The first time she met him, she almost had a heart attack on the spot. A fist joined her own into a villain's face, and a happy freckled face turned towards her asking her if she was Shimura Nana, as though he hadn't just used One for All.
They fought, or rather she beat him up while he attempted to explain himself. Eventually, a girl no older than fourteen intervened and the two of them ran away, leaving Nana behind.
The next time they saw each other was while she and Sorahiko were relaxing on a rooftop, surveying the streets nearby. Something hit the back of her head and when she turned around, another paper projectile hit her forehead this time. Curious, she unfolded the crumpled paper only to start at it's content.
"Show yourself!" she growled at the void.
Hesitantly, a hand raised from the other side of the roof and waved at her before a mop of green hair showed itself.
"Hello."
His voice was soft and gentle, nothing like the cliché villains she was used to, and especially unlike anyone affiliated to All For One. Still, it didn't mean anything.
"Don't come any closer." Torino ordered.
The greenette winced. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you guys. I just really needed to talk to the both of you."
"Clearly you can talk from right where you're standing. Talk fast before we arrest you for vigilantism."
"Wha-?! But I have my- Ah right, it's not valid here…" he mumbled to himself. "Listen, I know this is going to sound crazy but I'm from the future and I'm here to help you."
He was right. It did sound crazy. She and Torino ran after him but eventually lost sight of him. Dammit.
There's no proof yet but she knows the destroyed lab is his work.
A group of unethical scientist were attacked and their main test subject, which happened to be a rat chimera, taken. And somehow this man comes up to her with a strange animal that looks suspiciously like a rat.
"Argh, Nezu-san how did you even get that? I swear every-time I throw those out you keep finding ways to get them back." the man scolds the completely unapologetic rodent who's holding the man's left hand while smoking with the other. The young girl who's holding the greenette's unoccupied hand giggles.
"You!" Nana shouts, drawing the trio's attention and eliciting another one of that man's stupid happy grins that shine so hard she feels blinded.
"Nana-san! We were just going to get ice-cream! Would you like to join us?"
Despite her better judgement, she agrees and they find their way to an isolated table of an ice-cream shop.
It's awkward. The man smiles, attempting to make small talk while Nezu takes great joy in the discovery of his sweet treat while listening to the pathetic attempt at a conversation.
After yet another awkward pause, the girl is the first to crack.
"You know, Deku really wasn't lying about us being from the future!"
"Eri…"
"No! We came back to save everyone! How could we help if no one will believe us? We've been here for weeks and the only thing we could do so far was save the principal ahead of time."
Somehow, the first thing she registers from all that is "Deku? Is that your name?"
Deku chuckles. "I can't believe I still haven't introduced myself, how rude!" he extends a hand over the table, not noticing he just put his elbow into his own ice-cream which Nana tries not to laugh at.
"My name is Midoriya Izuku and I'm the ninth holder of One for All."
They often cross paths, sometimes against villains, sometimes in the streets. After a few months it becomes routine to meet up and go out, sometimes with Torino, Nezu and Eri but mostly just the two of them. They patrol together, have ice-cream or coffee and even sometimes go to a fancy restaurant.
"The great Nana Shimura going out with a vigilante! For shame!" Torino teases her and she stares at him shocked by the sudden realization.
"Holy shit we are dating."
"It's crazy to think you haven't even met my predecessor yet." Izuku says out of the blue one day. "I mean, technically speaking, I'm not even born yet!"
Nana laughs. "Does that make me a MILF then?"
"Ew!" Izuku laughs as well and the two revel in the sound of each other's voice.
"So. Tell me about my successor. What's their name? Tell me everything!"
"Uhuh! Nope! That's spoilers." He gives her a cheeky grin and she pesters him for a hint. When it seems like she won't be getting anything out of him, she grabs him by the collar and sucks on the skin of his neck, startling a gasp out of him.
When they part, she gives him her own grin and with a red face, he stammers out an answer.
"A-All Might! His hero name is All Might!"
That night Izuku returns home with a lot of hickeys and a vague sense of shame at having failed to keep a lot of information to himself. He doesn't regret it though.
She knows immediately it's him. She'd bribed a lot of information out of Izuku after all. She feels so giddy at having found her successor that she misses the way Izuku goes five shades paler at his sight. He leaves Toshinori and her to bond and starts working ten times harder on preparations.
"You guys are opening a book café? How come I didn't learn it from you?" Izuku startles at her sudden appearance. "Ah, well it was kind of sudden… I have a lot of cash but I can't expect Eri and Nezu to live on that for so long. They're going to need some way to support themselves…"
Nana rose an eyebrow. "You're talking as though you're not going to be there with them."
"Right, my bad."
She takes a seat next to him and watches as Izuku seems deep in thought. Finally, he takes a deep breath and Nana is taken aback by the determined look in his eyes.
"I know where All For One is." he announces and Nana can't breath. "I took out most of his assets. All that's left is his main base. I know how to take out his nomus and most of the people there." there are tears in his eyes and Nana finds that his smile doesn't reach them quite as much as he'd like it to. "I can save you and Toshinori."
The kiss he gives her feels like a goodbye.
She understands as soon as she sees them face to face.
The eyes are too sharp, the hair too dark but everything else, the freckles, the nose, the soft jaw, even the lack of tie on his shitty suit are all far too much like Izuku and yet they're both here, meeting punch with punch and when All For One changes tactics Izuku skillfully evades the monster's attacks.
It happens in the blink of an eye. Izuku is dodging every hit until he isn't and his hand is wrapped around her precious partner's throat. He is monologuing, says how he 'll destroy her, how Izuku failed to protect her, how he 'll take great pleasure in killing them both slowly.
But Nana is no damsel in distress. Her whole life has been about saving people and Izuku is no exception. So she attacks and it seems to be just the distraction needed for Izuku to act.
Neither she nor All For One expect it. His head falls and the body follows just a second later. Black tendrils are all over the place but all from the same source. Izuku massages his throat for a second, willing the dark ribbons away, and steps closer to the head.
Nana looks away when Izuku lifts a foot and clamps her hands over her ears to keep the crunch of his skull, the meaty sound of his brain being stepped on with inhuman force over and over and over again until there's no more than a red stain. The same is done with the monster's chest. Over and over and over and over until there's nothing left .
When she looks up, Izuku is gone.
Torino helps her up and they follow the bloody trail together.
"You know, I really thought I'd disappear into thin air." he says in a joking tone with his pants and shoes still dripping with blood.
"Because he was your father?"
Izuku nods. "I wasn't born yet. And now I never will be." he smiles. "I may have killed my father but I also avenged my dad." he chuckles. "Sorry. Was that a bit too dark?"
She shakes her head. "A little but I understand. He killed my mentor too."
They hold each other, far from the chaos of the fight. Far enough not to hear the ambulances and firefighters.
"Wanna get drunk?"
"Sure. My treat."