Betrayal.
Heartbreak.
Sadness.
Rage.
These were all the emotions that Izuku Midoriya was feeling right now, and given his current situation, it was more than justifiable.
For context, a few days previously, Izuku was attacked by most of his classmates out of the blue. When his teachers came in, he expected them to save him, but that's when he was restricted by Aizawa's scarf as Toshinori forcibly "took back" One for All. Izuku begs for a reason, and the staff reveal a video.
The video showed Izuku, or at least someone that looked an awful lot like him, breaking into Principal Nezu's office and stealing files, then taking those files and giving them to the League of Villains.
This was shocking to Izuku, because he never once did that. He begged and pleaded that he did not do it, but the staff and students were refusing to believe that, "because they have all the proof they needed". As most of the classmates he once called friends jeered and shouted at him, calling him all forms of insulting names, he was dragged out of the school.
He was then placed in a police car and driven off to Tartarus, getting thrown into a cell. He didn't get a phone call, a chance to explain himself, or even a proper trial.
As far as he knew, his life was over…
… at least, that was until today.
Today was the day a strange pipe appeared in his cell. Before he even had time to process what the hell he was seeing, the pipe sucked him in. Seconds after, the pipe disappeared.
No one had any explanation for Izuku's sudden disappearance from his cell. The security camera in Izuku's cell had malfunctioned the night before and was being repaired, so there was no way of checking for footage of what happened.
As far as they knew… Izuku Midoriya had just vanished off the face of the Earth.
And word of his disappearance made it to Tomura Shigaraki.
He was ecstatic to hear this! His greatest enemy was gone, and no one knew where he went! Granted, he's a little upset that he wasn't the one to truly end Izuku's life, but he didn't care.
It was one less interfering hero to deal with. It just made things easier!
Across Japan, news spread fast of Izuku being "the traitor"... however, there was one thing that shocked the staff and a majority of U.A. students: not one citizen believed that Izuku was truly a traitor.
It baffled them to no end. There was video proof of it! How could the citizens not believe it?!
To prove it, Nezu watched the video again, this time with everyone that believed Izuku was the traitor present to watch as well.
Sure enough, the video showed Izuku breaking into the office and taking the files. Nothing different. He gives the files to Shigaraki, begins to melt into goo, and then goes on with his day!
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... Wait… melt into goo?
As the video continues playing, Nezu's little eyes start to widen in utter horror as he realizes… he didn't watch the full video. He didn't watch the full video to show that "Izuku" was never actually himself in this video… It was Himiko Toga!
This revelation shocked the school to its core, and that's when Midnight realized something: Izuku had taken notes on Himiko Toga's Quirk, so they knew that she needed blood to transform into someone else.
Well, guess who happened to get attacked by Himiko just a few short days before he was labeled as the traitor? An attack he reported to the staff immediately upon returning to the school? An attack that resulted in him getting stabbed by one of Himiko's needles in the shoulder?
As all the pieces were put together, the whole room was filled with dread as they realized…
… they sent an innocent man to jail.
"I TOLD YOU!" an extremely young voice screamed out from the door to the office, making everyone look over in utter dread. It was Eri, the little girl that Izuku risked his life to save from Overhaul. She was absolutely livid, as tears ran down her cheeks. "I TOLD YOU THAT PAPA WAS INNOCENT, BUT YOU DIDN'T BELIEVE IT! HOW COULD YOU?!"
Nezu stammered to try and respond to Eri. "I- we… um… I-I didn't- You see…" But Eri wasn't having it. She grabbed the tea cup off of Nezu's desk, smashed it so it was only the handle left, and glared furiously at the rodent that dared to call himself a principal.
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP, YOU STUPID RAT! ALL OF YOU!" she swung the broken handle at them, making them all back off. "HE RISKED HIS LIFE SO MANY TIMES YOU, AND YOU STAB HIM IN THE BACK! I THOUGHT HEROES WERE SUPPOSED TO TRUST EACH OTHER, ALWAYS HAVE EACH OTHER FOR SUPPORT! THAT'S WHAT PAPA TOLD ME, BUT YOU BETRAYED HIM!"
"E-Eri, there was proof!" Toru pleaded on the verge of tears. "We thought he-"
"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THOUGHT!" the little girl screams as she throws the broken handle just past Momo's face, making it shatter against the wall and scaring the invisible girl. "FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, EVERYONE WHO THOUGHT PAPA WAS A VILLAIN IS DEAD TO ME!"
Not wanting to hear anymore bullshit excuses from these morons, Eri storms out of the office and slams the door behind her, before running all the way back to the very dorm her adoptive father stayed in, locking the door behind her. Her rage filled adrenaline finally wears off as she slumps against the door, and finally breaks down into tears as she curls into a ball.
"I miss you, Papa…"
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There's been no sign of Izuku in the past year, and things have been tense at U.A. to say the least. An announcement was made to clear Izuku's name, but the damage had still been done. The Hero Society was no longer trustworthy in the eyes of citizens.
Even some of the low level villains had to admit that what U.A. did was pretty crappy. Yeah, they're villains, but only because they had been stabbed in the back by the Hero Society, and society as a whole. They sympathized with Izuku, especially when it was somehow leaked out that Izuku was diagnosed Quirkless as a kid. That was generally a tipping point for when many people turned to villainy.
Things at U.A. haven't gotten better at all.
The staff have been reeling from the guilt of labeling one of their own students as a villain. Present Mic was no longer his loud and energetic self. Ectoplasm, who was generally emotionless, expressed genuine regret and sorrow about this mistake. Cementoss didn't have a lot of moments where he interacted with Izuku, but he still cared a great deal about the kid. Though, now he couldn't even say that, because he betrayed the poor kid's trust. Midnight has been a recluse, hardly speaking to anyone. She's even dropped her whole sexual persona. Aizawa was much angrier and harsher on his students, but beneath that exterior was a broken man. A man who failed to save his student. A man that failed as a teacher. Nezu was struggling with his guilt, knowing he failed to be a hero for Izuku.
Toshinori, however, was hit the worst. He had gone through the same harsh reality that Izuku grew up with, and saw Izuku had the same heroic heart as him. So why?! WHY did he believe that stupid video?! He could hardly show his face in school, but he especially didn't dare to show it to Inko Midoriya, the poor boy's mother.
When she learned what U.A. did, she went absolutely ballistic. She had stormed into the office and screamed her lungs off at the staff, calling them "liars", "bastards", "fake Heroes", and every other insulting nickname under the sun. She only stopped because Eri had come in and told her not to waste her breath on them. Since then, Eri has been under Inko's care, because Inko refuses to risk the only family she may have left getting betrayed by these "fake Heroes" too.
There were four members of the U.A. staff, however, knew Izuku was innocent from the start and had tried to clear his name before he was taken to Tartarus.
Recovery Girl, the school nurse, had seen Izuku more than any other student. While she could get annoyed at how often he ended up in her office, he was still a welcome face that she started seeing like he was her own grandson. So when the video was first seen by the staff, she knew for a fact that Izuku was not the one in the video. The kid's been breaking his bones to protect those in need! How could he be a villain?! So when the news came out that he was innocent, she spent a good 5 hours beating Toshinori with her cane.
Hound Dog, the school's guidance counselor, saw first hand how heroic Izuku is. The kid fought two villains himself just to stop the School Festival from being canceled, all to ensure that Eri could smile. And on the few times Izuku and Hound Dog spoke besides that one incident, he could see that Izuku had more of a heroic heart than anyone he's ever met. So it was a no-brainer that Izuku was innocent.
Thirteen, the hero that was injured gravely at the USJ. Despite being on the verge of unconsciousness, she was able to see how fast Izuku had rushed in to try and save All Might, even though he himself was terrified. A villain would have just let the Symbol of Peace die.
And finally, Lunch Rush, the school's chef. Izuku had always praised Lunch Rush's food, and had even expressed his own interest in cooking. As such, Lunch Rush began teaching Izuku how to cook, and he was impressed with how fast the boy was progressing. Lunch Rush asked Izuku what made him want to cook, and Izuku had answered that if he hadn't gotten the chance to be a Hero, then he would have probably become a chef instead, making food for homeless shelters and orphanages, as another way to make people happy in the world. Lunch Rush knew from this alone that Izuku was innocent.
Now, the students have been just as much a wreck as the staff.
The Big 3 and Shinso never once thought that Izuku was a traitor. He was way too nice and friendly. He helped Tamaki overcome his shyness, helped Shinso realize how his Quirk could be used to be a Hero, and was all around just a ray of sunshine. Hell, he was willing to give Mirio his Quirk after he lost his saving Eri! No villain would do that!
While the students of 1-B, now 2-B, didn't know Izuku as well as 1-A, they saw first hand in the Sports Festival how willing to help others Izuku was. He willingly helped Todoroki realize his power was his own, even in the midst of their fight. But they let their rivalry with Class 1-A blind them, thinking it was something they could hold over Class 1-A to prove their superiority.
The only one that had a functional brain compared to the rest of the class was Pony Tsunotori, the American exchange student. Izuku had offered to teach her Japanese, in exchange for her teaching him English.
Yeah, they felt like shit now, and a majority of Class 1-A, which had now become Class 2-A, wasn't any better.
Izuku was their classmate, arguably the one with the biggest heroic hearts that any of them had ever seen. And they betrayed him because they thought HE betrayed them. If anything, they were the real traitors.
Of course, there were a few students that knew from the start that Izuku was innocent and had tried to voice it, but were not listened to. These students were having a small case of "I told you so!" to the morons that didn't believe Izuku was innocent.
Those students included:
Ochaco Uraraka. She was one of Izuku's best friends and even had a crush on the boy. He saved her life in the Entrance Exam, so there's no way he would betray them. She knew this for a fact!
Tsuyu Asui. She was very blunt with what she would say, and this includes talking about her classmates. She was one of Izuku's closest friends, so she knew for a fact that he was innocent.
Shoto Todoroki. He saw first hand what kind of Hero Izuku is. It was because of him that he finally stood up to his father for his abuse. He considered Izuku like a second brother, technically third if you count the "deceased" Touya.
Momo Yaoyorozu. She was the class vice president, and although she was a little out of her environment, having come from a rather wealthy family, she knew first hand how much of a Hero that Izuku was.
Kyoka Jiro. Although she and Izuku had hardly reacted, she knew how much of a Hero he was.
Eijiro Kirishima. He saw how Izuku was one of the first to join him when Bakugo was captured, so it was obvious to him how heroic Izuku was and how the idea of Izuku being a villain was practically laughable!
Mina Ashido. Although she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, she could recognize a hero from a villain. Just looking at Izuku, she could see a Hero immediately.
Tashi Akuma. He was one of Izuku's best friends. Hell, he and Izuku were like brothers! Tashi always supported Izuku's dream of being a Hero despite starting off as Quirkless, and Izuku was supportive of Tashi's many choices (his bisexuality, his love for crossdressing, etc.). If you had told Tashi that his best friend was a villain, he would have socked you in the face without a second thought.
Ketsumi Ren. He was a marine at heart, and he could tell when someone was dishonest. So he knew immediately that Izuku was innocent just from hearing his begs and pleads of his innocence. But even before that, he knew for a fact that Izuku was innocent.
Koji Koda. He was the shyest student, but Izuku had spent some time helping the boy build up his self-esteem. No villain would do that.
Maisie Reyes. She had previously hated her Quirk, but Izuku had helped her see just how useful it truly was. Her sharper wolf-like hearing and sense of smell could allow her to seek out citizens held hostage. Her claws could be used as weapons, along with her teeth. What kind of villain helps out a Hero in training?
And Yuga Aoyama. But his reason was… different.
When Izuku was announced as innocent, Aoyama suddenly broke down and cried, which shocked everyone. But as they asked why he was crying, that's when he revealed the dark truth.
That HE was the true traitor.
He revealed that as a child, he was diagnosed Quirkless, and out of fear that he would be treated differently, his parents made a deal with All for One to give their son a Quirk, hence why he has Navel Laser now.
But in exchange, he was forced to work as a spy for the League of Villains, to infiltrate U.A. and report back to the villains. It was him that revealed their location at both the USJ AND at the camp.
His classmates didn't know what to do with this information. They were so quick to turn their backs on Izuku just from a false video, but now Aoyama was here confessing the truth. Nezu honestly wasn't sure how to punish Aoyama for this, but Aoyama pleaded that he be punished. He had done so much wrong, and deserved to be punished as such.
But Nezu felt conflicted with this choice. Would sending Aoyama to Tartarus really help? It was clear Aoyama regretted what he did, so maybe he deserved a chance. But he also sent Izuku, an innocent man, to Tartarus just on false video.
Nezu also knew that All for One was merciless, so if he got his hands on Aoyama in Tartarus, he would certainly kill the boy for failing him. So for the boy's safety, Nezu decided that Aoyama would be expelled from U.A., but kept on the grounds, effectively on permanent house arrest.
Right now, the group of Izuku believers are seen gathered at Inko's house. Also there was some of the other people that knew Izuku was innocent, including:
The Wild, Wild Pussycats.
Kota, the little boy Izuku saved from Muscular.
Ayumi Akuma, Tashi's little sister.
Akana and Yumi Akuma, Tashi and Ayumi's parents. Yumi was also the Pro Hero known as Plastic.
Tsuyu's little siblings, Samidare and Satsuki.
Tsuyu's parents, Beru and Ganma Asui.
Fuyumi and Natsuo Todoroki, Shoto's older siblings.
Rei Todoroki, who has been released from the hospital after Endeavor redeemed himself and has been trying to be a better father and husband.
Enji Todoroki, AKA Endeavor, the current Number 1 Hero.
Camie Utsushimi, the girl from Shiketsu High. Although she never met Izuku properly, she saw his selfless actions first hand when he fought Overhaul.
The Rabbit Hero: Mirko.
Gran Torino, Izuku's mentor during the internships.
David and Melissa Shield.
And Mahoro and Katsuma Shimano, the two children that Izuku had saved from a villain named Nine.
Hell, some surprising members of this team were actually… Gentle and La Brava! These were the two villains that Izuku faced to stop them from canceling the School Festival, and throughout the fight, they both could see that Izuku truly was a Hero. They've since been given a chance to work on the police force, which has slowly been clearing their criminal records. When Izuku was announced as the traitor, they actually began their own investigation into clearing his name. But when he disappeared and his name was cleared, they changed it to figure out where he went.
"So, you two finally gained access to talking with some of the inmates at Tartarus?" Momo asked the two former villains, to which they both nod. "What did they say?"
"A majority of them didn't say anything or refused to talk." La Brava says, knowing a good majority of the villains in there likely hated Izuku and wanted to kill him. "However, one did talk and tell us what he saw."
A few hours ago, Gentle and La Brava were sitting before one of the villains in Tartarus, with Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi watching to make sure the villain was telling the truth.
"What did you see in Izuku Midoriya's cell on the night he disappeared?" Gentle asked, to which the villain responded in his cold and raspy tone. "The kid was just sitting in his cell, not a single thought of escaping in his mind. I know this because when he first arrived, I offered to try and break him out to prove his name."
"Then why didn't you?" the detective asked, to which the villain was silent for a bit, then responding "... Because he refused."
Those three words surprised the former villains and the detective. Denying a chance to break out of Tartarus? Anyone else would have jumped at the chance instantly! The villain continued. "He said that breaking out would just drag his name even further into the dirt than it already was after being named the traitor. Breaking out would just prove he's a villain, unable to learn from past mistakes."
Those words honestly struck the three of them hard, but Gentle then cleared his throat and continued the interrogation. "Back to the night he disappeared…"
The villain let out a "Tch." before resuming. "Out of nowhere, some weird green pipe just grew out of his wall. None of us knew how or where it came from, and the kid was just as confused as the rest of us." he said, recalling the confusion on Izuku's face. "Before he could even say anything, the pipe just sucked him in. And just like that, the pipe disappeared and took the kid with it."
The detective knew that the cameras of Izuku's cell had been malfunctioning, and were being repaired the day he disappeared, so anyone else would think the villain was making this up. But he didn't, because his Quirk told him otherwise. Everything the villain said was true.
"That's all I know." the villain finishes, his head slightly hung. "That boy… he never deserved to get his trust shattered by this cursed society."
La Brava lowers her head as well. "You're right about that… He's more of a Hero than anyone else I've ever met."
With nothing else to ask, Gentle and La Brava stood up and took their leave as the guards entered and re-handcuffed the villain. The detective then looked at the villain "Stain… thank you."
The Hero Killer just nods as he's taken back to his cell.
"... and that's all we know." Gentle finishes. The whole group was surprised that the Hero Killer of all people was the one to give information on what happened. Shoto, however, wasn't too surprised. He knew that Stain had called Izuku a "True Hero", and was willing to spare him and even let him run. But Izuku had denied running, which reaffirmed to Stain that he was a True Hero.
"So a pipe just showed up out of nowhere, sucked Izuku in, then disappeared without a trace?" Tashi asked, before asking another question. "Was there any damage left when the pipe came out of the wall?"
"We walked by Izuku's cell when we left, but didn't see any cracks." La Brava explains. "And the guards explained that the only repairs they made to the cell since he was arrested was fixing the surveillance camera."
"I can help you all." an elegant voice suddenly spoke up, startling everyone. They turned and saw a small ball of light suddenly float in through the window, before brightening up the entire room and nearly blinding everyone.
When the light died down, everyone saw the light had changed into a tall, youthful woman with fair skin, beautiful turquoise eyes, light pink lips, and long pale blonde hair with a large bang covering the majority of the right side of her face. She wears an aqua floor-length dress which bares her shoulders, where a powder-blue flap loops around, and has long flared sleeves, topped with powder-blue frills. At the bottom is another power-blue frill that loops around until turning up to a point at the middle, showing a layer of a petticoat underneath. She has a star-shaped silver brooch with a round gold gem, a silver crown with an engraved star pattern and pink and blue gems, golden star-shaped earrings and silver high heels. She also wears purple polish on her fingernails, and in her hands was a thin, silver wand with a hollow golden star at the top.
"Who are you?!" Endeavor says defensively as his fire flares, but the woman is unbothered as she answers. "I am Rosalina, keeper of the cosmos. I know where Izuku Midoriya is."
Hearing that made everyone's eyes widen. Was it true?! Did she really know where Izuku was?! "You… you know where my Papa is?!" Eri asks in shock, relief, and happiness. Rosalina smiles and kneels down to Eri. "Yes, I do, little one." she answers as she gently strokes Eri's hair. "I can take you all to him."
"Please do!" his friends from U.A. beg the cosmic woman as she stands up, before waving her wand.
In a flash of white light, the whole group finds themselves no longer in the Midoriya Household, and now in an entirely different place. It looked like some sort of forest, but with large mushrooms instead of trees. The area also had luscious green grass, beautiful brick-like structures, and… floating platforms?
"Where are we?" Ochaco asks curiously, to which Rosalina responds. "This is the Mushroom Kingdom, where Izuku is currently residing. I cannot guide you there myself, but I can at least give you a general direction. But before I do, take this."
She waves her wand again, and suddenly, a small green remote appears in Inko's hand. It was shaped like a pipe, and had two red buttons on it.
"What's this?" the mother of the missing son asks as she inspects the remote.
"That is a Warp Remote. It will take you to and from your world and this." Rosalina answers, before pointing in the direction of the end of the mushroom forest. "I cannot guide you any further, but he is over in the kingdom that way."
The group takes a brief look in that direction, before looking back at the cosmic woman as Momo bows a bit. "Thank you for this, Miss Rosalina."
"You're welcome." Rosalina says, before disappearing in a flash of light. With that, the group begins their trek to the supposed kingdom that Izuku is in. They at least hope that's where he really is.
As they keep walking through the mushroom forest, they look around and notice some rather strange creatures. There was a small line of multi-colored bugs walking on the ground, a giant yellow caterpillar with many segments on its body, and a strange ball-like creature with green thorn-covered legs flipping with each step.
"Wow…" is all Mina can say as she looks around at the scenery, to which Tsuyu adds "No kidding, ribbit."
"This environment is so… calming." the Todoroki mother comments, to which the Akuma mother adds to it. "No kidding… It's also much more peaceful. These creatures don't seem even the slightest hostile."
As she says this, the thorn-legged creature ends up flipping right over them, its head looking down at them as they stare back in surprise. A few seconds later, the creature just flips off again like nothing happened.
"Why exactly did that Rosalina lady point us in this direction?" Kirishima asks as they make it to the end of the mushroom forest, but no one answers as they look ahead in amazement. Kirishima looks at what they're seeing and is hit with amazement too.
They see ahead of them is a small town with small buildings, many shops, and from what Jiro can hear with her jacks, is pretty well occupied with residents. And the town itself seemed to be leading up to a large castle on the tallest hill, a castle with a tall tower supported by four towers along the outside white walls and with shiny red roofs.
"That must be the main area of the kingdom." Ketsumi comments, still fascinated by what he sees.
"If Midoriya is truly there, then let's go and check." Endeavor says, before the group walks towards the town to see if the missing greenette is here like Rosalina said.
After a few minutes of walking, they soon make it to the entrance of the town, where they see the sign above the entrance reads "Toad Town".
Before they can wonder what exactly that means, they notice a small figure approaching. It was someone shorter than even Eri, with a mushroom-like head that was mainly white with large red spots. He was wearing a blue vest with a yellow trim, baggy white pants, brown shoes, and a backpack full of adventure-ish gear.
"Hello, strangers!" the little mushroom man greets with excitement. "Welcome to Toad Town! I'm Toad!"
"Uh, hi…" Ochaco says in a bit of surprise. "We're here looking for someone. His name's Izuku Midoriya."
Upon hearing that, Toad's eyes widened in amazement. "Oh, you're from his world?! Cool! I know where he is right now!" Hearing that made everyone's eyes go wide in relief. "Come on, guys!" Toad says, before running off in the direction of the castle.
"You trust him?" Natsuo says to his sister, to which she responds. "If he knows where Izuku is, then yes."
The group follows Toad through the town, seeing more mushroom-headed individuals with different color spots on their heads. They were busy either buying items from shops, hitting gold blocks for gold coins, or doing construction. Toad was trying to clear a path.
"Excuse me! Group of new people coming through! They're from Izuku's world! Clear a path, clear a path!"
The other mushroom-headed people clear a path, staring at the group in surprise as they murmured to each other.
"They're friends of the Mushroom Kingdom's Hero?!"
"I was wondering if they would ever make it here!"
"How DID they get here?"
From what the group could hear, it seemed like Izuku made a name for himself as the Hero of this Kingdom.
… Yeah, that actually wasn't very surprising, now that they think about it.
After minutes of walking through the town, going through pipes (except for Endeavor, who instead used his Quirk to go over them), commenting on the seeming lack of physics in this world (mainly the floating platforms and bricks), and nearly getting lost, the group finally makes it to the very top of the hill.
After taking a moment to catch their breath, they all look up and see the castle, which looks even more beautiful up close. "Come on, everyone!" Toad says as he runs to the castle doors, the group following behind.
The two Toad Guards at the front door see them approaching and instinctively block the door with their halberds, thinking the group are intruders here to harm the princess. "Stop right there! You all aren't going any further!"
Toad steps up to clear the situation. "Guys, guys, relax. They're with me, and they're from Izuku's world. They're looking for him." he explains, making the two guards look surprised.
"Oh, well why didn't ya say so?" the first guard says as they move their halberd aside, as the second adds on "He and the princess are out back."
"Thanks, fellas." Toad says, before looking at the group. "Come on!"
He opens the doors as everyone follows him inside. As they walk through the castle, they're mesmerized by the decor and paintings. It was certainly fit for royalty. Toad soon leads them to the back door of the castle, and upon stepping out, they see a balcony overlooking a massive lake. Floating above the lake was a full on obstacle course, complete with moving platforms, metal chomping plants coming out of make-shift green pipes, cannons shooting large balloon-ish bullets, spinning bars, make-shift enemies, and a large flagpole in the middle.
They also saw a figure standing at the balcony, who was looking over the lake and watching the obstacle course. Hearing the door opening behind, the figure turns and faces them, revealing to be a very beautiful woman with fair skin, long blonde hair that reaches her waist, bright blue eyes with curled eyelashes, and soft pink lips. The woman was wearing a floor-length pink dress with short puffy sleeves, a dark pink raised collar, hem, and panniers, and a sapphire brooch set in gold. Accompanying it are a golden crown with four jewels set in gold—one ruby at each of the front and back and one sapphire at each side, white evening gloves with scalloped openings, and red high heel pumps.
"Oh, hello there." the woman says with a gentle and sweet voice accompanying her smile. She then looks at Toad. "Toad, who are these new people?"
Toad chuckles sheepishly as she scratches the back of his head. "I, uh… I didn't get their names… but they're from Izuku's world, Princess."
Upon hearing that, the princess' eyes light up as her smile gets bigger. "Oh!" she exclaims, before approaching the group. "That explains a lot!"
Toad looks over at the group. "Everyone, this is Princess Peach, ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom." he says, which shocks the group to know they're in the presence of a real princess. The one who was most excited was the little snowball herself, as her father had read her many stories that had involved princesses.
"Very nice to meet you all." the princess says as she slightly bows her head, to which the group all does the same, before Eri steps up before Peach.
"Are you really a princess?" Eri asks with sparkles in her eyes, which Peach gushes at the sight of as she kneels down to her. "Yes, I am. You must be Eri." the princess responds as she gently runs a hand through the snowball's hair, making the little girl giggle. "Your father told me a lot about you."
Hearing that made Eri's sparkling eyes widen with excitement. "You know where he is?!" Eri beams with happiness, to which Peach smiles as she brings her over to where she was standing before on the edge of the balcony, before guiding the little girl's attention to the obstacle course floating above the lake as everyone else comes up to the balcony too.
The little girl looks up, and upon closer look, she can see there is a figure running through the obstacle course. Everyone else sees the figure too, as he jumps from brick arrangement to moving platform, then flipping through some of the metal chomping plants, all while a small amount of green lightning crackles off his body.
A wooden pop-up of a cartoon-ish monster pops up, only for the figure to kick it into splinters, before running across a trail of platforms that start to fall just after he steps on them, then leaps up and grabs the top of the flagpole, doing a bit of a handstand on it, then sliding down to the base and flipping off.
Peach smiles, then calls up to the figure. "Izuku! You need to come down here and see who's here!"
His attention caught, the figure leaps off the platform and ends up landing on the balcony behind everyone, causing them to turn around in surprise. The figure stands up and turns to face them, allowing them to see the face they haven't seen in a year, which has clearly gone through some changes.
He had noticeably grown taller, going from five feet and five and a fourth inches to a near six feet tall. His muscles had also become more refined and toned. Not All Might levels of buff, but more than he was after cleaning the beach. His "baby face" was no more, grown into a proper jaw-line that would make any woman blush. His chin had a slight scruff of facial hair, the same emerald green as his hair, which had now grown out in the back enough to be tied in a short ponytail, which it was. There was also a noticeable scar going across his face, from underneath his right eye all the way down to his neck. His outfit took some inspiration from his old Hero Costume, but now lacked the sleeves to show his toned but scarred arms. The hood of his Hero Costume was replaced with a sort of turtleneck-like collar, the silver mask of his built into the front. His gloves now only reached up to his wrists, while the pants of his suit were now a little baggy, the black braces on his legs reached to just below his knees, and of course, those famous red shoes.
And for the cherry on top, the figure flashed an iconic cinnamon roll smile at everyone.
"Hey, guys!"
Yep, it was definitely Izuku Midoriya.
Next Time: Reunion