Disclaimer: Haha, I own nothing. Except Ichido. She's my mind-child.

Warnings: Divine intervention (not a surprise really), existentialism (part 352), sleeping, quirks?, and tired Izuku. I love writing tired Izuku.

Edited as of 3-8-18

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Text Key:

Italics = Emphasized thoughts/text/dialogue

"Dialogue" = Japanese dialogue (For organizational purposes)

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As soon as my eyes closed and my consciousness fade, I appeared in the black void that I had met only once before.

Immediately upon entering the purgatory-like area, I checked my hand. The fingers were long and calloused from years of cello and piano practice, familiar.

My old body.

The spirit, or whatever it was, had decided to forcefully drag me into its domain once more, not bothering to ease me into the feeling of being in a non-infant body.

Unlike the last visit to this place, I was completely serious about the matter at hand. Whatever this thing was had been responsible for swiping my soul and implanting it into the body of a newborn. They were responsible for this new life, whether it be a blessing or a curse in their eyes.

The creature that summoned me seemed to notice my subtle sense of solemnity and began to speak as quickly as possible.

"Hello little human," the omnipotent voice whispered solemnly.

I didn't bother to grace the voice's greeting with a response, I simply waited for the voice to continue speaking.

"I see you're taking this seriously now," the voice continued, the bitterness in his tone beginning to rear its face. The voice paused for a moment, seemingly considering their next words. "I suppose it is about time I introduce you to myself."

Almost involuntarily, my eyebrow lifted upwards. I had a certain amount of doubt that the voice even had an identity, let alone a name for itself.

"Yes, I suppose it is difficult to believe that I have a personality after meeting me for less than five minutes," the voice muttered spitefully, an ounce of sarcasm mixed into the jumble of poisonous words.

It would be appropriate to say that my eyebrows practically floated off my forehead at this point. The voice has just read my mind.

Not even my own brain was a safe place anymore. I then realized that I had to be exceptionally careful with what I think in this place. Absolutely anything I can possibly conceive in thought could mean the abrupt end of my newfound life. I was treading on thin ice, not the position I was hoping I would have in this situation.

"You've finally grasped the gravity of this situation," the voice interrupted my inner panic-attack, the amusement completely leeched out from their speech. The voice paused once more, taking a moment to suck in a large yet silent breath. They finally boomed with speech, the voice becoming louder than before and surrounding my false body with vibration, "Young mortal."

They directly addressed me with the utmost seriousness. The tension in the void raised the hairs on my back, unshed tears beginning to form themselves in the backs of my eye sockets. I was never able to hold in tears, not in this body nor in my previous life. For the first time since death, I could truly say that I felt this emotion.

Pure, unadulterated terror coursed through my veins.

"I am the being that has seized your soul from a mangled corpse," the being claimed, supporting the beliefs that I had begun to form around them. They were my savior.

And my tormentor.

I could only nod absently in response, the concentration of power and chaos still encompassing the entirety of the never-ending chasm I was trapped in. The pressure was suffocating, completely preventing me from even attempting to speak.

"I am Aeon, God of Time and Life itself."

The voice, no, God paused to let the information sink into my mind.

"A G-God?" I could barely stifle out. Although the divinity did not seem to have a physical figure, I found myself looking upwards into the inky colored sky anyways.

"Indeed, Young Mortal," Aeon replied chastely, seemingly quickening up the pace of their speech. They spoke once more, "Your body is going to gain consciousness soon. You may ask your questions now, but pay heed Mortal, this is the only time I am going to speak with you for the following years to come."

"W-What? Why?!" I exclaimed, the paralyzing tension that had built up in my body spontaneously melting away.

"Specify." Aeon ordered, their voice becoming severely impatient compared to the godlike rumbling that I had heard earlier, "Do not waste your precious seconds."

I swallowed the ball of hesitation that sat in my throat and nodded curtly. If this were truly the last time I was going to be able to speak with this being for years, I must utilize every second I have left.

"What exactly are you?" I asked, hoping for a more elaborate definition of this God's identity.

"I simply am." Aeon answered, having conviction about their answer.

I gave a slight cough to indicate that the answer wasn't exactly satisfactory. The God seemed to catch onto my thoughts and began to speak again:

"I have existed since the beginning of time. You Mortals have worshipped me many times before. There are many religions that acknowledge my presence," the God paused as if they were taking a moment to consider their words, perhaps to even recall something, "The people known as the Greeks had worshipped me under the name of Chronos, one God among their multitude of divinities. The Christians refer to me as Lord or God, their one divinity. I have unintentionally influenced the creation of thousands of religions, some of which are still practiced to this day."

"But–" I frowned. This God wasn't kind, not even remotely, if they were willing to have all these religions exist at one time. At the time of my death, religion became an excuse to start wars and kill masses. I voiced my thoughts, "Why won't you unite humanity under one religion? Wouldn't that prevent terrorism and religious wars from happening?"

Aeon seemed amused by my question if anything could be indicated the the laughs that were creepily similar to the last visit I had with the deity. The chuckles stopped abruptly.

"I do not care for your species, Young Mortal," Aeon broke the news to me, seemingly interested in the responsibility that I had placed on them, "Humanity is simply a placeholder for the dominant species of your world. In time, another will come to prevail. I have no role in this process other than progressing the steady march of time."

Another question popped into my head immediately once they stated their opinion on humanity. If Aeon did not have any compassion nor antipathy for humanity, then why did they bother to give me another chance at life.

The God seemed to acknowledge my thoughts, once more invading my mind space and answering my thoughts almost instantaneously.

"You were wondering why you were chosen to be reincarnated, I see. This answer may disappoint you, but I did not choose you for any particular reason," Aeon answered bluntly, delivering the message with open honesty, "At the moment of my decision, you happened to be the human that died. It was just a matter of circumstance, Humans also call it 'luck'."

Luck my ass. If anything, this would be considered unlucky. Aeon gave a grumble of disapproval towards my pessimistic thoughts.

"But why did you reincarnate someone in the first place?!" I complained. It was at this point that I lost my patience and demanded answers from the deity, completely ignoring the fact that my life was teetering between life and death.

"Boredom, Young Mortal," Aeon said painfully, almost convincing me with the short explanation. I gestured for them to elaborate and Aeon complied, "I have been in existence since the beginning of time. It is only natural that I become bored after all the eons I have lived through. I decided to play around with the order of things. Perhaps I hope for a different result, perhaps not. In the end, all I desire is an escape."

I frowned in thought. I mean, it was quite understandable that any creature, whether mortal or not, would experience the torture of boredom, but to play with lives? Souls? It was simply unspeakable to me, especially since the life being played with was my very own. Yet, even though I disagree with the actions of this deity, I can't help but pity their position. Boredom is temporary for mortals, but it could easily be the infinite for immortals.

"One last question, Mortal. Your body awaits the return of its soul," Aeon interrupted my train of thought.

Alright, one last question. There was so much to ask about, it was nearly impossible to make a decision, let alone the one that would end my talk with the deity. Wait... wait, Aeon had said that they were "hoping for a different result". Did they know what was going to happen to me? What was going to happen?

"That's two questions you know," Aeon muttered irritatedly. The God actually sighed and continued to speak, "The answer is short for the second question, so I'll ignore the transgression. For the first question, yes and no. I know what can happen to you, but the decisions you make will influence the passage of time. Time is as a river, flowing in one direction but having the potential to split off from the main current. It is appropriate to say that you shape your own future with each minuscule step you take. There are multiple ends at which you could arrive, but the one that you are destined for is unclear to me."

Aeon surprised me with a sudden series of chuckles. I was sure that they were insane, or on the verge of insanity at least.

"I suppose that is why you have such entertainment value. You're unpredictable, and that serves as a wonderful source of entertainment," the God sneered towards me, a few of the words warped by subsiding giggles. A quick clearing of the proverbial throat and Aeon continued, "As for your second question, the answer is quite simple. You already know."

What? I was definitely sure that I did not know what was going to happen in the future. The God had just thrown me for a loop.

"No? I was sure that you have realized by now," Aeon replied to my confused state of mind. The deity hummed quietly and began to speak once more, "Or perhaps, you've already figured it out and you're denying it. Given the nature of humans, this is the more probable reason."

"I still don't understand," I whined, exasperated by the God's vague words, "What do you mean I already know? Is there something I'm missing here?!"

"I shall bestow upon you a hint," Aeon declared, seemingly annoyed by my confusion, "You've seen this all before. The people you have been surrounded by since the beginning of this life are people who you have known in your own life. You did not know them as people, but as something else. You've seen this all before, Mortal."

"But–" I started.

"Ah, ah," Aeon interrupted, "That is all for now. There may be another time when I visit you, but I shall sit back and watch as this story unfolds. A bit of advice: time marches ad infinitum, but human life is sacred and short. Although this new life may seem like a curse, it could turn out to be a blessing in the future."

And just like that, a white light shined and engulfed the dark void in which I stood.

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When I awoke, I was most definitely not inside the crib that I had fallen asleep in.

Instead, I was met by overly-luminescent lights that blinded my feeble body's eyes. I felt a similar squirming next to me, so I knew my brother was in the same predicament as I was in. I gave a low whine to test the waters and see what was happening.

As predicted, Oka-san came to the rescue and lifted me out of the container that I was being held in. She held me at an angle that was convenient enough to let me regain my ability to see and the dancing colors from the blinding lights began to fade away.

Oka-san was rocking me lightly in her arms, running on the conceived notion that I was confused or upset for some reason. I just looked at her awkwardly, inwardly begging that she would stop trying to help and and just move onto my brother. These were the moments that I really wished I could just tell her what I needed.

She looked absolutely exhausted. It must have taken a lot of energy to sneak us out of the apartment without waking us up. She probably did it to keep us, more so my brother, from getting scared because of the car ride or train ride that it must have taken to get here, wherever the fuck we were.

Oka-san, in her odd reverie of exhaustion, finally realized that I was completely calm and comfortable with the new environment. She awkwardly sat me down on the plastic seat next to her and lifted my brother out the baby carriage that I had just been sleeping in.

He was definitely more fussy than I was, squirming around in Oka-san's grip and reaching out to try and stop the horrible-quality lights from shining the obnoxiously bright rays into his eyes. I felt helpless in the situation and knew that there really wasn't anything I could do to alleviate the issue at hand.

I patiently waited for my counterpart to calm down and stop bustling around and decided to take a look around the room to quench the impending sense of boredom.

And oh boy, did I regret looking.

At first, I noticed the more normal details of the room I was in. First off, we were in a doctor's office. A pediatrician to be more specific.

We weren't in the examination room, but I knew from years upon years of experience that we were in the waiting room. The bane of mankind itself. The small room was filled with chairs placed next to the walls and a couple of bookshelves that were awkwardly placed in the center of the room. There was also one of those lame puzzle toys plopped right next to the bookshelves, seemingly out of place in such an organized and child-unfriendly waiting room.

I then noticed the freakish aspect of the room: the people in it.

There were a few figures in that damn room that couldn't even be considered a part of the human species. For example, in the opposite corner of the waiting room, there was a family of people. With raccoon heads for heads. The youngest of the odd bunch was kicking his legs in the air and looking around the room with his beady eyes, his, err, snout was wrinkled and they seemed to be sniffing around. Weird.

Another kid who was sitting across from Oka-san's chair was also something to look at. The boy had a seemingly normal body shape, pitch-black hair, and brown eyes, but he had an extreme underbite and his canines seemed to be jutting out from his lips. It was almost like he had tusks.

I kept staring between the two children in terror, and a somewhat sense of awe, simply absorbing the absurdity of their appearances. The raccoon boy didn't seem to notice, or he just didn't care about the fact that I was staring, but the boy with the underbite made eye-contact with me. I, caught utterly by surprise, stifled a small gasp and averted my gaze from him. My sweaty palms seemed to be more interesting to look at than ever.

The boy seemed a little sad about my refusal to look him in the eyes and became a little more guarded, probably self conscious about his appearance now that I'd singled him out for looking different. An overwhelming feeling of guilt filled my body. This felt wrong.

I felt wrong.

I looked back at the boy and kept looking at him until he noticed me again. His face screamed his emotions, mainly being caution and nervousness. This time I didn't look away, but tried to make him laugh instead.

After all, laughter is the best medicine.

I pulled a few faces, my favorite being the one where I squished my face together and rub it around vigorously, and managed to get the kid to chuckle a little bit. I gave him a thumbs up and he returned the gesture, beaming about the fact that he made amends with me, a random infant.

Oka-san seemed to be watching the whole exchange and turned to face me with a raised eyebrow. Izuku was nestled into the crook between her neck and shoulders and seemed to be taking another nap.

"Ichido atarashī tomodachi o tsukurimashita ka?" She questioned, eyebrow still raised.

I merely shrugged in response. I'd heard my name in there, but I really didn't understand the question being asked.

Oka-san seemed even more confused than before, and I instantly realized that I shouldn't have made the gesture.

Showing off my intelligence was not a good thing to do here, especially since a 5-month-old should not know the meaning behind a shrug. The fact that I'd just used a shrug in a proper manner and in an appropriate situation was ticking off alarms for the adults.

I needed more self-control. To be wary of letting things like this slip by.

"Watashi wa himashi ga anata ni kore o oshieta 500-en o kakemashita," she laughed. I just stared.

I heard the number 500, Otou-san's first name, which was absolutely rare to hear, and 'en' which was a rough translation for 'yen'. I'd managed to figure out that she was betting yen on something involved with Otou-san, but I couldn't figure out why. Exposure to the Japanese language has helped me a lot with understanding certain words, but I still needed to reference English when it came to understanding the sentence as a whole. I had a long way to go before I would have perfected my understanding of the language.

"Midoriya-san 3-gōshitsu ni haitte susunde kudasai," the intercom on the ceiling buzzed to life. The voice that came out was almost robotic.

Oka-san proceeded to pick me up with her spare arm and got up from her seat. She then headed towards a hallway that held the examination rooms.

I mentally prepared myself to be examined by the doctor, but I had a weird feeling in the back of my head. The name "Midoriya-san" sounded awfully familiar.

But... I just couldn't put my finger on where I've heard it before.

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Translations:

"Ichido atarashī tomodachi o tsukurimashita ka?" = "Did you make a new friend Ichido?"

"Watashi wa himashi ga anata ni kore o oshieta 500-en o kakemashita" = "I bet 500 yen that Hisashi taught you that"

"Midoriya-san 3-gōshitsu ni haitte susunde kudasai" = "Midoriya-san please proceed to enter examination room three."

A brief explanation:

As you can tell, this chapter was an extreme exposition dump on my part (sorry not sorry) and I was definitely going for a specific personality on Aeon's part.

If you can't see the inspiration behind his character, I urge you to go look at Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson" series and the "Kane Chronicles". I knew immediately when I started writing this chapter that I wanted to take those two series as an inspiration for the behavior of this bored God.

Even if you're not interested in delving into Aeon's character, both series themselves are great and I recommend them to any reader who's into reading about mythology in a fun and action-packed manner. Don't be discouraged by the movies if you've seen them, they don't really represent the caliber of the books.