Prologue

Waking up Into a…Nightmare?


Waking up in a hospital is an experience that most, if not every Hero, would get to experience at least once in their career.

It was simply something that came with the job, as harsh as it sounded, but it was also a reality that every Hero, and anyone aspiring to be one, had to accept one way or another.

After all, not even those at the top were immune to the dangers that such career path brought. It was a grim reminder for both the civilian population and the hero community: to know that even those that looked untouchable could still, at the end of the day, bleed like any other person.

All Might's rather forceful retirement all those years ago was still a dark reminder of that fact.

However, on the other side of the spectrum, there were those Heroes that were actually rather familiar with waking up at such facilities.

And to find an example of one of such individuals…

"Not again…"

It was as easy as to look for the current Number Two Ranked Hero of Japan, who had finally decided to wake up from his slumber, with the words that came out his mouth being the first thing his brain was able to come up with after figuring out where he currently was.

With a sigh leaving his lips, the green-haired youth was quick to raise himself from the hospital bed, more than a bit surprised about not feeling the regular ache on his body that waking up in a hospital usually came associated with.

He wasn't complaining or anything, but it certainly brought him a few questions about how he got here in the first place.

Not that closing his eyes and thinking of the events from the day prior helped much with his confusion, even though he could remember them quite clearly.

Just a bank robbery with villains that had decided to give up the moment they saw Heroes arriving to the scene, definitely not something that should have put him in the hospital of all places.

And yet here he was, knocked out cold and sent to the hospital after getting hit by one of the criminal's Quirk. He couldn't even remember what said Quirk was, just a flash of light and then everything going dark.

He could already feel reprimand he would get about lowering his guard even when everything seemed under control, especially considering he hadn't been alone yesterday. Maybe he was depending too much on Danger Sense?

"But why didn't it warn me?" He could only wonder out loud, not understanding the lack of response from the Fourth's Quirk, especially given the situation.

And while there was no one there to hear his words, he still expected an answer of some sort, but with each second that passed without one, a sense of unease started to grow stronger within him.

Why weren't the previous Users answering him?

"Ah, you woke up already…"

Had he been so focused on his thoughts that he only noticed a person entering the room after being called out? Apparently so, so deciding to leave his current worries for later, he turned to regard the strangely familiar-sounding voice that had called him out…

"Midoriya?"

…just to then freeze in place as soon as he did, his brain trying to process what he was seeing at the moment.

It was failing miserable, to say the least.

In his defense though, he would like to think anyone would find it difficult to keep their calm at such a sight.

The one responsible for his shock of course, was the person on the other side of the room, or rather, the woman.

White and crimson red hair split evenly, alongside a pair of mismatched sharp eyes and quite the serious expression: All details that could be used to describe one of his fellow U.A Alumni, Professional Hero and longtime friend.

Except for one key difference.

Todoroki Shoto was a man.

This person was a woman.

She was a bit shorter though, and her hair was longer, easily reaching her back. Her features looked softer and her proportions-

'Bad thoughts!'

"Midoriya, are you alright?"

Even her voice sounded similar, albeit in a slightly higher pitch. There was no mistaking that monotonous tone, not when he had spent years working alongside it.

Even the scar was there

Trying to avoid a possible permanent internal failure, his overworked brain finally came out to the first conclusion it decided was reasonable.

The fact that said conclusion was that certain Number One Hero had somehow decided to clone one of his kids because he wanted another daughter all of a sudden though, made it so that said conclusion was discarded almost immediately.

Maybe he was just seeing things then? Rubbing his eyes with extreme force only got him a headache though, for the woman was still standing there, now slightly frowning at him in a way that he recognized all too well.

"Do you want me to call the doctor? You're acting strange."

He was acting strange?! How was he the strange one in this situation?!

"I-I-I-I" Alright maybe the comeback of his old stuttering habit wasn't helping, but still!

Luckily for him thought he was stopped from continuing to act like a goldfish by the sudden sound of yelling coming from outside the room, a sound that seemed to make…he didn't even know what to call her, release a small sigh.

"Seems she found out first." The woman that looked like his friend's long lost twin sister whispered before moving slightly away from the door, just in time for said door to be almost kicked open with sudden force.

As for the responsible of doing that…

"Deku! What the hell is this about you getting beat up by some random little shit trying to rob a bank?!"

…It was auntie Mitsuki.

'Wait, what?' And he followed such thought by actually squinting at the newcomer, trying to once again decipher what he was seeing.

It definitely wasn't auntie Mitsuki, just a…younger-looking version of her?

Definitely younger, yes, but also looking…wilder? Untamed? Less…graced? It was hard to describe, and something told him that voicing that out would get him a more permanent stay at this hospital.

He didn't need his Danger Sense to tell him that much.

"This is a hospital; you shouldn't be this loud."

"Huh? Oh you're here too, Half-Half. Whatever, mind your own business!"

"Making Midoriya feel uncomfortable with your yelling makes it my business."

"Me? This stupid Deku was already looking like that when I got here. What the hell did you do to him?!"

As for the only male currently in the room, he could only watch in fascination at the scene in front of his eyes.

It could also be horror though, right now he wasn't really sure.

One thing struck a chord within him though, to the point his whole body froze, a sudden gasp leaving his lips loud enough to stop the two women from arguing long enough to instead focus their sights on him.

"Midoriya?"

"Deku?"

There, she did it again!

She called him Deku.

Now, that by itself wasn't weird at all. His Hero name was Deku, after all, and it had been so ever since his first year at U.A

Most people he knew personally even called him that too. The name was just too ingrained into who he was after all these years.

But this was different, because it was the way she said it that had him going through an existential crisis right now.

For while he had heard his Hero name being said in a lot of different ways throughout his career and even before it, there was only one person that said it with such a specific arrange of emotions all seemingly packed into one word.

He would know, for he had been familiar with said person ever since they were toddlers.

So when he slowly raised his shaking fingers towards the red-eyed girl that was currently glaring at him, his own face pale as a ghost and his eyes wide as saucers, there was only one word that could have left his lips, even as ludicrous it sounded.

"K-Kacchan…?" The nickname left him before he even realized it, earning an even bigger scowl from the girl in question.

A very familiar scowl.

"No shit Sherlock." The woman-no, Kacchan, growled back with a huff. "Seriously, did you get your nerd brain turned into goo or something? You're acting dumber than usual."

And without even missing a beat, his shaky gaze moved to the other woman in the room, a feeling of absolute dread filling his gut at just at the mere idea slowly forming in his head.

But still he pushed on. Plus Ultra as they said.

"Todoroki-san…?"

"Yes?"

Only to then realize just how little that actually narrowed it down. Of course she was a Todoroki, he would be even more alarmed if she wasn't!

"…S-Shoto…?" So with the tiniest hint of desperation in his voice, he mumbled the first name of one of his best friends, his current situation negating whatever apprehension he would have about such gesture.

The response he got though, was not the one that he expected, for as soon as the name left his lips he saw the dual-color haired woman widen her eyes for just a second, quick enough that he would have missed it if he wasn't paying attention to her face.

What he certainly couldn't have missed though, was the way she broke eye contact, her gaze going to the side while her right hand moved, pushing some of her long hair behind her ear.

And for some reason he himself didn't understand, such reaction actually made his own freckled cheeks flare up in embarrassment, almost as if he had done something prohibited.

The confirmation he had been dreading to receive though, ended up coming from none other than Kacchan.

"Hey! Since when are you two on first name basis?!" She growled out before actually storming towards him and grabbing him by his shirt. "Were you two playing cozy instead of patrolling like you should have?! Answer me you shity nerd!"

It was hard to answer when you had someone seemingly trying to shake you to death.

Not that he could have even if he hadn't though, since his brain had finally decided that enough was enough and a break was needed.

A forceful one of course, one that involved his eyes rolling to the back of his head and his body falling like a sack of potatoes.

Let it never be said that Midoriya Izuku, Pro Hero Deku, Ninth user of One For All and current Number Two Hero of the country, wasn't good under pressure.


"So, you understand the plan, Ninth?" Green met green in a contest of stares.

"Of course, First!" A firm declaration was the response he got, making a small smile blossom from his features.

The current user of his-no, their Quirk had certainly grown a lot, hadn't he?

"Don't forget about contacting Toshinori as soon as you can." To the side he saw the dark-haired beauty that was the Seventh user of their quirk flash a warm smile to the Ninth, quickly earning one in return.

"Of course, Shimura-san!"

"Hmm?"

"I-I mean…Nana-san."

"That's better!"

Truly, he could only shake his head slightly, his smile widening just a bit at the sight of the interaction between past and current wielder of One For All.

It was a nice sight and experience, to see and interact with all of them without the threat of his brother lurking over them.

"We will do what we can on our end, so don't worry about us and focus at the situation at hand." He followed suit with such words after noticing the not-so subtle looks the green-haired youth had been throwing at the empty seats that were usually used by his fellow previous One For All users.

"But-"

"They are fine, Ninth." He followed with a soft smile, truly understanding that it was unavoidable for the young man to not worry about the people pretty much living in his head. "They are just unavailable at the moment, but it is nothing you need to worry about right now."

He could tell his words did little to ease the obvious concern the young Hero had, but after a few seconds he still relented with a nod, seemingly trusting his words still.

He could only smile gratefully un return.

"Looks like it's time." It was the original Float user that noticed how the darkness surrounding their little meeting hall was slowly encompassing Deku.

"Uhm, also…" A sudden bout of nervousness seemed to hit the freckled young man just as the darkness started covering his torso.

"Ninth?"

"I-I wanted to apologize…"

"…You mean for the five minutes of constant yelling, the ten minutes of existential crisis or the fifteen minutes we spent convincing you this wasn't a dream?"

"…Yes?"

"Goodbye, Ninth."

"Wait, so is that a yes or-" Whatever Midoriya Izuku would have said would forever be lost to time, for once the darkness dragged him away it left only silence in its wake.

"You could have told him, you know? A silence that was quickly broken by the only other One For All user left. "I think he has a right to know something like this."

"You're right, he does." He agreed swiftly. "However, the situation at hand is already bizarre enough. Midoriya-kun doesn't need even more worries on his mind, especially those about people that shouldn't even be around."

"But you're right." He continued once he saw how she was about to complain. "If this somehow ends up affecting him then we will tell them, but until then we will just have to handle it ourselves."

She seemed to relent to his decision with a nod, although since it was followed by her lips turning into a quite obvious grin, he knew this wasn't the end of it.

"Just so you know, First-chan¸ you look cute like that!" Her sing-song voice only made him shake his head a bit before leaning more into his seat.

"I have barely changed. Midoriya-kun didn't even notice it." For once he was actually glad for his rather androgynous looks. He didn't want to imagine the hearth attack that the Ninth user would have had if he had realized his current…changes.

Could someone have a stroke inside their own mind? He wasn't so sure, but he sure didn't want to find out either by explaining young Izuku the real reason all the other previous holders, with the exception of Nana, were…not available at the moment.

'Not that I blame them.' Was the singular thought running through Shigaraki Yoichi's mind, just as his eyes glanced down at his white shirt, observing the barest hint of cleavage that he was extremely sure wasn't there before.

It seems the outside world wasn't the only place affected by…whatever was happening right now.

She-He could only hope that the Ninth user would be able to figure this one out soon enough.

For the sake of everyone's sanity.


Double dipping into the Hero Academia fandom? Seems so!

Next Chapter: I'm not crazy!