Attention: Manga spoilers for anime-onlies. You have been warned.
Chapter 62: plane of revelations
They couldn't be serious. One of his students almost- scratch that, one of his students had died. And that's how they were dealing with it?
"I'm sorry, Aizawa, I really am. But there is only so much I can do against the commission." It rarely happened, but U.A.'s principal seemed defeated. "Our school is in a critical situation, if anything regarding little Eri should leak…"
He knew that. But he honestly couldn't care less when the lives of his students were at stake.
"It is not just about public appearance, my friend. We must approach this matter carefully. At the worst, we risk suffering the same fate as Seishin Academy."
U.A. being closed? It sounded ridiculous. And yet, they were closer to that than ever before. Students being targeted, attacked, kidnapped, exposed to mortal danger and everything within less than one school year… If they continued to teach as they always did, at least a handful of parents would take their children out of U.A. and transfer them to another school that wasn't constantly criticized and under attack, one that they deemed safe. A status their prestigious school for heroes had lost.
Aizawa hated the idea. He absolutely detested it. Was there nothing he could do?
"Why the first years?" Haven't they been traumatized enough?
"I will send as many of our staff members with you as I can. I know numbers only mean so much, looking back at what happened last time. But this time, we are prepared, we know something is on the way."
Something he prayed would not be the death of another student.
"I'm sorry Aizawa, I really am."
"I know." But that wouldn't do much. 1-A's homeroom teacher turned on his heels and marched towards the door. His fingers were already on the handle when the principal spoke up once again, "One more thing."
Aizawa halted.
"You should tell Shikogane about her brother. As I've heard, she has an affinity for finding out things she's not supposed to know. I'd rather have her hear it from you."
"There's a special announcement for today." Some students shifted, even those whose heads rested on their tables opened their eyes at least halfway. "We're going on a field trip."
Most of the twenty-one teens beamed at him, as if not knowing that there was a catch. There always was. "We're going to represent U.A. at a special event held in the city of Onderon."
There were excited outcries, a few rather cautious reflections and more than a handful of questions. Until the first wave died down, Aizawa let his gaze wander to the few students not joining in on the onslaught. First, there was Todoroki. He wasn't one to show his emotions but the trace of a frown on his face spoke volumes. A few rows behind Bakugou glared at the teacher, quiet for once. Aizawa knew it wouldn't last for long. Further to the left, Shikogane stared at him in utter disbelief, but what worried him most was Midoriya's reaction, or rather, the lack thereof. His face was completely blank. For someone usually wearing his heart on his sleeve he had grown noticeably quiet lately. Alarmingly so.
"Class B and a few of us teachers will be accompanying you. You don't have a specific task, your only duty will be to behave yourselves."
Yaoyorozu raised her hand. "Why us from the first year? Why not some of our well known seniors with more experience? I'm sure they would know better how to represent our school."
Because the commission said so, would have been the right answer. Not that he was allowed to say it. "That is an excellent question. There will be many high ranked heroes at the event, they don't want to rob more agencies of their valued members, crime doesn't take breaks and there are other places that need protection. Since our job is to represent and nothing more, our attendance was deemed enough to uphold the face of U.A. Also, after your few too many appearances in the media people want to see how much you've grown since the sports festival." One question answered, about a dozen more on the way.
He waited in the shadows, unmoving. Groups of students passed in the distance, happy to finally get their lunches and completely unaware of his presence. He observed the crowd moving to the cafeteria, not really paying attention to the individuals until a particular pair of eyes rested on him. Just the one he had been looking for. Shikogane waved her classmates and closed in at a quick pace.
"Sensei, were you looking for me?"
"I was." He turned. "Follow me, it won't take long." He hoped.
The underground hero led his student up to the conference room usually used for parent-teacher meetings and ordered her to take a seat. His eyes never left her as he sat down on the couch across.
"It's about your brother." No need for sugar coating.
"Do they have a date for the trial?" The girl had obviously been awaiting those news. Plenty of time had passed since Neo Kumo's arrest, he was surprised she hadn't asked about it earlier. To her disappointment, the teacher shook his head.
"No. The trial was held while you were at the hospital."
Her features hardened. "Why did nobody tell me?"
"You were dealing with enough. People don't just die and come back to life without consequences. Recovery Girl still has to inform me about the most important developments in your recovery. I know you're not fine but better than back then, that's why I'm telling you now." That was the truth. If it was his choice, he would have waited even longer. But the principal was right about his student's nasty tendency to butt her nose into things she shouldn't be aware of.
"And?" The girl asked through clenched teeth.
"He was sentenced to spend the rest of his miserable life in Tartarus. But that's not why I wanted to talk to you. There's a reason you weren't informed and there wasn't anything about it in the press either." The hero unfolded his hands. "Have you heard about the ambushed prisoner transport?"
Shikogane's eyes widened. She caught onto the implication.
"When they found the transport, alerted by the malfunction of the security cameras in that area, the vehicle was already completely burned out. The driver, two guards and the prisoner were killed. They were burned beyond recognition but could be identified by remnants of DNA in their bodies. There are no doubts regarding their identities."
The girl slowly closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, then buried her face between her hands.
"W-Who…?" she barely managed.
"They're suspecting Dabi from the League of Villains. Most likely they were afraid he would spill their secrets since he wasn't a very devoted member."
Nothing. Shikogane didn't move, he didn't even hear her breathe. Aizawa had no idea what was going on in her head. Sure, Neo Kumo had been a family member, but Aizawa had talked to him, he was an absolute madman. If anything, the underground hero was glad the world had been freed from a psychopath like him, but he couldn't say that, the least of all to his little sister. Instead, he took a deep breath and sighed, "I'm sorry."
Shikogane rubbed her face. It was deprived of emotion, absent. Aizawa cleared his throat, demanding for her attention. "There are a few things we need to discuss, but that can wait."
"No," the girl interrupted him, "please continue. I can't sleep if I have to worry about those things."
He eyed her, calculating, but she withstood his piercing gaze. Taking that as a sign that she wasn't going to break down anytime soon, Aizawa continued, "Principal Nedzu has made sure that your custody stays with U.A. until you're of age. I will also stay largely in charge if you need anything come to me."
Shikogane nodded.
"Furthermore, the protective program you're under should have ended this week, but they've decided to renew it, due to your personal involvement with Dragon. Especially after the incident with Nightmare."
She nodded again.
"Regarding the internship programs, restrictions stay the same, they simply need to be abided this time. Practically, I can't say how Endeavour's agency will react." If he had any say, he would have paused the internship for all his students until Dragon was caught, but who listened to him. "That's all I have for now. If any questions come up, you know how to reach me."
"Thank you, sensei."
"I'm so sorry to hear that." Both Momo and Kyouka frowned. "It must be hard…"
Hikari clenched the fabric of her pants tighter. "I don't know, I'm just so confused," she admitted, "it hasn't really sunken in yet. It sounds so… Surreal."
"But didn't they take extra precautions to prevent exactly that from happening?" The musically gifted student drummed on the table, eyes downcast. She was right, but Hikari wasn't particularly surprised, they had already failed her so many times, it was nothing more than one more drop in the ocean. To her left, Midoriya took a breath but she didn't let him speak.
"I know what you're thinking. This had nothing to do with Dragon. It makes perfect sense that the League would do that, they've done it before. And besides, he wouldn't dirty his hands like that."
He closed his mouth, lips remaining thin lines. Across the table, Momo put down her steaming cup. "Thank you for confiding in us, Hikari. We're here for you."
It brought a smile to her lips. "No, thank you for listening. But I'd rather talk about something else now."
They quickly found another subject to discuss, the art project Midnight had assigned them. Kyouka was already full of ideas, although she wasn't the best at drawing. Hikari listened to them attentively when something brushed against the side of her hand. It was cramped and sweaty but Izuku didn't seem to care as he laced his fingers with hers under the table. She knew it wasn't half as subtle as it felt to him. She never understood that trope in books and movies, not until being in those characters' shoes. Despite being painfully aware that at least a handful of people saw exactly what they were doing, she was grateful for the partial privacy. At least like that they knew not to pry and no questions were asked.
They left the common area soon after. Midoriya tried to stay focussed on the topic, but she could see the small wrinkle between his brows as they climbed up the stairs. So, when they arrived at the second floor, ready to part ways, she offered, "Would you like to come up for a bit?"
He studied her face. Why was he hesitating? After a good look he finally clarified, "I'm meeting up with Kacchan and All Might in a bit for training."
"Oh, I see. Another time, then?"
Again, he didn't reply immediately, clearly pondering about something. "No, now is fine." He put on a small smile and placed his hand on her back. "If you're not busy… You could come, too? Or not, I don't know, we're working on my quirk again, it's probably boring for you, I just-"
"It's not like I have anything better to do. I can be your emotional support." Hikari shrugged. She wanted to wait for his reaction, but something heavy was building in her chest. Recognizing the feeling, the heroine in training waisted no time and led the boy up the stairs into her room. He closed the door behind them. Their eyes locked and a second later she fell into his arms, pressing her face into the crook of his neck.
Her brother was dead, and so were her parents. Her whole family was gone, all of them murdered, and technically, she had been as well. Her family was cursed. Neo Kumo had been killed under the watch of his guards, in front of the eyes of society, and no one even thought about telling her. Hikari's grip grew tighter. Waves of dread washed over her, shaking her to the boots, leaving her no choice but to wait for it to pass. At least she wasn't crying. Izuku drew soothing circles on her back. He didn't speak, instead rested his head against hers. Only once her body stopped shaking, he dared to ask, "Is there something I can do?"
She shook her head. "You're already doing it."
The girl's tense muscles began to relax. It was as if his presence alone was keeping all her worries from overflowing. Having calmed down a bit, she drew back. Midoriya still had one arm wrapped around her as he pointed to the four photographs hanging under the personalized Santa hat above her desk.
"You never sent me that one."
The ex-Seishin student raised her chin. The first one was a class picture they took after their performance at the school festival, the second featured all of 1-A's girls, a filter giving them cat ears and whiskers on top. From the third one Neko brightly grinned at them, while Hikari's younger self, obviously forced onto the picture, glared at her best friend. At last, there was one from the holidays. Inko had asked a neighbour to take it on New Year's Eve. They hadn't been allowed to visit a shrine, so the three of them went up to the shared roof-deck of the apartment block to watch the far away fireworks. Inko had lent her an old Kimono that fit surprisingly well, so they were all appropriately dressed for the occasion to at least get the right feeling. Izuku's grin was wide, Hikari's a bit shy, while Inko, squished between them, beamed at the camera. The fond memory warmed her heart and Hikari instantly understood why Izuku wanted it.
"I'll send it to you," she assured him.
"Thanks. And, by the way, I, uh, I'm visiting mom this weekend and I wanted to ask if you, you know, if you'd like to come? With me? To visit mom?"
Hikari would definitely enjoy meeting Inko again, they hadn't seen or spoken to each other since the internship week ended, but the girl didn't miss the implication. If she accompanied him, there was no way around telling the others where she was going. Only very few of their classmates even knew she had spent the holidays at their place, so, if she went with him now, questions would arise. Questions she wasn't ready for, not yet.
"You don't have to-"
"I'd love to," she quickly interrupted him, "it's just…"
The beeping of the alarm started them both. Izuku picked up his phone. "It's time, I should get changed."
They let go of each other. Hikari already walked over to her closet. "Wait for me downstairs."
All Might welcomed them warmly. He thanked Izuku's friends for helping him with their training. Kacchan grumbled something incomprehensible and glared at Hikari who accepted his notebook. Carrying it around himself was too dangerous, he didn't want it to get burned a second time.
The gym quickly grew hot, the scent of singed clothes and hair hung in the air. Izuku managed to grab most of Kacchan's explosions before they erupted into his face, which was a lot harder than taking over steady sources of fire, but training wasn't going too bad. He improved a lot with Burst. His arms were burning but the pain was bearable.
An idea crossed his mind. What if he used One for All to reinforce it? It had worked this morning, although it had left him out of breath for a while, but it could help him counter Kacchan's attacks better. And working on his stamina was always a good thing. Izuku felt something surge through his body but paid no attention to it, preoccupied jumping out of harm's way. An explosion singed his left sleeve, stinging the scarred skin underneath-
It was like a flip switched in his brain. Anger flared up out of nowhere and boiled inside his chest as he saw an image of Dragon in front of his mental eye, an image of the man who had done such terrible things, hurt him and his friends, who had taken Eri-
It burst out with such a force, for the split of a second he thought he accidentally had used One for All at a hundred percent and shattered his whole body, but then there was… Nothing.
It was pitch black around him, white noise filled his ears. He tried to move but his body wouldn't obey - he didn't even feel most of his body, only severed parts of his legs, feet, his torso and one hand…
"At last."
He knew that voice. Not in the sense of having heard it before, but somehow, he just knew it. Izuku tried so hard, but nothing would move.
"Don't stress yourself. You're only around thirty percent, you still have plenty of space to grow." The voice was calming, soft. Its encouragement helped him steady his breathing until the burning sensation gradually left his partially inexistent limbs. At last, he was able to peer out of heavy lids, and found himself in a strange, alien place. It was an open plane with seemingly no end to any direction. The sky above was shrouded in darkness, like a horrible storm was brewing. Dirt crunched under his naked toes. He managed to move his head to the right ever so slightly.
A pale face, ashen white hair. The man's eyes were as soothing and welcoming as his voice.
"Welcome, Midoriya Izuku."
The first holder. Izuku knew as soon as he laid eyes on the man. But how was that possible? What was going on?
Where am I? The teen wanted to ask, only to realise the lower part of his face, and therefore his mouth, was missing. The previous One for All holder smiled.
"You can't talk yet, but I can hear your thoughts. Where do you think we are?"
Inside One for All. Another revelation that came to him naturally. But how were they inside the quirk?
"Quirks are a strange thing. One second you think you know them, the next they do something completely inexplicable. They grow and develop, evolve along with their holder."
Quirks were evolving? He had heard about it before, that quirks were growing stronger every generation until one day people would not be able to control them anymore. The quirk singularity theory. Was that what was happening to him, to One for All?
"Your intense emotions impacted One for All. You've always regarded it as a power that was given to you, like an object, maybe even a weapon, you need to learn how to use. Unlike that, working on your original quirk came easy to you, didn't it?"
That was true. He had come so far with Burst, in just a few months he felt as comfortable using it as One for All.
"It doesn't have to be this way. Just now, you planned to use both quirks, not as separate power, but as one. Subconsciously, you grasped the true spirit of One for All. It's an accumulation of different powers forged into one. Every holder before you added their own to the mix."
It was a stockpiling quirk, that's what All Might said. But that wasn't what the original holder meant. Izuku tried to make sense of his words. A single power… Did that mean Burst and One for All were merging into one quirk? Was that what the man meant with evolving?
"You truly catch on fast, Midoriya Izuku." An honest compliment. "In this moment, you have passed a limit your predecessor isn't even aware of. Under you, One for All and Burst became one. Before you, all of us eight have added our own unique abilities and experiences to the quirk."
It was slowly dawning onto him. But that was impossible.
"This won't be the last time you're meeting one of us." The first's smile was lined with melancholy.
What do you mean? Izuku wanted to scream, but it was for naught. A gust of wind blew across the open field, almost ripping them off their feet. The First rose his hand which was fading, slowly disappearing into dark mist.
"Looks like our time is up."
No, wait, I still have so many questions!
A second gust of wind ripped at their disintegrating bodies, accompanied by a yell.
"DEKU!" Kacchan? Was Kacchan calling out to him?
"Oi, get yourself together shitty nerd!" Without a doubt. Izuku forced his eyes to stay open but he was losing the connection.
"Young Midoriya!" - "Izuku!"
Their screams overlayed. He turned back to the first holder whose head was the only part left.
"Until next time, Midoriya Izuku. Make good use of this power."
He gasped, his lungs protested as if he held his breath for too long. His knees gave out and he collapsed, several hands reached out and caught him before his face met the floor. The air around him was hot, his throat was dry, his shoes were fuming.
"Young Midoriya!" All Might came down to his knees. Shock and concern were displayed on his face. "What happened?!"
"What…?" He breathed and fell into a coughing fit. Both his mentor and Hikari helped him back up, the latter keeping her hold on him. Bakugou fetched a water bottle and tossed it to his feet. His mentor quickly realised that Izuku was even more confused than they were. He helped him take a few mouthful of water and set out, "Young Midoriya, your flames suddenly exploded. Young Shikogane was able to shield us with her quirk but you weren't responsive for a moment. Luckily, the fire disappeared the moment you fell over."
He hadn't been responsive? That must have been while he was on the plane and talked to the First…
"I saw him." He gasped. "Inside. I was inside One for All."
All Might froze. Izuku let his tired head hang. "All Might, I saw the vestiges again, only one this time, the first, he talked to me, told me-"
Something in his mentor's eyes made him stop. He didn't understand the nervous glances to the side, not until the hands steadying him reluctantly let go.
"Oh, I uh, I guess that's my cue to leave." Hikari backed up. She turned to Bakugou who didn't even blink and Izuku could see the hurt flash up in her eyes at the realisation that she seemed to be the only unwelcome one. She bit her lips but put on a brave smile.
"I guess I'll see you at the dorm." She didn't even look at him. The girl bowed towards All Might who approved with a grateful nod, then turned on her heels. It wasn't fair. Izuku clenched his fists. Before he knew what he was doing, his hand reached out and held her back.
"Young Midoriya!" All Might protested, but he didn't let go. In the back, Bakugou slapped his front. "You gonna keep spilling your goddamn secret every time you got a crush on someone, huh?!"
"Ka-kacchan!" Izuku squeaked, still out of breath, face flushed. It wasn't like that! Part of him knew that it was probably wiser to let go, he could not endanger any more of his friends, but another part made him tighten his grip.
"Young Midoriya, are you sure about this?" His mentor joined in, concerned. No, Izuku wasn't. But it didn't come out of the blue either, he had thought about it before. Back on the porch he had promised that in return to her telling him about her past, he would tell her his most guarded secret. He simply didn't expect that day to come so soon.
Hikari fully turned to him. "Izuku, this seems important. You don't have to, I understand if…"
"You literally died for me," he interrupted her weaker than intended, "so, yes, I do."
The girl finally returned the hold he had around her hand. Bakugou rolled his eyes.
"Disgusting."
A/N: hank you so much for 190 follows, I thought everyone had left by now, you people are awesome! Wish you all good health and a good start into 2021. May the force be with you the next year be better than 2020!
Yamajiji: Thanks a lot for everything! Poor Eri is still waiting, but we're getting there.
PS: awkward question: I tend to be a few chapters ahead with my writing, and I might have gotten a bit carried away writing a scene that may now feature two characters making out, but idk if that fits into this fic? I just don't know how to feel about it, I have zero confidence in my writing right now. If you don't like it, I'll find another way to handle things.
