A/N: Hey everyone, hope you all are doing well. Classes start up again for me this week, which is why this week's chapter comes a tad later than normal. Between that, writing this story, and all the other exciting events happening this week, there are new beginnings all around. Hopefully that motivation carries us all through. Speaking of, this fic hit 100 follows pretty much right after last chapter came out, so woohoo!

Chapter 8: Ace of Wands

Chapter Date: 01/18/21

"Kacchan…"

"No."

"Kacchan please…"

"Absolutely not."

"But Kacchan…"

"Ohhhh no, don't pull that shit with me right now, Izuku. Do you know how bad of an idea this is?"

"I happen to think it's pretty good."

"You're not the one who might have nearly a dozen of these idiots in your house for a week!" Kacchan nearly hissed as he breathed with teeth clenched. "You might not have a lot of memories of 1-A, so I'll just fill you in and tell you they're a chaotic hellclass of fucking titanic proportions. And yes, I say this knowing I'm part of said class."

"Actually, when it comes to aspects of your home life, you're rather normal, like your sleep routine and your cooking and-wait, getting off track..." Izuku clasped his hands together. "Come on, Kacchan. It's Monday, we're only a few days away from the start of Golden Week and we need to come up with arrangements for all the Travelers coming, or not all of them will be able to stay the whole time. Momo and Iida already offered to get larger hotel rooms to accommodate more people, but that's only two of them and there are nearly twenty confirmed Travelers."

"And I'm sure Auntie would be more than happy to host 'em all if you asked." Kacchan pinched his nose. "My mom, on the other hand…"

"Would also be ecstatic to see you with actual friends for the first time in about a decade." Izuku countered.

Kacchan scowled. "Oi! I had actual friends before U.A. And the idiots that are our classmates in 1-A are not my friends!"

"The Bakusquad."

"…Not the point! If the old hag finds out that we're housing a shitton of people for Golden Week, the house is going to have to be cleaned and scrub till it's fucking gleaming! And who's the schmuck that will have to do that? Oh right, ME!"

Izuku tilted his head. "Doesn't Aunt Mistuki already make you do that half the time though?"

"…Damnit, don't start making sense now Izuku. I've only been back around three weeks, just let me have this." Kacchan ran a hand down his face. "Fine, I'll take some. But I better not be housing half the damn class, you hear me?!"

Izuku beamed. "I knew I could count on you, Kacchan!"

"Yeah yeah, I'm amazing, moving on. How are we splitting things up then? What are we dealing with in terms of capacity?"

"Well, factoring in my bedroom, the living room and the guest room, I could probably fit a maximum of four or five Travelers." Izuku cupped his chin. "As for your house, I haven't been there in a long time, but from what I remember it's rather…er…"

"Spruced up, I know. Comes with the territory of having parents in fashion. I could probably fit seven or eight in mine, no way I'm taking more than that."

"That should be fine. Iida mentioned his room could likely hold four to five as well, and Momo promised she could house all the girls if need be." Izuku paused after hearing Kacchan snicker. "What is it?"

"Nothing, it's just…I know a couple people who might be a little unhappy with that particular arrangement." Kacchan's smirk grew. "I'm also surprised you didn't ask Half-and-Half or Ears."

"W-Well, Kyouka lives in Shizuoka, and while that's close comparatively, it would still be a long train ride to make everyday during Golden Week. As for Shouto, I thought about asking him, but from what I've been able to understand so far, his relationship with his family, his father in particular, isn't necessarily close. Plus, considering who his father is in the first place…"

"Endeavor would sooner roast Todoroki's friends before inviting 'em over. Even if he didn't, it'd look suspicious as hell seeing Icyhot interact with people that he's supposedly never met before like they're old acquaintances, even if we're all technically classmates." Kacchan finished.

Izuku nodded. "Exactly. That's another element to all the planning that we have to factor in as well. In this timeline, in my timeline, very few of us have ever met, so we need to manufacture these meetings so it looks believable to those on the outside. Even if I could host all the Travelers in my apartment, I'm not sure if my mom's happiness over getting so many friends would overcome her curiosity and suspicion on where these friends came from. All it takes is some dedicated investigating-"

"-And our shaky-ass cover stories will topple like a shitty house of cards. Meaning you can't have too many people over at a time, and considering the stick up his ass, neither can Iida without looking weird. Ponytail could maybe pull it off, but she's got expenses to consider, leaving me as the only candidate to take a chunk of 'em." Kacchan's shoulders dropped. "I hate it when you make sense sometimes. So who's going where?"

"Well, Momo offered to take all the girls, so if we're including in the unconfirmed Travelers like Asui and Number 22, that would be eight for her, leaving fourteen between you, Iida and I." Izuku pulled up his mental list of Travelers. "In case the last unknown Traveler is a boy, we can have them stay with me, but if not, I can take four, Iida can take three, leaving you with seven. As for which Travelers, I think it'll be likely that the 'Bakusquad' will stay with you, whoever they are."

"It's Ashido and the three stooges Soy Sauce, Shitty Hair and Dunce Face." Kacchan groaned. "If I'm taking them, you're taking Small Fry."

"I'm assuming that is Mineta? And he really isn't bad, at least the Mineta that I have seen."

"I'll believe it when I see it. Moving on, something tells me Todoroki and Shinsou are gonna snap two spots at your place right up. Plus, with those two around Grape Fucker should be too scared shitless to try anything." Kacchan ticked off fingers as he counted. "That leaves Ojiro, Kouda, Shouji, Tokoyami, Aoyama and Sato if we can track him down."

"Momo says she's working on contacting Sato, considering her greater resources and similarity with Sato for their quirks. As for Aoyama, it's really fortunate that he was the one to call us, since him living in France means that we're more dependent on him to contact us than the other way around. I'm just glad that he remembered one of our numbers, even if it was mine." Izuku turned to Kacchan. "Was he friendly with anyone in your timeline? Since I wasn't there."

Izuku thought back to the call he had received from Aoyama the previous day. The self-proclaimed Frenchman had been as bright and flamboyant as the others had stated, to the point that Izuku swore he could hear the sparkles transmitting through the call and manifesting around his own phone. Despite what other might have perceived as vanity, Izuku could tell Aoyama was completely sincere as the two spoke about the situation surrounding Golden Week and the Travelers. Izuku also wasn't sure what kind of loyalty he cultivated in various timelines, but the fact that Aoyama was completely willing to book a plane ticket from France with less than a week's notice was proof enough of either loyalty, concerning apathy, or frankly staggering financial resources.

Given that Aoyama had cursed about 'international minute rates' in French while on the call, Izuku thought he could safely disregard the last one.

With the limited time the two had spent, Izuku had explained the phenomenon of the tarot and their designated titles, and discovered that Yuga, as the boy insisted Izuku call him, hadn't found anything out of the ordinary, due to already being fluent in French. Moreover, Yuga's title of the Star was one that apparently did not stray far from his thoughts anyways, if his promise to bring his twinkling self into Izuku's life was anything to go by.

One thing Izuku had learned by this point though was that not everything was as it seemed for any of the Travelers, and Yuga was likely not the exception.

"He was a damn sparkling social butterfly for sure, but I didn't know him well enough to know who he was closest with. And that's not factoring in whatever shit has gone down in his timeline." Kacchan smoothed over the grimace on his face, and made a mental note to try asking some of the other Travelers as well. "Anyways, I'll take Kouda; I remember him being one of the quiet ones, and even if that's not the case, the shit he pulled with the birds is terrifying enough that it should keep the ones staying at my place in line. Sato in my time was also mellow and a pretty good baker, so he can come with me too. Iida can take Ojiro, Aoyama and Tokoyami; Glasses could probably use the quiet. You can wrap up with Shouji, and that should be everyone accounted for."

Izuku mentally reviewed the list and couldn't find any overt issues with the arrangements. In fact the splits seemed mostly beneficial for all parties involved. "Uraraka will probably be glad she won't need to stay in my home with all boys and my mom." His train of thought paused at Kacchan's smirk.

"Yeah, I'm not too sure Round Face is going to appreciate the gesture the way you're thinking. Then again, I'll be shocked if even half of this goes according to plan."

"Is this about the unknowns again?"

"Damn right it is. Remember what I said before about an unmitigated shitshow? Not only is the shitshow happening, but we're actively organizing it and bringing it to our doorstep. More importantly, we have to keep said shitshow from being discovered, since we're on U.A.'s doorstep." Kacchan laced his hands together, eyes focused on the floor. "We're going to have to be extremely fucking careful with how we handle things once we all meet, both from an internal and external standpoint."

"Speaking of which, what is the plan once everyone is together? I've talked with you and Momo about it in broad strokes, but I don't know much about what everyone plans to do after Golden Week." Izuku blinked. "…I don't know much about any of the timelines either."

Kacchan sighed. "Part of that is because we're trying to keep the game plan flexible, since there is a very good chance that any plans for the future are going to get fucking blown out of the water once we hear a crapton of versions of how everything went to shit. Another part…is so that nothing affects you too much yet."

Izuku tilted his head. "…Is this one of those concerns about the Butterfly Effect or something similar? Because I'm not trying to criticize your collective stealth abilities, but any ripple effects caused by the Travelers simply being present in my timeline kind of outweigh the effect of me knowing, one would think."

"Yes, and no." Kacchan actually held his hands up as Izuku's brow furrowed. "I know that's a cop-out answer, trust me, I know. But Yaoyorozu and I agreed that-"

"Since when have you and Momo been talking with each other about the plan?" Izuku didn't quite understand why he was shocked, but he was. "I didn't even know you could really stand Momo!"

"Oi. First of all, rude. Second, loath as I am to admit it at times, Ponytail is damn smart, in a way that outclasses what Glasses and I can do. But when she's first in the class and I'm third, that puts us in the position of making the rough plan, especially considering we both have frequent contact with you." Kacchan ran his hands through naturally spiky locks. "Look, I get that you're annoyed from being on the outside of things. If it were me, chances are I'd be fucking ballistic by now, metaphorically and literally. Just…give us, everyone, a chance to explain and hash things out before you decide to explode, alright? I know it's asking a lot, but…"

Izuku crossed his arms, but his mind was already made up. Kacchan, both as he was now and as he was before, rarely asked for anything. If he and Momo mutually agreed the secrecy was needed for the time being, then so be it. That said… "I'll reserved judgement until I hear everyone out. But what are we going to do about the memory flashes? I'm already trying to analyze them, but do I keep quiet for now, or did you already tell Momo about those two?"

"Wh-no damnit, I'd never spill your secrets out to anyone, not even Auntie. I…thought I was clear that I had your back like that, but I can understand if I still have some credibility I need to build, given our history." Kacchan smiled, and Izuku mentally winced at how fragile that smile seemed. "I promise you, anything you've mentioned to me about your own secrets has remained between us, including these flashes of mine and Kaminari's timelines. If you're asking whether you should keep the whole thing secret to the rest of the Travelers though…I don't know."

Izuku was surprised. "You don't know? Do you not have an opinion on it?" The blond let out a bark of laughter and Izuku jumped.

"Izuku, if there's one thing about me that I can admit hasn't changed, it's that I've got an opinion on fucking everything." Kacchan's feral grin disappeared in place of a sobering frown. "I thought over on what's happening to you, sure, but the decision to tell the others about it should be yours and yours alone."

"And if I'm looking for the benefits and drawbacks?"

Kacchan's mouth upturned just a degree. "Then I can help you out. The pros of telling everyone, or even just someone that's not me, is that there's a better chance that we can figure out what's happening, and why. I've thought on it, and I know you have, but saying you're experiencing flashes of other timelines, specifically your deaths, isn't a lot to go off of. As for the why, the best I can tell is that it is happening because you're close to us, both from a proximity standpoint and the fact that you're probably only person from this timeline who's interacted with most of us. There's a lot of factors that could be causing this, but I don't think I'm the one to figure them out. Yaoyorozu's got more academic knowledge than any of us, and even Hatsume is a fucking prodigy when it comes to the technical details. With those two on board, let alone everyone, we could figure these flashes out."

The not-smile returned to a frown. "The downside, one of them, is once the genie's out of the bottle, it's not going back in. Now, you know me well enough to know I don't give a shit about what people think of me. But you do, even when it's sometimes against your best interests. Normally, you're pretty good at reading people to a degree, but this situation isn't normal. It's as far fucking normal as you can get without dipping into satire and surrealism. There is honestly no predicting what some of the Travelers will think when you tell them. The best I can tell you is that among some of the ones you and I have met, you can trust them, but who is up to you. The other thing is the content of what you're seeing, and calling it graphic would be a damn understatement. If you told some of the Travelers, they'd likely get…protective, and make sure you get therapy. Like a shitton of therapy."

"Like you should be getting?"

"What are you talking about, I'm fucking fine." Izuku was doing his level best to imitate Eraserhead's deadpan stare, despite having only met the man once. If Kacchan breaking eye contact first was any indication, he succeeded. "Anyways, that's my take. I won't try and make your decision for you, but I reserve the right to tell you you're a fucking idiot if you're acting like a dumbass."

"Sooo, business as usual then." Izuku made it three seconds before giggling, and then Kacchan was snickering, until they both devolved into full-on laughter that pulled at their sides.

"We're fucking emotional wrecks aren't we?" Kacchan gasped.

"Speak for yourself, I'm a delight." Izuku smiled widely, nearly bursting out into laughter again at Kacchan's incredulous expression.

"Fuck it, we'll just get out there and kill it when the time comes. It's worked before, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

"Great plan! Except, there's not much of a plan…also, which connotation of 'kill' are you using again?"

"Yes."

… … …

"Hey mom? You remember when I mentioned meeting some friends that also plan on applying to U.A.?"

"Of course I did! I'm so proud that made so many friends, and that you all are helping one another train to become heroes. I can see how much happier you are these days too, and Mitsuki tells me the same about Katsuki whenever we meet. She even mentioned how much more patient and even-mannered he's been recently. I suppose it takes a dedicated mindset to aspire for U.A."

"Right…well, some of my friends are from out of town, but are interested in seeing U.A. before they submit their applications. We also talked about how it would be good to meet to train together in person, but transportation would be an issue. So, for Golden Week…is it alright if we…let some of my friends stay over here?"

"…"

"…Mom?"

"…"

"Mom, you're starting to scare me…"

"…"

"Maybe I should take that-"

"MY BABBBBYYYYY! YOU HAVE SO MANY WONDERFUL FRIENDS!"

"MOM!"

"Of course they can stay here!"

"Great, that's-Mom, we're flooding the apartment again! MOM!"

… … …

Kacchan had vastly undersold Sato's baking abilities. The boy's cake was amazing.

"Delicious! Even across timelines, Sato's confections are as amazing as always." Momo was clearly in agreement with Izuku, somehow daintily yet swiftly eating a slice of cake larger than Izuku's own.

Wait, something was off here. Something Izuku needed to address…

"I agree. It is nice to know that Sato is as dedicated to his quirk training hobby as he is in my own timeline, kero." Ah, there it was…

"Uhhhh, Asui?"

"Call me Tsu."

"Hah…Tsu? How exactly did you come here?" The short greenette fixed her oval eyes on him, before an inordinately sized piece of cake disappeared into her mouth.

"I didn't have your phone number because you were dead in my timeline, so I couldn't contact you. I knew where your home was though, due to visiting it in your timeline, so I took the train over." Izuku registered the bluntest acknowledgement of him being dead in a timeline yet, before formulating a response.

"Did you…know, that Momo would be here today?" Tsu tilted her head and pressed a large finger to her cheek.

"No? This is just a happy coincidence." If Tsu had a poker face, it was one for the ages, because Izuku could not read the girl for the life of him.

"Indeed, Sato's deserts have the ability to draw the girls of our class from all corners, which includes timelines it seems." Momo hummed happily as she consumed another bite of cake.

"…I honestly can't tell whether or not you two are joking, but at this point, I will take whatever I can get, considering that it is Wednesday." Izuku scanned over the note that Sato had included with the cake, which included a few pertinent details to note for Golden Week. "Okay, so Sato is the Wheel of Fortune. As-Tsu, what was your title again?"

"Strength." Tsu replied simply. Considering what Izuku knew of her quirk, along with a brief glimpse of her comparatively large feet when they first encountered one another, he agreed with the designation. "So Midoriya, Yaomomo said that you came up with the idea for all of the Travelers to gather here on Golden Week. Is that correct?"

Tsu's blank eyes were causing Izuku to sweat. "W-Well, Shouto was the one to suggest meeting on Golden Week, and Hagakure helped decide to have everyone meet here in Musutafu. I was just the one to point out the obvious that it would be better to exchange information with each other."

Without blinking, Tsu steamrollered on. "And you supported the idea to plan out strategies based on our timelines, and even take part in these plans? Despite the fact that you have died in every timeline that one of the Travelers has come back from?"

Izuku flinched, and Momo placed her plate down and her stare at Tsu was about to intensify into a glare before Izuku intervened. "I did, and still do support the idea. I want to be a hero like All Might, who saves everyone with a smile on his face. If I have a chance to save people, no matter how small it is, I will take it. Even if your histories have shown my death dozens of times over, I believe that there's just as many, if not more timelines out there I'm still standing, where everyone is safe. And that is what I'm fighting for."

Momo was staring at Izuku with a furrowed brow while Tsu remained as inscrutable as ever. Growing increasingly uncomfortable at the silence, Izuku scratched his cheek as he averted his eyes and chuckled. "If you want a more selfish reason, the fact that I'm hearing about my death so many times means that I would kind of like to avoid that. And the worst case scenario in fighting for a better future is that I just die again, right? Haha…"

Momo looked about a second away from actually facepalming, before Tsu's wide mouth widened into a smile. "You are every bit as strong as I remember, kero."

Izuku looked down at his growing, but admittedly still small arms. "I…don't think I'm very strong just yet."

"Not remotely the kind of strength I meant, kero."

The trio chatted for a while longer after finishing the cake, discussing the logistics of the upcoming gathering as Tsu contributed with insights that Izuku was pleasantly surprised by. At one point, while mentioning the setup of rooms for the week, to which Momo apparently had no issues with, Izuku mentioned the division of Travelers to each residence. Izuku thought he caught a flash of some emotion in Momo's eyes, but he was distracted by Tsu posing another question and by the time he had turned back it was gone.

Eventually, as the time approached for Izuku's training, Momo called her transportation and offered Tsu a drive home as well, as both lived in Aichi.

"I will see you soon, Izuku. Be safe." Momo gave Izuku a firm hug before stepping into the back of the car, leaving Tsu outside with Izuku.

"It was good to see you again, Midoriya. Train hard, and be ready for Friday." Tsu's eyes glanced momentarily towards the car before the girl gave a froggy smirk. "I'm sure the coming week will be quite exciting."

"Ummm…ok?" Tsu stepped in for a hug before getting into the car as well. Izuku waved a goodbye to both girls as the car pulled away, before Tsu's last words were pushed to the back of his mind as he ran for the beach.

… … …

"Hah…hah…hah…"

"Well done, Young Midoriya. Congratulations on making it through the first three weeks, and first month of your training!" Izuku forced himself to straighten up as he turned to All Might, the smile coming to his face as the Symbol of Peace gave him a thumbs up in his skinny form.

"Thank you so much for your help, All Might…are you sure that me taking a break during Golden Week won't ruin the plan?" Izuku didn't exactly want to mess up the Traveler's gathering, but he couldn't ignore the panic that came from setting aside All Might's training either. So it was a wonderful relief to see All Might remain smiling.

"Worry not, Young Midoriya. After consulting with Young Bakugo, as well as Aizawa, Nezu and Recovery Girl, the Aim To Pass plan was altered to give you proper rest time during these ten months. After all, although your strength of will is not in question, it is important to receive mental rest as well as physical in order to achieve maximum results. Thanks to these revisions, the plan remains intact while operating at peak efficiency!" All Might placed gentle a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "So enjoy yourself this Golden Week, Young Midoriya, and spend time with your friends and family. For these bonds are what remind a person of what being a hero truly is about."

Izuku wiped his eyes, though he knew All Might had seen him cry enough times that it was a fruitless effort. Beaming up at the man, Izuku replied, "Thank you All Might. I promise I won't let you down!"

"You could never, Young Midoriya. Now go and enjoy yourself! I will see you again come May!" As the two parted, Izuku checked the time before realizing he had less time than he thought. Rushing home, he quickly let his mom know he was going to pick up his friends before leaving the apartment. Reaching the ground floor, he saw Kacchan waiting for him.

"About time, Izuku. I was almost worried you had chickened out." Despite the insult, Izuku knew the words held no bite to them, and instead had something almost akin to fondness. "Now let's get going, it'll be embarrassing if we're not the first ones to the beach, especially considering you were just there."

"And what are the chances that one of the Travelers skipped class today to come here immediately?"

"…Well shit, you have me there. Some of them are definitely crazy enough to try it." Kacchan stopped as he looked back at Izuku, who was shaking and had yet to move a single step. "Izuku?"

"It's alright Kacchan. I'm not scared." No, something else was flowing through him. It wasn't the chilling trickle that accompanied fear. It wasn't the racing burn that triggered during an exciting adrenaline rush. It was… "I'm, happy, I think. I'll finally, finally, get to meet class 1-A. I'll finally get to meet the Travelers, all of them…well, except for the one that we haven't found yet."

"Yeah…about that…"

"Hmm? Did you say something?"

"…Nevermind. Let's get going. We shouldn't keep them waiting."

Izuku knew becoming a hero had more than one first step. Saving Kacchan was one. Being told by All Might that he could become a hero was another. Being chosen as All Might's successor. Starting to train at the beach. Discovering who the Travelers were. They were all first steps.

And this? Izuku knew tonight would be one too.

"Yeah. Let's go."

… … …

Ace of Wands: There is something you want to express, or do, or create and the sign has arrived to step forth and make that pivotal action. Whatever the goal, you have the burst of energy and motivation to take off from the ground and start a new commitment. Accept the challenge and follow that spark of excitement.

A/N: Yes, yes, a cliffhanger, bring on the pitchforks. In all honesty, I did want to dive right into Golden Week, but needed to pace it out because otherwise the flow of chapters would be tangled, between the search for the Travelers and transitioning into Golden Week. Maybe I just need more experience in that part of writing, but who knows? Either way, Golden Week begins in earnest next week, so readers will have that to look forward to. Otherwise, I hope everyone stays safe and well, and I'll see you all next week.

-SE

Next Chapter Date: 01/25/21

Travelers and Titles

Bakugo Katsuki: The Magician

Jiro Kyoka: The High Priestess

Yaoyorozu Momo: The Empress

Todoroki Shouto: The Emperor

Uraraka Ochako: The Lovers

Iida Tenya: Justice

Kouda Kouji: The Hermit

Sato Rikido: The Wheel of Fortune

Asui Tsuyu: Strength

Shouji Mezou: The Hanged man

Ashido Mina: Death

Kaminari Denki: Temperance

Mineta Minoru: The Devil

Sero Hanta: The Tower

Aoyama Yuga: The Star

Shinsou Hitoshi: The Moon

Hatsume Mei: The Sun

Tokoyami Fumikage: Judgement

Ojiro Mashirao: The World

Kirishima Eijirou: ?

Hagakure Tooru: ?