Well, here's another chapter. The aftermath of the USJ would likely take up a few chapters. Anyway on with the story.
I like to thank AnimeA55Kicker, MIKE202303, Frozen Flame, Greer123, Hardcasekara, richboylion, RyuujinHimari, ZRAIARZ, and s082829 for your reviews and feedback. I also like to thank my readers, those that favorite and those that followed my story. Thank you for all your support.
Disclaimer: My Hero Academia (Boku no Hiro Akademia) is not owned by me. That much certain. It is owned by Horikoshi Kohei. Please support the official release.
Within her mind, Izuka sat as Lucy just watched. The echo of Izuka's past life placed a hand on her shoulder. The pinkette leaned down to Izuka almost broken expression. "You see now correct?" There was no response as Izuka was seemingly broken. Lucy summoned up her Vectors as it was clear that this was going to be easier than she thought. "You can't be a hero not after all you did."
Izuka didn't speak as she knew that Lucy's words were correct. How can something that nearly destroyed the world become a hero? "Give me a break." The two of them looked up as Izuka's shadow formed behind Lucy. "The sins of your past life, if you can even call it that, doesn't decide who you are now."
Before Lucy could try chains shot out grabbing both her arms and Vectors. She struggled against the embodiment of the subconscious of Izuka Midoriya. "Izuka can't become a hero there's to much blood on her hands."
The shadow just looked at Lucy with an eye roll. Or at least give the appearance of an eye roll. It was somewhat hard to tell. "No, the person that she was is dead and broken apart," The shadow pointed at Lucy. "You shouldn't be here but it seems your hatred of your counterparts has kept you alive just to torment your current life." The both of them looked at Izuka. "One free of crimes inflicted by her old self."
Izuka stood up soon after this. Her shadow was right. That wasn't her anymore. She was more than just some simple voice in a very troubled girls head. Lucy cursed as she realized that her resolve to become a hero was back and stronger than before. "Our power is destructive, deadly, and everyone will know how dangerous you can be." She struggled against the bonds holding her. "You unstable and you know it!"
"You're right." Both the shadow of her subconscious and Lucy stopped as they stared at her. Izuka gripped her hands into fists. "I am dangerous and unstable." She looked up and shot her counterpart a glare. "But that's not going to stop me from my dream," Her voice rose as she yelled at Lucy. "You are not going to stop me!"
Izuka knew whatever problems she caused in her past life wasn't on her. Lucy was trying to force it on her. Force her to become like Kaede. The pink haired personality just looked at her counterpart. "You need me!" She yelled back as the chains holding her started to struggle. Izuka turned and walked away. She ignored the voice of a past that wasn't her own. This was her life after all not Lucy's. "You will never be able to use your full power without me!"
Izuka stopped as Lucy had a victorious smirk. "Then I guess I'll just make due with what I can."
A laugh echoed from Izuka's subconscious manifestation. Lucy constrained all her anger on Izuka. A lone Vector formed and shoot out. "Here's a parting gift then!" Izuka turned around as the Vector hit her head.
Izuka awoke within the infirmary back as U.A. She blinked for a few moments wondering how she got there. She stopped as she looked at the mirror that was on the table next to her. Looking at it she noticed that her green and pink hair was no more. Instead staring back at her was nothing but pink hair. 'So this is what you meant by parting gift.'
Toshinori looked at the report as the police and waste disposal group cleaned up the remains of Nomu. The only eyewitnesses to the whole thing were Katsuki, Mina, Eijiro, and Izuka. Three of them were traumatized and refused to speak of what had just happened. The last had been rendered unconscious.
Eraserhead had to be rushed to the hospital along with Thirteen. Both having been greatly injured by the villains that attacked them. 'All this just to kill me.'
While many had tried All Might had defeated each of them. Eventually, people started to think that it was impossible to do. He placed his hand over the wound in his stomach. It wasn't impossible, it had nearly happened after all. If he had to transform and burned out his time limit then he was a sitting duck. "Toshinori are you ok?"
The skeleton looking man looked down as Nezu stared back at him. The principal of the school had spent the last few hours trying to calm the situation with the media. U.A. was quick to come under fire because of it. However, they managed to get past the alarms which were going to need to be fixed by Power Loader. "Yeah, its just I couldn't believe something like this had happened."
Nezu had been asked by the police on the possibility of one of their students being able to cut Nomu apart. While they were not going to arrest them, seeing how the villain attack and the accounts from the now barely conscious Eraserhead made it clear that it was done without much of a choice, it was troubling to see this kind of brutality from one of their students. "Whatever the case we might have to keep an eye on each of our students in Class 1-A."
Killing wasn't disallowed to heroes. Like the police, if there were no other options or if the incident was too dangerous, or if the villain himself was too dangerous, then killing was allowed. At least that's how most heroes did things. A few were much more liberal with the use. Some pushed the tolerance of the law to its limits and ended up suspended. If one of their students could do this then they had to curb it somehow. "Let me guess the cameras were off when they attacked?"
Nezu gave him a nod. Toshinori wasn't surprised in the slightest. If they were going to attack they needed the element of surprise. "I am calling the staff together to discuss this I hope they you and your friend on the police force can fill us in on anything they find."
"Sure." Toshinori watched as Nezu left the building leaving him to his thoughts. He wondered with worry if Izuka had been attacked by whatever this was. A thought crossed his mind. 'Could Izuka have been the one to case it.''Could it be that Izuka is the one who did this?'
Toshinori was quick to dismiss this thought. Everything about Izuka painted her as a model of heroism. The idea that she was the one to cause this was unbelievable. He couldn't believe that he was entertaining this idea. Shocking the thought from his mind he instead thought about when he was going to do concerning her as his successor. A villain attack that managed to bypass U.A.'s defenses all aimed at him got him rethinking about his stance.
He was originally thinking of giving it to her after the first-semester final. Now he might need to think about speeding that up. 'Just great.'
Tomura just sat at the bar as he tried to process what he had just seen. Watching Nomu be ripped apart before his very eyes. The organs flying around. That disturbing smile on her face. Kurogiri was a little less affected by it than him but still, even he was taken back by the brutality of the aftermath.
"So, Nomu was ripped apart by one of the U.A. students?" The hardest part of this whole thing was telling him. The man that had served as a father figure to Tomura ever since he ended up killing his father when his Quirk first manifested.
In order to tell him Tomura had to remember it. He had to relive the horror of watching a U.A. student take complete glee with ripping Nomu part. "Y-yes."
Kurogiri placed his cup down as he turned to the tv screen. The screen served as an untraceable two-way audio point for them and him. "Sorry, but the event has traumatized Tomura."
There wasn't a response for a full second. "May I ask what did it look like when you came to him Kurogiri?"
"It looked like someone had sent a pack of wolves out that hadn't eaten in days." Kurogiri was a bit queasy after remembering the event. "Nomu's organs were all over the place some having ripped out before they were regrown with at least two of the students huddled together with horrified looks on there faces while the one that did it was covered in blood."
Tomura looked at his glass as he remembered the smile. The sadistic smile and felt the poor desire to kill him and everyone around her. "She was having fun I just know it."
There was a pause again. This time lasting for a full minute. Finally, the voice on the other side answered. "I see my apologies for sending you both out against something like that."
The video feed was cut leaving Tomura and Kurogiri to themselves. Tomura turned to the mist man still replaying the images in his head. "Kurogiri have you ever seen a hero do that?"
Kurogiri shock what counted for his head. Even the more extreme vigilantes didn't do anything like this. Few villains were psychopathic enough for that even. In fact, Kurogiri had heard that a few villains and heroes would team up if they ever came across such an individual. "No hero or vigilante would act like that neither would most villains."
Tomura looked at his glass as Kurogiri's words had sunk in. That girl was extreme even by villain standards. 'Who are you?'
Within a dark room, a figure watched the monitors without a word. The failed attack on the USJ and the loss of Nomu were setbacks. The later much then the former. Yet, they did discover something rather intriguing. A student at the school who had a rather extremely vicious nature. 'Perhaps we have an ally in our midst.'
Some of the modern villains ended up first starting out with the attempt to become heroes. Perhaps thing one was under the belief that they could become one themselves. Though villains like this were always troubling. They were known for causing problems within teams, to say the least.
'I don't have much not even a physical description on this girl.' That was a problem though not one that he couldn't fix. He had plenty of connections within the government that could help him, as well as a few in the support companies. Under assumed names of course. All Might's actions had made it almost a necessity.
He let out a cough in pain. Even to this day the injuries All Might had inflicted on him didn't properly heal. Losing the Super Regeneration Quirk made his current medical state a bit more precarious but it was manageable. 'At least until I die.'
It seemed impossible given how long he had lived. Yet, he knew it wasn't an impossibility. All Might proved his fears well placed. Nearly ending his life on his own. "Even after five years, it seems nothing is helping me." He switched the tv screens as the news continued to play. "Still the attack on U.A. has gotten the attention of the masses."
In the bottom corner, he saw a few of the random news articles. The renewed friction in East Africa, an attempted terrorist attack in Paris, and three confirmed dead heroes. 'Wait a minute.' He muted the news as another screen turned up. After a quick internet search, an idea entered into his mind. The League of Villains needed recruits what better way then to subvert the ideals of another. 'Let's see if we can't use the Hero Killer to our own ends.'
Izuka sat looking out at the beach. Her sudden change in hair was something her mother barely registered when she saw her. The attack on the USJ was quickly making headlines across the news. Izuka looked at her phone. She felt like texting Katsuki or looking for Mina and Eijiro but all three of them seemed to be taking a break from social media. 'Not surprising.'
Lucy's actions had traumatized them. That she was certain of. At the very least U.A. it seems was just glad that the threat was dealt with. Though they had no idea who caused such a brutal end to Nomu at least they were ok to let it slide. Given that the genetic markers they found revealed that it had a regeneration Quirk, and the brutal damage to Shota the police were filing it under self-defense. 'They are half right Lucy was defending herself but she made a show if it.'
Toshinori was held up to with rest of U.A.'s staff leaving her to herself. Lucy's words about her being unable to use her full power ranged in her ears. Summoning up her Vectors she looked at each of them. The memories of the past that Lucy shared was faded ever so slightly, probably because she didn't want to remember all of it, but she wondered what her full power even was.
This was a Quirk and Quirks had drawbacks and limitations. Perhaps she was only fighting at half strength or perhaps it was more or less than that. Whatever the case Izuka looked at them. The attack had shown her some problems with them. If anything could get past them then she was screwed and unless she wanted to seriously injure or kill her opponent using the higher frequencies were out of the picture.
She had to find a new means to channel her Vectors. Standing up Izuka recalled the Vectors as she tried to focus on them. The mental arms pulsed from her back along her spine. With a calmed focus Izuka thought about what this could mean. 'Perhaps it's focused through my nervous system.'
She tried to spread the sensation all across her body. After a few tries, she finally succeeded as the sensation of her Vectors was felt all over her body. Opening her eyes her vision was slightly clouded. Looking around it seemed that her Vectors seemed to spread around as a small barrier of them just covered every part of her. She took at this new development with a smile on her face.
As soon as she managed to form it the Vector "armor" faded away. Izuka cursed at this. Still, she just had to practice and soon she would be able to form it. Closing her eyes Izuka tried it yet around as she forced on her Vectors feelings and spread it out and over her body. Opening her eyes again Izuka was greeted with the faded looking of her Vectors armor covering her. "Alright, let's see focus."
Her Quirk was likely not used to this. If she could hold it long enough eventually she would be able to summon it without any effort. While it did flux a bit before fading away it held out longer then she had expected. Letting out a sigh she know she was trying to solve two issues. The first was her weakness in physical combat, and her second was trying to distance herself from Lucy.
Unknown to her Toshinori was looking out watching her as she was trying to do something with her Quirk. Toshinori had come out to the beach to calm himself and right now was watching as Izuka was trying to do something. He took note of her now fully pink hair.
Recovery Girl believed it was a late part of her mutation. Uncommon but still not unheard of. Still, seeing it was a strange sight to behold. "Ok, this time once again."
Toshinori turned around to leave. It seemed that say he wasn't needed. After all, it was best Izuka took the next few days for herself. Come Monday she and the rest of the class had a lot to talk about.
Katsuki wasn't at the station as Izuka sat on the train by herself. People couldn't stop talking about the USJ incident. Izuka, however, was starting to dread meeting her class again after everything. Her first worry was that Lucy had done something to them. After all, she had seen what she was capable of. 'What I'm capable of if I slip up.'
This pushed her to master her newly learned method of using her Vectors. She knew that too truly be free of her she had to create her own way of fighting. Separate from Lucy's. So far she had almost gotten the hang on summoning it up. The problem now was keeping control over it. When the train stopped Izuka walked off the train and into the station.
As she did she stopped and looked at a screen overhead talking about the group that attacked the USJ. Izuka didn't pay it much mind. "Hey aren't you a U.A. student?"
Izula turned as a few onlookers had noticed her uniform. Given how much U.A. was in the news it made sense that she would be recognized for wearing the uniform. "Y-yeah." Izuka held on to her bag. She didn't want to be reminded of the USJ incident. "I gotta get going so I'm sorry but I can't can't stay and chat."
A few minutes later Izuka had managed to enter U.A. Her feeling of dread returned as she walked to Class 1-A. Standing outside the door Izuka took a deep breath and opened the door. The first then she saw was the Katsuki turned his head to her. The ash blond was looking at her. His eyes immediately caught sight of her now pink hair.
Izuka didn't say anything as she took her seat. For a full second no, one spoke before Ochako did. "Hey, Izuka what happened to your hair."
Izuka looked at her as she noticed that several of her classmates were also looking at her. The now pinkette sighed. "Recovery Girl says it's a delayed mutation apparently my hair was supposed to become pink but stopped midway for a few years until just recently."
Izuka knew that it was a parting gift from Lucy. Her appearance was supposed to echo Kaede, the girl who she was once apart of in a past life. The appearance of the so-called Diclonius Queen. 'Is that why I named my Quirk Diclonius?' How much of her past life had bleed into her? 'Should I still go with Kaede as my hero name?'
She was broken from her thoughts as the door opened up. To everyone's surprise, Shota walked back in his arms and body wrapped in bandages. He immediately turned to the class his eyes looking at a certain four students. "I know a few of you had a very troubling time during the USJ incident and if you need to the counselor is willing to talk to you."
As he took his seat Tenya raised his hand. "Sir, if I may why are you here shouldn't you be on leave due to your injuries?"
Shota sighed at this question. The truth was he really shouldn't here. In fact, if circumstances were normal Nezu would put him on healing leave and used one of U.A.'s subs to take over. However, with the suspicious of one of his students being a possible suspect in the brutality that ended Nomu and traumatized three or four of the students. Shota didn't want to say it but he had a suspect in mind.
Izuka Midoriya had already shown that she was willing to toy with her opponents. Her Quirk was also mysterious. The psychokinetic arms that she had were versatile and it's very likely that she had abilities that she hadn't shown anyone. 'Mental based Quirks tend to cause issues for their welder psychologically it's very likely she still has her issues.'
"I am not going to let the fact that my body is broken stop me from teaching my class." Shota looked around as everyone commented on his lie. "Now, in one months time, we will be having the U.A. Sports Festival."
On the screen was the image of the then, pink and green haired Izuka Midoriya. The man in the shadows looked at her. At least as well as someone without any eyes could. Despite the loss of sight, he could still see thanks to the wires feeding him the information. "Diclonius?"
The man recalled something. An old Russian hero who had gone mad talking about a Diclonius. Hacking into his asylums cell the man watched as the mad hero started to pound at the door. "You fools!" The translation was automatic for his convenience. "The dark voice of the Diclonius Queen walks among us!" He started to lay on the floor in a fetal position. "Already she has claimed a life and soon she will claim the power of legacy."
His pleas were ignored by the guards. Yet his ramblings had a secret listener. "Is he referring to Nomu?' That was the life that she had taken. 'Could the power of legacy be One For All?'
The mad hero started to cry. "Why must I be imprisoned?" He picked himself up to his knees and punched the ground. "I am the only one that knows the threat to us all!" He stood up as he glared into the camera. "The dark lord watches me, believing that he is in control but soon he will meet his end." The guy walked up to the camera. "Do not go after the dark voice if you value your life."
The feed was cut as he was forced out of the system. The man paused as he heard the words. Was the hero referring to him? He was going to meet his end if he goes after Izuka? 'Caution is needed.'
For a moment he wondered just what all of this was. This only raised more questions than answers. A chill came down his spine. A feeling that only one being had ever managed to make him feel. 'Could he be seeing possible events?' The heroes file revealed that he could see possibilities in the future, and what was happening around him. 'I never put much stock into such matters and this should be no different.'
Within Izuka's mind, Lucy looked at the shadow that was the embodiment of Izuka's subconscious. Lucy pulled on her chains trying to break free. There was a bit of leeway but not much. It was just barely better than it was before. "You are still fighting."
Lucy looked at the shadow in front of her. After being chained her she had decided to wait. There had to be a time where the shadow would look away. During that brief moment of waking up and going to bed, there was an opening. Lucy used those few precious moments to weaken her bonds. "No, but I think glaring at you should count."
The shadow continued to look at her before fading away. Lucy was left to herself it seemed. She sighed as she held a smirk. Despite everything, it seemed her parting gift was working. By stimulating her mutation to finish its development she made sure that every time Izuka looked at herself she would be reminded of her past. "How can you move into the future when your past is there on your face?"
Lucy's eyes glowed as she saw through Izuka's eyes. The pinkette was once again trying to control her new way of using their Vectors. The echo of the past was actually impressed by this. Leave it up to herself to be this creative with their powers. "I see you're trying to move away from me."
A Vector shot out and stopped just in front of her face. Lucy focused as its frequency grew and grew. Faster and faster until it turned visible. This was the highest frequency of their Vectors. "What are you doing?"
Lucy didn't bother with looking back. Her Vector disappeared. Not now, she had to wait for the perfect moment to take out this thing that refused to let her go. "Its nothing I am just trying to keep myself busy."
The shadow looked at her without a word. It knew that something was off about this but had nothing to disprove her words. As the shadow disappeared again Lucy went back to viewing life through Izuka's eyes. Eyes that Lucy shared. "Even though you managed to hold me back now but soon Izuka."
Lucy glared as images all around her started to play. They seemed to blend together but they showed the life of the voice. All leading up to the moment. "I will take control and I swear." She glared as the last image showed two girls that looked just like her. Kaede and Nyu the two that sent her through the void. "That I will find a way to get my revenge!"
A sadistic laugh echoed through the mindscape. No matter what she was going to make sure that she escaped her prison. Nothing was going to stand in her way.
So, someone asked what Izuks looked like. Well, the answer is a mix of a feminine version of herself and the anime version of Kaede. Basically, she looks kind of cute. Also, the change in hair is rather symbolic. Izuka aware of herself and as such est to have it. Also, I'm sure you can all guess what Izuksa is training herself to perform. Though a question I want you to ask. Can she escape her past?
Cya all next time everyone. Remember Go Beyond, Plus Ultra!
