I bridged the connection between here and the outside world. I was trying to manifest myself though Izuku's Quirk to help All Might when y-you hijacked my mental link, Nana…" The white-haired girl cast her gaze downwards, sniffing miserably. "It's how you were able to fuse with Kiri-chan."

Nana thought back to the burning rainbow bridge, and the anguished scream that she had heard when she merged with Kiri. 'LET ME OUT'. A look of reluctant understanding came across her features, realizing that she had inadvertently stolen away Mimi's chance to help.

"This only raises more questions to be answered. Back then you told us that you were part of an organization that tracked One For All and made sure that it survived for future generations. You said you'd give us the full details 'when the time was right.'" Hiro let that statement hang in the air for a moment before bringing it down like an executioner's axe, grimacing as he did. "I think now's a pretty good time, Mimi. I'm sorry to do this now, but you owe everyone here an explanation for what you did."

Silence. Nobody moved nor spoke, the spotlight on Mimi now. A tiny fist clenched at the sides of her cloak tightly. The girl knew she was cornered, anger giving way to regret and looking like she was about to cry. Seeing her like that with that miserable, trapped, and defeated expression… an old memory drifted into Kiri's thoughts.

T-that's mean, Kacchan! C-can't you see he's crying?

Before she knew it she was standing in front of Mimi, shielding the other child with her own body. Even though she knew she had no part in this internal affair among old souls, no knowledge of the circumstances or context, and that Mimi was rightfully in the wrong for causing this entire mess… she still decided to help the other girl.

"Leave her alone!" Kiri declared angrily. "Don't bully her."

Everyone blinked, stunned at her actions. But within that glowing orb floating above Nana's shoulder Toshinori Yagi felt himself smile unconsciously. For a brief moment an image of his young successor flashed across his mind.

"You… you would stand up for her?" Hiro asked, brows furrowed in confusion as he knelt down to match her height. "Even after she fought you? After she hurt you?"

"You're all being really mean!" The girl folded her arms defiantly. "She's already sorry, can't you see she's crying?"

"I'm not crying!" Mimi denied vehemently, lip quivering.

"I'm not being mean to her, I—" Nana paused then sighed, realizing the girl didn't understand that she was being harsh because she cared. She reigned herself in, realizing that perhaps everyone was a little too emotional as well. "I'm the bad guy now, huh."

A small hand reached out and touched Kiri on the shoulder. Mimi gave her counterpart a confused, clearly distressed look.

"Why?"

Kiri tilted her head in response.

"Why are you defending me? Logic dictates that…" Mimi hung her head shamefully, glancing at the ground. "That you should hate me! Nana's right. I attacked you and brought panic to your city because of my own selfishness… s-so why—"

"Because a hero will always help those in trouble." Kiri answered earnestly, causing the other girl's eyes to widen. "Because I believe it's the right thing to do!"

A small silence fell over the group as they considered her words. She was so naive, so foolish, so childishly idealistic… but perhaps that childishness; that innocence made her statement all the more genuine.

"You really are better than me." Mimi whispered after a while, her expression sombre. "Thank you… and I'm sorry. She's right, and I'm responsible for what happened. I fucked up. It's… it's time for the truth."

The tiny girl gently nudged Kiri to join the crowd, everyone calming down and going back to sitting on their chairs which were now rearranged to face her. Mimi sat back on bed, her little legs dangling dejectedly as she considered what she wanted to say.

"Okay." she said finally. "Keep the damn questions to a minimum as I explain."

The group glanced at each other, then nodded in unison.

"Please understand that due to certain… circumstances I was unable to reveal this information previously. There's no point hiding it now. There was an organization that tracked One For All." She looked right at Kiri to emphasize her point. "Just not in the way that you think. Mikumo Akatami was a false name that I created…"

She took a deep breath, steadying herself to reveal a truth she had hidden for nearly a century.

"My real name is Midoriya Izumi." Mimi announced. "And I'm from an alternate world."

[x]

It was as if time itself had stopped as those words left her mouth. Then everyone started talking simultaneously and all sense of decorum went out the window, a cacophony of chaotic noise drowning out most of their voices. Various exclamations of disbelief and even a few swears were thrown around.

"Everyone, please!" Hiro held out his hands, actually managing to calm the charged atmosphere. "One at a time. Mimi, what are you talking about? Midoriya? Wait, what do you mean that you're from an alternate world?"

"It's exactly as it sounds." the girl said timidly. "I'm from another world. Another dimension. Another Earth."

"Good lord, is she…" There was a confused sputtering from Johnny. "She is! You're trying to tell us that you're what, from some… some Parallel Earth?! You can't be serious, this is some twilight zone shit we're talking about here! Those nutcases from the Institute for Extraspatial Studies were right all along?!"

"Existence of other worlds? Urban legend. Like from comic book." Misha rumbled thoughtfully. "But then again, we are also in our own 'world' now, yes?"

"Other Earth or not, Koko will still love you!" the dog-girl huffed in a show of camaraderie. "Mimi is family."

"Oh nonono, I refuse to believe this is happening." the blonde Caucasian said incredulously. "And you guys call me crazy. Are you listening to this? At least it's not some convoluted nonsense like time travel, but still. She's like, from another universe or something!"

Hurm. Be good. The distant memory of a man in a hat and trenchcoat flashed across Kiri's mind, symmetrical blots of ink swirling across the bone-white canvas of his face. He ruffled her hair awkwardly. I'm going to find that big blue bastard that sent me to this universe in the first place.

"This is happening way too fast! Are we supposed to just believe what she says?!" Johnny continued, still looking unconvinced.

"I guess we are. This is the first time she's actually talking about her past." Nana declared angrily, drawing attention to Mimi once more. "I can't believe you kept this from us, Mimi! You could have prevented the USJ attack, Zabanya, Ravager—"

"No, I couldn't have… because I had no knowledge of what was going to happen. It doesn't work like that! My world is similar, yet different. Some things happened, others did not." Mimi explained in frustration, trying to defend herself. "In my world there was no confrontation between All Might and All For One where he got away. There was no assault on USJ."

Mimi seemed to take a deep breath, then looked straight into Nana's eyes.

"There was no Shimura Nana."

Nobody spoke, all eyes on the two girls.

"And yet, One For All managed to make its way to Toshinori Yagi, albeit a younger version..." Mimi pointed at the golden orb with a trembling finger. "And more importantly, Midoriya Izuku. Exactly as our algorithm predicted."

"Let's say we believe you for a moment. That you, Midoriya Izumi, are from another world." Chen began, addressing the elephant in the room. "On that other world... is another Midoriya Izuku. You're somehow related to him?"

Mimi went silent while Aftermath marched forward, a silent puppet controlled by invisible strings. The girl kept her gaze downwards, but it was clear that she wanted them to understand something… Nana picked up on her implication almost immediately.

"Wait a minute, this..." she breathed, involuntarily taking a step back. Her expression was no longer clouded with confusion, melting away to one of horrified realization. "You made it look like him."

Those words seemed to echo through the air as everyone slowly realized what she was talking about. The projection, Aftermath… or rather, the costume it wore. The long, bunny-like ears. The strange metallic respirator. The green jumpsuit.

"Yeah." the girl said shakily, looking straight at them. "I made it in his image."

"So you're obviously here to meet him again but what's your deal? You're—what; his ancestor, sister, daughter from another world? " Johnny added, shooting her a conflicted look. "You making this really hard to believe."

"I know all this is..." Mimi seemed to search for the words, clenching her hands in frustration. "...difficult to take in. I-I couldn't have told you all before—"

"Then at least tell us who you really are now."

"Midoriya Izumi. That was the name he gave me. Before that, I was just known as Mimi. It wasn't originally a name, it was a designation." There was a little sniffle as the girl clenched her fist, trying her best not to break down completely. "An acronym. M-I-M-I."

Everyone held their tongue, waiting for her to speak. Kiri knew how it must have felt for the other girl to reveal everything like this, just like she had done back then to Nana and Toshinori. Her past, her shame and her truth finally revealed to them after decades of secrecy.

"Artificial Human, Midoriya Izuku Mark I. I'm not his ancestor, his sister, or his daughter…"

Glistening emerald eyes looked up at them, filled with grief, regret and misery.

"I'm his clone." Mimi sobbed, tears rolling down her face. "The aftermath of a broken world."

There was only silence as the conspiracy within their ranks unfolded, something that would shake the very foundations of their phantom lives. Everyone stared, not believing what they were hearing. Perhaps not wanting to; for the truth was almost too unimaginable to comprehend.

The fourth wielder of One For All; Mimi... was a clone of Midoriya Izuku from another world.

"I came here to protect him, just as he protected me. He…. he saved me! Izuku took me in when no one else would, and raised me as his own!" Mimi choked. There was a series of sharp breaths at that revelation. "Where everyone else saw a monster, a freak, he… he gave me a chance. A chance to be something different. To not be bound by the circumstances of my birth, that I could be who I chose to be. He gave me a name. A home. A family."

They understood almost immediately. The Midoriya Izuku of that parallel world had taken her in and raised her as part of his family.

"He was both a father and a brother to me, the Symbol of Hope in my world. He was a hero." Warm tears ran down the girl's cheeks freely. "My hero."

"You came here to protect him…" Nana started, eyes widening. "Don't tell me—"

"The unthinkable happened. We lost him."

Kiri felt her heart drop like a rock upon hearing those words.

"Even though it was selfish to an unbelievable degree, so ridiculously irresponsible I… I wanted to be with him again. Deep down I know it's not the same Izuku but I… I've come too far to stop now! Everything was going as predicted…" Mimi choked, her gaze slowly focusing on Kiri. "Until you showed up. The plan never accounted for his dormant Quirk to awaken."

Dormant Quirk? Kiri blinked. Then she remembered that one rainy night when she was born. Me?

"You were everything I was supposed to be, only better! I'm just a copy, a clump of cells cultivated in some laboratory. An artificial body, an artificial soul!" she wailed, voice cracking between heaving breaths. "To make things worse, you look like her… It's all just a cruel joke. Everything fell so perfectly into place for you... But the worst part was when he… he accepted you so easily. He loved you."

"Mimi…" somebody said softly.

"When I saw that, I couldn't take it anymore! It hurts. It's like there's a knife in my chest that's stabbing over and over again, crushing and tearing my heart into shreds..." She wrenched at her hair with shuddering fingers, the distress and anguish in her voice palpable. "It hurts! It hurts so much… I'm scared… You have to understand, I had to do something! I had to prove myself, t-that I was w-worthy enough! This time I'll protect him, a-and then he'll… he'll love me again…"

It was at that moment Kiri realized that the other girl really was just like her; Mimi was an example of what she could have become. It was like she was looking at a broken reflection of herself, a startling reminder of the time when Nana and Toshinori intruded on her home and she lost control of her emotions.

"No… no no no… You can't… you can't do this to me. I've come too far, lost too much… y-you can't… Don't take him away from me!" she hiccuped, starting to hyperventilate. "What do you have that I don't?! I-I'll stop swearing! U-um, if Aftermath's too scary I'll change how he looks! I won't yell, and I won't talk back anymore! I'll be good!"

Kiri couldn't help but feel pity for her. The truth was that she was so desperate, so eager to be loved and acknowledged by Izuku to the point where she was willing to abandon her ideals. Perhaps in an alternate world somewhere, this would have been her. The group looked amongst themselves and hesitated, unable to think of anything to say.

"Is that w-w-what he wants?" A heartrending sob, followed by several shaking breaths. "A g-good girl? A quiet g-girl? I… I can be that! I… I just— I..."

There was another sniff, the girl attempting to wipe her away her tears with that tattered cloak.

"I don't know what to do anymore. I was supposed to be by his side… and now I have nothing left. You've taken everything from me..." The poor girl collapsed, curling inward to hug her knees. She was crying bitterly, not even trying to hide it as her tiny body shuddered with miserable sobbing. "W-why? Why am I so useless? Why can't I do a-anything right?"

A stifled silence hung in the air. They had so many questions, with more popping up as the seconds ticked by. They had always thought Mimi was hiding something but never to this scale… things seemed to happen way too fast, their normally quiet way of life seemingly upended once the power of One For All had been transferred to Midoriya Izuku. A truly strange turn of events. Meanwhile, Kiri couldn't help but think back to her conversation with Pixiebob.

"Fight for what you want, what you believe in."

The little girl frowned, thinking hard. True, Mimi had done that as well.

"But what if he doesn't want me anymore?"

A thought flickers. She considers it.

"It's a delicate balance of feelings. Relationships sure are complicated, eh?"

Balance.

Kiri made her choice. She slowly made her way over to the kneeling girl, making sure not to startle her. Sapphire eyes met glistening emerald ones.

The little girl gave her counterpart a warm hug, squeezing tightly.

"W-what are you— why are you h-hugging me?" Mimi stuttered, still in the midst of crying.

"Because people hug each other when they're sad."

"I don't n-need your p-p-pity!" the upset child squeaked, doing her best to sound threatening. "I… I…"

"We can share!" Kiri declared, releasing her grip slightly to look Mimi right in her tear-filled eyes.

"W-w-what?"

"We can share!" she repeated, with even more determination. "Izuku's not just my onii-chan." The little construct took a deep breath. "He's yours too."

Mimi was silent for a moment, her lip quivering. The dam broke and she began crying again, though this time there was a definite relief in her tone. A small comfort to top off a mountain of sorrow.

"Uwaaaaaahhh…"

Before she knew it they were surrounded by warmth, everyone huddling together in one giant group hug. In any other situation it might have seen rather cheesy, but for now everyone was willing to overlook it. Mimi cried and wailed the loudest she ever had since that snowy night decades ago, tears streaming down her face now for a different reason.

[x]

A melodic chime filled the air and echoed down the halls of U.A High School, signalling the end of classes. Izuku shuffled down the pristine hallways wearily, his thoughts clouded with worry. Unnoticed by him a certain gravity-defying girl was only a few meters back, planning to call out to him like she always did. Uraraka Ochaco bounced with a skip in her step, a freshly unwrapped melon bread in her hands.

"Ah, De—"

"Midoriya-san!" a girlish voice called out, interrupting Ochaco and causing her to retreat behind a corner without even realizing why. "I got your message from Kendo-san. I… um… can we talk?"

Izuku turned to face none other than Shiozaki Ibara, the thorned-haired girl fidgeting nervously on the spot. He blinked at her for a moment, then he recalled how he'd left her and the kids in the dust yesterday when Koko snatched him up and jumped off into the horizon. Yeah, he probably had some explaining to do. The boy coughed, scratching the back of his head nervously as he looked around.

"Err, s-sure. Wanna walk with me? Since we're both headed to the exit anyways."

"V-very well." Shiozaki stammered, a faint tint of red dusting her cheeks. "I h-have something to say."

Meanwhile, Ochaco was watching the scene play out from behind the corner with rapidly widening eyes.

What's this?! Deku-kun seems like he knows her! That girl had been blushing! Sure, it was slight, but it was there! And she has something to say to him? D-don't tell me… is this a confession in progress?!

Ochaco turned bright pink, then shook her head rapidly.

Nah, it couldn't be! Even if it was, w-why do I care! It's none of my business anyways! I mean, it's not like I—

"Salutations, Uraraka-san!" Iida declared loudly from out of nowhere. "Heading home, are we? Say, have you seen Midori—mpphhpphhh!"

The brunette had nearly jumped out of her skin at his sudden announcement, causing her to whirl around and slam her untouched melon bread into his open mouth. Beside him Ashido Mina and Hagakure Toru burst into laughter, shaking with unrestrained hilarity.

"What's with that, Ochaco-chan... " Mina giggled. "I know Iida-kun may have scared you but that was a little mean, don't you think?"

"You shouldn't sneak up on people, Iida-kun." Hagakure chided, wagging an invisible finger at the taller boy. "Look on the bright side, at least you got a free meal out of it."

"Mmmmpphh!" Iida protested, his mouth full of delicious melon bread.

"Shhhhhhhh!" Ochaco held a finger to her lip frantically. "Something's going on over there and I don't want to interrupt it."

"Hmm?" Hagakure asked, peeking around the corner. "Oh, it's Midoriya-kun. And… a girl from class 1-B?"

"Whaaaaat? Lemme see." Mina followed her lead, peeking out as well. "Hey, wait a minute. That girl— what's all this then?"

"I don't know, I just saw them seconds ago."

"Maybe it's a confession." Mina muttered quietly to herself, thinking of what she had seen in the cafeteria earlier and the conversation she happened to overhear that morning. Unfortunately she wasn't quiet enough as three heads snapped about to face her with astonishing speed.

"Confession?!" Hagakure squealed, sounding absolutely delighted.

"C-confession?!" Ochaco gasped and turned bright red, then ghostly white.

"Mpphmpphmpphh?!" Iida yelled, his eyebrows rocketing into his hairline.

"Shhhhhh!" Mina shushed them this time. "It's just a hunch! But if that's really what's happening, I don't want to spoil it for them!"

"Oho, now this is a scoop! C'mon, we have to follow them and see what happens!" Hagakure announced, puffing out her substantial chest proudly. "Detective Hagakure is on the case!"

"W-wait, we shouldn't interfere—" Ochaco began.

"We're not gonna interfere, I'm just curious to see what happens!" Mina called back.

"Me too! You can do it, Midoriya-kun!" Hagakure whispered excitedly.

The pink-haired girl then began to dart from cover-to-cover before Ochaco could stop her, Hagakure quickly following suit. Ochaco resisted the urge to smack herself in the forehead. What had she gotten herself into this time… Nevertheless, she too followed along. Iida glanced at the girls for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh and shrugging, joining them in their sneaky tactical maneuver. If you can't beat them, join them.

Luckily for Izuku the group trailing behind were keeping a good distance away, unable to fully hear what he and Shiozaki were discussing.

"Shiozaki-san, I'm—" Izuku started.

"I'm sorry." Shiozaki blurted out sheepishly, causing the boy to blink in confusion.

"Uh, I'm the one who's sorry, actually…"

"No, I said some things that I shouldn't have." the green-haired girl admitted, glancing at her shoes nervously. "For that, I owe you an apology."

"It's f-fine, really. It's not a big deal—"

"I'm sorry for calling you a deviant. And a heathen." Shiozaki blushed. "And one who c-consorts with beasts. You clearly had no control over the situation yesterday. I had my suspicions and that girl that um, kidnapped you seemed a little too… primal. Pardon me if I'm wrong, but was she… one of those rare animals with Quirks, or just a pervert?"

"The former." he said quickly. He was actually a little impressed that she figured out Koko's true nature after observing her for only a few moments, just like he did.

"Ah… thank goodness. If it were the latter I thought she would… would have…" the girl directed her gaze to the ground and refused to comment any further, though her face betrayed her less than pure thoughts. "Um, done something lewd to you."

"W-well, I'm sorry you had to see that." Izuku tried, hoping to lighten the mood. It worked somewhat, the girl giving him a sideways glance accompanied by a small sigh of relief.

"We were worried, you know. I tried telling a police officer what had happened—"

Izuku flinched internally.

"—but he didn't really believe me, even with the eyewitness accounts from the kids. Looking back, I can see why one would think that it was some fantastical, made-up story. 'A young boy kidnapped by a wolf that could transform into a beautiful girl.' How fairytale-esque. Naturally, I didn't tell anybody else." Her pretty acorn eyes turned to him, sparkling with curiosity. "What happened after she grabbed you?"

"I managed to get her to let me go, then I played with her for a while…" Izuku mumbled.

"P-played with her?" the pure maiden stammered and turned red, clearly getting the wrong idea.

"Not remotely what I meant!" he corrected hastily. "I just r-rubbed her back and scratched her ears for her."

"I… I see. So where is the uh… dog-girl now?"

"Her name's Koko. Well, her master is... unavailable so she's staying with me for now." Izuku half-lied. "For the record, I'm pretty certain the dog is her base form so you don't have to worry about her streaking all over town. I'll make sure nothing like that happens."

"An animal with a Quirk, huh. How extraordinarily rare." The teenage girl nodded at his answer, clasping her hands together in relief. "This went much better than I thought. To be honest I expected you to be someone shrouded in decadence and sin, but you seem to be a virtuous soul. It's good to see that my assumptions were wrong."

"Decadence and sin." Izuku raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You know what I mean."

"Uh, no, I really don't." the boy said innocently.

"A-anyways, I'm glad you're unharmed." Shiozaki turned to face him once they finally reached the school gates, giving him a polite bow. "I'll be sure to tell the Colors you're fine. Farewell, Midoriya-san."

"Ah, t-thanks." Izuku fumbled, bowing awkwardly in return. "G-goodbye, Shiozaki-san."

He silently cursed at himself for being so weird around girls again, watching her take the opposite route out of school. Well, that was one less loose end to worry about. Frankly, he was quite glad that the police didn't fully believe Shiozaki's story; he really didn't need more attention on the current situation at hand. Now he needed to get home and—

"Um, one more thing Midoriya-san!"

Izuku turned back to see Shiozaki deep in thought, her fingers twirling around one of her hair-vines nervously.

"It would be nice if you could stop by the park sometime to see those kids!" she called out. "It'd put their minds at ease to see that you're alright."

The green-haired boy blinked, then relaxed into a warm, friendly smile. "I will. See you around, Shiozaki-san."

To his surprise she actually smiled back, her demure expression accompanied by a small wave as she departed. "See you."

With a small sigh Izuku refocused on getting home. He just hoped everything was going to be alright…

Ochaco, Iida, Mina, and Hagakure popped out from behind their corner once both green-haired teenagers were out of sight.

"Ehhh? Nothing exciting happened." Hagakure sighed, clearly disappointed. "What a letdown."

"On the contrary, detective! We weren't close enough to hear what they were saying, but I definitely heard something about 'kids' and how it'd be nice if he could stop by!" Mina spread her arms out dramatically. "Clearly this was a case of that girl seeking child support from Midoriya-kun! It appears that our poor cinnamon roll has a rocky past."

"C-c-child support?! W-w-w-wha!" Ochaco looked like she was about to faint, turning white as chalk. "T-this means that Deku-kun… Ha-wa-wa-wa-wa—"

"Relax, Uraraka-chan. She's just joking, have you forgotten that we're all fifteen?" Hagakure giggled. "This isn't one of your shoujo manga, Mina-chan. At least come up with a more plausible conclusion."

"Mpph mpph mmphhh hhmmmp pmmmh." a muffled voice offered sagely.

"You're still eating that, Iida-kun? I thought you were supposed to be a guy who's fast at everything."

"I'll have you know that I tend to eat slower so my body can break down food more efficiently." Iida paused to finish the last of his melon bread. "Anyways, what I was trying to say was that they just look like normal friends to me. Even if Midoriya-kun has a love interest or not, it's none of our business. We shouldn't go poking around in his private life."

"I'm sorry, but I'm just too curious~" Mina sighed, head bowed.

"Remember that curiosity killed the cat." Iida said curtly. "I expect you two to respect Midoriya-kun's privacy, alright? Don't go around spreading unnecessary gossip that could potentially harm his reputation."

"Yes, class president~" Mina and Hagakure chroused in unison, giggling to themselves.

In the meantime, Ochaco was doing her best to think rationally. This was the second time she saw Deku alone with a girl.

That girl was from class 1-B, and our two classes haven't exactly interacted with each other. And that Ice Queen from the other day... It can't be, right? M-maybe Deku-kun was just that friendly! Y-yeah, that's it.

Ochaco paused, then took a deep breath to calm down.

I'm overthinking things. It's probably nothing.

[x]

In the realm of dreams and old memories nine people gathered around a large circular table for a more civil discussion, with the atmosphere was much calmer now after Mimi let out all her bottled feelings and some time had passed. Misha had made everyone some tea using a strange metal container and a large teapot, most of the group sipping at the delicious beverage with thoughtful expressions. Aftermath was no longer the tall, imposing statue that stood behind its master, now in the form of a little doll that hung limply in Mimi's grip. The little girl seemed much calmer now, more logical like she usually was. Little did they know she was logical because she kept using her emotions to fuel Aftermath; just like how Kiri fed on emotions.

"Y'know, I feel that we should be more freaked out and upset about this entire thing." Johnny muttered. "I'm surprised we're actually taking this so well, and this is coming from the madman."

"Normally we would... but these are extraordinary times," Chen nodded. "Along with extraordinary circumstances."

"Anyways," Hiro sipped at his tea. "Now that we've all calmed down, is it okay If we ask you a few questions?"

"I'll answer to the best of my abilities." Mimi nodded, hugging her doll tightly. "There are some things I don't know or still can't say… um, it's a precaution to reduce possible information leaks and subsequent unforeseen consequences. For example, I couldn't have told you that I was related to Midoriya Izuku due to the possibility that the current wielder would find out and not pass it to him. Certain parameters have to be followed, some things can't be said and most information about other worlds was purposely kept from me."

"I see. Let's make this simple for all of us, shall we? Please summarize the situation in a way that all of us can understand. Speak as if you would to a dog—" He glanced at Koko, who grinned brightly back at him with her head on the table. His eyes shifted to Nana. "—or a small child."

"Oi." Nana grunted.

"Um, let's start with the basics." Mimi said. "Firstly, the multiverse exists."

"What's a multiverse?" Koko asked innocently. "Can I eat it?"

"No, you can't eat it. How do I put this simply..." the little girl put a finger to her chin. "There are multiple versions of Earth, alternate realities and universes. Some so similar to one another that you could spend a lifetime searching for any distinction. Others so radically different they defy comprehension. Constants and variables. For simplicity's sake, let's call my world 'Earth-1' and yours 'Earth-2'. They are similar historically, but mine is further ahead by around a decade or two. Maybe three."

"Alternate." Nana let the word slowly escape from her mouth. "Doesn't that already mean that this world will have a different future than yours?"

"Were it so easy. The future that I'm hoping to prevent is—" she paused, frowning. "It's difficult to explain in words. I'll show you all my memories of that time later."

"The future, huh. And that of course means advanced technologies like Human Cloning." Chen remarked, looking rather interested.

"Don't count on it, the tech's still fucking garbage." Mimi gestured to her small body. "Cloned bodies don't live very long due to rapid genetic degradation."

"If you really are a clone of young Midoriya from another world…" Johnny interjected, squinting at her. "Why are you a girl? You kinda look like him if I look really closely, but wouldn't a direct clone be an exact copy?"

"It was to make me more docile. However, the original intent wasn't to clone Midoriya Izuku." Mimi admitted. "It was an attempt to clone One For All. It was deemed that a female subject would be much easier to influence and control."

The air went cold. For the power of One For All to fall into the wrong hands… the results would be disastrous. Kiri thought about that weird bird-faced creature that had no soul. Nomu. If what Mimi said was true, she was probably developed from the same type of research used to create that abomination. The girl had been originally created as a tool, just like that monster... She shook that thought out of her head quickly. Mimi was different! She was alive and full of emotion, her soul burning bright.

"You have white hair. New master's is green!" Koko observed.

"That's because I'm a defect. The cloning process was imperfect; heavily flawed and generally unreliable. It's why I look like an albino. Or perhaps that could be attributed to that other factor… Anyways, instead of their own copy of One For All they got me… a defect with Izuku's original dormant Quirk."

"Valkyrie." Hiro breathed.

"Yes. A variation of it, to be precise." Aftermath wordlessly marched forward to stand behind its master, mimicking her every move. Green energy ignited on both their hands, Mimi exhaling a tiny stream of flame. "The fire aspect from the father's side of the family, combined with the projection aspect from the mother's side. But since I didn't have what they wanted, I was put to… other use."

She waved her hands and an image of her in the past appeared, her terrified expression reflected on the mirrored walls of the tiny pod she was stuffed in. Various wires and cables were linked to the little horns on the side of her head, the occasional jolt of electricity causing the poor girl to let out a whimper of pain. Her unseeing eyes were glazed over, chasing phantom images as they darted around frantically.

"This is…" Hiro whispered, covering his mouth with a horrified expression. "Mimi, I'm so sorry—"

"Don't be, it happened a long time ago." The girl turned back to the image of her past self. "Project Antithesis. Known to the Hero Association later as Weapon M."

"What are they—"

"Accelerated mental aging, conditioning and combat simulations using an organic neural interface. Wetware." The girl pointed to the two little horns on the side of her head. "The techniques and fighting styles of the number two hero: Todoroki Shoto, and the number three hero: Bakugou Katsuki, downloaded directly into my brain. An attempt to turn me into a weapon to destroy Izuku using the techniques of the only two people that could even stand a chance of beating him."

She let out a small sniff, seemingly not too bothered by the horrifying revelation she'd just told them.

"Didn't work, of course. I did however have a much easier time fighting the Hothe— Endeavor since I already knew his moves."

The surroundings were quiet for a scant few seconds until Nana's furious voice cut through the silence like a chainsaw.

"Who did this to you?"

"An organization known as the League of Villains. My world's version, anyways. We didn't have the black smoke guy or that weirdo with the severed hands."

"So you came to protect Midoriya-kun from this 'League of Villains'?" she asked.

"Not just that." Mimi stretched out her hand, palm glowing with her signature green light. "It'll be easier to show you this part."

An exchange of glances, then a unified nod. Now was a good time as any. They linked their hands with hers, one by one. Kiri placed her hand out as well. Mimi took a deep breath as she prepared to show them her memories, memories that she kept from them for decades.

"Okay." she exhaled. "Let me show you a glimpse of the world I came from."

The surroundings blurred into a whirling dervish of colors and noise, shifting and twisting to form a broken landscape with an ivory tower that reached into the heavens. Everyone seemed to float within the memory while still seated at the table, like astral projections or how one would experience a dream.

[x]

Her memory flashback was starting.

Torrents of dark smoke and raging flames surrounded the tower like a veil of destruction, an aurora of undulating, ghostly green light spread across the horizon. The air was filled with countless black dots, strange energies crisscrossing and clashing between them. At first Kiri thought those dots were aircraft… no. Not aircraft. People.

Metahumans.

Hundreds, perhaps even thousands of them. The most destructive battles seemed to be focused around the tower, patchwork fleets of helicarriers and flying battleships of all shapes and sizes exchanging fire. A giant pillar-like structure hung in the air with dozens of gunports along its surface blazing, spitting fire and metal into its surroundings as it rotated ominously. A scene of war and mindless carnage. Hell on earth.

"That's—" Nana whispered, her eyes wide.

"The Justice Guild's Watchtower." Johnny paled, fists clenched. "In atmosphere?!"

They watched helplessly as the Watchtower detonated with a brilliant glow, creating a gargantuan orb over the horizon that swallowed the crowded battlefield below. A massive, crashing wave of ethereal light manifested from the impact point, consuming everything it touched. Those that could fly immediately took off, only to disappear as the blinding radiance engulfed them. Planes started falling out of the sky.

The memory-image shook as a titanic woman sprinted across the shattered land, batting away a group that had been attempting to attack the 'camera'. She had to be at least 20 meters tall, the ground quaking with every step she took. A black costume with dark blue highlights hugged her hourglass figure, the symbol of a crown on the left side of her chest.

That's… Mt. Lady? Kiri thought. Wait, her costume is different. Different color scheme, no horns, black hair. An alternate version from Mimi's world.

Then the woman turned to face them, her dark hair shifting and exposing her face. Kiri had to stop herself from gasping... for that Mt. Lady looked exactly like her adult form, except she wasn't snow-white. The similarity did not go unnoticed as a few heads turned to face her, then quickly snapped back to the memory.

"Zenith!" her doppelganger roared, stomping into the ground with an earthshaking boom. "Get her out of here!"

"No!" the memory of Mimi's voice wailed, the image shifting unsteadily as she got to her feet. "Don't leave me!"

A metallic arm encircled Mimi's waist, spinning her around to face another woman with pink hair. She had an intricate silver mask that covered the left side of her face, a visor shaped like a lighting bolt where her eye should have been. Her golden right pupil was in the peculiar shape of a crosshair. Kiri recognized this one, for she had seen her when she was waiting for Izuku outside the school gates. Hatsume Mei. Or rather, her older alternate world counterpart.

"Let me go!" Mimi screamed, struggling against Hatsume's iron grip as her emotions clouded her judgement. "Yuu!"

"Ingenium!" the giant woman howled, a sweep of her arm smashing a trio of opponents out of the sky.

A streak of white lightning tore across the battlefield, speeding to her aid and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Ingenium was a literal blur, and when he paused he was vibrating so fast that his features couldn't be discerned. Speed in the shape of a man. Together, the two pro heroes defended Mimi and Hatsume, the latter's fingers flying across a holographic interface frantically. Her silver left arm shifted and flowed into a cannon, beams of arcing pink energy erupting from the prosthetic. The ravenous wave of energy from the Watchtower's explosion was approaching rapidly, consuming everything it touched. A helicarrier tried to ascend out of its path only to be ensnared by glowing tendrils from the wave, dragging the massive airship down into the blinding abyss.

"Calculations complete, coordinates locked!" Hatsume yelled, gripping onto her tighter. "Door!"

Crackling energy and pink lightning filled the air, space itself seeming to warp and twist in impossible ways. There was the unmistakable whoosh of air as a shuddering, unstable rectangle of rainbow light manifested behind them. A door.

"R-r-r-re-mem-ber." Ingenium stopped for a moment to speak, his voice heavily distorted. "E-e-every sec-c-c-cond is a g-g-g-g-gift. M-m-make it count."

"I'm sorry Mimi, but the Door's not gonna take more than two so we're staying." Yuu turned back with a sorrowful smile as the light got stronger. "No matter what you thought, I loved you like you were my own. Always have and always will. Be good, okay?"

"Uncle Tenya!" Mimi sobbed as Hatsume began stepping through the portal, tears flowing from the woman's remaining good eye as well. "Yuu!"

"Don't look back." Yuu grinned fearlessly despite the all-consuming wave at her back. "Keep moving forward."

There was a blinding flash and the memory shifted and flowed to a different time, a different place.

Hatsume Mei was tending to pillar of electronics and wiring, silver tentacles extending from her back and helping her multitask. The woman seemed to be deep in thought, eyes scanning multiple screens.

"Heisenberg equations have been accounted for with a fluctuating 2.86777% chance of error. The multiverse is still beyond my understanding, even if I can look into it. I can't place you in a specific time in Earth-2, only in that exact time period." Hatsume hummed, pushing her goggles up to her forehead as she turned around. She still had that strange silver material that covered her left eye like an eyepatch, some sort of prosthetic. "It'll be decades before he is born, and even that is a prediction. You'll have to become a part of One For All to be with him again, and even then this plan is excruciatingly risky..."

The woman shook her head, wiping the sweat off her brow.

"Even with the prediction algorithm, there are uncertainties. That's why it's called a prediction—we can only make probability-based guesses; looking at the data of other worlds and cross-referencing with our own can help inform our guesses at how things could happen, but ultimately there's really nothing set in stone. Are you absolutely sure?"

The perspective moved up and down as Mimi nodded. "Yes."

"You're so stubborn, just like he was." Hatsume smiled sadly. "You know there's no coming back from this, right? Even my tech isn't advanced enough. Gimme a decade and I might be able to…"

"It's fine. I don't have much time left, anyways." Mimi glanced down at her hands. "I doubt I have even five years left in me. Consider this my last wish."

"You don't have to do this."

"If it means meeting him again… I'll do anything."

"Even if it won't really be him? Another version of Midoriya Izuku. Another Earth. There's no guarantee he'll be the same, even if his existence is guaranteed because of Earth-Prime. We can't account for all those factors over that much time without some degree of error or uncertainty. Approximately ninety years, Mimi. Are you willing to wait that long?"

"Yes."

Hatsume sighed, then rubbed Mimi's head gently. "You really do love him, don't you."

"Of course I do." Mimi sniffed. "He's my papa."

"Yes," The pink-haired woman whispered. "He was."

The memory shifted one final time, this time to a circular room that held an archway in the center.

Hatsume knelt down, a sorrowful smile on her face.

"This is it then. No going back."

"Yeah."

"Remember what you have to do. Save Aisaka Taiga, the ancestor with the projection Quirk. Retrieve One For All and transfer it to someone matching the criteria. Use Izuku's dormant projection Quirk to manifest yourself. Once these three steps are completed, you can meet him again. You can stop all this from happening on that world if you save him."

"What if…" Mimi shivered. "What if he doesn't have any dormant Quirk? What if I mess up somewhere?"

"Analysis of Earth-1 and Earth-2's extreme correlation indicates that he will, with a 99.999% certainty. Plus, you already know the location of the third wielder. As for him receiving One For All, I've predicted a 97.888% chance of success. Believe in yourself, dear."

They were quiet for a moment, until Mimi suddenly ran into Hatsume and engulfed her in a tight hug. The smaller girl's hands were shivering as the woman hugged her right back.

"I'm scared."

"So am I. Are you sure you want to do this? You could…" Hatsume hesitated. "You could stay here. With me."

Mimi looked up at her, lip trembling and eyes shimmering.

"You could stay with me in this doomed world or you can fly free. To a better place. It's obvious which is the superior choice, isn't it." The woman choked. "You poor, sweet thing. I wish there was a better way, another way to fix you or— or something, anything… but there isn't. The only way you can truly meet Izuku again is to put your entire soul into One For All and hope that you'll be reunited again. An utterly reckless plan so full of contradictions and risks and— I'm so sorry… I wish I could have done better…"

"Don't be." The girl sniffed, her grip tightening. "You were the second-best thing that ever happened to me."

The two held each other tight for what seemed like hours, crying softly into each other. Neon circuits glowed along the entire length of the room, culminating in that archway and snaking across its surface. Crackling energy began to form inside the arch, the very fabric of space beginning to warp.

"Door."

Space warped and twisted like oil on water the moment the she spoke the activation keyword, rainbow energy coalescing into a shuddering rectangular 'door' that hung in the air. The lights dimmed as the entire facility's power got diverted into holding the portal open.

"Whatever you do from here onwards is your choice. You're no longer bound by duty, morality, or even life itself." Hatsume whispered. "So what will you do, Mimi?"

The girl looked right back, a gleam of confidence within her tear-filled eyes. A small, sad smile was etched on her face as she said those words.

"I will keep moving forward."

She swept Mimi's hair aside gently and kissed her on the forehead, like how a mother would do to her child. The girl closed her eyes, taking deep, shaking breaths. They both knew it was time to say goodbye.

"I love you, Midoriya Izumi." Hatsume whispered. One last hug before she went. "You really have grown up."

"I love you too, Mei. Thank you for everything." Mimi hugged her tight. And when she let go, it was like she was leaving a part of herself behind. Her fingers seemed to disobey her, clinging on until the very last moment. She felt something trickle down her face. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye. Time flows differently between our two worlds so perhaps one day… no matter how infinitesimal the chances might be..." The woman let the tears flow down her cheeks freely. She clutched at her chest, fingers digging into the fabric. Hatsume smiled at her, lips trembling. "Perhaps one day we will meet again."

There was a flash of blinding rainbow light as Mimi walked into the great unknown, the memory ending with a soft rustle of wind.

[x]

There was a long silence as everyone slowly acclimatized themselves. Nana was the first to speak, still looking a little confused at the whole situation. Mimi quickly wiped her face when she thought no one was looking, but Kiri saw her do it.

"So that's it then? Your plan was to dimension-hop, retrieve One For All, pass it on to someone that matched your criteria and hope that it got to Midoriya Izuku over the span of nine decades?" she asked incredulously.

"It worked, didn't it?" Mimi retorted, before grimacing a bit. "Mostly."

"...That's a convoluted plan if I ever saw one." Hiro admitted. "I think I'm going to have to replay this memory later to make sense of all this."

"Look, I didn't have much of a choice left since my cloned body was dying. To be fair, I'm probably the only one that could pull this plan off since my Quirk is a variation of Izuku's… Valkyrie. I planned to access it with my Aftermath simply by tuning into the correct psychic wavelength; which would have allowed me to manifest correctly and fight alongside Izuku if somebody—" Her eyes flickered towards Nana briefly. "—hadn't jacked my connection. But I'll be honest; being together with Izuku is my primary goal. Preventing that dark future and the end of the world is… secondary. Two birds, one stone."

"The Tinker who sent you here. Hatsume Mei." Misha grunted, scratching his beard. "Helped you. Made plan and portal. She was genius."

"She was..." Mimi stared at him for a moment then looked away guiltily, looking like she was hiding something. "She was one of the most brilliant people on the planet. Took care of me... I wouldn't have made it here without her."

"That woman with the gigantification Quirk." Hiro stated curiously. "Who was she? She looked just like Kiri-chan…"

"Yuu Takeyama. Earth-1's Mt. Lady. She… loved Izuku. Now their relationship will never be. But perhaps her love took on—" Mimi glanced at Kiri, who was munching on a biscuit as she listened. "—a different form in this world. One of familial love."

"The silver tower that reached into the sky." Chen scowled. "Endymion?"

Mimi shook her head. "'Babel'. Not the same one you fought for during the Solar Wars. Zenith created another Orbital Elevator to—" She clamped a hand over her mouth before slowly releasing it. "Um, like I said before; there's some things that she told me not to reveal in order to keep butterfly effects to a minimum. Sorry."

"My turn! What the hell happened to my Watchtower?!" Johnny sputtered, looking furious.

"On Earth-1 a new one was made after the old one got blown up in orbit. Made by the Justice Lords, who were different from your Justice Guild." she answered. "Very different."

"So that's going to happen here?" Hiro asked cautiously. "A war?"

"Not just war. Armageddon. It's what will happen if all hope is lost." Mimi sniffed. "The planet was— I... that's all I can say for now."

"How could this happen?" Misha rumbled.

"Well," The little girl coughed. "Do you know what the "Quirk Singularity" is?"

"It's a theory regarding human evolution and the nature of Quirks, right?" Nana said.

"Yeah. As the generations pass, Quirks will continue mixing together and deepen. They'll get stronger and more complicated, to the point where nobody will be able to control them anymore." Mimi's gaze roamed over everyone present. "Earth-1 is much further ahead, but even with all our advancements we could not stop human nature."

She was met with stares of incredulity. Most of them already knew about the Quirk Singularity as they paid close attention to the outside world, having seen its effects firsthand throughout the ages. Quirks were getting stronger, but to think that they would cause the end of the world? That was difficult to accept. Everyone else murmured to each other and considered what she just said.

"So you're saying that the Quirk Singularity will cause the end of the world?" Nana asked skeptically.

"Not the cause of it. More like it's one of the main contributing factors that led to an all-out war that engulfed the entire planet, which then led to the end of the world. As long as people are being born, the Quirk Singularity cannot, and will not be stopped. All we can do is cushion the blow by ensuring that the people still have hope. The easiest way to ensure that is well… a 'symbol'. On my world Izuku was that symbol; the one thing that held the world together."

"End of the world." Johnny swore under his breath, grumbling. "Shit. I'm still having trouble believing all this."

"Just look at One For All, it's the perfect example of things to come. See how each successive version gets stronger and stronger? One day there'll be a point where the power is too much for any user to handle. You can already see it happening in Izuku— it's breaking his bones because he's still not strong enough to use it properly." Mimi cleared her throat. "But I digress. Call it whatever you want; Ragnarok, Armageddon, Judgement Day, Twilight of the Gods. Things just get FUBAR."

"Hmmm." Misha hummed. "But how does more powerful Quirks lead to big war?"

"With power came arrogance, and the belief that might makes right. As Quirks became stronger, so did inequality. Those blessed with strong Quirks misused their power, and others rose up to oppose them. With prior factors such as an exploding population and dwindling resources, our civilization fragmented into neo-barbarism. Uprising. Discord. Hatred. Earth-1 was trapped in a wheel of blood that spun too fast to stop. The original reason for fighting was forgotten, with grudges and resentment piling up endlessly with no end in sight."

Mimi took a moment to catch her breath.

"People forgot what it meant to be a hero." the girl spat, her voice tinged with anger. "The newer, so-called 'heroes' of the next generation no longer fought for justice, but rather for their own causes and self-interests. They were out of control and fought with abandon. The older generation of true heroes led by Izuku were unable to control them, let alone stop them. Things only got worse when we..."

Her breath hitched for a moment, arms tightening around her little doll.

"When we lost him. With the loss of our 'Symbol of Hope', chaos broke loose. No hope. Everyone started to use their Quirks without any regard for the law, either to defend themselves and others or for their own benefit, perceiving that what they were doing was right in accordance with their own twisted ideals. Thus, an Age of Vigilantes arrived and the conflict reached a new level of fucked." Mimi shuddered. "Can you imagine it? Anarchy in the streets. People just doing whatever the hell they wanted to with their powers. Societal decline was in full swing before; now it practically collapsed overnight."

"If everyone was allowed to do as they pleased with their Quirks, the world would quickly descend into chaos." Nana whispered. "That's exactly why Quirks are restrained and heavily regulated. To think that something like that could happen… it's horrifying."

"Horrifying doesn't even begin to describe it. To quote Destro: 'Society is a prison; we could be gods'." Mimi shook her head. "Well guess what; they fucking did it. Humanity tore down their prison and became the gods they so wanted to be. Their arrogance and hubris cast them out into chaos. Divine punishment? Maybe. In the end we were just animals squabbling in the dirt."

Mimi looked right at her counterpart, matching her gaze.

"Humanity lost its way, and paid the ultimate price."

"At least now we know why you're here. To reunite with young Midoriya and protect him from whatever comes his way." Hiro muttered.

"Pretty much." she confirmed. "There must always be a 'Symbol', someone that people can look up to."

Johnny raised an eyebrow. "The rest of the heroes couldn't reassure society?"

"No. There were… complications I rather not reveal for fear of the same happening here. All you need to know is that if society loses hope in heroes we will be hurtling—" she retrieved a biscuit and popped it into her mouth, munching slowly. "—towards the abyss.

"There's something I've been meaning to ask…" Hiro hummed in thought. "How did the people on your world know that you could… 'interface' with Midoriya-kun's dormant Quirk, and how did they know if it even existed in the first place? Seems like a bit of a stretch to me."

"I'm his clone, remember? Aftermath's a variation of Valkyrie, but they basically work the same way. It's how I opened the doorway back at USJ. Now Kiri-chan probably knows how to do it as well." Mimi lifted the doll-sized Aftermath in her small hands, wiggling him around a bit. "To answer your second question..."

Mimi glanced at the glowing golden orb above Nana's shoulder.

"All Might." she whispered.

Nana raised an eyebrow. "What does Toshinori have to do with this?"

"Earth-1's All Might… or rather, his phantom appeared to help Izuku in one of his most critical moments." Mimi said. "Through further research it was deduced that a dormant Quirk of his had tapped into One For All instinctively, allowing for a temporary manifestation of All Might to come to his aid. I realised I could do the same… if I became part of One For All. It was my last chance to be with him again. Hatsume and I integrated these factors into our plan."

"All Might, huh…" Nana whispered.

"Incidentally, Earth-1's One For All had an entirely different set of wielders." the girl remarked helpfully. I identified Chen as a candidate whilst I was running counterintelligence operations, after retrieving One For All from Koko to throw off All For One's informants."

"Yes, you mentioned Nana didn't exist. Who was the one that passed it to All Might, then?" Hiro mumbled.

"I dunno." Mimi shrugged, looking truly stumped. "Some old baldy."

"Misha?"

"Hey!"

"Some different old baldy."

"I see. And for you to be here among our ranks means that you died, of course." Chen questioned, stern as ever. "You would even give your life to be with him again?"

"I didn't have much of it left, anyway. Like I said before; clones don't live very long." Mimi admitted. "Remember how my physical body died the moment I transferred One For All to you?"

"Forced it upon me, you mean. I couldn't exactly forget. Even though you were my nemesis at the time, I did my best to revive you after realizing that your true form was a child."

"Don't worry, I left behind an empty shell. I put my entire consciousness into the transfer; my entire 'soul' left my body and entered One For All. And yes, I did know I could do that. It's similar to how I can shunt a portion of my consciousness into Aftermath to control him at long range, only this time I put everything into you."

"So how old are you, really?"

"Mentally, I think I'm supposed to be um, eighteen or nineteen. I don't know how long I spent in the simulation." The little girl squirmed on the spot. "I don't really know how old I am physically either but my cloned body came with a slew of genetic defects, including poor health and the inability to age properly. As for the hair..." Mimi fidgeted with a snow-white lock of hair. "Well, we couldn't exactly determine if this was a genetic defect or another sign of what's coming."

Several eyebrows were raised at that statement.

"Albinism and white hair was seen to be a symptom of the Quirk Singularity. Hatsume Mei's research observed that albino children were significantly more likely to have dangerously unstable or even mutated Quirks that diverge from the family line. In other words; Abnormalities."

"Hey, If this Hatsume person had access to the multiverse, why choose this particular world? More importantly, can the method to traverse between worlds be reverse-engineered?" Johnny asked curiously.

"We can only travel to the nearest world, and even then the requirements and restrictions to do so were monumental to say in the least. As far as I know the way to open doors to other universes isn't possible at the moment; the 'Bifrost' device we used requires a myriad of exotic particles and tech that haven't been invented in this world yet. It actually used to be just an experimental teleporter." She shook her head. "The Hatsume Mei of Earth-1 is probably the only who's got the tech and the brains to do it."

"Exotic particles?"

"Tachyons and shit, I dunno. I'm not exactly the science type."

Koko raised her paw tentatively.

"Yes, Koko?"

"I still don't get it, wan."

Mimi sighed. "To summarize; I came here to meet with Izuku and protect him from any and all threats, just as he protected me. This world was predicted to ultimately reach destruction if Izuku dies because then there'd be no One For All, and no 'symbol'. Kaboom, just like on Earth-1. The end. I am here to prevent that end from happening here on Earth-2. Do you get it now?"

"Ohhhh. Then all we have to do," The dog-girl gave her a big, happy grin. "Is to protect new master!"

"That's what I've been trying to say and do!" Mimi sighed in exasperation.

Hiro made a complicated face. "So it's fate? It's his destiny to wield One For All?"

"I don't if something as occult as destiny exists, but there's clearly some form of cause and effect at work." she mumbled, touching her fingertips together. "Personally, I prefer to place my faith in constants and variables."

"I've only got one final question to ask." Johnny cleared his throat. "So, uh... what do we do now?"

A short silence befell the group as they each considered what to say next. In the end they didn't have to, for a unanimous decision was already on their minds.

"Well…" the first wielder sighed, looking around the table and seeing collective nods. "It's obvious, isn't it?"

[x]

"Mom? I'm home."

Izuku closed the front door and flicked on the lights, assuming his mother was still outside for grocery shopping or one of her errands. He took off his signature red shoes, wondering if his little sister had slept through the entire day.

"Kiri? Are you there?" he called gently, wandering towards the kitchen.

She wasn't there. Maybe she really was still asleep? The boy quietly headed to his room, opening the door very gently. He shouldn't have bothered, because they were already there waiting for him.

His sister stood in the center of the room, facing another little girl with long ivory hair and dressed in a dark, tattered cloak. Izuku realised who she was, an expression of shock forming on his features upon seeing her. There was a blur of movement as Mimi flinched, scurrying behind the other girl and peeking out with a frightened, doe-eyed gaze.

Time seemed to slow, Izuku gulping as he remembered the battle that he saw through Kiri's eyes yesterday. This girl; Mimi… she was a far cry from the terrifying Aftermath that had annihilated most of the forest yesterday. That being had been intimidating, ominous and overwhelming; the child he saw before him now was hesitant, lost, and afraid.

Izuku realised with more than a little confusion that she was more afraid of him than he was of her. This tiny girl had gone toe-to-toe with the number two hero and the number one vigilante; and yet she was shaking in her shoes before him. Terrified of what he would think of her.

Kiri nudged her counterpart gently, who responded with a nervous nod of her head. Izuku thought for a moment, then calmed himself and went down on one knee; lowering himself to match their height. The little girl took a step back, uncertain at first… but she slowly inched her way towards him. A steady hand extended towards her, the boy watching as her small, trembling fingers brushed against his disbelievingly, almost as if to confirm he was real.

Then she pressed her forehead against his.

A rainbow kaleidoscope of color and noise met his senses, Mimi using the same type of memory-sharing that Kiri utilized during their first meeting. There, Izuku saw what had transpired earlier within his mind; Mimi revealing her true nature to everyone, her convoluted plan, her relation to him… or rather, her relation to a Midoriya Izuku from another world. The events that took almost an entire day compressed into a convenient memory package for him to understand. A look of realization came over him, the boy too overwhelmed to even speak as his brain processed what was going on. This girl… she was...

Mimi shied away, glancing towards the ground timidly. In the background Kiri watched quietly, not wanting to spoil the moment.

"I… I want you to know that," she began, her voice a trembling cadence. "I am not a good person. I'm selfish, I get angry easily, I curse and swear like a sailor. I've fought heroes and villains alike, broke the law and brought it to its knees. I'm ashamed of some of the things I've done, things that still haunt me to this day. I was willing to alter the path that this world would undergo just… just to meet you. And I… I k-know you're not really h-him but..."

The girl blinked, tears beading at the corner of her eyes.

"I've dreamt of this moment for so long but the words just won't c-come out…" she whispered. "All I want to say is that… that I…"

Izuku was patient, opting to let her take her time. She had gone through much to be here.

"I love you, papa." Mimi said, her breathtaking emerald gaze meeting his own. "And I'll understand if…" She glanced at Kiri for a moment, lip quivering and blinking away her tears. "If I am unneeded here."

There was silence as her gaze met the ground, waiting for his answer like the accused before a supreme court. Just waiting for his judgement, for the axe to fall or for her salvation. Izuku was frozen in the moment, thunderstruck as he considered what he'd just seen in those transferred memories. The existence of other worlds. The revelation that Mimi was his clone. The death of his other-world counterpart. Armageddon. Dimension-hopping. A complicated plan that spanned nearly a century. It was so much to take in, too much for one fifteen year-old boy to digest in such a short amount of time. But that wasn't what truly mattered to him now.

Izuku's mind is numb.

So he thinks with his heart.

Reaching out, he embraced the girl with both arms and hugged her tightly. She let out a gasp and he found tears streaking down his own cheeks at what hardships she must have endured, all in the hopes of just meeting him again. What he saw before him was someone who needed help, terrified that she wouldn't be accepted. He pulled back slightly to get a good look at her, the girl already beginning to cry as great teardrops ran down her face. His emotions surged like waves crashing against rocks, a dozen different feelings rising to the surface. Izuku did his best to smile warmly, finding a face that looked very much like his. Beautiful green eyes that reflected his own, glistening like polished jewels.

"Stay here, Mimi. With me. With us. After all… we're family, aren't we? Family sticks together." he smiled, voice cracking slightly. "I… I don't know what to say… It must have been so difficult for you, you poor, poor thing…"

"Papa..." Mimi sobbed tears of relief, shaking in his arms as she began to return the hug and crying into his chest. Kiri got closer to her, rubbing the other girl on the back lightly. "I've w-waited for s-so long… please don't let this be a dream again…"

"Everything's going to be okay now."

Izuku hugged both children tightly, acknowledging them as his own family.

"I am here."

[x]

The sunset of Musutafu city was a sight to behold, warm evening light cascading down onto the street below like a curtain of gold. Bubaigawara Jin took another drag from his cigarette, feeling the smooth burn make its way into his lungs. What drew his attention was a young girl walking down that same street with her father, her excited chattering climbing up to his apartment and assaulting his ears.

Jin ran a thumb along the scar on his forehead, grimacing slightly. Ever since the accident everything seemed to contrast and fluctuate like ocean waves. His thoughts shifted and flowed as he watched the pair go, a strange pressure that pressed against his skull before quickly disappearing. For a moment he was reminded of the annoying little neighbour girl that used to disturb him. At least she could be quiet.

He wondered how she was doing nowadays, hoping that she was alright. A rare coherent thought of genuine goodwill in that scrambled mind of his.

An incessant ringing began filling the air, sending another dull wave of pressure into his head. Jin fumbled around for his mask while he picked up the phone, the dark holes of the cheap plastic receiver drinking in his smoky breath.

"Hello?" he rasped.

"Yo, Jin-san. It's Giran. Haven't heard from you in a quite a while, how ya doin?"

"I'm okay. I'm not okay. What's up?" There was several thumps as Jin continued looking.

"Have you watched the news recently? Been a wild week, huh? Heheheh." He could almost imagine the smirk on the caller's face. "More importantly, did you hear about the attack on U.A's USJ facility?"

"The one that failed spectacularly? Shame. What of it?"

"Well, you remember Shigaraki right? Pale skin, lotsa hands? He was the one leading operation."

"Ol' Shiggy diggy? Yeah, I remember. No, I don't remember." Jin smacked his temple angrily. "What, did he get himself captured?"

"No, nothing like that. Y'see, the thing is… with everything going on we'll be needing some capable people to work together with him. Times are changing, Jin-san." Giran chuckled. "Wanna be part of this great change?"

"I'd rather you get to the point. I'm a little busy right now. No, I'm not busy." That last part prompted Jin to begin looking harder, the pulsing pressure against his skull increasing by the second. "Shut up!"

"We're putting together a team." Giran continued on, unperturbed. "A… vanguard, of sorts. A man of your many talents would be invaluable to our cause, you see."

"A team, huh…" Jin finally found his mask, quickly pulling the monochrome fabric down over his face. He took a moment to breathe and consider the offer before shrugging. "Why the hell not. We're all maniacs who have no place to belong or call home. Might as well strike up some camaraderie with you lunatics, yeah?"

"Excellent!" Giran cackled, the sound of scribbling audible in the background. "We'll be in touch, Jin-san. Perhaps sooner than you think."

"Hurm. Only one issue; don't call me by my real name when we're out there doing crazy shit."

He gazed upon a mirror, finding the cracked reflection of a black and grey visage staring back at him.

"Call me Twice."

[Chapter 7 End.]


A/N: Warning: Long Author's Note.

Thank you for reading! I know, I'm so sorry that this chapter is so long and OC-heavy! I'll do my best to make sure that next chapter is 20,000 words or less. This fic was never about 'wow look at this cool oc', or 'wow look at this cool plot twist'. It's about Izuku and how he will grow as a person now that he has two little sisters. I truly apologize if I sound pretentious (both now and previously), that was never my intention.

This chapter: TL;DR: Mimi, 4th wielder of OfA, is a clone of Izuku from another world and wants to protect him and also hopes to stop armageddon on this world by doing so. Loves him in a familial way. Has issues.

This chapter was the one I feared the most publishing, with no idea how people will react. It was planned from the start to have a second little sister somehow related to Izuku be one of the OfA wielders, I'm not making stuff up as I go along. List of foreshadowing about Mimi in previous chapters below. Future chapters and plot points have already been planned. We are still far from the planned ending, this is only the beginning.

Let's make this clear. Relationships: Izuku x Ochaco, aka IzuOcha, but it won't be focused upon and will just be hinted at. This isn't a romance fic. No Yaoi (boy x boy) or Yuri (girl x girl) ships in this fic. No ships involving previous wielders (They are ghosts and already have families). No ships involving Kiri and Mimi (They are children).

It all comes back to the 'Family' tag; the OfA wielders are a family, Kiri and Mimi become part of Izuku's family. In the end readers will get what was promised from the summary; Izuku having to deal with an extremely powerful little sister. Now, he gets a second one. That's right, the entire Lost Souls event/miniarc was all to setup how Izuku will get a second little sister. The shoulder angel and devil theme is now complete. A theme of Duality, two sides of the same coin, can be found throughout the fic.

The next chapter will be much more lighthearted, we can't have heavy topics all the time. The path will continue as per canon, with the next big event being the U.A sports festival though we won't jump straight into it. However, there will be significant differences; it'll be boring if we go word-for-word according to canon. Nobody wants to rewatch the anime in word format.

Don't worry, this fic will not go on some cosmic scale. Izuku will not be fighting a naked blue guy on the surface of another planet, nor will he travel across the multiverse into other worlds. No 'Crisis on Infinite Academias' or anything like that.

I think one of the biggest issues that this fic has is that OCs get too much screentime. I'll have to apologize on that. There was no choice since I didn't have any info (at that time) about the previous OfA wielders so I had to use OCs. In the end, I incorporated that factor into one of the key points in this fic. The OC characters (with the exception of Kiri and Mimi) will have less screentime in future chapters, but will appear to train Izuku from time to time. I will do my best to ensure that little to no new OCs will appear from this point on, and if they do hopefully they'll play a minimal role in the story (e.g. The Colors). I actually dislike writing OCs, believe it or not.

In the end, this fic is about Izuku and how he grows as a person. He will face challenges, horrors, and of course, adversity. And he'll become a better person because of it. I'll be keeping a close eye to make sure that Izuku doesn't get too overpowered or mary-sueish; he'll still be flawed as all humans are, and not everyone will be happy with him. He won't be the best thing since sliced bread with everyone praising him or anything like that. I'll ensure that power escalation doesn't get too ridiculous.

Kiri and now Mimi seem to mimic others. This is intentional. It all comes down to their true nature. At their very core, these two characters are children. And children of course, mimic their surroundings and are easily influenced by the people around them. Nature and nurture. Mimi's entire confrontation scene parallels Kiri's when she first met All Might in Izuku's head. This is also intentional.

Really sorry for the all the exposition/worldbuilding and OC involvement in this chapter. My bad, this is really the best I can do. I know some people will probably hate this chapter. Take my apology here to calm your wrath.

(I always read the BNHA manga up to the latest chapters (chapter 214 as of this writing, 26/1/2019), but please, no spoilers in the reviews for those who don't! And yes, my mind is being blown at what's going on in canon.)

[x]

Q&A section

Q: Will Mimi always call Izuku 'Papa'?

A: Not all the time. She'll call him 'Aniki' when they're out in public, though sometimes she'll slip and call him 'papa' or 'daddy'. 'Aniki' is another term for 'older brother'. Usually girls that say it are more tomboyish, which is what I'm going for with Mimi's character.

Q: Why did this chapter take so long?

A: I had IRL stuff to do + writer's block. Also, I was afraid of how people would react, that it wouldn't be good enough. I still think it's not good enough. I won't deny that. Um, look at it positively, 1 long chapter is like 2 or 3 short chapters! Ahahaha. Forgive me. I must have wasted around 10k words, writing and rewriting until I felt it was relatively good enough. I completely understand if some people are not happy with this chapter. Not looking for reassurance - I honestly found this chapter incredibly difficult to write and I'm also not too happy with the results. I'm sorry, this is the best I can do.

Q: Appearances of Kiri and Mimi?

A: Kiri looks like Yui Kodai/Earth-1 Yuu Takeyama (The Mt. Lady from Horikoshi's original draft.) Earth-1 is based off the original draft that was made by Horikoshi but never realised, and in that draft Mt. Lady was the female main character instead of Ochaco. Mimi has curly hair like Izuku, but hers is long and white instead of short and green. She also looks a little like Eri.

Q: The wielders and their colors?

A: Here's the order in which they attain OfA and their respective soul colors. They can be seen whenever OfA is activated in the anime, most obvious when Izuku activates Full Cowl in Gran Torino's home.

1. Hiro, White (AfO's brother)

2. Johnny, Blue (Old hero and absolute madman)

3. Koko, Red (Good doggo)

4. Mimi, Green (Shares the same soul color with Izuku because she is his clone)

5. Chen, Orange (Kendo's ancestor)

6. Misha, Magenta (Big guy)

7. Nana, Violet (All Might's mentor. More pink than violet, I should have called her pink)

8. Toshinori, Gold/Yellow (Symbol of Peace)

9. Izuku, Green (The protagonist and inheritor of OfA)

Q: What's with the memes you prick.

A: I am sorry. Just as how the scorpion stung the frog, it is in my nature. I'll try my best to limit them, of course.

Q: Why wasn't Hiro part of the four that escaped?

A: I thought it was too anticlimactic to reveal the brother of AfO just like that, and I wanted to implant the idea that a wielder could be connected to canon characters. Still feel his reveal in this chapter anticlimactic, but then again he is stated to be a mild but courageous character in canon (no spoilers here, don't worry.) I wanted the number of lost souls to be four as a reference to the four cardinal directions (so poor Izuku will have to run all over the city) and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Q: A Four Horsemen reference? Bullshit, you came up with that on the spot.

A: No, really: Chen is Conquest (Conquest over others, gun instead of bow), Johnny is War (War destroyed his life and home, the madness and insanity of war, sword theme) Koko is Famine (Hunger for revenge, used to be constantly hungry because of her Quirk, hungry for attention and love) and Mimi is Death (Wearing the form of a dead man, comes from Hell, death/armageddon).

Q: Why does every wielder have such a sad backstory?

A: Because wielding OfA involves loss, both before and after. This is a theme that is somewhat apparent in canon as well.

Q: Since Mimi already has a formal name; 'Midoriya Izumi', will Kiri receive one as well?

A: Yeah, probably. I'm thinking 'Midoriya Kirimi', but if there's any better alternative I'll consider it. Of course, they'll still be called Kiri and Mimi.

Q: References to other media?

A: I like to plagaris— I mean, reference other media a lot. Terminator, Robocop, Bane, Dex-starr, Star Wars, Pulp Fiction, Gundam and even Seinfeld.

Q: Kiri was originally supposed to be Yui Kodai, right? It would have fit, especially now that we know about Earth-1's Yuu Takeyama, the original deuteragonist. What happened?

A: I realized it would have been extremely disrespectful to fans of Yui Kodai. Because I am one of them. In the end the idea was dropped but Kiri still retains Yui's appearance and her mannerisms, specifically her trademark 'Nn.'

Q: If Kiri had been Yui Kodai, who would Mimi have been?

A: Mimi would have been either Yanagi Reiko (White hair) or Tokage Setsuna (kinda looks like Izuku)(There was even a fan theory back then about how Setsuna was Izuku's cousin or something, this was way back then even before the Kamino Ward Arc). These two characters were considered for the 'second little sister' character but ultimately the entire concept of Izuku's sisters being in class B was dropped due to various issues (Like how they would get into the school) and how it might be disrespectful for fans of the canon B characters. This was before their Quirks were revealed in canon.

Q: Time travel?

A: In the original draft it was time travel, but that had major issues. In the end it was changed so that Mimi is from a parallel earth.

Q: Why is Mimi the 4th wielder? That's so far back.

A: Because the idea came about when I realized the 4th wielder had a soul which was green in color in canon. The same as Izuku. You can pretty much guess my thought process from there.

[x]

Foreshadowing about Mimi in previous chapters:

Chapter 2:

Mimi is the one who identifies Kiri as a 'split personality' and warns Nana. She immediately has an inkling of what Kiri truly is because she can do something similar if she shunts part of her consciousness into Aftermath for more precise control/instruction/output. A simulacrum.

Chapter 3:

"One of the previous wielder had a nemesis with a similar ability." Wielder is Chen, Mimi was her nemesis. Forcefully gave OfA to her. Horde was a red herring.

Mentions of Taiga and her 'Telekinetic puppets'. A setup for the true nature of Aftermath; a telekinetic puppet that can be controlled. Also a setup for the 'family' theme, and how things go full circle when Mimi teaches Taiga how to use her Quirk in the past.

Chapter 4:

Kiri meeting with Yui, and their resemblance to each other. "I am not Yuu. I am Kiri." "I'm not Yuu either, I'm Yui." Reference to Earth-1's Yuu Takeyama. This doesn't really count, but it's interesting to know.

Chen implies that she has encountered something like Kiri before.

The words "Let me out" when Nana fuses with Kiri.

Mentions of 'worlds' keep popping up. Mental world, real world. Setup for the concept of other/alternate worlds.

"Four Horsemen riding through the inky darkness. Within one of those Souls something otherworldly stirred, gazing down at the city below."

"I've got an Angel on my shoulder"

"At long last." the being whispered. "Midoriya… Izuku."

"~But a Devil in my head."

Kiri is the Angel on his shoulder, while Mimi is the Devil in his head.

Chapter 5:

Description of Aftermath's costume, how the flames propel them forward the same way Endeavor's do.

Chapter 6:

Various quotes that show Aftermath/Mimi knows things she's not supposed to.

Her confusion when All Might think she's his fan.

More costume descriptions.

Described as 'sad' by All Might and Koko.

Aftermath's abilities during the battle. (Reforms arm from particles, two people speaking at once)

Various lines and more mention of 'worlds'.

I probably missed a few.

[x]

Well, that's all for now. As always, thank you for all the support! I truly appreciate it. Please tell me if this chapter is too confusing. Hopefully next chapter won't take that long.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own OCs. BNHA belongs to Kohei Horikoshi. Power Classification Chart belongs to Worm/Wildbow.

Also this story (the first chapter, at least) is now on A03. [/works/17542487/chapters/41336843]

See you on the next chapter!