So turns out I only have about 2 days to write this week, so this'll be the next update for a while. We're so close to finishing the house, and then more and more things just keep getting added :( It'll be a short chapter for now, and sorry for the 12 AM update, but I want to get this published before I get too busy :
Anyways, to the reviews!
Xxser3ndipityxX said: lol I just want you to know that I've been spending THE longest time reading the manga and I regret NOTHING. Seriously, why is it so stinkin' good? Dude, what have I been missing?
Ohma said: Oh, honestly, that's a mood! There's so much content the anime can't cover w/o seeming drawn out and it makes me sad :(
lol And yeah, after reading the manga, I have found that this fic isn't as aligned around it as I was thinking. Or at least, not yet. Just ignore what I said previously then. Geez, I'm usually better at speculating than this. lol
I think around the next chapter is when we'll start aiming for that echo of the manga Timeline, and it's completely ok! What I wrote kinda does sound like something the LoV would do, which is kinda why I wrote it that way.
I'll have to hold the speculation on who could have drug Emi back into the car. Gotta try and remind myself of all the people that have a capture weapon that could fit the bill. I also don't mind just finding out storywise. I DO love me a mystery~
Honestly, you probs won't guess it. All I can say is that Emi will need a lot of therapy afterwards ;)
Man! It's good but at the same time it makes me sad that Shigaraki and Dabi won't exist in this fic's rendition of events, you know? I at least would have liked to have seen them in action when they're older. It also makes me wonder how much their personalities might differ from canon.
I do plan on having, like, a semi-crossover bit with canon in that gap between season 3 and 4. For obvious reasons, I'll try to keep it as side-story/non-interfering with the plot as possible, but there are things I was said to counterparts, lol.
I'm EAGER to see those replacements, though.
Ugh, OCs,,,,,, I honestly hope I'm able to get the craziness on them right, but yeah, "Shigaraki Tomura" will still exist just... not as a silver-blue haired man with a decaying quirk.
Anyways, thanks for addressing my comments. Always good to read your explanations for things.
Again, no problem! :D
So Emi has ended up traveling a bit back in time, huh? I guess that means AFO would have stolen Nana away and took her quirk at some point. Interesting, so Emi is time hopping, huh?
I always had a headcanon that before AfO kills a hero, he either disables or steals their quirk, especially if they managed to give a good fight/are a hindrance. I say that because a Quirk is like a limb, you grow used to it, knowing it's always there, and then when it's suddenly, and most likely painfully, taken away, it shuts your mind down, the loss too much to really comprehend. Because of how One for All works (stockpiling copies of previous user quirks), not all of Nana's quirk got taken. You'll read more about it in the manga. tl;dr: Headcanon that All for One stole Nana's quirk in order to get a killing blow, but it wasn't her full power which is why no one knew what happened.
Warning: This chapter holds Character Death, children making adult decisions, and referenced child abuse.
Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia
To say Shimura had taken the news on good terms would be lying.
The woman had cursed before ruffling the girl's hair. "We'll get you back kiddo. Anything particular we should know about in the future?"
"Best Jeanist wins the Best Jeans awards for ten straight years." she replied in a dead voice and there was a small pause before Shimura started to laugh, making her duck her head and smile, vision flickering slightly.
It was an… eventful day the next morning when she woke up and finally realized that she had grown a weird, green-colored tail.
Yes, a tail.
She was certain Recovery Girl had a video of her flailing everywhere trying to keep her balance with the new appendage.
Finally, Recovery Girl couldn't force her to stay any longer, and with Freefall MIA, she immediately bolted to the nearest person she could find to try and see if they had a car and was willing to try and take her back to the warehouse area.
The first person she ran into was, of course, a 17 year old Endeavor, and wasn't that a scene they made? A blind girl begging for help and a Pro-Hero-to-be sneering down at her before walking away.
Gang Orca was her next target, and while he wanted to help, he didn't have a car.
It continued like this until, finally, someone stepped forward. "I can help you, sweetheart. I'm Dragonfire, what do you need?"
Dragonfire, her mind thought as she froze, Civilian name Midoriya Hizashi… To-san…
"My… the person who's taking care of me, she's in danger, and I'm the only one who can stop it. Please, I need to find her before… before it's too late."
"Well, lucky for you I'm technically a Pro then, huh?" he said, guiding her to a small car. "Do you know where she might be?"
"Warehouses, somewhere near docks for easy boat transport. It'll be under the name... " she trailed off, trying to remember the fake name All for One had given her. "I think his current name is Takahashi…?"
"Takahashi Shigaraki?" Dragonfire asked in shock. "He's head scientist in studying quirks. Why would he want your guardian?"
"He doesn't study Quirks," she answered. "Not in the way you think. My… guardian… has a special quirk, one he's been wanting to… look… at for a while. She was supposed to come back yesterday when Recovery Girl called her to let her know I was ok enough to take home."
"Wow, this place looks wrecked!"
She tensed at Dragonfire's words, scrambling to unbuckle and open the door as they rolled to a halt. Stumbling forward, she felt her feet kicking rubble as she pushed forward, well aware of the 18-year-old scrambling after her. "Don't follow me!" She yelled to him.
"You're just a kid! Sides, it looks like there's a villain around here, so we should go back."
"No, Nana is here somewhere, I know it." she shook her head, for one not feeling the pounding as she started to continue forward again, hearing Hizashi sigh and then follow her. "What are you doing? I said don't follow me! You aren't meant to die here, but you will if you continue!"
"What do you mean by that?" he demanded, making her grimace and shake her head. "No, what do you mean by I'm not meant to die here?"
"If you follow me, you will die, and then where will the world be? I'm from the future, Dragonfire, and you have kids. Are you really willing to erase them from existence if it means trying to foolishly protect me?"
The man was silent before he spoke, voice quiet, but furious. "I think we both know we look too similar for it to be a coincidence."
"Don't," she snapped. "Just… don't. There's not enough time to unpack all of… this." she made sure to motion between them. "Please, just turn around and go back to your house. Forget you ever saw me, especially… especially like this."
"And if I don't?" He questioned. She paused and turned to him, doing her best to keep her face blank.
"Then god knows how many civilians will die. God knows how many will just stop existing. You don't fuck around with timelines. So, please, forget you were ever here, and forget you ever saw me."
He didn't say anything before sighing and rubbing his face. "Damnit, it really has to be like this?" he mumbled.
Spinning on her heel, she started forward again, mentally cursing as she kept kicking and stumbling over rocks. When I get back, she thought, keeping the idea she was going to return back to Izuku, Sir Nighteye better be willing to help me with this stupid foresight quirk. It was never an idea in her head that she wasn't going back, and even if that did help her, then, by God, she was going to get back to her brother, damnit.
"You'll… you'll never win," a voice croaked out, barely there. "One for All has already been passed down… you can't stop your fate…"
"Perhaps not," All for One's voice agreed, sending shivers down the girl's spine as she stood around the corner, hands pressed to her temples. "But I can certainly stop yours. You won't be here to see your successor or son grow, Nana Shimura. What? You did not think that I wouldn't search for the hero that's been a thorn in my side for years?"
"Leave… leave them alone!"
"You should've thought about the consequences," when Shimura began to scream, Emi couldn't take it anymore and bolted around the corner.
"Leave her alone!" She cried, grabbing a rusty chain that was attached to something heavy and going under the large man, before turning sharply to the side and pulling, mentally cheering as he dropped the Hero to keep his balance.
"Em…" Shimura breathed. "No, go-to back to-,"
"No.," She bit out before running off in time for the villain to just barely miss her, immediately hating her shit-eating grin as she braced her legs. "You're probably one of the best villains in this world," she reluctantly admitted. "And you probably already know what's coming. So how about… how about a deal?"
"Em, no," Shimura's- Nana's voice was getting weaker, and Emi knew she was about to slip into that quirkless coma thing.
"In twenty years time, we'll meet again three times. The third time, I came here, to this year. You'll be in the middle of a fight with the current One for All then."
"Where are you going with this little kitten?" The man demanded. "Why should I not just take your quirk, like I took your grandmother's?"
Wow he's assuming much, she mentally sniggered. "Because in that fight, you have a chance to get rid of your brothers quirk once and for all. If you let me return to my time with Nana Shimura beside me… I won't interfere. You'll get a killing blow, and… and I'll do nothing," as she finished, her shoulders and voice shook and her eyes burned like she had to cry but couldn't. But if she could save Shimura Nana, even if she was Quirkless, then Toshinori (She didn't deserve to call him that) All Might… would be better, even if it was just slightly.
Izuku would have two mentors to help control One for All, and maybe he wouldn't break as many bones.
"Very well," All for One purred, making her jolt, then relax before he spoke again, her twisted joy turning right back into horror. "But on one other condition. Shimura Nana and her successor can never meet again under your watch."
Fuck…
"And if I break that condition?" She asked, voice quavering as she edged towards the near unconscious hero. "If you've gone so far underground I can't find you and the condition is broken, what will happen?"
"Simple," he laughed, and her blood turned to ice as she froze from where she was kneeling beside the woman. "Japan burns and you finish your Nomu transformation."
Did you really expect anything else? Her mind sassed, sounding a bit like Tenko for a second. "Very well," she whispered, trying to wrong her mind on any loopholes she could do. Under your watch… wait… UA dorms… it happens just after… I can do that. I can make that happen. "I…" taking a deep breath, she stood and held out a shaking hand, pain echoing through her as she remembered the last time they touched. "I accept your conditions. I will take Shimura-san back to my time and ensure the successor never finds out about her on my watch."
She knew he heard her emphasis, and as his hand engulfed hers, a portal behind her flared to life, and the last thing she remembered was someone weakly wrapping an arm around her and pulling her through the portal as she fell unconscious.
"Still no word on Emica," Hizashi said as he came into their apartment, and, really, why couldn't they see this coming? Shouta knew before all of them that Emica, that Emili, would bring trouble, but they didn't give her proper protection because, what, she was just a kid? No one was going to look for orphans in the system? The more questions that came up regarding how the council held Emi's case, the more he began to wonder if being a hero was really worth it.
"She's out there," he argued, and when his boyfriend nodded, he continued. "All Might's already taken Izuku under his wing, but with his injuries, he can't lead the search we need."
"We also have to account that we've said she's quirkless when she's not," Hizashi added, moving to sit beside him and rub his ears. No doubt his hearing aides were hurting. They'd barely gotten a chance to rest, let alone talk, since the twins got taken, and they were all running ragged. "How's Touya taking it?"
Shouta grimaced at the reminder of the boy Emi had saved. "Touya was distraught. His mother came in to visit just as he started yelling." the blonde grimaced alongside him.
"We'll find her," the man promised, and Shouta wished he could agree completely.
Nana didn't know what to do.
She had barely been able to hold on when the bastard got a hit on her and stole her quirk, but when Emi flew in, she knew she couldn't succumb to her pain yet. She heard every excruciating detail of the deal while she laid there, unable to do nothing as the man gave her what had to be one of the most dangerous quirks to have with her information.
Then the girl had to go and faint before she was properly through.
Not that she could blame her, of course. Even at 38, she still had days where her constitution and resolution were low and all it took was one good blow to knock her down. And yet, here was this eight year old, recovering from torture, running to save a complete stranger from the very person who had harmed her.
If she didn't become popular enough to become a Pro, then there was something seriously wrong with the world.
Shaking her head, she looked through the ICU window, chest aching from both broken ribs and her heart as the girl in question laid motionlessly on a bed.
"Your granddaughter should wake up soon," one of the nurses said with a happy smile, and she let a relieved smile show before looking at the phone thoughtfully. She had no clue whether or not the girl was actually related to her, but she couldn't find Kotaro anywhere he should be listed. Either the foster family had taken her words to heart or… shaking her head, she put her phone away and entered the room, turning on the TV as she settled down beside the girl, waiting for her to wake up.
She had thought a lot of the girl's deal over the month, and as much as she was glad to be alive, she shouldn't've agreed to any of it, especially to All for One. Did she not realize just how much of his end he could keep if she ended up accidentally breaking the deal? Sudden noise from a TV caused her to startle, making her turn towards it.
Upon reading the headline, she let out a sad noise and closed her eyes. "Oh, Toshi, what have you gotten yourself into?"
Number One Hero to Adopt 8 Year Old Orphan After Serious Villain Attack!
