A Friend of Time
Summary: It seemed to Kagome that "Time" would always play a big part in her life; this becomes apparent more than ever when she returns home after her travels to find that the world she's come home to is not the same one she left behind before the final battle. She is no longer the only hero in the world.
Anime: InuYasha/Boku no hero Academia
Genre: Action/Romance
Pairing: Undecided
Rated: M
A/N: I'm going through and making some subtle changes here and there in all the chapters. Mostly grammatical changes and spelling fixes. There will be some changes made to the story throughout the update process. These hopefully will allow the story to flow better. I'll have chapters 1-17 all updated when I post these changes, so no worries, and please enjoy what little changes there are. If the chapter has an A/N note strictly notating that the story has been updated, it's good to follow the new plot. That being said...
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Chapter One
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I won't bore you with the details of my travels down my Shrines magical well; my travels were done and over with. Though inactive, the Shikon remained. As for my world, well, it has undergone some changes. Before I left the past behind for good, I made a wish. To end the cycle with the Jewel and free the souls within it. The wish was pure. That wasn't the problem. No, the problem was that the wish altered the reality of my own time.
Yes, perhaps the wish I thoughtlessly made could have better been phrased, but in the end…
"I wish there could always be someone to protect the world from evil."
...in the end, the wish was made. There was no undoing what was done. My world was forever changed.
I bid farewell to my friends and hopped the lip of the well, ready to return home for good. I knew I'd most likely never see my friends from the past again. I was okay, though. I knew that time would keep going, and things would work themselves out.
The second gravity took hold of me, so too did the familiar blue glow that had so many times before guided me home. This Time, however, it began to change. The gentle blue began to bleed into a vibrant violet, with sparks of silver flashing around me. Finally, my feet touched down on the ground, the sun's brightly shining rays lit the well, and I knew something was off. There was no well-house...a small difference, but a difference all the same. My family shrine was still where it always was, and at the familiar sound of my brothers' laughter, I allowed myself to believe that perhaps I was overthinking things. Until my brother, brother, and brother again, and one more brother ran from behind the shrine.
With so many Soutas playing soccer right before my eyes, I learned quickly that my world had completely changed.
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(Flashback)
Kagome listened to her mother talk about the Quirk High School for heroes. Her brow furrowed in confusion and vexation, 'What is she going on about!?'
Something had shifted in her world, and Kagome felt the first signs of worry crawling along her skin. In a world unknown, she was expected to know the ins and outs of it like it was hers. It wasn't, though. Her memories were of a past that never existed, and here she was... what?
"Souta!"
'Which one?!' Kagome looked back at her brother, or… "brothers," plural.
"Only one in the house! How many times must I tell you that?"
Souta grinned sheepishly, "at least one more time, mama." Each of his copies completely vanished before her eyes. In their place...a strand of hair.
Kagome watched as her mother glared at the short black strands that floated lifelessly to the floor. "Souta, maybe you should vacuum for mama."
"Yeah, yeah~" He ran into the kitchen and returned with a small handheld vacuum.
Rai watched her son approvingly as he cleaned up the hairs on her floor. Sighing, she turned away before speaking loud enough for her son to hear her, "mama has such a rowdy son with such a high-maintenance Quirk...so messy. If it weren't for Kagome's Quirk, mama wouldn't have enough hours in the day to finish all of her cleaning."
"Sorry, mama~" Souta called as he put the vacuum back up before heading upstairs.
'I've got a "Quirk" too...what...what is it?' Kagome looked down at her hands and wondered how she should identify her Quirk, "Mama...what would you say my Quirk is?"
"Hm?" Rai tilted her head thoughtfully, "it's not an offensive Quirk. I feel like it's more defensive. The ability to pause Time, rewind it...fast-forward even...though certainly, it's a useful Quirk, it should never be used alone. It'd be far more effective if coupled with the right offensive Quirk. Well...that's what I think. You might find a way to manipulate Time to use it offensively."
'Fast-forward? Pause and rewind...? My Quirk is TIME?!'
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End Flashback
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'Two months, and I've barely brushed the surface of my Quirk. How do I experiment with something I have no experience with? The first time I paused my surroundings, I couldn't figure out how to undo it. My body gave in to exhaustion, and I passed out; that was the only reason Time resumed. I can't use my Quirk if I'm unconscious. In these last two months, I have somewhat learned how to use my powers or my "Quirk"...I have also realized my limitations, a few of them at least.' Twirling a mechanical pencil between her fingers, she closed her eyes and sighed.
"You ready for tomorrow?"
Kagome glanced back behind her from where she sat, looking back at her younger brother, who was peering curiously inside her room. A notebook lay open on her desk, filled with scribbles on her Quirk. Too many questions were taken down, not enough answers. "That's like asking if the sun is ready to rise. Whether I'm ready or not...I'm going. Now, isn't it time for you to go to bed?"
"It's not even seven."
"Really?" Kagome glanced at the clock and lifted her finger, tapping it on the desk two times; the ground around her, then the room, then further, even still...glowed.
"Wait! KAGOME NOT FAAAAAAAAAAIR!"
As the glow disappeared, Kagome grinned cheekily. Grabbing a star-spangled stress ball from her desk, she playfully squeezed it and smiled at the feel.
Their mother yelled up the stairs for her brother to brush his teeth and go to bed, and he whipped his head back and pouted. "I don't think U.A. is a good school for you, Kagome."
She laughed at the pout on her brother's face, "why is that?"
"Like you don't know..." he scoffed, "U.A. high is a prestigious academy that trains its students to be the best heroes...not Villains!"
"Haha, so funny." Throwing the ball at her brother. she watched him duck out of her doorway. "Go to bed, Souta, before I put you to sleep permanently!"
"MAMA~!"
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"I wonder if I could get away with a couple of "five more minutes," like...an hour or two worth." Falling back on her bed, she squinted her eyes as the sun peered through her blinds. Turning her head away, Kagome stared at her hand, holding out a finger that gave off a subtle but familiar glow. She smiled. 'I'm glad I didn't lose everything.'
"You'd better not turn Time back! I didn't raise you to use your Quirk for evil." Rai walked into Kagome's room, and Kagome sat up.
"I hardly think turning back time to catch a couple more hours of sleep qualifies as evil." Kagome played with the hem of her skirt before running her palms down the length and ensuring there were no unsavory wrinkles. She was nervous. Of course, she was! Everyone else had been using their Quirks for years and already understood them, wherein Kagome had a basic understanding of her Quirk in a two-month time crunch, barely.
"Maybe not, but it certainly doesn't look good for a hero-in-training. It took me years to break you out of that dreadful habit. The problem is, I don't know if you ever really stopped or if you just got better at hiding your use of your Quirk around me."
Kagome smiled, "I just got better at hiding it."
"Don't tell me that!" Rai nudged her daughter as she sat beside her on the bed. Smiling down at Kagome, she wrapped her arm around her shoulder and kissed her forehead. "Good morning, baby girl. Are you ready for the exam?"
"Yes, ma'am. Just trying to put my thoughts all in order, I guess." Kagome leaned her head against her mother's shoulder. "Honestly, I have no idea if I'm cut out to be a hero."
"Don't worry so much, Kagome. You will do great. I know my daughter; you excel in anything you put your mind to." Brushing Kagome's bangs aside, she met her blue eyes, "Just don't forget who you are...in your trek to becoming the hero you want to be."
"The hero I want to be?"
Rai laughed, "Oh goodness, don't tell me you've forgotten."
"Forgotten?"
"Well," Rai glanced at the clock, "when you were little, this was before you got your Quirk over Time. I never really got the full rundown of what happened. You and your father had been walking through the neighborhood, and I guess a villain was attacking nearby. It was such a crazy night."
Curiously, she stared up at her mother. Kagome wasn't surprised that she didn't remember.
"Well, you got separated from papa and were put in immediate danger...when a hero saved your life. After that, you would watch the news every day and every night. You were determined to see the hero who always worked at night under cover of darkness. Oh kami, what was his name?" She brought a fist down on her palm as she recalled the name. "Eraser Head!"
"...eraser...head?" Kagome smiled.
"Don't laugh; I don't know how you've forgotten, but you would come running into the kitchen yelling, "mama, mama, Eraser Head did it again! Considering how much the tv was monitored during that Time..." Rai shook her head, "He wasn't one for publicity, so you'd only really get to see him once in a blue moon. All Might and Endeavor kind of outshined him. Back then, they were actively competing for first and second place among Pro heroes...well, Eraser Head, not so much. I don't think he cared too much for the spotlight. Since he only came out at night?" Rai stood back up and stretched before winking at Kagome, "hurry and come downstairs. Breakfast is ready!"
"Yes!"
The door shut, and Kagome made her way to her computer. Sitting down, she started typing on her keyboard as she played with her toes through her socks, eyes glued to her screen.
"I started receiving memories from this world as things happened, flashes here and there...I wonder if I'll get flashes of my heroic rescue from then..." Kagome trailed her eyes over the links that popped up; pictures and video footage of Eraser Head were as obscure as her mother made him sound. However, he came up a lot back when she was little. "Eraser Head wasn't on the T.V. every night, but he was always there. I get it. Yeah...that is the kind of hero I'd want to be. I don't need fame, glory, or even recognition...I want to keep people safe without media propaganda."
"So lame."
Kagome looked back at her brother and glared, "what kind of hero do you want to be then?"
"...I want to be the type that everyone sees. The type that is everywhere, and even villains think twice at the thought of my name! I want to be like...like All Might!"
Kagome laughed, "I see; we are different. I want to be the type that...even though you can't see them, the fear of what I can do...is always there. Even though you think I'm not around, I'll always be there when needed most."
Souta fidgeted before running out of her doorway, where he'd opened the door moments ago to peek in and see his sister.
"...what a silly younger brother." She sighed, "whatever type of hero he becomes, I'm certain he'll protect the people of this world to the best of his abilities."
"Kagome~! Come eat!"
"Coming, mama!"
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Me: Here is chapter one of A Friend of Time. I'm working on chapter two right now~!