A NOTE TO FFN USERS!
Today is Thursday, November 5, 2020. Since at LEAST Sunday, November 1st, FFN's website has been broken and no new stories or chapters are showing up properly on the browser. It only works on the app.
At the time I am writing this edit, clicking the arrow next to Ignite's title on my profile will periodically take you to a broken link. Right now it goes to this chapter, but maybe half an hour ago it tried to go to Chapter 62 which brings up the message, Message Type 1. Chapter not found. Please check to see you are not using an outdated url. New chapter/story can take up to 15 minutes to show up."
This has been going on for five days. Throughout all of this, there has been no word from FFN. The home page has a Twitter feed from their account, and the last tweet there was April 1st, 2019. When I went to the actual Twitter account though, I found out the last tweet was actually October 3rd of this year about a network outage. The freaking Twitter feed on the homepage doesn't even sync properly. I have no idea how that's even possible. Either way, they haven't said ANYTHING about this.
If you have the option, go to AO3. I cross-post Ignite there, and you can read both Chapter 62 AND Chapter 63. Because of the election this week in the US I wanted to give two updates so readers can have a little distraction from all the stress, but FFN is just causing more stress for both writers and readers. That to me is unforgivable, 2020 has been hellish enough. I have also posted some new stories that are visible there but not here, including an AMAZING one called Aftershock which has been in the works since June and will have Chapter 2 posted tomorrow. Just add users/CannibalisticApple to the end of AO3's URL to view my account there.
I know that there are many great stories on here that are FFN-exclusive, so leaving entirely is not an option. If any of those stories have updated since November 1, consider leaving a polite review explaining how unprofessional FFN is right now and ask the author to consider cross-posting to AO3. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if some people will completely abandon FFN over this anyway. I know I for one am only cross-posting as a courtesy at this point.
If you're on the mobile browser, here's a template you can copy/paste for those reviews. I also added it to my profile, but no idea when it will actually update to show it so I'm adding it here too:
"Hello! You may not know if this is your first update since November 1st, but FFN's website has been broken since the start of the month and I can't read your latest update. New chapters and stories only show up in the mobile app, and the links we get in emails don't work. There's been no word from FFN's staff about the issue, and this site clearly does not care about its users at this point. Would you please consider cross-posting to AO3 in the future? I really enjoy your writing and want to read more, but I physically can't right now. Thank you!"
I hope that this update shows up. Some comments on Reddit say that you can update older chapters, and I know I successfully replaced Chapter 61 on Monday because I accidentally forgot to replace my usual "oOoOo" line breaks in the draft with actual line breaks. I'll leave this note here, because I ranted enough in the end-notes of 62 and now 63 as well. But just please.
FFN is broken and its issues won't be fixed anytime soon, even if the new chapters and stories start showing up. Don't support it any more than absolutely necessary.
Chapter 61
.::Fluff and Flaming Fences::.
After much negotiation, the meeting got delayed to Tuesday. Everyone had been disgruntled by the delay, but Midoriya said he needed the time to check some stuff. Specifically, the delivery for Hatsume. He didn't say what it was because he wanted to get some more information, but he also wanted to talk to Uraraka about... something that happened yesterday? So she could pass it on too?
Denki was admittedly curious about all that, but he didn't dwell on it long. At the end of the day they'd still find out tomorrow. So with an extra day before the meeting, he and Jirou decided to use that time to do another patrol and keep the 1-A Vigilantes in the news. Especially since Tokoyami might be here.
"Do you think he's from 1-A?" he asked Jirou as they moved around his apartment preparing for their patrol. They'd already done the morning check in with their homeroom teachers, and had since moved on to collecting their stuff. Most of their gear usually stayed at the warehouse, but they'd grabbed some smaller things yesterday to take to Odawara before Midoriya asked them to delay the meeting.
For her part Jirou just shrugged while shoving her gauntlets into a tote bag. "I don't know. Maybe? They did only show up here after we started making news, so it'd kinda make sense I guess."
"Man, I kinda hope so," Denki said, hopping to grab one of his lightning rods from top shelf of a bookshelf. "I've been looking into this Gentle Criminal guy, and he actually sounds kinda rad in this world? Like, I dunno, he seems like he's actually really good!" He turned around and found Jirou gazing at him quizzically, making him pause. "What? Is that weird?"
"No, or well, yeah, it is," she deadpanned. "But I was wondering more about why your gear is on that shelf." Denki paused and glanced over at the bookshelf.
"...I actually don't know," he said blankly. Sometimes he just threw stuff around without really thinking about where he put it, but he usually knew where to find it afterwards.
Jirou just snorted. "Maybe you're a sleepwalker in this world," she joked dryly, and turned away to continue gathering her belongings while Denki frowned. He definitely wasn't a sleepwalker in his own world, so he didn't know if this world's Denki was either. Would it carry over like muscle memory? Or was it something else? Like the other Denki was trying to take control of his body again, but could only really do it at night while he was asleep?
The thought made him shudder. Okay, too creepy. He glanced back at the shelf looking for a distraction, and his eye quickly caught on a framed family photo. He'd noticed it before but hadn't really looked at it, finding it weirdly intrusive to look at stuff from the other Denki. His mom stood in the back beside a black-haired man while Denki stood next to an orange-haired girl who looked a little younger than him, both holding toddlers with gold and red hair.
He blinked at it, eyes drawn to the toddlers. "Oh, I guess I have three siblings in this world then," he mused. He heard a thump behind him and turned to see Jirou staring wide-eyed, having dropped the tote bag she'd used to store her gear.
"Hold on, what?" she demanded. "Are you saying you have extra siblings in this world that don't exist in ours?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess?" He shrugged, glancing back at the photo awkwardly with a small grimace. "Actually, I think my parents got divorced? I have texts from a girl named Akiko and she called me 'laziest stepbrother ever' so I mean, I'm just kinda assuming that they split up...?"
"Back up, you have a stepsister?" Jirou cut in. "When did you find those texts?"
"Day two, I think?" Her jaw actually fell open at that and Denki shrugged again, face twisting into a small grimace. "I've, uh, tried not to think on it too hard. I stopped reading the history after the 'stepbrother' thing. But I think the main reason I came to school in Hosu was because the house was just too much with the twins?" He had no context for that since he literally just found out they existed, but it felt... weirdly right?
Jirou just stared even harder, and then walked over to look at the photo. "Okay, question. How do you know they're twins?" That had Denki pausing and turning to glance at the photo again. The toddlers looked similar enough, but they weren't identical. The blond one had much rounder eyes than her twin brother, closer to who he presumed to be Akiko and her dad, and the redhead was noticeably larger than his sister even in Denki's arms. Or maybe the blond one was just small? Or both?
"...I don't know," he said slowly. "I guess because they're toddlers, I just kinda... assumed...?" He trailed off awkwardly, feeling distinctly uncomfortable because he felt like there was more to it than just that. He still felt a bit spooked thinking about all the subconscious mumbo-jumbo they discussed yesterday. The idea that he still had some memories from this other Denki, who lived a totally different life, just made him feel creeped out. Like the other Denki might wake up one day and demand he get out.
For a moment neither of them spoke, just stared at the photo. Then Jirou turned and trotted over to the kitchen counter to grab his phone, quickly unlocking it and scrolling through it. "Their names are Maki and Momiji," she declared after several long seconds. "If you scrolled up like five texts, that conversation you mentioned had her talking about them destroying a fence."
He startled and blurted, "Wait, what?"
"Momiji's Quirk came in early, and he can apparently produce maple sap? So he doused the wall, and then Maki got her hands on matches somehow." Denki openly winced at that.
"Is maple sap flammable?" he asked.
"According to these texts? Very." Denki shuddered.
"No wonder I left," he muttered, heading over to the kitchen counter to grab his gloves. He'd left them on top of a pile of bills and other mail, and when he grabbed them the pile shifted and he noticed something on the wall that made him pause. He shifted the pile away to get a clearer look. It was small, black and square, small enough to be hidden behind all the mail (granted, there was also some sort of big catalog at the bottom of the stack too), and relatively slim.
It must be sticky on one side, because it was attached to the wall just above the counter. Part of him wanted to try to pry it off, but his more rational side dictated that touching strange objects might not be the best idea. "Hey, Jirou?" he called. "Could you come here and tell me what this thing is?"
"What, you mean bills?" Jirou asked sarcastically as she came over, but fell silent as she saw the object. She visibly jolted in place, eyes going wide as she whispered, "Shit."
Oh crap, that was a bad sign. "What is it?" Denki pressed, and she turned to him with wide eyes. Rather than respond she grabbed his arm and dragged him to the front door, Denki not even getting a chance to whine about not wearing any shoes before she dragged him into the bitter cold in the hallway. She slammed the door and spun to face him, grabbing his shoulders to pull him close.
"That's a bug," she hissed, and Denki felt his blood run cold.
"What? Y-you mean like in spy movies!?"
"Yeah, no shit!" Jirou released his shoulders and turned around, tugging at her hair. "Shit, this is bad. This is really bad." She began pacing anxiously, the sight of it making Denki feel just as anxious. Jirou had been the solid rock this whole time, so seeing her freak out like this really did not help his nerves. Oh crap, that meant HE had to be the rational one here, didn't it?
"O-okay, let's not panic," he said, trying to step into his potential new role as the "voice of reason" as best as he could. "Uh, maybe other-me bought it because it was cool? I mean, I know that if I saw one of those for sale I'd buy it for sure! It might not be connected to anything! That doesn't mean anyone's listened to us—"
"Kaminari," Jirou cut in sharply, spinning to face him with a scowl. "That's one of Yaomomo's bugs. She's used them in three different training exercises!"
Denki paused as that sank in. Oh. Well that changed everything. "Okay, never mind, panic away," he declared, and proceeded to appropriately freak out.
As far as Hitoshi knew, Midoriya's agenda for today was all set. They'd discussed it in detail yesterday after finding that anklet from Toga. Most of it would be like any other day, save for Midoriya seeking out Toga to find her motive for giving it to him. After all, the timing was incredibly suspicious. Depending on her response, he'd take it to Aiko's place to give to Uraraka, who could then deliver it to someone to give to that inventor chick.
That plan of course got altered after Aiko snuck in to visit and traumatize Eraserhead, an event Midoriya had bemoaned for the remainder of the night. Having him come back and ramble for two hours about what the heck could cause such a reaction from the man had kinda put a damper on their gaming. Not that Hitoshi could blame him. From what Midoriya described, Aiko seemed to have triggered a flashback or something in the man.
After that, the plan got changed just slightly. Most of it remained the same, but Midoriya would go to Aiko's earlier. Mainly so he could confront Aiko on what the hell happened between her and Eraserhead in the past to make him so utterly freaked out.
So yeah, Midoriya's agenda for the day was set.
Unfortunately, it occurred to Hitoshi that none of the villains knew of his plans, or even what happened yesterday. If they had, Kurogiri wouldn't have appeared after breakfast to announce they'd be having more lessons with Eraserhead today.
"I trust you won't have any objections," the misty man commented while Hitoshi went to grab the bag Kurogiri had graciously brought to keep his schoolwork in. "The first session seemed to go well from Izuku's reports after all." Hitoshi grunted because overall it did go well—or as well as a tutoring session with a captive hero could go.
Today, however, he didn't think Eraserhead or Midoriya would be up for it. Based on how Midoriya rambled last night, their last meeting had been more traumatic than anything. Midoriya had actually sulked after he went to take Eraserhead dinner. Just curled up on Hitoshi's bed hugging his knees to his chest and muttering, "Am I a bad person? Am I a villain too?"
At this point, Hitoshi firmly decided the answer was no. He'd met grade school students more vindictive and vicious than Midoriya. At this point he felt more pity than fear and suspicion towards Midoriya. Now if only Eraserhead would feel the same.
Something told him neither of them would be too happy with the tutoring session so soon after yesterday, but they couldn't really tell Kurogiri that. He gathered his books in sullen silence while Kurogiri left to retrieve the others, trying not to let his dread be too noticeable. As he did Sushi decided to get underfoot like usual, plaintively mewing for attention and pawing at his leg. Hitoshi glanced at her and paused, an idea forming.
Five minutes later there was a knock on the door and a sullen Midoriya opened it. "Hey, Hijack," he greeted, voice just slightly less dead than Hitoshi expected. He stepped aside so Hitoshi could exit, joining him and Bakugou in the hallway. Kurogiri hovered nearby, following them to Eraserhead's cell.
When they opened the door, the hero looked just as happy with the development as Hitoshi predicted—as in, not at all. He sat up and seemed to slump as they filed inside. "I'll be back in time for lunch," Kurogiri reminded them, and closed the door to leave them in awkward silence.
"I am so sorry," Midoriya finally said, hanging his head. "We can just study in silence."
"No, it's fine," Eraserhead sighed. "You can ask me if you have questions. At least it's something to do," he added under his breath, though Hitoshi suspected they weren't supposed to hear that part.
"Fine, not that I'll need it," Bakugou scoffed as he started getting out his books. "I'm not an idiot like Deku or stuck on middle school stuff like the vigilante wonder over there."
"Kacchan!" Midoriya whined, while Eraserhead glanced at Hitoshi sharply.
"Vigilante?" he repeated. Hitoshi just shrugged as he set down his bag so he could pull out his phone.
"That's how I got caught," he typed. Eraserhead looked like he didn't know how to respond to that, but he didn't have to because a quiet meow sounded, making everyone pause.
"...Eyebags," Bakugou said after a few seconds. "Did your bag just meow?" Hitoshi responded by opening his bag to pull out Sushi, the cat purring and nuzzling him contently. When he glanced over at Eraserhead he found the man staring at them wide-eyed, sitting up and looking particularly alert.
"You have a cat?" he asked, and Hitoshi shrugged, not really able to type on his phone with an armful of mewing feline.
"Technically, it's mine, but Hijack likes cats more so I let him keep her," Midoriya interjected, shooting Hitoshi an inquisitive look. Hitoshi ignored him as he marched over to Eraserhead and carefully set Sushi on the floor near him. The kitten mewed inquisitively as she prodded towards the new person, the captive hero just staring at her dumbly.
"Do you like cats?" Hitoshi asked through his phone. By that point it was a bit late for Eraserhead to say otherwise though, as Sushi had already started climbing onto his lap. He still seemed a bit dumbfounded by Sushi's presence, but soon nodded and relaxed slightly.
"Yeah. Haven't seen one in ages. What's her name?"
"Sushi." That made the man stiffen again for some reason.
"...Interesting choice," he remarked carefully, and Bakugou snorted.
"It wasn't our idea. That misty bastard came up with it. I still say it's a stupid name."
"Yeah, apparently he does that for every cat?" Midoriya added with a shrug. "So I guess we can rename her, but..." He trailed off awkwardly, still shooting Hitoshi quizzical glances which he ignored. He knew Midoriya was probably surprised that Hitoshi had brought Sushi along since he didn't really want to share custody of the kitten with anyone. He did still worry Eraserhead would fall for Sushi's charm and try to fight for custody, but right now the man needed every comfort he could get.
It seemed like he'd made a good choice, because he could see the tension drain from the man's shoulders as he reached out to pet her. If the mittens bothered Sushi, she didn't show it, instead poking at the fabric curiously. There was a brief flicker of a frown on the hero's face though, and Hitoshi could recognize the pain of someone who wanted nothing more than to run their fingers through soft fur.
He shook off the pang of sympathy as he typed on his phone. "You can hold her until we leave at lunch." He wouldn't let Eraserhead hold onto her afterwards, he still didn't want the man to get too attached and keep Sushi for himself. Sushi was probably the best thing to happen to Hitoshi in this hellhole, he felt like he deserved to be selfish about something.
Eraser just nodded though, still rubbing Sushi's head. "Thanks," he ground out, voice just slightly rougher than usual. Hitoshi nodded as he returned to where he'd left his bag, feeling oddly subdued as he got out the workbooks.
Honestly, all this just reminded Hitoshi that he'd gotten lucky. He might be trapped in a damn muzzle and suffered some severe trauma, but these guys hadn't tortured him or anything. They wanted him to work with Midoriya, so they were giving him pretty decent treatment. Eraserhead meanwhile had his leg broken, been collared to the fucking floor, and was stuck in those mittens so he couldn't even get to fully enjoy the nice feeling of petting Sushi. And even the mittens were a concession Midoriya had to argue for; before that his hands had just been bound behind his back.
That didn't even touch on what must have happened before coming here. If Midoriya was right, the guy had been missing since late spring, and it was now winter. Who knew what happened to him in the last place? It was kind of a miracle the guy seemed so mentally okay, all things considered.
Actually, after yesterday, he really shouldn't be so calm, at least if he'd been as shaken up as Midoriya said. Was he trying to seem more steady for them?
The thought sent a pang of... something through Hitoshi. Respect, maybe? Guilt? Eraserhead had enough on his plate, but it seemed like the guy was trying to put on a tough front for them.
He shook the thought away, focusing his attention on his schoolwork. Pondering what went on in Eraserhead's mind wouldn't help right now. Today they might finally make some progress to getting these stupid bombs off their ankles. If they could just get these things off, planning the rest of the escape would be almost laughably simple. The only remaining hurdle would be moving Eraserhead, but he had no doubt they could work that out.
He never thought he'd say this, but he really hoped Toga was on their side.
Mashirao still had no idea if these people were sane or crazy. The stuff Rogue told them didn't make it any clearer.
"So there's six of them total, huh?" he muttered. "I remember they talked about there maybe being three others, didn't expect a fourth one to show up."
"Yes, I wonder what's going on with him," Neito mused with a nod. "Rogue didn't seem to know much." Nakamura had just dismissed the meeting, leaving everyone to their own devices, and Mashirao and Neito had decided to go get groceries. Shiozaki and Kouda were on the rotation for shopping today, but the blond pair had volunteered to do it instead so they could talk over what Rogue had told them.
"I'm still not sure if this isn't part of some giant villain conspiracy," Mashirao sighed, breath leaving his mouth in a visible puff of air. "But with six different people apparently saying the same thing and everything Parasyte mentioned, it's starting to feel like there might actually be something going on."
Neito hummed in agreement. "It's still hard to wrap my head around the idea that other worlds exist. But if even Nettmegg is willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, I feel like we should at least try to extend the same courtesy. But right now, I'm more curious about that sixth person."
"Yeah, no kidding," Mashirao snorted softly, rolling his eyes. The news a sixth member of the group had turned up had been a big enough shock on its own, and the details only got more stunning. Rogue didn't have many details, only what Nettmegg told him, but it seemed the kid was caught up with villains. That alone raised many alarm bells, but there was one more detail that stood out.
"From what they said, he's apparently Quirkless in this world, but not theirs," Neito commented. "Or at least, he was when he went missing in this one." That had been one of the few details they'd actually gone out of their way to confirm after Friday. The case of Midoriya Izuku had clearly fascinated Neito from the start, probably because of the nature of his own Quirk.
"You think it's possible for Quirks to go undiscovered that long?" Mashirao asked, and Neito shrugged.
"It's happened before. I remember reading a case study about a boy with a mutated Quirk that allowed him to take on traits of fish he ate, but his mother had a serious seafood allergy, so it went undiscovered until he was in middle school. Someone else could change the pigment of sand to be different colors, but lived in the mountains so they didn't get a chance to try it until adulthood."
That one had Mashirao pausing. "How does that work? Isn't sand just broken rocks?"
"Yes, well, the article didn't have many details on the Quirk," Neito replied with a shrug. "It was actually about a mountain village which had a lot of early Quirk users when they first appeared. Most of it was second-hand stories from a resident around fifty years after the fact, so obviously he couldn't remember everything. I wonder if he's still around," he added thoughtfully.
"Didn't you just say this was from when Quirks first appeared?" Mashirao asked flatly. "Wouldn't he have to be close to two hundred years old?"
"He had a longevity Quirk," Neito dismissed. "It didn't become apparent until he reached adulthood when it started slowing his aging. He was in his sixties at the time of the article but looked like he was in his twenties." That had Mashirao stopping short again, staring at him as he digested that.
"...Huh," he said after a beat. Kinda crazy to think that people might still exist from back when Quirks first came about. "Alright, that's interesting and all, but this Midoriya kid's Quirk..."
Neito picked up on his line of thought quickly. "Yes, it doesn't really seem like one that would go unnoticed. They said it tended to break his bones whenever he used it at the start of the year, so it's odd it didn't manifest earlier."
"Maybe his body just couldn't handle it because it was too strong?"
"Perhaps, but it's still unusual. There are other cases where the Quirk and body aren't fully compatible, but the Quirk usually manifests within the normal age range anyway. And even then, the incompatibility isn't usually that extreme." Neito glanced down at his palm. "They didn't say if he has it now, but either way, I want to meet him."
Mashirao didn't bother responding, turning his gaze forward as the grocery store came into sight. He wanted to meet Midoriya Izuku as well, but for different reasons. The guy lived with villains. He didn't know what group or how long, but either he was a victim, or an accomplice of some sort.
Whatever was going on with Midoriya Izuku, he wanted to find the truth.
Fun fact: the Discord has an ongoing joke that Kaminari has genius octuplet siblings exclusive to the Ignite world who may or may not be the cause of the mess, and he fled to Hosu to escape them. That's a bit extreme, so instead he gets evil twin half-siblings who bring destruction wherever they go. Whee!
Also, Aizawa finally gets to meet Sushi. Poor man has earned some fluff.
Question for next time: Who would make the most chaotic step-siblings? (This can apply to the six travelers, or any other character.)