Chapter 1: Voices in My Head
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Move it, Deku," Katsuki growled as he bumped into Izuku's shoulder, making his way through U.A.'s gates.
Izuku sighed once he maintained his footing. This was par for the course, really. Even though Katsuki had been leaving him alone for the past ten months, he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Gaining a Quirk wasn't going to change his entire life. Not immediately, at least.
"Well, he seems pleasant," a gruff voice rumbled sarcastically from inside his mind. Izuku jerked at the sound. He looked around, but none of the people in the area seemed to be the source.
"From what we can tell from Nine's memories, that might have been as pleasant as he ever gets," a wispy voice replied.
Izuku tried to push this aside and walk forward, but managed to trip over an uneven stone in the walkway. As he silently apologized to All Might and his mother for failing them, he swore he could hear chuckles and an odd sense of reassurance…
All of which was overwritten when he realized that he hadn't hit the ground, and wasn't about to anytime soon.
"Are you okay?" Izuku heard a cheerful female voice, one that clearly had an outside source, and he turned to see a cute brunette girl with pink cheeks standing beside him. "I stopped you with my Quirk! I'm sorry I didn't ask first, but… I figured you wouldn't mind me catching you."
Izuku could only stare, dumbfounded, trying to block out what sounded like snickering and a single "aww" coming from his head.
"This is all really nerve-wracking, isn't it?" the girl asked as she placed her hands together, letting Izuku return to the ground much more gently. Izuku attempted to respond, but nothing coherent managed to come out, "Well, I guess I'll see you inside. Bye!" She gave a friendly wave as she made her way inside.
I TALKED TO A GIRL! , Izuku shouted in his mind.
"Pretty sure you need to say something for it to count," responded a young sounding voice.
"Hey, he's trying his best!" a female voice replied.
As Izuku made his way to the exam, he finally broke down, and asked himself, Okay, where are these voices coming from?
There was a brief pause and then, the wispy voice replied, "You can hear us?"
The fact that you're responding to me is very alarming , Izuku thought in a panic.
"Can't believe we've hit singularity already," the wispy voice said in awe.
"It's all right, Nine," an older man's voice responded, "We were expecting something like this to happen eventually. Not quite this soon, but apparently One for All's strength has grown more quickly than we thought."
Nine? Izuku thought, then it came to him in a flash, Wait, are you…
"The previous users of One for All," the wispy voice responded, "In addition to our strength, our memories and our personalities have been passed down within One for All across the generations. I am Yoichi Shigaraki, the first holder of One for All."
"Daigoro Banjou. I was the pro hero Lariat. I'm fifth," The gruff voice he first heard replied.
"I am Hikage Shinomori, the fourth user," the older voice said.
"En. Sixth," replied the younger man.
"I'm Nana Shimura. I was seventh. I'm the one who chose Toshinori!" The sole female voice responded.
Toshinori? Izuku asked, unfamiliar with that name. The answer came in a calming presence, not in words, but the feeling of a familiar hand on his shoulder, Wait, All Might is here, too?!
"Sort of," replied Yoichi, "His vestige is here, but it isn't complete yet. Not like the rest of us. We're not sure if he'll be saying 'I am here, in your head!' when the last embers of One for All burn out in his body, or when he dies."
"We're not terribly eager to find out which one will come first," Nana said.
"Interesting as this is, doesn't Nine have an entrance exam to take?" Daigoro asked.
That caused Izuku to make a mad dash for the examination room.
I'm still worried that I was cheating , Izuku thought as he walked out of the written exam.
"You were just using an aspect of your Quirk to help you. Would it be cheating for someone with a Quirk that enhanced their intelligence to take that test?" Hikage responded, "Besides, you did put in all the work. We just checked it for errors."
"Not to mention, we do have an ulterior motive for helping you. Finishing early means that we have the opportunity to make sure you can activate One for All before the practical exam begins," Yoichi surmised.
"Preferably without shattering yourself in the process, " Nana said.
But didn't All Might say I was a proper vessel now? Izuku asked.
There was a feeling of unease, a feeling Izuku could now attribute to All Might's vestige within One for All.
"Bare minimum," En mumbled. "Just enough that it won't kill you. Probably"
"When I gave One for All to Toshinori, he was at least half a meter taller than you and about twice your weight in muscle," Nana said, "So, he was able to use it without much complication. Not to mention, he's been honing it and making it stronger over the past four decades. And then on top of all that, transferring One for All will itself cause the power to grow."
"And besides, his advice to you on how to use it was hilariously bad," Daigoro said with a chuckle.
Izuku instinctively wanted to argue that point, but couldn't. He was fairly certain, especially now, that simply clenching his buttcheeks and yelling "SMASH" would end in disaster. The fact that All Might's vestige was projecting an apologetic feeling only enhanced that. At this point, however, he'd found the restroom and entered. He took a few deep breaths and tried to loosen up.
Once he did, he felt a pulse run through him. He shot up as if he were shocked. He took a few more deep breaths as the pulse returned.
"Feel that, Nine?" Daigoro asked, "That's One for All. That's the power inside you now. Try and make that pulse happen on your own."
Izuku nodded. He closed his eyes as he concentrated on that feeling. This time, the shock was more intense as he felt like there was… how to describe it? An ocean of power? A storm? A raging wildfire? An ocean of electricity that was somehow on fire?
"Don't lose yourself in the metaphors, Nine," Yoichi interrupted his train of thought, "Now that you can feel One for All, can you measure it? Can you sense its full potential?"
There was a pause as Izuku made One for All pulse several more times. I… I think I have a feel for it? He replied.
"Okay, so take that feeling, and partition out one percent of it. Once you do, let it flow through your entire body. Make sure it's even, or you'll put a greater strain on yourself," Yoichi said.
Izuku nodded and he did so. He felt around for a bare fraction of that power. He imagined All Might using One for All to bulk up his entire body from his skinny form, and let that power course through.
He opened his eyes to see green lightning arcing around his body. His eyes widened, and in his shock, he let the energy disperse. In his head, there were a few polite chuckles, a few cheers, and an overwhelming feeling of pride.
"Okay, try that again, and when you do, move your arm, and just your arm, carefully. We want to make sure you can handle this…" Yoichi instructed. Izuku complied, and moved his arm without any problems. Once it was clear he could withstand it, he tried to move the rest of his body, and once again found that there was no resistance, "Good, now let's increase that to two percent and see how that works."
After a few minutes of increasing the flow within him Izuku discovered that he could use four percent of One for All without any difficulty whatsoever, that five percent was a bit uncomfortable but workable, and by the point he reached six percent, attempting to move put him in pain.
"Excellent work, kid!" Nana cheered, "Maybe we can fine-tune it, but for now, you know your limits. You can do it, Nine!"
Izuku teared up. Thank you all so much. You're being so nice to me, and you don't have to…
He feels a hand on his shoulder, and feels that All Might is there, reassuring him.
"None of that," En said warmly. "We're here with you."
"You ain't alone anymore, Nine," Daigoro said, "You're our legacy. It only makes sense that we give you a leg up."
"Once we learn how this exam is conducted, we'll figure out a plan of attack together," Hikage said. "And then, we'll give you your chance to shine."
The vestiges remained quiet in his head throughout the introduction to the practical exam. For the most part. They seemed angered and supportive whenever Bakugou growled at him, and when the boy with glasses called him out, which was a nice feeling. He felt comfortable talking to them again once he was on the bus to the testing area.
So, I had a lot on my plate, still do, but I only just realized now that the second and third users haven't introduced themselves… Izuku brought up inside his head.
Upon doing so, he experienced an unfortunately familiar feeling. He could feel the presence of two people, clearly aware of him, but choosing to deliberately ignore him. A reaction he'd had from his classmates, teachers, countless people throughout his life.
Having experienced it before didn't make it hurt less, particularly now. This was mollified by a feeling of comfort coming from All Might's vestige.
"Don't pay them any mind, Nine," Yoichi said, "Two and Three are from the Dark Age of Quirks. I was too, but my experiences were different from theirs. As such, they have…" he searched for the right word, " opinions about Quirk use and heroics."
"Yeah, those two edgelords aren't big fans of most of us. Even All Might is naive in their eyes," Daigoro laughed.
That made him crack a smile before En interrupted, "Later. Time to plan."
Izuku put his hand to his chin, Well, I have control of about four percent, but now I have to apply it in a combat scenario untested. I should try and stay within the safe zone. I might stretch it to five if necessary, but straining myself too much carries the risk of causing injuries that I might not even notice until they become serious. I don't know how strong I am at four percent, so the first few encounters will need to be experimental. Maybe I could use scrap from the robots as weapons? Will that matter if my fists aren't enough? What about -
"Are you deliberately trying to sabotage us?!" With horror, Izuku turned and saw that the tall, blue-haired boy with glasses was on the same bus as him, and was shouting at him once more, "Do you think that such tactics would be acceptable at such an august institution?!"
"ACK!" Izuku squeaked, "S-s-sorry! I didn't realize I was speaking out loud!"
"Need to break that habit," En commented, as a number of other examinees began to chuckle. "Dangerous in the field."
Izuku took a breath and said, "I was just st-st-strategizing. And I'm nervous." As he said this, the feeling of having people encouraging him, including All Might, right there beside him, gave him enough confidence to continue, "So, if anything, you're the one who's trying to sabotage me. W-w-what's more distracting, someone muttering to himself, or a tall guy standing up and shouting?"
Others began laughing, and he heard several comments like, "Ooooh, burn!" and "He's got you there!" The bespectacled boy had a moment of silence, and then, to Izuku's surprise, sharply bowed deeply to him.
"You are correct! Forgive me! I was not attempting to sabotage you either! I suppose that my own nerves are causing me to act shamefully. Still, that is a poor excuse, and I apologize for my actions."
This was a new experience. Someone his age sincerely apologizing to him. "It's f-f-fine. Everyone reacts to stress differently…"
"Thank you for your graciousness!" The other boy said, rising from his bow, "My name is Tenya Iida, and I wish you the best of luck."
"I-Izuku Midoriya. And best of luck to you, too," Izuku managed to say, as Tenya sat down.
"Well, guy's got a stick up his butt, but at least he's not a jerk," Daigoro said, laughing.
The bus stopped shortly thereafter and Izuku took a look around at the other examinees. His quirk-nerd instincts were going into overdrive as he scoured the crowd. He noticed a familiar face, It's the nice girl!
The vestiges tried not to snicker. They failed. Hell, Izuku was pretty sure Two and Three were snickering as well.
Keeping his quirk up in concentration, Izuku walked over to her. He became aware that Tenya was following at a distance, but the taller boy made no move to stop him.
The brunette girl turned as Izuku approached, startled at first, but she smiled, "Oh, hey, the boy from the entrance! Hello again!" she waved.
"H-hi. I just wanted to thank you for stopping my fall back there, and to wish you good luck. I should have done that earlier, but I was super nervous," Izuku said, almost wondering where this confidence was coming from.
Well, that wasn't true, there were six ghosts in his head advising and encouraging him. That helped immensely.
"I get it, I'm super nervous too," the girl said, "Midoriya, right? I heard you and the stiff guy on the bus?"
"Yes! Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you!"
"I'm Ochako Uraraka. Good luck!" She held out her fist and Izuku, still stiff from nerves, reached up and bumped it.
"Excellent work, Nine!" Nana cheered as Izuku turned towards the gate, cherry red. "Now, get One for All, we need to be ready."
Breathing deep, Izuku did so, electricity dancing around him and, he noticed now, a red glow coursing through his veins.
"Whoa…" Uraraka said.
Before he could reply, he heard Present Mic's voice yell out, "And, START!" As soon as he did, Izuku, now hyper-focused, took off in a green blur of energy. He was darting through the testing grounds when he heard, "WELL, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? THERE AREN'T COUNTDOWNS IN REAL LIFE!"
Soon after that, he came across his first robot, a one-pointer. Time to test this out… he thought as he yelled out, "SMASH!" and drove his fist into the robot. He was hoping not to damage his hand.
He was startled to see the machine crumple like it was made of cardboard.
I can do this! Izuku thought happily as he shot forward again, looking for more opponents.
What followed was a whirlwind of activity as he shot forward. There were a few slip-ups, particularly when he tripped at his top speed, but luckily Tenya was nearby and caught him before taking off like a blur. He returned the favor later by crushing a two-pointer that was about to shoot Tenya from behind.
Honestly, the vestiges were a godsend. Even if all they had done was tell him how to activate his Quirk correctly, it would have been enough. But they were giving him advice, alerting him to targets, as well as to other examinees in danger. He felt like he was constantly destroying robots about to overtake a tired student or pulling someone out of the way of a stray missile.
It was exhilarating, and frankly, enjoyable! That ten months of hell was worth it if he was able to experience this rush!
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud booming sound and the appearance of a skyscraper sized robot shaking the earth as it moved, reducing buildings to rubble.
"Wait, that's the zero-pointer?!" Yoichi asked incredulously.
"This seems like overkill," Hikage muttered.
"How can they afford that thing?!" Daigoro yelled.
Izuku paled in shock, and was about to run, until he heard a familiar voice call out in pain. He turned and his eyes widened with shock as he saw someone with familiar auburn hair buried under a pile of rubble. Uraraka! He yelled in his mind.
For the second time in his life, Izuku's body moved on its own.
He could hear the shouts of the vestiges within him, much like he could hear the shouts of the heroes that first time he ran headfirst into danger, but like that fateful day with the sludge villain, he paid them no mind. Everything was drowned out by the fact that Ochako needed to be saved .
As he ran, his brain began to work into overdrive. Pulling her out would injure her worse. Digging her out would take too long. Even if he did manage to get her clear, the zero-pointer would still be a threat to them as they got away, not to mention that other examinees might be in danger. He'd need to get rid of that thing. Impacting it from the bottom would just push it back, or even force it to fall on top of them. No, if he wanted to make sure she was safe, there was only one option.
He poured One for All into his legs as he leapt into the air, nearly flying as the power now flowed into his right arm, and he bellowed out "SMAAAAAASH!" and punched the enormous robot with all his strength.
In quick succession, he realized three things. Firstly, his plan succeeded. The zero-pointer was completely obliterated, the debris falling backwards away from Ochako and any other examinees.
Second, he was now falling from a great height.
Third, both of his legs and his right arm were now broken.
Oh no, Izuku thought to himself. I got way too ahead of myself!
"Now he thinks of it," an unfamiliar voice grumbled. Had to be Two or Three, didn't matter which at the moment.
"Admonish later, plan now," En said, uneasy for the first time.
"Nana, could you possibly help him out here?" Yoichi suggested.
"Nope, we've hit singularity quicker than we anticipated, but we're still not at the point where we can pass down our own Quirks, " Nana replied.
Gonna gush about that later if later comes, Izuku thought at a rapid pace. What about a Detroit Smash? Punch with my left arm and use the pressure to cushion my impact?
"Doable," Hikage said, "But you'll break your other arm doing so, and you'll have to get the timing just right."
The other option is dying so I'll take it, Izuku thought as he chambered a punch with his remaining arm.
"When we say go, you punch. All right, Nine, ready…" Daigoro began to prepare as Izuku braced himself.
However, the plan was foiled when Izuku felt a smack to his face, and his fall began to slow. He looked and saw Ochako flying on the piece of debris, her face screwed up with exertion, as the two of them began to slowly reach the ground.
"Or, that could happen," Daigoro said, breathlessly.
Once they were less than a meter from the ground, both Izuku and the piece of concrete came to a hovering stop. Ochako put her fingers together and whispered, "Release," causing them both to drop to the ground with minimal pain for Izuku. She then vomited.
"Guess your Quirk takes a lot out of you, too," Izuku said, weakly.
Ochako let out a half-hearted laugh, "Yeah. Didn't think I had enough left in me… guess I was wrong. Had to pay you back for saving me."
"Hey, that's twice you saved me and once I saved you. I still owe you," Izuku smiled at her. How am I so confident? Hell, how am I still conscious?
"Adrenaline and various endorphins," En said bluntly.
"And you've still got One for All coursing through you at four percent. It's probably holding you together," added Yoichi.
"That's actually fairly impressive," Daigoro said.
As Ochako looked at Izuku's smiling face, she returned it with a weak grin of her own. In the back of Izuku's mind, he could hear a rhythmic "thump-thump-thump", followed by a loud "CLICK".
What was that? He asked.
There was a pause, before Yoichi admitted, "I'm not sure."
Before they could focus on that, there was movement. "Phew, medic's here!" Daigoro said.
"The Youthful Heroine, Recovery Girl!" Izuku said, as the old woman approached. She assessed him as he said, "Wish I had my notebook for you to sign."
"You've got your priorities mixed up, young man," Recovery Girl said. "How did this happen?"
"Used too much of my Quirk. Saw her in danger and I went Plus Ultra. Overdid it," Izuku said weakly as the pain was starting to grow.
Luckily, that was the point where Recovery Girl's lips extended and she gave him a kiss on the forehead. The pain eased as his bones were restored to their rightful shape, and he finally broke his hold on One for All as lethargy set in.
"You should be unconscious after that," Nana said. "Keeping One for All up when she heals you must reduce the energy drain. And I must say, Chiyo's aged phenomenally."
Groaning, Izuku managed to get to his feet, as Recovery Girl healed Ochako, who also looked supremely tired as she stood up. Both teens were handed a pile of gummy bears, "These will help with the fatigue. Don't eat them all at once. Take care of yourselves, I'd rather not see you in my office too much."
As she left and they made their way to the exit, Ochako decided to ask, "So, how do you think you did, Midoriya-kun?"
"I'm not sure, Uraraka-san," Izuku replied, "It was mostly a blur by the end, but I think I was at twenty-two points before I lost count."
"I got twenty-eight," she said nervously. "I hope that's enough."
"Well, you did save my life in the last two minutes. If U.A.'s as good a hero school as everyone says, that should count for something…" remembering All Might's words, he gave her a big smile.
Ochako's permanent blush marks grew as her face turned red, "Um, Midoriya-kun, would you mind it if we… exchanged phone numbers? I mean, even if we don't get in, or if one of us gets in and not the other, I still want to be friends with you," her words came out rapidly and her cheeks were half-ready to bruise from blushing too hard.
Izuku's face turned equally red as his mouth dropped open in shock. He was thankful that the ghosts in his head were silent for this. "I-I would be happy to, U-Uraraka-san…" he stammered out, his smile turning from cheerful to bashful. "D-do you live close by? Cause I'm a local."
"Nope! I'm from Mie, I'm staying in a hotel tonight," Ochako spoke rapidly and she perked up, "Oh, do you know anywhere good for me to get some dinner?"
And, suddenly, Izuku had a premonition of sorts. Suddenly, and without warning, he had a flash and he knew that Ochako was hoping for something cheap. She didn't have much money, and in fact the train ticket and hotel required to take this exam took a big chunk out of her savings. She needed to eat, and didn't want to seem like she was begging, but she didn't have much money.
Izuku knew this with absolute certainty. He also didn't have any way to have obtained this information. He was good at analysis, yes, but this was utterly ridiculous.
"Very interesting," Yoichi whispered.
Ignoring that, Izuku replied, "Well… honestly, my mom's the best cook I know. If you want, I can ask her to make some extra for you. It's the least I can do after all you've done for me today."
Ochako was about to speak, but stopped, confused. Unbeknownst to Izuku, she was about to decline, saying he didn't have to go that far for her, but she just received a similar flash of knowledge. She knew that Izuku was lonely, that he didn't have any friends, that this would be the first time in years he'd had a friend over to his home. Of course, she didn't have a cadre of ghosts giving her advice, so she was able to ignore the oddity of it, at least for now.
"Well, if you insist, I'll be happy to visit you for dinner," she managed to stammer out. It didn't matter that it made no sense, she knew with certainty that this boy had his heart broken many times over. She wasn't going to push him away when he reached out this time.
"Great!" he said as they made their way to the bus, preparing himself to contact his mother the minute they returned to the locker rooms and he retrieved his phone.
"Well, Nine, congratulations are in order," En said, "No matter what else, you have successfully talked to a girl."
As the vestiges cheered, Izuku realized there was something he had to do before contacting his mother.
All Might was happier than he'd ever been in the six years since he received his injury.
He knew that he'd chosen well with his successor, but to see it confirmed onscreen made his day. The boy was a natural with his new power! He wasn't able to use it to its full capacity, the way All Might had at his age, but his control was superb! He was able to gain a respectable thirty-seven villain points, but throughout the exam, his natural heroism drove him to save his fellow examinees at every possible turn!
And the zero-pointer! Whatever worries All Might had for his protege, he knew that he'd solve the test that the zero-pointer provided. But he wasn't expecting Izuku to destroy it! It cost him dearly, but he was expecting there to be problems. He'd have to ensure that Izuku knew to push himself, but not to go overboard.
They were still debating how many rescue points to award for his actions, but it would probably put him in the top five even without villain points.
Though, All Might wasn't a part of that decision. Now, he had paperwork to deal with. Mountains and mountains of paperwork.
As the day became night, All Might decided to check his phone. He had heard his notification for Izuku's texts several times after the exam was completed. He knew that he shouldn't respond to the boy before the results were sent out, but he figured there was no harm in reading the notifications...
Young Midoriya: Toshinori-sensei, your Quirk's haunted.
Young Midoriya: Nana says hi
Young Midoriya: she also was the one who told me to call you Toshinori and I was worried but she insisted
Young Midoriya: and she said you wouldn't get mad, and if you did, she'd give me Gran Torino's phone number and make me tell him your instructions for using One for All
Young Midoriya: I don't know who Gran Torino is, and she won't tell me
Young Midoriya: and the other past users are all just giggling and it's really concerning.
All Might promptly fell over, spewing blood from his mouth.