Chapter 1: The Voice In My Head
Hmm~Ah~
There it was again. That song that continuously sang within his head.
Hmm~Ahhh~Ah~Hmm
Midoriya looked down at the exam, trying to make sense of the English while simultaneously ignoring the song in his head. He managed to get through most of the exam and should have finished by now, but the humming was distracting him. Luckily, with some patience, he managed to finish it and, with Present Mic's permission, he was able to get to Recovery Girl and suffer in peace.
"Still hearing that ringing?" she asked as he came into the infirmary with one hand covering his left ear. "This is becoming a problem Midoriya."
He only nodded as he seated himself on the edge of one of the beds, "I understand, but I don't want to be pulled out of the show over this."
Recovery Girl sighed and hopped off her chair to approach the young man. "If this persists, you'll need to see a specialist. In fact, I should send you right away."
"But-!"
"Midoriya, it's getting worse." she argued, "What are you going to do during that show? What if it makes it worse?"
"It won't! I-I'll find a way. Besides, you said there was nothing wrong with me…"
"Not that I could see, but consider what a specialist might see." She took his hand and tried to persuade him to see a doctor, but he was adamant that he was fine until she threatened to tell Aizawa how serious the problem was becoming.
The thought of what his teacher might do was enough for him to finally give in, under the condition that Aizawa didn't find out unless it was absolutely necessary.
"You know I wouldn't lie to him." She said sternly and with a huff.
Midoriya panicked and assured her that he didn't mean it like that. "I'm not asking you to lie, just not to bring it up."
Though she saw more trouble in not telling Aizawa, she agreed to not bring it up to the teacher, especially since the ringing wasn't doing any real harm to the boy. Distracting as it was, he never let it affect his schoolwork or training so there was no harm found. However, she made note of it on Midoriya's records to prove that she wasn't slacking at her job, and if Aizawa bothered to look, he would know and confront Midoriya about it if he felt like it.
"I understand," he told her after he watched her type in the diagnosis on her computer. "But really, you said there was nothing you could see."
"I'm only a school doctor, and I'm old. I could have missed something, which is why I'm pushing a request for this to the principal directly. It's nothing serious now, but it could be later." She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a small packet of Ibuprofen for him. "Here, in case it gives you a headache. Past this, I can't help you."
Midoriya took the packet and quickly left to join his friends for lunch. A part of him hated that he had lied to Recovery Girl. There was a lot that he couldn't share with the older woman because he knew that he might end up quarantined or under special supervision.
Telling her that it was a simple ringing made sense at first when the singing accidentally lulled him to sleep during class. He told her that he had a ringing in his ear that kept him up at night and she took him at his word, allowing him to rest until lunch when he said that it went away. After that, he took great pains to ensure that the singing didn't affect him in any noticeable way. For the most part, he was successful, with only minor exceptions like today; as much it frustrated him, he could see how all the little slip-ups were adding up to Recovery Girl.
I guess I shouldn't be upset, I just wished that they wouldn't be so...focused on me right now. The more he thought of it, the more he grew agitated with himself for not being open to his teachers about his current condition. Still, if he did tell them, they might blame Eri for it and he knew that she had nothing to do with it. There was no way her quirk could have done this because it showed up a few days after the fight with Overhaul and he already knew what was causing it. More accurately, who was causing it.
About a day after the singing appeared, he had asked it a rhetorical question out of frustration when it was keeping him from studying. He said something along the lines of could you please stop! and to his surprise, a voice responded back. It was quite terrifying and it took him a moment to collect himself, but eventually, he managed to not shit his pants. Since then, he regularly conversed with the voice, who called herself Eveline Liones.
At first, it was kind of challenging as she spoke English and he spoke Japanese, but they managed to find a perfect compromise. Eveline taught him English and helped him with his homework so that they could talk to each other.
The two of them didn't talk about much related to herself, the only thing she ever shared about herself was that she was alone and didn't have anyone to talk to. So, to fill their conversations, he told her all about his world and what he did with his time. He thought that she might not have been interested in his world, but she assured that she was and, after some explanations about his school, she realized why he had been upset with her originally.
I was keeping you from learning? She asked softly, almost in a whisper which worried him.
Had he hurt her feelings? He really hoped that he didn't!
W-Well, it's distracting because your singing is so soothing.
I see I'm sorry. She went quiet for a minute before explaining that because she had no one to talk to, she sang to herself to keep the sadness away. That was why he never asked her to stop and chose to bear through her singing, though he did manage to get her to reduce the amount of singing by keeping her company. In a way. Plus, she did try to avoid singing so much when he'd tell her that he was in class but sometimes the loneliness was too much.
"Deku!" Midoriya turned around and saw Uraraka running toward him through the barely filled hallways. "Wait up!"
Midoriya did wait for her, though he couldn't understand why she was wandering the halls at this time. "Uraraka? Shouldn't you already be in the cafeteria?"
When the brunette finally caught up with him, she smiled and explained that she had been getting fitted for her concert outfit. It was slightly too loose for her so it was being fixed. "They look super cool! What about you? Have you eaten yet?"
He shook his head, "No, but I'm heading to the cafeteria now. Wanna join me?"
With an excited nod, the two of them went their merry way while discussing the concert and what they wanted to do afterward. He figured that he would spend most of the event with Eri and Mirio while she planned to hang out with Asui.
"We'll do great! I just know it!" She grinned as they entered the crowded cafeteria, "Well, I'll see you during rehearsals tonight."
"Yeah!" The two parted ways as he went to get his lunch, silently calling out to Eveline.
Did I bother you again? The question sounded odd to him but he figured it was guilt that laced her tone.
No, but I almost fell asleep during that test toward the end. But don't worry, it's nothing serious. He then paused to focus on greeting Tenya and Todoroki as he sat down beside them. Tomorrow is that show I told you about, I can't wait.
Will you be okay? I can stop-
Don't! He cringed and Tenya was concerned, asking if maybe he was cold or something but Midoriya simply said that he accidentally clipped his elbow on the table. S-Sorry about that, what I meant to say was that I'll tell you when we're on and when we're done so you can still sing later.
Eveline made a noise of agreement before softly asking if he could tell her about the festivities that happen at these kinds of events. However, Tenya was vying for his attention as well and Midoriya had to apologize and promised to tell her later.
That later came while he was in his room after the final rehearsal and he was sharing Eveline his plan to make candy apples for Eri. She was quite supportive of his plan, though she didn't understand when he might have time to make the treat.
I'll find the time, I'm sure.
If you say so. I hope it goes well, I wish I could see it.
Does it sound fun to you?
Extremely. I used to love the festivals that my grandfather had in his kingdom. I haven't been to one in so long, I miss it.
Midoriya felt his excitement falter slightly; he wished that there was a way for him to share the experience with her, but how? The fact she was a voice in his head was a total accident that neither of them could explain.
I-I'll do my best to describe everything to you after the show!
Huh? Really?
It won't be that hard, just bear with me, okay? I'm not really a descriptive person.
I find that hard to believe, I've heard your thoughts a few times and you take a lot of information in. I know more about your studying habits than you've ever told me.
Midoriya chuckled awkwardly to himself, he should have guessed that she could hear some of his thoughts as if they were his typical mutterings. He wondered though, how much she heard of his thoughts and if he had ever shut her out of his head. Could she hear everything he thought or were there times she wasn't listening? She had said she heard them a few times, implying that she wasn't hearing everything.
Usually, I'm only hearing what you want me to hear, like our conversations. She said with a timid giggle, But there are moments where you get so lost in your thoughts that I can hear them without you realizing it. You talk an awful lot about the festival and training. That little girl Eri comes up every so often.
Is that...all I've said? He really hoped that she only heard those thoughts because he knew that other thoughts crept into his head when he was with All Might.
Pretty much.
With a sigh of relief, he apologized for annoying her, but she surprised him by saying that she liked hearing him think.
You think some interesting things, so it keeps me entertained.
I-I guess that's a good thing. He made a private mental note to try to better guard his thoughts so that she never will hear his more personal thoughts. Either way, I should get to bed. I gotta get up early. Training and shopping…
Okay, I wish you luck!
The next morning came sooner than he would have liked; he was having a really nice dream about Eveline and he thought that he finally got to see what she looked like until his alarm rang and all memory of the dream left him. It was a shame, he wanted to ask Eveline what she looked like but he wasn't sure if that was too personal of a question so he could only imagine what she looked like.
"You have some shopping to do for the show?" All Might asked as Midoriya handed him the permission slip he had already prepared. "Cutting it close, don't you think?"
Midoriya shrugged, "It can't be helped, the rope frayed last night during our rehearsal. I got to replace it or Aoyama can't be the disco ball."
All Might nodded and signed the slip, "Alright, but be quick."
"I will!" Midoriya grinned as he headed off campus toward one of the closest convenience stores. As he hurried on, he called out to Eveline, asking if she was awake.
Yes, are you shopping?
Yeah, could you help me? I need sugar, caramel, red food coloring, corn syrup, apples, and wooden sticks.
And rope?
Yup!
Eveline giggled and promised that she would remember his shopping list. During his trip, she asked questions about the stores which he described to her. She helped him remember everything but the store didn't have red food coloring as he had hoped.
Didn't you tell me about a friend who bakes? Maybe he has some coloring you can use.
Great idea! Then I have everything. I'm going to pay and then I can go back. I can't wait!
Midoriya quickly paid for his things and hurried back to the school. As he did so, Eveline questioned how much time he had.
I'm early, so this shouldn't mess with anything! Unfortunately, he spoke too soon as he quickly was forced to halt suddenly when a tall man called out at him for nearly running into the gentleman.
"Watch yourself, young man!"
Damn it! I was trying to avoid unnecessary interactions!
What happened?
"Pardon me!" he huffed, choosing to ignore Eveline for a second so that he didn't accidentally miss anything that the gentleman might say back. Luckily, the man seemed content with his response and began to leave with his companion who he called Honey. As he left, he mentioned something about enjoying the after taste of Golden Tips Imperial.
I got stopped for a second by some strangers.
That's nothing to be concerned about, you should have plenty of time.
Yeah...
Midoriya would have thought nothing of the couple, but the mentions of that specific tea caught his attention. Yaoyorozu had made that tea the other day and hadn't she said something about it being a rare and high-class tea?
Something's troubling you, Izuku. What is it?
Again, he ignored her for a moment as he turned his head to see where the couple had come from, finding an old, small house that looked like it was in need of repairs. He had seen that house before, having passed it to go to the store plenty of times since moving to the dorms. However, he wasn't aware that anyone owned the property. If they came from there and that man had tea recently...
"I guess that old house is a café or something, never knew." Like most of his mutters, Midoriya hadn't meant to say that aloud but he did and now he had that man's attention.
"One would have to know of Golden Tips Imperial to reach such a conclusion!" The man said in a joyous voice, loud and full of charismatic character. "So young and yet so worldly! Impressive, my boy!"
Midoriya felt his body tense up; that man's voice sounded familiar. Too familiar. Eveline felt the tension and tried to call out to him, but was met with silence once again. "Uh, not really. I only know about it 'cuz my friend made some…"
The man seemed slightly disheartened but also seemed to realize something and quickly turned to leave. The woman he was with also seemed eager to leave Midoriya, pulling her partner away. But Midoriya wasn't about to let him leave; he remembered that voice and now understood the cryptic message that was in that video he had seen a while ago.
"Hold on," Midoriya carefully set down his shopping bag, trying to his best to not lose his cool. "Is this your big job?"
The man tried to feign ignorance but Midoriya wasn't buying it, he wasn't about to let everyone's efforts be wasted and he wasn't going to let Eri down. If the security alarms go off, or if Hound Dog thought it was necessary, the festival would be shut down without hesitation and he couldn't let that happen. Not when he could stop it.
"Stay away from my school!"
Eveline must have felt the rage boil through his thoughts and tried to call out to him, but her voice wasn't registered by him. He wasn't about to let this happen at all.
The gentleman dropped his act, and within moments, Midoriya and Gentle Criminal were in a brawl with Midoriya trying to reason with the internet star. Gentle's partner, a tiny woman called La Brava, stayed out of the fight but kept her camera on hand and on them.
"Please!" Midoriya pleaded, "Don't do this to us, leave UA alone!"
The two fought in the street for a moment before moving to a nearby construction site where they clashed among steel beams and construction equipment. This whole time he begged Gentle to cease his job, to consider what effort everyone put in for today. Gentle Criminal wasn't deterred by the plea and merely insisted that Midoriya turn a blind eye to his plan. He even went as far as to promise that Class 1A's concert wouldn't be canceled but that wasn't the point. Everyone at UA worked so hard for today and he'd be damned if he let anyone ruin that.
Suddenly, Midoriya felt a strange sensation wash over him, though he pushed it back as he was too focused on stopping Gentle from ruining the event. However, the sensation was persistent and then it changed; into what, he didn't know until he heard Eveline's voice.
Izuku! I can see you!
What-! Midoriya looked around and saw a transparent image of a lovely blonde woman floating beside him. Her face was much clearer than the rest of her; he could make out her waist and up, but below that wasn't showing. She was smiling at him and reached out to touch him. "Y-You…!"
He had a feeling she was lovely, though he didn't think she'd outrank Yaoyorozu in looks. He didn't give her a good enough look to really make out anything past her blonde hair and sparkling green eyes. Still, he was amazed by the fact she managed to appear before him.
"What's that?" Midoriya looked away from Eveline and saw that La Brava and Gentle were gazing upon Eveline with the same wonder and admiration he had given his friend. "Where did she come from!?"
"Indeed! Where did this fine lady come from?"
Wait, they can see you too?
I guess so! Eveline spoke from within her mind, frowning as she took in the two minor villains. I'll help you! Just close enough to them for me. I don't think I can stray too far from you!
"Right!" Midoriya charged toward Criminal again and tried to land a blow, but barely missed the internet star by inches. "I guess this match is even now!"
"Foolish thought!" Gentle laughed, "I told you that I detest violence and I will succeed in my goals."
"No," Eveline called to Gentle, her voice echoing through the air. It caught Midoriya by surprise a bit, allowing Gentle to return the teenager's blow with a defensive attack. "You mustn't ruin their day! It means everything to everyone at that school!"
"She speaks!" Gentle cried, equally amazed by her. "And quite nobly too! But I'm afraid that I must disappoint you."
Midoriya hadn't a moment to react before a piece of the construction site fell on top of him, though he was to catch it. Unfortunately, Gentle had used his quirk on the girder and each time he moved just the slightest bit, the girder would wiggle uncontrollably.
Ah! Eveline's spirit joined Midoriya's side, trying her hardest to help stop the wiggling.
"I am sorry that it came to this, but I need you to stay put for a while." Gentle followed after La Brava, stopping at a crane which he macgyvered into a sort of catapult. "Hold on, La Brava."
The two criminals shot themselves toward UA, while Eveline and Midoriya were stuck in that one spot.
"No…" This couldn't happen, he couldn't let this happen. "Eveline..!"
"I can fix this, hold on!" Eveline moved back and held out her arm; with a flick of her wrist, she called out, "Absolute Cancel!"
Looking up at the girder, he realized that it wasn't wiggling anymore. It was solid! He tossed it aside, thanking Eveline for her help, and hurried to the crane, using it to fling himself toward Gentle and La Brava.
Be careful, Izuku! Her voice pulsed through his head, unlike how he typically heard her. I can feel his heart and he's close to throwing his principles out the window just to beat you.
"Is that good or bad?!" he asked through gritted teeth; for a moment, he hadn't considered what might have been driving Gentle and La Brava to do this, and for good reason. All Midoriya wanted was for his friends and Eri to have a good time today.
Bad! If he gets too angry, I might not be able to reach his heart and reach him. Her voice, despite what was on the line, was warm, kind, and understanding. He had picked up on her caring personality through their conversations, but he couldn't understand how she was able to maintain that in such a stressful moment for him. Please, I know you're mad too, but be reasonable. You still have a show to perform!
Midoriya could only nod in response as he reached the duo, smashing his fist into the ground next to them, sending them flying into one of Gentle's distorted pockets. It was through this that Midoriya thought he had gained an upper hand, but La Brava had quickly proved him wrong. With her confession of love, Gentle gained the strength to fight back.
Gentle overpowered him for a brief moment, insisting that love would win in the end. However, Eveline didn't take that counterattack very well and extended her arms toward Gentle and held him in a sort of bubble of light.
"Please! Sir, you can't do this! These students worked so hard and if they cannot go through with this event, they'll be devastated! Stop thinking about yourself!"
"Gah! What is this?" Gentle groaned, clearly struggling against the light. "I'm feeling strange, this won't do at all!"
Gentle used his quirk again, breaking free of the light and, in doing so, sent Eveline back slightly. However, she wasn't deterred; at that moment when she had him trapped, she saw Gentle's past, his failure to become a hero, his family's disownment of him, how he lived in poverty until he couldn't take it anymore. This was a broken man, a man who just wanted something when he had nothing. All of what she saw was shared with Midoriya.
Izuku, she called out in a low mental voice, we can help him but we need to work together. I might be able to reach him, but you have to as well. Understand?
"Gentle…" La Brava cried to her partner, desperate to make him surrender so that they could retreat to safety. Midoriya wasn't expecting to be overwhelmed by La Brava's feelings but he felt them as if they were a strong gust of wind. Likewise, he felt Gentle's feelings as the gentleman cried out. The frustration, annoyance, anger, regret…There was so much regret in this man…
Eveline, are you showing me their pain?
Rule one of saving someone from themselves: understand their pain. If we're going to win, we need to see what he feels.
"No! No! I can't be deterred!" Gentle was clearly mad at this point, his own selfish desires were running rampant and he was unable to be reached through words as La Brava's cries failed to move him.
He won't listen to reason at this point! Eveline cried, Do what you must, I have to reach him now or there might be nothing that can stop him. This is going to feel weird but don't reject it!
Though Midoriya hadn't a clue of what she was doing, he trusted Eveline and didn't question her.
Gentle was still stubborn, still trying his hardest to beat Midoriya and not let his plans go to waste. Midoriya felt Gentle's desperation with such a force that it could have knocked him down, but he wasn't relenting either. They would stop Gentle!
As the two fought, he felt something within his body, like something entered him. It had to have been Eveline's doing because he heard the soft observation of La Brava in which she had said that Eveline had vanished.
Then he felt something reaching out of his body like a hand was stretched out to Gentle. Then it all became clear to him. Eveline was trying to reach out from him to Gentle; she was trying to reach for his heart this way rather than through words.
"Go ahead! Laugh at me boy! Do you really think you can be a hero?!"
Eveline seemed to have received some kind of push back as he felt the figurative hand recoil for a moment before reaching out again, this time reaching Gentle and speaking to him.
Midoriya wasn't about to let Eveline do all the work though and, as she asked, he reached out to Gentle as well.
"I'm not laughing at you, Gentle!" he practically growled as he landed a powerful hit on the man.
That seemed to do it. Though Gentle still had some fight in him, it depleted quickly and with news that security was making their way to the scene, he finally surrendered.
In a sort of act of contrition, Gentle tried to send Midoriya back to UA but he and Eveline, who he couldn't see anymore, felt it was right to admit fault and explain what happened (without mentioning Eveline's involvement, of course). At least then, maybe, he could convince the two to not shut down the festival.
Luckily, the two heroes felt the threat was barely worth the effort. Police were summoned and Ectoplasm offered to get Midoriya back to the campus.
"Sensei, I left my shopping bag behind!" Midoriya cried suddenly, realizing that he was nowhere near where he had left his bag.
Ectoplasm was not as worried, "Where, I'll take you to go get it."
He panicked for a moment, trying to remember where he had come from, but Eveline's soothing voice had brought him back from a near panic attack.
Izuku, there was an old man near that house, he has your bag!
Thanks!
He hurried back to the house, finding the old man that Eveline told him about, and he and Ectoplasm made it back to find Aoyama waiting for him. He was surprised that the excuse of him tripping was somehow believable but he didn't dwell on that as Ectoplasm reminded him to clean up his face so no one would worry about him.
As he did so, cleaning his face of the dirt and changing into the suit that was left for him, he sent out his thanks to Eveline and didn't wait for her response as he told her that he was going to the stage right away.
Everything happened so fast; once he made it to the stage, the curtain drew back and in the audience, though it was hard to see them clearly, he saw Eri and Mirio watching and his heart swelled. The show happened in a blur but he knew it was a resounding success just by listening to the cheers of the crowd.
As the curtain closed again, signaling the end of the show, Midoriya heard Eveline call out to him with equal excitement as the audience and his classmates.
That was amazing Izuku!
Midoriya jumped a little and quickly glanced around without seeming too weird about it. Eveline! D-Di-?
I saw it! After that fight, I figured out how to see your world through you and I saw the whole show! It was awesome! That little girl was there, right?
She was! I'll see her soon, but now we gotta clean up. Before Midoriya could start helping the others, he was halted by All Might, who looked unamused and even annoyed with Midoriya. Uh oh…
"Oooh someone's in trouble~!" Some of his classmates teased as they gathered chunks of ice off the floor.
Midoriya could only lower his head and take the scolding in hopes that it might lessen any punishment that All Might had in mind. Luckily, Hound Dog and Ectoplasm made their way to the mentor and student, with Hound Dog taking over scolding.
"It's our duty to protect you kids!" He growled as he lifted Midoriya up by the collar of his shirt before promptly throwing him toward his classmates, "The festival's still going on! Now go have fun!"
When the young man landed, he was greeted by Sero who teasingly suggested that Midoriya's new nickname would be Errand Boy, which received a minor chuckle out of the exhausted teenager. It wasn't until he saw Eri that he perked up and forced back all the pain he felt from his fight (and flight) so that he could give her a tearful smile. As she retold her experience to him, there was a great sense of accomplishment and joy that swelled within him.
The rest of the event went by in a blur for Midoriya, though it wasn't due to the lack of things to do. In fact, there was so much to do that his friends had made it their goal to go through as much as they could before the day's end. He, on the other hand, took the time to slip away and make Eri's candy apples, which Eveline had showed an interest in as well.
I wish there was a way I could give one to you, I'll have some to spare judging from the recipe.
Don't worry, Eveline giggled nervously, going silent for a moment before responding again. They look a lot like the candy treats my grandfather would give me when I was little. Of course, they weren't put on apples, or any fruit for that matter.
Another moment of silence past between them and Midoriya was determined to break it, but Eveline beat him to it. She apologized for making him worry about her when he was supposed to be smiling for Eri and she told him that she had to stop talking to him for a little bit.
Don't worry, it's nothing bad, She said quickly, though her tone told him otherwise. When this is over, I'll tell you all about it! I promise!
He was hesitant to agree, but there was nothing else he could do. I'll hold you to it.
With his acceptance, their link closed off. He wasn't sure how he knew that; since he first spoke to Eveline, he felt a slight string that connected them to each other. Now, he felt like she was gone. She wasn't gone, and he knew that but the feeling suffocated him.
Focus on Eri! He told himself as he finished the apples. Eveline will call out to me when she's ready! Don't be clingy!
After a small mental pep talk, he finally gathered the two best candy apples and headed out to meet Mirio and Eri.
