AN: Thanks for reading and leaving reviews, everyone!
This time Ochako was prepared for when she woke up in a foggy cave.
"So this is actually part of the vestige realm." Ochako pushed herself upright. "Woulda been nice if it was less foggy now, though," She grumbled as she stepped out into the fog.
While she wanted to explore the island - and she was certain it was that now, even if it was pieced together from her memories - she'd have to wait until things were clearer. It wasn't like she could see much while the thick mist clung to the area. Instead, she retraced her steps from the night before. Feeling much more confident, it didn't take long for her to reach the base of the cliff. When she arrived, she was greeted with a flash of green light, as if a beacon was lit, at the top.
"I-Izuku?" Ochako called out unsteadily.
"Ochako," Izuku - no, Midoriya, she decided - called back from further up.
Feeling herself smiling, Ochako began to climb, approaching the green light. It was warm and welcoming, cutting away the mists of uncertainty as literally as it pushed back the mist surrounding the cliff. In many ways, it reminded her of Izuku and his blinding resolve.
She got about three meters away when the vestige held up his hand. "Stop, Ochako!"
"Okay," Ochako said softly. She was disappointed he wouldn't let her come closer, but she understood why. With a soft sigh, she lowered herself to the ground and sat on her knees, much like she did so many times on their own cliffside haven.
"A-actually," She saw Midoriya rubbing the back of his head, "are you okay if I call you that? I… wasn't thinking yesterday."
"Did you…" Ochako asked hesitantly, "...call me that? In your timeline, I mean!"
Ochako watched Midoriya's face as his brows furrowed, the green light of One For All both highlighting his features and covering them in deep shadow. The dichotomy made him appear even older than he was – not that it made him any less handsome. While it was strange seeing his boyish features had faded, Ochako found herself appreciating the preview of the man Izuku would grow into.
"Yes," Midoriya finally said with a sigh. "And you called me Izuku."
"I'm glad," Ochako smiled up at him. "Here we're already on a first-name basis and I was afraid…" Ochako shook her head. "It would be sad if you weren't where you came from!"
"Ehe," The vestige laughed with a familiar awkwardness that Ochako found endearing, although he didn't rub the back of his head with his right arm like she was used to seeing.
As her eyes drifted up and down his right arm, she found her assumptions were right. It was partially transparent, made out of solid energy with tendrils of darkness acting as a skeleton. The energy shifted and crackled, dancing along his 'skin' as it gave off the appearance that it was alive.
"What happened?" Ochako found herself asking.
"Huh?"
Ochako blinked in the dawning realization that she hadn't intended to ask that aloud. "Your arm," She said quickly, her face heating up. "That's… what happened to it?"
"Oh," Midoriya began to rub it almost reflexively with his good hand. "It's… not something I can talk about."
"Ugh," Ochako looked like she bit a lemon. "This is that future stuff Risa keeps getting frustrated by, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Midoriya said softly. "Sorry. We want you to do better than we did," He looked at his arm for emphasis. "And part of that is you need to figure that out for yourselves."
"Me too?"
"What do you mean 'you too'?" Midoriya asked, his face contorted in confusion.
"I mean…" Ochako fidgeted helplessly. "You– well, my Izuku– and Risa are the ones with One For All! And the ones specifically called out by future Risa and I'm just–"
"But you're here too, aren't you?" Midoriya asked. "Even if you don't have One For All you've become bound up in… this," Midoriya swept his arm to take in the vestige realm for emphasis. "I'd say that means you're just as important as they are."
Ochako gasped, her eyes going wide in surprise. Taking a moment to recover her composure, she shook her head and looked at the vestige. "T-that doesn't prove anything! There could be other islands out there with other people…" She hesitated, afraid of the answer. "...couldn't there?"
"There aren't," Midoriya looked off in the distance. Even if last night's dreams were hazy, Ochako could remember it was the direction she saw the lights coming from. "I've uh… don't tell the others but I've been looking for more islands."
"You have?"
"Yeah," Midoriya said awkwardly. "When we first heard about the link between Izuku's island and Melissa's, we scouted it to confirm it was there. Then I began to wonder… was anything else hiding in the mists? And well…"
"You found me," Ochako said.
"Yep!" Midoriya said loudly. "I found another island and well… you weren't supposed to be here," He repeated awkwardly.
"That means…" Ochako breathed before her face lit up. "Do-do you think that means anyone else could come here?"
Midoriya looked like a deer in headlights as he made a sound that Ochako could best describe as 'his soul leaving his body' in response to the question. Thinking that she had made some sort of terrible mistake, she began to raise her hands defensively as she loudly apologized. "S-sorry I just–"
"N-no!" Midoriya shouted just as loudly. "It's a good question. Umm…" He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly with his scarred but still human hand. "That's part of why I went looking? Since this is just as new and scary to us as it was to you three! We were wondering if any of Melissa's classmates were here, or Izuku's, or her hero instructors, and well…"
"You just found me?" Ochako asked, her words filled with awe.
"Yeah," Midoriya said softly. "You're the only one. And even then your connection is… fragile."
"Fragile?"
"Look around," He gestured. "The fog obscures things, but from what I can tell this island it's… not like the other two. It doesn't have a distinct shape. It's more… a collection of your memories given form."
"You mean it could vanish?" Ochako asked fearfully.
"Maybe," The vestige admitted. "Yoichi seems to think so…" He offered her a comforting smile, much like the ones her Izuku had given her countless times before. "But I think the only way that could happen is if you had a falling out with Izuku and Melissa."
Ochako squeaked as a look of horror came over her. "That– I'd hate that!"
"That's how I know it'll be okay," Midoriya concluded.
"So how do I make this more…" Ochako fidgeted with her hands as she tried to think of the right word. "...real?"
"Ehe…" Midoriya stared at her awkwardly. "Just keep doing what you're doing?"
"What do you mean by that?" Ochako squeaked, thinking about her feelings for Izuku. Feelings she was trying very hard to keep buried.
"Umm…" Midoriya's awkwardness managed to surpass even Ochako's as they stood there. As she watched she even saw hints of the Izuku she remembered from their early days of class poking through the vestige. "I mean you're good friends, right? And you spend lots of time together?" He spoke quickly. "Just… keep doing that!"
"Oh," Ochako deflated. She sat there in awkward silence as she wrestled with her disappointment.
Then again, I was probably hoping for too much. Ochako grumbled inwardly. After all, if he's not telling us the future he certainly wouldn't tell me if I end up dating Izuku or not!
"S-sorry," the vestige said softly, "I wish I could help more.
"It's okay," Ochako tried to assure him. Looking up, she began examining his features again. "I just wish… it's hard, you know? Knowing that you're all err… here. And that you know what's coming but you just don't tell us!"
"We could," Midoriya admitted. "But things are already spiraling out of control. After all…" He gave her a shaky smile. "You shouldn't be here."
"Ugh," Ochako rolled her eyes. "I swear if I ever hear those words from you again…"
"S-sorry. But that's what I mean! We can try and help but what if we're wrong? Things are getting further and further away from the world that we remember every day. If we tell you something and you get hurt or worse…" He shook his head.
"You're afraid," Ochako said matter-of-factly.
"A little," Midoriya admitted.
"I know you can't tell me everything, but how bad was it?" Ochako asked curiously.
"It was… bad," Midoriya sighed as he held out his arm. "So many people died."
"And you lost your arm," Ochako whispered.
"I lost more than that," Midoriya admitted as he closed his eyes. "When the dust settled we won, but…"
"It caused you to risk everything on this plan."
"Yeah," Midoriya admitted.
"What if we make the same mistakes?" Ochako asked fearfully.
"You won't," The vestige said confidently. He offered her a reassuring look that was so full of belief, she felt her face heating up. It was the same look that her Izuku gave her every time he reminded her that they wouldn't let her fall behind - that she'd be right alongside him and Melissa as they became heroes. "And we're still helping when we can… we're just… we only want to step in when we know it's safe."
"Like telling Risa about the Nomu?"
"Yeah! Exactly!" Midoriya nodded. "I know it can be frustrating but we're not trying to hold out on purpose."
"I get it," Ochako said. "Thanks. For explaining, I mean!"
"You're welcome," Midoriya said.
Ochako opened her mouth to continue her conversation but then she saw a glow in the distance. Hopping to her feet, she pointed. "Is that Izuku and Risa?"
Midoriya turned around to check for himself. "Yep! Nana's got both of them!" He spun around to look at Ochako again. "I guess that confirms it then. But there's still the issue of…"
Midoriya's words were lost on Ochako as she stared into the sky. Floating toward them was a tall muscular woman in a black hero costume. Melissa was clinging to her back, her arms loosely wrapped around her neck, while she was carrying a bright red Izuku bridal style. Ochako couldn't help but smile at the sight.
"Risa! Izu!" Ochako called out excitedly as she jumped up and down and waved with both hands.
"Ochako!" Melissa called from her position. Despite being partially obscured by fog, she easily spotted the soft silhouette of her friend in the glowing green light given off by the vestige.
Speeding up at the sight of her companion, Nana raced forward, a false wind buffeting Izuku and Melissa as they descended into the foggy depths. Seconds later the pair felt momentum cease as the vestige landed on the ground, and Izuku found himself carefully lowered to the ground while Melissa unhooked her arms and fell to her feet.
"So it's true!" Ochako said as she raced forward, ignoring both vestiges dancing away from her as she grabbed her friends and pulled them into a hug. "This– this really means I'm pulling One For All from you guys!"
"Did you have any doubt?" Izuku asked nervously as he adjusted himself to be more comfortable.
Ochako let go of her friends and stepped back, her hands betraying her nervousness as she fidgeted. "A little… I guess I didn't want to get my hopes up if this was something else."
"It's not. That doesn't mean we're out of the woods yet," Nana said. Pausing, she looked around and took in the surroundings. "Or the fog, as the case may be."
"What do you mean?" Ochako asked as she spun around to face the vestige.
"We're still not sure what is going on with One For All," Nana admitted. "While we haven't seen the vestiges from Midoriya's copy, the fact that both of you are here is reason enough to be concerned."
"Well… this is the first time two copies of One For All have been in the same place, right?" Izuku asked.
"Yep!" The vestige of Midoriya spoke quickly. "While I knew about the vestige realm it… didn't look anything like this," He admitted.
Melissa felt a suspicious familiarity as she examined the older version of Izuku, her eyes narrowing as she examined his face, looking for familiar signs of dishonesty. Shaking it off as paranoia, she turned toward Nana. The older woman stood there with a bemused expression as she watched from a distance. "So did you find out anything?"
"No," Nana sighed. "Which is the problem. What we do know is that there's no outside influence and that One For All itself is behaving the way it should be–"
"Except for me, right?" Ochako asked.
"Except for you," Nana gave her a comforting look. "But the fact that we are able to intentionally pull you in and that this place exists is an important first step. It means, in some way, you're supposed to be here."
"So what do we do now?" Melissa asked.
"Unfortunately, the best we can do is wait," Nana said as she looked around. "Both for this place to finish forming and for the vestiges inside Midoriya's copy of One For All to awaken."
"That's it?" Ochako asked, disappointed.
"I don't mind," Melissa admitted. "After the last few days, I could use a break."
"Me too," Izuku added.
"You're right–" Ochako said awkwardly as she looked around. "-but still! We're so close, aren't we?"
"We could be close, or we could be far away," the vestige of Midoriya said. "If this is some sort of quirk awakening with One For All, then we don't know what its final form would look like. Just like the future, we don't want to accidentally make things worse."
"Izuku is right," Nana confirmed. "We want to take this carefully for your sake as much as ours. After all, if something goes wrong with One For All…"
"We're the ones with the quirk," Melissa said nervously.
"Y-yeah," Izuku added softly.
A somber silence filled the air as the three students found their thoughts taking a darker path, none of them having considered the worst-case scenario for this situation. Meters away Nana and Midoriya looked at each other, both silently communicating through One For All as they came up with a plan. Both nodding simultaneously, they turned toward the trio.
"Why don't we go exploring this island?" Midoriya asked.
"Huh?" Ochako blinked in surprise.
"You haven't really explored this place, right? Especially since you can't err… glow," the vestige said sheepishly, "and push back the fog. So why don't we take a tour?"
"It would be helpful in the future," Nana said encouragingly. "That way whenever Uraraka wakes up she at least won't risk falling off a cliff."
"Eep!" Ochako squeaked out. "I didn't even think of that! That sounds like a great idea!"
Melissa giggled before offering an apologetic smile to Ochako. "That'd be one way to wake up accidentally using your quirk on everything in your room again, I'm sure!"
"That's just another reason why I should worry!" Ochako said indignantly.
"So it's settled then?" The vestige asked warmly.
"Yep!" The three said at once.
"Why don't you lead the way?" Izuku asked his older self nervously.
"Sure," Midoriya smiled as he looked at the three. "Want to help me light up the place?"
"Yeah!"
"Of course!"
Both Izuku and Melissa closed their eyes and tapped into One For All, wrapping themselves in glowing green and gold lights that pushed the fog back even further. Opening their eyes again, they both smiled at Ochako before turning toward the vestiges. Smiling back at them, Midoriya and Nana began their descent down the cliff, ready to explore the island.
"Now arriving at Hosnian Ward," The conductor announced as the train slowed down.
"Bout damn time," Katsuki grumbled as he shoved his phone in his pocket and stood up, grabbing his duffle bag with his other hand.
Ever since taking the hero up on his offer, Katsuki had been regularly traveling to Tokyo to spend the day with Slidin'Go. Normally they would split time with Katsuki training in the (rather nice, he was forced to admit) gym where he could practice his quirk while the hero did paperwork, and then shadowing the hero while he went on patrol.
Katsuki had to admit he was skeptical at first. After all, Slidin'Go wasn't even in the top ten, what good was he? But he could already feel himself growing stronger since he'd started. He never realized how much stronger he could make Explosion until he began practicing with it regularly.
Which was perfect, since he needed all the strength he could to surpass All Might!
The hero left some large shoes behind. Even now his reduced presence was being felt, and villains already thought it was safe to crawl out from under whatever rock they were hiding under and wreak havoc throughout Japan.
Soon, however, they would learn the name Katsuki Bakugo, and then they'd crawl back into whatever hole they were hiding in. But that wouldn't be enough for him - he'd flush them out, and arrest them anyway! And he'd keep doing it until Japan was safe.
As he approached the hero's agency, he looked down at his palms and allowed himself a small indulgence as dozens of small pops appeared over his palms. A fierce smile crawled across his face as he balled his hands into fists.
"Just you wait All Might! If I'm this strong already, imagine how strong I'll be once I graduate!"
Dashing across the final crosswalk, Katsuki pushed open the door to the agency as he fished the badge Slidin'Go gave him out of his pocket. Throwing a lazy half-wave to the receptionist, he passed her desk and reached the elevators. Swiping the badge and pocketing it in one smooth motion, he watched in satisfaction as the door parted for him, allowing him access to the elevator.
"Time to begin training."
"Nothing like a nice relaxing patrol to end the day," Slidin'Go said.
They've been walking the streets of Hosnian for over two hours now, and there hasn't been a single report of a villain attack. While the hero looked like he was enjoying himself, the peace made Katsuki restless.
"Aren't heroes supposed to go out and search for villains to fight?" Katsuki asked grumpily.
"Now some do," The hero replied. "But I'm more than happy to keep my little slice 'o Japan peaceful and quiet."
"No wonder you're so low in the rankings," Katsuki scoffed.
"Sure, but I put in just as much work as the others. More, even," The hero insisted. "And the results show. That's better than any paycheck."
"What results? There's no villains to fight!"
"Exactly!" The hero stopped in the middle of the street, and Katsuki had to quickly do the same to avoid running into his mentor. Turning quickly, Slidin'Go gave Katsuki a bright smile. "And you wanna know why?"
"Don't play games with me," Katsuki grumbled as he shoved his hands in his pockets.
The hero chuckled a bit. "It's because villains are afraid to come here." He explained before he turned around and resumed walking.
"Afraid?" Katsuki raised an eyebrow quizzically as he kept pace with the hero.
"Yep! Y'see, I've developed a bit of a reputation among the local villains. They know how strong my quirk is, and they'd rather not fight a losing battle. Because of that, they'd rather leave Hosnian alone, and go make trouble somewhere else."
Katsuki had to admit there was some logic to the hero's words. After all, he had seen how fast the hero could move, using his quirk to slide along floors, walls, and even telephone poles to whip around an area, using his speed and momentum to take down villains quickly and effortlessly. He would never admit it, but he had adopted several of the hero's moves as he sought to create his own style, using explosions to propel him similarly before landing a powerful blow.
"So because you're so strong, the crime rate is naturally lower."
"That's right. I'm a lot like All Might in that way," The hero said with a light chuckle.
"You're no All Might," Katsuki said defensively.
"You're right, I'm not," The hero agreed, "But if enough heroes with strong quirks adopted my attitude, it wouldn't just be Hosnian that would be peaceful…"
"I'm not gonna settle down," Katsuki growled. "I'm too strong for that! I'm gonna travel across Japan, just like All Might!"
"There's room for both, ya know. Even I've gotta call in Hawks sometimes," Slidin'Go admitted. "Who knows? Maybe I'll be calling you someday too."
"You can count on it," Katsuki gave the hero a fierce grin. "I'm gonna become so strong that villains everywhere will be hiding!"
"Now that's the attitude I like to see," The hero replied. "You've got the right attitude and the right quirk. I can't wait to see what you do with it."
AN: Sorry for the rough chapter. I thought break would be more relaxing but it's just making me want to go back to school already :( -SupportGrrl47