Izuku made it back home. They informed their… girlfriends, of what they were about to do then quickly entered his Mental Realm.
Now they stood before the house. Izukie's house. "I'll see everything, right?" They asked Jaku.
"Yes." Jaku nodded simply. "You will experience everything that those memories have to offer."
"The good, the bad… the private… will I be aware of myself?"
"You will." Jaku answered. "You'll just be…taking a backseat as it were."
"That makes sense. Even her… thoughts will flood me too." I sighed, taking a deep breath. "Well, won't get anywhere standing here."
With that, I entered the door, and I was Izukie Mydoria.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
I huffed as I slapped the alarm, managing to get the button on the first try as I pulled the sheets off. Yawning, I blinked a few times as I smacked my lips.
I was greeted by the sunlit view of my bedroom. Various bands and heroes posters decorated my wall.
"Wake up lazy bones!" I heard a certain voice call out.
"Huh?" Confused, I got up, opening my bedroom door and seeing Katsuki there, already in her school uniform. "Katsuki? What are you doing here so early?"
"First day of school." Katsuki stated bluntly. "Dad wouldn't have it with me sleeping in late, and neither will you."
"School… crap, UA!" I remembered, quickly closing the door and like a hurricane got my uniform on and reopened the door. "I didn't sleep in did it?!"
"Not if we book it." Katsuki said with a grin. "Race ya there?"
"Do I have a choice?" I asked as we rushed to the school.
It has been our dream to get into this school, and become pro heroes just like All Might, the greatest hero ever.
We managed to make it inside and into our class. Class 1-A.
"Surprised we managed to both get into the same hero class." I commented, Katsuki sitting in the desk next to me.
"Yeah, surprised to be honest." Katsuki said, looking around the room carefully to see all the other student's here. "But a welcome one."
"Wonder what's taking the teacher so long?" I pondered.
As if on cue, the classroom door slid open with enough force to silence the room. Entering was a woman in an all black jumpsuit, some long white wrappings around her neck, wild unkempt hair and tired, red eyes.
"Get seated." She said in a low, authoritative tone that made any not in their seats rush to them as if the alternative was death itself. She walked to the center of the board in the front and faced us, as if analyzing us all. "My name is Ms. Aizawa. I will be your teacher for your hero course. I'd like to make myself very clear, any of you step out of line or fall behind, I will not hesitate to expel you on the spot."
In unison, everyone else in the class gulped.
And so began Class 1-A courses.
The next few hours were intense. We all had to do physical tests but see if our quirks would help us in it. Katsuki managed very well and I figured out a few tricks that gave me an edge.
By the end of class that day, two kids were expelled.
"I can't believe how intense Ms. Aizawa is…" I muttered in terror as Katsuki and I walked home.
"Yeah…" Katsuki shivered. "I…have to wonder why though…"
"I don't know, I just hope I can avoid her radar and pass this class… or see if I can transfer…" I said as we were walking home. Suddenly, nearby there was an explosion. Katsuki and I turned to see the smoke and some embers. "What the, a villain attack?" I asked.
"Ah shit…" Katsuki growled. "Come on, let's go see who's there."
With a nod I followed. We rushed through the crowds to see… what in the world…
Whatever or whoever they were, they were pale, deathly pale and grotesquely muscular, bits of armor and clothing fairly attached to their body. The new Hero, Mountain Man, was at full size and was having great difficulty restraining them.
"Crap, this one is strong." They huffed.
Suddenly, the villain broke free, grabbing Mountain Man's fingers and breaking them. The sickening cracking only outdone by Mountain Man's pained scream.
"I got you!" Kamui Woods called out, spreading her branch arms out and trying to wrap the villain up.
The villain broke their branch prison with ease, charging right at them and slamming them into the ground…
Splinters and blood sprayed out all around from the impact. When they raised their hand up, all that was left of Kamui Woods was splinters, torn clothes and a stain of blood and gore on the concrete.
Immediately the bystanders all screamed, running away from that… monster.
"That's…that's not a villain…" Katsuki said in absolute horror.
I grabbed her wrist. "Run!" I yelled as I pulled her with me as we ran. That things roar, breaking every glass window around us and ahead of us. Heroes ran by and past us rushing into help stop that thing. We just kept running.
We ran until we couldn't hear it's howls of bloodthirst and we finally were able to catch our breaths. "Katsuki…"
"What…what the fuck was that?"
"That… can't have been a person's Quirk, could it?"
"No…there's no way in hell that was a quirk." Katsuki shook their head. "This…this has to be some freak nightmare…"
"If it is, I'd like to wake up now…" I whined, tears dripping from my eyes… I… saw someone die…
"This is Charles Kunnuk, where's the target?" A voice around the corner said. Curious, Katsuki and I peaked. We saw a man, shaved purple hair, white skin tone and dressed in some odd looking combat armor. We managed to spot a very small earpiece in his left ear. "Affirmative, I'm in position."
"Who the hell is that?" Katsuki whispered. "I don't remember anyone looking like that…"
"That's definitely not a Hero costume. Military maybe?" I offered.
My blood went cold as suddenly that things roars started, and got closer. Soon we saw it appear on the same street as the man.
Despite it's now even bloodier body, the man did not flinch as he looked at it. My god… how many people did that thing kill?
The monster roared at the man, charging at him. Right as it swung it's arm the man moved. Faster than I could see he was now behind it and leg swiped it, his impact on the creature sending it flying into a nearby truck.
"Holy…" I muttered, eyes wide at what I just witnessed.
"Damn…" Katsuki added in as much shock as I was. "He kicked that thing like it was nothing…"
The beast wasn't done yet though. Rapidly it got out of the truck wreckage and jumped, trying to slam onto the man.
He sidestepped, the beast landing on the ground next to them and with another hard kick he sent it six feet into a small crater. Still it was not done and as it pulled itself from the ground the man pulled out a strange looking knife glowing black and green. He jabbed it into the monsters skull, and it roared, not in bloodlust or anger, but in pain.
When he pulled that knife out, the monster went limp. "Clean up team, target neutralized. How's the barrier?"
"H-hey!" Katsuki said, getting out of our cover to meet the new person. "What…what the fuck was any of that?"
"Katsuki?!" I yelped as I tried to pull her back.
The man looked over at us with an indifferent stare then looked back to the dead monster. "Orders? Understood." He said with a nod before looking back at us. "You two go home now."
"We can't just…go back home after seeing all that!" Katsuki said. "What the hell was that thing? And…how was it…strong enough to kill…"
"I'm afraid you'll know all in due time." He said, confusing us. "For now, go home. I imagine your parents must be worried sick."
"Will…this happen again?" Katsuki asked.
"... I can't promise anything." He said finally.
With that Katsuki and I went home. Dad was about a minute away from a heart attack by the time I got home.
The next morning the government issued a state of emergency. All schools were closed and all non essential businesses were also to be closed.
"This is so unsettling…" I said, my cell phone in my hand and Katsuki on the other end. "People online keep calling it an Alien Invasion."
"In some cases it might, cause I've searched everywhere online and neither the monster, nor that hero was anywhere on any list in the world." Katsuki explained.
"I doubt that guy was a Pro Hero. They don't kill." I said.
My bedroom door suddenly burst open. "Izukie, it's the TV! Come and see!" Dad said in a hurry.
"Gotta go, check your TV too." I told Katsuki before hanging up and rushing to the livingroom.
There on the TV was… woah…
The TV displayed the image of a… gorgeous woman. Long hair that seemed to be changing colors and multicolored eyes. Her clothes looked like they were made from leaves and her belly was huge! Easily nine months.
"Greetings everyone. I'm sorry to have to contact you all after such an event had passed." She spoke, her voice made me feel… safe. Like I was listening to mom talk to me. "I am afraid I have to bring you all some terrible news. Yesterday, creatures fell upon your world that destroyed and ended the lives of so many people. These creatures are known as Berserkers, a foot soldier used by the enemy of my people, my Family."
"I've…never heard of those before…" My dad said worriedly. "And…'fell to our world'? What, are aliens invading?"
"I imagine many of you are wondering at my wording if we, and the Berserkers are in fact Aliens. That would be a half correct assumption. You see, while it is true we do not hail from your world, we also do not come from your universe. My Family and all our subjects belong to a multidimensional empire of different dimensions, a multiverse of multiverses spanning the literal sense of infinity. However, our enemy is also a multidimensional empire, one that is far older and led by a being who goes by the name of Vincent. Despite his appearance, he is older than time and has seen the birth and destruction of countless realities, toying, warping or even erasing them All at a whim for the sake of causing mass destruction and chaos. His goal is to stop the cycle of universes being born and reborn once and for all. A final death for all and an end to infinity."
"That's…that's absolutely horrible!" My dad said in pure shock, holding me close as to both be some anchor to all this madness but also keep me safe in some capacity.
"My family came together to oppose his empire and stop him before he can achieve his goal. I am The Mother, and myself and my Family and the leaders of the Multidimensional Empire known as Connection. We have battled across countless universes and even The Void itself to try and keep as many worlds from entering the battlefield as possible… yesterday, your world fell into the battlefield, and is now part of the war for our very existence itself. I will not ask you all to sacrifice yourself in this conflict, but I ask for those who are willing, those who are strong and those who wish to protect others from Vincent and his Nexus Empire's madness from extinction. I ask you all, not as separate nations of your world but as a species whole, join my empire, and you will all have a chance at survival."
The TV cut out after that, going to static for a bit before turning off.
"That… was that all… true?" I asked.
"I…really hope it's not true but…" My dad started. "There…wouldn't be dead heroes if it wasn't…"
In two days, the planet Earth gave their answer. We joined the Connection Empire.
Things changed rapidly from there. Technology and medicine thought to be science fiction was real, curing practically all diseases overnight.
Crime rates basically dropped to zero, but Katsuki and I were still attending UA. Top of the class all got a chance to apply to be in one of the personal Guilds overseen by The Mother.
I still found it a tad strange the Connection Empire was run by a multitude of Guilds all overseen by The Family. Mainly to avoid internal corruption.
The three The Mother oversaw however were different. Unique, and the strongest. There was the Mother's Daughters. They focused on healing and defense. The Mother's Sons. Focusing on Attack and Offense. Lastly, there was The Time Walkers. The name alone gave everyone an idea on what they did but fact is no one really knew what they did exactly. All that was known is that they had a unique selection process.
"What Guild do you think we'll end up in?" I asked Katsuki.
"No idea." Katsuki shrugged. "But I hope to be apart of the Mother's Son's, cause I'm not really into all that healing crap." Katsuki said, letting out some small pops from her hand. "These explosions were made for busting heads, and that's just what I'll do."
"The author of that song is now turning in her grave." I said with a chuckle.
"Come on, no need to be like that." Katsuki whined. "I've been getting better at singing at least…"
"Your explosions have more vocal tone than you." I joked.
"I'll show you vocal tone if you don't stop sassin me." The blonde explosion girl said, but still had a warm friendly smile.
"Heh. I wonder what they have Ms. Aizawa doing? She looks even more tired than usual when she has those training sessions the night before."
"She's probably training to be strong enough to keep up with a lot of people." Katsuki shrugged. "And why they haven't made some super strong coffee to wake her up is beyond me."
"I bet they did and she developed an immunity to it." I said with a laugh.
Katsuki laughed as well. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure she would, no caffeine is strong enough for Ms. Aizawa."
"Jokes aside, she has gotten more… lenient, since those whole things with The Mother and Connection and all this started. She even brought back those two she expelled."
"Yeah, whatever got her panties in a twist are certainly untangled now." Katsuki shrugged.
Classes went about as normal. We got to know our classmates well and my biggest concern was exams. It was a more or less typical highschool life.
I sat twiddling my thumbs, nervous as all hell. Once we graduated UA a lot of us got the chance to apply to one of The Mother's guilds. I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't expecting to be waiting in a waiting room.
"It's gonna be alright." Katsuki said, sifting through one of the magazines they had. "While this is boring…we worked hard to get here ya know?"
"I know, but this is just the application process, they can deny us… also is it weird I wasn't expecting to be sitting in a waiting room?"
"I wasn't really expecting one either." Katsuki admitted. "I thought it was 'sign here, thanks, go to the job board' like guilds in video games do it."
"Well, guess it's so they can make sure each applicant actually does meet requirements." I sighed.
"Fair." Katsuki nodded. "But we've worked hard, harder than most to be honest. I know we're going to get into the Guilds."
"Izukie Mydoria, please enter the applicants room." The speaker announced.
"Well, wish me luck." I said.
"Good luck." Katsuki said simply with a thumbs up.
I walked through the doors and found myself in a rather dark room. The only light was above a desk where a Mother's Son, Mother's Daughter, and Time Walker sat.
"Izukie Midoriya. Quirk, Pyrokinesis." The Mother's Son stated, looking at a file before them.
"Uh…yes, hi." I answered nervously, trying to stay still and stoic even as I grew nervous at this near interrogation-esc room.
"Heart type?" The Mother's Daughter asked the Time Walker next to them.
"Could almost be a princess." The Time Walker said mockingly.
"Now then, Izukie Midoriya, why do you want to join the war effort?" The Mother's Son asked me.
"Uh…I don't remember it being called a 'War Effort'..." I brought up nervously. "I mean…now that I think about it, supporting the border's and keeping planet's safe from the villain's would be considered a 'war effort'..."
"Miss Izukie, this isn't like your world where there's just villains causing chaos for personal greed or twisted ideologies. Nexus and their troops deploy bio and magically engineered monsters, much like the Berserkers that are the reason your world is in such a state." The Mother's Son stated.
"Losing this war doesn't mean some villain gets away with money, murder or a crime. It means the death of everything. Forever." The Time Walker added.
"Please, miss Midoriya, answer honestly. What can you do for this war, why do you personally want to fight in it?" The Mother's Daughter asked.
I took a deep breath, collected my thought's the best I could, and just let it fly. "In simple terms, I want to help people, but in long terms…I grew up wanting to be a hero, saving innocent people from Villain's that endangered the lives of many, both their literal lives, or their livelihoods, I strived to be like All Might, a beacon of hope, justice, and good will that can pierce through the darkness, of the tyranny and fear villain's wanted to spread to the populace." I answered. "I want to be the Hero people Need, and Deserve."
The three looked between one another before nodding.
"Take this scenario." The Mother's Son spoke. "A refuge ship is struggling to escape a surprise attack by the enemy. Your base is also under attack, your allies holding their own but also they are closer than the refuge ship to your current position. Who do you help?"
I thought for a moment, trying to think of who to save in a double battle between refugees and my own base…the people that could live on or my fellow soldiers that could live on to fight another day. "I'd rush to help the refugees." I answered. "While it would hurt to leave my comrades behind for the moment, the refugees' safety comes first."
"Next scenario. Rations are getting scarce. There is an enemy cache nearby, likely booby trapped, but the supplies within can feed everyone well until the next supply shipment. Do you risk your life for the benefit of the rest?"
"Yes." I answered without hesitation. "If there's anything I can do to help the people in dire need, then I'll risk my life for it."
"Final question." The Time Walker spoke up. "You stand the sole survivor of the battle. It's just you left alive and one final Nexus soldier. They are all that remains of that empire, they are injured, yet still they curse and defy your Victory. Do you kill them, or do you imprison them?"
"I'd imprison them." I answered. "Cause…even if they're the most terrible person in existence…there's always room for a second chance."
"Alright then." The Mother's Daughter said. "Izukie Midoriya, the Mother's Daughters welcome you to the guild."
I blinked at that. "W-wait…I passed!?" I exclaimed in shock.
"This interview was never to determine if you would be rejected or not, it was to determine which of the guilds you would best fit into, and the Mother's Daughters are perfect for you."
"Yes!" I cheered happily. "Oh, uh…sorry." I blushed in embarrassment at the outburst of joy. "But…thank you so much for accepting me." I bowed respectfully.
With that I walked out the doors, I spotted Katsuki standing at her chair.
"So, give me the details." Katsuki asked me.
"I got into the Mother's Daughters." I said happily. "They asked me some questions and scenarios and when it was done said I was in."
"That's fantastic!" Katsuki said, rushing over and giving me a big congratulatory hug. "I knew you would get in."
"Heh, thanks." I said, hugging her back.
"Katsuki Bakugou, please enter the applicants room." The speaker said.
"Well, that's your cue."
"Wish me luck." Katsuki nodded, strutting off with more confidence than I originally did.
I waited for her to come out. Wondering which guild she'll be in.
An hour passed and I was getting worried now. Finally though, she came out of the room, and to my surprise she was holding a weapon… Keyblade, I think they were called, the ones the Time Walkers use. She had this… far off look on her face. "Katsuki?" I asked, walking up to her.
"Well…I…I made it in…" Katsuki answered carefully, looking down at the Keyblade. "Just…not sure if I like what…I now know…"
"Now know?"
"So…I'm a part of the Time Walkers…" Katsuki answered. "And…I'll leave it at that…"
That didn't stop me worrying. "Well, want to take your mind off of it? We can go see a movie or… maybe get a bite to eat?"
"That…would be for the best…" Katsuki nodded. "Well…we both passed, so let's splurge a little." She said, at least getting a little bit of that confident smile of her's back.
"And I thought UA training sucked…" I groaned, back in the infermy. This time I shattered my legs… again…
"Don't worry, it gets better over time." One of the doctor's said honestly.
I sighed as I sat and opened up my Assistant. These weird magic/technology devices somehow put into our very DNA. They're really useful. I called up Katsuki, and thankfully she picked up. "Hey, back in the infermy again." I started.
"Again? This is the third time this week." Katsuki chuckled.
"I know, this training is way more intense than I imagined. Then again, given our enemy…" I sighed. "What about you, how's Time Walker training going?"
"I'd love to train…but as you can clearly see…" Katsuki then showed me…three stacks of paperwork. "Apparently these assholes are bureaucrats…the paper cuts my girl…the paper cuts…"
"Seriously? All the mystery around the Time Walkers and they are all paperwork? Yeesh, you must be in your own personal hell right now."
"Trust me, I have went through their training and…well I'm really glad they had a weird time chamber to heal me back to full." Katsuki said. "But all of this is a lot of the mystery cause there's some shit here that I'm never allowed to explain to people…also yes, this is my own personal hell…"
"Really, the whole 'if I tell you I'll have to kill you' trope?"
"More like MIB where I have to literally erase part of your memory cause you're not allowed to learn at least half this shit." Katsuki shrugged. "Seriously…this is a nightmare and a half…" Katsuki slammed her forehead into her desk.
"Here's another batch." Someone offscreen said as I heard a 'thud' and Katsuki slammed her head into the desk again.
I laughed. "Maybe next time we get to meet up, you can leave the paperwork at the desk?"
"Hopefully…" Katsuki sighed. "Thankfully, they know for a fact I won't get all of this done, so they're giving me training lessons and days off, so yippee for me." She admitted. "So, when's your next day off from training?"
"Well the potions they gave me will fix my legs to normal in a few days so, maybe when I'm able to walk in crutches in a day or two we can meet up."
"That would be fantastic." Katsuki nodded.
My few days of potion healing got me in crutches and I was finally able to meet up with Katsuki again.
We met up in a sushi bar.
"So you have to wear that clock all the time or?" I asked. Since becoming a Time Walker, Katsuki has been wearing a black and neon blue hooded cloak, the Time Walker uniform, almost every time I see her. It looks neat, and the moving hourglass on the back is a cool feature, but every day?
"Not everyday, when I have a day off I can take it off." Katsuki answered. "But shockingly, this is a rather comfy cloak."
"Really? Does it count as armor too?"
"Yes actually." She nodded. "This is made out of a really strong reinforced fiber. Can stop quite a lot of things."
"That's impressive." I said with a nod as I ate some of my sushi. "So, it's just paperwork and training?"
"For right now yeah." Katsuki nodded. "I won't be going off and doing some real Time Walker stuff till they know I'm ready."
"And how will they know when you're ready?"
"The Time Walker's quite literally have all the time in the world to figure that out." Katsuki shrugged. "Cause…well, the name speaks for itself." Katsuki shrugged, wincing a little and lightly rubbing bandaged hands. "Fucking papercuts…"
"I take it you're avoiding citrus and salt then?"
"Like the goddamn plague." Katsuki groaned. "You have no idea how bad it is when I can't salt certain foods…they taste a little bland without it."
"Explains why you're avoiding soy sauce." I chuckled. "So, how much are they paying you? The Mother's Daughter's are paying me about ten grand a week." I still can't believe how much the Connection Empire pays for minimum wage compared to old earth. I make WAY more than enough to sustain my lifestyle.
"Same, but considering I'm learning to time travel and be some weird 'vague fortune telling secret agent' half the time…probably a lot more when I'm done with training."
"Yeah, fair. They tell me that if I perform well after basic training and go up in the guild rankings I'll be making more with each rank. As is, I'm making more money than I even know what to do with so… no idea what I'd even do with that much spending cash."
"Same, sure I could finally start buying all the crap I've been wanting to collect for ages, but even then that's more money than a pretty good house and everything in between."
"I suppose." I sighed. "At least I know with the money I make now, Mom and Dad can relax and just enjoy life. Finally mom can be home rather than away for work."
"By the way, who is your mom?" Katsuki asked. "Out of all the years we've hung out, I've never seen hide nor hair of her, even in photos."
"Yeah, mom isn't very photogenic. She works as a Navy captain, or, well, used to." I said, opening up my Assistant. "Now that she and dad are retired I've gotten a few photos of her." I said, showing Katsuki a recent photo of mom in some simple attire, her pitch black hair and golden eyes looking at the camera in surprise. "Heh, she's always been camera shy."
"Damn." Katsuki blinked. "Now I know where you get all that 'no makeup but still look gorgeous' luck from."
"Oh hush." I said, blushing a bit. "I just don't know what to do with all that stuff. Plus, my dad did raise me so, no real help there. Though he was always good at fixing up my hair."
"One thing I'll give your dad credit for, is that he's a goddamn wizard when it comes to hair styling." Katsuki chuckled.
"He used to be a stylist. That's how he and mom met actually. She walked in, needed something pretty for a meeting, then they got to talking and mom asked for a business card. Regular customer became dates, love and then I came along. Dad knew how much mom's military career meant to her so he became a stay at home dad but he does still go to the old salon he used to work at when they ask."
"That's fair." Katsuki nodded. "Had to work at a pretty good salon if they could fix this mop of hair on a bad day." Katsuki chuckled, remembering that bad hair day.
"Heh, yeah. So, how have your parents been?"
"They've been doing well." She answered. "They've been super excited because of my new job."
"Really? Heh, well at least that's all well there. Dad's actually really happy I ended up in the Mother's Daughters. Think's it's the safest place for me. Mom just wants me to do my best and if I want to learn how to climb ranks she'll give me some tips on how to do that." I chuckled. "Frankly, I dunno. So long as I can start helping people once basic is over with I'll be alright."
"As long as we're gonna be the heroes we've worked hard to be, then it'll all be worth it." Katsuki said with a smile.
"Keep those attack bots at a distance!" My commander yelled.
With a nod and some spit I set a fire that rapidly began spreading across the ground, turning rock and soil to molten slag as enemy monsters all rapidly began sinking and burning into it.
Gunner troops kept their fire up and the ranged bombers all kept unleashing their bombardments.
"Damn, how many of these things are there?"
"I have no idea." I shook my head, wondering where they're all coming from at this point.
It's been three years since basic, and every waking moment since deployment has been fight after fight. The hordes of these Nexus monsters have been… impossible.
If the monsters weren't enough, the soldiers, the Nexus people. They were… worse, than some of the worst recorded villains in history. They didn't just kill us, they enjoyed it. They took extreme satisfaction in watching us die in any way they were able.
I was just happy for every swarm of monsters, there was only one of them. That was also who we had to… remove, to stop these monsters from coming.
"Just…deal with the monster's, support the fighters…" I muttered, trying not to think about myself having to kill someone, just beat the monster's and help the people that need it.
I kept up the walls of fire, keeping the monsters at bay or incinerating them if lucky.
The hours passed and the battle continued.
Then, I spotted them. The Nexus Soldier. He was clad in their basic armor, a full body pleated jumpsuit made from Dark Monofilament, the strongest metal in existence, a nanometer of it can withstand a sun's explosion, and they use it on their armor, weapons and vehicles.
So do we.
"There's the soldier!" My commander called out. "Take aim!"
In a blink, the Nexus soldier was gone.
"He's in the perimeter!" Someone shouted.
I kept rapidly turning, spinning and seeing one by one my fellow soldiers fall. Blood sprayed into the air as their limbs were sliced off or their bodies torn apart in rapid speed and violence.
I panicked, rapidly breathing out fire and swarming it around me.
I felt them grasp my neck, and I screamed.
My fire turned into a blinding white, the Nexus Soldier let go of my neck as my white flames coated their hand, then arm and cloaked over their head and soon their body. The flames were actually melting the dark monofilament platting and once it was slag on the ground their body rapidly began turning to ash.
I stood there, watching in shock as the last of their body was reduced to melted metal and ash blowing in the wind.
"Oh…oh God…" I muttered in absolute horror at…my first human kill…
I felt bile build up in my throat until I started puking. I'm supposed to be a hero. I'm supposed to save people… not… not…
"Another planet fell into the warzone?" I asked Katsuki. Since I discovered my flames can… melt Dark Monofilament, after some therapy… I was promoted to a special division within the Mother's Daughters. I'm a Commander now. Meaning I get my own team and it's mixed Guild, meaning I work with a commander from the Time Walkers and the Mother's son's. Hence why Katsuki is here. She's thankfully one of my Co-commanders.
"Sadly." Katsuki sighed. "Rat bastards used Time Runners to do some hit and run tactics and fucked some of our supply lines, just enough for us to lose it."
"Didn't you manage to capture one of them or something?"
"Yes." Katsuki nodded. "Synthetic pricks been practically begging for death every time most people do a thing…though he seems especially confused when we say 'second chance' for some reason…more of the devout would sooner laugh at us with that statement…"
"Well, if he's a synthetic then maybe it's because he was built to only know Nexus and their goals. Odds are things like Second Chances or even happiness are unknown to him."
"Most likely." Katsuki admitted. "Considering what we've…sadly had to see and experience, I'd say he's just confused and scared more so a threat."
"Well… maybe I can talk to him…" I said, looking at my hands. "Ever since I learned my fire can melt their armor… I just want to save someone, just once…"
"I know…" Katsuki sighed out, looking at her hands. "Believe me…I want to save people to…I just…didn't expect it to be this bad…"
"What's their name?"
"Three."
The next day I managed to meet Three… or rather, their head.
"Uhm… so why is he just a head?" I asked.
"He's a Time Runner." Katsuki answered. "So better to make sure he doesn't phase through stuff and escape or cause havoc."
"Why are you even keeping me alive?" The chrome metallic skin head of Three asked. His eyes were fairly humanoid, save a gear design of his iris and his hair was thin strands of metal that somehow acted like normal hair. "You've already questioned me for as much as you need."
"Listen, we don't do that here." Katsuki answered simply.
"Why?"
"We're here to keep people safe, not slaughter everything all willy nilly." Katsuki answered. "Even Nexus soldier's if possible."
"Why?"
"And now we get into the cycle of him asking 'why' all the time…" Katsuki grumbled. "Because we give people second chances asshole."
"Why?"
I chuckled, kneeling down to be at eye level with Three's head. "Tell me this Three. If you could do anything, anything at all not based on what Nexus built you to do and be, what would you do?"
"I… do not know? What else is there aside from orders and warfare?"
"A lot, if you're willing to try some of them." I said, patting the Synthetic's head.
"He proposed?!" Katsuki screeched in surprise.
"I know!" I yelled back in pure joy.
It had been four years since I met Three. A year of teaching him there was more to life than orders, and war. Another year is him proving himself to The Family and earning a place within the Time Walkers. Nothing official, just a consultant/under the table agent. And two magical years of being together with him. It amazes me how… anatomically correct Nexus made him…
Not that I've ever complained~
"There's so much planning to do, who else did you tell?" Katsuki asked, looking ready to explode harder than her quirk does.
"My mom and dad and from there I know they'll tell everyone else." I chuckled, looking at the ring on my finger and rubbing it gently. "We don't have a date yet but I'm hoping you'd be my bridesmaid."
"Yes, I would love to be your bridesmaid." Katsuki said with the biggest smile I've seen on her face in years.
"I can't wait. And with the war going so well, we might be able to really enjoy married life off a battlefield. How long has it been?"
"Years…" Katsuki said, trailing off as they had that far away look again. "Jesus…it's been so long…and…" Katsuki took a deep breath, doing the same thing she's done multiple times she's been remembering something important that she can't tell me. "Things will go great."
"Being a Time Walker really helped you to manage your temper. Remember how angry you'd get at anyone and everyone?"
"Yeah…" Katsuki nodded. "Really explosive…but now…my action's can go one of two ways at this point…and I don't like one of those paths…" She said, holding my hands a little tighter.
"Hey, it's alright. And maybe you'll finally find someone too. Miss terminally single."
"Yeah…maybe…" The explosion woman said slowly, looking like she wanted to say something very important but shaking her head…like she's been doing for a long time now.
"Well, anyway, I was hoping to see if you still kept in touch with anyone from our UA days? Been a while since we've seen any of them and this is a good chance to reconnect with our old classmates."
"Thankfully I've been able to keep up with most of them…sadly a few have…drifted ever since we got involved in the war." Katsuki sighed out. "But I'm sure a lot of them would be happy to attend your wedding Izukie."
"Heh, feels almost unreal to be getting married."
"Yeah, lucky you." Katsuki said. "Glad to see you super happy about the future Izukie."
"For once… I am really happy about it. For a long time I've just been unsure and worried given the war, but for once, I'm happy."
"Glad to hear that." Katsuki nodded. "And I'll make sure to keep you happy, no matter what." She promised.
"Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me?!" Three yelled as he kicked a desk through a nearby wall. "All the fighting, all the deaths and we finally beat Vincent just to have the Maker of this whole damn reality swoop in and pick up where Nexus left off! Reviving them even!"
"Damn it…" I growled.
Finally, years of fighting, years of loss and now, now when we finally win… the battle still wages over some, some, All Maker?!
"This is some horseshit." Katsuki growled. "Can't we just enjoy our fucking victory and live happily ever after? And what's this Infinity Blade asshole gotta do with all this?"
"According to The Mother he seems to be the one who originally built the… Machine, the thing that houses our very existence." Three huffed. "Only question is, if they did that and they are that powerful then why bring back Nexus, why restart the war? He could wipe us out with a snap like Thanos."
"Either for some bullshit 'You're not prepared' bullshit, or because he finds it hilarious to torture us more." Katsuki frowned.
"If it's the latter, then he probably wants to enjoy it… or, he doesn't have that much power anymore?" I suggested. "Like, they were imprisoned for all this time, they can't be at full power… which in itself is depressing given how strong they are now."
"Yeah…" Katsuki frowned. "But…what if it's the former?" Katsuki brought up. "What if this is some weird test to see if we're…ready for the outside world?"
"Bastard has a funny way of testing us. So many dead already and now he's taken this fight to every universe in the realms." Three huffed.
"There…has to be something we can do…" Katsuki frowned. "We didn't come this far to be halted by some guy in a dumbass mask."
"We fight." I said simply. "We fight the Nexus troops, and The Family fights the All Maker. We have to keep holding out, just like we've been." I stated.
"... We will survive this." Three said, taking my hand gently. "You proved to me there is a lot to experience in this world… and I'm not going to experience a thing until you and I can own a, a quiet cottage on some country planet and our lazy days together doing everything we've been planning."
I teared up a bit, looking Three in the eyes as I pulled him in and gave him a kiss. It always amazed me how warm his metal lips were.
"And if all thing's work out, I know the best place for the both of you." Katsuki said honestly.
"Thanks Katsuki." I said with a nod.
She smiled then turned to leave, heading out the door as I sighed.
"Still find it hard to believe huh?" Three asked me.
"She's had a crush on me for so long… I got married in front of her and… ugh… I feel like a really bad friend…" I sighed. Then I blushed. "I… should we wait… to, ask her?"
"It was your idea." Three laughed. "I remember when you found out harems were legal under the Connection Empire. I've only seen you turn that red a few times."
"Heh… yeah… Think she'd go for it? Joining us in our… marriage?"
"It will be awkward for sure but, she'll probably jump for it." Three said.
"I hope she does… she deserves the same happiness you and I share. And if we can give that to her then… we will give it to her. But… I was hoping to ask her after all the fighting ended…"
"We will. It will just have to wait longer…"
"Looks like…" I sighed.
"Three, how much further to the destress call location?" I asked as we were rushing across the endless battlefield.
"Three more minutes and we'll be right on top of it." He replied from next to me.
"We're not gonna be too late to this." Katsuki brought up.
"We better not be." Three stated.
Ever since the All Maker brought back Nexus and reignited the war, the whole of creation, every planet, dimension, every inch of space and even the unforgiving twisted corruption of The Void had become a battle ground.
Nowhere was safe.
We made it to the source of the distress call. A beaten old cargo ship half melted into now littered field of space. So many ships, chunks of planets, and other various space debris made up a seemingly infinite wreckage of land that we called the Battlefield.
We entered the shi-
Psht!
"Shit!" I yelped, feeling a sharp pain in my arm. A bullet?! "It's a trap!" I yelled and on cue, the hiding Nexus soldiers all came out and began firing.
Katsuki immediately bolted towards the oncoming hail of bullets, dodging and blocking every bullet with keen precision. "We need to make a path and get to cover now!"
"No problem!" Three yelled with malice as he activated his Speed, phasing through their bullets and through every soldier. When he was done they all collapsed to the ground. Still, lifeless.
We began running through the ship to outside when-
Pain exploded from where I was shot. I collapsed, screaming as it felt like my arm was tearing itself off.
"Izukie?!" Three yelped as he rushed to my side. "What's happening?!"
"I- the bullet-" I coughed, blood, a lot of blood mixed with saliva came out, staining the ground under me.
"Shit, the bullet was poisoned!" Three called.
"Are you fucking kidding me!?" Katsuki shouted angrily. "Three get her out of here!"
Without needing to be told twice, Three picked me up and ran.
It was all a blur to me. The pain, all I can remember is coughing as my arm's seiring pain spread to my chest, legs, and head. Finally it was everywhere and despite the agony, I was aware of everything still.
The feeling of my body like it was decaying with me still inside of it. Blood flooding out my mouth, my eyes, my nose and ears. Anywhere it could flow from, it was.
I couldn't comprehend the world around me. My mind was drowning in agony as my body kept feeling like it was being torn apart over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and…
It stopped…
It's dark…
I woke up screaming, curling into a ball as I felt along myself… that pain… I can still feel it.
"Izuku!" Delilah yelped as she wrapped me into a hug. All I could do was cry.
Jaku was standing next to me, also crying from the pain. "And…that's the highlights of Izukie…"
I did nothing but cry as the others held me. That pain… it drove her, drove me mad. Hours passed and even after the tears dried up, I just sat there, lost in a blank mind. I didn't want to think or feel anything…
Eventually, someone grabbed my shoulder. I looked over and saw… "Katsuki?" I asked her.
She looked down at me with a solemn expression, taking a seat next to me and hugging me.
"I'm sorry…" Katsuki said sadly, holding me a little tighter.
"I… found out." I said. "About your crush."
"Y-yeah…I wanted to ask so bad…but…well, I didn't know when cause…Time Walker business makes knowing what's actually going to happen weird…"
"She was… I was going to invite you in." I said, Katsuki pulling back and looking at me. "After… Three pointed it out, I felt… horrible, for not knowing, for not realizing… we wanted to ask you after beating Gray… but then the All Maker showed up… we wanted to wait until… until all the fighting was over…"
"I…I knew that…I saw that possible future….but…" Katsuki teared up. "Damn this future vision bullshit…" Katsuki growled bitterly.
"I was aware… all the pain, all across my body…" I shivered. "What… what kind of poison was that?"
"The kind meant to kill Admins." She stated bitterly. "It attacks the Code, forcing your body to instantly develop every disease in existence at once, but prevent you from blacking out from pain or fully ever losing consciousness or killing you instantly. Made to make you suffer until your Code can't handle the strain anymore and you…" She shivered.
"... Katsuki… is Izukie's soul all that's missing from me?"
"You…you have no idea what's truly missing Izuku…"
"I… Midoriya." I said. "As I am I don't feel like I'm Izukie, but I also don't feel like Izuku, I'm… I feel like both. I have her memories, and a body that as I am now is basically her… what am I missing besides her soul?"
"Her Heart…" She answered sadly. "The…most important part of her…"
"Her… Heart?" I questioned.
"The culmination of her emotions, thoughts, feelings…it makes a person whole."
"How is that different from a soul?"
"A Heart is the culmination of a person's thoughts, feelings, and personality, while the soul basically says 'your alive'." Katsuki explained. "That's why a lot of people say 'the heart matters most', cause it shows how important you as a person are, not just 'your hearts still beating', there's plenty of Undead creatures that count as 'alive'."
"And her soul is in the Afterlife, which you've said is a place and hasn't been found yet… What about the Heart?"
"Those can be reformed with time, or I have to make a very important call for a favor that horny fluff snake owes me." Katsuki answered.
"What?" I asked. "Do I want to know?"
"Not really, unless you want to learn some lewd things." Katsuki shrugged.
"Considering I remember and felt what I and Three did… not much explanation needed." I said, blushing. "And I thought Delilah was a pervert…"
"Oh trust me, you sweet summer child." Katsuki gently patted my head. "Don't look up a person named Rune if you value your sanity."
"You said that to Izukie- me, before. But you said not to look up the 'King's Greatest Bedroom Hip Breakers' of any volume."
"I mean…that still holds true." Katsuki said. "Seriously…there's a lot of porn you don't want to look up…and at least King is more tame depending on the issue they weren't forced in."
"And you know that how?" I asked as Katsuki blushed a bit and looked away.
"King helped me grieve…and let's just say…those were some wild nights." She admitted. "The talks helped more than the sex but…hot damn…."
"Wait," I said, standing up and looking her right in the eyes. "You slept with one of The Family?! And the one known most for their porn?!"
"Listen, it was a rough two centuries okay?" She countered. "Those two fluff balls were some of the first people to come see me and Three, trying to help us grieve through Izukie's death…literally anything to help us…for me it helped a bit, though I still wish…it was all with Izukie…" The explosion time walker sighed out. "But Three…poor Three…"
"So Three didn't… didn't cheat? I mean I get I was dead but-" I stopped myself. "Woah. Having two completely different life's worth of memories up here… I really am becoming both Izukie and Izuku huh?"
"He didn't, but he also tried to physically assault them in his grief, but…thankfully they have a lot of experience dealing with grieving people, so he eventually calmed down…enough." Katsuki sighed. "Believe me…it was terrible for the both of us…and that's why I told you I have more blood on my hands than you can ever imagine…"
"Hmm…" I sighed. "Do you think you can help me find them? The Heart and Soul of Izukie?"
"Yes." Katsuki nodded. "Even if I have a metric fuck ton of work, I can push all that aside to…to getting Izukie back…" Katsuki said, holding both my hands this time. "You…you have no idea how much I miss Izukie…no amount of help from The Family, sexual or otherwise, could really help the pain in my heart…" She said, though…it felt more like she was talking to Izukie more than me at this point.
"Katsuki, I have all her memories. If I take her Heart and Soul in, what does that make me? Cause right now, I feel like both already."
"Well…" Katsuki hummed. "Have you seen Steven Universe yet?" She inquired. "Cause it would be like Gem Fusion, where both of you are technically one brand new person, but can split off into two separate people if you want."
"Oh… neat. So… question… where does this put us?" I asked. "Cause, I'm not quite either and, all these memories I just… how do you see me, right now?"
"It's…complicated…" Katsuki sighed out. "Cause while I still see the adorkable little Izuku I adopted, and helped get used to this world when I wasn't busy with work…I'm also seeing..the woman I loved, the wonderful Izukie that's been with me through thick and thin…"
"And here I am, memories of both but not quite either at the moment." I said. "Maybe with time we can figure it out. Awkward moments and all that aside, I still want to make you happy Katsuki."
"You being here helps me extremely." Katsuki said with a warm smile.
"So… I know that now I have two sets of memories, and when I first got this body using Pyrokinesis felt all too natural. I wondered…" I said, bringing up my Assistant and checking… "Katsuki…?"
"What up?" Katsuki inquired.
"Abilities and all that are genetic, just like Quirks are, right?"
"For the most part yes." Katsuki nodded.
"... And Izukie… I had… a lot, before…" I said, looking at the now… massive amounts of Skills and Abilities and spells and… classes and rankings…
"If there's anyone that took this new RPG style system harder than a dehydrated man to a freshwater lake, it would be Izukie." Katsuki chuckled. "She spent a lot of time getting all the skills, classes, rankings, just having a blast with it."
"I can… see…" I said, remembering all that myself. "Still, I'd like to train Izuku's abilities seeing as Izukie's… are pretty much all good."
"Well, now that you have both sets, you can mix and match Izukie's abilities with yours given you have All for One and One for All."
"Yeah… wait, both sets…" I muttered. "Umm… what does the fusion body of a male a female make gender wise?" I asked
"Hermaphrodite." Katsuki answered simply. "Both sets of genitalia, all the positives and negatives of both genders, and a lot more common in this world either through choice or just born with it."
I face-palmed. Well it looks like Jaku got to be right about me being both. "Somehow I'm not surprised that came back to bite me in the butt."
"Told ya." Jaku chuckled.
"It'll take some getting used to." Katsuki said honestly.
"... Personal experience or…?" I asked.
"I was just curious about it for a couple of years." Katsuki answered. "When your as long lived as I am…sometimes you just do things."
"And I'm guessing that you've done a lot since then?"
"Yes, yes I have." Katsuki nodded.
"Huh… well… I'm gonna… adjust to… dual memories and… being a hermaphrodite…" I said. "Hopefully Delilah doesn't jump me immediately…"
"And you just jinxed." Jaku teased.
The next two weeks I spent getting used to all these memories and my new body. Being only male or only female. Being both is… different. I look almost completely female… save the… male parts right in front of my… female parts.
Delilah obviously found out and thankfully all she's done is get me some special underwear hermaphrodites, and felt me up… more than usual.
Other than that, not too much changed for me overall. I'm used to seeing this face in the mirror now. So much like Izuku's, Izukie's face. Both yet none. Just Midoriya.
I sat on the front porch of our home. The farm was coming along very nicely. Wheat, grapes and all that was starting to sprout.
"Weird how thing's can change so fast huh?" Jaku commented, somehow finding some mental rocking chair and cowboy hat as he gently rocked back and forth.
"What's with that get up?" I asked.
"Am I not allowed to have a little fun with some farmer get up?" Jaku asked.
"Last I checked farmers don't wear black and red tuxedos and fancy dress shoes."
"Eh." Jaku shrugged. "So, how are you holding up being…a new person Midoriya?"
"Honestly… not bad." I said, looking at my hands. "Izukie had the life Izuku always wanted. Was a hero, a quirk, but Izuku has a life here, people who want to be with them. I have the memories and power of a long dead person, and the life of someone who's just beginning to live. I'd say something poetic about that but, nothing comes to mind." I shrugged.
"I mean, considering we're about to help Izuki come back to life after being dead for untold millenia, I'd say this 'second chance' is poetic enough."
"Fair enough." I nodded. "Think… she'll want to be her own person after?" I asked.
"Well, that depends, what do you feel about Three and Katsuki?" Jaku inquired. "Do you truly feel anything for the two? Or will you keep it a distance from Three and keep thinking of Katsuki as your adoptive mother?"
"Honestly… I'm not sure." I said. "Izukie's memories of them are… wonderful and… seeing Three… yeah…" I blushed. "I think… for Three, there is something. Born from experiencing those memories. As for Katsuki… all these memories. From her since Izuku met her growing up with Izukie… I think there can be something there… but, I won't know for sure. Not until Izukie's Heart and Mine meet. Then, I can really talk to her and… see what happens."
"Fair enough." Jaku nodded. "It's going to be a long and difficult road to find the Afterlife…but I'm sure we'll find it."
"I'm guessing given what Katsuki said, it will be easier to find her Heart first."
"We either find her Heart, or it regrow's naturally." Jaku said. "Cause Heart's are a little weird like that, and if you really need confirmation on that, look up a race known as 'Nobody's', that'll give you all the explanation on why Heart's are weird."
"Huh… fair enough. Well, guess for now I'll work on Izuku's abilities, make and combine new ones, and I guess continue with dating the others."
"That would be the best right now." Jaku nodded. "And you have quite a bit of work to do with all of Izukie's boundless amount of skill's and classes."
"Yeah. I bet One For All is having a field day huh?"
"Yes, yes they are." Jaku nodded.
"Thought so." I chuckled. "So, question is… what to do now?"
"What do you want to do?" Jaku inquired. "Dates, training, seeing if you want to learn more about your adoptive mother's sex life?"
"Rather not dive into that until after we get Izukie's Heart. As is the fact she's been in bed with one of or several members of The Family is still hard to process."
"Believe it or not, some of the more intimate form's of physical contact has been used for therapy in this world." Jaku answered. "Sometimes it's to help vent frustrations, to help others trust in other's by doing something so intimate and letting them let go of their walls, and sometimes…well, just to have someone there for you."
"You really wanna fool around with Toga don't you?"
"I mean…can you blame me?" Jaku asked. "Have you even seen her thighs? Her hips don't lie and neither shall I."
"I still only been with Delilah and only kissed the others. Memories with Three aside, not much experience in looking at people and seeing a sexual desire. Which… I'm assuming given what you are, means all that is actually in you."
"I am you if I wasn't hindered by self-deprecation, bullying, and a great bit of depression." Jaku said. "I'm the thought's, feelings and emotions you sadly had to suppress because of your past life."
"Well, definitely got to get you your own body to let you express yourself in… a preferably non-violent way. Guess I best look into that too. Having you helping me on the battlefield would be great."
"It would." Jaku nodded. "Plus, I can help show you how to use some of your powers in a bit more…creative ways." Jaku shrugged. "Was still cool to form a giant robot arm from Slot Machines and beat the shit out of a Tank."
"I will admit, that was impressive." I nodded. "Well, if anything, building this farm was… fun. Maybe I'll make farming a hobby of mine. Mom always loved gardening. Dad just never was able to get her a home she could grow one in." I said.
"True." Jaku nodded. "And I'm sure mom would love this…heh, even after all this time…homesickness is still a hell of a thing."
"Yeah…" I said, sighing. "Still, I like to think mom would be happy, even if it's just me trying to convince myself to keep from feeling so upset."
"Better to keep busy, doing stuff with people that care about you than getting upset." Jaku nodded.
"Yeah… well, guess I best start doing… something. And if you say someone is something I will hit you."
"What do you mean I'm not something?" Delilah asked out of nowhere.
"You should know better than to say thing's in earshot of Delilah." Jaku chuckled.
"Yeah, heh. Well, best get to work then." I said, standing up.