Butterflies filled Izuku's stomach as he stepped through the doorway of Class 1-A. It was his very first day at U.A. Throughout elementary school and middle school, he'd never had a single friend. Would this time finally be different? Would a quirk win him acceptance? Had he been able to change into a new person?

He felt Katsuki's eyes burn on his back. At least Katsuki hadn't bullied him since the Sludge Villain incident. But Izuku would swear Katsuki kept constantly looking his way as if he wanted to say something—or more like he expected Izuku to say something. Frankly Izuku was happier to be left alone. The lack of explosions had made his last middle school days more peaceful.

By the time the day was over, both Ochaco Uraraka and Tenya Iida wanted to be friends! Izuku was practically floating on a cloud as he packed up his textbooks into his backpack.

Until a pink-haired girl slammed her hands down on his desk and demanded, "Dude, why did you stop talking to us?"

Izuku blinked. As he looked into her yellow irises and black sclerae, her name came to him from the class rollcall: Mina Ashido. "Um…we never started talking?"

Mina threw up her hands in the air. "Don't give me that nonsense, Izuku! Aren't you supposed to be in America? Supposedly you were too busy with your move to ever reply to emails or texts?"

There was an edge of bitterness in her voice. Izuku hadn't done anything to deserve that. In Japanese custom, it was very rude of her to refer to him by his first name when they'd barely met. It came off like an insult, but he still tried to be polite in return. "Have you mistaken me for someone else? My father works in America, but I've never been there."

"You lied to us about moving away?" Mina screeched.

Kirishima came over and grabbed Mina's arm. "Come on, he's made it plain that he doesn't want anything to do with us."

Eyes around the classroom turned in their direction. Despite her invisibility, Izuku would swear Toru was giving him a hard look. Koda seemed like he wanted to say something, his mouth hanging half-open but no sound coming out. Fumikage wasn't looking at him but Dark Shadow glared like Izuku had kicked his tailfeathers. A prickling of fear ran down Izuku's spine. Was he about to become the class outcast again? Over something he didn't even understand? He had to speak up, to defend himself, to explain he'd never meant to insult anyone. But his old fear and trauma froze his mouth.

Mina cast one last glance back at Izuku. Tears gleamed at the corners of her eyes. She wasn't angry—Izuku had hurt her. And he didn't even know why.

Mina and Kirishima went over to Katsuki. They spoke together in low murmurs. These two clearly knew Katsuki—then did that mean Izuku ought to remember them? But Katsuki's friends had always been Izuku's bullies. Maybe that was the answer. Maybe they'd been messing with Izuku.

But as he remembered Mina's tears, that answer didn't feel right.

Izuku jogged out of the classroom, planning to go home and check all his old notebooks for any hints. He kept detailed journals. He definitely would have written about two such interesting quirks like Kirishima and Mina's. At least Ochaco and Tenya had left faster than him and hadn't witnessed that scene. It horrified him to imagine his new friends seeing him as…he didn't know the right word. Weird? Bulliable? Troublesome?

A handsome boy with half-red, half white hair stepped in front of Izuku before he could leave the school. A very small smile crossed his serious face. "It's me, HatesFireLovesConspiracies."

Izuku gaped at Shouto Todoroki. "You do?"

"I do what?"

"You hate fire and love conspiracies?"

"Yes, that's why I picked the username," Shouto said.

"But your quirk is half fire…"

"Yes, I know, my power is my own, we've talked about this." Shouto smiled fondly.

"Um." Izuku was completely lost. "I don't think we've ever talked before, Todoroki."

The smile dropped off Shouto's face. "Oh. You don't want to talk to me at school. I see. Can we at least message each other? Uh…I thought you were too busy settling into America to reply to my messages. But. Um. Did you block me?"

Izuku's confusion turned into fear. When so many people seemed to think that he should know them and that he should be in America, he started to wonder if he was the crazy one. "I'm sorry, I really don't know what you're talking about." His voice shook.

"I thought you'd given up on becoming a hero," Shouto said. "I'm glad you didn't."

"I never gave up on becoming a hero," Izuku growled.

"I've upset you, somehow." Shouto's right side frosted over. His body drooped. "I apologize. This isn't an excuse, but I…I don't know what I've done wrong. Are you angry at me?"

The plea in those words deeply resonated with Izuku. He'd been in that position many times before, not sure what he'd done to make other people angry at him. "No, Todoroki, I'm not angry at you. I'm confused. I don't remember you, but, um, you're the second person I don't remember who said I ought to. Maybe even the third person. I'm starting to think the problem is me."

The air around Shouto stopped freezing over. His gaze swept Izuku, assessing. "Is that why you told me to hold onto copies of your journals?"

"I what now?" Izuku asked blankly.

Shouto nodded. "Yes, I see. I'll get them for you." He turned on his heel and walked away.

That had been very strange. Izuku stared after the retreating back, trying to decide if he should follow. At least this one had seemed more willing to talk. But he dithered too long, and Shouto had already left

As Izuku walked out the school gate, he passed a purple-haired gen ed student with bags under his eyes. The other boy cast him a look of such fury that Izuku flinched. What was it about him that seemed to make everyone around him hate him, when he hadn't done anything?

Izuku went home and checked his bookshelf full of journals. All of them were there, except for the ones that Katsuki had burned. No matter how hard he looked, he could find no mention of Mina, Shouto, or Kirishima.

Glancing at his phone, Izuku smiled when he saw that Ochaco had texted him a cute cat video. At least someone wanted to be his friend, someone who didn't treat him like a mental patient. His hands hovered, not sure how to respond and terrified of somehow messing it up. A simple LOL seemed too brief, but a long rant in return would be too much. In the past…he'd lost friends… No, he'd never had friends to begin with. Just a hole inside his chest where friends ought to be. Izuku shook away the strange thought.

From downstairs, Inko called, "Dinner is ready!"

Izuku shelved his journals and headed to the dining room. "It smells great, Mom. Um. Have I ever had any memory difficulties?"

"You've always had an excellent memory, sweetie." Inko smiled. "You remember all kinds of facts."

But had he ever forgotten any people? "Mom, who…would you say are my closest friends?"

Inko said, "You've always been very close with Katsuki. Other than that…" Her forehead wrinkled. "I can't remember."

Izuku had never told his mother about Katsuki's bullying. He didn't want to worry her and he didn't want to destroy her friendship with Mitsuki Bakugo. "Oh, don't worry about it. I just had an idle thought."

As expected, he'd always been friendless.

Right?

Mina Ashido first met Izuku Midoriya at a hero convention in middle school. They'd been both standing in line to get pizza. Smiling at her, he said, "That's an awesome Ellen Ripley cosplay."

"Oh! You're the first person to recognize my cosplay." Mina beamed. "You've got a nice All Might cosplay yourself." She shot finger guns at him.

Izuku flushed and rubbed the back of his neck, making his All Might wig wobble. "Oh, thank you. My dad loves old movies, and we've seen Alien a couple times."

"My name is Mina Ashido. You seem cool."

"Nice to meet you, Ashido. I'm Izuku Midoriya."

They reached the front of the line, Mina ordering her pizza first. She wobbled, balancing two trays. Izuku asked, "Can I help?"

"Thanks." Mina turned a grateful grin on him. "I grabbed pizza for Kirishima too, while he was in the bathroom."

A scowling boy marched over, also wearing an All Might cosplay. "Oi, nerd, I got us a table." The nickname had an affectionate tone. "Who's the extra you picked up?"

"Don't be rude, Kacchan," Izuku scolded. "This is Mina Ashido. Ashido, this is Katsuki Bakugo, my best friend. Sorry about him, he was born with resting bitch face and no brain-to-mouth filter."

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "I was also born with the attribute of tolerating your shit, luckily for you."

Kirishima joined them at the table, and the four of them immediately struck it off. They were all huge hero fans and wannabe heroes.

The four friends had started training at the same gym, one that specialized in preparing middle schoolers for hero entrance exams. Izuku had been a godsend, extremely good at analyzing quirks despite not having one. Mina had improved leaps and bounds with his help. He'd also been the first tutor skilled enough to drill math into her head. Shy Kirishima had become much more confident and outgoing under the influence of his friends. They'd all gotten on first name terms. They'd often gone over to Izuku's place to study together, since he lived in the biggest house. Inko was always cheerful and welcoming, providing delicious snacks.

They'd also met Hitoshi Shinsou at the gym. Izuku had dragged Hitoshi into the friend group by sheer force of will. Hitoshi had always been glum about his chances of making it into a hero school, but Izuku had come up with an extensive career plan for using brainwashing as a hero.

The entrance exam had been a real obstacle for Izuku and Hitoshi. Every hero school entrance exam required a brute force battle. Izuku felt confident he'd be able to pass if allowed to use support gear, assuming he could practice in advance. He'd insisted Hitoshi ought to have gear, too. But while students from hero families sometimes brought their personal gear, there was no precedent for the school lending it to those not wealthy enough to own it.

That seemed damn unfair to Mina and Kirishima. They wanted to help Izuku as he'd helped them so many times. Together, they'd come up with a plan. They'd focused on U.A., the top school and Izuku's favorite. They'd submitted a detailed petition about the unfairness of advantaging potential students from wealthy families and/or hero families with gear. They'd prepared an application for a talented quirkless student, Izuku Midoriya. It had included copies of his quirk analysis and gym scores.

The duo had realized they wouldn't have much luck appealing on behalf of Hitoshi, both because his physical stats were lower than Izuku's and because other students with less flashy quirks had complained about the entrance exams before without luck. But a quirkless student would be a publicity draw and could make a case about discrimination. If the rules changed to let Izuku have support gear, then it would apply to everyone. Hitoshi could get gear, too.

Katsuki had grumbled to them about encouraging Izuku's recklessness and danger attraction. Although Katsuki had a lot of respect for Izuku's analysis, he'd always been cynical about Izuku becoming a hero. The two didn't talk about it because it had been the source of too many arguments. Mina thought that Katsuki was too stubborn and Izuku had more potential than any of them.

Nezu had been intrigued by Izuku's quirk analysis. Aizawa had championed him on the grounds of his physical fighting ability—after all, Aizawa himself virtually fought quirkless. They'd agree to interview Izuku about possibly changing the rules to let him and other students borrow U.A. support gear for the entrance exam.

Izuku had been ecstatic. He'd cried so hard he'd soaked Mina and Kirishima's shirts.

Then, the day before the interview, Izuku had messaged them that he had to move to America for a family emergency. Mina had known it must be something serious to completely derail Izuku's dreams. She'd understood. But he hadn't replied to any follow-up questions. At first she'd assumed that he must be too busy with whatever the emergency had been. But as the silence kept stretching out longer, she'd started to wonder if she'd done something wrong.

Because Izuku never showed up at the interview, the plan was canceled. This left Hitoshi hanging out to dry.

Mina watched as Izuku Midoriya left the classroom. She couldn't help feeling hurt that he'd been so willing to talk to Ochaco and Tenya, but not his old friends. Sitting with her head propped up on both palms, she grumbled, "What gives with him?" She poked Katsuki. "You've known Izuku for the longest, what's his deal?"

Katsuki ignored Mina the first few pokes, but finally snapped at her after the third one. "We haven't been talking, Racoon Eyes. We had a big fight." Slumping down, Katsuki muttered, "Stupid nerd didn't even tell me about getting a quirk…how could he not tell me? I'm his goddamn best friend!"

"Maybe Izuku is acting so strange because your fight upset him," Kirishima said. "Why did he fight with you?"

Katsuki sighed deeply. "I didn't support his dream to become a hero." He slumped down further. Mostly to himself, he muttered, "Then I made a stupid mistake, got caught by a walking mass of ugly sludge, and had to be rescued by him, so shows what I know, huh?"

Kirishima said, "But you two argued about that before."

Mina said, "Yeah, that wouldn't explain why he's upset with us. When did he get back from America?"

Katsuki glared. "Huh? Izuku never went to America. He's been in his same dumb house next door to mine."

"But he told us that he was moving to America!" Kirishima cried. "Why would he lie? It's such a dumb lie, too. He'd have to know we'd see through it when we talked to you."

"I'm not sure it was a lie," Mina said slowly. "Izuku seriously didn't seem to recognize me. Did he hit his head?"

Katsuki started to look worried. "Actually, he might have hit his head when he rescued me from the Sludge Villain. But surely Aunt Inko and the old hag would have said something to me if the shitty nerd got amnesia."

Mina slammed her hands down on the table. "Come on! Let's go figure out what's wrong with Izuku. We're his friends!"

"Excuse me?" a soft voice asked. Mina looked up, only seeing a school uniform floating in the air. Koda lurked behind her, failing to hide his massive bulk with her invisible body. Toru said, "Are you friends with Izu-chan…I mean, Midoriya?"

Mina nodded. "Do you know him, too?"

Toru nodded. "Me, Izu-chan, and Ko-chan were childhood friends."

Toru Hagakure first met Izuku Midoriya as he lay bleeding and bloody on the ground. A rock-headed boy knelt over him, sobbing. Both of them had looked about five years old, the same age as her.

"Excuse me!" Toru cleared her throat loudly. "Do you need a handkerchief?" She held one out. The rock-faced boy gaped at the cloth floating in the air in front of him.

The green-haired boy looked up, his eyes slightly crossed. "Oo! Oo! Invisibility! That's super cool. Can you turn it on and off? Does your food show up in your tummy? If I stuck my finger in your mouth then would it turn invisible?"

"Don't try to talk." The rock-faced boy dabbed at the blood coming from his friend's nose. Glumly, he said, "Izu-chan was trying to protect me from bullies. They didn't like my face."

Then and there, Toru decided she wanted to be friends with someone so cool.

The three of them became thick as thieves. When bullies came to pick on Koda because of his mutation, Toru could sneak away and call the teachers. Izuku had filled a notebook with ideas for how Toru could increase her visibility so teachers wouldn't forget about her. He'd also been full of plans for how she could create an invisible costume when she became a hero together with him. Toru didn't understand half of what Izuku said, but she knew he was super-smart.

On Toru's sixth birthday, she'd invited both Izuku and Koda. It had been her very first time inviting friends, because usually everyone forgot about her. But only Koda showed up.

Toru's parents had tried calling the Midoriyas to arrange another playdate, but they never replied. Toru had cried and cried. She'd never even known why one of her first two friends had abandoned her. At least she'd still had Koda.

Then Izuku had appeared in Class 1-A. Toru had hoped he would remember her. It wasn't like invisibility quirks were common. But instead, he'd looked straight through her. That had hurt, because once upon a time, Izuku had been the first person to make Toru feel seen.

Toru finished explained the story of her past to her classmates. She felt vulnerable having exposed her past trauma. In a low voice, she added, "We were only elementary schoolers. I guess it's not shocking that Midoriya doesn't remember us."

Mina stroked her chin. "Izuku's always had a good memory, though."

Koda nodded vigorously, not speaking.

Katsuki snorted. "Oh, yeah, I sorta remember you two extras now. The weak ones hanging around Izuku."

"You're always so rude, bro." Kirishima punched Katsuki's shoulder. "I gotta admit, I'm convinced. Something odd is going on. It's super-weird that Izuku forgot two sets of friends."

Katsuki leaned back in his chair smugly. "He didn't forget me, I guess I'm more memorable."

Mina pointed out, "Yeah, but he seems to hate you now."

Katsuki pouted. "The nerd can't stay mad at me forever. I apologized for telling him that the entrance exam would be a waste of his time! I even told him that I want to become heroes together. What more does he want from me?"

"Unless he's forgotten your friendship too," Toru said thoughtfully. After so many years, that birthday missed with no excuse had long ago been forgiven, but she wanted an explanation if one could be had.

Mina pushed back her chair and stood up. "I'm going to investigate this."

"Me, too." Kirishima stood up.

Katsuki suggested, "You should talk to Hitoshi. He's a gen-ed student. He was super-mad and said something about catching Izuku in a lie. He might know something. I didn't listen that much because I got in a fight with him for insulting the nerd. I set him on fire so maybe you should talk to him without me."

Mina sighed in the manner of someone accustomed to Katsuki's bullshit. "Yes, I think it's better if we talk to Hitoshi alone." She turned a smile on Toru. "Probably just the two of us, since you don't know Hitoshi and we don't want him to feel ganged-up on."

Toru nodded. "Let us know what you find out," she said.

Behind her, Koda squeezed her shoulder. Softly, he whispered, "Izu-chan always looked out for me when we were kids. If something happened to him, then I want to help."

Toru squeezed his hand in return. The two of them would figure this out together.

Hitoshi Shinsou nearly didn't meet Izuku Midoriya at all. He'd been watching the green-haired kid spend half an hour hitting a punching bag that wouldn't move. Hitoshi wanted to tell the other boy that another gym-goer earlier had used her quirk on the bag to freeze it in place as a prank. But Hitoshi was very bad at talking to strangers. He kept thinking the kid would notice on his own in just a few more minutes, and spare him the awkwardness.

Finally, Hitoshi walked over and cleared his throat. "Um…that bag…it's…"

With one last punch, the green-haired kid knocked the bag clean off the chain. "Oh, no!"

"It's not your fault. Someone used a quirk on the bag." Hitoshi squirmed, fully expecting the strange boy to ask why he hadn't spoke up sooner.

The green-haired boy smiled at him. "Thanks for telling me! I should probably still pay for it, though."

Out of guilt, Hitoshi said, "I'll go with you to find an employee so I can explain what happened." This shouldn't be fully the green-haired kid's responsibility, not when someone else deserved to pay for the damage way more.

After that, Izuku had approached Hitoshi several more times at the gym and they'd become friends somewhat against Hitoshi's will. Hitoshi preferred not to get close to people because they often turned on him after finding out about his quirk. But Izuku had been the first person to tell Hitoshi that his brainwashing was perfectly suited for hero work.

So when Izuku ditched the U.A. interview, Hitoshi knew something very bad must have happened. Izuku had to know he was screwing over Hitoshi's chances of getting support equipment and getting into U.A. too, so his family emergency must be very serious. Hitoshi had been acting as a concerned friend when he'd first googled the news online. The only result had been an accident Izuku's father had been in, but that had been years ago. And Izuku wasn't replying to any messages.

Feeling the first hint of an emotion he didn't know how to put into words, Hitoshi had headed to Izuku's house. He'd watched Izuku leave for school that morning as usual. Izuku hadn't gone to America. He'd lied.

There didn't seem any point in saying anything. Hitoshi turned around and walked away. His mind had been a blur of hurt and confusion. Having hope—hope of becoming a hero and hope of making a friend—then having it taken away had been too painful. Hitoshi wished he'd never talked to Izuku to begin with.

Only after seeing Izuku at U.A. did Hitoshi understand. Izuku had a shiny, heroic quirk come in late, so he'd ditched them. Someone with a heroic quirk no longer wanted to be friends with a loser like Hitoshi.

Kirishima felt an uneasy guilt as he hurried after Mina. He'd been hurt when Izuku had stopped talking to them, but he'd told Mina to respect Izuku's need for space. Now it seemed increasingly likely that something fishy was going on, and Kirishima felt like he should have done more. He wanted to change when he'd dyed his hair, transforming from the shy kid in middle school to a future hero. But Crimson Riot never would have failed to notice a friend in distress.

Mina ran faster, outpacing him. She hurried down the walkway, waving at the purple-haired boy nearly at the school gate. "Oi! Hitoshi! Wait up!"

Hitoshi whirled around. "Sorry, I'm not in the mood to talk. I want to go home and listen to an angsty playlist on repeat."

"Because you saw Izuku, right?" Mina forged ahead. "Something is odd about him. We think he forgot us—"

Hitoshi snorted. "You mean he's pretending to have forgotten us because we're not cool enough to hang out with him any longer."

Kirishima jogged up next to Mina. "Come on, bro, you know Izuku wouldn't do that."

Hitoshi's eyes blazed. "I know that he never had a family emergence. I know that he claimed he moved to America when he never even left home. He went that far to avoid us. Face the facts: Izu—Midoriya got a heroic quirk and he ditched me." His dark gaze swept Kirishima and Mina. "Tough luck, you've got a strong quirk but I guess it wasn't strong enough, because you got ghosted too. Is explosive boy still on the in?"

"Actually, no," Mina said. "Don't you think it's strange that Izuku would stop talking to all of us at once? He's too smart to think he could get away with lying about having never met us when we're in the same class."

"What else am I supposed to think?" Hitoshi shouted. "All my other friends ditched me after my quirk came in."

The real, raw pain in Hitoshi's eyes made Kirishima take a step backward. He ached for his friend. But he couldn't give up so easily. "Bro, please, stop and think. What if something tampered with Izuku's mind? What if he needs our help?"

Hitoshi hesitated, his face briefly softening.

"Truly, this mystery plunges the depths of the unknown void." Fumikage appeared from nearly out of nowhere, stepping out from behind a tree.

Hitoshi whirled on him. "Whoever you are, this is none of your business."

"But it is our business. I'm Fumikage Tokoyami, and this is Dark Shadow." Fumikage gestured at the shadow lurking over his shoulder. "We were part of a drama group during our first year of middle school, a merry band exulting in the joys of the Bard. Izuku Midoriya was our wizard in charge of special effects, but he vanished the night of the play opening. He never returned any calls or showed up at our Shakespeare group again."

Hitoshi bit his lip. "It happened more than once? Huh, that is weird. Very weird."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Mina cried triumphantly. "We just spoke to Izuku's friends from elementary school, and he vanished on them, too."

Slowly, Hitoshi said, "Either Midoriya is seriously messed up—"

Kirishima made a small noise of protest.

"Or he's in serious trouble," Hitoshi finished. "Fine, I'm in. Let's figure out what's going on." He looked sideways. "I want—I need—to know."

Mina and Kirishima cheered.

Shouto Todoroki first started talking to SmallMight on a quirk analysis server. Shouto had been seeking advice on how to perfect his ice side so he didn't have to use fire, and how to prevent his body from freezing over at dangerous moments. SmallMight had been a fountain of useful information. It had turned out they liked quite a few of the same anime. They'd started chatting over social media.

Over a couple years, Shouto had opened up about his family difficulties. This had accidentally exposed his real-life identity. Izuku had immediately offered up his own name to make them even after he'd guessed.

With Izuku's advice, Shouto had started talking to Fuyumi and Natsuo more. In return, Shouto had wanted to help Izuku with his dream of becoming a hero. Since hero schools unfairly disadvantaged the quirkless, Shouto had used his family contacts to investigate potential internships. He had his first success through Fuyumi's old friend, Miruko the Rabbit Hero. Miruko had been intrigued at the notion of training the first quirkless hero and offered Izuku an interview.

Naturally, Izuku had been over-the-moon-thrilled. He'd said that he had a possible lead on getting into U.A., but of course he wanted the interview too so he'd have more than one option.

Shortly afterward, Shouto had received a package in the mail full of pages copied from notebooks. The letter from Izuku had read: Dear Shouto, I think some of my old notebooks have gone missing. I hope I'm being too paranoid! But I'm sending these to you for safe-keeping. We've never met in-person so I don't think anyone knows about us being friends. Thank you, Izuku

The message had been very odd and worrying. Naturally, Shouto had reached out to Izuku for clarification. But he'd never been able to speak to Izuku again. Waiting in Shouto's inbox was a dry message explaining that Izuku had moved to America for a family emergency and he was no longer interested in a hero internship.

Shouto's reply had bounced. Almost like he'd been blocked. He'd convinced himself that it must be a technical error. Izuku wouldn't block him. But as the days turned into weeks, Shouto wondered why he'd lost his only friend.

To respect Izuku's privacy, Shouto never read through his journals.

When the doorbell rang, Izuku had been expecting a telemarketer. No one else showed up at this late at night. Instead, Shouto Todoroki stood in his doorway, holding a very tall stack of papers. "I brought the copies of your notebooks that you asked me to hold onto."

"But I never—" Izuku gaped. The handwriting did look like his. "Maybe you should come inside."

Izuku spread out the notebooks across his bedroom floor. He distinctively remembered Katsuki burning a bunch of notebooks, to explain the gap in his collection. But now he saw copies of the pages from the missing time period.

"I never looked inside," Shouto said. "Maybe I should have, after you disappeared. But I knew you used them as a diary as well as for quirk analysis. It felt wrong without your permission."

Trembling, Izuku flipped open a book.

There were pages upon pages of quirk analysis for Mina's acid, Kirishima's hardening, and a boy with a brainwashing quirk. Izuku flinched. He'd known Mina and Kirishima after all. He must have—there was no other possible explanation for how he had such detailed information about their quirks, in his own handwriting, that he never remembered writing.

Izuku had analyzed Shouto's quirk as well, rhapsodizing so poetically about Half Hot Half Cold that he blushed and hid those sections from Shouto's gaze. In between the quirk analysis, he'd talked about hanging out with his friends—including Katsuki?! Since when had he been on speaking terms with Kacchan?

But a picture slid between the pages served as evidence. In the image, Mina, Kirishima, and the purple-haired gen ed student sat in a karaoke booth. Izuku and Katsuki were in front, singing a duet of the All Might theme song.

Izuku's entire world shook. This was insane, impossible, and undeniable. Tears exploded from his eyes.

"Oh, no." Shouto waved his hands and looking in all directions. He found a tissue and gave it to Izuku. "Did you not want to see these? Was I supposed to keep them longer?"

"I-I forgot." Izuku sniffled. "I forgot all about you! And my other friends! I'm sorry. I-I don't know how it happened. B-but I must have had some clue before I lost my memories, or I wouldn't have sent you my notes…"

"Someone stole your memories. That's horrible." Shouto had a hard glint in his eye.

Underneath his grief, Izuku started to get angry, too. A critical part of himself had been taken away. He'd believed that he was worthless and friendless for so long. This was unforgiveable.

The group gathered at the Todoroki mansion, because it was the only private place big enough to host everyone and Shouto said his father was never around, anyway. Mina and Kirishima sat on the sofa, casting anxious glances at Izuku. Shouto stood next to Izuku, a hand on his shoulder. The three against the wall—Toru, Koda, and Fumikage—had been invited by Mina. Izuku was in a state of shock that apparently he had more friends he couldn't remember. Hitoshi stood by the door, his eyes darting in all directions as if contemplating running away. Katsuki was a vibrating mass of energy crackling by the window. It was all Izuku could do not to flinch. His instincts told him to make himself scarce when Katsuki got angry. He'd realized at this point that at least some of his memories were false—the destruction of his notebooks had clearly been premediated and probably done by whoever had taken his memories—but he could not quite make himself believe that Kacchan was still his friend.

Softly, Kirishima asked, "You really don't remember us, Izuku?"

"Only from when we met in class today," Izuku said.

Mina held up her phone, showing a message. "You didn't send this?"

The message was from Izuku's phone number and it explained he'd left for America because of a family emergency. Izuku shook his head. "I never sent that. Well, given the holes in my memories it's tough to say, but I never went to America and if I sent that message then it would have been under duress."

Katsuki demanded, "You remember me, don't you?" He was sparking so blindingly it hurt to look at him.

Izuku swallowed. "I know we both went to Aldera, but…I don't remember being friends." He did not mention the bullying, not planning on accusing Katsuki of anything until he had further information.

"Fuck," Katsuki growled. A small explosion danced off his palms.

"Please don't burn my house down," Shouto said mildly. "The fire department has already stopped answering our alarms."

Softly, Izuku said, "Even if I never remember anything, I'd like to still be friends with all of you. It means a lot to me that I had so many friends."

Hitoshi stepped forward. "I'm going to try to jog your memories. Actually, you were the one who first told me that I might be able to help people under the influence of a hostile quirk. Funny, that. In order for me to use my quirk, you just have to respond to me."

"Sure, it's worth a try," Izuku said. Sweat dripped down the back of his neck, and he shifted nervously from foot to foot. A lethargy seized his body as brainwashing took hold.

Hitoshi ordered, "Izuku Midoriya, remember."

All for One was a very jealous, very petty, and very lonely old man.

Hisashi Midoriya (real name Hisashi Shigaraki) remembered the first five years of his son's life with great fondness and nostalgia. As a small child, Izuku had always been eager to see his father and willing to do anything he asked. Whenever Hisashi could get a spare moment from his villainous business to visit home, Izuku would leap into his arms and shower him with attention. When Hisashi left, Izuku would cling to his leg crying and begging him not to go. Hisashi called home frequently while away on his "business trips." Izuku would talk his ear off and beg him to stay on the phone a little bit longer.

But as Izuku reached elementary school, something changed. He had playdates and outings. He was no longer available whenever Hisashi wanted to talk. During one of Hisashi's short visits home, he invited his son to go the amusement park together. Izuku actually said no. Apparently some silly little friend of his had a birthday party on the same day.

Hisashi went to his wife, expecting her to help him talk sense into their son. To his shock, she'd taken Izuku's side.

Inko had explained, "Little Toru has trouble making friends. She only invited two children to her birthday party, our Izuku and Koji Koda. She'll be devastated if he doesn't come. I think Izuku is being very responsible and kind for his age, prioritizing keeping a promise to a friend over a fun outing. We should be proud of him."

Hisashi protested, "But I'm only home for two days! I want to spend time with Izuku. Who's more important, a friend or family?"

"Whose fault is it that you don't see your son very often? You could take more time off work." Inko glared. In a lighter voice, she added, "At Izuku's age, friends are more important than parents. That's how it should be—it means he feels secure in our love and doesn't have to win it."

But Hisashi didn't even hear the last part. He was still stuck on some stranger being more important to his son than his own dear father. That was intolerable. (The trouble with Yoichi had started with him valuing strangers over family.)

Hisashi had recently acquired a quirk that let him erase and manipulate memories. He'd been using it to hide from All Might. Now it would solve a personal problem as well. He erased all traces of Izuku's two worthless friends from his mind. After erasing Inko's memories too, he blocked the parents' numbers from her phone. He also installed a tracker in case they tried harder to make contact. He could always return and erase more memories if need be.

Afterward Izuku was quite delighted to go the amusement park with his father, and clingy as ever when Hisashi left. Izuku had just needed a lesson about properly valuing family.

The next incident happened in Izuku's first year in middle school. Hisashi had been embroiled in a violent gang war, but he'd still managed to return home so that he could visit Yoichi's grave with Izuku on the anniversary of his little brother's death. But to Hisashi's fury, Izuku insisted on attending the opening night of some silly little amateur theatre production instead. Izuku wasn't even an actor! He was doing some meaningless backstage work involving special effects. But Izuku had insisted he had to go because he'd leave the theatre group in a lurch if he canceled with only a day's notice.

Once again, Inko took Izuku's side. "Dear, you told us that you were too busy with work to come home for the next couple months. You can't blame Izuku for making other plans."

"But we always visit Yoichi's grave every year," Hisashi insisted. Didn't Inko understand the sacrifices he'd made to get home in time? He'd given up chasing a valuable quirk for this. "Izuku should have remembered to leave that day open."

Inko sighed. "Izuku never even met his uncle. The death anniversary isn't as important to him as it is to you."

Hisashi gasped, appalled. What did it matter if they hadn't met? They were family!

Inko continued, "It's not fair for you to show up at the last minute, after telling us you wouldn't be able to get time off work, and expect Izuku to drop everything to accommodate you. If you'd been home, then you would have seen how hard Izuku has been preparing for this play. All his theatre friends are counting on him. If he drops out at the last minute, then he'll surely lose his spot as special effects coordinator."

"And how is that important compared to family?" Hisashi demanded.

"What difference does it make what day you visit a grave?" Inko countered. "I never met Yoichi either, but I think he would understand. You can visit your little brother the day after and tell him all about Izuku's play."

This was exactly how it had started with Yoichi. Those horrible "friends" of his had led him astray. Hisashi refused to lose his son the same way he'd lost his little brother. Izuku didn't need friends.

So Hisashi had wiped Inko and Izuku's memories of everything connected to the play. That would teach Izuku to value a stupid theatre group that hadn't even given him the lead role over his own family. Izuku visited the cemetery like a good son.

But the real threat had come at the end of middle school. Izuku had made three new friends who all wanted to become heroes. It was bad enough that the Bakugo brat was a hero-wannabe, but at least he didn't encourage Izuku's delusions the way the other three did.

Izuku had called his father, crying because the stupid Bakugo brat had dared act doubtful about if Izuku could pass the U.A. entrance exam even with support gear. Obviously, it was unacceptable for some brat to make his son cry. More importantly, Izuku had a seriously plausible route to become a hero.

Hisashi had taken the first plane flight home. He'd erased all traces of the upcoming meeting with U.A. and Izuku's foolish friends from his mind. Then he'd borrowed Izuku's phone to convince the foolish wannabe heroes that Izuku had moved to America so they would leave him alone.

When looking through Izuku's messages, Hisashi had discovered Izuku had another friend encouraging him to interview with Miruko. The Rabbit Hero was even worse than U.A.! Shuddering at the thought of such a bad influence on his son, Hisashi erased all memories of HatesFireLovesConspiracies, too.

Katsuki Bakugo had finally crossed the line by making Izuku cry. (Just because Hisashi didn't support his son's dreams to become a hero didn't mean anyone else got to insult Izuku!) In truth, Hisashi had been waiting for years for an excuse to erase the Bakugo brat from his son's mind. The stupid explosive boy was loud and annoying and looked like someone Hisashi had hated. But when Hisashi went into his son's mind, he realized that Bakugo was too large a presence to erase without doing serious damage. The stupid brat had been sticking around since Izuku's earliest memories, thanks to their mothers' friendship. Erasing him would leave such a large hole in Izuku's memories that it would be noticeable. His personality might change if he lost too many memories. The brat was all over Izuku's messages and journals, too. It would be difficult to destroy all the notebooks without outright burning his home down.

Instead, Hisashi had twisted his son's memories of the Bakugo brat. He'd placed Bakugo's face on top of several bullying incidents that Izuku had experienced. He'd twisted every playfully insulting nickname into serious conflict. Finally, he'd framed Bakugo for destroying Izuku's notebooks so Hisashi had an excuse for the ones he needed to get rid of. Izuku hadn't noticed a small number of notebooks vanishing in the past, but this time a dozen needed to be burned. Hisashi had ensured Izuku had nothing but bad memories of the Bakugo boy, so they would have no reason to stay in contact after the brat headed off to hero school.

Then Hisashi had returned to his job as All for One, content in the knowledge that he'd protected his beloved son from becoming a hero.

Izuku remembered.

He remembered playing with an invisible girl and a rock-faced boy as a child.

He remembered talking about special effects with Fumikage and Dark Shadow.

He remembered running into Mina and Kirishima at the hero convention.

He remembered meeting Hitoshi at the gym.

He remembered hours spent chatting with Shouto online, his heart pounding with excitement as they'd planned their hero careers.

He remembered years of friendship with Katsuki, the easy comfortableness of a friend he'd known so long they'd been like brothers. Someone he could fight with knowing they'd always make up later.

He remembered his excitement at the prospect of two paths to becoming a quirkless hero.

He'd called his father, upset after his argument with Katsuki. He'd been looking for a little reassurance. Instead, his father had been even more upset than his best friend at the prospect of him becoming a hero. Hisashi had said something that stuck in Izuku's mind: that these new friends were even worse than the last ones.

Those words had tossed and turned in his brain all night, making him unable to sleep. Izuku had never had any friends besides Kacchan. He knew this. To remind himself, he got up and read through his old journals. For the first time, he noticed a couple gaps in time.

The first thing the next morning, Izuku had headed to the local library and copied all his latest notebooks. He'd told himself the whole time that he was being silly and paranoid. But he'd still gathered up the pages and mailed them to Shouto Todoroki. The number two hero's house had seemed like the safest place. Even Izuku's other friends didn't know about Shouto, because he'd preserved his famous online friend's privacy. Not that Izuku expected to need such extreme precautions, he was just…reassuring himself.

When Hisashi had returned home, Izuku had asked his father what he'd meant about other friends.

He remembered a hand on his forehead, then the world had gone black.

Izuku screamed as the memories came pouring back into his mind. He fell forward.

Hitoshi caught him. "Did I hurt you?" he demanded, wild-eyed.

"It worked! I remember everything." Izuku pulled Hitoshi into a hug. "I'm so sorry! I blew the interview! I ruined your chances to get into U.A." Tears streamed down his face.

Hitoshi hugged him back. "I'm sorry, too. I didn't have faith in you. I should have known you wouldn't lie to me, that something bad had happened."

"You remember us?" Mina tackled Izuku.

"I'm sorry I didn't protect you!" Kirishima wailed, crying manly tears.

Then all of his friends were hugging him and yammering and crying.

"Give him a bit of space," Shouto said, yanking Izuku backward protectively.

Marching over, Katsuki demanded, "Do you know who did this to you?"

Izuku nodded. "It was my father. I don't know why, or how he could do this when he supposedly has a fire-breathing quirk…but I'll never forgive him." His voice broke.

Katsuki grunted. "He always was a creepy bastard."

Shouto said, "You and your mother can come stay at my place. It won't be easy for anyone to attack you at the number two hero's home."

"Thank you," Izuku said, his voice hoarse from crying. He had so much to do. Hitoshi would have to restore Inko's memories, too. Then they needed to contact U.A. about this. All Might would surely help.

And Izuku absolutely intended to have his revenge for this.

At least no matter what happened from this point forward, Izuku would have his friends on his side.

OMAKE TIME!

Omake: Competition

Tenya: Does this mean we have way more competition to become Izuku's best friends?

Ochaco: Sadly, yes. I'm getting my brass knuckles in case this turns into a Dekubowl scenario.

#

Omake: The Not Framed School

Izuku: If my memories were tampered with, then was Aldera a good school?

Katsuki: No, it's a shitty hellhole.

Izuku: Thank goodness, I don't know how I'd live in a universe where Aldera was a good school.

#

Omake: The Biggest Clue

Katsuki: Of course Izuku never went to America! I can't imagine him going to America and not bringing back any foreign All Might merch for me.

Izuku: Except for the part where you think I would share my new merch, you are completely correct.

#

Omake: Patricide Time

All for One: Heh, I stopped my son from having friends and becoming a hero. Best father ever.

Izuku: I just accomplished both by befriending All Might. Suck on that!

All for One: Come over here and let me steal that quirk.

Izuku: Taking my memories is one thing, taking my quirk crosses the line! Patricide mode activated!

#

Omake: The Soon to be Settled Misunderstanding

Aizawa: In this AU, I know that Midoriya recently developed his quirk so I understand why he's not in full control of it. However, I'm very salty that I championed his right to take the exam quirkless, then he bailed on me without a word of explanation and reappeared with a quirk. He even had the nerve to act like he'd forgotten me.

Izuku: Why is everyone angry at me for stuff I don't remember?

#

Omake: Just a Joke

Izuku: Whoa, what a weird coincidence that all the friends who got erased from my memory turned up at the same high school.

All for One: It's less improbable than you might think. You didn't find out about the hundred other friends I made you forgot.

Izuku: The WHAT now?

Author's Note: I didn't end up writing this because I let Izuku get his memories back sooner, but I think it would have been really funny if the misunderstanding continued until the Sports Festival. Then Izuku would have been confused about how Shouto dumped his entire deeply personal traumatic backstory on a stranger, and Shouto would have told him: "You already knew all of this!" Also the fight with Hitoshi would have gotten brutally personal.

Speaking of alternatives, this universe could have very easily reached a bad end if All for One had found out about Izuku getting One for All. He would have made Izuku forget about All Might and whisked him away to America for real. Then All Might would have thought Izuku stole his quirk and ran off. It would have looked even worse after it came out that Izuku was All for One's son. Luckily, All for One got careless after thinking he'd crushed Izuku's dream and didn't stick around long enough to see what happened next.

This All for One is truly one of the worst I've ever written, and that's saying something. I almost feel a little bad about making him responsible for all of canon Katsuki's crimes. But on second thought, he was plenty awful before we even got into that part. He richly deserves his approaching patricide.

This was written for konan_konan's fic fight prompt: Amnesia. Thank you to MelancholysSunshine for giving me the plot of this fic and everyone on Silver's Vault for adding brainstorming.