A/N: Just so you know, if Kendo ends up having a sibling(s) in canon then I will be rewriting several segments in the story. Everything for the best girl. KENDO SIMPS RALLY TO ME!
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Warning: This chapter contains massive manga spoilers. You have been warned.
Beta by Yuilhan
Beyond and more
There were many things Izuku expected when he returned to the waking world: a heavy and oppressive feeling that clouded his thoughts as a result of the heavy fever he'd got, a soft warm bed that he purchased from the interdimensional IKEA for both him and Eri, and the sound of his alarm clock ringing at its maximum volume—meaning this was 8:30 when the final alarm would ring.
What he did not expect, however, was another person in bed with him—in his arms no less.
Opposite of him was none other than Itsuka Kendo, also woken by the alarm and staring at him with wide eyes. That was when he also noticed that Itsuka also had her arms wrapped around him and that they were too close for comfort to each other. Izuku wasn't sure if Kendo's face was red because of their current predicament or if it was because of her body temperature.
They pulled their arms away from each other before any accusations could be thrown. The two continued to stare at each other in silence for a good minute or two—letting the alarm rang on and on, until Izuku decided that one of them would have to speak eventually and, well, since this was his room he might as well be the one. But first things first...
"Alarm, off," Izuku commanded and the device fell silent. He sighed before finally tackling the main issue. "Itsuka, may I ask, why... are you sleeping in my bed?" Izuku narrowed his eyes at her. Even if she had had to stay the night, there was no reason she couldn't have slept anywhere else but here.
Kendo averted his gaze. She was trying to remember what had happened last evening that made her end up under the same blanket as him—and hugging him no less. Well, she knew why she hugged him. She was a hugger in her sleep, but that's not the point now!
"I-I remember your mom helped me out of the bathroom because at the time I barely had the strength left to even walk," the orange-haired girl recalled.
"Ah," Izuku exclaimed in realization. "So it's mom. Well, I should have guessed." The green-haired boy rubbed the back of his neck. While he had trouble distinguishing a blush from a fever-filled face, Kendo did not as she noticed the red hue on his cheeks.
"What do you mean?" Itsuka asked.
"Well… most mothers would want a grandchild at some point, right?" As soon as Kendo finally comprehended his words, Izuku could say for certain now that she was blushing.
"Are you serious?!" Kendo raised her voice but quickly regretted it as she soon felt her energy exhaled with her words. Evidently she wasn't fully recovered just yet, though neither was he.
"Neither of us is in a condition to argue," Izuku pointed out. "Let's just get out of bed and clarify this with my mom." Itsuka could do nothing but nod.
The two slowly lifted themselves off the bed. It was a much more tiring process than they had anticipated. Every fiber of their muscles screamed as they used their arms to steady themselves up into a sitting position. Even then, they wobbled around, looking as if they would collapse back onto the soft mattress.
"Ugh, I… I think I have a headache, but I am… not sure," Kendo said before rubbing her palm against her forehead.
"Yeah, the sense of tiredness is… overwhelming," Izuku remarked. He started to realize that neither of them would be able to get out of bed without any support, and screaming for his mother would be… embarrassing. "...do you remember how Setsuna and Mine helped each other up during the match? Maybe we could do that so this isn't so difficult."
"...alright, let's do that then," the Class Representative of 1-B agreed. Izuku would have questioned why she accepted his plan so readily, but he just wanted to get out of bed. Both of them took their time shuffling to the edge of the bed.
The greenette looked at the orangette. "Are you wearing my clothes again?" he asked.
Itsuka sighed, "Your mom."
"Got it." Izuku put his arm over his friend and she did the same. "Alright. 3…" The dimension traveler began a countdown. "2… 1!"
Both of them forced their legs to stand up while balancing their weight against each other. It took them a good minute to fully stand without leaning all over the place. Midoriya set his foot forward first, then Kendo followed. Slowly, but steadily they stumbled toward the door, finally reaching the exit and twisting the doorknob.
They supported each other into the hallway, where the sound of the television became very apparent—specifically, a song straight out of a kids show.
"We are number one!" the character in the show sang.
"We are number one!" And Eri was singing along to it too.
"Aww, that's so cute," Kendo cooed, with a smile.
"Yeah, she really loves that show. 'Lazy Town', I think that's what it's called? One of the characters ended up ascending to godhood in the multiverse."
"Really?" Kendo questioned, incredulous that a character from a kids show could become a god.
"Lower levels of divinity and immortality are more common than you would think," the greenette answered dryly. "I think it's the one named 'Robbie Rotten' who ascended." [1]
"We are number one! Hey! Hey!" The song came to its final note.
"We are number one! Hey! Hey!" Eri finished.
A wave of clapping followed, but the two noted that there appeared to be two sources of the palms smacking together. Mrs Midoriya was not alone in her applause, it would seem.
"Is that your dad-"
"Morning, mom!" Izuku cut her off.
Immediately three heads poked out from beyond the door frame; Eri, Inko, and…
"Mom?" Kendo said in surprise upon seeing her mother.
Miu Kendo, on the other hand, just gave her a relieved smile. "Your father and I were so worried when you called to tell us that you came down with a fever," the mother explained before walking up to her daughter.
Once she reached Kendo her arms reached forward but... paused. She looked over to the greenette beside her child. Her eyes were a mixture of pleading, longing, anger, and… fear. Izuku knew what would happen next so he untangled his arm from Kendo's neck and leaned on the wall instead. With the obvious obstacle removed, the Kendo matriarch rushed in to embrace her dear and beloved daughter.
"My baby girl," Miu whispered as she tightened her hug. "I was so scared. You were…" The mother began to sob. Her daughter was ultimately taken away from her five times. Yet through some miracle, she was still here with them—with her. Even the toughest of matriarchs would weep. "You were…"
"It's okay, mom. I'm fine. I'm here," Itsuka said and returned the hug.
She honestly didn't know embracing her own mother would be this… blissful. Yesterday, she had to quickly tell them about the after-school meeting and had then moved on. There wasn't even any time to reassure them that she was really fine, just a quick hug, and off she went. So to make up for that now, she held her mother tight and stayed like that in silence, with only the sound of their heartbeats and occasional hic-ups from Miu.
Izuku looked on. Even to someone like him, no, especially for someone like him, a sight of a mother showing affection to their own offspring warmed his heart. As if on cue, Inko also walked over to Izuku with Eri in her arms. The three got into a group hug of their own.
Eventually, all hugs must come to an end. The Kendos separated and, upon seeing this, the Midoriyas did the same. Miu took a few moments to compose herself before finally getting a full, unclouded look at her daughter. She blinked.
"Dear… what are you wearing?" the mother asked.
The orangette blinked. Her smile turned from happy to dumbfounded. She quickly realized that she was still in Izuku's clothes… in front of her mother.
"U-U-Uh, w-well, I-I-," she stuttered, which only made her mother more suspicious.
"Oh, you see," Inko spoke up. "We don't really have anything her size so I have to let her wear my son's clothes."
Miu stared at Inko in shock. "Why? Surely even if your clothes are a little oversized, it would be more proper for Kendo to wear them…" She then turned to her daughter. "And did you just come out of the same room as him?" Itsuka opened her mouth, but no words would come out. Instead she slowly closed her lips and looked away—for Izuku it was now obvious that her red face wasn't caused by her fever alone.
"Oh, well, Kendo was so tired that I had to carry them out of the bathroom and I placed her next to Izuku in his bed while I was thinking about her sleep arrangements, and then he just hugged her!" Inko explained cheerfully, while Izuku buried his face into Eri's dress. "And then she hugged back!"
Kendo walked over to where Izuku and Eri were before doing the same thing as the greenette. The white-haired girl played her part; she happily hugged their heads and ruffled their hair
'Izuku's hair is so soft and puffy while Itsuka's hair is so silky and velvety,' thought Eri, riffling her fingers through their hair once more.
"I just didn't have the heart to separate them," Inko finished. Miu stared at the other mother with wide eyes and mouth hung open.
"It's too early for this," the two teens said in near unison.
After evading the issue, for now, Izuku and Itsuka finished their morning routines with the assistance of their respective mothers and came to the Midoriya living room to get their breakfast. Bowls of congee awaited the two.
It didn't take them much effort to finish their meal.
"So… are we heading home?" the 1-B student asked her mother.
Despite showing an obvious distaste for her daughter sleeping in the same bed as a boy, especially with neither of their consent, Miu hesitated when the subject was brought up.
"Honey, I… I think that it might be… for the best that we… stayed with the Midoriyas for a while, um... maybe for a week in fact," the Kendo matriarch said. Before she could question her mother's action, they heard Inko squeal. "But you two will be in separate beds!" Miu said with finality. "I can sleep on the couch, Inko can sleep with her son, and you have slept with Eri before from what you told me, so that will be our sleeping arrangements."
"Now hold on-" Inko tried to argue, but Izuku cut her off.
"Mom, please, I know you love to… 'ship' people together, but this isn't the right way of going about it," Izuku cut her off.
"Who said this is about shipping?" Inko asked with a mischievous smile.
The greenette became visibly confused at this. Then he realized what his mother was trying to do. "Oh, you just want to embarrass me, don't you?" The boy smacked his palm on his forehead. The Midoriya's matriarch smile morphed into something more smug.
"Alright, please, just!" The 1-B student raised her voice to interrupt the mother-son antic. "Mom, why can't we go home?"
Miu exhaled a long sigh. "Todo." That single name was enough to silence the girl. She had not forgotten about him being a Vigilante. "Your father will be the one questioning him about why he did what he did." Kendo's mother looked more visibly upset as she explained; "And then the police were calling him in for questioning… it's… best if you stay here and let things cool down a bit. All of this should blow over within this week, right before school opens again as well. I might go out to check on them here and there, but overall I think I will be staying here with you."
The older Kendo got up. "If anything, now that it is clear we will be staying here, I will drive back to get us some clothes and other things. We're sorry to intrude, Inko."
"Oh, that's fine, we don't have many visitors anyway. We would be glad to host you and your daughter," Inko reassured with a smile.
Miu nodded. Before heading toward the exit. "Alright, I will go back and get our stuff. I will be back in a jiffy." With that, Kendo's mother left.
Izuku cracked a wide yawn. "I'm… going back to take a nap if you all don't mind." He quickly popped a few pills into his mouth, courtesy of 'Doctor', which had been provided to him and everyone under Healer's effects to make sure their fevers didn't get worse. He motioned his head at Kendo so she would do the same. Just as the dimension traveler was about to leave, however, he thought of something. "Where's Aslan?"
"Oh, since Miu came over yesterday I kinda had to hide him," Inko explained. "Since she was staying the whole night I asked Mitsuki to help take care of him."
"Are you sure the Bakugou can handle a manticore cub?" Izuku asked.
"I am sure they are more than their match."
"Fuck you, you little shit!" Mitsuki Bakugou screamed as she was playing tug-o-war with the manticore cub, with her favorite monthly magazine as the 'rope'. "Let go! Or I am taking you to the first animal shelter I can find!"
Aslan could not care any less and just keep their teeth sunk into the glossy paper. Masaru was calmly washing the dishes after their breakfast, while Katsuki had gone back to bed, citing 'I ain't dealing with this shit while I'm down under.'
"Well, I'll trust you on that," Izuku replied.
"Oh, right, I forget to share those premium strawberries you got with our neighbors," Inko recalled.
"I mean. You could deep freeze them and we can eat them later or turn them into dessert? I mean, I got them for free," Izuku suggested.
"Oh, don't be like that, Izuku. Stuff that is cheap or even free for us can cost some people a fortune. Let's be generous," Inko argued with a frown.
"Alright, mom, alright. It was just a suggestion," the son backed down.
"I will be going then. It won't take long. You kids be good… and stay in separate beds."
Inko's teasing only brought blushes to the teenagers' faces.
"What's wrong with sleeping in the same bed?" Eri suddenly asked. Itsuka and Izuku sharply turned their head, fearing having to explain to the little girl about 'birds and bees', especially when this was not a conversation they wanted to have just right now.
Both of them turned back to Inko to ask for help, but the mother was already at the door and slipping her shoes-
"Goodbye!" Aaaand she's gone!
Izuku sighed. Kendo's mouth hung open. Just how fast was Inko?
"You know what. I'm just gonna go watch TV instead, I don't feel sleepy anymore." Izuku tried to get up, but could barely manage to stand up straight. Though he had regained some strength, he was still far from able to act without support. So, it was to some fortune that he had someone to support him at the moment.
"Here," Itsuka said and wobbled over. She was pretty much in need of a support herself. "Let's just go watch it together. I am not sleepy either." Izuku looked a little surprised but nodded.
"Yay! More TV!" Eri cheered as all three of them began making their way toward the sofa.
"Enjoy it while you can," Izuku said with a smile. "After this, your TV time will be cut down to normal."
"Aww," Eri moaned.
"...then you can come over to my house and watch more TV," Kendo offered.
"Really?!" the white-haired girl asked with excitement.
"Sure/No," Itsuka and Izuku said in unison. They quickly glanced at each other in annoyance.
"Umm," the young girl became visibly confused at their contrasting words.
"Let's just… let's just figure this out later," Izuku sighed. Itsuka dropped the issue as requested and the two focused on making it to their destination. "By the way, do you have your phone with you, Itsuka?"
"Yeah, what about it, Izuku?" The orangette asked.
"Just checking," the greenette replied. While curious as to why he asked, Kendo did not bother asking for elaboration, feeling that she would get her answer soon.
Then, the two realized something.
'Did she/he just used me by my first name?' the two wondered in near unison.
Momo Yaoyorozu slowly opened her eyes. The short nap she had taken between late morning and noon did little to combat the fever she had caught. As Izuku had explained, this was a side-effect of Healer's power, which she had used to heal all of the U.A. combatants after the Festival.
At the reminder of Izumi's power, Momo could only cringe. Back during their battle royale, by the time Itsuka had begun her fight with that Izumi, she and everyone else, including Monoma (who was knocked out last), had already awakened back to see the fight… No, even if she didn't want to discredit Kendo, calling that a fight was wrong; it was a slaughter.
Her stomach railed, and she was forced to stop recalling that gruesome match, but what Momo really couldn't forget was the faces of 1-B. Their tears, anger, and shock, it was hard to watch, and even harder as Kendo got killed off each time.
'No, no, no, Momo, you need to rest, just put that aside for now,' she told herself. For now, she could only hope that the 1-B students were doing well, especially Kendo. They didn't need anyone else to suffer the same thing Jirou went through with her PTSD.
So the black-haired girl closed her eyes and enjoyed the comfort of her luxurious bed.
"Excuse me," an unfamiliar voice called, causing her to open her eyes. She quickly got up to see if any of her household servants had come into the room. Instead of any familiar faces, she only saw a Caucasian man in rather dirty medieval European-style clothing, with a leather cap over his head. "I've been looking for you. Got something I'm supposed to deliver—your hands only," the man said.
Momo, who was too dumbfounded by the fact that this man had just got past all the securities of her family's estate just to deliver her something in person instead of using their mailbox, just stared with her mouth gaping open. If it was under any normal circumstance, she would have immediately assumed he was invading her property, but his sheer averageness and get-up threw her off.
It appeared, however, that the man took her silence as a confirmation of his delivery so he continued. "Let's see here. I've got a package for you here from a man named 'Izuku Midoriya'. A gift, he wrote." The 'courier' extended his hand and dropped something out of his hand. Instead of something that would fit in a palm, an entire wrapped package the size of a mid-sized ice cooler box dropped onto her bed. "Well. Looks like that's it. Gotta go."
With his job done, the 'courier' ran toward the door of her chamber before simply poking it. One of her double doors opened by itself, but, instead of the usual hallway, only a vast dark emptiness filled its space. The 'courier' faded out of existence and then the door closed by itself, leaving no trace of the stranger behind.
It took Momo about ten minutes to process what had just happened.
Yaoyorozu quickly got up and, despite her muscles screaming in protest, walked up to the same door and opened it. She was greeted by the hallway of her manor. The girl looked left and right, trying to find anything out of place. She spotted one of her maids.
"Hikari, is there anything unusual happening?" Momo asked.
"No, Ojou-sama, nothing is out of order. Although, your mother is still… saddened by the injuries you gained during your fight."
Momo nodded shamefully. Her mother had been worried sick and had been… consuming a few buckets of ice cream since yesterday. [2]
"Thank you, Hikari. Also, I hate to bother you while you are performing other duties, but could you please confirm with the chef when the luncheon will be ready? In addition to reminding him to make me something light for me?"
"It is of no trouble, Ojou-sama." The maid bowed before taking her leave.
Momo exhaled a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, before quickly turning to look at the package. The delivery man said it was from Izuku. Couldn't he have simply teleported this to her? She cautiously strolled over to the box. When the Heroine was close enough, she spotted a notepad stuck to the surface. The ponytailed-girl created a grabbing stick in her palm and used it to pull off the parchment. (Hey! One can never be too careful.) Yaoyorozu read the contents of the note in puzzlement.
'From Izuku:
Yes, I sent this package. There's nothing to worry about. One of the cheaper delivery services is just a little weird, that's all.
Inside are a few items I want you all to have. Since you all already know my secret, there's no need for me to hold back or be subtle about helping you all improve your Quirks and remedy other weaknesses.
List of items:
- 'My Hero Academia' series Volumes 1 through 30, several non-volumed chapters, and a few side mangas. The manga shows the supposed path of what our lives should have been.
- A new phone that can be used to access 'MultiverseNet' and other multiversal functions. A manual is inside, including how to transfer your data from your old phone to this new one. There's also a warranty.
- Some other items depending on each of you.
- A folder with files on some of your alternate selves that I am sure you will find very interesting.
- Pills.'
With that, the note ended. Momo's caution was replaced by curiosity. So now that they were in 'the know', Izuku would give them means to interact with the multiverse? This was certainly an opportunity of a lifetime in her eyes. So with excitement overtaking her caution, the black-haired girl began tearing the package open like a child on Christmas morning.
'Huh, does this mean Santa exists somewhere in the multiverse?' Yaoyorozu wondered, but quickly refocused back on opening her gifts.
Once the wrapping was gone, she removed the lid and examined the content inside. Momo spotted the referred items on the list: a collection of books and manga, a sizable pill organizer with labels for every day of the week along with four times of the day (morning, noon, evening, and bedtime) that was packed to the brim with pills of various kind, a hand-sized box with a picture of super-thin holographic mobile device on the front, a folder with many papers inside it, and—the most curious of them all—a coupon.
Momo picked up the small blue and black parchment. It read 'Get 30%-70% off on our Anti-grav Bra! Only at Carbonado, planet Uveto VII! Say goodbye to all your back problems, fellow busty ladies!'. The rest of the coupon was composed of a digit code and a QR code. Though the advertisement was… vulgar, it was interesting that this came from Izuku. Did he… know about her back problem? She didn't necessarily have back pain (yet), but her rather robust mammaries had certainly posed a problem a few times.
Judging from the promotion that said 'planet', however, she believed she would need the multiversal phone that came in with the package to order. She opened the phone box. A cylinder-shaped device about the size of lipstick greeted her. She picked it up and held it in her palm, examining its weight and material.
A beeping sound blurted from the device.
"Call incoming," a mechanical voice announced. "Izuku Midoriya invites you to a meeting chat. The number of participants, forty-two." Momo blinked. Was Izuku calling all the students from both classes? Also forty-two? Were the last two their sensei or someone else?
"Alright, I can do this," Yaoyorozu said to herself, trying to find a way to operate this thing. "There must be a way to turn this phone into looking like what's on the box." She continued to fiddle with it. Perhaps it had a voice response function like 'Siri'?
"Umm, accept the invitation...?"
"Invitation accepted." The cylindrical device split in half into a holographic screen. A green circle with a checkmark inside presented itself in the middle of the screen. "Please confirm your action." She wanted to check other features appearing alongside the circle, but she supposed she could do that after this meeting. So with a simple press, she accepted the call. The screen shifted, displaying a few names.
"Momo," Izuku's voice greeted her from the other side, but a ping prevented her from returning the greeting. "Manga," Main greeted the next person. Steadily, more pings followed and the list of names grew, though none of them had got a chance to speak yet until the final name was called and there were a total of forty-two names on the screen. "Kendo."
"So… you're buying us all new phones?" Uraraka asked, with underlying excitement. No doubt she would appreciate finally getting to change her phone from the old one she had been using for a long time.
"Yeah? No matter how advanced the latest smartphone in our world is, it could not even compete with the lowest price range of multiversal phones. Of course, what you people are getting is far from 'low range', though do read the manuals included. These things have a lot of functions you wouldn't even know exist without reading it, and that includes how to surf the MultiverseNet as well," Izuku explained.
"How expensi-?" Jurota's question was cut off when a loud screech, almost like a woman possessed, cut through his voice.
"CAN I CUSTOMIZE IT! WHAT CAN IT DO?! CAN I LINK IT TO A ROCKET OR ROBOT?! CAN IT AUTOMATE A FACTORY?!" Mei's voice was so loud that Momo had to pull the phone away from her face, and even then the inventor girl's high-pitched inquiry still rang in her ears.
"The manual will also tell you how to acquire other, more advanced instructions on how to customize the phone, both internally and externally. And yes, it is actually capable of doing all of those things you have just said. It may fit into your palm, but just one of these phones is capable of out-processing every computer and supercomputer on our planet, about a billion times over. No, that is not an exaggeration. I have my alternate self, whose Quirk turns him into a supercomputer, do the math."
As soon as Izuku was done speaking, a much louder squeal followed. Hatsumi was acting like a fanatic k-pop fan getting a hug from their favourite star.
"Fuck! My ear!" Kamirari's voice managed to slip through, and though Yaoyorozu couldn't hear anyone else, she was certain that others were cursing at the high pitched volume of the pinkette as well.
"Alright! That's it! 'Precursor-Omega', decrease the volume of device number 26 to the minimum! Owner's command overwrite, code 1919512!" As soon as Izuku was done with his order, Mei's voice seemed to almost disappear. Almost. Some of it still remained and it would remain as a backdrop or background noise for the rest of their current session.
"God, I thought my eardrums were going to explode," Toru complained.
"Please don't use the name of the Lord in vain," Ibara requested.
"Which ones?" Izuku asked. "He had a few real names."
"...yes?" Ibara replied.
There was a short silence.
"Did… did you just quote a meme, Ibara?" Setsuna asked, couldn't quite believe her religious friend would do something like that.
"Umm… yes?"
Another silence followed.
"Ugh, you know what, I just called to check if you all got your phones," Izuku cut in before things got anymore awkward. "So, since everyone got my presents and I have some time, do any of you have questions about the items I gave you?"
"As I was about to ask before being interrupted," Jurota started. "How expensive is this phone? If it's possible, I would like to pay you back."
Seeing her chance, Yaoyorozu joined in. "Indeed, surely you didn't need to buy it for us? It should be within an affordable price range?" A few more voices rang in agreement.
Midoriya clicked his tongue a few times. "I didn't really pay for them. Trading in the multiverse is extremely common. There is only one true standard currency, and getting one of those coins is an adventure in and of itself."
"Still, surely, we can compensate you with something," Momo insisted. "With something that you have traded away, if possible."
"Do you have dark matter grenades, AI ALPHA cores, a Philosopher's Stone, and a troupe of dancing Iraqi lobsters?"
"...no," Momo admitted shamefully. It's always felt wrong to her to have someone outside of her own family buying stuff for her. But Midoriya's spending power was in the league of his own. She wasn't even sure if all the Yen her family possessed would be enough to buy any of the items Izuku had listed. Well, maybe they could afford those 'Iraq lobsters' he mentioned?
"Are there actually lobsters in Iraq?" Mineta's voice asked through the screen.
"Yeah, and there are also a puffy dragon, a spymaster platypus, and a Khornate Cassowary in the multiverse menagerie. Also, Pokemon and Digimon, can't forget them," Izuku answered. "In any event, those are the items I willingly spent, it's no big deal," he insisted. "Any other questions?"
"I have one actually," Iida spoke up. "How long will this fever persist? It's quite hindering my daily life."
"It depends on how injured you are during the Festival. The lighter ones like Shiozaki shouldn't take more than two days to recover, presuming that you stick to the pill schedule. The harsher ones like Momo and you will likely experience an increase in the levels of fever until it peaks in about two days, but it will come down from there and should not go on for more than a week. Me, Kendo, Mina, and Setsuna, who got the worst injuries, however…"
"What? Broccoli, what about us?" Setsuna did not like how he let the question hang.
"Our fevers will intensify in the coming days. When it peaks, we will likely be unable to even leave our beds or perform most basic tasks without help from others. We might even hallucinate— real fever dreams. Still, I packed an extra pill for the four of us, specifically sleeping pills. Get your breakfasts, sleep, lunch, sleep, and so on—it's better to just eat and sleep through that whole ordeal than having to experience agony."
"You've been through that before, haven't you?" Mina asked.
"Yeah," Izuku confirmed bluntly.
"Seriously, how did that alternate self of you do all the things she did? What's her Quirk?" Shinso dared to ask. While that question was on their mind, the other students did not want to remember what happened in that stadium.
"It's not Quirk."
Shinso asked for an elaboration. "Then what is it?"
"You will have to ask her yourself when you can. With her ability and our chosen career paths, we will be seeing more of her."
"I hope not," Kinoko wished. Others also silently prayed for the same thing.
"Hey," Kamakiri spoke up. "Give that Admiral bastard a middle finger for me, would you?"
"Oh please," Katsuki replied. "I have been doing that shit for years and never knew how to get under his skin. Fucking fascist."
"He's a what?!" Pony raised her voice and let her English slip out.
"You heard me," Bakugou replied back in equally clear English. A perk of being put under heavy surveillance by the multidimensional government of the U.S. was they gave him a Green Card, a Visa, other (probably) important items, and free advanced English lessons; never say the U.S. never gave people free education, as long as it was not their own. "He's a fascist, no doubt about it."
"Yeah, well, what do you want me to do about him?" Izuku replied. "I have worse alternate selves out there and you could have just, I don't know, insult Ibara or something if you want to get a rise out of him."
"Why would insulting her provoke him?" Setsuna asked. "From what he did to her in the arena, it doesn't look like he cares."
"Would you believe me if I say Ibara is his fiance in his universe?"
There was a short silence before chaos reigned; it was like a bomb went off. "What?!" nearly everyone shouted. Momo and a few others settled for a gasp though.
"I-I would never!" Shiozaki tried to deny. How could she end up with someone like that?! He was callous, brutal, atheist, fascistic, authoritarian, atheist, uncompromised, hateful, and… atheist! "H-How?!"
"Hmm, let me give you a brief version. You people are aware of the old Christian Missionaries who travelled around the globe, trying to convert people in order to 'save' them from Hell?" No one interrupted him, so Izuku took that as a sign to keep going. "Well, that's something of a case with Admiral and that universe's Shiozaki. In the far future where Admiral came from, atheism is naturally prominent, but that's not to say religion didn't survive. The thing is, Admiral seems to have a natural hatred for religion and, as you might have expected, our viney friend wouldn't stand for that. She tried to convert him, Admiral naturally rejected it, but he said he found your attempt interesting and endearing. After all, people rarely approached him for anything besides work. I mean, he once called Kirishima out for being, and I quote him here, 'a coward who couldn't move his legs even when his life depends on it'."
(Main didn't know this, but the redhead in question winced at the insult.)
"Oh, that asshole did not just say that about him," Mina cut in angrily.
"Don't worry about it, Mina," the red-head dismissed the issue. "A real man can't be hurt by petty words."
"Anyways, Shiozaki's persistence drew him in. Admiral, despite it all, is genuine when he actually shows his emotions—whether that's the good or the bad emotions—and I am sure most of us can at least appreciate honesty. Eventually, they fall in love, he proposes, and that universe's Ibara accepts."
"That's a terrible way to tell a romantic story," Mina criticized.
"Two things. First, Admiral and his world is a complicated bouquet of… complications. If I have to go through everything, we will be here until evening and I still want to get some rest. Second, I have seen so many romantic events unfold whether it is between me and one of you, you or some other people, or just… multiple people all at once; I am honestly tired of it. I can only see you people naked so many times before I become so over it."
A chorus of disgusted whines and voices filled the chat. They still abhorred the existence of the Stash, especially the women, and one had had enough.
"...can you please! Stop Invading our privacy?!" Momo all but yelled. "If it was those Pax or some reality peepholes then I can at least ignore them, but I still have to talk to you every day and it's honestly really creepy to know you have seen me… us… doing… that!"
There was a momentary silence where everyone awaited Midoriya's response, and when it came his reply was a little unexpected. "...sorry for being… insensitive." Most of them didn't really expect an apology. "I think I have been seeing that brand of pornography for so long they no longer have any impact on me. It wasn't my intention to spy on your alternate selves' private lives, but sometimes to understand them I have to delve deeper, and it is essentially unavoidable when researching into the porn-logic or hentai-logic worlds. I can't really stop researching into other worlds, the data I gained is too valuable, including those that I have given to you about your alternate selves. I can at least promise not to bring up the more… private cases unless it's necessary."
Yaoyorozu sighed. She understood that the information about their other selves would be invaluable. It could help them see those who had improved far beyond their current level or tap into a dimension with an extremely advanced technology that they could copy. Even if some of them ended up being… risque, she had to admit that this was, indeed, a worthwhile endeavor.
"I understand," Momo replied. "But please keep your promise. I did not want to be reminded about the more perverted worlds every time we have a conversation."
"Thank you, and I will keep my word," Izuku said with gratitude and relief clear in his voice. "Well, I think this meeting has gone on for long enough. A word of advice before I go, read the manga after lunch. Some chapters will make you lose your appetite," the greenette warned.
"Speaking of which, how come you get to be the protagonist, judging from the cover?" Monoma inquired. "I mean, there must be a universe out there where 1-B get to be in the spotlight?"
"Really dude? This again?" Juzo wondered.
"What?! What's so wrong about-"
"Yes, there are universes where 1-B takes the spotlight." Izuku decided to humor the blond rather than let him go on with his semi-self-defecating rambling. "Although, Kendo is usually the one who gets to be the protagonist in those universes."
"Heck, yeah, our big sis is an anime protag!" Setsuna cheered and some of the 1-B did the same, especially Monoma.
"With that said, there is this strange phenomenon in the multiverse that is called 'Thread of Fate'. It essentially marks someone, and all their perspective selves in the multiverse, as a person of importance, capable of influencing the world around them to a large degree. I know that sounds… a little bullshit and arrogant, but this is something Pax told me themselves. If there's one thing I know, it's that Pax knows a lot more than I do regarding… everything."
"So like, it marks you as a 'protagonist'?" Mina asked.
"I guess you could say that. I'm not the only one though, there are plenty of individuals with the 'Thread' in the multiverse, like Ruby Rose, Kurosaki Ichigo, Jon Snow, Taylor Hebert, et cetera. Don't mistake this for a gift though. As with the protagonist in a story, those who bare a Thread of Fate are destined to embark on an odyssey. Sometimes filled with hardship and suffering to a greater levels than a regular human has ever experienced. It's the true price for being in the center of their universe, you could say, but I am getting off-topic with Cosmology here. If there's nothing else, then I believe we can end this little meeting."
"One last thing," Yui spoke up, much to everyone's surprise. "Why is it whenever you or Kendo spoke, the little dot that I assume signifies who is speaking always turns green for both of you."
The silence was the only reply from the two class representatives.
"Guys?" Mina pressed the issue. "Are you two… together right now?"
"...ugh, you know what fine, I will just say it." Kendo finally had enough of the constant silence. "Yes, I am at his apartment, again, but… Look, the explosion at Kabukichou and then the Festival caused a lot of…"
"Family drama," Izuku added for her.
"Yeah, now I… can't really go back home until my folks sort this issue out. So, I am staying here for a while, since Eri is here and all," Kendo admitted.
"Hi, everyone!" the familiar voice of the white-haired girl greeted them from both Izuku's and Itsuka's phones.
"Hi, Eri," a few students greeted back.
"See, guys, nothing to worry about," Itsuka reassured.
"Well… that's not what we are worrying about." Setsuna's tone suddenly turned very playful.
"I mean," Mina joined in. "It sounds like you two have made up… sooo… maybe you two will become close friends and-" She didn't get to finish when Izuku and Itsuka hung up in unison. "Aww, they are so shy," the pinkette cooed.
"Umm, I… think you're going about this wrong, Mina," Kirishima argued.
"Of course, you did! There's no way Kendo would fall for someone like that!" Monoma strongly agreed.
"And one of his alternate selves did kill her five times," Yui added.
"Yeah! Exactly!" Monoma reminded them again of that fact.
"...I think you all are just jealous," Ashido speculated.
"Alright, please stop," Momo stepped in and stopped things before it escalated. "There're a lot of things we have to do, so I think it's best for us to part ways for now and get to it."
Several voices rang in affirmation and then another silence followed yet again. Only squealing of Mei could still be heard.
"So, uhh, how do you turn off this thing?"
After the whole meeting was done, Izuku and Itsuka looked at each other. Both occupied the opposite side of the couch with Eri as a barricade between the two of them.
For a moment, teal and emerald eyes met. Mina's and Setsuna's words still rang in their mind. Izuku quickly shut his eyelids, his expression betrayed a moment of bitterness.
"No. None of that, not for me," Izuku said before focusing back on the television.
"Hey, what do you mean by that?" Kendo asked.
"Romance, not for me," Midoriya clarified.
The orangenette blinked. "What do you mean by that?"
The greenette sighed. "Romance. It's quite common for many of my alternate selves to have a significant other, sometimes multiple partners in fact. But me…" Main gave a bitter chuckle. "That's not for me."
The 1-B student pondered on his words for a few moments. "Isn't romance something that just… happens?"
"It is, but how 'real' is the romance, really? Many of Izukus and Izumis got their hearts broken, fell into toxic relationships, or just outright were being abused by their partners. After seeing all of that, I don't really know what to make of 'love' anymore," Izuku answered. The boy seemed to lose focus as he stared at the ceiling.
Even Kendo could see that he was now lost in memory. Perhaps some dark case about his alternate self becoming a victim of domestic abuse, suffering at the hands of their husband or wife on a daily basis; or some of them being rejected by his crush and taking an extreme solution to cope with that, such as alcohol, drugs, or self-harm… with a predictable destructive ending. Or perhaps the case of 'paradise' gone wrong with a partner, or partners, he or she fell for, but there was no love in the relationship, only an illusion—pleasure and lust with no substance—to keep him locked up in the prison of carnal and desire, a 'sex slave' existence in all but legal terminology.
Itsuka just shook her head. God, thinking about Midoriya's life could get depressing real fast. All the damnable and dark possibilities were just fucked up to think about. First the graveyard, now this, was Izuku just a suffering sponge? Even if he wasn't, it went without saying that Main had soaked up those negativity.
"Come on," Itsuka said, breaking him out of his trance. "There must be some good romance for you out there."
Midoriya began to recall. "There are." A faint smile replaced his previous grim expression. "For every bad one, I suppose there are about ten more to counter it. Everyone at U.A., and even outside of that, are all such wonderful people in a relationship most of the time, loving, caring, honest, protective, supportive, and a lot more."
"Even Monoma?" Kendo inquired with a mix of playful and curious tone.
"Yeah, despite it all, once you got through all the sass, the biting, and a bunch of other stuff, he can be a genuinely caring and wonderful person."
Kendo whistled, surprised about the fact that Monoma, her ever-affronted classmate, could act like that. "Really, no bad-mouthing or anything?"
Izuku's smile slightly shifted to a more sly one. "Well, he usually puts his mouth to a good use, if you know what I mean."
Itsuka chuckled at that tidbit of information, and seeing this Izuku did as well. Meanwhile, Eri was staring at them in confusion. This whole conversion was very weird to her.
Once both of them had calmed down a little, their eyes met again.
It was at this moment that Kendo could see it, a remnant of who Izuku Midoriya used to be, a friendly and wonderful person, and judging from the spark in his eyes he must have been quite hopeful as well. Yet as quickly as it came, it was gone. The spark was dimmed, the light snuffed, and the same old cynical eyes came to take its place. But, something new presented itself in the windows to his soul; sadness, and despair.
"Itsuka, I… appreciate that you're trying to be my friend and make up for our old hostility, but please…" He tore his face away from her and turned his back on her. "Don't give me hope… if you aren't… willing to…" Izuku couldn't finish his sentence, as something painful in his heart prevented him from fully declaring what he wanted to say; but he didn't need to as he made it pretty clear what he was talking about.
The orange-haired girl opened her mouth, ready to retort back, but… she didn't know what to say in response. What was she supposed to say to someone in his situation? So, Kendo just sighed quietly and looked away as well. She could barely look at him in that state, he almost looked like a kicked puppy.
"Are you two fighting again? You two look so sad," Eri questioned with concern clear in her voice. Both of them turned to look at their surrogate little sister. They might have their problems, but it was not acceptable to make Eri worried over them. So they extended their hands and gently placed them on each side of the little girl's head before tenderly patting her.
"Don't worry, Eri," Izuku reassured.
"We are just talking about our classmates, that's all," Itsuka added.
Eri nodded all the while enjoying the sensation of a double-head pat. Only a few people in the multiverse had ever experienced such bliss. She couldn't help but smile comfortably at the safety Izuku and Kendo provided for her.
It was at this moment that Inko returned. "Kids! Sorry for taking so long, but that food truck came back today so I went and bought us lunch! I hope you enjoy Croque Monsieur!"
With that, it was now lunchtime, and what followed would be quite an enlightening, upsetting, and unsettling experience for many.
At the U.A. Academy, the adults decided to do the opposite of what Izuku had advised and decided to read the manga before lunch. That was a mistake, and the sobs of a prominent figure pretty much certified that. [3]
"...I-I… Nighteyes… I am so sorry…" Yagi managed to choke out while still sobbing.
"It's not your fault, All Might. I knew the risk when I committed to rescuing Eri," Nighteyes tried to console his old partner, but to no avail. Too many things were revealed all at once, there was barely any room in anyone's heart to bear any more of the emotional burden.
"...and Nana's son… he's… Shigaraki was… Oh God, what am I supposed to tell Gran Torino?" Yagi gripped his head firmly in his hands while tears still streamed down his cheeks. "And One for All… who am I supposed to pass it on to? No students here deserve to have their life cut short… no one." Toshinori continued to grieve. Nighteyes and a few heroes could only look on. The former sidekick was at his wits' end over how to comfort his former partner and idol, or even himself for the matter.
Within a year, society would fall by the hand of Tomura Shigaraki, formerly Tenko Shimura, a grandson of All Might's teacher and predecessor, Nana Shimura, and, now, the successor to the Symbol of Evil, All for One. Nighteyes looked over to the Principal of U.A.
Nezu might appear calm on the outside, but he was feeling the opposite. The furred principal was scribbling on a notepad furiously, but after filling in just a few pages he would unceremoniously tear those pages off and start over. If the pile of crumpled papers beside him was any indication, he had been doing this for a while now.
Sir Nighteyes swept his sight across the meeting room. Most of the Heroes and Heroines present seemed to be handling this fairly well, and while highly disturbed by what the future held they were certainly determined to put a stop to it or change said future's course. Though not all of them appeared to be taking this all in stride.
The Wild, Wild Pussycats were despaired at Ragdoll's Quirk being stolen and Mandalay's nephew nearly dying—Mandalay made a promise to herself to talk thoroughly with Kota after this, as she'd left him in the dark for too long now.
Ms. Joke wasn't ready to see her student, Yo Shindo, get beaten up so badly even if it's against Muscular, one of Japan's most dangerous criminals.
The Big Three were greatly disturbed that Nejire got burned from her fight with Dabi, but with the upcoming Heroine reassuring them that it would be fine their anxiety was eased a little.
The Pros who got the worst hands of them all, besides All Might, however, must be a trio of teachers, Eraserhead, Present Mic, and Midnight.
"Oboro," Midnight breathed, her voice strained and cracked. "He's… he's…" It was almost like her death meant nothing in comparison to seeing her old friend get resurrected and turned into the warping Villain, Kurogiri.
"Right there," Present Mic muttered before slamming his head onto the table. "He was right there at the U.S.J."
"..." Aizawa was silent. No words he could conjure up could describe what was going through him right now.
"...so," Ryukyu spoke up, her voice parting through the sound of sobbing and self-deprecation. "We have caught up to the most recent chapters. Are there any more of these?"
"No," Nezu answered her. "Midoriya said in his note to us that the world called 'Prime World' where these 'canon' events we saw happened appears to be still ongoing. To give an easy-to-understand analogy, the manga hasn't ended yet."
"Though I do not think we need to wait for it to end," Sir Nighteyes voiced. "We know enough. With what Midoriya has given us, we can take down the League, the Meta Liberation Army, and several other Villains before they could even act. Not to mention we can accelerate death row sentences and investigations into the ones who would pose a lot of threat for the future," Sir concluded.
"But…" Kamui Wood spoke up, uncertain. "What about Hawks and Endeavour?"
At the reminder, everyone went silent. Hawks was more excusable. He might have thieves for parents and he might have killed the multiplying Villain, 'Twice', but, overall, he was still very much a Hero; if he didn't kill Twice the Prime World would have been in worse shape than it was. Endeavor's case was much more different, however.
"I can't believe that piece of shit has been the Number Two Hero for as long as he has," Rock Lock said with much dismay. As someone who had just become a father, seeing an abusive asshole like that made his blood boil, more so when he realized that Endeavor was supposed to be a Hero, someone on the good side, and as someone supposed to be working alongside him.
"He's the Number Two Hero. There's no way he didn't use his connections to cover everything about Touya up. That bastard, treating his children like that." Ryukyu was half-minded in favour of flying over to Endeavor and gave him the beat down of his life, but she took a deep breath and remembered that there was still some semblance of Heroism in the Number Two Hero's heart. "Let's just hope he is willing to make up for it in this universe as well, if not…" The Dragon Heroine left her threat hanging, but her eyes, which had turned to dragonic slits, said it all.
"I feel like we can leave those two be for now." Nezu didn't stop writing even as he spoke. "Honestly, we are in a position to properly remove many threats to society, but will we be allowed to?"
"What do you mean by that, sir?" Vlad asked his boss.
"Pax Americana," Nighteyes predicted.
The principal nodded. "Even if they won't interfere with our day-to-day operations, I highly doubt that they would just let us do whatever we want."
"But why would they stop us from taking down Villains?" Mt. Lady inquired. "Wouldn't that be counterproductive? They are still, like, a proper government, right? Why would they want criminals running about?" Yu's question did raise a good point.
"Oh, I have no doubt that they do want the League and the Meta Army gone, but it is just a matter of when," the mouse-cat-bear creature clarified.
"Are you saying they will… wait…" Mt. Lady trailed off as everyone began to piece two and two together.
"While this is just speculation, I can guess the basics of their plan for us. They will let every event we see in the manga here run its course, and when the societal collapse happens that would be when they finally swoop in." The room was now completely silent. Even All Might and Midnight had stopped their sobbing to listen. "They are a government, which means they are likely to have a standing army, a division of law enforcers, and even Heroes of their own. When all order here has disappeared, they will install themselves as the new one. With how powerful they are, putting down Shigaraki and All for One would likely be a cakewalk, and when they did, society would hail them as a savior, cementing their grip on our world," Nezu finished.
"Well, that's just a rough draft anyway. I highly doubt that they would share the details with Mister Midoriya and just tell him the basics of their plans. For now… how about a lunch break?" The principal's words surprised everyone. "We can't think clearly on an empty stomach and it is already half-past one." This was more than about eating, however. It was a ploy to get everyone to calm down. Emotions were high, and making plans in that state of mind would likely be disastrous.
"...sure." Aizawa was the first to reply before getting up and quickly making his way toward the door—he likely came to the same conclusion as Nezu. Hisashi hastily followed him. Seeing this, everyone followed suit, the faster they got this done, the quicker they could at coming back to planning. Midnight, however, remained in her seat even as everyone else was leaving. Mt. Lady, noticing this, decided to approach the fellow Heroine.
"Hey…" Yu greeted but wasn't sure how to proceed. While she had trained to comfort civilians in times of crisis, this was different. How was she supposed to lift the spirit of someone who was designated to die within a year, leaving behind grieving students and colleagues, and who had just discovered that her friend got turned into a monster and a Villain?
"Midnight… are you alright?" Mt. Lady asked and laid her hand on her fellow Heroine's shoulder.
Within a split second, the blonde was pulled into an embrace by the older Pro-Hero, who sobbed into her shoulder.
"No… no, I am not," Midnight replied through her tears.
Yu looked around for some advice only to discover that everyone had already left. So with uncertainty, her arms moved behind Midnight before returning the hug.
"It's okay, everything will be okay."
While the Pros were busy digesting the information of what the future held, the students were very much in the same position.
Itsuka slowly lowered the most recent chapter of 'My Hero Academia,' her hand trembling from a combination of fever and the events that were just revealed to her. There were so many things happening behind the curtain: One for All and All for One, the Meta Liberation Army, Shigaraki's origins, the looming war, and the collapse of the Hero society.
Kendo didn't realize her breathing had become so laborious, but, now that she did, the martial artist knew she had to calm down. So the orangette took in the sight of Inko's bedroom where she was resting. The blandness of it somehow managed to ease the 1-B student a little, but then another issue surfaced up in her mind.
'Oh God, Todoroki!'
She barely knew him, but going through all of that and seeing everything ranging from your abusive father nearly die trying to redeem himself, to seeing your dead brother coming back for revenge as a Villain was just…
There's no way he was alright after this. She reached for her phone, then remembered that it was now just a cylinder device, which she still didn't know how to use because she didn't read the manual yet. The orange-haired girl had tried to use the high-tech device, but she had no idea on how to operate it. Even when she started yelling commands nothing happened, but it caught someone's attention.
The door to her temporary room opened. Standing under the door frame was Izuku with a thick blanket over his shoulders.
"Finished the manga?" he asked. Kendo, still trying to calm down, nodded frantically.
Midoriya sighed. He walked over and stood by her bedside before pouring her a cup of water. "Drink," the greenette commanded as he handed her the cup. Itsuka gulped down water with much more gluttony than she expected from herself. While she was doing so Main sat down on her bed, his expression stoic. Once she finished her glass, Itsuka seemed to have placated herself. "I planned on calling all of us again after we have all finished the manga. I still want to give it a few more minutes before doing so, if you don't mind?"
The class representative hesitated at first, but she soon gave in and nodded.
So the two waited in silence as minutes passed. Izuku cast his eyes over Itsuka. She was fixating on her own hands, likely thinking about what had been revealed to her, and the worst part was that this wasn't over. Their alternate selves in that universe still had to fight on against the League of Villains while everything fell apart all around them. It must be a hard reality to swallow.
Seeing the orangette like this was… upsetting for Izuku. An ever-stern yet cheerful and headstrong class president like her being reduced to this pale panic-ridden girl was not a sight he wished to see. He thought long and hard about what he should do next. When he came to a conclusion, however, he kept it to himself. He had just told Itsuka that he didn't want her to… bond with him any deeper than a friend, yet if he took a step forward in comforting her just a little would that not contradict his previous warning?
The greenette looked at her eyes. She was lost, he could see it. It was likely that hundreds of questions were going through her head. Itsuka was unsure, uncertain, and fearful… so similar to… him… on that night all those years ago. Now he knew what he had to do.
Izuku extended his hand forward, making sure not to be so fast that it would spook the girl. He took a hold of Itsuka's palm and she looked at him in surprise.
"Don't worry, everything will be alright," the dimension traveler tightened his grip on her hand.
How strange, that she was given the nickname 'man-hands' by a lot of people, but, in reality, her skin was much smoother than he had thought. He suddenly felt Kendo's hand grip his more firmly.
"Thanks." It was a simple word that said a thousand things. She smiled a little, feeling marginally better. Seeing this, Izuku also gave a faint smile of his own.
Time passed between the two. They could feel each other's pulses through their joined hands. It might be the only thing that grounded Itsuka from a full panic-attack.
Eventually, Izuku deemed that enough time had passed and reached for his phone. "Right let's get this over then," he said and began another meeting call. Kendo climbed out of her blankets and sat beside him. "You can speak through my phone if you want, it wouldn't make much of a difference."
"Alright then," Itsuka agreed.
Soon, the first person joined their meeting chat, Iida.
"Midoriya! What happened to Todoroki, it's-" The blue-haired boy didn't get to finish when another person joined and drowned Tenya's pedantic rant with their own.
"Oh my goodness, is Todoroki alright!" Uraraka's voice cut through. "He's-"
Ochako's frantic questions were soon drowned out by the sea of panicked voices and high-volume yells as everyone joined all at once. Izuku waited for the 'guest of honor' to come along, but as minutes passed the number of names remained only at thirty-nine. The ones missing were Itsuka, who was sharing the phone with him, Katsuki, who probably had a good reason for not responding (or the blond just slept in again), and Todoroki… Once the other first-year students realized who didn't answer the call, their voices died down.
"Where's Todoroki?" Uraraka asked.
"I am making a direct call to his house. Everyone, please be quiet," Izuku ordered. The boy quickly navigated through the menus of his phone and contacted Todoroki's household.
"Hello?" A familiar female voice responded from the other side. Fuyumi.
"Hello? Is this Shoto's house?" Midoriya used Todoroki's real name to avoid confusion.
"Oh, yes, you're, umm, Izuku, right?" the sister asked, recognizing his voice.
"Yes, that's me. You must be Fuyumi, right? Shoto's sister?"
"Yes, I am. You want to speak with Shoto?" she asked.
"Yes, I am the Class Representative. I am calling in to check if he's doing okay, with the fever and all," Izuku explained.
"Oh," Fuyumi exclaimed. That didn't sound good. "Umm, Shoto is a little under the weather currently; I don't think he can answer right now."
"...he's vomiting in the bathroom, isn't he?"
There was a short silence before the sister sighed. "Yes, he is. I think that fever you mentioned just got worse."
"Yeah, I knew that could happen so I packed him extra pills that might be able to help?"
"Pills?" Fuyumi wasn't sure what he was talking about.
"I gave Shoto some pills to help combat the side-effect of the Quirk that healed him. There are some extra ones that should help in case it gets worse than it should."
"And how would you know about pharmaceuticals? You're not a pharmacist." It was starting to become apparent that Fuyumi did not seem to like Izuku, or the idea that her brother was taking some unknown substance.
"I gave him what the doctor gave to me. I have them in case I have to use that healing clone's powers extensively," Izuku explained.
"...I see." She didn't sound all that trusting.
"Well, in any event, please give the pills in the 'Friday Evening' slot to him. That should help, in conjunction with the other scheduled pills, of course. Thank you, I won't take any more of your time and sorry for all the trouble."
"Goodbye then," Fuyumi hung up.
"Hmm, well, look like we will just have to let him rest for now. It's a good thing I packed you all some sleeping pills, in the same slot as Shoto's by the way."
"I hope he's all right," Momo wished.
"I had no idea his life is so fucked up." Mina's voice cracked a little.
"Kinda want to punch Endeavor, not gonna lie," Tetsutetsu confessed. Several voices rang out in an agreement.
"Please don't," Kendo sighed.
"Huh, you guys are sharing a phone now? You two are moving fast," Setsuna teased, but they did not respond.
"Is this really the time for this?" Jiro questioned.
"Sorry, just… trying to lighten up the mood… But, I mean, yeah, everything is fucked up, but now we already know what's gonna happen. We can stop it now, right?" Setsuna pointed out. The others were inclined to agree.
"No," Izuku firmly denied. "Our paths have already diverged from the Prime World just from the fact that we know what's going to happen. If you think the League and the MLA won't change their course of action in response to our plans then you would be sorely mistaken. And this doesn't factor in Pax, whose plan I have no idea of knowing."
Silence was the only response he got from his peers. Itsuka squeezed his hand.
"Yeah, I get it. I wish we were in the dark as well instead of this mixed revelation; it's better to just walk an unknown but straight path than an illuminated but forever-shifting maze. But… we can only prepare for the future. I gave the adults the manga as well, so they are probably thinking of a plan or two as we speak, so have faith. Besides, I've got a few cards up my sleeves that we can use."
There were still no replies.
Izuku sighed. "I don't think anything I can say will lift your spirits at this point. Just… do something, I guess, and try to occupy your mind. Heck, maybe checking your alternate selves' universe files, or taking a nap. That's all I've got at this point."
"Yes… I…. have been reading since after lunch and it's already three in the afternoon. I think I need to lie down," Momo admitted. Several others agreed with her.
"I will leave you to it then. Goodbye," the greenette bid his farewell. His classmates replied with their own parting words before hanging up. When everyone had disconnected, Izuku gave out a long sigh. He remembered that there was still another person in the room with him and turned to Kendo. That fearful look in her eyes still hadn't disappeared entirely, but there was nothing he could do at this point. Unless…
"Hey, can you make some room?" Itsuka blinked. "I don't think I have the energy to go back to my room after dealing with all of that. So, can you move a little so I nap here for a bit?"
The orangette hesitated. "Izuku, my mother told us pretty clearly not to do this. I know you won't do anything unsavory… maybe besides hugging, but my mother doesn't know you like I do."
Midoriya stared at her impassively for a few seconds. "Eri, it's nap time!" he called out.
"Coming!" The little girl replied. Within a few heartbeats, the white-haired girl strolled into the room in her soft yellow woolen pajamas, decorated with a large cat symbol on the front. They were long and a little over-sized—the sleeves covered most of her hands— and cat ears stood out on the hood attached at the back. "Nya!" Eri roared.
Kendo covered her mouth with both hands as she held her breath. 'SO CUTE!'
"Come on, Eri. It's nap time," Izuku told her.
The little girl blinked a few times. "Do I get to sleep like a river?" She asked, becoming more excited at the prospect. [4]
"Of course," both of them agreed in unison and surprised the other. They blushed a little, but their embarrassment was put aside as Eri closed the door and quickly jumped onto the bed.
"Are you really going to sleep, being this active?" Itsuka asked with a grin.
"I will! I am the best sleeper ever! ...I think," Eri reassured.
"Well, I bet I can sleep faster than you!" Kendo replied.
"Oh please," Izuku barged in. His lips turned upward. "I can beat both of you in a sleeping contest."
"We will see!" Both girls accepted his challenge.
They soon laid down on the bed. The two U.A. students took up space on each side of Eri. Itsuka quickly wrapped her arms around the white-haired girl and pulled her in close. Eri was already enjoying the physical contact. Even after being rescued, she was still touch-starved and would eagerly enjoy being around those she loved and those that protected her. The orangette, for her part, just enjoyed spoiling Eri a lot more after she had discovered what her little sister had gone through; her poor baby. Kendo couldn't help herself when she pecked Eri on her forehead and gently stroked the little girl's hair.
Izuku pulled up the blanket for all of them. Just as he did, the sound of heavy rain and thunder began to seep into the apartment.
"That's strange. There shouldn't be any storms today," Izuku remarked.
Another loud rumble of thunder followed. It scared Eri enough that she buried herself deeper into Itsuka's embrace. Seeing this, Izuku dug into the blanket and joined the embrace. With the combined warmth from two of the people who loved her, Eri's fear quickly vanished as a feeling of safety washed over her. This was different from when it was Izuku and mom who hugged her from both sides, but she wouldn't say it was a bad kind of dissimilarity.
Izuku and Itsuka just looked at Eri's serene expression as she was fast asleep.
"Sleep well," both of them said as they planted a kiss on each side of the little girl's cheeks. Eri managed to let out a faint giggle of joy before she finally slipped into the Dreamland; her little chest heaved up and down peacefully.
"I guess she won," the greenette declared quietly, so as not to wake her up.
"She's so cute." The orangette smiled warmly at Eri, but it turned into a bitter, sorrowful one. "She has been through so much." Kendo tightened her hug.
"I know, but I am glad that she is in a better place now." Izuku placed a kiss on Eri's forehead. Itsuka did the same.
Despite what Izuku had previously said and what Itsuka's mother had warned, neither of them gave a shred of a damn about that in regards to Eri; if it made that child happy, they were willing to put many great things aside.
Kendo was feeling sleepy now and so was Midoriya. So the two simply drifted off to sleep, following their little girl into the dream world. It would be their first time doing this, but it wouldn't be the last.
A few minutes earlier, Katsuki could be found meditating. He had ignored the incoming call for a meeting. He knew it would happen, having already learned of all of this a long time ago. Now, however, he had an important guest, more important than comforting Shoto.
"Took you long enough," the blond said and opened his eyes.
Instead of his room, he was greeted by the void of space with stars littering all around him but no other planets in his sight. The full might of a star stood before him, and flares danced across its surface while the rays sunburst and occasionally shot out in every direction. Yet he could clearly see the being who had summoned him here.
"Wassup, old man."
"Sup, brat," the being replied.
"Why have you called? Someone's funeral again?"
"None of that bullshit today."
"Then why do you bring me here? If you didn't fucking notice, I am not in the best of shape today."
The being put his hand up and just snapped his fingers. Immediately, Katsuki felt refreshed and like his body temperature had returned to normal.
"There. Done. Now pay up. We don't have free healthcare here."
"Pff, yeah right, I am calling my lawyers. Your service is shitty," Katsuki bit back with a savage grin. He quickly receded his smile, however, as he knew that if he was here, there must be something important. "So what do you want?"
The being sighed. "I think that it's finally time to teach you a thing or two."
Katsuki's eyes widened. "After all these years?"
"Yes. I choose you."
"..."
"..."
"...what am I? A fucking pokemon?"
"Shut up, you're ruining the mood."
A/N: Who was the mysterious being that met with our Katsuki? I won't tell you.
I was going to make this one chapter, but I would rather resolve the more massive spoilers in this one and how everyone will react to it and then move most of the romance-focused scenes to the next chapter.
[1] Rest in peace, Stefan. The Lazy Town will continue to warm children's hearts everywhere.
[2] I used 'young mistress' before switching to 'ojou-sama'. I generally don't use English-written Japanese words like this, but the latter sounds more neutral than the former.
[3] Unfortunately, this isn't a reaction fic so I can only offer a conclusion of what they saw and how they would handle them, without going about it far longer than even the Sports Festival arc. But, hey, here's a perfect chance for me to introduce you guys to my most favorite canon-reaction fic called 'The Future Briefing Island' on AO3 by Shire_Folk.
[4] 'Sleep like a river', or 'Kawa no ji mitai', is a practice in Japan, or Asia in general, of a child sleeping between two parents. As someone who has experienced it, I can tell you it was a really great experience… Not anymore though, I am older now — just hugging my parents and knowing that they are still alive is good enough.