Trace was sweating. He kept pushing but couldn't defeat him. All-For-One. Despite how hard he was pushing, All-For-One didn't budge. He was simply laughing. Trace infused all of his power into his right arm. He swung with everything he had. A huge explosion erupted from the point of contact. Smoke was everywhere. Trace could hear laughing… he could hear him laughing, near her. He rose to his feet and began pushing through it. He heard many noises. Boards falling. Rubble beneath his feet. Smoke from a close by building. But the screams were what were haunting him. He began running as fast as he could. He wouldn't let All-For-One win. He ran as fast as he could. He could hear screams. Iida's, Todoroki, Sero's, Koda's, Mina's. He froze. She was in danger. He swung straight up in the air, clearing the smoke in seconds.
When Trace returned his gaze to the ground. He nearly puked. Iida's legs were torn from his body. He was pale as a ghost. Sero was hung by his guts. Koda had a giant hole in his chest. Jiro's head was no longer on her body. (There were many bodies such as his teachers as well, but I'm not gonna go over all of them) And in All-For-One's hands. A lifeless MIna. her pink coloring gone, replaced with a husk. Her eyes were lifeless. He had slit her throat and choked her. He turned to Trace, a smile on his face. Trace was crying… no… Trace was sobbing, an entire waterfall was coming from Trace. "YOU BASTARD". Trace ran at All-For-One with all of his strength. He wanted to kill One-For-All. He swung with a full powered attack, connecting with his face. He fell to the ground lifeless, dropping Mina's lifeless body. Trace ran to Mina. she was dead long before Trace had gotten there, but he wouldn't accept it. He began to shake her gently. "Mina?", Trace was on the verge of breaking down. "Mina, time to get up honey, please, get up". His words were in vain. Trace hugged her close, sobbing the whole time. "PLEASE, DON'T GO".
Trace heard laughing behind him. He turned, fear filling his emotions. All-For-One was uninjured. Trace fell to the ground. He wanted to die. Everything was just ripped from him. His friends… his family… his hope. Trace put his arms to the side. "Fuck you villain, go to hell".
All-For-One smiled. "I'll meet you there child", he swung with full force, colliding with his face.
Then, just like that… Trace shot up in his bed. He began looking around. He was in his room. Everything was the same. Except, MIna wasn't there. Trace felt his face, it was bruised. Fear filled Trace. "Was all that real". Trace got out of bed, quickly changing into some casual clothes from his PJ's. he stepped out of his door, with his phone, his wallet, and his headphones. He went down to the common room downstairs but didn't see anyone. Trace walked to the rec room, no one. Even the kitchen was empty. Trace went to everyone's dorm rooms in class 1-A and knocked on their doors. No one was around. Trace was afraid. "Did that all actually happen?!". Trace pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Mina. After a few seconds, the phone went to voicemail. He tried again, but once again, it went to voicemail. He tried calling Kirishima, then Jiro, then Kaminari, then Tsuyu. No one on any of those. He had managed to call everyone in class 1-A at least 10 times each, even Mineta. But no one picked up.
Trace ran back to his room to grab his jacket. Once he had it, he ran outside. He knew where he was going. He got on a train, and waited. If it happened, then he needed to see the Nomu factory again. If it truly happened, then there should be something to indicate it was true there. A burning building, a lock of hair, something. The train stopped and Trace rushed out, pushing people on his way out. He needed to get there quickly. He ran for an hour. He wouldn't let himself slow. He needed to find them. He made it to the factory soon after.
The place was in ruins from when Trace was there. The crater still stood. Trace began searching. He wanted to confirm his dream false, but doubt started creeping into him. There was rubble exactly where it was in his dream. Blood was in similar spots. He looked at a small trail. An image of Iida flashed in his head. That moment he lost his legs in his dream. He shuddered, yet pressed on. Blood was everywhere. He kept looking around. He could see flashes of his friends. Where they died in his dream. He was afraid. He started to fear it was true. They were gone. He shook his head. "NO Trace", he smacked himself in the face, "Don't start thinking that". He went back to the first blood trail he found. He pushed out the thoughts of Iida's death in his dream. There had to be something else. It had to be a coincidence. But then he saw it. Iida's glasses from when they rescued Bakugo. They were cracked the exact same way as his dreams. Trace began to shake vigorously. He didn't want to believe it. But the evidence was there. Everything was exactly like his dreams.
Trace slammed his fist into the ground, bruising his hand instantly. "FUUUCCKKK, WHY COULDN'T I FUCKING SAVE THEM". Trace was sobbing uncontrollably. He had failed them. He began punching the ground as hard as he could. While nothing was happening since he had his inhibitors, but it felt better than bottling them up. He continued punching until his knuckles were bleeding. He tried to calm himself, but it was pointless. He had no reason to stand. He wanted to curl into a ball and die. He wanted to rejoin his friends. He closed his eyes, still sobbing but wanting to remember good memories, but he just couldn't focus on them.
A hand on Trace's shoulder surprised him. He turned his head to see a student he didn't recognize. She had light blue hair to him, maybe it was light purple? She seemed to have a round face, but was cheery as could be.
"What's wrong sir, wait, your Trace Wilqs aren't you?". The girl had a look of surprise.
Trace simply nodded. "Doesn't matter anymore".
The girl was confused. "Why doesn't your name matter Trace". She tilted her head slightly.
Trace began to cry again, not being able to control it. "I think my friends are dead".
The girl couldn't hide her surprise. "What do you mean?".
Trace figured he may as well live his nightmare again. "I had a dream where All-For-One killed my friends, and I couldn't save them", Trace was sobbing but his voice was holding steady, The girl gasped, covering her mouth with a hand. "I came here to prove it wasn't real but everything looks the same as my dream, the locations my friends died at, the spot I fell at, the spot he stood when he attacked me".
The girl hugged him, not bothering to worry about the fact he was covered in dust and dirt. "I'm so sorry Trace, I wish I could make it better".
Trace frowned. "Then prove that it didn't happen, prove that my friends aren't dead", anger crept into his voice.
The girl was surprised, but nodded. She recalled everything he said in his dream. She continued looking around, surveying the area. Then, an idea clicked in her head. She turned to Trace. "Where did he strike you down at?".
Trace, though hesitant, got up and walked over to where he was struck, sitting in the same position he was in when he swung. "He was about a foot in front of me, I was on my knees, arms spread out wide".
The girl put a finger to her chin. "How did he strike you, was it a kick, a punch, a headbutt?".
Trace looked to the ground. "He swung at me with his fist in a downward motion. Trace swung his hand to replicate the attack.
The girl lit up joyfully. "I just proved it didn't happen", she was jumping up and down.
Trace looked at her in confusion. "How does the way he swung, prove it didn't-", he cut himself off. He understood what she was saying.
But he didn't get a chance to say anything. "If he swung at you that way, there would have been a crater below you, but there's no crater, so the event's in your story couldn't have happened".
Trace was about to speak when his phone started going off. He picked it up to hear Kirishima on the other side. "Hey dude, I don't know where you went but come back to the dorms, I have something I want to show you".
Trace tried to sound calm but failed. "On my way". He hung up the phone quickly. He turned to the girl smiling. Without thinking, he ran up to the girl, hugging her closely. "Thank you so much, miss". Trace was okay at first. Then it sunk in what he just did. He broke the hug and backed up, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry, it's just, I'm so glad it was just a dream, I was so afraid".
The girl smiled before holding out a hand. "The name's Nejire Hado, and you're very welcome, it's nice to know I helped out". Her phone started going off. She pulled it out of her pocket to see an alarm she set going off. "Oh, I need to head back to UA, have a good day Trace", she was about to begin walking when Trace spoke up.
"You go to UA too?". Trace had never seen her.
Hado smiled. "Yep, I'm a third year". Hado turned to walk away, but was surprised that Trace was walking alongside her.
"Apologies, but I'm lost so I figure I'd follow you since you know how to get to UA, plus" Trace blushed slightly at how this might sound, "I had a few questions".
Hado smiled widely, "Okay, shoot".
"Okay, since we both go to UA, how come I've never seen you before, I think I would have remembered you or anyone in third year if I saw them". Trace was walking backwards watching her reaction to the questions.
But she stayed as cheery as possible. "Well, third years and first years have classes in different parts of the building, so it makes sense since you wouldn't have seen me since i'm like 2 or 3 floors above most first year classes".
Trace put a hand to his chin, turning back around to walk properly. "Okay, this is gonna sound weird no matter how I ask, but what is your quirk?".
Hado held a hand up, "I can create shockwaves in the form of spirals, it's pretty useful".
Trace was amazed, "That sounds like an amazing quirk, it must be so useful".
Hado chuckled, "It's a neat power, that's for sure, but MIrio's is better in my opinion".
"Mirio?", Trace tilted his head slightly, his right ear turning slightly.
Hado covered her mouth but sighed, moving her hand back to it's spot by her side. "I wasn't supposed to say anything about him yet, you'll meet him soon", Hado winked, causing Trace to blush slightly.
They began just talking about school, potential agencies for Trace to join, even stuff as simple as restaurants with good food. They seemed to enjoy the other's company enough to be comfortable, but nothing past as friends.
An explosion caught their attention. A villain was charging them quickly. He was clearly targeting Hado, he reached a blade out, planning to kill them and keep running. He got the blade to a centimeter of her neck when Trace threw a left hook, straight into his gut, knocking him back slightly. Hado looked at Trace, surprised at his reaction speed. He was half covered in shadows at the moment.
"If you ever attempt to hurt my friends again, I won't be so forgiving", Trace's eyes were golden.
The message clearly didn't get through to the villain, he attempted to lunge past Trace, but was caught with no effort. Trace stared at the villain, now fully encased in shadows.
"I tried to let you surrender, but now I can't give you that option". Trace threw the man to the ground. Before the villain could attempt anything, Trace broke his legs. The man was screaming in pain. Hado was horrified. She wasn't even sure this was the same kid anymore. Trace approached the villain who was trying to pull himself away from Trace.
"Please, let me go kid, I-I surrender, please don't hurt me anymore".
Trace didn't waver though. "I gave you a chance to surrender already, and you threw it out the window. Your chance is gone". Trace grabbed his arm and broke it with no effort, inciting more screaming from the villain.
The villain attempted to use his quirk on his good arm. His quirk allows him to build a shield as long as he can equip it to one of his arms. But Trace broke his second arm too, making his quirk useless.
"What's wrong tough guy, you weren't afraid of me earlier, now your cowering in fear after I broke your limbs, come on, show me what you got, call for backup, try to hit me, make me fear you, oh yeah, you can't, because I gave you a chance and you refused to take it". Trace slowly reached for his throat. But a hand stopped him. He turned to see Hado holding his arm.
"Trace stop, this isn't how a hero is supposed to behave, please stop". Hado was scared.
"Scared?". Trace was in his head. He wasn't in control at the moment. He promised he would stop worrying others. He promised he wouldn't do anything stupid. He closed his eyes, and began breathing. Every second, a tiny bit of darkness entered him, until eventually he was back in control. He let his hands fall to his side. He looked around. He was still standing, which was surprising to him. But more surprising was the fact Hado was still holding his wrist. He took slow, shallow breaths. It only just set in that he was gonna kill the villain in front of him. He felt sick. He was about to take another life. Tears began falling from his eyes. He tried to run but Hado had a grip of steel.
"Trace, look at me", Hado was stern but calming.
Trace, though hesitantly, turned to look her in the eyes. She was upset, but not angry.
Hado sighed, "that's not how a hero should behave, we shouldn't be like a predator hunting prey, we should be trying to end the fight peacefully or with as little injury as possible, otherwise, we're no better than the villains".
Trace was shaking. He felt selfish. He was about to kill another man because he wasn't listening. He fell to his knees, surprising Hado., who had bent down to hold him at his side. Trace began coughing. He thought it was blood, but when he opened his eyes, it was black. He looked at his hands. There were black lines on his body, running up his scars. He hadn't seen this before. What was happening to him.
He tried to rise to his feet, but Hado stopped him, telling him to sit there for a second. He nodded his head, waiting for his head to clear. He needed to calm down.
Inhale… exhale… inhale… exhale… inhale… exhale…
After a few minutes, Trace opened his eyes. His skin was clear again. Whatever happened there, wasn't normal. He would have to figure out what was happening later though. He turned to Hado who was staring at him nervously. He slowly stood to his feet. "I'm alright, I must be feeling the effects from overexerting myself yesterday". Trace put on a smile to try to calm her.
Hado was skeptical, but decided not to push it further. "Alright then, but i'm staying with you until you reach your destination, I don't want you losing control again".
Trace nodded, "I understand, I'm not exactly the best at avoiding injury".
They began walking in silence. Neither person knew what to say. The tension felt thicker. The train ride eased tensions though. Once they were on, Trace began looking out the window. Nothing really called Trace, but after a few seconds, he was tapping Hado's shoulder.
Hado turned to Trace. "What's up Trace?".
Trace pointed out the window excitedly. Nado looked out the window to see a sign talking about the pokemon game that was re-released a few weeks back. "They're talking about pokemon black, I got a copy a few weeks back, but they've spread to across japan, pokemon are back on the board". Trace was practically bouncing up and down.
Hado smiled. He was clearly in better spirits. It was strange though, almost like watching a grown man age backwards. He had the energy of a kid, but earlier he was so mature. He almost seemed Bi-Polar. Hado would have to start keeping an eye on this kid, but for now, she was happy he was back to normal.
After a few minutes, the train stopped and everyone disembarked from the train. Hado had guided Trace toward UA. Once they got to UA, Trace turned to the right, heading straight for the Dorms. After another minute, they were standing in front of the building his dorm was in.
"There we go, now I'm gonna head back to UA, have a good day Trace", Hado smiled, waving as she walked away.
Trace smiled, returning the wave. After a second, Trace turned to the dorms, and opened the door inside. The lights were out. This was kind of strange. Trace began feeling around for the light switch. What he found instead, made Trace's heart skip a beat. He pulled his hand away and began blushing heavily. "S-sorry about that Toru, I was searching for the light switch, I-I didn't m-mean to do th-that". Trace covered his face, embarrassment getting the better of him.
Toru began to laugh. "I didn't know you could become a tomato Trace, you didn't know I was here, how could you have known, don't worry about it".
Trace slowly regained his composure. He took a deep breath before saying, "is the light switch by you?".
"Yep, I'm supposed to turn it on in another minute or so", Toru stood there silent.
"Why in another minute?". Trace tilted his head slightly.
Toru had to resist the urge to squeal at how cute he was being. "You'll see".
Trace was confused, but shrugged. He turned to face the darkness again. He began walking forward.
"JUST KIDDING", Toru flicked the switch, revealing everyone standing there, some with party hats, some with bags, and Mina holding a cake that said, "Happy 18th Birthday Trace".
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRACE", everyone said simultaneously.
Trace stood there awestruck. No one ever remembered his birthday. May 1st. He was 18 today. Everyone began crowding Trace, trying to talk to him all at once, but Trace was overwhelmed. He was still trying to process everything.
Eventually Iida came to his rescue. "Okay everyone, we're overwhelming him, give him a little space".
Everyone happily obliged, backing up a good 3 feet before stopping. Trace looked around, they had gone all out, decorations were all over the place. Balloons were everywhere, streamers. Trace was surprised to the highest level. He was at a loss for words.
Kirishima put a hand on his back, "Congrats man, you're 18 now, happy birthday bud".
Trace finally processed everything. Tears of joy began falling from his face. "You guys… remembered".
Mina looked at him with a smile from ear to ear. "We had spent all day getting this set up, we were in the rec room setting things up, so when you came downstairs, we moved outside for a minute before continuing to set up, we care about you Trace and we wanted to show you that", MIna pulled Trace into a hug, holding him tightly.
Trace was on an emotional roller coaster. He didn't really show any expression. He was kinda lost.
Mina looked at Trace with concern. "Does he not like it", MIna thought to herself. After a few seconds of silence, MIna spoke up. "Trace?".
Without warning, Trace grabbed MIna and wrapped her in a bear hug before quietly sobbing into her shoulder. The day finally caught up with him. "I was so scared I lost you".
MIna sat there bewildered as well as everyone in the room.
Mina began guiding Trace outside, motioning for the others to continue partying. Once they were outside, Mina put her hands on Trace's cheeks, facing him toward her. "What happened today Trace?", worry was filling her voice.
Trace had calmed down a little, but his voice was still shaky. "I… I had a dream… All-For-One won… and I had to watch as he slaughtered you all... He forced me to watch as he killed everyone… and he struck me down… when I woke up, you were gone and I had bruises on my face, so I went to the location and found what I thought was evidence of the dream being real. I was broken… but someone came by and proved my dream couldn't have happened, I was on quite an emotional roller coaster today", Trace wiped his eyes before continuing. "Thank you guys so much for what you've done for me, I owe you guys so much, I just needed to get those emotions off my chest". Trace had gotten everything out of him.
MIna began rubbing his ears. She wanted him to enjoy today, not be broken down. "We're here Trace, it's gonna take more than that Vader rip off, like you said, and besides, you're not getting out of tonight", Mina had a sly smirk.
Trace smiled. "Thanks Mina, I'm good to go now".
They walked back into the party, everyone was watching as Kirishima was having a dance battle against Kaminari, though it was clear Kaminari was winning. After a minute of cheering Kirishima conceded, walking off the dance mat.
Kaminari put a fist in the air in victory. "Who's next".
Trace was watching in awe. He was about to go get a drink when a hand found its way to his shoulder. Trace turned to see Kaminari standing next to him.
"How about the birthday boy take a shot", Kaminari had a confident grin.
Trace was a nervous wreck. "I uhh…. I can't dance".
Kaminari didn't budge, "Just take a shot, you'll be amazing".
Trace wasn't sure though. "I-I don't know". Trace felt Mina squeezing his hand. He turned to face Mina, who was giving him a confident smile.
"You can do this Trace, just don't think too much about it", MIna gave him a peck on the cheek to give him courage.
Trace took a deep breath before turning to Kaminari. "Alright, i'm down".
Kaminarri flashed a big grin. "Since you're a tad nervous, I'll go first so you can gather yourself".
Trace nodded, prompting Kaminari to go to the mat. He was moving the second the music began. He was moving fluidly, like he's done this routine before. He was moving quite a bit, really getting into it. After a couple minutes, Kaminari crossed his legs, doing a small spin before holding his arms out wide, as if challenging Trace.
Trace was quite excited at this point. The next song began, quite a fast song. (I'm not gonna put a specific song, so don't complain, anyway) Trace began doing a handstand before kicking his feet outwards and inwards in a pattern, he wasn't confident, but he wouldn't dwell on mistakes. He flipped onto his feet before clapping his hands together. He began dancing quite fluidly, if Kaminari was jelly, then Trace was pure water. He moved so easily and so freely, he had forgotten about the crowd. He got to his hands and began spinning himself around, moving quite speedily. He continued moving his hands until he was spinning on just his head. Trace started leaning in a direction until he was spinning on his forehead, surprising everyone in the room. After a few seconds, Trace put his hands down, throwing his legs over his shoulders, he held himself up with a single hand, staring at Kaminari before sticking his tongue out wildly.
The whole room erupted, even Kaminari was cheering for him. Everyone was amazed at this.
"Where was that hiding, that was insane", Kaminari was amazed at Trace.
"I don't know, the music just felt right for that I guess", Trace had a wide smile on his face.
The party continued until 6pm, when everyone decided to call it quits. Trace had gone up to his room since he was feeling light headed. Mina stayed downstairs, since she wanted to help clean. Truth be told, Trace would be helping if Mina didn't tell him to head to his room. Trace walked to the restroom in his dorm. Once in, he went to the faucet to look at himself. And what he saw horrified him.
There were black marks covering his arms, and his right eye was pure black. He was so scared. He didn't understand what was happening. "Djinn… what do you make of this", Trace was struggling to stay conscious.
Djinn wasn't responding.
"Djinn!". Trace was starting to worry of the condition of his friend.
"I'm here", Djinn sounded solemn.
"What's going on Djinn, this isn't normal", Trace was staring at the mirror at his arms.
Djinn sighed. "I'm the reason this is happening, you see, every time you've called upon me to help you, it has slowly hurt you, I'd say you got 5 more assists from me before you die, so I'd prefer you didn't call upon me until we find a way to avoid the lethal effects of me".
Trace stared at his reflection. "So all these years, I've been risking death by calling upon you?!". Trace began coughing more of the black stuff from his body. He was practically sick at this point. He closed his eyes and began breathing slowly. In… out… in… out. He opened his eyes to find himself normal again. He held his head, staring at his free hand.
"What am I gonna do?".
A knock on the door pulled Trace from his thoughts. He walked over and opened it to see Mina in the same PJ's as the day he overexerted himself. She pushed him into his room, shutting and locking the door for him. She began kissing him immediately, putting as much passion into her kisses as possible.
Trace, though caught off guard, returned the kiss after a few seconds, putting just as much passion into his kisses. He was so happy where he was. He couldn't think straight. Her strawberry scent was intoxicating, her looks were beautiful, and she was just an amazing girl. He loved her with all of his heart. She meant the world to him. But he also felt something else. He couldn't pinpoint the feeling but it's hard to focus on it when he's got his girlfriend here with him. His hands began wandering up and down her back, sending jolts up her spine. She began doing the same. Bolts of pleasure flew up his spine. He felt amazing. That's when his eyes widened. He knew what he was feeling. Lust. He took a step away from Mina, much to her disappointment. He held his head in his hands, "Stupid, how could I forget about the side effect, it says it in big bold letter".
MIna looked at Trace with confusion, but also excitedly. "What's wrong babe, what did you forget?".
Trace turned to Mina before turning away again. "My pill for heat, I have to take it everyday, but it also runs the risk of increasing hormones in my body, causing me to become lustful if i'm not careful, but I forgot about it", Trace put a hand to his head. He didn't want to do anything he would regret. He was about to run to the bathroom when Mina grabbed his hands, putting them down to his sides.
"Trace, can you look at me sweety?", Mina's voice was so calming.
Trace looked her in the eyes.
She was excited, she licked her lips together. "It's okay Trace, you shouldn't be afraid".
She planted her lips on his, pulling him against her once more. After a few seconds, Trace was back to his passionate self. He allowed his hands to roam freely. He was no longer in control. He was too far lost in pleasure. He needed her badly. His hands found their way under her shirt. After a few minutes, they were on the bed, grunts and moans could be heard from the hallway.
Mineta was banging on their door, but they couldn't hear him. They were too enveloped in each other. Eventually, Jiro grabbed Mineta by her ear jacks, and threw him into his room before going back downstairs, ignoring the noises coming from Trace's room.
After about 2 hours, they laid next to each other, panting heavily.
Trace gave her another peck on the cheek. "That… was… amazing".
MIna returned his peck with one of her own. "Agreed… but we should probably clean up".
Without another word, they went to Trace's shower together to get cleaned up.
Trace closed his eyes, thinking of the last few weeks. He was forever grateful for everything life handed him. He thought back to the USJ event, the forest, the day he jumped. His friends were there for him every step of the way.
Trace hugged her close to him, loving her warmth combined with the heat from the shower. He was so happy. This was truly his best birthday ever.
MIna began giggling, loving every second of him holding her. He returned the embrace, enjoying his warmth. "You're amazing Trace, after everything you've been through, you deserve this".
Trace smiled, "Thank you so much Mina", He kissed her forehead lovingly.
After they cleaned up, they got into their PJ's once more and fell asleep in the other's arms.
"Naomasa was definitely right", Trace thought to himself, "No matter how dark it is, there will always be a light"