Izuku smiled at Shinsou as he took his seat next to him. Though he was now in 'Class 1–S', he still shared homeroom with 1–A. "Hey Toshi!"
"Izu, I was wondering if you were going to make it on time." He snickered. "Your brother still keeping you from riding the train?"
"Yeah. We had to fly to school today." He snickered. He and the other staff members had spent the weekend at the hot springs, and Keigo had been the one to pick him up since Sugaku's car had broken down. Ectoplasm didn't have a homeroom, so he could afford to be late, but Izuku had to keep up appearances. Since everyone else had left, Sugaku was stuck alone at the resort until his car could be fixed. Well, Yuka had stayed with him to keep him company.
Izuku felt kind of bad about just leaving the two of them there, so he pointed them in the direction of a local mechanic that he knew from prior First Run experience was fantastic, despite the fact that his Quirk did nothing more than make his eyes sparkle like an anime character.
"Who are you interning with?" Hitoshi asked curiously, snapping Izuku out of his thoughts.
"Snipe!" Izuku beamed. "Figured I should learn some long-ranged techniques, too!"
"Aw, I thought for sure you'd intern with Viridian!" Kirishima groaned. "I lost two thousand yen on that!"
"Then don't bet with money." Kaminari grinned as Kirishima handed him the money.
"I thought about it, but he's apparently got some kind of mission or something over the break. He didn't take any interns." Izuku huffed, still a little sore over the fact that he hadn't been allowed to intern with himself. "What about you, Toshi?"
"I'm interning with Aizawa-sensei." He grinned. "I'd like to go underground like him, and between him and Viridian, I feel like I'll have a higher chance of survival with sensei." He shuddered lightly, causing Izuku to snicker. "Plus, like you said, Viridian didn't extend any offers."
"Really? I didn't know sensei was taking interns." Kaminari mused. "That'd be so weird to see sensei at home."
Izuku held back a snort. He had a pretty damn good idea what happened at Shouta's house. Namely lots of kitty cuddles and hair braiding. (And Hizashi had been right! Shouta knew all sorts of hair-care tricks and Izuku was certain his hair had never felt so soft before.)
"All right, class, settle down." Shouta walked into the room looking significantly less exhausted than usual. Izuku quietly mused to himself on that. Perhaps they should take a staff vacation every trimester? "Today will be the start of your internships. I've got your tickets here—they'll take you to the town of your hero or agency of choice. Someone should meet you at the station—who it is will be in the folder I'm about to hand out. Listed therein is also a list of rules and regulations. Though you are not going to be in class for the next week, we expect you to represent UA in a positive light. Remember to always Go Beyond."
"PLUS ULTRA!" They shouted in unison, and Izuku wasn't sure if Shouta was groaning or chuckling.
"I'll expect you all back in class on Monday. Have a good time out there, and please, for the love of whatever deity you hold dear, stay out of trouble." He sent Izuku a significant look.
"Those of you who are interning with a staff member may stay here. Everyone else, come get your folders and go catch your trains. There's a small sum of money from the school for you—this is for food and transportation only. It should last you the whole week, use it wisely."
With that, everyone got up to grab their folders. Izuku shared a look with Shouta when Iida grabbed his envelope and left without a word to anyone. Finally, Shouta was left in the room with Izuku and Hitoshi. "Shinsou, you'll be interning with me. I work at night, so you'll have daylight hours to train and sleep. For now, come along and I'll show you where we'll be staying." He paused to send Izuku a look. "You'll find Snipe in the staff room. Please stay out of trouble, Problem Child?"
"I make no promises." He grinned as Shouta sighed, causing Hitoshi to snicker lightly.
"Best I can ask for, I suppose. Also, Powerloader has some of those items you were asking about. Go see him before you head out." With that, Shouta and Hitoshi left the room.
Izuku wasted no time in heading down to Higari's classroom. He grinned as Mei greeted him. "Izu! Thought you were heading on an internship?"
"I am, but I've got to pick up my modified hero costume from Powerloader." He explained. "Plus, I'm interning with Snipe, so it's not like I've got a train to catch."
"That's fair. I'm just downloading a few files onto a hard drive to take home so I can work on some projects over the break." She rocked excitedly on her heels. "You and Hito should come by sometime! If you have the chance during your internships, drop me a call or visit!" She pulled out her phone and fired off a message. Izuku glanced at his own phone, swiping to the side to mark it as read. "That's my address. Now you don't have an excuse."
"I doubt he'll have any time to visit during his internship." Higari interrupted with a wry smile.
"Mei, are you going home for the week?" Izuku tilted his head.
"Yep! Powerloader's kicking me out for the break because of that stunt I pulled during the Sports Festival." She huffed, glaring at the teacher balefully.
"You tricked Iida into being your showman on international television." The hero crossed his arms with an unimpressed look. "I can't just let you get away without some kind of retribution. You're lucky I'm letting you take those files home."
Mei groaned playfully. "He's so mean, Izu! You and Hito have to come visit me! Even if it's just on the weekend after internships."
Izuku chuckled. "I'll do my best, but I make no promises. I have no idea what kind of trouble Snipe and I will get into." He had a very good idea what kind of trouble they were going to find, and he wasn't entirely sure if he was going to be able to avoid a hospital stay by the end of it. "But if I'm able to, I'll come visit."
"YES!" She pumped her fist in the air. "I can't wait to show you all the babies I've got at home! I think you'll like the jetpack, in particular!"
Higari decided it was time to intervene. "Now go on. Those of us without interns would like to actually enjoy our break."
Izuku snorted. "What break? I think the only person who's gonna have one will be Recovery Girl, what with the fact that 80% of her patients are someone else's problem for the next week." He smirked a bit when Higari chuckled at that.
A small beeping noise drew their attention to the hard drive Mei had. Izuku didn't miss the twitch that Higari gave, as if he wasn't sure if it'd blow up or not. Knowing Mei, it was a valid concern.
"Well, guess it's done! Bye Izu! I'll see you and Hito later, okay?" She gave him a quick and unexpected hug before rushing off, leaving him standing there for a moment in shock.
"I can't get over how much more outgoing she is in this time." Izuku smiled.
"She's been much happier since you and Shinsou befriended her." The physically older hero grinned as he leaned against his desk. "Sometimes her peers are less than kind to her due to her eccentric nature. It isn't quite bullying, so I can't do much other than separate them, but I was always afraid that that isolation would hurt her more than help her."
"In my time, she's one of the best inventors in the world. Has her own lab at I-Island and everything." Izuku grinned. "Still lonesome, though. She and I had a rivalry going… I have no idea what happened to her after the walls fell."
Higari placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. I'm excited to show you what I've done with your outfit." He pulled out the familiar silver briefcase that the school used, but instead of his school-sanctioned hero outfit, he found himself looking at his vigilante outfit.
It was the same general look, but much sleeker. Made of Kevlar instead of cheap costume fabric with a few more hidden pockets that'd allow for much easier access to supplies like his phone. And they had silent zippers installed to prevent things falling out when he utilized some of his more dynamic skills.
There was extra padding on the elbows and knees, and Izuku was ecstatic to see the new sleek and thin voice changer installed in his mask. This one went around the throat, changing his voice at the source before it even came out of his mouth—so even if he was drinking coffee, his voice would still sound like his older self. Much more comfortable and much more realistic. It would remove any distortion that'd been present beforehand, making the altered sound actually believable.
"Fireproof, water resistant, stain resistant, shock resistant, impact absorbent, and temperature controlled. This should be a massive step up from what you were working with before." Higari had a satisfied smirk on his lips. "As requested, I've added padding to your boots and hooks for your utility belt. Grips have been installed on your gloves, and I've installed this on your mask." He pointed towards some nearly invisible stitching around the mouth of the mask. "So you can use those fangs should you need to escape and have no way of lifting it manually. It's made to be torn by your fangs should you need it, but without risking the loss of the whole mask. It's also now equipped to filter smoke and ash and whatever else you may come into contact with, but it won't protect you from things like Midnight's Quirk."
"Right." Izuku couldn't fight the grin that threatened to tear his face in two. He was fairly sure he was doing a phenomenal Ectoplasm impression at the moment. "Wow, I haven't had new supplies since… geez, it's been at least a decade!"
"I also made you this, just in case." He held out a small canister that fit in the palm of his hand. "That's a hero-grade smokescreen, laced with an eye irritant. I've given you some goggles to help protect you from it." He smirked a bit as he held out the goggles. They looked almost exactly like Shouta's, but a dark enough green to match his costume. He gave a small breathy laugh as he took them, running his hands over the smooth unmarred material. He noted that they were sleeker than Eraser's goggles. Instead of coming to a triangular shape, they curved slightly, likely to reduce glare in daylight hours.
"Thank you." He placed them in his pocket for the time being. This would be part of Viridian's outfit, not Midoriya's.
"Now go on. I'm sure Snipe is wondering where you are. Try to stay out of trouble until Hosu, okay?"
"Come on, Higari! Remember who you're talking to!" He laughed as he left the room, taking his new outfit with him.
He found Snipe in the teacher's lounge, watching a rematch between Thirteen and Midnight. Izuku grinned as he casually leaned over Thirteen's shoulder. "Rook to C-3." He whispered, and the rescue hero gave him an odd look before moving the rook to the aforementioned spot.
"Hey! No helping!" Midnight glared.
"Sorry, I've got a muttering habit." He shrugged with a knowing smirk.
"Uh huh." She gave him an unimpressed look "Shouldn't you have left for your internship already?"
"I had to get my modified outfit from Higari first." He held up the briefcase.
"So you've finally upgraded from Halloween costume to actual hero fabrics, then?" Thirteen mused as they moved a pawn forward, sacrificing it so their knight could take Midnight's castle.
"Come on, Sharpshooter." Snipe grinned beneath his mask. "I'll show ya to my apartment. You said the action's gonna go down in Hosu, right? I happen to have an apartment there, so we can get a good lay of the land before anything happens."
"That's perfect!" He beamed. "Let's go."
Snipe wasn't sure what to think of his charge. Aizawa had warned him—warned them all—that Midoriya had a knack for trouble, but he hadn't expected it to be this bad. The kid had brought along his school hero outfit—quite similar to his Viridian one, if in a different color scheme and without the mask—so they'd been doing a small patrol in Hosu for appearances' sake.
He thought it'd be wise to show him some limelight hero stuff, since he was technically already licensed and highly popular. It was for the best if the kid knew how to run a dayshift in addition to his Underground work.
Still, he hadn't expected to run into a robbery and two muggings in three hours. The kid seemed to have a homing beacon for trouble, and it astounded him to no end. Sure, it was easy enough to take care of, but normally that's what a hero would encounter in an entire shift, not just the first few hours.
"Is this how your shifts normally are?" He asked Midoriya as they approached the shooting range. Snipe actually owned a good portion of this place, so the employees greeted him exuberantly when he entered.
"Shouta says I find more trouble than anyone he's ever met." Midoriya shrugged. "You think this is bad? You should see the kind of trouble I can find in the South Side." He snickered as Snipe felt himself pale.
"Aizawa lets you patrol the South Side? That's a mighty dangerous area of town." It was the lawless district—a place where the unwanted of society ended up, and it was so bad that even villains steered clear of it. The place was practically a society of its own, and nobody dared disturb it. It was widely considered one of the most dangerous areas in the country. Luckily, nobody from the South Side seemed interested in bothering the rest of society so long as nobody stuck their nose in their business.
And the kid patrolled there? What the hell?
Midoriya's amused snort drew his attention as they grabbed their practice guns. "As if Shouta could stop me. I'm the one who got him to start patrolling there, actually. You'd be surprised how many people reside there."
Snipe shook his head. "At any rate, let's see how well you can shoot. We'll start easy…" He let years of instruction take over as he coached the kid on how to stand properly and the correct positioning of his hands. He picked it up frighteningly quickly, and while he was a far cry from a bull's-eye, his grouping was rather admirable.
He walked Midoriya through a few different kinds of firearms (mentally noting that the kid was most accurate with a sniper's rifle, and he'd been able to hit the center of the target consistently after only half an hour of practice) before moving on to archery.
The kid was much better with a bow. His grouping was good with firearms, but his aim was incredible with a bow. Crossbows seemed to be his best weapon, and he grinned beneath his mask.
"Looks like we've found you a long-ranged weapon, little Sharpshooter."
"Sharpshooter?" Midoriya questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"What, I can't give my intern a nickname?" He chuckled as the kid grinned. "Come on, we'll buy you one to practice with. They make lots of different non-lethal kinds of arrows that you can use in combat. Everything from shock arrows to weighted arrows."
"Really, now?" His green eyes sparkled in interest.
"You've got support item experience, right? I'm sure you can make some arrows to your own tastes in Powerloader's lab when school kicks back up." He grinned. Maijima had once pulled a prank on Snipe by making his practice gun—one that he never used out in the field—backfire glitter. He'd been coated for weeks, and had never had the opportunity to get back at him. Sending the little Sharpshooter to his lab to work on potentially explosive items should drive him up the wall enough to constitute as payback.
He bought the kid a small crossbow and a few different kinds of arrows. They'd be mostly for practice, but if the kid needed them for the Stain thing coming up, then at least he could deal some long-ranged damage.
He got the kid twelve normal arrows, twelve punching arrows (which had a heavy and relatively flat tip that could hurt but not easily kill), six shock arrows (with electrically charged heads), and three flare arrows (used to call for backup, or as a distraction in a pinch).
Snipe stretched as they stepped back out into the sunlight. "Well, what'dya say to a little treat?" He smirked as he eyed an ice-cream shop across the street.
"Is that really okay?" Midoriya blinked.
"I don't see why not. In our line of work, you've gotta enjoy every moment you can—never know when it'll be your last."
The kid grinned. "You know what? Ice cream sounds amazing. I can't remember the last time I had some."
"Then that settles it!" Snipe laughed as they entered the shop. The place was quiet but not dead. A few small groups of young teens crowded around a handful of tables as they enjoyed their treats, and the two employees stopped when they saw him walk in.
"I-It's Pro Hero Snipe!" One of them proclaimed excitedly. Snipe chuckled a little under his breath.
"A fan, I see."
"O-oh yes! I've been a fan for years!" He grinned excitedly. "H-how can I help you today?!"
Snipe turned towards Midoriya. "Well, Sharpshooter? Go on and pick out whatever you'd like."
The kid beamed as he excitedly flitted from one window to the next, trying to decide what he wanted. He eventually settled on oreo cream with cookie pieces mixed in while Snipe settled for a banana cream pie flavor.
Snipe ended up giving the cashier an autograph while he was there, making the young man's day. They decided to take their treats to go, and enjoyed it in the warm sunlight as they walked down the street.
"Ah~ I think the last time I had this was after grad school." The kid's grin was bright enough to light the nearby alleyways, and Snipe held back a laugh.
"Too long without sweets." He shook his head. "I've always got something sweet hidden in the Staff Lounge or the dorms. Feel free to take a bit of whatever I've got so long as you don't take the last piece." For this kid, he'd allow it. Anyone else would answer to his non-lethals but Midoriya had more than earned some sweets.
"So you're a sweet-tooth?" The greenette smirked.
"One of the biggest ones at UA." Snipe boasted proudly. "I can eat sugar like Aizawa drinks coffee!"
"That's a serious accomplishment." Midoriya blinked. "Do you even know how much caffeine that man consumes?"
"After having worked with him for several years? I like to think I've got a fair idea."
"I assure you, it's worse on patrol."
Snipe fished out his keys as they returned to his apartment. He breathed a sigh of relief as he removed his mask, scratching idly at his burn scars. He eyed the clock, noting that it wasn't even noon yet. It'd only been two days of this internship and it was already exhausting. He loved the little Sharpshooter, but how did a single person manage to find so much trouble?
"Thanks." He smiled up at Snipe, who sent him one back.
"Anytime, Sharpshooter." He grabbed a juice from the fridge. "So. What're we expectin' with the whole Stain thing?"
"Well, we've got eyes on Endeavor right now." The kid idly typed something away on his phone as he spoke. "When he comes to visit Hosu, that'll be when Stain will attack Native, which is also when Iida should stumble across them and end up dead, too." Snipe winced at the casual way the kid spoke of death. "There's some kind of commotion that'll occur downtown, so be wary of that. Thing is, I don't know what it was that happened. We may need to intervene there too, should it be something really bad." He tapped his chin as he thought, and Snipe wondered if he used to have stubble in the future.
"And our target?"
"Fast. Stain is unbelievably fast and agile. His Quirk seems to let him paralyze anyone whose blood he ingests. Injures are something we should keep to an absolute minimum. I plan to go in as Viridian, so stick to the rooftops as backup in case I get paralyzed again. I'm pretty sure it wears off, but I have no idea how. It could be based off how much he ingests, or a set timeframe all 'round." He paced a bit. "Capturing him is preferable, but just keeping Native and Iida alive should be our main goal. I'll have Keigo and Shouta here as backup as well in case things go really bad, but they may be called over to help with whatever it is that's going to happen across town."
"So expect to be on our own, depending on the scale of the disaster." Snipe sighed. Not ideal. This villain was well known for killing multiple heroes. The fact that Hawks—the Number Three hero—was hospitalized at all was a testament to this guy's strength. If Snipe was being honest, he was a little scared, but this guy needed to be stopped. And if his Quirk was reliant on making his enemies bleed, then he would be a damn good opponent with his long-ranged attacks.
"Ectoplasm would've been helpful, too, since his clones don't bleed, but Stain's too fast to let him make his clones." Midoriya sighed as he sank into the couch. "Right now the basic plan of attack is this—when we're notified of Endeavor heading for Hosu, we'll find Iida and tail him. He'll lead us right to Stain. From there, you find a good sniping location and I'll engage him in a head-on attack. If possible, I'll lure him into a more open area than the alleyways he likes to attack in, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to make that happen. I'll do my best to distract him so Shouta and Keigo can get Native and Iida to safety and give them field treatment before the ruckus across town starts. Worst case scenario leaves me protecting the two of them." They both grimaced at that idea. "I'll be relying heavily on you to deal the final blow. Once he knows you're there, he'll either find cover, flee, or come straight for you."
"As soon as you engage him, I can radio in for local hero help." He chuckled a bit when Midoriya sent him a long look of confusion. "Licensed heroes have a specific SOS radio beacon. If one of us is in trouble, we can radio the others for backup. It'll notify any pros within a thirty mile radius or so along with a GPS location. What, Aizawa didn't tell you that when he gave you your license? What did you think the red phone was for?"
"He and Masa were too busy explaining how that license would help protect me as a Quirkless individual." He explained with a shrug. "Wait, what red phone?"
Snipe blinked. With how much trouble this kid seemed to find, and how paranoid Aizawa was about his safety, he would've thought that it'd be the first thing he'd hand over to the kid. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bright red Nokia brick of a phone.
"Made of the most durable materials on the market—it's even harder to destroy than a normal Hero Phone. This is your SOS Phone. If something's going down and the heroes on the scene can't handle it, they'll use this to send out the call for help. All SOS Phones within a certain radius of that call will pick up the signal and alert you to the location of the hero in trouble, as well as a short description of their situation if they have the time to send it out. It isn't used often, so if it goes off, things have gotten really bad. It's not outright illegal to ignore it, but it can result in a small fine depending on why you ignored the SOS."
"So I was supposed to get one of those?" Midoriya frowned, causing Snipe to sigh.
"Yes, it was supposed to be given to you along with your license. I suppose it must've been forgotten in the rush of approving your Provisional License." He opened his personal phone and sent off a few messages. "It won't do us much good here, but I've sent in the request for your phone. You should get it within the next three to four days—they're pretty fast when it comes to hero supplies."
"Right." The kid laid back on the couch with a yawn. "So basically I'll just need to hold Stain back until help can arrive?"
"Precisely." Snipe nodded. "I'm sure if we give everyone enough heads up, several staff members will be happy to join us as well."
Midoriya smiled a bit as he made himself comfortable on the couch and let his eyes close. "So long as everyone's okay… that's really all I care about."
They'd known the walls wouldn't last long, but even Izuku hadn't expected the sudden bloodbath that the cities had become. It'd been so sudden—too sudden. Infected individuals who'd failed to report symptoms had turned frighteningly quickly, and the new Feral Nomu had torn through the riots and protests with the ferocity of a typhoon causing the streets to run red for weeks. Overnight, the city that had once been safe had become a death trap.
He and his group had escaped as soon as they could—though even that took them a month to manage without losing anyone. It'd only been three years since the first Nomu appeared, but already things had changed so much.
Survivor groups—which had once been something of a relief to see—had become enemies in their own rights. Teamwork seemed to be reserved for survivors of the same group, and all other groups became competition for survival. Izuku had, more than once, been trying to help someone who'd used him as a distraction for the Nomu so they could make an escape.
He'd since stopped trusting people he didn't know. He wasn't about to die and let his group lose another member that could help them survive.
After traveling across the countryside and stumbling across abandoned highways and neglected roads that already had all sorts of plant life crumbling civilization to dust, they'd found the abandoned ruins of a small town. Its saving grace had been that it hadn't been walled in like the larger cities had—instead, the townsfolk had been evacuated or left to die by the fangs of the Nomu.
It was a goldmine of supplies and they'd stumbled across an old bunker hidden in a warehouse of some kind. It was heavily fortified and soundproofed, so the group had claimed it as theirs.
They had to be careful of a few small survivor groups in the area, but they seemed to be too wary of such a large group to attack. Izuku and the others were content to let them be so long as they didn't attack or compromise them.
Even still, Shigaraki had a thing for heroes. He hunted them down relentlessly. Before communications went down, he'd often broadcast their murders across every station he could—worldwide. Izuku remembered him even going as far as hunting down foreign heroes in their home countries and killing them there, traveling to and fro with Kurogiri's Quirk.
Truly, if he had managed to get away with even that, was society even a thing anymore?
And the worst part of it all was that, since their group was mostly comprised of pros, Shigaraki was also trailing them. This was the fifth town they'd bunkered down at, and it'd lasted them a while. They were being careful, this time. Going out only when absolutely necessary, and doing all their runs two towns away to make absolutely sure that nothing followed them back.
Even still, Izuku had felt something incredibly wrong when he went out on the run with Nemuri, Dabi and Takeyama. Any pro knew to trust their gut—and with all those years as a vigilante under his belt, Izuku had learned the same. So he took extra precautions. Quirkless though he was, he was one of the group's best strategists. They trusted his judgment. So when Izuku had the group take a more roundabout route than usual, they didn't question it.
Despite his gut rolling, the run had been going incredibly smoothly. But even Takeyama seemed to sense something off, because she was jumpy and nervous as well.
"You good, Izu?" Nemuri asked, gently ruffling his hair. He felt himself relax a little as she pulled him into a sidelong hug.
"Yeah… Just feeling off is all. Something's got my gut in a twist." He admitted, voice scarcely rising above a whisper.
"It'll be okay." She promised, turning him around so she could hug him properly.
"You can't promise that, mom." He whispered into her ear. "We never know if we'll see another tomorrow."
"Which is why we make today the best we can." She kissed his forehead before pulling back. "Now come on, Izu, let's get back."
"Wait, already?" Dabi frowned. "We barely have half the supplies we need."
"After coming all this way?" Takeyama frowned. "We should at least get some medical supplies."
"If something feels off, then it's best to head back before something happens." Nemuri shook her head.
Izuku was about to speak up when his gut rolled. Instantly, his blade was out and he was looking around for any sign of a Nomu. Dabi and Nemuri followed suit, but Takeyama just stood there, even as a Dark Nomu stepped out of the shadows.
But it didn't attack, and Takeyama didn't seem surprised. Izuku's gaze narrowed for a moment before widening in horror. "Takeyama… You didn't."
She pulled out a red phone from her pocket. A softly blinking green light told Izuku that it was broadcasting their position. "I'm sorry." She said softly as Kurogiri stepped out of the shadows. "But there's no way I could survive in a world like this… nothing matters anymore. Heroes are nothing more than fairytales—like they used to be. I'm not bad… It's just better this way. Surely, you can understand."
Izuku felt like someone had pierced him with a knife. "You mean all this time?"
Takeyama laughed as she and Izuku scribbled on Dabi's face. "Don't worry so much, Midoriya! Live a little!"
Izuku awoke in the middle of the night, tears running down his face as he remembered Bakugo's final moments. Takeyama sat there with him, gently coaxing him back to reality while softly humming something under her breath.
"I'm scared." Takeyama admitted in the early hours of the morning with only Izuku there to witness it. She turned towards him with wide teary eyes. "I don't want to die like this."
"How could you?!" Nemuri cried out. "We trusted you!"
"You shouldn't have." Takeyama scoffed. "Trust is a fickle thing, Midnight. You can't really blame me… I never wanted this. How many people have we killed? This isn't right! Killing other survivors just to continue on like this… Haven't we become the villains, now?! I can't take it anymore!" She cried, fists clenching.
Questions and accusations rolled around in Izuku's brain that he desperately wanted to give voice to. Were all those nights spent talking an act?! Had it all been fake? One would've thought that Izuku would've learned his lesson, having lived a life of Quirklessness and isolation, but he'd trusted her. Trusted them all. Where did this leave him, now? Who was going to stab him in the back next?
"Midoriya… I—" Takeyama cut herself off as her eyes widened. Slowly, she looked down at the blade that protruded from her chest before following it back to a shadowy portal.
"Yes… Trust is a fickle thing indeed." Kurogiri stated softly as he pulled the blade back out. "And one who double crosses their allies cannot be trusted in any true capacity. Thank you, Mt. Lady, for leading us to the heroes. You no longer have to fear death, as it has already come for you." He gave her a small smile. "Honestly Tomura, what a mess you've made of this world."
Izuku bit back a cry as someone who had once been a friend—who was still, in some capacity, a friend—started bleeding out on the cracked and filthy overgrown concrete that had once been a sidewalk.
Kurogiri slowly stalked forward. "Though it seems you've only brought us one hero." He sighed. "No matter, one is enough to appease him for a little while. And it's a well-known UA Teacher, too. Tomura will be most pleased." Shadows started to appear around Nemuri. The group leapt back, avoiding the portal that'd been aiming for the woman he thought of as his mother.
"We need to get back!" He instructed.
"Scatter!" Dabi cried out, and instantly the three were on the move. They didn't get far, however, when more Nomu appeared. Izuku saw flames in the corner of his eye and knew that Dabi was frying them to a crisp, but that didn't help Izuku with the one that was attacking him.
He almost didn't doge in time, foot hitting a loose piece of rubble as he tried to run back. His ankle rolled painfully and sent him sprawling to the concrete. He rolled just in time to avoid the massive overpowered punch that created a crater in the concrete.
"N-no…" Takeyama whispered softly, tears running down her face. "He promised it'd be fast… painless. That none of you would suffer… Everyone was so miserable… surely it was better to die swiftly?"
Izuku winced as he spared her a look. "The road to hell is paved with the best of intentions."
"Izuku!" Dabi's voice had him whirling around to see another Nomu—also of the Dark variety—in the middle of an attack. An attack aimed right at him. He had no chance to dodge… he was going to die.
Until he felt a warm pair of arms wrap around him just as the fist connected. He opened his eyes when Nemuri—his mom—cry out in pain. The two were sent tumbling and rolling away, and his only relief was that she was still breathing.
"He's after me." She panted, wiping blood from her mouth with the arm that wasn't a mangled disaster.
"No, mom, yo–you can't."
"I know your mother was a horrible woman, Izuku… but I want you to know that you are the best son I could've ever asked for. I'm so proud of you. Never forget that I love you more than life itself." She kissed his forehead. "Dabi, you make damn sure he survives!" She ordered. There was an iron to her voice that left no room for arguments. The once-villain gave a grim nod as Izuku tried to grab her, to stop her from doing whatever stupid idea was in her mind.
"Goodbye, my son."
Dabi wrapped an arm around Izuku and hoisted him up. He wanted to kick and scream and fight back because that was his mother and she was walking to her death, but…
But he couldn't. Because she'd done this for him. Because of him.
Nemuri stood, leaning towards her right side as she glared defiantly at Kurogiri. "You want me?! Come and get me! But I'm not going down without a fight." She promised. "And mark my words! One day, your master's empire will fall, and this kingdom of fear shall fall with him."
"Consider them marked." Kurogiri chuckled as a portal opened up beneath his mother. The two vanished into the swirling vortex of purples, leaving nothing but tears behind.
Izuku snapped his eyes open and sat up abruptly, taking a moment to cradle his aching skull. He hadn't dreamed of Nemuri's death in a long time. Now that he was thinking of it, it mirrored the situation with Shouta and Hizashi fairly well. How had Dabi managed to pull him away so easily? Dragging Shouta away from Hizashi had been one of the hardest things he'd ever done.
"You good, Izu?"
The voice had him startling and whipping around to see Dabi. He glanced around them, realizing they were camped out in a forest. The clearing was lit by the smoldering embers of a fire.
"Y-yeah. Just a nightmare." He assured him. "Remembering mom…"
A light of understanding flickered in Dabi's eyes. "Well, it's about time for your shift anyways. I'm going to take a rest."
"Sure." Izuku muttered as Dabi curled up against the base of a tree and promptly dozed off. He must've been exhausted. Come to think of it, Izuku's body felt exhausted, too. Old injuries ached and his joints protested the amount of time he'd spent sitting.
Izuku's eyes darted around himself as his ears picked up the far-off shrieks of the Nomu. Again? His heart pounded in his chest. How had it happened again!?
He took a moment to breathe through his initial panic. It's okay, Izuku. This has happened before, it's all right. You've done this before. You'll return to the past… eventually.
Izuku closed his eyes, letting the memories of his First Run self flow into his Second Run mind.
After he'd slept off his fever for a few days in that cavern, he and Dabi had moved around. It seemed that both were set firmly on the path of vengeance—Shigaraki would fall if it was the last thing they did. It seemed that he'd been unaware that he'd returned to the past, and had been beyond shaken that he had apparently 'failed' again.
His First Run self had received the memories of his Second Run self, but… were they two separate people, now? Or was it something more? He didn't feel like two different people. Then again, what did that even feel like to begin with?
So whenever this… whatever it was happened, his First Run self would basically just get a download of what's been going on in the Second Run? What, like some knock-off save file? What was he, The Cloud?!
He and Dabi been tracking Shigaraki for a couple of months, now… or at least Izuku assumed it had been months… if timelines matched up at all, it would've been more like a couple of weeks. They were close… they'd managed to track one of his hideouts to this forest.
They were planning to attack soon. Izuku glanced at Dabi—his long dark hair had much brighter red roots—Endeavor's genes, he now knew. His facial scars were worse for wear, what with no way to renew his staples, but Izuku supposed it wasn't bothering him too much, what with the way he'd stopped picking at it a few years back.
A few new scars adorned him from when Izuku had last seen him. Must've been dealt during the attack that took Tamaki.
What was this? Why did he keep getting shunted back and forth? Was it merely a memory download on both ends or something more? He rubbed at his stubble, startling a bit when he felt the coarse whiskers that'd been absent on his Second Run face.
Silently, he ruffled through his bag, pulling out an old stub of a pencil that was nearly worn down to its nonexistent eraser—having been sharpened with his pocket knife—and an old fraying notebook that was almost completely full. He quietly flipped through the pages by the moonlight, shivering a little in the cooler temperatures of mid spring. He pulled Shou's scarf around himself a little more for warmth, burying his face in the familiar worn fabric.
He'd need to reference the Project Hope papers he had in the Second Run, but in the meantime he could run a few basic calculations and form some rudimentary theories. Of course, with something like time travel, there was really no way to test anything. Perhaps he could try making a much smaller scale Project Hope in Powerloader's office and see if he and Higari could put their heads together with Nezu to figure out what was going on, but…
But that wasn't going to help him, now. He sighed as he set his notebook down, complex equations and sketches were scrawled all over the pages that he could already hear Shou complaining about. Or… he would complain if he were alive.
He really should tell someone about this. But would Dabi even believe him? He was his last friend… the only survivor. He glanced over at his sleeping brother. He didn't have the heart to wake him, now. Not when he was so obviously exhausted.
A nearby twig snapping had both Izuku and Dabi awake and on their feet in less than half a second. With practically no firelight to blind them, their eyes had little trouble seeing through the shadows to spot a humanoid figure in the brush. They seemed to be holding their hands up.
"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." That voice… Izuku knew that voice.
"Quip?" He questioned, making the other startle.
"V-Viridian?!" Quip stepped out into the clearing with a look of shock on his face.
He was very different from the last time Izuku saw him. Long purple hair was tied neatly back into a ponytail as a form-fitting tank top was covered with a basic jacket. A utility belt crisscrossed his chest as a prominent Nomu claw scar tore the left half of his face, and it seemed to have taken his left arm entirely. But Izuku knew those eyes—the eyes that sparkled in the Second Run every time they spoke.
"Hey, Toshi. It's been a while." Izuku grinned.
"Holy shit, Izuku… it is you." Quip gave a breathy laugh as he sat down on the log next to Izuku. "I haven't seen you since… damn, it was before the walls went up."
"An old friend?" Dabi asked, and Izuku nodded.
"Back from my vigilante days." He explained. "I don't understand, though. What're you doing here?"
"Same as you, I suppose." He gave a vicious grin. "Kill Shigaraki. Dunno if you've heard of the Renegades? Underground resistance that's been in place since before the walls? Yeah, I'm one of the leaders of that."
Izuku ran a hand through his own hair—hair that reached his shoulder blades, he noted. "Look… can I say something absolutely insane?"
"Does it have anything to do with why you've been acting strangely since that one Green Nomu encounter?" Dabi crossed his arms.
"Yeah." He turned to look at Quip. "So a few years ago, Shouta and I built a thing called Project Hope. It was a time machine that we hoped would send us back to before all this so we could kill Shigaraki and prevent everything."
"But it failed." Dabi sighed.
"I thought it had failed." Izuku corrected, earning a raised eyebrow from his two companions.
"I mean, you're sitting right here." Dabi gestured.
"When I fell through the portal… I think the agony I felt was me being torn in two somehow. Because I've got two very distinct sets of memories—the First Run, which is us, and the Second Run where the portal worked."
"And you know it actually worked, because?" Quip asked slowly.
"Well, aside from the new scars that match up with the Second Run, I've got some new information that I'd like to run by you, Quip. Specifically since in the Second Run, you and I are good friends along with Hatsume Mei."
"Okay, first go through the Second Run with us." Dabi held up a hand. "I'm not saying I don't believe you, I'm just saying it's a very far stretch."
"Well it took me back to ten months before the UA Entrance Exams. So I became Viridian again to pass the time and try to find Shigaraki. Befriended Shouta and Tsukauchi Naomasa and somehow became one of the highest ranked vigilantes in Japan—to the point where they offered me a partnership with the Musutafu PD." He paused to chuckle at their incredulous looks. "After that I passed the exams—first place—by hacking the robots, which garnered Nezu's attention. Then I joined Class 1–A, and managed to protect the students during the USJ incident. I screwed up killing Shigaraki, but he did seem to set his sights on me, which is a definite plus. Uh… I won the sports festival and told the teachers about my time traveling, and Nezu made me—well, Viridian, who's now a licensed hero—a staff member. And then I had Keigo protect Iida Tensei from Stain, and before I found myself here again, Snipe and I were getting ready to face him in Hosu."
The two stared at him. "Keigo? As in Hawks?" Dabi blinked.
"Oh, right. He saved me from Stain back before the entrance exams."
"All right, since the Sports Festival is still so fresh in your mind, and since I know you never saw it in the… First Run, is that what you call it?" Quip waited for Izuku to nod before continuing. "During the finals, one of the Support Course students faced off against a Hero Course student. What happened?"
Izuku snorted as he remembered the 'fight'. "Mei used Iida as a show-and-tell model for her babies. He wasn't overly happy with her…" He snickered a bit. "He pouted for days about it, and Mei was punished by Powerloader revoking her lab access for the entire week of the internships. So she went home for that week since classes aren't being held."
"And if you really are a friend of mine in that time… then tell me this." Quip challenged. "What is the name of my pet dog?"
Izuku laughed at that, fighting to keep his laughter from getting too loud. "As if you would ever have a dog. Your mother has a yorkie named Tyson, but you love cats. Unfortunately your dad's allergic so you have a pet ferret instead—the next best thing, you said. And his name is Sparta."
Quip's mouth was hanging open. "I… I've never told you that. I've never told anyone that."
"Not in this timeline." Izuku smirked, feeling something in him relax as he finally confirmed that the Second Run was actually real.
"So… you really have managed to go back in time." Dabi whispered. "But… why are you here, then?"
"No idea." Izuku shook his head. "I think it's something like a memory download or something. First time it happened was when my train—the A-18 morning train—was derailed in a villain attack."
"I remember that." Quip grimaced. "My car was thrown into a building—I was really lucky that I'd happened to move to another car when it happened."
Izuku winced. "Yeah, in my memories we shared the car, and you didn't leave it. But Shouta came looking for me when I didn't show up for class and got us outta there. Actually, you're interning with him."
"I-Interning?! I thought that was just for the hero course students?!"
"Yep. You've recently transferred to 1–A." Izuku grinned.
"Is it weird to be jealous of yourself? Because I'm very jealous of myself right now." Quip pouted, causing Dabi and Izuku to snicker.
"Yeah, I woke up from the wreck here in the First Run. I had no idea what was going on and the memories conflicted badly. Suddenly, I wasn't sure what was real." Izuku admitted.
"That's when we ran into that Green Nomu." Dabi realized. "No wonder you looked so out of it."
"Yeah, and when I fell asleep in the cave is when I woke back up in the wreckage of the train. This is only the second time this has happened, and I was starting to question if it'd ever happened to begin with." He rubbed his scar from Shigaraki.
"Come to think of it, you didn't have that before." Dabi frowned.
"USJ. I got this from Second Run Shigaraki." Izuku explained.
"Okay, so now what? How do we get you back to the past so you can fix this mess?" Quip pursed his lips.
"No clue." Izuku shook his head. "Just wait for it to happen naturally, I suppose. I don't even know why this is happening, but my notes on Project Hope are all back in the Second Run. I'll have to reference them after Hosu."
"By the way, what were you doing just creeping around?" Dabi gave Quip an odd look.
"Like I said—I'm one of the leaders of the Renegade. I've got a small party with me poised to attack. Our goal is to at least take out Kurogiri, if not Shigaraki as well." He gave Izuku a thoughtful look. "If you're really in the past working on the Shigaraki angle, then we'll concentrate more on Kurogiri. If we can take him out before Shigaraki has a chance to steal his Quirk, then we'll strand him. He'll have to travel everywhere on foot just like the rest of us."
The thought of Shigaraki traveling anywhere on foot was laughable. The man was so high and mighty that he'd be more likely to ride a Nomu.
"When's the attack?" Dabi asked.
"We were planning for tonight." Quip glanced over his shoulder. "Come on, it'd be best if we all coordinate together as a group. Viridian, are you still in the same shape as you used to be?"
"Please." Izuku waved a hand as he stood up. He did not miss the aching of his older self's bones, but he had missed the longer legs. "Don't doubt my skills. You're looking at the world's first Quirkless Hero: Viridian."
Quip laughed as he patted him on the back. "Well then, hero, let's get going, shall we?"
"Don't think you'll be leaving me outta this." Dabi smirked as he hoisted his bag over his shoulder.
"Wouldn't dream of it, Dabs." Izuku snickered.
The camp wasn't far, and the small troop of twelve individuals was honestly the largest group of people Izuku had seen in the First Run in nearly half a decade. He kept a hand a little closer to his blade on habit.
"Listen up." Quip spoke firmly, drawing every eye instantly. "These two are allies. This is an old friend of mine, Viridian. He and I go way back, and he'll be helping us on this mission. This is his companion, Dabi."
"Izuku?" The voice had them both staring in shock. Izuku knew that voice. That long blue-black hair… those pointed ears…
"Ta…Tamaki?"
"Y-yeah." He smiled, breathless as he stumbled towards the two. Izuku idly noted that one leg was entirely gone—replaced with some makeshift prosthetic.
"Holy shit, you're alive?!" Dabi embraced the hero. "But I saw those Blue Nomu drag you under! T-there was so much red and I…"
"Luck." He shook his head. "There was an actual crab at the bottom. My Quirk saved me. I had to amputate my leg to get away, but it was enough to distract them while I got out of the water. Hitoshi found me bleeding out and saved my life."
"You know these two?" Quip blinked.
"Yeah. Izu and Burnt Toast were part of my group." Tamaki explained as Dabi shot him a glare.
"Shut it, elf."
"Make me, freezerburn."
"Hey, now, no need to bring Todoroki into this." Izuku smirked, ducking under a swat from Dabi.
Quip sighed fondly. "Here's the basic plan—today we are after Kurogiri, not Shigaraki. But if you have the chance at a killshot, by all means, nobody here will stop you. We'll sneak in through the underground tunnels and air ducts while Keelee, Masaru and Shiba provide the distraction outside." Three people nodded and Izuku felt his heart clench. Those three were distractions? They were on a suicide mission!
"It's okay." One of them—an older guy with long spindly ears—smiled at him. "We know we won't survive tonight. We chose this."
"You had it written all over your face." The red-headed girl smiled. "I won't survive much longer anyhow. The three of us are terminally ill—we don't have long either way. Figured we should go out doing something meaningful."
Izuku gave them a tight smile. "Then I'll do my best to help. We'll make sure your sacrifice won't be in vain."
"They should draw out the Nomu and keep Shigaraki and Kurogiri from noticing us until we're in position."
"I will distract Shigaraki." Izuku spoke up, drawing looks of apprehension and disbelief. "If it becomes necessary, that is."
"No you will not." Dabi glared. "Don't be an idiot, Zu."
"I'll have you know I'm actually quite smart." He stuck out his tongue at Dabi. "Beyond that, I'm the best choice because I'm Quirkless. He can't steal anything useful from me, and if he tries to force a Quirk on me, I should be able to handle it without becoming a Nomu or dying."
A murmur went around the group. "And to think, we used to think of Quirkless as useless." Someone muttered, sending Izuku an apologetic look. "Well, man… looks like you're our best shot, then. Don't let handsyman take ya down, ya hear? I like your spunk."
"We've studied the area as best we can." Quip spoke back up. "Let's move out, everyone. Good luck… and try not to die."
