A/N: I wanted to write new chapters for my other stories… but then I realized I wanted to write 'Beyond and more' more. So here we are.
You can join the Discord here: /25BTet3
Beta by Yuilhan
Beyond and more
Izuku shifted about groggily as he returned to the waking world. The feeling of overwhelming warmth was unfamiliar to him, but he wouldn't say it was a bad thing. He slowly opened his eyes, and upon seeing the serene sleeping face of Itsuka he recalled what had happened only a few hours ago. Now with a much clearer mind, though still weighed down by fever, Izuku decided to break from the hug, much to his chagrin at the disappearance of warmth.
He sat up and rubbed his face harshly.
'What am I doing?' Midoriya contemplated. He had just wanted to comfort a distressed Kendo at first; seeing her being so… down didn't sit well with him. Now though, he was left wondering if he had become hypocritical, what with his earlier statement that she shouldn't give him 'hope for something more'—yet he was the one who'd approached her.
'What is wrong with me? Am I wailing to go that far to comfort someone?' He looked over the sleeping Eri and Itsuka. They were smiling as they snuggled each other, their minds resting peacefully within Kuranes's kingdom. That was enough to stir multiple emotions within him, but they were so conflicting that Izuku ended up not feeling any of them. So the boy merely sighed and decided that it was time to get up.
That was until the door was slammed open, startling him and jolting Eri and Itsuka awake.
"Kids, I am really sorry to wake you up like this but there's an emergency," Inko apologized. The mother dressed as if she was going to brave the storm. Thunder boomed outside and reminded them that there was, indeed, a storm currently going on.
"Wait, why are you going out there?" Izuku questioned.
"Miu called me and told me that she, her husband, and Todo are stuck in some random multistorey car park. They wanted to visit Itsuka before going to the police, but there's a flood that's cut off the area. I am going to go pick them up," Inko explained.
"What?! But how would you reach them?! If their car couldn't pass through that flood, then the car we have couldn't! And we don't even have a car!"
"First, don't you raise your voice with me, young man," Inko chided and Izuku immediately recoiled. The mother sighed. "Do you remember that lotto Pax held for all Platinum Card owners?" Izuku nodded. The Platinum Card was the equivalent of the Green Card which allowed individuals to live within the Pax domain but on a multiversal scale; there were also other colors with less freedom in comparison to Platinum. "Well, since there's been a lot going on, I haven't had a chance to tell you that I won a prize; I think it was the 35th place prize."
"Which is?"
"A Land Raider." Inko's answer left Izuku stunned.
"What's a 'Land Raider'?" Eri asked.
"A tank dear. I won a tank from the far future of the 41st Millennium in a lottery." Inko gave her daughter a proud smile. "I paid for a Pax mechanic to modify it a little so it wouldn't be too… intimidating when I drive around."
"Mom… it's a Space Marine tank, there's no way it wouldn't look intimidating," her son pointed out. "Besides, there must be a better way than this… Maybe I can teleport to them and get them out?"
The Midoriya matriarch put her hand up. "Honey, I didn't want to say this around Itsuka, but I can see from a mile away that the Kendos don't like you, or most of the parents of your peers for that matter. So, it would be best if you left this to me. Besides, we both know what kind of… scenarios can happen when you can't focus on your teleporting."
Izuku went silent after that. Inko simply walked up to him and pulled him into an embrace. "It shouldn't be more than an hour or two. They were already in Yamanashi when they called." Eri climbed out of Kendo's arms to join the embrace. "Alright, be good kids… Also, I won't tell Miu about you two being in the same bed," the mother said with a wink that brought the blushes onto the teens' faces before leaving their apartment.
Izuku's head hung down a little as his mother left. He took a hard glare at his phone before sighing, deciding to make a call. He noticed the time on the phone's clock. It was six PM already.
"Maybe you guys should go get dinner and take a shower first? There should be something left in the refrigerator that can be microwaved," Izuku said to Itsuka and Eri.
"Right," Kendo, sensing that he wanted to be alone, got up and dragged her legs towards the door with Eri trying her best to support the orangette.
"With mom gone, we can eat all of the Wonka's candies and bars we want!" Eri cheered. "I can even make you smores!"
"Y-Yeah, that's nice." Kendo tried to look cheerful, but she was too worried about her parents stuck in the storm to pull off a proper smile. Nonetheless, she followed the little girl out of the room, just as Izuku's call connected as well.
"'Assassin', it's me. I need your help," Izuku said just as the door to the room was shut.
Meanwhile, Inko was sitting in the cockpit of her Land Raider, scanning the manual as fast as her reading skills would allow, which admittedly, was rather fast.
The Pax mechanic had done well, modifying this thing to look less like a tank, including hiding the guns by making them retractable, and compacting it to mimic more of a heavily armored vehicle the size of a tank…
"Maybe I should have accepted that guy's offer to trade this with his Iron Man suit," Inko mumbled. Finally, the mother was finished with the manual and grabbed at the twin steering levers. "Alright! Let's get this thing on the road!"
The Midoriya matriarch grabbed the gear shift knob before pulling the shifter to 'D'. She placed her feet on the accelerator before pushing down firmly.
At first, everything seemed to be going smoothly. Unfortunately, she had never driven anything bigger than a normal car so it wasn't long before her Land Raider collided with another car and pushed it through the wall, tumbling down the outside of the building before hitting the ground with one final crash and a blaring alarm that followed.
"Dammit!" Inko cursed. The greenette smashed the steering lever and accidentally hit the horn, which sounded almost eerily like Peter Griffin's laugh. It was at this moment Inko decided to channel a part of her that her son inherited, specifically the 'I'm so done with this' part. "Ugh, fuck it. ROADO RAGE TIME DA! AAAHHHH!"
With that Inko took off with the not-so-good intention of setting a new record for the highest number of traffic safety laws broken in Japan. She began by leaving behind wreckage of her fellow tenants' cars in her Land Raider's wake. She and the other residents had insurance, so surely it would be fine.
She was unaware of a shadow that followed her.
Back at the apartment, the trio were sitting on the couch eating their dinner.
"What… is this?" Kendo asked as stared at her meal, a supposed fried fish, but its eye occupied about fifty percent of its entire body. Her food looked like it was staring back.
"It's a fish called 'Peeper'," Izuku explained as he used a knife to cut off a piece of the alien creature and took a bite. "The beak is already removed and the bones are cooked until they are edible, so just take a bite."
"It's chewy," Eri added as she also took a bite without much problem.
Itsuka sighed before digging in as well. She was reluctant to put a piece of eye meat into her mouth, but finally, she gave in and took a bite. It wasn't so bad. They finished the fish in no time before moving on to the dessert. Well, for Eri at least, as neither Izuku nor Itsuka was in a mood for sweets.
"So… what should we do to kill some time?" the orangette asked.
The white-haired girl didn't answer her since she was busy devouring chocolate-crust apple pie, with powdered sugar icing and vanilla ice cream on top. The greenette just spared her a glance before taking a stack of paper left on the coffee table in front of their sofa.
"Well… you could start reading the files I gave you on your alternate self, I guess," Midoriya proposed and handed her the info.
Now Itsuka was intrigued by that prospect; what were her other alternate selves like? What did they have to offer her? How far had they progressed with their Quirk training? Itsuka took the file in a stride and began reading through the first page. Izuku got up and walked to a nearby bookshelf.
"I am a… Vigilante?" Kendo was surprised by that fact. She just didn't expect herself to just break the law like that. Accompanying the page was a photo of her in a full face mask and more combat-orientated attire; judging from the picture quality it was likely captured by CCTV.
"What's the number of that universe?" Izuku asked as he took out a book titled 'Sonic High School: Author Uncut, Uncensor, Uncompromised Edition. And Knuckle. Featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry series.'
"...A58-L2… Why doesn't the name have any consistency to them? I thought the 'number' would be six-digit like those… porn universe ones," Itsuka pointed out with a faint hue of pink on her cheeks.
Izuku cleared his throat loudly, almost like trying to suppress a cough. "There's never a standard way to label a universe, except the porn logic universe which is generally mandated to have six numbers at all times. In any case, if I remember correctly, in that universe I didn't have a chance to inherit All for One and took to Vigilantism. Meanwhile, you also didn't enter U.A. for… reasons, I can't remember, and become a Vigilante as well. We partnered up, the details should be in there." Main gestured at the papers in Itsuka's hand before he sat down beside on the opposite side of the orangette, careful not to disturb Eri who was acting as their barrier.
Kendo continued to read through the paper. It detailed several factors of why she became a renegade Hero. Though the big contribution was likely someone framing her for cheating in a martial arts tournament, which destroyed her chance of getting into U.A. due to a tarnished profile. That and the fact she went off to beat the shit out of the culprit and exposed them for several crimes without any authorities involved, so she very much didn't have a chance to enter a Hero school any longer. Surprisingly, the Izuku of that universe was someone who'd helped her carry out the act. Wait… she narrowed her eyes as she read a particular part.
"Are we… in a relationship in that universe?" Itsuka asked, blush returning to her face.
Izuku immediately put down his book with an exasperated sigh. "Look, just because they are, doesn't mean anything to us."
"What do you mean it doesn't mean anything? They are us, aren't they?" Kendo questioned back.
"No, they have developed into a new person entirely. They are not us," Midoriya argued.
"No," the 1-B student quickly shot back. "They are the same person as I am. They are also Itsuka Kendo, aren't they?"
Izuku narrowed his eyes. "There are worlds out there where our alternate selves act without any reason or logic. I have met a few. The light-hearted ones are someone like an Izuku who is an internet meme personified, as for the darker ones…" The greenette became quiet.
Itsuka, who didn't want to repeat what happened earlier that day, decided to cut in. "Look, you know what. It's fine, no need to explain to me about some of the darker universes unless you have to. What I was trying to say is that since both of us are together-together, there must be a reason why and from what I have read so far, this alternate self of mine is still acting like me."
"That is true." Izuku scratched the back of his neck. "But nonetheless, she has experienced many things differently than you, and thus has developed into a completely new and different person."
For Main, the idea that he and his alternate selves were the same people was false. The people who came into their lives were different, they all got differently Quirks, their worlds possessed various different elements and details, and they were brought up differently based on their guardian (whether that was his dad, mom, or some others). Thus with all those factors combined, he whole-heartedly believed that he and his alternate selves were all different individuals. Or at least, that's what he had been telling himself.
His intellectual sparring partner, however, seemed to disagree, as she frowned. "Look, I know you have been traveling through the multiverse and have a lot more experience than I do on this topic, but I believe that my alternate selves and I, at least the ones that still operate within the realm of sensibility, are all the same person. If I was turned back into a baby, growing up the way they did, getting the same power as them, and being put through their situations, I would end up like them whether I would eventually be a Heroine, a Vigilante, a civilian, or even… a Villain."
Izuku blinked a few times. "That's… a fair statement." He went silent after that. Truthfully, the 1-A student had avoided thinking in that line of thought before. Years of seeing his more despicable alternate selves had left him less than willing to discuss this subject. He did not want to think of them, especially those that had committed a certain… sin. For him, to put himself in their shoes was an impossible, unimaginable thought, but now Itsuka was confronting him with it. "No, no, I-I still don't think that would be the case," Izuku hesitatingly denied.
Under the lack of supervision, Eri had entered a sugar-induced trance; her head wobbling all over the place.
"Why not?" Itsuka asked, tilting her head. "If they still act like me just under certain different situations and conditions, then that doesn't mean we are different from each other, it just means that I don't exist the same way I do in this universe. I think that they have some fragments of what I am here somewhere in their heart and mind." She paused to give him a gentle smile, to show that she didn't mean anything bad for arguing with him here. "I exist somewhere in them, and they also exist somewhere in me."
For Kendo, it was a genuine observation. If she was to become a blank state with no memory of who she was in this universe and be put under the same condition as her alternate selves—as long as that reality operated on a normal logic—she could still see herself turning into them. Izuku, however, had always been terrified of that prospect.
"N-No, that's just basic logic. Everyone possesses a trait or two or more that are similar to someone else. It's only normal, and that doesn't make them the same person," Izuku argued back. Though it was a solid argument, Main's rather shaky voice and the short answer had made his point sound weaker than it should.
Itsuka persisted; "But that isn't the case here. This is literally the same person."
Though she had become more curious; why was Midoriya so persistent in rejecting this notion, yet offering only weak arguments in comparison to what he could normally conjure up? "Like I said, if that universe still operates on a sensible scale, then no matter what new traits or features I get, that universe's me would still have something left that is the same as I. Maybe there are cases where I will change into a completely different person, but surely no one can change without their old personality surfacing at least once in a while, or showing some signs of nostalgia for what they were." Despite promoting herself as a more physically oriented person, one must never forget that the intelligence level of Itsuka Kendo was not to be underestimated. "Besides, even you can see yourself in some of the alternate selves you don't like, right? There's some similarities between you and them, even if it's just a tiny bit?"
Unfortunately, that was the wrong thing to say. Itsuka was smart, but she could be too blunt and more honest than she should. There were a few ways to trigger Main into becoming extremely aggressive—feral, even. One of which was to compare him to them.
"Don't you dare!" Izuku's eyes flared with murderous intent as he glared at Kendo. His emerald eyes stared at her with an intensive hatred that the orangette was sure for a second that he would repeat what Healer did to her in that arena. "Don't you dare compare me to them!" His rage seemed to snap Eri out of her trance as well. "Don't you dare think that I will be as low as those bastards who hurt mom! WE ARE NOT THE SAME!" he screamed to the top of his lungs.
It didn't take long for the greenette to realize what he had done, and the information he had slipped out.
Itsuka could only stare in shock. She had never seen Izuku this hostile before, even as an opponent in the Festival he was much more composed than this. However, she soon realized that she had triggered yet more bad memories of his.
"I-I…" Izuku took several deep breaths. He looked exhausted and the weight of the fever was once again bearing down on him, as he had spent his energy in that outburst. "I-I need to go lie down… if you don't mind. Goodnight." Izuku dragged his feet toward his bedroom, while Itsuka was still too shocked to apologize.
Once the sound of the door slamming echoed through the apartment, it finally caught up to her that she had screwed up. While she wasn't sure how, she understood that she had to try and set this right. The orangette was about to follow to apologize when heard a sobbing.
"Izuku… Izuku's so scary," Eri muttered between hiccups. Moisture gathered at the corner of her eyes.
Now Kendo was conflicted. Who should she comfort? A boy, or a girl? Both were filled with misery due to years of hardship. Both of them certainly deserved to be consoled. Deciding that maybe she could do both, she took Eri into her arms.
"Don't worry, dear. He wasn't angry or anything, he's just… a little down. That's all," Itsuka reassured.
"R-Really?" Eri asked, wiping away some of her tears. During that few moments, she had seen another side of Izuku she didn't know existed, and she hoped she would never see it again.
"Yeah, come on. Let's just go talk with him. You'll see that everything is alright."
With Eri in her arms, Itsuka marched up to the door to Izuku's room. The orangette gave a few knocks before calling; "Izuku, I'm sorry about what I said. Please, let's just… talk this out."
There was a momentary silence, and with every second that passed her heart felt wrenched by guilt. How could she be so insensitive?! Finally, she heard some kind of fabric shuffling and a sound of footsteps echoing toward the door.
"I-I am also sorry for lashing out like that, but…" His apology took a pause. "Just, just please let me cool down for a while. We can talk more tomorrow, for now though just… just rest. Is Eri with you?"
"Izuku…" Eri said, letting Izuku know she was there.
"My little Eri, I am so sorry that you have to see me like that, but we all… have our breaking point. I am sorry. I need to be alone. Can you sleep with Itsuka today?" the brother requested.
"Okay…" the sister agreed, sounding a little scared.
"Thank you." They could hear the sound of heavy footsteps as Izuku moved away from the door. "Please check if everything's locked properly and keep the light in the hallway on so it isn't too dark when our families get here."
The silence came back to fill the apartment. It was neither eerie nor oppressive, merely… nothing, but that was probably worse.
It was around eleven PM when Eri had finally gone to sleep. Itsuka, however, couldn't quite rest.
Kendo just stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Nor could she focus her leftover energy into doing anything else. She didn't want to touch any of the files either, not with what happened to Izuku fresh in her mind. It left her wondering if by merely mentioning what Izuku's alternate selves had done… then what about her? What had her alternate selves done? Had they committed such atrocities that it would keep her awake at night as well? Would knowing any of that turn her personality like with their Izuku? Would she snap and lash out too? The manga showed that he was a bright and cheerful boy, if not somewhat of a shy and awkward person. In this world, however, he was cynical, depressive, and, at times, callous and tyrannical.
There were so many questions, yet not a single answer.
The orangette sighed and stroked her fingers through Eri's hair. The white-haired girl's serene expression was the only thing that kept Itsuka from delving any further into the depth of maddening knowledge the multiverse contained.
Her phone notification suddenly rang out. She reached for the device and looked at the message.
'You have been invited to a group 'U.A. Year 1 Gal Pals.' Kendo blinked at the title, that was not a good name. Still, she might as well talk with others; it's sure as Hell beat staring at the wall all night. She accepted the invitation.
'Itsuka had joined the chat.
Lizard Queen: Oh nice, you're here pretz.
Itsuka: Hey, Set.
Apparition Queen: You can change the username by tap and holding over your name. The option will then pop-up.
Itsuka changed username to Big Fist.
Lizard Queen: Nice.
Mushroom Queen: Aww, I thought we have an agreement to have 'Queen' in our name.
Size Queen: Mmm.
Big Fist: Size Queen? Really, Yui?
Size Queen: Get your mind out of the gutter. It's my Quirk.
Alien Queen: Wait, so your name isn't a kink reference?
Music Queen: No, Mina, I don't think it is.
Pony Queen: *laughing emote*
Frog Queen: *smiling frog emote*
Invisible Queen: *awe emote*
Big Fist changed username to Martial Queen.
Lizard Queen: *whistling emote* Nice. Very fitting of you, Kendo. Very, martial artisty.
Queen of Queens: That's not a word.
Alien Queen: Neither is your name. I mean, no offense Yaomomo, but that's a very… megalomaniacal name.
Queen of Queens: Well, I mean, I was reading the files and one of my alternate selves is titled "Empress Above All Empress". It's really stood out to me so I am going with that.
Pony Queen: Oh! I think I also have a profile on that universe. We are isekai-ed into a fantasy setting right?
Queen of Queens: Oh, yes, it's really interesting… along with the universe where I become… an arms dealer.
Lizard Queen: Yeah, I mean, geez, some of these are pretty dark.
Queen of Queens: Tell me about it.
Gravity Queen: Tell me about it.
Pony Queen: Tell me about it.
Music Queen: Tell me about it.
Frog Queen: Tell me about it.
Invisible Queen: Tell me about it.
Mushroom Queen: Tell me about it.
Size Queen: Tell me about it.
Vines Queen: Tell me about it.
Alien Queen: Tell me about it.
Apparition Queen: Tell me about it.
Dark Shadow Queen: Tell me about it.
Invisible Queen: WHAT THE-!
Frog Queen: Tokoyami-kun?! What are you doing here?!
Queen of Queens: May I ask who invited you? I mean, not to be discriminatory, but we girls do need a place to hang out between ourselves.
Dark Shadow Queen: No, if the name doesn't give it away, it's me, Dark Shadow, not Tokoyomi. The bird head is sleeping.
Gravity Queen: D-Did Izuku get a phone for you as well?
Dark Shadow Queen: Yeah! It's super cool! It even followed me back into Fumikage's shadow! With this device, I can even turn the whole place into a house!
Alien Queen: That… still doesn't explain how you are here.
Lizard Queen: I mean, with this app every name has tags attached to them like '1-B', 'Female', 'Mutation Quirk', etc. So I just hit 'send all invites' to the ones with 'Female'.
Mushroom Queen: Does that mean Dark Shadow is…
Dark Shadow Queen: I will let you all know I am a maiden at heart!
No one typed anything for several minutes.
Dark Shadow Queen: Okay, seriously though, I am a sentient Quirk. I don't really have a sex. As for gender, I identify myself as an Apache attack helicopter.
Lizard Queen: Geez, you got a phone for less than a day and you're already shit posting.
Dark Shadow Queen: Fumikage surfed the net a lot.
Pony Queen: Come to think of it, why don't we use voice chat like when Midoriya did it?
Lizard Queen: Nah, that way felt really… formal, and some people will be left out of the conversation. More so than regular chat, at least.
Queen of Queens: In any event, what Midoriya has given us has been quite an opportunity. There's a lot about our Quirks that we haven't figured out and these files help with that. For instance, one of my alternate selves possessed more knowledge in the field of digital technology than I, it allowed her to make some truly advanced gadgets on the spot, a knock-off Macbook for example.
Apparition Queen: One of my alternate selves figured out a technique of rotation with my Quirk which accelerates the object and increases the potential damage my telekinesis can do.
Mushroom Queen: One of mine uses the 'Phallaceae' family of mushrooms, or 'stinkhorns', to subdue Villain. I am not sure if I want to go down that route, but it's good to know the option.
Gravity Queen: Hey, um, do we have any… update on Todoroki yet? Is he alright now?
Alien Queen: You didn't call him yet?
Gravity Queen: No…
Queen of Queens: That's good actually. Uraraka, I know you're worried about him, but I honestly believe that we should let him rest and absorb all the information for now. I understand that you have some feelings for him, but everyone needs their space.
Lizard Queen: She likes him? I thought she and Izuku were a thing? You know, like in the manga?
Gravity Queen: No. Midoriya left me a note on the front of the folder that romance is fickle matter, but, in this universe, he neither save me nor is close to me so romance between us is highly unlikely and I should take what happened in the manga with a grain of salt. Honestly, I agree. I would be happy for my manga self if she ended up with her Midoriya, I really would. Here though… I have… someone else.
Queen of Queens: That's really mature, Uraraka.
Alien Queen: Bravo! Great speech!
Invisible Queen: We will help you, girl! Let's channel that awkward energy of yours!
Dark Shadow Queen: Ay! Gal pals' power!
Music Queen: Please don't.
Frog Queen: I will help you as well, kero!
Lizard Queen: You know what!? Counts us 1-B gals in as well! Let's hook you two up!
Gravity Queen: *smiling sun emote* Thank guys, but I will listen to Momo's advice for now. Todoroki needs his space… what with the shitty dad and all.
Size Queen: Are you alright, Kendo? Ibara? You two have been too quiet.
Vine Queen: I am merely confused as to how one of my alternate selves would date that Midoriya, that's all. Even as I am typing, I am going through the files as quickly as I can to see if she is in here so I can figure out why. So I apologize if I worried you.
Size Queen: That's fine. Just don't overdo it.
Vine Queen: *understanding smile emote*
Apparition Queen: What about you, Kendo?
Even though there's a tiny message that read 'Kendo's typing' displaying, Itsuka couldn't properly think about what she wanted to tell them. How would she frame this whole situation between her, Izuku, and Eri? Or should she just be honest?
Size Queen: Kendo?
Martial Queen: You know what. Screw this. I am telling you guys everything.
And so Itsuka began to detail what had transpired since the morning up until now. She left nothing out. She wanted to talk to Izuku, to help him somehow. Perhaps it was just her nature that drove her to do this, but what she was certain was that she had to do this, and neither could she do this alone.
Finally, she had finished her retelling.
Lizard Queen: Well, damn…
Vine Queen: By the Lord…
Music Queen: That is really… fucked up.
Alien Queen: Is he alright?
Martial Queen: He's resting, but I am not sure if he's really alright.
Queen of Queens: To be honest… I can see where his fear and… paranoia of romance came from.
Alien Queen: What do you mean? I have read about a few universes where I ended up with him, and we made for a pretty sweet couple. Heck, I text Kirishima a bit and he hooks up with Izuku, both guy and girl versions, and they were fairly happy.
Queen of Queens: I suppose I can give you a watered-down version of a certain case. There's a version of me who… let's just keep it basic and say that she drugged Izuku with substance-laced viagra in order to… seduce him. [1]
Several members of the chat typed out their disbelief.
Queen of Queens: I appreciate the hard work she put into figuring out how to use our Quirk's pharmaceutical products, for Heroics as well no less, but her misuse of that knowledge is just… unacceptable and that's just one of her milder misdeeds.
The chat went silent for several minutes. Unknown to them, Izuku had chosen to give the profiles of their less stellar selves to only specific students, the ones who were ready to handle those dark facts and would not break. Yaoyorozu was one such student.
Martial Queen: And can you see yourself being like her?
Queen of Queens:?
Martial Queen: Can you see some parts of you in her, and her in you? Can you understand why she did what she did? If you can, do you see yourself turning into her?
Kendo had expected some kind of delay before Momo answered, showing that the black-haired girl was hesitant about accepting herself, much like Izuku. Instead, she got her answer in a near instance.
Queen of Queens: Yes. Despite it all, I can understand, maybe too much even, about why several of my alternate selves did what they did. Whether it was that drug-making Momo I have just mentioned, an arms dealer Momo who had to do it to her family afloat, or even a rather radical terrorist Yaoyorozu who was committed to bringing down the All for One-ruled world by any means necessary. Once I had finally examined them in greater detail… I could see myself in them, even if it was just a little, and that's the most horrifying thing. We are all capable of becoming like them, our alternate selves I mean, even the bad ones.
Queen of Queens: I assume you asked this as to understand why Midoriya would reject that prospect? If that's the case then that's your answer. It's a horrifying, terrifying thing to think about. To see yourself being twisted to such an extent, being changed so thoroughly, and yet they are us, some parts of us remained in them. One certainly doesn't really want to think about it.
Alien Queen: Ok, Yaomomo, you're going in too deep here.
Invisible Queen: Yeah, you're making me a little uncomfortable.
Apparition Queen: You also type really fast.
Queen of Queens: My apologies, I simply wanted to make Kendo understand that confronting these aspects of the multiverse can be truly dreadful… and Izuku has been doing this since he was four. There's no way he is fine doing what I am doing now every single day.
Martial Queen: And what should I do? We have been typing for several minutes now, but what can I do with this piece of information?
Queen of Queens: Honestly, just confronting him with his denial might be a poor choice. You need to make him tackle this himself. The thing is, I have this suspicion that his alternate selves are vaguely aware of this issue.
Itsuka mentally disagreed with that method. She felt the directness and honesty would be better suited in dealing with Izuku's problem. Everyone had been nudging and leading him so far, but no one seemed to ever tell him which direction he was supposed to head to.
Music Queen: They do actually.
Martial Queen: How do you know that?
Music Queen: That Admiral snuck me a note. I can't really tell you anything until the teachers decide what to do, but they very much noticed that 'Main has not been seeing straight in years'. It detailed things like mood swings, high aggression, drastic changes in personality when certain subjects are brought up. I am not sure if they're trying to fix it though. They've just notified us about it but won't offer anything either.
Lizard Queen: Are you saying that not a single one of them tries to help broccoli out?
Mushroom Queen: Didn't that 'Witcher' Izuku said that Main is tyrannical? Maybe they are too afraid?
Frog Queen: But some of them are more powerful than him, so why would they be as well?
Martial Queen: We are going off-topic.
Queen of Queens: The point I am trying to make is that it's likely that his mindset of 'my alternate self is a completely different person' is something he endorsed among the rank of his Izukus and Izumis. They would likely accept that way of thinking as well, considering it's really easy to swallow, for instance, one Izuku would think 'that alternate self of mine is atrocious, but he's a different person than me so that doesn't mean I am not a monster'. Thus, you're likely the first person who really confronted him with this fact, so it might take time for him to accept that.
Alien Queen: Kendo, I know this will sound weird and all, but… maybe if you can get him to open up to you more. Then maybe you could really find out how to help him. Izuku isn't a bad person, not at heart, we have established that. So if we can figure out what are some of his major problems, then maybe we can resolve that. You're already close to Eri, so she has already acted as a bridge between the two of you.
Martial Queen: I don't know. I really don't want to involve Eri in all of this. You've all seen what she's been through.
Size Queen: She is already involved. She's his family. They are always looking out for each other. With that said, I don't think Ashido meant that literally, it's just that both of you have a bond with Eri; something in you two has that in common, and thus you two can relate in your love toward her.
Alien Queen: Yeah, what Kodai said.
Martial Queen: I need to think about this. On how to do this, but I really want to help.
Itsuka was about to type more when she heard the sound of the door opening, followed by the sound of slow, heavy footsteps. That was likely Izuku, if it was Inko and her parents she would have heard a greeting or the sound of Inko's keys twisting in the lock.
Martial Queen: Hold on. I think he just came out of his room. I will go take a look. Thanks, girls.
Dark Shadow Queen: Go get him, girl! Any man would fall for our charm! [2]
Music Queen: Stop!
Ignoring all of that, Kendo gently pried herself away from Eri. She swapped her palace with a pillow to give Eri something to hug while she was away.
The orangette snuck out of the room. The hallway was dimly lit, just enough to see her path. Kendo was tip-toeing toward the living room since that would likely be where Izuku was. As she got closer she began to hear Main having a conversation with someone. As she peeked around the corner, she saw that he was lying back down on the couch while talking through a phone.
"Is mom really okay, Assassin?" Izuku asked, no doubt, his alternate self. "Well, just please continue to keep an eye on her." As if to remind them of the situation, another rumble of thunder boomed outside. "Yes, that is a possibility. The next phase of Pax's invasion will have focused on their superweapon projects now. This storm could certainly be a Weather Control Device." There was a short silence. "No, I don't know if they'll bring Einstein back from the dead… yet, or bring in the time-hopping one. I will tell you when I start interning under them. Right, just please keep mom safe. Thank yo- What? Ah, I see. No, I was not aware she was standing there. I will deal with her." With a heavy sigh, Izuku hung up. "Come out, Itsuka."
The orangette jumped a little at being exposed. She complied, however, and walked out from her hiding spot behind the corner. Midoriya sat up and moved to occupy one side of the sofa. He gestured for Kendo to sit down opposite of him. She did as he requested and they came face to face once again. Their eyes bored into each other.
Izuku placed his left palm on his forehead, rubbing his head like he was trying to suppress a migraine.
"What do you want?" the Dimensional Traveler started.
Itsuka swallowed harshly, but she already knew her answer. "I want to help."
"Help what?" Izuku asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Help you with whatever is going through your head," Kendo asked, her resolve unwavering even as Midoriya's expression turned sour.
"Why?" he groaned. "This issue is my own, you don't have to get involved."
"Didn't you say you will 'let us in'? To help you to become better?" the orangette pointed out.
Izuku didn't reply.
"Well, I want to help you, so I have to know what makes you so mad." Itsuka made sure to keep her tone firm, yet not too harsh. She was there to help, not to hurt. "So just, tell me, I won't judge or anything." The orangette offered him a smile. She believed honesty was the best option here. The slow and subtle approach had failed her so far, so she might as well try a different approach.
"Do you really think it would be that easy?" Izuku questioned, fury began to fill his eyes and his teeth began to gnash together angrily. "If I could just sit down and talk and talk and everything would be fixed then I would have gone to some of my alternate selves who are therapists already," he hissed.
"Well, you do acknowledge that something is upsetting you. So, maybe we could… figure something out?" Itsuka proposed.
"Why are you so insistent on doing this? Just why?" Izuku asked, ragged from a combination of emotional exhaustion and fever.
"I just want to help," Itsuka admitted, gentleness in her tone and eyes.
And then, they felt it.
An oppressive, outright suffocating, feeling washing over them. The very air itself felt so heavy that it began to put a burden on their backs. There was no noise that their ears could register, but their minds, and their very souls, could hear it; a screeching, tearing noise as if someone had their nails up against a chalkboard scratched with such a force that either their nails would tear off or the board would break apart.
Itsuka felt fear. The memory of herself being killed off surfaced like a tsunami; her mind and instincts repeatedly told her that would happen again. Her breathing immediately grew laboured. The very thought of repeatedly dying terrified her to the core. She began to feel woozy, and if nothing was done soon she would faint.
Izuku was not in a much better condition himself. He felt his stomach roiling, his dinner threatening to come out. Sweat beads ran down his body like he'd run a marathon. Every single emotion he had was gone, replaced by one singular primal fear for his life. He had experienced this before, he knew who, or rather what, this was and it only terrified him more.
Steadily, the oppression in the atmosphere began to dispense in intensity, though it had not disappeared entirely. When it finally released them enough to breathe easier, the two young Heroes immediately inhaled as if they had just emerged from the depths of the ocean. It took them a while, but both of them eventually calmed down.
Without hesitation, Midoriya looked up. He held his breath at what he saw. "First," he muttered, his voice filled with fright.
Kendo looked up as well, and she saw it.
A symbol was on the ceiling. An eye symbol, painted in green; a similar shade to Izuku's hair. It looked like it was hastily drawn by a few rough strokes of a large brush, with a very basic component of lines making up the eyelids, iris, and pupil. Yet there was something extremely unsettling about it, like a child's creepy drawing, or a basic Satanic circle. And then there was its sudden appearance, it certainly wasn't here before. She also had this strange hunch that what was used to draw this wasn't green paint. Whatever it was, it did not matter. As soon as her eyes fell on it, Kendo knew this was what had caused the previous tension in the air. Then, she quickly remembered what Izuku had just said.
"First?" Itsuka muttered. "Do you mean?..." She trailed off. The orangette knew that the Izukus and Izumis had their own ranking of who was the strongest, so when Main said 'First' could it be…
"Yes." Izuku swallowed. "That's… the strongest Izuku in existence… if he is even going by the name at all."
"What do you mean?" Kendo asked, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the supposed strongest Izuku, materializing as a mere symbol of an eye and looking down on them.
"I have seen this eye a few times. It never interacts with me, only appearing, and it just… stares. My alternate selves with omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscient informed me that this is the strongest Izuku in…"
"In what?"
"I am not sure." His voice projected so much uncertainty that it was enough to shake Itsuka out of her trance and look at the greenette in shock. "The strongest Izuku in existence? In non-existence? In every state of being? All of the more powerful Izukus and Izumis told me the same thing that this being is the strongest. If everyone in the upper-ranking group agrees on something, then it isn't mere speculation, it's a fact."
Both of them could feel their hearts beating faster as the weight of what truly existed behind this eye dawned on them.
"What does he want?"
"I don't know." Izuku hated to give answers like that. He hated not knowing things. "There is no pattern to his appearance, he just… comes out whenever he wants."
Izuku finally tore his eye away and looked back at Itsuka. She looked worse for the wear, though he supposed he was in a very similar state. One thing was certain though, they had to move.
"Let's get back to our rooms." Izuku stood up. "I don't want to stay in the same room as that eye." As he walked away, however, Ituska grabbed his hand and tugged him back.
"No," Kendo said firmly. The greenette narrowed his eyes at her. "Just because he is here doesn't mean our discussion has ended."
"Are you serious?" Izuku asked, incredulous at her insistence. "Is this really the proper time for discussion?" He pointed up at the eye. "Be less stubborn would you." He tried to yank his hand away, but she didn't let go.
"No, you're just running and avoiding the issue. You did it once when Katsuki brought that up, and then after the outburst. You will have to talk about this eventually!" Itsuka gushed.
"Are either of us really in any condition to talk about this?" Izuku questioned.
Itsuka just tightened her hand. "We might not be, but even if we get back to peak condition, would it make any difference? You would just have an easier time avoiding this issue."
There was a momentary silence. "You're just tired. Go get some rest and clear your head; we can always talk about this some other time." Izuku began to try and shake the orangette off with renewed vigor.
"Is this about your mother?" The sentence brought his movements to a halt.
Something in Izuku's eyes turned very wrong.
A/N: I thought about dragging this out on another long-ass chapter, but I decided 'Nah, let's split this up.'
I have… also read 'Bough Breaks', the one where Izuku was raped. It's a real stomach-churner, but… I don't regret it… except for the fact that it hasn't ended yet… and the fact that it keeps roiling my stomach.
[1] Referring to a fic by my fellow author, Darklogic, who graciously provided me with a space on his Discord. It's an adult/smut drama fanfic called "Midoriya Izuku vs the Women of Sigma Epsilon Chi". It doesn't go into far enough detail to explain why Momo did that, but what was given to the readers is enough to hook people in.
[2] I shall now proceed to turn Dark Shadow into Roger from 'American Dad!'.