Ritsuka felt himself keeling over, the boy holding on to his stomach. It was taking everything he had not to vomit. "Oh god… that felt different, didn't it EMIYA?" He asked. All he was greeted with was silence. "EMIYA?" He asked as he stood back up, looking around.
He was alone. On a rooftop. A very modern looking rooftop.
Where the hell was he?
"Hello, hello Senpai! Can you hear me?" A very familiar voice called out to him. Shaking his head, he looked around, not seeing the usual holographic display a transmission from Chaldea was accompanied with.
"Yeah, I hear you, BB. What's going on?" He asked. "EMIYA's not here."
"Yes, well, it looks like we've ran into some… let's say some 'technical' difficulties." BB provided. "We can't send any Servants to you, and visuals are down. The other kouhai, Matthews and Da Vinci are working hard on trying to fix that. Don't worry though, I can still see you and everything around you, we can have some private time, se-np-ai."
"Oh come on, that wasn't even close to Mash's name," Ritsuka chided. "At least pretend you're trying, BB." A loud dramatic sigh filled Ritsuka's ear, causing the boy to roll his eyes. Suddenly, a motion out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, causing the boy to look over. What he saw definitely surprised him.
Then again, he was sure a man that appeared to be made out of wood growing branches out of his arms would surprise anyone. He seemed to be fighting some sort of furry creature, like a werewolf, but sleeker, and with long hair that flew around like a whip.
The two were having some sort of aerial chase, neither one touching the ground as they moved. As if that wasn't enough, a woman dressed in a funny costume suddenly appeared, growing larger than some of the buildings around her. She clapped her hands together, catching the furry creature easily.
Ritsuka ran to the edge of the building, watching the scene unfold. He noticed right away that no one on the street was treating this like some unusual sight. Some people were cheering for the heroes, sure, but some were acting like this was an inconvenience. He also noticed that there were even more people down below dressed in funny costumes, almost like they were superheroes.
Wait a minute.
"Is… is this a timeline where superheroes exist?" He asked.
"Well, looking around your area, there are a lot of funnily dressed people," BB provided. "And, I saw some buildings labeled 'Hero's Association', so…"
"Holy crap, this is a world of superheroes?" Ritsuka muttered as he backed away from the edge. "That's… that's so cool!" The Master of Chaldea was smiling brightly. "Oh man, you think they have mechs around here? Oh, you think I could pilot one?!"
On the other side of the line, BB pouted a little. She never got to hear him be so excited that often, and she had to admit it was a bit annoying that it was directed at something else besides one of her cool ideas. "Aren't you around heroes all the time, Senpai?" She poked. Ritsuka chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.
"I mean, yeah, but it's different, ya know? This is like finding out Kamen Rider is real. It's really frickin' cool, you know?" He shrugged. "It's like a dream comin' to life, or a comic unfolding righ—,"
"Senpai, I'm sure you're having fun geeking out, but I need to tell you a Servant was detected nearby." BB interrupted. Ritsuka snapped to attention at that, standing up straight. "It's not headed to you, but it should cross your sight… now!"
Looking straight ahead, Ritsuka saw a knight in white armor riding an armored horse. They were moving fast, so Ritsuka only got the briefest of looks, but he was sure that he saw a mop of grey hair on the knight's head… and he was sure there was someone else riding on the horse. All he could make out was some sort of… rabbit eared hoodie?
Well, he was pretty sure which one was the Servant, at the very least.
"Don't lose them BB! I'm going to chase them down!" Ritsuka commanded. The best plan he had right now was to try to make some sort of alliance with the Servant so he wasn't a sitting duck alone in the Singularity.
"And how are you going to catch them?" BB asked as Ritsuka rubbed his chin.
"I'll improvise…," He muttered as he held up his right hand, staring at the red markings on the back of them. Holding out his Command Seals, Ritsuka conjured the image of the strongest Servant he knew. A mist began to flow out of his Command Seals, slowly taking the form of a musclebound giant of a man that had the presence of a mountain. It was a perfect shadow of the Greek legend Heracles. Ritsuka leapt up, his arms barely wrapping around the man's biceps. "Okay, Heracles!" Ritsuka called out, clenching his buttcheeks as he prepared to do something very stupid.
"Throw me after that Servant!" If this was the real Heracles, he might have hesitated at this order, but this was just a shadow. It obeyed without question, gently wrapping one of his huge hands around Ritsuka before launching him like a ball.
The feeling Ritsuka felt was both exhilarating and utterly terrifying. The wind whipped across his face as he soared like a missile through the sky. He felt so alive, a thrill few people could enjoy. Maybe he should have been smarter about this, but he couldn't help himself. He'd figure out the landing.
He hoped.
Izuku "Deku" Midoriya couldn't help but smile as he flopped on the couch, looking down at his phone. Today was a long and exhausting day, but it was all worth it. He earned his Provisional Hero License, taking one step closer to realizing his dream. He sent a text to All Might about passing before placing the phone down, his face turning serious as he flipped on the TV, quickly changing it to the news.
He watched carefully, tuning out the world around him as he opened his notebook. He didn't even notice as some of his friends slipped onto the couch. He focused like a laser, waiting for a mention of his target. It didn't take long, as the headline and blurry video appeared on screen. There he was.
The All Night!
A few days after All Might's retirement, rumors of an All Might lookalike began floating around on the internet. Like most rumors, most people didn't take it seriously at first, but then, people started catching videos of the lookalike. Not only that, but people who were saved by him came forward to talk about the mysterious man, further proving his existence. The fact that he only seemed to operate at night quickly garnered him the name All Night. The most frustrating thing was that no one could get a good picture or even a decent amount of time with him.
He'd do a good deed, or save a life, and vanish into the night like a ghost.
The world at large didn't know how to respond to this. Some people were angry, enraged by the idea that someone would be so tasteless and try to use All Might's image for a quick shot at fame. Others were relieved, believing this to be a miracle that returned All Might to them. As for officials, well, no one had addressed the rumors yet, but Deku had a strong feeling that if the heroes were to cross paths with this person, he would be treated as a vigilante.
As for Deku, he was curious more than anything.
At first, he was worried. What if this was some villain posing as All Might? Thankfully, it quickly became clear this was not the case. A villain wouldn't save all those people. So then the question became, who was this person? Deku was quick to start taking notes in his notebook, keeping careful track of everything people said the All Night did.
He quickly began to notice a pattern. Certain attacks the man did could easily be matched up with All Might's Smashes, and when the video had sound, the mysterious man's laughter sounded awfully similar to All Might's own comforting laugh.
It was almost scary how nearly perfect this copycat seemed to be.
"-ey. Heeeeey," Izuku could vaguely hear Kirishima's voice calling out to him. "I don't think he can hear us dude."
"Hey!" Izuku nearly jumped out of his skin as Bakugo's voice grabbed Izuku's head from among the clouds and piledrived it back to Earth. The green haired boy turned to look at the blonde boy. "Come outside after," The explosion hero stated before walking past Izuku. "It's about your quirk,"
Izuku could feel his stomach drop.
Later that night, while the rest of the class slept, Izuku and Bakugo found themselves walking quietly down the well lit street. The silence almost felt suffocating to Izuku. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he wanted to ask. His mind was overflowing with words, he couldn't even organize them.
"Kacchan, how far away are you trying to go?" He finally settled on. "We really shouldn't be walking outside this late at night." He could only imagine how much trouble they would be in if they were caught. Bakugo refused to answer, however. He just kept walking, not even sparing a glance at Izuku.
It took a while, but the two of them ended up in what looked like a replica of a city, the buildings reaching to the sky. When the two found themselves in the center of the fake city, Bakugo finally spoke up.
"Ground Beta. This is where I fought you for the first time… and lost," Bakugo's voice was like a knife, piercing Izuku and causing the boy more discomfort. Ever since then, even thinkin' about it made me sick to my stomach." The explosive boy continued. Izuku figured that was the case, there was no way someone as competitive as Bakugo didn't take that loss hard. "You were a quirkless, pathetic crybaby, but by some miracle, you were accepted into UA, with an even bigger miracle. Your quirk manifested outta nowhere."
Both boys thought back to when Deku nearly spilled the beans about One for All to Bakugo, both tensing up at the memory.
"You always were an incomprehensible bastard, spouting out shit no one else could understand," Bakugo continued. "Ever since that Sludge Villain, ever since All Might came to town, you've been growing, more and more and more and more and more and more! All with this self satisfied smile on your idiotic face! And in the end, you even got your Provisional Licence and I failed! What the hell is with that, huh?!"
"I earned that by demonstrating my abilities—," Izuku started, but Bakugo exploded.
"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP AND LISTEN, ASSHOLE!" When Bakugo figured Izuku wouldn't interrupt him again, he continued. "The whole time, it pissed me off, hell, it disgusted me! But… after what happened in Kamino, I finally put the pieces together. You got that power from All Might, didn't you?"
Deku stiffened at the accusation, and Bakugo began to explain how he connected the dots, how the All for One managed to steal one of the Pussycat's quirks, how the Nomu had multiple quirks… how All Might and All for One seemed to know each other. Bakugo verbally probed, he jabbed at Izuku, trying to find the answer. Finally, the green haired boy sighed.
"If you hear the truth, how is that going to help you?" Deku finally asked.
"You and me always admired All Might, yeah? Ain't that right?" Bakugo growled. "The guy I thought was just a pebble on the side of the road turned out to be acknowledged by the person I admire the most. That's why, right here and now, you're going to fight me! I'll find out what's so great about you… what's so great that All Might would go so far for someone like you! If your aspirations were so much greater than mine, then does that mean I was wrong this whole time?!"
Izuku was so shocked, hearing Bakugo bare his soul out to him like this. The boy didn't know what to say, the only words being able to escape his lips were a soft "Kacchan…,"
"If you don't want to get hurt, put your fists up!" Bakugo threatened as he rolled his shoulder. "Oh right, you've switched to kicks, haven't ya?"
"Hold on, Kacchan! We can't seriously be—!" Before Deku could even finish before an explosion erupted from Bakugo's left hand, rocketing the boy forwards. Deku raised his hands to defend himself, before he noticed something. "His right hand? No, that can't be it, I broke through that before, it has to be a feint!"
It was not a feint.
"You always read too much into every damn thing! Bring it, you damn nerd!" Bakugo roared.
Calculating.
Two strong wills colliding.
Are they enough?
Will they see the plan through?
The explosions boomed. The windows shattered. In the center of it all, a lone boy avoided every attack.
"Do we really have to fight?" Izuku pleaded. "No one is saying your aspirations were—," Bakugo didn't answer as he flew at Izuku. Like a meteor, he crashed into the ground. Izuku leapt back out of his range.
"Don't run, fight!" Roaring, Bakugo flew once more. His foot shot up, hitting Izuku under the chin. He reached out, but received a foot to his own chin. The boy stumbled back from the blow, landing on his butt.
"Are you okay?" Izuku called out with concern as he ran over, reaching out for Bakugo. The blond haired boy slapped the hand away.
"Don't worry about me!" Bakugo roared, before his voice became softer. "Fight! What the hell is wrong with you?!" The blond haired boy slowly pulled himself to his feet, staring at the ground. "Why… why did I end up chasing the back of someone who was always behind me?! Why did some small fry like you get so strong and acknowledged by All Might?! Why is it that you got so strong while I…!" His voice changed to a pained scream as he belted out his next words. "Why was I—?!" He lifted his face to stare at Izuku. "Why was I the one that ended All Might?!"
At that moment, a spark was lit inside of Izuku.
They are perfect.
They will send him to great heights.
They will make a true hero.
Should the plan be rigged?
…
…
…
No.
Power is not what they need.
Personality will drive them to greater heights.
Summoning start…
Two boys, fighting with all they had. Screams of determination, screams of pain, the screams of the future. They echoed through the empty streets as the two fought with all their power, all their might. There was nothing else at the moment, only two old acquaintances learning about each other for the first time.
It was understandable that they didn't notice two magical circles etching themselves into the pavement. It made sense that they didn't notice the strange markings appearing on their right hands.
They were focused, the fight coming to its final moment. The two boys flew through the air, Izuku ready to feint his kick into a punch, and Bakugo ready to block and counterattack. Time seemed to slow down as they came closer and closer to the final blow, their vision tunneled towards the victory ahead.
It's why both were caught off guard when a gloved fist came from the side, nailing Bakugo from the side and sending him rocketing off into a building nearby.
"K-Kacchan!" Izuku called out, almost landing on his face in his panic. He quickly turned to face down Bakugo's assailant, only to freeze for a second.
That wasn't anyone he knew.
The man that stood before him was extremely tanned, which only made his blonde hair and golden tattoos on his arms stand out even more. He wore no shirt, which showed off his numerous battle scars, and the jeans he wore were ripped. Izuku gritted his teeth as the man folded his arms and laughed.
This had to be a villain.
"Man, it's not every day I get to come out swinging! Anyways, Servant, Bers—," Before the man could finish, Izuku launched himself like a missile, swinging his foot out to catch the man across the face. To Izuku's horror, the man simply caught his foot, not even reacting to the power behind Full Cowling at five percent. "Oh? Is this how you want to play? Well, that's fine by me! OOOOORA!" With a battle cry, the mysterious man ran over to Bakugo, swinging Izuku like a bat. The force of the hit caused the recovering Bakugo to spin through the air. The mysterious man dropped Izuku and rushed over, ready to grab Bakugo and slam him into the ground.
Before he could, however, a beam of light fell from the sky, striking the man and causing him to hit the floor. Izuku tried to pull himself up when he felt gentle hands help him up to his feet. Looking up, he saw a beautiful woman with purple hair. She seemed to be wearing clothes one would find on the priestess class in an RPG.
"Just hold on," She said gently as her hands glowed. Izuku felt a wave of energy wash over him, his fatigue fading and his aching body being soothed. He had to wonder if the woman had some sort of healing quirk.
"Oy," Before Izuku could start analyzing the new lady, the man from before had pulled himself back to his feet. He cracked his neck before growling out his next words. "It's rude to interrupt my fight like that, lady. Don't be a killjoy."
"SAYS THE DAMN KILLJOY!" Bakugo roared as he leapt into the air, throwing his hand forward as it sparked. "DIE!" The boy let out a point blank explosion to the back of the man's head, engulfing the two in smoke. Izuku quickly used his strength and swung, blowing the smoke. They couldn't afford to keep their eyes off this villain for even for a second.
Izuku was greeted with the sight of the man being completely unaffected by the attack. "You got guts kid," The man stated. "Too bad I gotta use them to beat the crap out of the other kid." The man's hand shot out, grabbing Bakugo's arm as he rushed forward once more, ready to swing Bakugo like a bat into Izuku.
However, the woman stepped forward, grabbing Bakugo's legs and managing to pull him away from the man's grip. She quickly put the boy down and stepped forward, her form flawless as she launched a punch directly into the man's face. The fist connected, and the man stumbled back, quickly catching himself and rubbing the spot she punched.
"I won't let you hurt these kids anymore," The woman spoke with authority as she got between the kids and the man.
"Hey, they wanted me to!" The man said. "If they didn't want me to, they wouldn't attack me. Oh, and they wouldn't have attacked my Master."
Izuku's eyes narrowed at this. His Master? Who was his Master? Maybe he was a follower of All for One? Or maybe he worked for some other villain. He had no idea, but now was the time to get some—
"What's going on over there?" A new voice called out. Izuku and Bakugo turned to see the small form of Toshinori walking over to them.
"All Might!" Izuku called out.
"Oy, this ain't the place for you!" Bakugo shouted. "These people are—," The blonde turned to point out the deranged shirtless man and the slightly less deranged woman, only to see both were gone, not a trace of evidence that they were ever there at all. "What the hell? Where did they go?!"
In the end, Izuku and Bakugo found themselves in a lot of trouble. Three days of house arrest for Izuku, four for Bakugo. Not only that, but they would have to clean the house the whole time. Izuku reasoned that it could have been worse.
He was haunted more by a different thought as he headed to his room and headed to bed. He and Bakugo had warned the teachers about the villain who broke in and the hero that stopped them, but no one recognized the hero. The teachers promised to get to the bottom of this, but… Izuku had a bad feeling about it.
Would the teachers be able to catch that villain that attacked him and Kacchan? He didn't want to doubt them, they were all Pro Heroes after all. But… that man managed to come in with only a single hero chasing him. Just how good was he?
"What a day…," Izuku muttered as he shut his bedroom behind him, flopping on his bed.
"Yeah, you're telling me," Izuku's eyes widened as he slowly turned his head, staring at the shirtless man standing in the corner of his room like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Yo." Was all the man added as he gave Izuku a two fingered salute.
All Izuku could do was scream.