The Future She Saw

Katsuki Bakugo's fierce roar replaced the crack of explosion that normally should have detonated from his palms. His fist sailed through empty air and Bakugo scowled as the man in front of him dodged it effortlessly. For the first time in his life, Bakugo felt what it was like to be quirkless. The man's bloodshot eyes were staring into him, into his very soul and locking away a part of Bakugo that made him who he was.

His binding cloth writhed around his form, easily blocking a swipe from Kirishima that had snuck up on him from behind. Mina yelped as Kirishima was flung onto her and Kaminari had long since lost all the confidence that he had boasted after he had been spectacularly thrown face-first into the concrete in the initial brawl.

Izuku was likewise, standing back, but his eyes had a shine of focus to them. The nerd that he was, Bakugo knew the green haired midget was analyzing the man's fighting style and pattern, something he always did for any hero he came across. He was probably racking his brain, trying to come up with some sort of plan. There were situations where brute force was of little help and Bakugo couldn't help but think this was one of those times. Though Bakugo would never ever forgive himself for acknowledging it, the situation had turned into something where he was buying time until the damned nerd came up with an answer to this bull-shit problem.

And Kurumi, well, she wasn't in the best of shapes. A nasty bruise was swelling on her cheek, and her lips were bleeding. She was cursing as she stood up from where she had fallen and Bakugo had since lost count of how many times her father had knocked Kurumi to the ground.

Her binding cloth lunged forth like twin snakes and Bakugo didn't miss the moment Shouta Aizawa's eyes flickered away from him and onto Kurumi.

An opening.

Bakugo's palms exploded with the familiar sensation of heat and he was propelled forward in great speed as he lunged for the man's wrists.

All they had to do was just grab onto him!

His wrist!

Even his sleeve!

But it was like the man had eyes at the back of his head. He effortlessly slid Bakugo's hand away and kicked him in the back. Bakugo stumbled straight into Kurumi, who had been attempting another swipe on the other side.

"Ooof!"

"Ugyaak!"

Soft. A strong scent of lilac profilerated Bakugo's nose and he felt something squishy at his cheek.

Shit.

Bakugo already knew what that was before he opened his eyes. Blood rushed to his cheeks as he tried to untangle himself from her flailing limbs.

"Get off!" Kurumi didn't seem to register anything else but the fight in front of them. The adrenaline rushing through her veins dismissing anything else as of little importance and Bakugo was left, feeling a little dumb that he was the only one here getting embarrased here.

And it was definitely his imagination that Shouta Aizawa's eyes had grown colder and his aura more menacing, right?

Right?!

It was this man's fault he had fallen on top of Kurumi in the first place!

Kurumi spat onto the ground. Her expression was fierce, almost deadly, a glint of madness swimming in the only eye revealed to the world and he felt a little unsettled. This was a side to her Bakugo had never seen before. It was like she had stepped one foot into the pit of madness. Bakugo pursed his lips.

"Wait, Eyepatch." Bakugo growled as he grabbed her shoulder.

"Get off!" Kurumi snapped, but Bakugo only gripped her tighter.

And it was when Bakugo refused to let go at all that Kurumi turned her half-crazed eye toward the ash blonde, "What the fuck do you want?!"

"Right back at you," Bakugo half snapped and half scowled at her callouse choice of words.

"Just charging at him like a dumbass bull ain't gonna do shit!"

"None of your business!" Kurumi retaliated, " I can beat him!"

"After smashing your face into the concrete over ten times?!" Bakugo scorned, "Forget it, Aizawa! You can't hold a candle to him!"

For a moment, it seemed as if Kurumi was going to lunge at him. There was such fury in her eye, even fiercer than the emotions that burned in the morning when Bakugo had lifted his hand against Izuku Midoriya.

But it was only a split moment before everything, the fire, anger and madness drained from her eye and Kurumi ceased to struggle in his grip. And suddenly she was the Kurumi, Bakugo had known all his life again.

"Then, what am I supposed to do…?" She whispered as she slumped.

"Nerd." Bakugo said simply.

"Nerd?" Kurumi repeated, not understanding.

"Kurumi! Kacchan!" Izuku Midoriya was sprinting their way. He had left the stands and entered the stage at last.

Kirishima, Mina and Kaminari naturally flocked to their sides and Shouta Aizawa stood still, watching them with bored eyes. The man had adopted a waiting position, never attacking and never directly retaliating either and only adopting the smallest of movements to null all their attacks. It was obvious he was intending to continue this until their stamina was all but drained.

But because of this, time was on their side.

And Izuku had drawn a plan in his head.

"Okay, guys...I've got a plan…"

From what Izuku could see, though the quirk of erasure was a powerful quirk, it had several weaknesses.

First, unlike other quirks that could be applied and used in different ways like Bakugo's explosions, (Izuku had seen how flexible Bakugo was when bending the mechanics of his quirk to achieve different results such as a flash bang) the Erasure Head's quirk had but one use and nothing else. A simple but dangerous quirk nontheless. But it wouldn't have been an effective quirk in any other hands but in those incredibly skilled in hand-to-hand combat. For the quirk only dragged down the opponent to an equal stage as its user, it wouldn't have been very useful if the opponent still overshadowed the user in terms of basic combat prowess. But for Shouta Aizawa, this weakness didn't apply at all.

Second, from what Izuku had observed, it could only erase quirks in his line of sight. As long as they were in his sight, countless quirks could be erased, but that also meant as long as he couldn't see, they weren't bound to the effects of his quirk.

Third, there was a time limit to it. Izuku wasn't quite sure, but he could hazard a guess that it had something to do with blinking.

With that being said, Izuku couldn't thank the gods enough that their teacher had decided not to attack until they made their moves. If he had been serious, it would have been a massacre. Perhaps, Izuku had subconsciously underestimated their teacher because before the fight, when Kurumi had issued her challenge, with their number and conditions that were ever in their favor, Izuku had sincerely believed that they had a winning chance. But that had been a misassumption and if the man in front of them hadn't decided to go easy on them like he was doing right now, they wouldn't have had a winning chance at all.

A hero was a hero. Izuku shouldn't have expected anything less and the admiration and adoration for heroes burned ever higher in Izuku's chest.

Anyways, since their teacher hadn't any intention of moving and had silently adopted waiting for them to make a move, the six had all the time in the world to take their positions under Izuku's instructions.

"Hey, you know what?" Mina chirped cheerfully, "This just might work!"

"Yeah! You're amazing, Midoriya!" Kirishima threw the green haired boy a thumbs up, "Finding all that about his quirk in that short amount of time!"

"I'm gonna fucking kill you if this doesn't work."

"Don't talk like that to Deku!"

"Uuuuh, guys…? We're y'know, in the middle of a fight?" Kaminari awkwardly tried to placate the two.

Shouta Aizawa was surrounded. But it didn't seem like he felt that he was in any sort of danger. The way his shoulders still drooped told of how little he thought of this situation and them. Kurumi's pride had been dragged through the mud and she wanted to kick her past self for so proudly declaring her dad to a fight.

But she didn't have a choice, did she? Her eye softened when it landed on a tuft of seaweed hair. It was the only way she could think of. And her absolute faith in Deku was reverberating, telling her Deku's plan was going to work.

And tomorrow, she would be attending school with him like nothing had happened.

"Well?"

Kurumi's attention snapped back to the front.

Well, she couldn't keep her dad waiting for too long. Black clashed against black. Kurumi was determined to rip that bored look off his face.

Mina was concentrating all her attention to creating the weakest acid she could. So weak that it was akin to a slime like substance. Something almost lacking its acidic nature. Granted, Mina was unable to drag the percentage straight to zero, but she could make it to the point where it couldn't even damage human skin.

She had never used it this way and had always put her effort to mking the nastiest, deadliest fluid. Therefore, this was a first for her and was admittedly, not practiced or used to this side of her quirk. But it was still a part of her, a part of her ever since the age of four, and it was already something that could be done with just her instincts alone.

The results?

Mina was almost gliding across the concrete grounds, applying the most slippery, almost lotion like fluid, almost invisible to the naked eye, but still glistening in the evening sun, and weaving a second layer of skin upon the ground where she passed.

Discrete. As sneakily as possible. Around his back so that his powers would not be able to affect her whilst she laid her trap. All the while giving the impression that she was looking for an opening in his guard that really wasn't there

Mina Ashido was crafting a web around their teacher.

And while Mina was painting the streets in her fluids(?), Kirishima was the centre of attention. Mina was under the pretense of circling around their teacher, looking for an opening to strike while she drew her web and Kirishima was the tank, doing all the attacking, taking all the hits and keeping the man's focus on him until the rest of the team completed their preparations.

And Kirishima was proud of his role.

The tank of the group!

How manly!

Gladly taking the damage for the team!

His spirit was roaring, ever pushing down the familiar scent of fear that bubbled somewhere deep in the pit of his soul. It was something he could never forget, something he had come to accept. He relished in it now and strength, strength like none before flowed through him and his skin hardened as he charged recklessly at Shouta Aizawa.

And this strength, Kirishima believed, was the very same strength that flowed through the veins of the hero, Crimson Riot.

No matter how weak, no matter how incomplete, Kirishima believed in his soul, that what he felt right now was nontheless a portion, a fraction of the source of strength that made Crimson Hero the hero he was.

Derived from the same source and the same origin. A small step. Still a step nontheless, Kirishima was one step closer to the hero he so admired. The red haired boy almost laughed at the ecstasy he felt then.

"Oraoraoraora!" Kirishima howled as he threw one fist after another. He didn't care if his skin had long since lost its hardness. He didn't care that his hits weren't landing. He didn't care about the counters that were steadily building up damage on his person. At this moment, Kirishima was in a world of his own.

"S-scary…" Kaminari felt goosebumps as the spiky haired redhead continued to charge at their teacher without a second thought.

"Well, c'mere, you loser." Kaminari felt a chill at the back of his neck. Of course. He had forgotten there was an even scarier dude behind him right now.

Kaminari felt like a rag doll as he was hoisted up on Bakugo's shoulder.

"Are we really doing this?" Kaminari hiccuped, "I mean there's gotta be another way!"

"Hah?!" Kaminari hiccuped when he literally saw smoke steam from Bakugo's mouth. And he squirmed as the grip on his waist became hotter.

Oi! Explosion Face! Your hands! Your hands! You're gonna burn me! Hey, mister!

Kaminari clamped his mouth shut when the ash blonde flashed his eyes murderously at the electric blonde.

He was gonna die, wasn't he? Oh god, he didn't even get a girlfriend yet! His life… his life was all for naught.

"Here we go!" Bakugo roared savagely.

BOOOM!

Kaminari flew through the air, his tears sprinkling across the evening sky. A trail of smoke issued from Kaminari's butt, where Bakugo had not so subtly blasted him with. This… this wasn't what Kaminari had imagined himself to be doing! His new highschool life shouldn't have begun this way! This wasn't cool at all!

"ALSNBROMDODOEJSBIS!" It wasn't human language that issued from Kaminari's mouth as he sailed straight for Shouta Aizawa.

Limbs flailing, tears at his eyes, he was a human cannonball, barreling straight for the black haired man.

It was a mere second or two, but it was what cost Shouta his folly. Before his quirk took a hold of the electric blonde, Kaminari's fingers made contact with the binding cloth that was floating around him. The weapon coiling in a wide area around him protectively now acted as poison against him. It was made of a special kind of metal alloy, Kurumi had said. She didn't know what exactly it was, but if it was metal…. Kaminari's fingers cackled and a sharp spark of electricity traveled through the long scarf and into Shouta Aizawa's body before Kaminari's quirk was erased. It was a split second, but in those precious few seconds, Shouta's body had grown rigid. And that was all the opening Izuku needed to exploit.

Kirishima snatched a screaming Kaminari from the air and Izuku flicked his finger.

One For All manifested in a howling force of wind screaming its existence from the gap between his index finger and thumb. A gale, a disaster in and of itself that could make a grown man stumble a step or two. And it did just that. Izuku ignored the stinging pain as his bones broke, and he felt his quirk lock itself away as the angry red eyes of his teacher dug themselves into his soul. But the wind was an aftermath, a mere result from the sheer strength of One for All and couldn't therefore be negated.

And Shouta couldn't stop himself from taking a step back.

Izuku could hear Kurumi take a small gasp and he silently realized that Kurumi didn't yet know of this power that he had been gifted…

But he howled his signal, pushing the thought back and Kurumi moved almost on instinct before she could voice her question.

Kurumi Aizawa lunged for her father, her binding cloth snapping for his undefended and unbalanced body. Black hair of similar length and similar color twisted toward the sky in an identical manner. Charcoal iris, a mirror to the other and twin tails of white cloth snapping at each other's heels.

In every way, Izuku could see and feel that the two of them were family in blood.

And Shouta Aizawa retaliated in the only way he could to her charge and in the way Izuku had fully intended him to. He took a leap back straight into Mina's slippery trap.

It was almost invisible to the naked eye, and it was already produced, now outside of the authority of Mina's quirk and therefore unable to be erased. Mina blew a playful kiss to Shouta Aizawa as the man slipped. Bakugo charged like a bull toward him and though his powers had been erased, he didn't slow down. Kurumi leapt another step forward.

But it wasn't enough. Like some trained skater, Shouta spun around and batted Bakugo's outstretched hands to the side. Unlike Shouta, Bakugo hadn't the experience nor the time to find his footing on Mina's webs. And without the support of his powers, Bakugo crashed unceremoniously to the ground, skidding away without the presence of fraction to halt him quickly. The same was done to Kurumi and she slid away on her butt, no longer able to find her balance on that slippery surface.

Kaminari attempted to send electricity through the slippery field, but Shouta was one step ahead, and the blonde's powers were nulled.

Silence.

The six students watched in disbelief as Shouta leisurely skated across the webs Mina had lain and onto normal concrete.

It was an elaborate plan, but what trained hero would lose their cool on some slippery ground? Only third-rate heroes would fall for such child's play and even then, it wasn't something that would have worked in a real situation against notorious villains.

Child's play. Just that.

Creative indeed, and Shouta couldn't deny that he had been pleasantly surprised, but it wasn't something he couldn't handle. After all, they were only fifteen and he was already over thirty, with over ten years of experience in his career as a hero.

There was a time once, when he would have found himself falling for such a trap. Shouta closed his eyes in nostalgia. But then, she would have been there with him to watch his back.

Shouta shook his head with a chuckle and he opened his bloodshot eyes.

It had only been ten years. He was still in his prime and far from retirement, but he sometimes felt so, so tired. Being a hero wasn't all hopes and dreams as some made them out to be.

"Well?" He questioned, "Is that it?"

The six students before him fell into dumb silence. Nobody moved and Shouta knew that had been all that there was to their schemes. And with that failure, they had surely lost their will to fight.

Shouta found his eyes landing on a certain green haired boy. He had been the one to devise this plan, hadn't he? It was child's play to him, but this boy was still fifteen. Would that child's play continue even as he grew up? No, as his thoughts become more mature, Shouta had a feeling his cunning and wits would become possibly deadly. When he first met him, Shouta hadn't thought much of him, but he realized his judgment had failed him then. Shouta found himself wondering what Izuku Midoriya would be capable of in the future. On the other hand- his eyes found Kurumi Aizawa on the ground. She was on all fours, her shoulders trembling whether from tears or exertion, Shouta couldn't tell.

His beloved daughter.

The only piece he had left of her.

He didn't want to lose Kurumi the way he had lost her, and the way his daughter seemed to spiral down a path of anger, Shouta knew there was only a bleak future ahead. Anger lead to recklessness. And recklessness clouded one's judgment. And misjudgment could very well mean death in the path of a hero.

And with her fighting talents or rather, lack thereof, he could only imagine her becoming a third-rate hero or nothing more than a permanent sidekick.

Unless she would use her quirk, but even that, she stubbornly refused.

And in that state, she stubbornly declares that she wants to become a hero to find a notorious murderer. A villain that had escaped the eyes of heroes and the police alike for over two years. A villain that had defeated the Foresight Hero: Seer herself.

Stupid didn't even begin to describe her actions.

Shouta crouched in front of his daughter's trembling form. He reached out a hand, gently patting the crown of her head. He remembered. Kurumi loved it when he did this, didn't she?

'Daddy, I love the feel of your fingers in my hair!'

Shouta had forgotten. How long had it been since he had last done this for her? Heck, how long had it been since he had last hugged her? Regret and sorrow bubbled within him now that it was all over.

Shouta had succeeded. Kurumi would now be expelled and he would make her go back to a normal highscool. A normal life with a normal career. A normal future, far apart from all the shenanigans that came from being a hero. That was the life he would grant her.

Kurumi would understand.

He was doing this for her.

This way, she would be safe…

"Dad," Kurumi's voice was hoarse as she lifted her head. There was plea in her voice, but her eye hadn't yet lost the crazed fire that continued to burn ever since that night. "I can't…"

Shouta pursed his lips.

They had come unnecessarily far for an unnecessary fight all because of Kurumi's stubbornness, but now it was time to draw the line.

"In the end, you weren't able to catch up to me," Shouta murmured softly. He ran his fingers through his daughter's messy hair. He felt her shaking. Her head was bowed as she hunched over on the concrete ground and Shouta moved to draw her into a gentle embrace.

"Not yet! The fight isn't over yet!"

It was the green haired boy. Izuku Midoriya. Shouta sighed.

"You said it yourself, Mr. Aizawa! It's not over until all six of us are unable to fight! And I can still move!"

Izuku Midoriya channeled One for All into his finger, the very marrows of his bone thrumming with power and then-

-it was gone.

Shoulder-length hair floated upwards and red, deadly eyes stared deep into his very soul. Izuku Midoriya became the same quirkless boy he had been his entire life.

But the fire still burned bright and strong behind his emerald irises. No longer did he cower away. No longer did he hesitate. Even without One for All, Izuku had his spirit, forged at the hands of All Might and-

"-Kurumi!"

And even without One for All, he still had his legs and fists.

Nobody moved. Nobody moved, but Izuku Midoriya. And he was sent sprawling away as Shouta's scarf threw him to the ground.

"Stand up, everyone!"

Shouta's scarf knocked him back down.

"We can-"

Izuku stood up.

"Still-"

Shouta's scarf knocked him back down again.

"-Fight!"

Izuku stood up again.

"Kurumi!"

Shouta clicked his tongue. He tried for a different approach. At once, his twin tails of binding cloth snaked around the charging boy, and restrained his arms and legs. Izuku fell to the ground, immobilized and unable to move. But his mouth kept on moving.

"Kurumi! You were so excited that we were attending the same school, remember? You said we were going to become heroes together! You said I was going to become the greatest hero and you'd be with me every step of the way!"

"Enough!" Shouta hissed, "It's over now! With this, the fight is over. All six of you are-"

"Bullshit."

BOOOOM!

It was instincts and reflexes that saved the black haired man this time. Heat and smoke erupted around him, blocking his vision and Shouta stepped back quickly, his senses sharpening and prepared to defend from a follow-up attack.

It never came.

"Shitty Deku. Don't get in over your head. The one, who's going to become the greatest hero is me."

Deadly, red eyes glowed from the fading curtains of smoke and Shouta activated his quirk, feeling his ability subduing the ash blonde as it locked away his quirks.

But Katsuki Bakugo didn't seem intent on pursuing him any further. Instead he crouched down and roughly ruffled Kurumi's hair.

"Get up, weakling. How long are you going to look down like that, stupid?"

It was like Bakugo's loud explosion had acted as a trigger.

The rest of their classmates stirred from their stupor as they began to gather around.

Kirishima was the worst in shape. His gym uniform was tattered, and he looked like he could keel over any second. It was understandable, since he had recklessly faced their teacher and kept his attention until Mina had finished her trap.

"Class 1-A forever!" Mina Ashido cheered weakly. She seemed the least tired out of the group, but- "Hey, guys. I used up all my acid. It's going to take time to recharge…"

"Ugh. M-me too. One more discharge and I-I'm out…" Kaminari was struggling to keep his face from slacking, but his facial muscles were threatening to go loose any moment.

Kurumi stared at the people around her with a bleary eye. And she felt a little stupid for being the only one on the ground, so she took Bakugo's hand and staggered to her feet.

Izuku had a faintly proud look on his face as he surveyed the group around Kurumi. Green eyes met black. And as the setting Sun dipped a little further below, Izuku Midoriya was strongly reminded of the day they had first met.

It had been on a large, grassy field, Izuku recalled. There had been a cute river snaking down the middle and the Sun had been setting. He had been feeling down and she had smiled and told him simple words, but they had been words that he had wanted to hear. She had blown on the embers of his aching heart.

A child had been saved that day and he remembered her eyes. One a deep black and the other, the most brilliant color of gold. He remembered how he had found them pretty and Izuku found himself moving before he could stop himself.

And Kurumi's eyepatch fell to the ground.

The color of honey, of the brightest gold and fiercest amber stared quietly back at him. There still was a mad glint to her eyes, but Izuku found even that beautiful. It was just like then. Just like when they had firstmet.

'You don't need a quirk to be a hero, y'know. Daddy told me that all you needed is a selfless heart-'

'You're not useless. You made a difference.'

Her words back then had surely saved him. And Izuku idly realized, that becoming a hero didn't necessarily mean that you had to become socially accepted as a pro. It didn't mean that you had to achieve a license that acknowledged you as one.

Because that day, a boy had been saved and in that boy's heart-

-she was already his hero.

Her courage. Her out-going personality. Her strength. Her words. She could even go up against Katsuki Bakugo and Izuku had been saved each time by these parts of her he had come to admire and love.

It was an embarrassing secret. Something he hadn't realized until he had put it into words, but surely his heart had acknowledged her as so.

Their teacher had said it so harshly, "Becoming a hero isn't possible for you."

But here, right now, Izuku could confidently say it now. Just like she had said it for him. This time, he would-

"You can become a hero, Kurumi."

It was a whisper, but Izuku was sure Kurumi caught it nontheless.

'Because you already are one." He swallowed the words that would have come after had he not clenched his teeth shut.

As one, who had loved heroes since a child, that probably was why he had fallen in love with her in the first place.

There were so many things he hadn't said. All he had offered her were a few words, but-

Look around, Kurumi.

We haven't left you.

You aren't alone.

And that was worth a thousand words.

Was it the light of the setting sun or something else? A hint of sanity seemed to return to Kurumi Aizawa's crazed eyes.

Shouta felt his face twist as he saw the students all huddled together. Confusion made his eyebrows rise as they took a step back, but he bit his lips as his daughter broke away from the group and stepped forth.

There was a time once when he had looked at that color of gold and thought it beautiful. There was a time once when he had looked into it and found solace.

But now, a pair of heterochromic eyes caught his own and Shouta felt his face twist even further.

Stop.

How?

Why now?

After all this time.

"Dad…"

Shouta shuddered. Somehow he couldn't look at his daughter properly anymore. Her voice was weak, but had a hint of steel to it and he could only take a step away from her.

And then, he was fighting again. He wanted to say this fight was over. He wanted to tell her there was nothing she could do, but only air escaped his open lips as Shouta dodged another swing from his daughter.

Her movements had changed. Her attacks were more precise. It was as if her body was being guided by an invisible force. Her techniques, her guard and her movements were still all so sloppy, but Shouta found himself taking another a step back.

He sent his scarf at her at angles she wouldn't be expecting. But they meshed with Kurumi's own scarf, stopping it before it ever reached her body.

His thoughts were in disarray and confused, and his heart was beating irregularly. Shouta felt a shaky breath leave him as Kurumi's fist sailed past his head a little too closely.

She wasn't fighting like he had taught her anymore. There was no elegance, no experience and no pattern to her fighting style. It was full of holes, sloppy, filled with unnecessary movements and wild. And yet, it was like Shouta's thoughts were being read. Every retaliation he made was blocked by a counter that was prepared half-a-step beforehand.

It was like she knew what he would be doing before he did it. The flow of battle had long since left his grasp as Shouta took another step back. Everything he did was being read perfectly, every one of his movements laid bare.

Imagine a seasoned veteran fighting a normal citizen, and find that veteran being driven into a corner.

It didn't make sense. It was unreasonable. It was frustrating and beyond his comprehension. But it was an ever so familiar experience.

And before he could do anything about it, something collided heavily with his chest.

"I-"

Shouta flinched as he fell to the ground. She was warm on his chest and quite heavy. He blatantly realized how much she had grown.

"I caught you, dad."

And the fight was truly over.

Shouta closed his eyes.

It was an evening not unlike this one. The Sun had yet to kiss the horizon, but the sky had been dyed deep in hues of red and orange. Under the red glow of the evening sky, he was there.

And she was beside him.

Hair, a dazzling gold that fell to her slender waist and skin so pale that it almost glowed in the coming dark, a girl walked along his side.

"I love you, Shou."

She said it as if commenting on the weather, but her words were heavy, as if drenched in honey. He could feel the emotions therein, threatening to overwhelm him as her voice did his eardrums.

He glanced sideways.

And eyes of molten gold stared back.

"Why?"

It was a familiar pattern. This wasn't the first time she had confessed after all. This wasn't the second time either. They had done this so many times the boy had lost count quite a while ago.

"Hmmm, must there be a reason for love?" The girl put a dainty finger to her pink lips.

Everything about her seemed to glow and the boy felt his dry eyes tire further.

"I don't know." He had to tear his eyes away as the girl threw him a bright smile.

"Always so shy," The girl laughed.

A gentle breeze blew past the both of them as they walked and the boy felt his nose wrinkle at her fragrance. It was the scent of lilac.

"So, will you go out with me?"

She broke the silence again. This too, had become a pattern. The boy had long since lost count.

And the boy answered as he had always done with silence.

The girl pouted, "I'm beginning to think you hate me."

"…It's just baffling," He answered in his usual dull tone.

"I love you, Shou." She said again.

"Why?" He repeated.

Just as they had always done. It was a long tug of war. But it surely had an end. And that end wasn't unknown.

Because afterall-

"You can see the future," the boy abruptly said.

The girl blinked before a sad smile touched her lips, "Cheat ability, I know."

"But what I see isn't a linear line, you know?"

The boy cocked his head. She hadn't gone into detail of the specifics of her quirk before.

"I'm not really sure myself," the girl shrugged, "But how I see it, is that what I see are possibilities."

The boy cocked his head in confusion.

"The future is a malleable thing. It's so easy to mold, shift and change. One small action is enough to give birth to multiple futures," The girl reached her arms to the heavens above, "So many futures, so many paths, so many possibilities! And the world we're living in is only one of them."

Amber eyes burned strong as she gazed into the red horizon and they glowed, literally glowed as she saw what he could not see.

"Must be confusing," the boy muttered as he scratched his shoulder-length hair.

"Hmmm?"

"The future, I meant. There must be millions. Isn't it confusing?" he elaborated.

"Pffft."

"?" The boy frowned.

"Ahahahahaha!" The laughter that burst from her lips was like a fresh breeze on a hot Summer day. But the boy frowned further, wondering if what he had said was something to laugh about.

"You're right, ahahahaha! It is confusing!" The girl continued to giggle, "Sometimes I get so confused, I forget. I lose track of myself, of where I am and what path I was walking. There's so much information that I can't process all of it, you see? Ahahaha."

"What's so funny?"

The girl's laughter turned to giggles and those giggles dissipated away into thin air. And amber eyes quietly met eyes of black as the boy glanced at her sideways with a questioning look.

The girl took her time to push her hair past her ear. The tip of her ear was slightly red.

"You're the first to say that."

"?"

"You're not the first one I've explained my quirk to. Stupid Shou. Whenever the topic of my quirk comes up, the first thing people usually ask me are about their own futures. But I can't tell them because there are so many of them. The farther ahead in time, the more these paths branch out, so I couldn't tell them even if I wanted to."

"But you, Shou. You were different. Congratulations." The girl gave him a light applause and a warm smile, "You're the first one to ask about me."

The boy didn't really understand why he felt good there and then.

"And," the girl continued, "I laughed because I was just happy, I guess. That this was the kind of guy I fell in love with."

The boy coughed and the girl grinned.

"I did say that I sometimes lose track, right? That I can't keep count of everything that I see. That I sometimes find myself lost in the things I see."

The girl rounded on him suddenly, and the boy had to take a step back. They were face to face now and their eyes met for a brief moment. His eyes were a dull black and blood-shot. The boy somehow felt inadequate and his tired eyes buckled under the girl's golden gaze.

But her voice continued as strong as ever nevertheless.

"I have an anchor that keeps me rooted to the present. I told you, right? That the future is only a possibility. It hasn't happened. It isn't real. The future isn't the present and I exist only here-"

Her hands gripped onto his school uniform and the boy took a step back. The girl took a step forward.

"Ever since the day we met, ever since that time I met you, the futures that branched out from then all had one thing in common."

The boy could barely breathe now. His eyes couldn't escape her gaze forever. And black met gold once more.

"And because of that, when I see all those paths, futures, possibilities, and see so many different things, but find that one factor unchanged, I find myself releived. And I can safely tell myself that all of this is only an extension of the present I am in right now."

"I'm not really sure I get it." The boy whispered a low grumble.

The Sun had gone down now and in the dark, the boy could see it clearly; how those orbs of amber were alight in a light glow and how they gazed yet again at something he could not see.

"Don't you want to know what it is that didn't change over all those futures?" Her words were barely a whisper and her breath touched his lips. The scent of lilac filled his nose and the boy wondered when she had come this close.

"It's that Renai Nighteye always fell in love with Shouta Aizawa."

"…"

"In every timeline, every future, every path."

"…"

"Always."

"…"

"You are my anchor, Shou. And I'm here because you are by my side-"

Amber eyes were closed now. No longer was she looking at something the boy could not see. She was here now, feeling what he felt, hearing what he heard and seeing what he saw.

"Isn't it romantic? My love transcends time."

With her words in his ears, the boy idly wondered if she had already known, no, seen this would happen all along.

Shouta didn't move.

Their lips met.

Hello. Long time no see! Sorry it took so long to get a new chapter out if there was somebody waiting. I apologize to that person and am eternally grateful you even remembered this story.

Anyways, I'm going to try to put an effort into putting out more chapters!

Thanks for reading!

And reviews, helpful feedbacks are always greatly appreciated. They help me grow as a writer and give me motivation as one too!