Heyo, got sucked into a time warp and had to do unspeakable things to escape.
So to update, I have been editing my previous chapters a bit, mostly just dialogue, plus the complete removal of the raging wraith because I genuinely cannot remember my thought process with its creation.
But these changes don't impact the story much so I won't really say there's much point in re-reading chapters unless you want to get a refresher, but if I continue writing I may edit more chapters, because I tend to make mistakes that I don't notice till later in the story, not sure if it's because I'm rushing or constantly proof reading to the point that it just looks right when it isn't.
Anyway, you've waited too long for this, so let's get into it.
Updated 1st of March 2023
All Might stood at the top of the stairs leading to the central plaza, seeing the state of the place, with thirteen injured and a heavily bruised villain halfway down the stairs.
He felt guilty for leaving them to such a fate, so when he frowned instead of his usual smile, it wasn't just because of the villains present, it was also due to his own neglectfulness.
"ATTACKING CHILDREN? DOES YOUR VILLAINY KNOW NO END" His voice naturally booming across the USJ, angered by the notion of attacking children, villains truly were getting out of control.
He bent his knees, preparing to dash, his legs cracking the ground below before he seemed to disappear.
However, to him, it just looked like time had simply stopped.
This gave him the opportunity to be confused when he saw the villains fighting each other, that didn't make much sense to him, why would they choose such a time to betray their allies?
But All Might didn't have the time to think about it, when all of a sudden he spotted movement from the big villain with its brain exposed, he jumped backwards just in time to dodge it's massive arm which left distortions in the air for a second.
So amazed by the speed, All Might almost missed the arm on the floor, the scar on the hand solidifying the identity of who it belonged to.
Sure enough, he looked further and found Izuku Midoriya holding Aizawa while the wraith dragged them away, only after Izuku deposited Aizawa did All Might see the boy's life changing injuries, if he didn't get immediate medical attention he may just-
Before he could do anything, he once again spotted movement in his peripheral, barely managing to catch the fist aimed at his head.
"YOU'RE FAST" All Might laughed before grunting at the unexpected strength behind that hit, "STRONG TOO" he then gave his own uppercut, his fist hitting the villain in the chin.
Despite using the level of strength that would usually one hit most strength based foes, this villain didn't seem phased at all.
"LOOKS LIKE I MAY HAVE TO PUT A BIT MORE VINEGAR INTO MY HITS" All Might commented as he launched a flurry of attacks on the villain, midway through his combo he was forced to start blocking the hits the villain returned, the air around them beginning to push outwards, preventing anyone from interfering.
At one point, All Might had to wonder.
"IS THIS THING…EVEN HUMAN?"
Izuku laid at the stairs, the blood loss making him feel woozy and tired, and the hits he took definitely broke some bones, which may or may not have punctured a couple organs.
"The damage is too great, I can't move you in this state, but I can try to merge to slow your bleeding and keep you alive, and hopefully we can figure something out before you die" the wraith thought quick as it merged with Izuku, acting as a sort of bandage to keep the blood in, though it only slowed the inevitable.
After awhile of waiting and listening to the fight, Izuku saw that smoke seemed to seep through the floors, and as he began to feel better, the smoke increased, until he was convinced that somebody was hiding below the ground with a smoke machine.
And when felt he was able to stand, he realised that he could actually see, which meant…
Izuku turned around, seeing his body laying on the stairs, his mouth agape, blood coming out of it.
He was in the wraith realm.
"Oh crap!" Izuku shouted as he rushed towards his body, recoiling when he saw where his eyes used to be, the blood at least covered the damage and gave him an intimidating look with its warpaint like pattern.
"Don't worry, you're still alive, just unconscious" the wraith informed from behind Izuku, who jumped at the sudden presence.
"So that's him huh? All this time and he's just…there" the wraith pointed to Chichi, clearly agitated by the coincidence.
"Goddamnit, why did I rush in? I should've-" Izuku clenched his hands closed, so tight his knuckles went white.
"Should've, could've, would've. What matters is he's there and we're here, how are we going to fix that?" The wraith interrupted, looking to Izuku as it finished.
Izuku looked around, hoping for some sort of plan to form in his head, he saw the dagger on the floor in front of him, but Chichi would see him coming if he just ran up, especially with his injuries impacting his speed.
He then saw All Might and the Nomu slowly fighting through the smoke as though they were moving through cement, their punches leaving distortions in the smoke that resembled paint strokes in the beautiful art of their battle.
He turned his attention to the other fight going on between the villains and his branded, Izuku noticed that it was an almost perfect picture compared to the slowly moving fight between All Might and the Nomu.
"With our injures, all we can do is hope one of our branded gets the job done, not like we were capable" Izuku mumbled, clearly disappointed in himself for failing.
"Goddamnit, when are you going to stop being so pathetic? Yes! You rushed in, and yes, you lost your cool, but now you know for next time" the wraith criticised emphasising his points with pokes that pushed Izuku back.
Although the wraith was correct, Izuku couldn't help but still feel like a failure, he had probably one of the strongest quirks at his disposal, yet here he lay, disarmed and disabled.
"So Bright" a voice said, it sounded raspy, like that sludge villain, though it also sounded strangely enlightened.
Izuku turned around, looking for the source of the voice, though only getting glimpses in the smoke of a jail cell, and the back of a tall lanky man as they left.
"I haven't hurt anyone, my Lord" was that Saisho? Judging by the classroom he saw, it may have been.
"Huh, dying saving a couple kids, who knew" Izuku then saw glimpses of the USJ, a villain lying on the ground and looking at the sky as they died.
Voices of the branded spoke around Izuku, their innermost thoughts belonging to him now.
But not only their current thoughts.
"Everyone has a weak point, you just gotta poke the right place and that's them out" a string of thoughts came as Izuku saw a younger Chichi talking.
Izuku saw an image of Shoku going for a punch, and as he made contact with the person he was aiming for, he created knuckle dusters, which added to his strike.
At this, the wraith joined Izuku, witnessing what Izuku was, and gaining inspiration.
"Hmm, the weak point?" It wondered, an idea forming in its mind as the thoughts continued, a constant stream of memories giving them both insights into how the branded used their quirks.
"If I enlarge my fist at the last second, could I create a shockwave?" Saisho thought at one point, punching the floor and getting angry when it just cracked.
"If we focus our power into our fist at the last second? That could just strengthen our punch, or perhaps…" The wraith theorised as it began to write while mumbling something about attacking the soul.
However these ideas didn't last, as the more sinister memories came.
"Ahh, please don't! I have a family" a begging man cried as Neppu held his palm over his mouth, activating his quirk and forcing the man's stomach to explode outwards.
Izuku stumbled, shocked at what he just witnessed, disgusted by the feelings of sick satisfaction that Neppu felt at the man's widened eyes of silenced agony.
Another memory, driving down the road, seeing a child on the passenger's side as the car drove past.
But not the passenger door was opened, hitting the child.
"Chichi what the fuck? That was a child!" Izuku heard Shoku's voice as Chichi howled in laughter, "Should've looked both ways" Chichi shrugged.
Izuku felt a phantom sickness grow as he was forced to witness the suffering of countless victims, one showing Saisho using his quirk to step on the legs of a classmate, causing an audible SNAP!
"Focus on the quirks, Izuku" the wraith instructed, but Izuku felt himself get overwhelmed with the voices, the screams of agony caused by those he now controlled bringing him to his knees.
"These bastards! They don't deserve an inch of mercy, they don't deserve a hero!" Izuku felt his rage burn a hole through his desire to save, replacing it with the desire to deliver vengeance.
"They deserve a goddamn executioner" Izuku shouted, his anger causing the surrounding branded to share his rage.
Bakugo carried Kirishima on his back as he and Tsuyu walked towards the exit of their zone.
"I don't blame you for what you did, you were under that woman's control" Tsuyu said, trying to break the silence and hopefully get Bakugo to talk.
"I don't want your pity" Bakugo mumbled, it was as though his aggression was ripped out of him and Tsuyu would happily admit she actually preferred the original scary Bakugo, his ego and confidence was comforting in a weird way.
So this quiet and reserved Bakugo just made Tsuyu worried.
"Well I want to say I forgive you, even if you don't want-
"Maybe if you weren't so damn weak, you wouldn't need to for-" Bakugo growled, his anger growing before disappearing once he saw Tsuyu's reaction.
"Fucks sake, just stop talking damnit" Bakugo once again returned to his quieter state.
When they exited the zone they saw All Might battling a creature of similar build, and judging from the waves that nearly blew Tsuyu's goggles off, the creature had similar power.
But even from where they were, they could see the blood, the arm, the body.
"Deku" Bakugo suddenly spoke, his voice shaking in disbelief, his breath hitched, unwilling to leave his lungs.
"Not you too" Bakugo's legs wobbled, forcing Tsuyu to use her tongue to ease Kirishima's fall before Bakugo fell to his knees, tiny sparks dancing across his palms with the occasional 'pop'
"You bastards" he spoke quietly, trying to calm the fire that was trying to escape through his palms, but just like when you cover a steam vent, the pressure builds and builds until that 'pop' becomes POP! And eventually it can no longer hold it back and that POP! Grows into BOOM!
"You fucking bastards!" Bakugo screamed, his palms exploding on the floor they rested on, cracking them.
"I'm going to hurt you, you won't be able to go a day without being reminded of me!" Bakugo promised as the ground turned to rubble, his breathing being forced to the point that it sounded like growls.
"Take him frog, run to the exit" Bakugo demanded as he blasted himself to his feet, his voice being menacingly calm.
"Ba-" Tsuyu began, fearing his next actions, but also fearing what he'd do to the villains.
"Get TO THE FUCKING EXIT!" He shouted as he shot off like a bullet.
He traveled with such speed he felt his explosions burn through his gloves, their power propelling him right into the battlefield, the whole time hearing that same phrase.
'Take a swan dive off the roof'
Although one would think Bakugo was acting out of anger, he wasn't mindless, even now he planned his movements.
'We need All Might, but that brain freak is keeping him busy'
Bakugo waited till he was at the bird freaks back, before exploding over it, aiming his back at the cloud as he pulled both pins point blank at the creature's exposed brain.
BOOOOM!
Bakugo spun as quick as he could, the recoil pushing him towards the Purple cloud where he let off a flurry of explosions, his forearms screaming in agony as he slammed his palms on the metal part of the cloud.
"You think I'd miss that metal collar you got there" Bakugo grinned, letting off explosions that had the cloud grunting.
"Bakugo! Calm yourself, he's detained but still dangerous" the words of Aizawa caught Bakugo's attention, seeing the red eyes at work.
Next to Aizawa was a now bandaged Izuku, who just barely breathed, the bloody bandaged eyes almost making Bakugo gag before he forced his feelings down.
With such a devastating attack to the head and definitely the brain, Nomu found itself temporarily stunned, unable to get its limbs to respond to its already limited control.
For a second, the Nomu felt a sense of liberation in its ability to do nothing, the amalgamation quirks forced together into it temporarily felt a long forgotten freedom.
And this freedom they felt, was what opened the metaphorical door to the Nomu's fractured soul.
"What...is that?" The wraith questioned as it felt something that wasn't there before, yet it was a familiar feeling.
Izuku returned to his body, moving his hand to where he felt what resembled a soul.
"The way mother pulls things towards her, perhaps you can do that with your branding" Izuku remembered the wraith saying during one of their numerous brainstorms in the wraith realm.
Izuku felt an unnatural presence, and not knowing any better, he pulled.
"Help me-stop me-I'm scared-please!" a series of different memories hit Izuku, nausea filling his body at the sheer wrongness of this.
A boxer with a shock absorbing quirk, a mother who could heal like a lizard, a series of children of varying ages with enhancing and strengthening quirks, all of their memories sharing an imposing figure with their hand obscuring their vision.
"What the hell is this?" In front of Izuku was a series of people, all looking emancipated and full of despair.
Their eyes all landed on him, and there was no fear in their eyes, just relief, as though they knew that with Izuku, they could be finally saved from their forced servitude.
Izuku held out his arm, unsure what to do, and one by one they grasped it, glowing as they made contact.
"What could have done this?" Izuku began to tear up at what he saw, the terror they experienced for how long?
"Who could do this?" The wraith asked, seeing the imposing figure with that mask which sent shivers down its nonexistent spine.
"I can't enslave these people, I refuse to prolong their pain" Izuku decided, grabbing the metaphorical chains that bound the souls together inside the prison that was the Nomu.
"The Bright Lord frees you from your torment" Izuku declared as he broke the chains, allowing the souls to separate, their escape wreaking havoc on the Nomu from within.
"His power forced us together-your power freed us-Thank you" they spoke in unison, smiles of gratitude on them as they gained back what was stolen from them.
Izuku had to close his eyes as they all glowed so bright until they disappeared.
Chichi didn't really understand why he was being betrayed at this time, he expected a better time would be when they weren't in a school for heroes, but he wasn't a strategy person.
"So Shoku? What's with the team switch?" Chichi asked casually as he jumped backwards to avoid the sword swing before kicking it away, feeling like a badass before Shoku created a long glaive.
"Let's just say I found the better team" Shoku grunted as he swung the glaive, using the horizontal momentum of the swing to pivot the direction of the glaive into an overhead downwards attack.
Chichi used his quirk to push his body out the way, ignoring the pain that came from moving his blood so suddenly and roughly.
"What? This team rules, you get to drink all day and kill anyone you want" Chichi argued as he spun and caught a speedy fist, taking a dozen punches to the body and face before spinning round and using the speedy punch villain as a shield for Shoku's glaive.
"That's why we kicked you out of our group, you made us look like blood thirsty drug addicts, bringing all the attention to us!" Shoku retorted as he continued to attack.
"Nomu!" Shigaraki screamed, as he wrapped his hand round a traitorous villain, yet for the 3rd time, the Nomu didn't respond, even though the damage was healed.
Little did he know, the Nomu was now just a husk, an unmanned machine that had no leader nor pilot, even as ice covered its body, it remained still.
"Goddamnit! Listen to me!" Shigaraki shouted as the villain's head separated from their shoulders.
"You weren't made to bow! You were made to kill the Symbol of Peace!" Shigaraki complained, scratching his neck in annoyance.
"MADE?" All Might echoed, a foreboding feeling in his stomach.
So distracted by this revelation, All Might was caught off guard when Chichi shouted.
"Hey big boss, look over here" Chichi called from the side, when All Might turned a small hose of blood splashed across his face, all flowing towards his eyes and blinding him, he could feel it trying to worm its way inside his head, but it was unable to get past his clenched eyes.
"Now Shigaraki, kill the fucker!" Chichi shouted before Shoku cut his arm from shoulder to forearm, Chichi hissing at the surprise pain, before drying the blood, saving it for if he needed some extra ammunition.
"All Might! He can only control blood that's clos-gah" Shoku tried to warn but a sharp blood spear ran through his cheek, filling his mouth with the blood of one of the branded.
However as he ran away to escape Chichi's quirk range, Shigaraki began to sprint to All Might, but as he did, the possibility of success was not worth the risk, and so he turned his attention to the kid holding Kurogiri down.
Tokoyami grunted as he and Dark shadow carried both Yaoyouozu and Sato out of the conflagration zone, him doing most the lifting as Dark Shadow was already weakened by the bright fire.
He breathed a small sigh of relief when he got out, planning on hiding in the shade for a moment to recharge Dark shadow so it could make the journey to the entrance that little bit quicker, plus he had a few of the smoke cannisters left in case they encountered any trouble.
However his eyes then went to the central plaza and saw.
Izuku, his head hanging back as his body laid limp on the stairs, blood running down his face.
For a moment, Tokoyami couldn't breath.
And then he started running, dark shadow trailing behind like a tail that slowly grew larger as he got closer until he was over come with it.
Aizawa just barely managed to get his eyes on Shigaraki, but at the cost of losing sight of Kurogiri, who expanded and obscured his vision while at the same time teleporting the running Tokoyami through the portal.
"Die Brat!" Shigaraki shouted as he lunged forwards feeling his last finger about to make contact with the face of the explody brat.
Bakugo felt the palm on his face as his life flashed before his eyes, and what he saw just sickened him.
After what happened to Izuku's father, Bakugo saw how Izuku's innocence was gone, replaced by something that was off-putting to say the least.
Seeing that face, Bakugo experienced second hand the dark side of heroism, what happens when they fail.
So when Izuku said he wanted to be a hero, Bakugo was worried, and when it was revealed that Izuku's quirk was practically useless, Bakugo tried to deter him, but the bastard was stubborn, so Bakugo tried harder and harder, until he destroyed their friendship.
So when the last finger approached his cheek, Bakugo felt…like this was what he deserved, like this was his punishment for his choices.
…
"Ahh! What the fuck!" Shigaraki howled in pain as an arrow hit his knee, for a few seconds he felt great pain that brought him down, until it disappeared.
"Now it makes sense why our arrows didn't kill Shoku, they hit the soul, not the body" the wraith spoke as Izuku sat up, his missing arm replaced with a glowing one that flowed into his side.
"Good to know" Izuku grunted as he took another shot at Shigaraki, before hissing at the pain he felt.
The damage to Izuku's body may have been healed but only the non fatal damage, so as Izuku moved, his shattered bones once again stabbed his organs.
"With your internal injuries, our merging is the only thing keeping you from toppling over, I can't do anything about the pain I'm afraid" the wraith explained as Izuku felt a bone stab his liver, eliciting a pained grunt.
"Its fine...I can...I can handle it" Izuku spoke through gritted teeth as Bakugo took this opportunity to aim his hands at Shigaraki, whose eyes widened, knowing at what was coming.
"Eat this, you villain piece of shit" BOOM!
Shigaraki shot backwards at breakneck speeds, bouncing across the floor before slamming into the fountain's side and going into the realm of unconsciousness.
"Yo Kurogiri, we gotta get the fuck out of here, this is all fucked!" Chichi shouted as he shot the last of the blood he took from the traitors at Shoku, knocking him off balance, but why didn't he go for the kill? And what was that in his tone? Could it be? Was Chichi…scared?
Izuku walked forward, his torn cloak flowing in the wind when he heard a 'clank' he had kicked something metal.
"Hm? Convenient" the wraith said as Izuku knelt down to feel it since he couldn't see it for obvious reasons, and let out a smile when he realised what it was.
At the same time, Todoroki approached Bakugo and Aizawa, surprising them momentarily by his silent approach.
"The creature, Nomu is the weapon, though it doesn't seem to be doing anything" Todoroki gave his update, doubting that his ice attack was the thing that got it.
Before Bakugo could respond a strong force vibrated the ice, cracking it slightly which brought their attention to it.
"A villain?" Bakugo asked as Todoroki knelt down, seeing a wispy thing below with red eyes full of desperation.
"Hey, isn't that bird head's quirk?" Bakugo's eyes widened as he began immediately jumped on the ice and began unleashing explosions onto it.
Unfortunately the ice was too thick to break from his explosions so he placed his palms on the ice, and continued until he ran out of sweat.
"What are doing?!" He shouted at Todoroki, "use your goddamn fire to melt this" Bakugo demanded as he began stomping on the ice to heat himself up.
However Todoroki hesitated, he swore never to- Bakugo slapped Todoroki across the face.
"USE YOUR FUCKING FIRE!" He shouted, prompting Todoroki yo act before he could think, a great uncontrolled flame shooting into the ice, melting it enough while at the same time making Bakugo sweat.
Bakugo aimed his arm at the thinner ice, this was going to hurt.
BOOM! 'CRACK!'
The ice shattered, as well as the bone's in Bakugo's arm which he let everyone know by his shout of pain.
Dark shadow rushed out of the hole before collapsing into the ice, retreating into Tokoyami who was unconscious.
"What the fuck was that? You half and half shithead?" Bakugo growled as he pushed Todoroki out of the way as he attended to Tokoyami.
A portal opened in behind the fountain, Chichi sprinted to Shigaraki, grabbing the decapitated villain and slashing his wrist before his glanced to his side and saw something that sent a shiver down his spine.
Izuku walked with half his body like that of the wraith, with half the cloak billowing in the wind, in his hand was a sword that glowed with the power of the wraith.
Seeing that, Chichi hastened his retreat and shot the blood into the air and exploded it into a thick mist that masked his presence as he grabbed Shigaraki and ran to the portal.
However an arrow found him, piercing him through the calf, surprising him enough that his leg didn't respond and he fell to the ground.
"You think I'm just going to let you go? You bastard" Izuku ran up and kicked Chichi in the stomach, ignoring the immense pain that came with it.
Chichi rose up for a slash, using his quirk to once again speed up his movement, but Izuku caught it and Chichi immediately felt something was wrong.
STAB!
Looking down, Chichi found that Izuku had implanted the sword hilt deep into his stomach, twisting it before kicking him back so he could drive it in again, before he took out the dagger.
"I said, STAB I'm not going to let you leave" Izuku reiterated with a sadistic smile, forgetting about those that watched with horror as the usually innocent Izuku stabbed someone with great glee on his face as right now he wasn't someone trying to become a hero, he was someone getting payback.
However, not only did Chichi not react much to the pain, he also didn't see Izuku, instead he saw a raven haired woman, smiling as if to say 'I told you so'.
"So it's you isn't it? You're the one?" Chichi asked with a resigned expression, his arm subtlety going towards the trigger in his back pocket.
"That's right, you bastard, I'm the one that got you in the end, Izuku Midoriya, remember my name as you burn in hell" Izuku replied with his ever present grin, missing the context of what Chichi was talking about.
"I remember you, you match the description and more, you're definitely him" Chichi said as a memory flashed by.
A dead body, a green haired boy crying over it as Chichi used his quirk to explode the blood into a mist, similar to what he did just now.
Before he made his exit, he locked eyes with the kid, such rage he felt in those eyes, that they began to glow at that moment.
Little did he know, that this was the moment Izuku's wraith was born, unable to do anything, until many years later.
"Your quirk was born in tragedy, I thought killing her would change my destiny, but everything else she said that would happen happened, guess I was being optimistic" Chichi lamented as he injected the syringe into his leg.
"Wait? Wha-" Izuku began before he backed up in pain, his blood tearing him apart from the inside.
"But you won't kill me here, not when I haven't achieved my destiny!" Chichi shouted, a unique desperation in his voice as Izuku felt his own blood continue to rip across his insides.
"I refuse to be shackled by destiny, I refuse to die to the Gravewalker!" Chichi grinned as Izuku's blood shot out his skin, before pivoting and stabbing through him again and again until his body was full of holes.
Chichi then pulled at all the blood he could get, forcing it into Izuku's body.
All Might felt his blood moving unnaturally within him and used his superior speed to grab those at the central plaza to get them out of range.
"Dekuuu!" Bakugo shouted as he tried to pry himself free from All Might's grasp, but it was all for naught.
"at least, you won't either" was the last thing Izuku managed to get out before the blood inside him rapidly expanded into spikes that tore through organs, bones and skin, killing him instantly.
And for the third time in Izuku's life, he died.
Chichi once again grabbed Shigaraki, limping towards the portal as he felt that this may actually be it for him, blood trailing behind as he stepped through.
However, just as he stepped through and felt himself fall over, All Might chose this moment to rush in reach his arm through the portal.
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" All Might boomed as he grabbed an arm, and pulled.
Unfortunately he only managed to get one of the two, since the first one was on the floor bleeding out and losing consciousness, forced to watch his boss get pulled back through the portal.
"Shigi!-" Was the last thing anyone heard as the portal closed, leaving an unconscious Shigaraki back in the USJ as the doors blew open.
"The heroes have!…arrived" Iida started with a prideful shout, before seeing the scene before him.
"Deku? Why did you…why?" Bakugo shook as he stumbled towards the unrecognisable corpse on the floor which was once Izuku, a hand on his shoulder stopping him from going closer.
"YOUNG MIDORIYA" All Might choked, the resentment towards his own carelessness growing as Bakugo shoved him off and tried to approach.
"He's not dead! He'll come back like before!" Bakugo's voice broke as a concrete wall rose between him and Izuku, he tried to use his quirk to get himself over, but the adrenaline had worn off and the pain of his arms kept him firmly on the ground.
Meanwhile Aizawa sat silently against the stairs, looking at Izuku's body with regret, he closed his eyes and let the tears flow.
"I'm sorry, I failed"
With everything calmed down, All Might took the time to look towards the villains that chose to help, at first he wished to thank them and maybe question their motive, until he saw two things that shook him to his core.
Green eyes, and a handprint.
The USJ was soon filled with police and paramedics, the villains, both bad and 'good' were taken into custody, the ones who betrayed Shigaraki went without argument, Izuku's body was taken away before the students were rounded up and checked on, fortunately their injuries were nothing that Recovery Girl couldn't fix.
For a moment, it was a happy ending, the students hugged each other with tears of relief that they made it, but eventually they saw the faces of those who were near the Central Plaza, and noticed that there was someone missing.
"Where's Midoriya?" Ochako asked, but no one had the heart to tell her, it was the silence that answered.
Bakugo sat on the medical bed with Tsuyu as she was getting looked at, he was told his forearms had multiple fractures that would require a couple extra visits to Recovery Girl, but how could he care when he could still see the ambulance that held Izuku, driving away.
At one point the Principal came by and informed the class of Izuku's demise, though Bakugo knew that Izuku had died before, he didn't know how long it would take, but he knew the bastard would be back, right?
Bakugo wanted to stand up and tell everyone that Izuku wasn't dead, but even he found himself unsure as he watched the variety of expressions made their way onto the faces of his classmates, anger, sadness, surprise.
And so Bakugo stayed quiet, silently begging to be right.
"You did all you could Bakugo" Tsuyu tried to comfort him, but her words meant nothing.
"No, I didn't, because if I did, everyone will be alive and wouldn't need medical attention" he growled, jumping off the medical bed and walking away, ignoring the calls of his class.
Bakugo wasn't sure if he cried or not, the day blurred by so quickly he wasn't sure what had transpired, he and the class were sent back to school to collect their things and were told that they had the rest of the week off to mourn.
By now two hours had passed, and there was no news of Izuku coming back and with every following hour, Bakugo began to lose hope that he would.
"So it's not souls" the Wraith's musings rumbled Izuku to awake.
At first he figured he was asleep, before he remembered what happened and immediately shot up.
"Kacchan!" Izuku shouted, his sudden outburst not phasing the wraith.
"He's fine, everyone's fine, we were the only casualty, but judging by the fact we're here, that's not going to be true for long" the wraith spoke with a sigh of relief before turning to Izuku.
"So good news, after what happened with the Nomu, I have a theory regarding our abilities, and if I'm correct, I believe we are only scratching the surface of what we are capable of" the wraith began as it wrote in its notebook.
"So my theory is, It's not souls that we manipulate, It's the quirk factor, it's like it acts as a semi soul or maybe a part of the soul?, I don't completely understand it yet, but I believe that's why Chichi was able to break out of our hold, his use of trigger must have strengthened his resistance, but not made him immune" the wraith explained its discoveries regarding their abilities.
Izuku began to speak, but the wraith clicked its fingers as it remembered something.
"Oh! And we've been dead for way longer this time, not sure how much longer, but definitely longer than an hour, I can't tell, time is inconsistent here as you know, but since you're up we should be waking up soon" the wraith added, much to Izuku's horror.
"What?! Why didn't you lead with that?!" Izuku shouted, really questioning if this was just how the wraith prioritised things, or if it was just trying to annoy him.
"Oh? I'm sorry, I guess the discovery of how our quirk worked must've felt more important than how long you've been dead" the wraith said sarcastically before adding, "plus I'm sure mom has cleared it all up and we'll wake up in our bed surrounded with 'get well soon' cards" the wraith finished with a confident shrug.
Izuku found himself pinching his nose in annoyance for what felt like the millionth time, his wraith had a point, but it still didn't soothe his worries.
"Also, congratulations" the wraith smiled at Izuku, not a sarcastic one or jokey one, a genuine smile.
"What do you mean?" Izuku asked, racking his brain to figure out what the wraith was smiling about.
"Izuku...you did it" the wraith appeared infront of him and rested his arm on Izuku's shoulder.
"What do you mean I..." Izuku began, before he remembered.
For a moment Izuku stayed silent, a tear running down his cheek as he remembered stabbing Chichi in the stomach multiple times, nothing could survive that.
"Ugh I hope I can return before they think I'm actually gone, I can't bare to have them suffer like that"
"You don't understand, Izuku has died before, he told me he fell off a roof and bled out once, and came back after half an hour" Inko pleaded to the principal, whose face was unreadable, but his tone was apologetic.
"So he can return after half an hour? I'm sorry but he's been dead for almost 7 hours, and shows no sign of healing, we also haven't been able to make contact with his wraith" Nezu explained to the teary eyed Inko Midoriya, next to him was Aizawa in a sling and an ice pack on his eye, as well as the school secretary, Toshinori Yagi.
"Mrs Midoriya, I understand your hope that Izuku can truly return from the dead, losing a child is never easy, and I will personally see to it that you receive the necessary help to come to terms with his death" Aizawa informed, he had done this many times, but never got used to it.
Inko asked to see her son, and when she did, she emptied her stomach into the bin Aizawa knowingly held up for her, even she found herself being convinced that he was dead, nothing could come back from this, no matter how powerful their quirk.
But denial is the first stage of grief, so she still tried.
"Wraith? Are you there? Please appear?" She asked, but nothing happened, tears began flowing freely.
"Please, this isn't the time for your jokes" still nothing.
Falling to her knees, a hand rested on her shoulder.
"Mrs Midoriya, I would like to inform you that Izuku Midoriya was one of the most heroic people I have seen, he saved me twice and died saving a classmate" Aizawa spoke with a whisper, not feeling it was appropriate to tell her about the villain with the blood quirk.
"That alone is the most heroic act anyone could perform, for that we'd be honoured to pay for his funeral" Aizawa offered, wishing he could do more than save the poor mother some money.
After more heart wrenching sobs, Inko left the hospital room and came face to face with the whole of Class A, all holding flowers, even Bakugo was there, in fact he had went there shortly after getting home and was surprised when his classmates arrived.
But he kept his eyes on the floor, feeling unworthy to look her in the eyes, let alone be in her presence.
"Midoriya was a great friend and a better hero, I will strive to be as great as he could have been" Iida declared as he bowed, the whole class following his example.
All this made Inko cry again, this time in pride of her son.
"Oh? Here we go" the wraith said as he felt his power grow.
"How long has it been, weeks?" Izuku asked, unable to decipher how long he was in the wraith realm for.
"Doubt it, the time it takes to return may be dependent on the damage, and the damage we took, although extreme, shouldn't take more than a week to recover from" the wraith theorised as life once again greeted the pair.
"Oh dear, ok bad news Izuku" the wraith said as Izuku woke up, in a box.
"Wraith? Where are we?" Izuku asked, an annoyance growing as he felt the fine wood above.
"Uhh well I think we should both be thankful that mom isn't a fan of cremation" the wraith tried to smooth the blow.
Izuku sighed once again, staying quiet since he had nothing nice to say to his wraith.
"You're a bit quiet there" the wraith noticed.
"Oh I wonder why, let me guess, I think it's the fact that I'VE BEEN BURIED ALIVE!" Izuku shouted as his frustration hit its peak.
"Well technically you weren't alive when they buried us" the wraith calmly replied, further annoying Izuku who punched the wooden roof, wishing it was the Wraith's stupid face.
However rather surprisingly, the punch knocked the coffin lid right off and instead of dirt flooding in, light came in, he rose up...and found that he had just crashed his own funeral.
For the last few days, Ochako felt like the world had grown colder, her look was disheveled and sleep rarely came to her, like many of those in Class A.
When she was invited to Izuku's funeral, a part of her didn't want to go, because if she did, then it would be real, Izuku would be dead.
But despite her reservations, she went, seeing the majority of Class A present, even Aizawa and some of the teachers were there, though All Might was apparently still recovering.
Hearing the eulogy, Ochako noticed that the only people there were there were the teachers, most of Class A and Izuku's mother, he had no other family nor friends attending.
She could tell she wasn't the only one who noticed since she saw the other members of Class A looking about, trying to spot someone they didn't know.
She then spotted movement and saw that Bakugo was getting up to talk.
He stood for a moment, looking down and leaning on the podium, as if he was preparing to say something that was going to be difficult.
However before he could get a word out, a glow emanated from the coffin, then a muffled voice began talking.
Ochako felt her heart stop as she recognised that voice!
"-Think it's the fact that I'VE BEEN BURIED ALIVE!" The voice shouted as the coffin lid slammed open.
Ochako couldn't believe her eyes as she saw Izuku sit up, completely fine and like a deer in headlights.
"Oh…uhh surprise? I'm back" he said nervously after a while of silent stares, however a growl from his side drew everyone's attention to Bakugo who was foaming in rage until his growl formed into a guttural…
"DEKU!" Bakugo jumped on the previously deceased, strangling them.
"I'm going to make you wish you stayed dead, you fucking piece of shit! Do you have any idea what you put everyone through?" He roared, his voice breaking at the end.
"Oh my baby!" Inko ran up to Izuku, Bakugo released his hold so she could properly embrace her son as tears ran down her face.
Like many of the people present, Ochako wasn't sure what was happening, she was scared that if she did anything, she may wake up and find that this was all a dream.
She looked around once again, seeing everyone's jaw on the floor in shock, even the usually stoic Aizawa looked like he was going to faint, though Present Mic beat him to it.
The wraith appeared next to Izuku, wearing a heavily aged version of Izuku's hero costume.
"I don't mean to break this up, but I feel it's necessary that we explain this to everyone before they think you're a zombie" it leaned in, talking to both Izuku and his mother.
Izuku nodded, unhooking his arms round his mother to gaze at the class, he saw Ochako's expression, choosing to give her an awkward smile and equally awkward wave that was perfectly in character for him.
Ochako couldn't stop the tears that fell as she realised that this wasn't a dream, somehow Izuku had come back from the dead and she couldn't be more relieved.
But then she saw his hand, the one that had a scar on it...The scar was gone?
In fact, the arm he was waving with... wasn't that the one that he lost?
Elsewhere, in a dark warehouse filled with wires and medical equipment, Chichi shot up with a gasp, ignoring the searing pain across his body.
"What the? I'm alive?" Chichi jumped off the table, seeing a mirror that showed him just how much damage he sustained, the top right side of his face was bandaged, some teeth chipped and the parts of his face he could see were mostly bruised.
"Damn, that kid was going for the kill...fair enough, he had some good reasons" Chichi chuckled, the pain not stopping him.
Looking down, he saw that his stomach was bandaged, multiple blood bags around him, hinting at a blood transfusion.
"How remarkable, you should in tremendous pain after being operated on with no anesthetic, yet you stand as if nothing has happened." An ominous presence spoke from behind Chichi, and he could definitely feel the power emanating off it.
And so he addressed it as such.
"Where's Shigaraki!? Tell me or I'm going to rip out your heart!" Chichi threatened, but the figure just chuckled, amused.
"My I'm getting goosebumps, you just narrowly avoided expiration and the first thing you do is ask about Shigaraki, you have certainly proved yourself to be a loyal ally, but why?" They asked, ignoring Chichi's questions.
"Because he's got what it takes to be a real villain! Someone that even the heroes across the sea will fear" Chichi answered before he could stop himself.
"You seem convinced, a little too convinced. Why is that?" Once again, Chichi answered against his wishes.
"A while ago I met with a fortune teller who secretly had a foresight quirk, she told me I'd find what I have been looking for" Chichi answered, growing angry at his inability to control his actions.
"Hm, and what have you been looking for, did you find it?"
At this Chichi smiled, as he began approaching.
"What else, but the perfect villain" Chichi suddenly shot forward.
"She also told me to 'beware the quirk born in tragedy, beware the unstoppable GraveWalker' but she said she could only see the future that she lived in, so I figured I could change my fate by killing her then and there" he laughed as he jumped and swiped.
Until his wrist was caught easily, he was able to finally see the man's face, well sort of.
"Foresight quirk, are you talking about The Dame of Destiny, Shelob?" The voice spoke with interest, finally finding the culprit that prevented him from obtaining such a valuable quirk.
"Yeah, though I'm starting to think she was wrong, cause I just killed a kid that matched her description" Chichi answered before biting his lip and shooting a spike of blood, freezing on contact as it touched the figure who let out a chuckle at Chichi's attempts on their life
"I see why Tomura hasn't killed you, I sense no fear of death, no hesitation to kill, and a quirk that is perfect for this" The man pushed Chichi back with an unseen force, then lifted his hand, a box floating over to Chichi who noticed a shake in the man's hand as he did.
"What's this? A millionth customer reward?" Chichi joked, grasping the box which felt way heavier than it looked.
He opened the the box, finding something quite unexpected while hearing incoherent whispering.
"I originally intended to use it myself, or give it to Tomura, however the power it gives could be self destructive with our quirks, especially with some of mine, however you may be just the right person"
Chichi looked at the gift then to the man, before chuckling.
"What am I supposed to do with this, marry someone?" Chichi laughed, about to throw away the box, but found that he didn't want to.
"Although I could snap my fingers and bring Shigaraki here in an instant, I feel this method would be more…entertaining"
Shigaraki once again woke in the same white room, strapped to the wall, his fingers individually wrapped, preventing him from using his quirk.
He wondered why his master didn't come get him, unless this was a test and he was meant to break out on his own, though he had no idea how long that would take.
It was funny, he was probably at the worst point in his life yet he could help but wonder what his boozy compatriot was up to, most likely drinking.
Shigaraki couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the thought, before a buzz sounded.
*Lunch Time* a robot voice sounded as a tube dropped down with a mouth piece in front of Shigaraki.
Due to the nature of his quirk, Shigaraki wasn't allowed to use his hands for anything, so he got a tube that deposited food into his mouth. It was probably the worst part of his stay, being fed like an animal.
He could imagine what Chichi would say if he saw him like this, nothing appropriate.
Suddenly there was this distant hum to a tune being played, it was so familiar, Shigaraki could almost sing along, until he did.
"Early…in the…morning?!" Shigaraki's eyes widened as a loud crash was heard, screams filling the prison halls.
"Put him in a longboat till he's sober!" that beautiful bastard sang as the screams continued.
Shigaraki couldn't believe it, he must've finally gone mad, but regardless.
"Way hay and up she rises!" Shigaraki shouted, a wide gleeful grin on his face as the singing got louder and closer, till something hit his cell door with a bang and scream, then another.
Soon the door was knocked off its hinges, a bloodied guard with a now unrecognisable face falling with it.
"Early in the morning" Chichi finished as he walked into the cell, face and hands covered in blood with his claws looking much longer, probably due to the blood on them acting as extra range.
"Hey boss, I'm here to get ya out" He stepped on the head of the guard till it gave way as the blood on his claws changed shape to a knife that he used to cut through the straps holding Shigaraki.
"Since when do you have this much control over blood?" Shigaraki asked as they exited the cell, and was stunned when he saw the carnage that Chichi left in his wake.
"I know right, it used to be I'd point and the blood will flow that way, but now it's like I can feel every cell and it's mine to control" Chichi grinned as he parted the blood like the red sea, allowing Shigaraki to walk without stepping in any guts.
When they got to the exit, Shigaraki found that a car had been driven into the entrance, a family of 5 in it.
"What happened here?" Shigaraki asked, suddenly one of the corpses sprang to life, courtesy of Chichi using his quirk to move the blood in their body to control their movements, much like blood bending.
"Met this guy while I was buying supplies, after an 'accidental' scratch, all it took was an involuntary turn of the wheel and I had my entrance" explained as he took out one of his supplies.
"A bottle of rum? Seriously" Shigaraki sighed, not surprised at all.
It was as Chichi took a swig and offered Shigaraki some that he noticed the new accessory on his finger.
"What's with the ring? Didn't take you for a jewelry guy" Shigaraki asked, Chichi playfully turned the ring as he answered.
"Yeah the guy with the messed up face gave it to me, it's not as good as trigger but it has its own advantages" Chichi explained as he reached into a puddle of blood, pulling out an ornate sword that shined in the light.
"Cool huh, can't wait for round two with Shoku" Chichi let go of the sword, quickly turning back to liquid that splashed on Shigaraki's shoes, who was surprised to say the least.
"Wait? You met Master?" Shigaraki asked, unsure why Sensei revealed himself to Chichi.
"Master? I thought he was just a benefactor?" Chichi asked, before he remembered something.
"Oh and I got these from the locker" Chichi opened his backpack, filled with the hands that Shigaraki wore.
"Oh" Shigaraki exclaimed, not expecting Chichi to go out of his way to get this, so when he said "thank you", he meant it.
"No worries, now I'm craving some western cuisine, what you thinking? Burgers?" Chichi asked as he grabbed the collar of the driver and pulled him out, Shigaraki using his quirk to get rid of the other smaller bodies.
"Bloody bastards" Chichi held up his fist with a shit eating grin.
"Ugh bloody bastards" Shigaraki bumped it with less enthusiasm as he rolled his eyes, though his smirk spoke volumes as they drove out the hole and into the sunset.
"Wait? I thought you told me you don't drive"
"I don't, but I grew up playing burnout so I got this"
"Whatever, just wake me up when we get food" Shigaraki closed his eyes, until he processed what Chichi just said.
"Wait! What?!"
Crash!
Ahh! I've done it, I've written and rewritten this chapter to death over the months and I'm finally reasonably happy with it, but I've seen what too much comedy did to the MCU so I hope the same doesn't happen here.
I can't guarantee that there will be another chapter but I'll try, it seems writers block is actually a thing, even though I'm not sure if writing fics makes me eligible to have writers block but eh let's get to the explanations.
So for the Nomu, I imagined Isildur and how Talion was able to free him from Sauron's hold, except this was multiple people in a single body.
Now for the obvious, the ring, well I only showed a little of what it does but in the most basic of explanations, it enhances the user, but at what cost? If I continue this then we'll find out.
Righto I think that's all, once again sorry for the wait, but most likely there's going to be another wait or even a permanent wait so any reviews I find worth replying to will be at the top, now before I go, just want to say a huge thanks for reading this, and hope you have a good day.