Hey guys, I hope everything is well with you all! Sorry for posting this so late at night (at least for where I am). I normally try to post in the morning or afternoons, but welp it is what it is. I've re-written this particular chapter around 5 times now, I could figure out what the hell to write for it so if it's a little jumbled in spots, well my bad haha. Enough of my rambling, on with the show. For legal purposes, I don't own BNH/MHA or ATLA/LOK! Not creative enough for that!
P.S, to any students that just started school again, good luck! We got this, remember to drink your water and eat your meals. Remember that pulling overnighters doesn't really help, and try not to stress too much! Take time to take care of yourself and give yourself mental health checks, the only thing that matters the most is YOU!
"Sena-san, how did I save myself back then?" Sena glanced over at her 10-year-old successor who was currently going through his earthbending stances with sweat beading down his face. They had begun his training nearly a week ago, and though he was only 10, he was progressing through his stances at a nearly scarily-astonishing rate. She hadn't planned on him moving on to the actual bending aspect for another few months, but it looked like he would be able to soon.
"Save yourself back when? The river?" The boy let out an unintelligible grunt as he struck forward, forcing himself into a wider stance as he moved. She tilted her head as an image of an 8-year-old boy with glowing white eyes appeared in her mind, and she let out a soft 'ah'. "That was going to be a lesson for next week, but I can tell you the reason now. Take a break and come here." The boy obeyed without hesitation, dropping out of his wide-legged stance with a wince as he ambled over to Sena, grabbing a bottle of water that sat by a tree root and sipping from it. A small feeling of pride slithered its way into her heart as she watched him, he was really improving. The first few days he would guzzle the water bottle down and then throw up in the middle of his reps after the break, but now he was learning to take his time and not consume a large amount, even if he thought he needed it. It was the little things, Sena thought. She sat on the ground and beckoned for him to join her, the freckled face boy lowering himself to the ground to sit next to her in a lotus position. "What do you remember about that day?" The boy furrowed his eyebrows, raising a hand as he scratched the side of his head.
"I'm not actually sure. I just remember falling, and then a bright white light, and then I was on the ground and you were there." Sena nodded and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her thighs as she put her chin in her open palm.
"That bright white light was Raava stepping in."
"Raava?"
"Ah sorry, should probably start from the beginning. Raava is the spirit that allows us to become Avatars in the first place. You are my reincarnation, just like I was the reincarnation of the Avatar before me, Leodis. Raava unites our spirits and she is what allows us to hold the power of bending multiple elements. It's um, ah-" She gnawed on her lip, not knowing how to properly explain it as it had never been properly explained to her. "For some reason, humans can only bend one specific type of bending so if Raava hadn't chosen me to be the Avatar, I probably would have only been a waterbender. It's kind of genetic I guess? Don't question it because I don't really know myself. But anyway, what you experienced that day is called the Avatar State."
"The Avatar State?" The girl gave an affirmative nod. "What's that?"
"We're getting to it if you give me a second, pipsqueak." The boy shrunk down and muttered a soft sorry, Sena reaching over and chopping him on the head. "Don't worry about it, but don't interrupt! Raava empowers the Avatar State, allowing us to draw upon the experience of those before us in our moments of need. It's why you were able to bend yourself out of the water how you did, you were channeling my experience as a waterbending master. During the Avatar State, you are able to do near unrivaled feats of power, especially when you learn to activate it on your own. It's a power boost in a sense, the strength of the past Avatars supporting you. In the Avatar State, you will be nearly unstoppable."
"Nearly?" The boy spoke again before suddenly covering his mouth with his hands, cowering back as Sena loomed over him with a shadow across her face, hand posed to chop his head again. "Sorry!" He squeaked. She sat back with a tsk, rolling her eyes at him as she continued to speak.
"Yes nearly. The Avatar State has one major weakness. If you are killed in that state, it will be the end for you, and for the rest of us. The Avatar cycle will shatter, and it won't be reborn. Or at least, that's what Leodis told me." She glanced over at the kid only to start with surprise as she watched him pull a notebook out of nowhere and start jotting things down while mumbling at a high speed. What the hell? She thought, watching in silence as his pencil burned its lead across the page. It went on like that for another 2 minutes before the pencil stilled and Izuku was suddenly in her face, his eyes burning with curiosity.
"Has anyone ever died in the Avatar State? Obviously not since you said that would end the cycle, did you ever learn how to activate the Avatar State on your own? Will you teach me? If it's a power boost then it's kind of like strength augmentation where the more experience you have the stronger the boost, so theoretically I should be stronger than you right since I have an additional-ack!" He stopped himself suddenly as he once again felt the dangerous aura emanating from Sena's spiritual form. So scary, he thought, clutching his notebook to his chest.
"You need to get your mumbling issue under control! Or at least be silent when you do it." She spared him a small glare before picking out two of his questions to answer. "Yes, I learned to control the Avatar State on my own, no I won't teach you." She ignored his sudden exclamation of why, powering on like she hadn't heard him. "It's something that every Avatar has to learn on their own, it's a part of becoming a fully realized Avatar. Learn it, and villains will be hard-pressed to beat you. But remember that you aren't unstoppable in that form, it will be your downfall." A dark expression crossed her face momentarily before she shook it away, giving the kid a lopsided grin. "Now that that explanation is over, back to your forms! I want 10 more reps and then you're good to go." Rather than groaning like Sena had used to do herself, he nodded with determination and sprang to his feet, running back to where he was practicing his forms and immediately dropped into them, moving steadily through his stances. A wistful smile crossed her face as the image wavered and 16-year-old Sena was there instead, complaining about how the earthbending movement was so rigid compared to her free-flowing waterbending style. As quick as the image appeared it was gone, and she was left looking at her only purpose in this lifetime. She would make sure that she prepared him for anything, and that he would not meet the same end that she did by that man.
The next day brought Izuku's discharge and his quick flight from Recovery Girl's office. The healing heroin had lectured him for nearly a half-hour about his reckless behaviors (though it wasn't his fault that he had already been to her multiple times even though the year just started), and then forced him to heal his own cuts and bruises while watching him interestedly as he had done so. As soon as she was finished she had told him not to bend for the rest of the day and sent him on his way. His footsteps echoed through the halls of U.A as he made his way towards the exit, hair shadowing his eyes as he thought back on the attack. Unconsciously his hands curled into fists. I have to get stronger. He vowed. He wouldn't allow anything to hurt him like that creature had done ever again, he wouldn't allow his classmates to be threatened, wouldn't allow his friends to be threatened.
"Midori!" His eyes snapped up from their position on the ground as he stepped out of the building, immediately being attacked by a blur of pink. Familiar arms threw themselves around his body, and a pink-haired head buried itself into a way too big hoodie that Yagi-san had brought for him to change into, seeing as his gym uniform had been ruined. Ruined by bloodstains, the garment being soaked by the river of blood that flew from Izuku's head, flew from his chest, mingled with blood from his shredded skin as he was slammed, again and again, knowing nothing but pain, pain, pai-
"Hey, Midoriya! How are you feeling? You were so manly!" Izuku was brought out of his memories by Kirishima's exclamation, his bandaged arms coming up to wrap themselves around his shaking pink-haired friend slowly. He had never hugged anyone besides his mom and Kacchan (though he hadn't dared hug the boy since Kacchan gained his quirk) before. It was strange, nice, but strange. He gave Kirishima a tired smile, his eyes landing on the red-haired boy who gave him a shark looking grin, Izuku's smile getting a little bigger as he noticed Kacchan standing far away from them with his hands in his pockets.
"I'm fine, Kirishima-kun. Just a little tired still. How are you guys? Why are you here?" The golden-eyed girl finally removed herself from his chest, stepping back as she gave him a bright smile.
"We heard from a little birdie that you were getting let out today, Bakugou volunteered to take you home-" The explosive blonde glared at Mina so hard that if his glare could kill, Mina would be dead ten times over.
"-No the fuck I didn't Raccoon eyes!" The girl waved him away, her smile changing to a smirk as she continued to speak as if she wasn't interrupted.
"And so Eiji and I volunteered to tag along, and now I'm feeling kind of hungry so let's go grab ramen!" Izuku's eyes watered a little before he brought his bandage free hands up to rub his eyes quickly before the tears had the chance to fall. I never thought anyone would care about me like this besides mom. He gave them all the brightest smile he could manage, Mina grabbing his now crooked and scarred hand, dragging him forward. A dark look crossed Izuku's face for a moment as his eyes landed on his scars, but then the moment passed and was gone as Kirishima threw his arm over Bakugou, dragging the boy along with them despite Kacchan's constant death threats. The fledgling Avatar glanced over at Mina (who was still holding his hand and didn't that make Izuku blush a bright red when he realized), who was chatting about anything and everything.
"I'm sorry if I scared you all." He suddenly spoke, not knowing where the words came from. The group slowed to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk, people filtering around them as they did so. He tilted his head forward, chewing on his lip as he allowed the words to spew out. "I didn't mean to be so vicious with the Nomu, and I didn't mean to make you all watch me get hurt but Aizawa-sensei needed help and-" A sparking hand suddenly clapped itself on his shoulder, the sizzling palm not hot enough to hurt but hot enough to jolt him back into awareness. Mina had been pushed away from him towards Kirishima, and an angry ash blonde was towering over him, and an aura of death wafting from him.
"So what, you regret saving these extras, shitty Deku?" The green-haired boy shrunk back as Kacchan got as close to him as possible. He shook his head frantically waving his hands.
"No Kacchan that's not-"
"So then why the fuck are you apologizing, nerd? Tsk. Saying that you scared us all. You're too weak for someone to be afraid of you. If it was me I would've blasted the thing sky high with no hesitation, so shut the hell up got it? These extras are buying us ramen, so don't ruin the fucking mood!" The palm left his shoulder and the explosion user gave his childhood friend one more nasty glare before storming off into the crowd, his hands tucked deep into his pockets. "Hurry up fuckfaces!" He shouted behind him, and they all scrambled to keep up with him. Mina caught up to him first and was currently punching him in the arm, saying something that made Bakugou turn towards her and bark something that Izuku was still too far back to here. He made to move a little faster when an arm tossed itself around his shoulder, forcing the tired boy to slow down.
"Kirishima-kun?" The spiky red-haired boy was silent for a moment while they walked, almost as if he was composing himself before speaking.
"No one is afraid of you, Midoriya. Sure, it was pretty weird seeing you all glowy and stuff like you were, and yeah it was a little jarring to see you literally spear the thing with a piece of rock." A shadow crossed Midoriya's face as Kirishima kept speaking, and for a moment he couldn't really hear the boy. At first, he hadn't fully remembered what had happened while he was in the Avatar State. It was still coming back to him, piece by piece, allowing him to see the type of monster that he had become while in that state. The hand that dangled by his arm squeezed it lightly, Izuku's eyes darted over to Kirishima as the shark-toothed boy brought the attention back to him. "It was really manly what you did, Midoriya. If it wasn't for you, Aizawa and Thirteen would be way more injured than they are, and Bakubro would probably be dead. The monster was gunning for him next wasn't it? When you suddenly went all glowy?"
Izuku couldn't focus, his vision going in and out, ears filling with the sound of static-like his mom had fallen asleep without turning the tv off and the channel had changed to one that wasn't used. He could faintly hear his classmates yelling for someone to move, for Bakugou to move. Their screams were tinged with desperation and fear as if something bad was going to happen to that person if they didn't follow their classmates' instructions, that something was going to happen if they didn't move-
Izuku shook his head to clear out the image, his silence being Kirishima's answer. "You did what you had to do, Midoriya-kun. None of us would ever be scared of you for that." He gave the OFA user a smile as they came to a stop next to their other friends in front of the ramen shop that they had come to the last time they had gone out to get ramen together, just a few days ago. It was hard to believe that Izuku had barely been at U.A for a week, yet everything had changed so much already.
"Thanks, Kirishima-kun." He whispered, the words being the light that he needed to drive the shadows that had been steadily creeping in on him from the time he had been able to form coherent thoughts. He gave the rest of his friends a small smile, Bakugou rolling his eyes at him and looking away while Mina gave him a thumbs up. As they ate their ramen, they talked about random things that caused all of them, even Kacchan, to laugh at some point. For a moment they weren't hero students who just survived their first brush with villainy, they were just regular kids hanging out getting ramen with their friends. They were able to forget about what had been a life or death situation, just for a moment.
Only for a moment.
Yagi Toshinori sat on a sandy bench, leaning his chin into his palm as he gazed out at the calm sea. The waning moon sat high in the sky, the stars shining brightly down upon him. Next to him, a short old man sat clad in a khaki one-piece suit with a yellow scarf covering his neck. His brown eyes were watching the man next to him, and he moved without warning, punching the man in the arm hard enough to send him off the bench and into the sand below with a crash. He pushed himself off the bench and stood above his groaning pupil, giving the man a hard stare.
"You don't visit me anymore Toshinori. You don't call, you barely write, and then you have the nerve to drag a poor old man out of his home at such a late hour as if I'm at your beck and call."
"Sensei-" Whatever the quivering man was about to say was suddenly cut off by the sound of a wave crashing into the sand, and feet suddenly pounding on the pavement.
"Yagi-san!" Brown eyes turned to assess the approaching figure that was clad in a blue hoodie and black sweatpants, a thick white bandage wrapping around the boy's head, partially hidden by wild curly green hair. The man watched as Toshinori rose to his feet and moved swiftly, twig arms rising to wrap around the boy as he pulled him to his chest. The boy's face turned bright red, and the old man rolled his eyes at the display of affection, moving forward until he was standing behind Toshinori once more, jumping up and chopping the man on the back of the head.
"Who's this zygote?" The boy yelped as he suddenly noticed him standing there, unconsciously moving backward so he was standing behind Toshinori as opposed to next to him like he had been a moment prior. The boy's green eyes were watching him warily, assessing his every move. This must be the boy who took on that creature. Toshinori had filled him in on the situation to an extent, letting him know that there was an attack on U.A's campus and that one of the students had held the creature off until he was able to get there, but that had been the extent of it. He hadn't mentioned that the student was his successor. I should kill you, Toshinori. Nana, what the hell am I supposed to do with him? The man rolled his eyes as he heard a hint of laughter in the wind, looking at Toshinori expectantly.
"S-s-sensei t-this is Midoriya Izuku. Midoriya-shounen, this is my master, G-gran Torino." The old man whacked Toshinori again as he noticed the man's shaking legs, taking pleasure in his torment.
"It's nice to meet you, Gran Torino sir!" The boy gave him a smile that didn't reach his eyes, looking impossibly tired. Sorahiko moved until he was in the boy's personal space, watching him contemplatively. Normally he would have the boy attempt to land a hit on him to see how much of his power he had access to, but he wouldn't do that tonight when the boy looked so dead on his feet.
"Hm. How much control of One For All do you have?" A shocked expression overtook the boy's face as he glanced frantically between the man and Toshinori, Toshinori immediately moving forward and saying something lowly that seemed to soothe the boy, though he still threw the man a wary look.
"Um, not a lot. I can't really use it without breaking my arms, so I mainly focus on my quirk." A wave of irritation made its way through Gran Torino's body as he turned slowly to glare at Toshinori, the blonde hair man slowly backing away from both the old man and the young one.
"How long have you had this quirk and what exactly did Toshinori teach you on using it?" Unaware of the rising danger Izuku spoke freely, answering the questions that he was asked. Sorahiko's vision tinted red as he nodded to himself. The boy has had One For All for only 2 months. Toshinori gave it to him the day of U.A's entrance exam and told him to clench his ass cheeks and yell smash. A tick appeared on Gran Torino's head as he forced the urge to kill Toshinori down, instead turning back towards the new One For All user. Nana, guide him. He shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Alright, ignore everything and anything that Toshinori has ever taught you. We're starting from the beginning. When did Chiyo clear you to be active again?" The boy tilted his head in confusion, causing Gran Torino to let out another long sigh. "Recovery girl, zygote." The green haired boy rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment as he spoke.
"Technically not for another week because of my arms. But part of my quirk allows me to heal myself so I should be ready to get back into the swing of things tomorrow or the day after once I get some sleep and am able to use my quirk again." Gran Torino nodded before waving the boy away.
"Alright, Toshinori will bring you to my place on Friday and we'll start your training then. Toshinori!" The man suddenly barked, watching the way the pro heroes back snapped into attention.
"Yes!"
"Don't be late or I'll reintroduce you to your old training regiment." He gave the man one last threatening glance. "Later kid." Without waiting for a response the man jetted off, wondering how a man so powerful could be so dimwitted.
Izuku laid in bed, eyes staring at the ceiling. It had been a long day and a long night. His mom had just tucked him into bed minutes ago, and despite him wanting to protest that he wasn't a child anymore, he let her after seeing how distraught she was (and if deep down he secretly enjoyed it, it would be something that stayed with him). His mother had never thought he could be a hero, and as such had never thought that he would be in as much danger as he was already in. He was sorry for that much, but he wouldn't regret it. He wished he could roll on his side since that was how he normally slept, but he knew he couldn't as a result of his still broken arm.
Your bones were shattered, I couldn't fully heal the fractures and breaks as I was entirely focused on your ribs and the most damaged areas of your arms. I can pull you in for another session, but not for another couple of days. I don't want to kill you from exhaustion. He let out a soft sigh as he closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing.
Inhale.
He would work on his arms himself after class tomorrow when he had the chance to. He wanted to learn more about healing than just being able to heal scrapes, less serious cuts, and bruises.
Exhale.
He vaguely remembered partially healing Aizawa-sensei and Thirteen while he was in the Avatar State, but he had only been able to do it to the extent that he had because of Sena's spirit being at the forefront and helping him.
Inhale.
He wanted to be able to do it on his own, who knew when he would need to heal a broken bone or bring someone back from the brink of death. He would ask Recovery girl if she would allow him to practice around her when she declared him healed, he decided. It was his last thought before he fell asleep, only to be immediately transported into a dream.
Fire.
Flames roared around him, consuming buildings, sending plumes of ash into the air, choking them all with smoke. Around him people rushed back and forth, pillars of Earth rising between the burning area of the city and the parts that had yet to catch flame, streams of water being sent forth only to shimmer and evaporate before coming in contact with the intense heat. Panic rose in his body as he stood there, watching the sun be blot out by the dark smoke, watching as day disappeared into a haze induced night. He had to get home, his house was where the fire was, his house was probably burning-
"Sena!" The shout of his name had him turning around, blue eyes gazing fearfully at a dark-skinned man that was his mirror image suddenly kneeled before him, grabbing his shoulders roughly. "Thank goodness you're okay. Your mother, have you seen her?" The relief that he had felt at seeing him suddenly disappeared, a cold feeling clutching his heart as he slowly shook his head, words for once failing him. The man had a stricken look on his face as he whipped around, abruptly letting go of his shoulders. "Stay here, I'll come back for you!"
"Daddy, wait!" But the man didn't wait, pulling the canteen on his waist open as he ran forward, hopping over one of the raised barriers as he darted back in the direction of their house. Izuku followed him without hesitation, eyes alight with fear but eyebrows narrowed in determination. He was the Avatar! He had to help somehow, he had to save his town from being burnt to the ground. A cough tore itself from his throat as a hand suddenly wrapped itself around his arm, yanking him backward.
"Sena, what the hell are you doing?"
"Hakoda, let me go! My parents are that way, my house-"
"Sena you need to get the hell out of here! It's him! We can't be caught here, we need to go-"
"Hakoda let me the hell go, my house, it's right there-" He yanked as hard as he could, hitting the ground as he was released from his friend's grip. He coughed again harshly, offering his friend an apologetic look as he rose to his feet, Hakoda diving for him again, only for both of them to freeze as Sena's parents appeared at the doorway of their house. Izuku's mother was cradled in her father's arms, face buried into his chest. Izuku's father was coughing harshly, a bubble of water around his mouth and nose allowing him to get a semblance of fresh air.
"Daddy, mom!" He yelled, reaching forward as a loud cracking sound echoed through the air. To Izuku, everything happened in slow motion. He reached forward impossibly slow, a scream rising through his throat as he moved, wishing he had water, wishing he could earthbend, wishing he could do something. He was forced to watch as their flaming roof gave way, crashing into the walls below it. The walls shuttered and screamed as they were forced downward, caving in like a house of cards. Blue met blue, his father's mouth forming his name, Izuku's opened in a wordless scream as he reached out for his father, searching for his father's blood, searching for something that he could use to pull the man forward- all for naught. Time resumed its frantic motion as Izuku and Hakoda stood still, Hakoda's arms wrapped around Izuku's waist as tears pooled in the innocent wide blue eyes. Dust rose from the ruins of the still-burning house and to Izuku the world fell still.
And then all he knew was a hot white glowing rage.