Chapter Three

The One and Only Chance

Izuku and Bakugo sat far apart from each other, both not looking up at the school's principal, who was quite the burly man, with thick-rimmed glasses and slicked back white hair. His eyes peered disdainfully from one to the other from behind his desk.

"It's a big disappointment, you know," he began. "There was a lot of hope that students from our humble school might be able to attend U.A."

The Principal spread his hands before himself. "Bakugo— You in particular were very much favored for such a thing. Your athletics and your grades reflected as such. And Midoriya— While your grades have always been excellent, your Quirklessness had put your future in question, yet…" He leaned in a bit. "It appears a Quirk has manifested."

Izuku nodded, without looking at the man. "Y-Yes sir," he responded softly.

"That's good— But not what you two have done here today." The man sighed, before continuing, "Fighting at school, destroying school property, endangering other students—"

"Blah blah blah, what's this big fatty's deal? Fighting is natural," Musabori's voice said in Izuku's mind.

"Shut up," Izuku hissed silently.

"What was that?"

Izuku looked up at the Principal, gulping, seeing the ire in the man's expression.

"N-Nothing, sorry…"

The Principal shook his head. "I have only one option for you both— Immediate expulsion." He held up a hand as the both of them sat up, ready to say something. "However, because losing two students with potential excellent futures is against my own desires… I will offer you your only chance to get into U.A."

Izuku and Bakugo watched the man intensely as he opened a file on his desk and pushed it towards them.

"A select few students are allowed to participate in a special test," the Principal began. "To be accepted as Special Recommendation students."

"Oh! That sounds fancy—"

Izuku ignored Musabori as he took in this new information. Some students were allowed into U.A just because of being recommended for the school? Izuku figured those students must usually be the kids of great heroes, or their Quirks proved to have incredible potential, or maybe both.

"Whatever," Bakugo said, looking away again. "I can handle any test— I'm getting into U.A, whether its from this school or not."

The Principal smirked. "I figured you would try, with your tenacity, Bakugo. And Midoriya—" He looked to Izuku. "This sort of recommendation doesn't come lightly. Yours isn't coming from me, but rather, someone I know who has been watching the progress of your Quirk."

Izuku blinked at the man, confused. "Someone else…?"

He nodded. "Yes. Your Quirk shows heavy potential, and with your smarts, it could take you far— As long as you don't repeat the incredibly reckless behavior you both have shown today."

Bakugo was clearly struggling to not say anything, his arms crossed and his body literally shaking a bit as he gritted his teeth.

"...Is there something you need to say, Bakugo?"

"I… shouldn't be in the same boat as this nerd," Bakugo said in a shakily calm voice, as if he could explode at any time. "I'm the only one who'll make it into U.A. Me."

The Principal surprisingly smiled at this.

"Then show us all, during the test. Since you are both from the same school, you will be doing the test separately, of course—"

"But let's see who can win in the end, ey?"

Izuku wasn't sure how to feel about everything that had occurred.

He was able to fight Bakugo, and potentially even win. That was something he never would have imagined being possible, since the spiky-haired boy he had known from childhood had often overpowered him with his incredible Quirk.

Then there was their Principal's demeanor about the whole thing… It was obvious he was pushing them to succeed. The fact that they were both to be suspended temporarily, "pending investigation", was only to mask the fact that they were being allowed to take the Special Recommendation Test.

This wasn't what I wanted, it might be even harder than the normal entrance exams, Izuku thought as he reached his home, stopping at the door. My Mom's been through a lot already, how will she take this?

His Mother had returned a month after the incident, all smiles for her son. He felt the disconnect between them, however, and kept away from her more than he ever had, afraid of how she might secretly hate him now.

I'm such a bad son, he thought with a sigh.

Izuku opened the door, stepping inside. He could smell the distinct aroma of coffee, and walked in to find his Mother sitting at the table across from a stranger. He blinked at them both.

"Um… Mom?"

Inko nodded to her son, smiling reassuringly at him and motioning to the table. "Izuku, can you sit for a moment?"

Izuku put his bag down and sat at the table. He was glad that the Principal had given them new uniforms before they left— After all, he didn't want to worry his Mother with his scuffed and ruined outfit, but he knew he'd have to tell her eventually.

"Hello," Izuku said to the stranger, trying his best smile despite the stressful day.

It was a woman wearing a black suit, with a purple tie. Her brown hair was tied back neatly, and she wore a peculiar sash on her arm that held an unfamiliar purple symbol on it.

After taking a sip of the coffee before her, the woman smiled to Izuku. "Hello Izuku— I've been talking to your Mother about some important topics, involving your Quirk."

Musabori scoffed. "Here we go. Always about me— Can't help being the center of attention, I guess."

Izuku clenched his fist a bit. "O-Oh? But what about it?"

The woman's smile dropped. "Let me introduce myself first. You can call me Akemi, and I work for SQI— The Sentient Quirk Initiative."

Izuku couldn't stop the shocked reaction at that name. Sentient… Quirks…?

Akemi smiled at his reaction. "Izuku, I have a very important question for you. It is a difficult one, but… Does your Quirk make you do things involuntarily?"

Feeling like his heart was going to explode out of his chest, Izuku had to take a moment to think. At first, he had decided not to tell anyone about Musabori, because doing so might create issues. But if this woman can help, then maybe…

Inko leaned in a bit, reaching out and touching Izuku's clenched fist. He looked up at her reassuring smile.

"It's okay Izuku," she reassured him. "You can tell us anything."

He wavered, remembering that terrible night and what Musabori had done. Maybe he really was in over his head? Maybe—-

"Maybe if you'd stayed Quirkless, you wouldn't get your ass kicked!"

Bakugo had told him that during their fight— And it was true. Maybe Izuku would have struggled trying to reach his dream, but he might've hit a ceiling eventually, before even getting a chance to truly prove himself. Running away now from all of this was the safe answer.

But… I've proven I'm stronger, proven that I can beat Kacchan!

Izuku took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. A memory recalled itself without any effort, likely from Musabori, as he saw his Mother's sadness for her son when he was devastated by being labelled Quirkless. How she had hugged him and cried with him.

Thanks, Musabori…

"No," Izuku spoke calmly, looking towards Akemi. "I've lost control before, but I've always been the one whose utilized my Quirk."

Izuku could see a flash of pain on his Mother's face out of the corner of his eye. She instinctively rubbed her neck, where a scar still remained, but Izuku stayed confident a she looked at the woman.

She eyed him for a moment, then sat back and took another sip of her coffee.

"I see," Akemi spoke after a moment. "As the name implies, SQI investigates a very rare occurrence, in which Quirks can manifest in a way that allows them to gain intelligence."

"Such a thing exists? Scary," Inko commented.

Akemi nodded. "It can be. Though I cannot disclose sensitive details, I can tell you that even one of the top Heroes of Japan has such a Quirk."

Izuku was surprised to hear this. "A top Hero…?"

The woman smiled a bit. "That's right. Having one doesn't mean that you're crazy, you know?"

Her intense amber gaze fell on Izuku again, making him look away, worried that she would somehow be able to read his deception.

"I-I see. Well, I'm not one of those," Izuku insisted.

"Well," Akemi spoke, standing up and nodding to them both, "If anything changes, do contact us, please. It's for the safety of everyone."

As she walked around the table, passing Izuku, she put a hand on his shoulder, whispering to him.

"Good luck on the Special Recommendation."

As Izuku's Mother scrambled up and went to let their guest out, Izuku could only sit there, staring down at his hands.

How did she… Does that mean…?

"Looks like our troubles only get deeper."

"Should we be worried..?"

Musabori made a noise of contemplation, then responded, "Nah. We just gotta get stronger, right? If we can do that, nothin' else matters!"

Izuku nodded, not quite agreeing fully, but understanding that getting stronger now had to be his main goal.

He stood and walked towards the front, where the front door had now closed. His Mother turned, surprised to see him standing there.

"Mom… I have to tell you what happened today."

Weeks later, with the test set to happen tomorrow, Izuku was sitting at his desk, the lamp illuminating his open journal, which was littered with notes and questions about his Quirk.

I've maxed out my current points and devoured some helpful items so that I'm ready for tomorrow, he thought, And I managed to get that other permanent skill, whatever it does. He then brought up his status screen, staring at it intensely. But…

Point Total: 5800

5 Points - Summon Item

10 Points - Create Item

20 Points - Reconstruct Item

100 Points - Deprivation

200 Points - Restoration

500 Points - (Permanent) Vision of the Void (UNLOCKED)

800 Points - Manipulation

1000 Points - Force Absorption

1000 Points - Energy Release

4000 Points - (Permanent) Breath of the Void (UNLOCKED)

5000 Points - Execution

What the heck is that new skill..?

There wasn't time to test it, but there was no way he was going to even consider using a skill with the name "Execution" without testing it first. Not to mention it was expensive— Gathering all those points again was a tiring feat still, and Izuku wondered if it would ever get easier.

"Musabori, why do some of your skills have a sort of… Evil vibe to them?"

Musabori scoffed, and Izuku looked down at his eye, which rolled. "I'm deeply offended by that! Are you accusing me of something?"

Izuku looked at the list. "Just a lot of… I don't know… Stuff that can kill people?"

"Are you implying that a punch from All Might couldn't kill a man?"

"That's—-" Izuku thought for a moment. "I guess…"

Musabori stared at Izuku. "It's about how you use the power, ain't it? The responsibility of it! Now you aren't the brightest, but I'm sure you can get behind that concept."

Izuku sighed. "I feel like you told me this already… Also, you don't have to insult me all the time, you know."

"If I don't, you'll stay a little weakling. Hah!"

Deciding to change the subject, Izuku smiled a bit as he thought about what Akemi had told him.

"A top Hero has a sentient Quirk… I wonder what it's like," he wondered aloud.

"Nothin' like me I'd bet."

Izuku chuckled. "I'm sure that's true. Maybe I'm just crazy, but… I hope that we have a long friendship."

"W-We're friends?" Izuku could've sworn he felt his hand feel hotter for a moment. "Idiot! This is one hundred percent a business partnership!"

Izuku couldn't help but laugh, closing his journal and turning off the lamp.

"Alright alright. Well, partner— We have a lot of work to do tomorrow. Are you ready?"

"Always!"

The Special Recommendation exam was being held a week before the normal exam, and began with an interview with two of the faculty members.

Needless to say, Izuku was having trouble keeping his cool. Being a huge fan of Heroes his entire life, it was tough when he ended up being interviewed by Ectoplasm, and the Blood Hero: Vlad. Both were very formidable Heroes whose Quirks always resulted in great moments, all of which Izuku had watched on video several times.

"So, your Quirk is new, huh?"

Izuku was barely able to snap out of his trance, nodding to Vlad after the man had spoke. The Hero was well-built, and wore his signature costume of red and white, with a tube running from his back to his left glove. He eyed Izuku seriously, then shook his head.

"There's no way a newbie with a Quirk can make it into U.A," Vlad said, his voice getting louder and more stern. "This is a place for the top of the top! How can we know you won't just get yourself killed?!"

Under normal circumstances, Izuku might have cracked under such pressure- But he'd been through a lot over the past year, and he wasn't actually alone, even if nobody else could ever know about Musabori's existence. The voice he had once considered to be annoying had sort of become his closest companion, another mind to bounce ideas off of.

"So noisy… Don't let them get to you, brat."

Izuku took a deep breath, and nodded. "I-I know that I'm new to my Quirk, but…" Izuku clenched a fist at the thought of his struggles. "My Quirk is strong, really strong. A-And even though I've got it under control more than ever… I can see that it really has limitless potential!"

Ectoplasm seemed intrigued by this, looking down at the file spread out on the table before them.

"It says here that you describe your Quirk as being… Many different things," the Pro Hero questioned, "Please elaborate further." While not as large and intimidating as Vlad, Ectoplasm's costume certainly intimidated anyone who looked upon it up close for the first time.

Musabori had come up with a decent cover story to use for now- Something to get people off of their back when they asked about his incredibly complex Quirk. Izuku lifted his hand in the air, opening it with his palm facing up.

"I-I can store objects, as well as energy and um… Like, the force from blasts," Izuku began, "It all goes to a sort of… Pocket dimension. That's the base explanation…"

"What's this from your sponsor, something about.. tentacles?"

Sponsor? I guess that's what the SQI could be called… But I'm afraid it's more like a witch hunt than anything else, Izuku thought nervously, thinking that the mysterious organization must be out to contain such abilities. And they saw the fight against Kacchan?! What's up with those guys?

"That's just it- I-I can turn objects I've absorbed into, um, well… Tendrils?"

"Is that a question? Or are you still unsure about your Quirk-"

Izuku waved with his hands to interrupt Ectoplasm's words. "N-No! It's just that, um… It's hard to explain how I feel exactly. Isn't that why a lot want to come to U.A? To harness their skills?" Izuku patted his chest and looked down at the table. "I-I just want the chance I thought I'd never have… To be like All Might one day, or at least as close as I can possibly manage!"

The two Pro Heroes exchanged a look, then jotted down some notes before nodding to Izuku.

"That'll be all then," Ectoplasm stated neutrally. "While the interview is analyzed, you'll be attending the written portion of the exam."

"T-That's it?"

The dark-suited Hero nodded. "That is all."

With that, Izuku exited the room, feeling incredibly awful about how it went. Luckily, the written portion of the exam proved to be something more familiar to him- Well, that would've been the case, had the test proctor not been an incredibly scary-looking Hero that only Izuku figured he knew due to his very modest record.

Eraserhead… Izuku glanced up at the man, who looked very unkempt and exhausted, and seemed like he was sleeping. However, Izuku could occasionally feel a tingle, like a sense of danger, and figured that he was definitely watching them. When I looked into what Pro Heroes might have sentient Quirks, I saw some things about him.

Almost as if sensing Izuku's thoughts, Eraserhead's eyes opened a bit, and Izuku felt like something was ripped away from him. He tried his best not to gasp, looking down at his right hand shakily, where Musabori usually was.

There was nothing there.

Musabori…?

After a few moments, his eye and mouth appeared once more. He blinked and looked around, then squinted suspiciously at Izuku.

"What the hell was that...? I felt the power drain from me. Like I couldn't speak to ya anymore."

Izuku looked down at his test, trying to stay calm. T-That's Eraserhead's Quirk… So it can contain Musabori? That's…

He had realized overtime that Musabori's eye wasn't visible to everyone around them. It seemed unnoticeable to any onlookers, yet his mouth certainly had worked against his Mother- Thus, Izuku decided that Musabori must be purposefully keeping himself hidden from others when he wishes to.

"Don't be getting any crazy ideas now! If I'm gone, your power's gone, ya' know!"

Izuku wasn't sure if that was actually the truth, but decided to drop it, finishing off the test, feeling fairly confident after that.

However, that confidence began to waver greatly as he and the others gathered around at one of U.A's many track fields. Not only was everyone else very calm and collected, very sure of their abilities and their pasts, but ahead of them was a crazy looking amusement-park-like obstacle course.

"HEY EVERYBODYYYY! Are you readyyyy?!"

The Voice Hero, Present Mic, was the proctor for this portion. He attempted to hype up the large group of students, who didn't oblige to his shenanigans.

"Well- With the written test over, now it's a show of your physical skills. THAT'S RIGHT!" Present Mic exclaimed loudly. "Use your Quirks to your full potential to reach the finish line!"

What seemed like a straightforward explanation was surely counteracted by the huge obstacle course behind the Pro Hero. As the groups were separated into bundles of ten, Izuku was with the first group to go.

"Get a load of these guys," Musabori said with a small chuckle. Izuku glanced over at the others. "I mean like… Check out the guy with the half colored hair. What's up with that?"

To Izuku's left was, indeed, a very peculiar boy with half red, half white hair. He had a distinct scarring over his left eye, and the distant look in his icy-blue eyes showed that he had a lot on his mind. Then, entirely flipping the somber attitude on its head, was a tall, broad boy, with a determined smile, seemingly having a lot of fun with the event.

Present Mic had called them… Inasa Yoarashi, and… Shoto Todoroki. Todoroki? Wait…

On Izuku's other side was a boy with pale skin, beige hair, and what appeared to be his teeth outside of his mouth. Present Mic had called him Juzo Honenuki, and he didn't seem to be bothered by any of this, something Izuku could definitely respect.

"STAAART!"

Before Izuku had anymore time to think, they set off. The boy with the dual-colored hair shot ahead by propelling himself forward with ice that formed near his feet, while the very enthusiastic guy, Inasa, seemed to propel himself forward using wind, flying after him.

If he's a Todoroki… Why the ice?! Izuku couldn't help but wonder as he watched those two take off ahead of the competition.

"Does that really matter right now, kid?"

Izuku gritted his teeth as he came up to the first obstacle- The path went up and up, and eventually hit a sharp incline, going straight up into the air. He hesitated for a moment, watching as Juzo seemed to create pockets of quicksand or something when he touched the wall, moving up it. The other applicant seemed to also hesitate, so Izuku knew he had to think fast.

Alright… Do you think it's possible? Izuku wondered to Musabori, thinking of his plan.

"Worth a shot, shrimp!"

Izuku nodded and jumped, slamming his hand against the wall. At the same moment, he thought about using his Deprivation skill. As his hand reached the wall, that spot became very crumbled and worn- However, this made it impossible to get a grip, making Izuku fall right back down, stumbling as he tried to make sure he didn't sprain an ankle or something.

"Crap… Any other ideas," he muttered to himself, seeing that both Todoroki and Yoarashi had cleared the steep cliff and were moving on.

Musabori let out a sneer. "Jeez, I thought you wanted me to stop making fun of you, yet here you are, overthinking an easy solution!

"What do you-" Izuku stopped as thoughts popped up in his mind, sent from Musabori. He nodded in understanding. "Got it!"

Taking a breath, Izuku readied himself, pointing a hand up towards the wall. "Manipulation!" In his mind, he imagined what he wanted- Several small tendrils to emerge up along the wall to act as support for him.

Small pools of darkness appeared in intervals up the entirety of the wall, surprising Juzo who was near the top now. Izuku quickly grabbed the first one, and began to pull himself up, climbing as fast as he could.

It's pretty tall… Did that use more than the 800 points required?

"Seems like it, but not too much."

As Izuku reached the top, he saw that he wasn't too far behind Juzo, but the other two were making good headway across what could only be described as a water slide with a raging, rocky river flowing down the obstacle course.

How can I catch up? Izuku brought up his status screen as he ran, looking at all of his options. Right… Breath of the Void… If I activate it, I think it enhances my stamina, but I've never tested how much.

Musabori scoffed. "Better late than never."

It really was no or never, and after all, it wasn't that strange 'Execution' skill at least. The only person who might get hurt was Izuku. Thus, he activated it.

"Breath of the Void…!"

There was a strange sensation that filled Izuku's body, like the blood in his veins was starting to rush like a raging river through him. He started to take longer strides in his run, practically bouncing forward and feeling all his wariness and exhaustion fading from him in an instant.

This… Is…

As he passed up Juzo in a matter of seconds and rounded the corner, heading towards the raging river, Izuku was smiling.

Amazing!

Reaching the end of the river, he leaped confidently, easily clearing several times what he could have done normally. He landed on top of a tall rock, then, without letting up, jumped again to another, and then another.

Musabori whistled, impressed. "You've got hops, kid! Let's get those OP bastards up there!"

As Izuku got to the halfway point of the river, he gazed up ahead on the obstacle course, which seemed to get higher and higher as they went. While Vision of the Void naturally made his vision and senses better, he could activate it by using points overtime- And with it, he could see clearly how far Todoroki and Yoarashi were, seeing them entering an area that was full of some sort of turret that was firing a mud-like substance at them.

Gotta close the distance! Gotta go further…! Musabori, how much is the uptake on using Breath of the Void?

"Well, I'm no math wizard... But it seems like you're purging at least 5 points a second right now."

That's gonna add up, but I need to push it! I need to go… Even further beyond!

Thinking of his favorite Hero, All Might, going above and beyond with overwhelming power, Izuku let out a battle cry, the raging river in his veins turning into an all out, constant flow that broke beyond his body's limits. He could feel pain in his limbs echoing through him, and felt his heart pulsating wildly and pounding in his ears.

He exploded forward from the rock he was occupying, clearing the rest of the river in an instant, easily a 40 meter leap.

"Manipulation!"

Izuku was prepared, his burst of speed and power too much to handle as he nearly went flying off the course. As he slid across the ground, he leaned down, grabbing hold of the tendril he had summoned there. Using it as an anchor, he managed to swing himself around and towards the path that was lined with turrets. There was a loud mechanical whir was they all turned and bore down at him.

The first few fired, then the others followed suit, sending volleys of a strange mucky substance his way. Izuku wasn't perturbed, activating his Vision of the Void, not sure if using all of these skills would mess with him or not.

As the first blasts came in, his hands flew up quickly. Devour! Devour! Devour! He absorbed the muck, his arms trembling from all of the effort he was exerting. Devour! Devour! Devour! The turrets kept firing volleys at him, and the constant use of his Quirk was starting to make him stumble as he ran quickly, faster than he could have ever thought possible-

Sure enough, Todoroki and Yoarashi were up ahead of him, and he was closing in quickly. The turrets all fired at once this time, surrounding him with what could've been a devastating attack.

Izuku spread his hands out, feeling his body go numb, only acting on his senses and willpower at this point. Musabori knew what he was thinking, and let out a laugh.

"Yes kid, you're all good! Hit em!"

"EXECUTION!"

At his call, Musabori moved Izuku's arms for him, knowing that the boy couldn't do it himself anymore. Izuku's arms swept around him, and several pitch-black waves of energy shot out in every direction, slashing through the oncoming muck, and completely disintegrating them afterwards! The after-effect was similar to what his Deprivation skill could do, though seemingly much more potent.

Even in his state of exhaustion, Izuku had made sure not to send any blades ahead or behind him, just in case someone else got hit- But of course, this proved to be a fatal mistake.

A shot of muck hit his leg from behind, immediately hardening. The sudden added weight made him stumble, and he quickly deactivated his two Permanent skills. As he stumbled forward, he looked at Todoroki and Yoarashi ahead of him with hazy vision.

Almost… Passed them…

At this point, Izuku was only managing a sort of jog born of his momentum and adrenaline, but it was wearing thin quickly.

"You should hang back, kid. I got this now," Musabori told him.

No, I… Can… Do it, Izuku insisted in his mind. This is my… Body…

"Yeah yeah… Look kid, you've got no points left really," Musabori pointed out, bringing up Izuku's sheet, showing that he currently only had 150 points. "Trust me, I can take us to the end here!"

There was no way Izuku would do such a thing, not yet. Even if he could trust Musabori fully one day, he could only think of the damage his Quirk had done. He was thankful for his power, but he couldn't forget that he should fear it as well.

Then we're using… Those points… To go… Plus Ultra!

Mimicking his Hero, he mentally activated his Breath of the Void once more, his body rushing forward. Almost as soon as the wind hit him from his increased speed, Izuku lost consciousness…

Then he came to as he passed the finish line, his eyes wide. He deactivated his skill and went tumbling, then falling, forward, until he lay on his back, breathing intense, gasping breaths.

"Good work Entrant #63! You got third," the Voice Hero exclaimed from nearby with intense enthusiasm.

Izuku couldn't bring himself to even register Present Mic's exclamation as he lay there, focusing mainly on not dying, the after-effects of his exertion making him feel as though his blood was boiling.

The Sun above became blocked out as a figure leaned over him, smiling down at him.

"Wow! Good work, Midoriya," came the voice of Yoarashi, the broad guy offering him a hand.

Izuku wasn't sure how he managed, but he lifted a hand and took it, being pulled up to his feet, standing woozily. Yoarashi, seemingly not noticing his condition, gave him a hard SMACK on the back of encouragement.

"You almost caught up to the #1 prospect, ya know! And that Todoroki guy! You're not joke," he said with a laugh. Then, seeing Todoroki off nearby, he ran over to him. "Hey, Todoroki! Good race-!"

Izuku tuned out the rest of whatever Yoarashi said to Todoroki, succumbing to unconsciousness once more, feeling someone catching him as he fell into a deep slumber…

In the realm of Izuku's mind, the boy awakened, opening his eyes to a strange pool of silver liquid. He looked around, and then down, seeing that he was knee-deep in the liquid. All around him were piles and piles of skulls and bones rising out from the pool.

What… Where…

Then he noticed them. Up atop one of the pillars of death, sat a mysterious woman. She wore formal wear that seemed to be ripped straight from history- A very old, traditional black kimono, with her hair pulled back into a very long pink ponytail. He face was a mask of swirling darkness that Izuku couldn't quite make out, but somehow he could tell that she was sad.

The woman looked his way, and Izuku felt like his heart had stopped.

"Musabori," she spoke in a voice that sounded choked with sorrow. "Musabori… Why did you leave me here?"

As she lifted a hand and reached towards Izuku, the distance between them began to disappear in seconds. She got closer without even moving, and Izuku was terrified, gasping and taking a few steps back. As she was about to touch him- He felt himself enter a free-fall.

Then, Izuku woke up once more, seeing an unfamiliar white-tiled ceiling above him, and as the horrible nightmare dissipated slowly in his mind, he felt a tear roll down his cheek, and a single thought entered his mind- But it wasn't his own.

It wasn't my fault…

To Be Continued…

Next Chapter: A New Path