-x- Izuku -x-
If the change in water levels was not proof enough for Izuku that Arceus' words were true, then seeing the scientific community freak out about the days getting shorter sure was. Nobody knew the reason. That stupid Dialga. Why kill Kyogre for something he could not control? It didn't sound like a mercy killing. That asshole had tried to kill Shoto and Izuku before. How did Shoto train with them for a year? Were they really that different when under Arceus' control?
Izuku was sitting on the bus, reading the explanations the world was begging for. Would it be better to tell the public why this was happening, or would it jus spur more panic, more questions, more pressing on Shoto? Izuku could tell he was feeling pretty down, so he was keeping him company as long as he could during the day. Texting until bed time. After all, he had all night to himself to fester.
Shoto was sitting in the waves, the shore receding heavily after Kyogre, who might be dead by now. Could Dialga swim? Did he even need to or did he just appear like a ghost? Izuku sat next to him. "How long have you been out here?" he asked, looking out at the sunset.
"Few hours," Shoto replied. He was quiet for a moment before he asked, "Even if I can do something about the shadow pokemon, what about the toll to the world? The death of Kyogre would fuck things over permanently. I have no idea if legendaries can be replaced since Suicune had a baby. Could another one fall into the niche Kyogre left?"
"I don't know. Every extinction event has new round legendary pokemon show up, right?" Shoto nodded. "Why can't Arceus just… I don't know, do something?"
"He can't stop the shadow pokemon because he didn't create that, doesn't know why it happens. He can't stop Dialga like this. Killing time… wouldn't that be dangerous? He can't control what he hasn't created, or by some extension. If the best idea he could come up with was me, then he has no ideas how to fix it himself."
Izuku leaned his head against Shoto's shoulder. "Part of me wants time to flow faster, but at the same time I wished it could freeze for another year. The tension is awful."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm okay. I'm not gonna crack again. But you gotta admit, it's scary, right? We know what's coming, but it just gets worse and worse. Will the days be screwed up permanently, now? Will it even matter, if everyone is dead in the end anyways?" He dug his toes into the sand. "Sorry our friendship is so serious. I'm sure having somebody more fun and less depressing would be good for you."
His voice was so matter of fact. "What kind of shit friend leaves when the other is going through a tough time?"
"A friend that cares about their own mental health. I hate you sacrificing yours for me," Shoto sighed. Izuku didn't know what to say, and was glad a pokemon came over to lift the mood. A spheal. "What the heck are you doing here?" Shoto asked in shock. "You should be way further south."
The little ice/water type pokemon wriggled in between them, butting Izuku's arm away. "He's trying to steal you from me."
"Nobody could steal me from you," Shoto joked. "Just give him a pass this time." Izuku smiled, and more spheals came out and surrounded Shoto. The way he was looking at them all one at a time showed he was speaking with them. Shoto always seemed so much more at ease surrounded by pokemon. Izuku was just one of two that he could be open around.
He really felt honored he was trusted so much by two people to hold two huge secrets. All Might's secret, and Shoto's. Izuku just let him spend some time with the wild pokemon. They really should not be in this area, they were ice type. They should be much further south. Weird. Maybe Kyogre messed something else up.
When the sun fell below the horizon, some krabbys and kinglers came out, and the two decided to go. They put their shoes back on, scraping sand out of their toes to put the socks back on and head back to Izuku's house. "I need to spend some time at home tonight. Fuyumi insisted on a movie night. Soon there won't be any movies I haven't seen," he said with a light sigh. "Thanks for being there for me when it's tough."
"You're welcome." Izuku watched Shoto jump off the balcony, and land on the fence lightly, walking along it with his hands in his pocket. His mastery over his abilities was rally cool, and how he was able to implement them that day they met Xerneas was still amazing! Way cooler than anything he thought of even All Might. He'd saved Izuku multiple times in that time. If it hadn't been so deeply terrifying for all involved, he wished he could have gotten it on camera.
Mitty was sleeping under the blankets of his bed. "Move it Mitty, I want some space," he said lightly. The blanket was shrugged off when the chikorita saw him and her head leaf went in excited circles. She charged at him and whapped him with the leaf a few times before settling. Izuku was sure she had the pokemon equivalent to ADHD.
-x- Shoto -x-
Shoto only realized he'd fallen asleep when he was in the Star Room again. He was alarmed, and looked down at his wrists. The bands were there, still. Was he transported somewhere again or was he actually asleep again? But looking around this Star Room looked different. Somehow, it looked like he was upside down…
Yes, he was upside down, his hair was falling upwards. That was the only show that he was upside down. Blood didn't rush to his head, he wasn't in discomfort. "Arceus?" Shoto called slowly. "Palkia… Dialga?" he called certainly. No answer, just the sounds of a buzzing wind. It was cold and sticky feeling.
He turned around when the darkness grew darker with a giant shadow behind him. The ground disappeared, and he was floating. He couldn't move, couldn't push off anything to move, he was just floating there. Then a pokemon he'd seen in the book and not in person appeared. He got nervous instantly. Giratina, the third member of the creation trio, and the only one that Shoto hadn't met directly.
"Child of Arceus," he said, a deep and rumbling voice. Shoto realized where he was. The Distortion World. Which belonged to Giratina, the one who could control antimatter like Palkia space and Dialga time. Shoto swallowed thickly. "Why have you come here?"
"I didn't meant to," he said. "It was an accident." The large, and intimidating pokemon who looked nothing like the other two creators made a skeptical noise. He had six legs, no arms that would be good at grabbing him. He was gold, black and gray mostly.
"How did you get here?"
"I somehow fell asleep. I don't sleep much anymore." Giratina moved around him, able to move through the air while Shoto couldn't, he was trapped in one place. Well, floating away only slightly, not actually able to run away.
"You stink of him. What did he do to you?" Shoto didn't reply, not thinking it was a good idea to come. "You are not welcome here after it happens." The teen was confused and made a questioning look. "After you turn into a shadow pokemon, you are not welcome here."
"They come here?" Shoto asked before hearing his words sink in. "I am going to help stop it this time. And I won't turn into one either." He said it firmly even though fear was creeping up his spine. Giratina seemed unimpressed and Shoto was catapulted through the air, the sticky, hard surface that felt like going through jello, and landed on his bed. He opened his eyes wide, sweating heavily.
He'd slept for the first time in months. He went to the mirror on the back of his door and lifted his shirt to look at the bits of pokemon attributes in certain places. He closed his eyes tightly before opening them, breathing quickly in apprehension. The part of his back that was made of pokemon skin had turned a deep purple -black. The blood drained from his face, and he staggered to his bed, sitting down unsteadily. He looked down on the rings on his wrists. He called Arceus, and he came.
Arceus, I'm turning into a shadow pokemon!
Show me. Shoto took his shirt off all the way, and looked at the black splotches. Black and purple. Touching them, they felt solid but almost vibrating, unlike the rest of his body. Arceus couldn't show much emotion on his face, but the heavy brow bones lowered just slightly. When did this start?
Giratina told me about it. I fell asleep and ended up in his world.
What?! Shoto had never heard him raise his voice like that. It was out of character and alarming. What happened exactly?
I fell asleep and ended up in the distortion world. He told me that the shadow pokemon ended up there and I wasn't welcome when I change. You said it wouldn't happen to me! Shoto shouted in worry. What do I do? Can you do anything?
Arceus looked sad, head lowering slightly, and Shoto was terrified. I cannot. I can slow the process by giving you more rings.
Slow…? Not end? It'll happen anyways? You said it wouldn't happen to me!
I'm so sorry. We don't know to the extent it should affect you. But in the past times, it did not gradually happen, it happened in an instant once it was time. And for you, there is only small parts of your body that are pokemon. It might not affect you fully.
Shoto thought he was just trying to make him feel better and not panic. He didn't blame Arceus, even though this would not have happened to Shoto if he were just a normal, quirkless kid. He would have died when the world ended. But what would happen to him? Would he find out what it was like to be a shadow pokemon?
He could do nothing to stop it. Hopefully it came very slowly and he could still stop it for everyone else. Him dying alone instead of the world ending was the best case scenario. He put too much time and effort into his mission to let the shadow consume him before he got the job done. Arcues barely fit in his room in his full size, and walked forward to lift one of his pointed legs and pressed it to Shoto's arms. The rings flared to life, but there was a shattering noise and the rings around his wrists crumbled.
It appears I cannot make them any stronger than before. They were returned to what had just gone. He felt no different. If Arceus was wrong about this, about Shoto being safe, how much could he trust as fact? He didn't want to doubt him, but it flooded into him.
Does this mean the pokeballs can still get me?
I can control pokeballs. The shadows are not something I control. Did Giratina say anything more? Did he say he was the one to do this? Shoto shook his head, and looked in the mirror on his door, at the blackish-purple spots. He couldn't stop it, only slow it. Which means he was a danger as well, eventually. Shoto didn't trust any trajectory of what would happen from Arceus. Something could go wrong more. Dialga could be stupid more. Palkia could fuck things up, too.
Shoto knew it wasn't fair to be mad at Arceus over the things he just couldn't control, but he was still upset. He would turn into a monster, a thing that caused the end of the world over and over. It was his mission to stop it, and yet he'd become one, too. At least he had something to experiment on: himself.
Now, he'd know what the other pokemon were going through. If he turned when the main event began, once the affliction hit the mainland, then he was a useless tool. A tool not to help, but to destroy. "Please leave," Shoto said aloud softly. Arceus did a bow, and did as he asked and left. Shoto felt the tears coming from his good eye, and wiped them away.
Envy came in through the flap, and saw Shoto crying. What's wrong? She asked.
"I'm turning into a shadow pokemon, too," Shoto whispered. He lifted his shirt to show the dark patches. Envy looked horrified in her own way, and moved forward so Shoto could hug her. He held her tightly. "I'm so sorry if it happens to you and I can't stop it," he rasped. "So sorry."
Your my partner through everything. Even if we're bad. Shoto bit his lip and nodded. Tears streamed down his face, holding his jolteon close. "Do I tell Izuku? He'll worry… I don't want to hide it from everyone." I think he would want to know. Touya would be angrier than worried or supportive. Shoto knew that was true.
He called Izuku over the phone, and he answered in surprise since it was so early. It was 4 AM and he usually didn't call that late. "What's up?" Izuku asked tiredly. Shoto was silent for a moment. He needed to confide in him. "Shoto? Is everything okay?"
"Not really. I… it's happening to me. Bits of my body have turned to the shadow color. Arceus can't stop it. He said it should go slow, but he didn't know how to stop it. I'm sorry, I just needed to tell somebody," he said, worried he'd deeply upset Izuku.
"Oh no… What caused it? Did it just now come?!"
"I fell asleep and ended up in the distortion world, where Giratina lives. He told me I wasn't allowed to go there with the other shadow pokemon. Then I woke up and it happened. I'm gonna be a monster too…"
"Don't say that, not yet. You're more human than pokemon, right?! So - so you might not be as affected, and you could cure yourself. Or… or you know how the other pokemon feel, and you know how to help them!" He was panicking. Shoto felt bad for telling him, especially over the phone.
Shoto simply said, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. All I do is bring you awful news. If I turn into a shadow, have me killed."
"No!" Izuku said harshly.
"Make new friends at UA. Move on from me."
"Shoto, you're the closest person in the world to me. Do you think I would just give up on you? And there's nobody that could ever replace you. Besides, even if you turn into a shadow pokemon, we're all dead anyways. The world will end again. You won't suffer long, hopefully I won't either."
"I want to stop it. Somehow, that's what I want more than anything in the world. But what if I'm not even in commission to do it? I'd have wasted so much time and effort from others and myself. Having so much work put into me only to fail before I even start," Shoto said in a broken voice. "It's awful. It's so awful and I hate it."
"I know. We will do what we can to stop it. And I'm your partner, you tell me everything so if… if you do die, then I know what to do in your place, if there is a way. I will NOT make your life meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Even if you're not there, I'll carry on your work. I swear on my life."
Shoto started to ugly cry and sob, and all the eeveelutions came in to try and comfort him, everyone else asleep and not hearing him. They sat with him all night on his bed or the carpet. He could not sleep again, and he wished he could. He stayed on the phone with Izuku until he fell asleep.
-x- Izuku -x-
After Izuku woke up in the morning, he checked his call history, begging that last night's conversation had been a dream. But it hadn't been, and he sobbed into his pillow, ripping it apart in despair and anger. Arceus promised him he'd be okay! That was what the rings were for, but now they were useless. He was so angry. Shoto must be angry, too.
If he'd just stayed quirkless, this wouldn't have happened. Even if the shadow pokemon would come anyways, they could have lived a better, fuller life. Shoto would have grown up without the literal weight of the world on his shoulders. He would know what it was like to be free. But now he was here, suffering and putting so, so much effort into a cause that might end up all being worthless and meaningless.
He took a fast shower and left the apartment, Mitty sensing his worry and trotting alongside him to Shoto's home. When he got there, he saw Shoto sitting on the roof. "Shoto," he called up. When his best friend looked down, he looked so empty. He dropped off the roof neatly. Izuku walked to him and took him in a tight hug. Shoto hugged him back, fighting back sobs. Izuku rubbed up and down his back. "Let's go on a hike," he said, wanting to get this off of both of their minds.
"Yeah," Shoto nodded. He went inside and got a backpack with some food in it and put on some shoes to go. Izuku wasn't in hiking clothes at all, but he had sneakers on and that was good enough. "Mom, we're going on a long walk."
"Okay, be safe," Rei said. Shoto nodded and put a hoodie on. They walked for a bit before Shoto asked, "Wanna go fly jumping?" It was something that had made Shoto happy, so Izuku would be an asshole and not doing what he planned by offering to hang out. He took a deep breath and nodded. Shoto bent down for Izuku to get on his back. Envy was staying back at the house to hang out with the eeveelutions.
Shoto floated them to a roof. He hiked Izuku's legs higher and he wrapped his arms and legs around him, taking a deep breath. "Trust me, right?" Shoto made sure.
"With anything." Shoto nodded, and made a running start before leaping off the roof and across the street. Everytime they landed it was light and airy. They bounced around the neighborhood this way, and Izuku only realized Shoto was crying after they landed when Izuku said he was gonna be sick.
Izuku didn't really know what to do. Shoto was given what was effectively, as of now, a slow death sentence. "I have an idea," he said. "Let's go find a legendary again. That'll be fun for both of us. You need some fun. You met Articuno and didn't take her power, right?" Shoto nodded. "Well, who do you want to meet?!" Izuku asked brightly.
"We could look for the smaller ones. Like Victini. Jirachi is hibernating right now."
"Ooh, do you know where they are?"
"They weren't in the book until a few days ago. Sorry, I just got consumed with everything. Kyogre and the changes. But we can go look for Victini. That would be fun. She's… cute, right?" Izuku nodded. Seeing a cute, non dangerous legendary would be perfect! "It might take a few days. We have school."
"Cutting a few days won't be that big a deal. No important tests are coming. We need this, a good distraction." Shoto nodded. "Let's go back and get the book and look, yeah?" Shoto agreed, and they walked back. It was still early in the day, and Touya offered to drive them to the nearest portal, claiming they were camping.
Shoto sat in he back with Izuku, and the freckled teen wondered why Touya was doing this. It was a long drive and then ha had to pretend to be camping with them and had to have things he needed to do. "Something happened. I want Shoto to be happy, if this makes him happy, fuck school and homework." Shoto gave a small smile, looking out the window. Honestly, sometimes Izuku wished he could steal Touya to be his big brother.
"Thanks for being there for me, even if I don't talk about things all the time," Shoto said softly.
"You're welcome. I'm just glad you have someone to talk to, even if it ain't me," Touya replied. Then they got there, they had their backpacks full of gear, Shoto knowing what to bring by now, and said goodbye to Touya.
"It's nice our parents are so damn lax," Izuku said.
"You mean it's good we're skilled a lying?" Shoto corrected.
"Jeez, way to ruin my sentiment," the shorter scolded. Shoto smiled. It took an hour of walking in a park, not uphill, until they came across the portal they were following from the book. It was in the den of an illumis. But it looked old, so the two entered the burrow, which stunk pretty bad. The portal was small, so Envy walked in in a crouch and the two humans army crawled inside.
When they got out, it was at the coast. It was pretty. They looked over the shore at the wide ocean. Izuku took his phone out, and saw they were in Australia. Shoto just looked out at the sea for a bit, and Izuku didn't interrupt before he finally did. "Stop worrying about the ocean, let's go find Victini," Izuku said softly.
"Right, sorry," Shoto said. They wandered along the coast, seeing all types of wild bug pokemon, some neither of hem ever knew of. They were very small. "Envy, will you ask for directions?" She nodded, and Shoto soon got answers. "We have to get closer to the shore." He opened his arm for Izuku, who climbed in, Envy on top of his stomach. Shoto dropped the three of them down and landed safely.
There were some overly friendly slowbros they had to get past, but at least they weren't aggressive or territorial. They were pretty annoying, but the three were able to get past them in a thankfully short amount of time. They went to a large cave, pitch black. Shoto took out the lantern and lit it up, revealing the contents of the dark cave. It looked like victini was a little thief when they found the little pokemon organizing a very large collection of expensive jewelry. She jumped up at them, but she talked with Shoto.
His face was rid of any tension as he got to know the victory pokemon. "This is my best friend, Izuku," he said, not ignoring his friend. Victini few to him, and looked at him for something before zeroing in on his watch. She blinked big eyes.
"It's not valuable, though," he said, taking the plastic watch off.
"She says it looks pretty, so she wants it."
"Alright, here you go," Izuku said, handing the cheap watch to the pokemon, who was ecstatic to add something to the collection. "How has nobody come and found this place?"
"She says the slowbro are aggressive to others." So, it was only because it was Shoto that they were let in. Envy was looking around the treasure trove of rusty but also expensive objects. Normal every day things like a soccer ball and then a little plastic tin full of engagement rings. "It's like the little mermaid. Where she collected all that human junk."
Izuku snickered. "We had to watch Disney movies for Fuyumi's movie night. It wasn't that bad at all," Shoto explained. He wandered around, looking at the objects. Victini's treasures. "She's been in this location awhile," Shoto mused.
Victini went to Envy and made a scolding noise when she was chewing on a bone toy. Shoto smiled in amusement, and Envy ran to him, standing behind his leg, giving Victini a stink eye. Izuku really wished he could hear what was being said. He noticed something on Shoto's hand, though.
He licked his lips nervously and moved closer. He was trying to not be obvious about it, but the teen saw there was a blackish-purple splotch on Shoto's finger. It was one of the shadow marks. God, it was on his hand. How would he explain that? It could be seen as a weird tattoo. Maybe he tried one at home but it went wrong.
They spent awhile in the cave, Shoto translating everything so Izuku could be part of the conversation. It was nice, sitting on the shore by the sea, Victini resting on Shoto's head while Envy played in the waves. Travel did Shoto well, and meeting more legendaries was amazing. Though this one seemed different. Shoto wasn't in complete awe. Though he was also seeming exhausted, not sleepwise.
He hadn't noticed his hand yet.
The slowbro and slowking left and then came back with food and just flopped over on the beach. They looked dead while sleeping. "Wanna camp out tonight?" Shoto asked. "Nobody ever comes here, it's a free and safe beach."
"Yeah. Let's camp," Izuku agreed. They set up the tent on the beach, far enough that the tide wouldn't ruin things. But neither stayed in the tent. They slept in sleeping bags on the beach. Well, Izuku did. Shoto couldn't sleep, but at least he had someone to carry a conversation with. Though the pokemon needed to sleep too…
Izuku fell asleep easily with the sounds of the night birds and the waves lapping at the shore beyond them. It was very nice, a good end to a bad starting day.
-x- Shoto -x-
Looking out at the sea, Shoto ignored the black spot on his hand. He noticed it, Izuku noticed it, but neither said a thing. While he was awake, enjoying the beautiful night, the inky sky reflecting on the waves in front of him. Once Izuku was deep asleep, he'd moved away a bit to work on the most intricate city of sand. He was smiling, since it was peaceful. He could totally live as a hermit at some beach. Or backpacking around the world and camping every night in some interesting place.
Envy was curled up by Izuku's head. It was nice, until it wasn't.
It was such a peaceful night, and then suddenly it was daytime. Izuku woke up from the shout in shock at the sudden daylight. Shoto watched the sun arc above them and then back down over the horizon. "Something went wrong with Dialga," Shoto stated. The slowbro and slowking were all franic and making moaning noises.
"Is he dead?!" Izuku asked in fear.
"I don't know. It's only affecting the time of the day. Neither of us are rapidly growing hair or fingernails. We're also not moving back in time. It's time moving around us. Not to us."
"What do we do? Should we go back home, now?"
"It's not exactly the most stable environment to go get lost in. Hopefully this will stop soon. That dumbass." After three cycles, it stopped and the day resumed. Their phones did not show any change in time and date. So did the planet just rotate a few times and not affect the flow of time?
Neither of them had service out there, but Shoto knew the world must be in a confused panic. Should the public know it was from the fighting of pokemon? Should they know the future and be prepared? He knew it was better for the humans if they knew, but it would be worse for the pokemon.
He wouldn't tell anyone, but them not knowing seemed kind of cruel. Maybe the world would just end before the shadow pokemon turned. Before Shoto turned, too. They should head home, though. "Why don't we pack up and go home?"
"How are you so calm?" Izuku asked in confusion as they put their things away. Victini offered to lead them back, and Shoto nodded.
"I just feel kind of empty and apathetic. Hopefully it will pass. I was given a death sentence, you know," Shoto said.
"You're not going to die," Izuku snapped surprisingly angrily. "You can't give up." Shoto didn't feel like arguing, and nodded. They went back the way they came, wading through traumatized slowbros, and to the small portal they crawled through again.
"Goodbye, Vicini. Thank you for your hospitality," Shoto said.
Bye bye! Bring shiny things next time!
Will do.
Shoto called Touya. "You done?"
"Yeah."
"You're gonna have to wait a bit, no way am I driving after that shit happened." There had to have been a lot of car accidents from the time warp. "You got any idea on what this shit is?"
"Possibly."
"Of course you do," Touya scoffed. "Get somewhere safe and wait there. I'll come as soon as I can."
They walked to the nearest establishment, which was a small restaurant. They had no money but didn't want to just loiter, so they stood in the empty parking lot to not be a nuisance to those in the restaurant. There were some pokemon waiting in one of the cars. Usually that was discouraged but not illegal. They seemed just fine, but Shoto had never met or seen the kind of pokemon in there.
His curiosity got the better of him and he walked to it. A morpeko. Hello.
Wow! A human that can talk to me!
My name is Shoto. Are you hot in there?
I'm Poka! It's cozy, I'm okay. My human has been in there a long time. Is she okay? I think she missed her pill time.
Would you like me to go check? Poka nodded. What does she look like?
She has pink hair and a big nose. Shoto nodded and headed to look through the window, seeing a girl with pink hair and a big nose indeed. She looked to be doing fine, and so Shoto went back to tell the pokemon. Oh, good!
While they waited for Touya, Izuku was scrolling through his phone, wanting to see if there was any good answer anybody had. When Shoto was alerted to wanting to be spoken to, he sat on the ground against the car with the friendly pokemon. He didn't tell Izuku because he didn't want to feel pressured while needing to make sure to not look too panicked.
Arceus, what happened?
Dialga killed Kyogre. Shoto closed his eyes sadly, regretfully. While this is not good for the ocean, it will slow the spread. You have more time.
But what about the ocean? And Kyogre kept a balance with Groudon. Does he need to die to keep the balance? And what about Rayquaza?
They will need to learn to cope with the inbalance.
Will they try?
Hopefully. While they were conversing, a woman with four arm and child with the same quirk came over and saw Shoto sitting against their car's tire. "Hey! What the hell are you doing to my car?!" Shoto didn't pay much attention to her, too focused on the fact that the ocean would be stagnant and if Groudon decoded to start expanding land like he used to, then it would be out of balance. And with no Kyogre, Rayquayza didn't have much special stuff to do. Stupid, careless Dialga.
"Listen to me you little shit!" Shoto stood up, and mumbled an unapologetic sounded apology. The child walked over and she smirked when Shoto was kicked in the shin hard. It didn't hurt at all, but Envy snarled in his face, making the boy scream and run back to his fuming mother. Just then, Touya pulled in, thankfully.
They took their things and went to the car, leaving the angry woman and her brat behind. By Poka.
Bye bye! They got inside, and melted into the seats, looking out the window. "We're taking a back road with less crashes. If you know what's going on, have any clue of what's happening next?"
"Kyogre is dead, so the ocean if gonna be messed around with," Shoto stated in a bland voice, looking out the passenger's side window, sighing and resting his forehead against the cool glass. Touya changed the subject and asked about their trip. "We met Victini and slept on the beach. Apparently she's a tiny little thief and her entire cave was covered in human goods. Trash or very expensive, she had it all."
Touya snorted, and it felt nice ot talk about something like this, like they had so many times. When they got back to Shoto's house, they headed to Shoto's room and changed into new clothes. Izuku smiled at Shoto, who looked forlorn. "You have more time. We have more time."
"Poor Kyogre. All I can think about was how miserable his life has been for so long only to be killed for no good reason," Shoto sighed. He didn't understand the fond, caring smile on Izuku's face.
"You're so wonderful and kind, Shoto. But this is good news in the short term. I understand how you feel, but this might make things go back on the right timeline," Izuku explained. Shoto knew he was right. Hopefully Dialga wasn't too sadistic and killed him quickly. The news were still freaking over what happened to the world spinning so fast three days passed in seconds. They would only spin conspiracies, not really knowing the cause. For many, withholding the information may make someone guilty, or knowing it when nobody else did would make someone feel powerful. Shoto felt neither, and it looked like Izuku felt guilty about it. Touya had a straight face, and Shoto knew he'd say nothing, perfect at secret keeping and boundary respecting.
Izuku took Shoto's shadow hand, the little mark just looking like a blackish purple pen was scribbled there. Or a marker was drawn. The bicolored haired teen look surprised, mildly. Izuku brushed his hand over it. "You have time. We have time. We'll make the most of it." Shoto licked his lips nervously and nodded.
-x- Izuku -x-
"Where were you for this time, Young Midoriya?" All Might asked. They'd left and Izuku had missed a training day. But it was what Shoto had needed. All Might tried reaching him but the service didn't work where they'd been and nobody could have reached them. Touya covered for them for their families, but it seemed All Might was suspicious. After all, Izuku always answered immediately.
"I went camping with Shoto and his brother. We sometimes go on random trips to isolate ourselves. We've been doing it since we were little."
"I see. Were you on that trip when the world turned too fast?" That's what everyone was calling it. The planet had indeed spun too fast, and they were only lucky there weren't worse consequences. Thank god nothing was wrecked from it other than everyone being frightened and unhappy scientists couldn't figure out what the hell happened.
"Yeah. We hurried home after that," Izuku nodded.
"What spurred on that trip?" All Might asked while Izuku worked on control. Shoto was getting food down the beach a bit, having been hungry and trusting Izuku didn't need him there at all times. He walked on the beach with Envy happily, so it was fine for him to come along if his healing power was needed.
Izuku said, "Shoto was stressed. We needed a break."
"You skipped school."
"One day… one day won't do anything bad."
"I see. Young Todoroki does run away often, doesn't he?" All Might asked curiously. It wasn't odd that he was aware of Shoto's multiple bouts of disappearance. Izuku didn't really know how to answer.
"They're not necessarily… running away. He goes on… trips. Camps by himself."
"He won't be able to do that once he gets to UA."
"He knows that," Izuku said, breaking apart a cement beam with a controlled punch. Shoto strolled over, barefoot on the sand. A wingull was perched on his shoulder. He walked over with a cold bottle of water, the water a pristine clear. He purified it for him. He also brought a popsicle that breaks into two. Izuku did appreciate the cool food and drink.
"Need any healing?" Shoto asked.
"Nope." Shoto gave a small proud smile. He wore a black glove over his hand, skin tight so it was barely noticeable to him, to hide the black spot, the shadow. He could hide it everywhere else. His phone rang with the ringtone for Yaoyorozu, his other friend he talked to a lot. Izuku felt no threat in her taking his place. Which was a wonderful feeling, being confident in his place in Shoto's life.
He walked out to the shore a bit to talk on the phone, picking up a piece of driftwood and tossing it into the water for Envy to chase into the surf.
Izuku went back to practicing, and All Might had a small smile on. "Having support is helping you improve quickly. I am glad you told him of the secret for you." The freckled teen smiled brightly and rubbed under his nose. He continued to break things until his knuckles split and started to bleed. His body wasn't quite used to the force. Shoto came over after Izuku called. He easily healed the gashes, and continued the talk with Yaoyorozu. She was clearly doing the most talking since Shoto rarely spoke on the call. Izuku wasn't getting along too well with Ochako, which made him sad.
He couldn't bring himself to look past her nosiness about Shoto. He really wanted her to just forget all about it. Maybe if Shoto saw her again he could force her to drop it like he'd done to Endeavor. He hadn't made contact with any of them since the little attempt to control Shoto's life completely. It definitely did not work out for him at all. It all went well for Shoto.
After the sun set, the three went back home, walking to Izuku's before Shoto jumped away, holding Envy as he used levitate to have a fun time going home. Looking at the calendar, Izuku took a deep breath. Two weeks until the entrance exam. How would he do? He couldn't have Mitty help, she was useless in any sort of adventure or severe effort. She was still nice to come home to and cuddle with. He loved her.