A/N: Merry Christmas! I didn't intend to publish this for a while, as my plan was to get back to my usual schedule of every five weeks once I finished my Kamino chapter, but in the spirit of the season, I decided to be generous. The title comes from the lyrics for Sora Ni Utaeba

Rewind

Chapter XII: Narubeku Shite Naru Mirai Da,

Or The Future is Determined

A few days after returning from I-Island, Hagakure texted the rest of 1-A to suggest that they all meet up at a mall near UA to go shopping for any last-minute items. However, unlike Izuku's first life, everyone was going. Since Shoto lived at the dorms and his mom had been transferred, he would easily be able to both visit her and go on the shopping trip. Kacchan on the other hand had grown to at least tolerate most of the class … and he just couldn't say no to Kirishima at all any longer, so he was also joining them. Once the time had been set, Izuku sent a text to Momo and Kacchan asking them to prepare meals for the day they left for the camp.

Creati: Why would we need to do that?

Ground Zero: Because Aizawa-sensei is the sadistic type to have us start training before we even get to the camp, why else? I'm betting that he will get us close and then drop us off, expecting us to get there on our own while dealing with obstacles that he set up beforehand.

Valiant: Kacchan has a point, Momo. He did lie to us about the 'logical ruse' on our first day. Aizawa-sensei has a history of expelling entire classes on a whim. Besides, isn't it better to be safe than sorry? Considering how hard he's been pushing us; I think he's trying to get us licensed this year. A third-year I know says that no one has gone through what we have since All Might made his debut, and back then, students were licensed as quickly as possible to deal with the number of villains that were roaming about.

Creati: … I'll get to work right away. Bakugou, let me know who you'll cover, and I'll do the rest.

Izuku smiled before changing into his workout clothes to meet with Toshi-sensei the next morning. Just as he opened the door though, he was stopped. "Izuku, we need to talk," Kacchan stated. Izuku raised an eyebrow. Kacchan only called him by his proper name when it was serious, and he looked more serious than Izuku had seen since his revelation at the end of the Sports Festival. Toshi-sensei would have to wait.


Once at the Kiyashi Ward mall, 1-A actually stuck together while getting things they all needed before splitting up for more personal items. Before they split up though, they were once again recognized, some from the Sports Festival, others from their more recent activities. "Hey, which of you are actually members of the Overcomers?" one of them asked. "Three of you were at Hosu, then an extra seven at I-Island, so how many of you are members?"

Fortunately, they had actually discussed it after the newspapers reported on their presence, so Izuku had a definitive answer. "We're all Overcomers, the entirety of 1-A. I'd intended to only form the group after we'd graduated but … well, circumstances forced our hands."

"So, the group was planned? What's the intent?" another asked.

"Although we would operate as individual heroes, should the need arise, we would team up to defeat any threat that comes our way. Any hero would be welcome to join or leave as they saw fit so long as the group remained," Izuku explained. "As for our intent, it's nothing less than to replace All Might as the Symbol of Peace."

The entire crowd was utterly shocked at the answer, even more so than his classmates had been. The silence was only broken when one person spoke up, saying "Replace the Symbol of Peace? That's a lofty goal. Do you mind if we talk about that?"

Izuku immediately recognized the voice as "Shimura Tenko! Of course, we can." He turned to his classmates and told them "Go on without me, I'll only be a few minutes."

Most of them did so, but Shoto and Kacchan had recognized the name. "Are you sure you'll be alright, Izuku?" Shoto asked. "I could let Toshinori-sensei know if you want."

"I can't believe I'm agreeing with Icy-Hot, but he has a point. The last time you two met, you hurt your leg," Kacchan agreed. Kirishima, who had stayed with Kacchan raised his eyebrows in alarm, as he immediately figured out who Shimura actually was. As had happened too many times before, his courage failed him and he ran away, though as soon as he stopped, he pulled out his phone and dialed Toshinori-sensei.

Izuku, Shoto and Shigaraki stared after the redhead while Kacchan chased after him. "Izuku?" Shoto asked, reminding his friend about the question. Izuku just gave a brilliant smile that … honestly, did nothing to ease his mind, but it did tell him that Izuku was confident he had things under control. Alright, he'd trust Izuku, but that didn't mean he'd trust the villain. He nodded to Izuku, walked by Shigaraki and then stopped right by his ear. "If you hurt him in any way," he whispered, "physically, mentally, hell, even emotionally, I will hunt you down and turn you into ash in the most excruciating manner possible, understand?" The villain paled and quickly nodded his assent.

As Shoto walked away, Shigaraki stared at him. Well now, maybe Dabi had a point about the kid having potential. Between his threat here and his actions at the USJ that Sensei's spy had mentioned, it was clear that the split teen had a side that was comfortable with at least some moral ambiguity. "An interesting friend you have there. But that's not why I'm here." He led the two of them to a nearby table and only then did he start talking again. "When it comes right down to it, I hate basically everything and everyone. But right now, what grinds my gears the most is the Hero Killer. Everyone's gone obsessed with him! My attack on the USJ and the Nomus I unleashed in Hosu were all overshadowed by that bastard! No one's even given me a second thought. Why? He can grandstand all he wants; all he really did was destroy what he hated. What's the difference between us?"

Izuku stared at Tenko in shock. Last time, he'd been too focused on staying alive to really answer. But now … "You really don't get it, do you?" he asked.

"No, I don't. What am I missing?" Shimura asked. He was honestly surprised that the hero was so willing to be civil about this, let alone helpful.

"The message is the difference! What do you actually want? To kill All Might? That's nothing new or impressive, and what happens after you kill him? Stain though, he had a goal, and he was working towards that goal. He didn't destroy things just because he hated them, but in order to achieve his goal. All Might, no matter what you think of him, had his own goal and he achieved it. Even your master has a goal and the power to at least attempt it. Until you have your own goal, one that you're willing to risk your life for, you will never have the following that others do."

"That's it? You sound like the Hero Killer yourself," Shigaraki complained. But he actually decided to think about what the young hero had said. He had actually had a point: what did he want after All Might died? Then his thoughts turned towards all the sheep around them and their happy smiles, like nothing could hurt them. Yes, that was it! He wouldn't just kill All Might; he'd destroy this peace that he'd created and remind everyone just how cruel the world really is! Yes, he would accept his fate as the greatest destroyer the world had ever known! Once he finished with Japan, he would move on and revel in the chaos and destruction he would create throughout the entire world! Sensei wanted to rule the world? Well let him, he wouldn't settle for such a normal dream!

Izuku stared at the villain. He had started worrying the moment Shimura had started introspecting, but his worry had shot up when he started laughing. At first it had been quiet, but now it was approaching almost stereotypical villain laughter, and that could be dangerous given the circumstances. As Shigaraki got up to leave, Izuku stopped him. "Wait, before you go, I have a question of my own."

"Let me guess, what's Sensei after? Who knows, really? I don't particularly care myself. As long as he helps me with my goal."

"I don't need to know what All for One is after," Izuku stated. Tomura turned to him in shock before Izuku continued. "What I want to know is why do you want to kill All Might? Do you have a personal grudge against him or is it just because of All For One?"

If anything, the question had shocked the villain even more than his lack of interest in his master. No one had ever asked him that before. After a few minutes of thinking, he finally answered the young hero. "It starts with when my quirk awakened. I'm sure you can imagine what happened that day. I can disintegrate things by touching them, and I killed my entire family, admittedly some of them on purpose. Afterwards, no one, not one single person, hero or otherwise helped me, none except for Sensei. All Might, the Symbol of Peace and all the heroes that he inspired completely ignored me! Then he nearly killed the only real father I've ever had. I have plenty of reasons to hate All Might." With that, Shigaraki Tomura disappeared into the crowd. The police arrived five minutes later, by which time the villain was long gone.


Two hours and a debriefing later, Izuku walked out of the police station only to be ambushed by his mom. "Izuku, baby, I can't do this anymore! My heart can't take any more scares like this! USJ, Stain, I-Island and now this? I can't support you any longer if you're going to keep risking your life like this!"

Izuku just shook his head. "Mom, pro heroes are always risking their lives. That's one of the key things that make them heroes: the fact that they are willing to risk their lives to save others. How could I call myself even a future hero if I wasn't willing to do the same?"

To Izuku's surprise, his mother actually got mad at that. "It's those troublesome boys that you hang around with that put those ideas in your head! Izuku, give up these dreams, as well as your friendships with that Iida boy, that Todoroki and that Yaoyorozu or you can find someplace else to live!" Toshinori was quick to demand to know what she had against three of his best students. "That Iida boy was directly responsible for my Izuku facing the Hero Killer! I can tell that girl is Midnight's daughter, I can only imagine how she's corrupting him! And what isn't wrong with the Todorokis? The father was arrested and the mother was put in an insane asylum! I will not have my boy associated with them!"

Izuku just sighed. "If that's the way it has to be, mom, then so be it." Toshinori's heart shattered at the answer, while Inko was pleased … until he spoke again. "Do you want me to be gone tonight, or can I come by tomorrow to pick everything up?"

"Izuku, what are you saying?"

"I told you years ago that I was going to be a hero and that nothing was going to stop me, remember? Not even the idea that I was quirkless was going to stop me. And now you want me to cut ties from three of the best people that I know? I'm sorry, Mom, but I can't, no, I won't do it, no matter what you say. If you won't support me, then I'll move into the dorms."

Inko paled in shock, but her resolve didn't waver. "Fine! If you want to associate with such disreputable people, do so! If anything of yours is left behind tomorrow, I'm getting rid of it! And you're sleeping at UA tonight!" With that, she stormed off and was taken back home by Sansa, who was quick to notice that his charge was crying the entire way home.

Back at the station, Toshinori turned to his disciple, who immediately hugged him and started crying into his shoulder. All he could do now was offer him whatever comfort he could by hugging him back. "Did I do the right thing, sensei?" Izuku asked when his tears became manageable.

"The right thing?" Toshinori asked. "Can it ever be right to turn on your parent so fully because they worry about you? I don't know. But I do believe that it was the only thing that you could do under the circumstances." With what comfort he could derive from that, Izuku hugged his mentor again and the two took a car to the Midoriya's apartment to grab an overnight bag and Izuku's toiletries with plans to return the next day for the rest of his possessions. Due to the large amount of stress he'd been through in the day, Izuku was quick to fall asleep on the drive to Heights Alliance. Toshinori decided that the best thing to do was to just let Izuku sleep, even after they arrived.

When he carried his successor into the dorm, young Yaoyorozu was the first to notice. "Izuku! Yagi-sensei, did something happen to him? And why did you bring him here?"

"He's just had a bad day, that's all. After ?she heard about what happened with Shigaraki, his mother gave him an ultimatum that he had to refuse. So he's moving into the dorms," he responded as he set his student on a couch in the commons.

Young Todoroki, who had been studying with his classmate was quick to ask about the ultimatum, and both teens were horrified by what Toshinori told them. "I don't know what I'd do if Izuku left UA," Shoto said.

"I know, he's basically become our guiding light," Momo agreed. "Izuku is the one that best embodies what it means to actually be a hero." She turned to Toshinori and asked "You know what I mean, right? You've at least heard about our exercises?"

Toshi just laughed at that. "Oh, I've heard alright! First in and last out, no matter how much Aizawa chastises him for it! Trust me, that's just how he is, always has been. The first day I met him, he rushed into a situation that had pros hesitating just to save one person's life."

"That sounds like him," Shoto agreed with a smile, thinking about the Sports Festival. "He's so strong that he's willing to do anything he can to help everyone else."

"And now it's our turn to help him," Momo said. "We'll stay with him tonight and then help him move out tomorrow." Shoto smiled back in response before joining his friend on the couch. Momo did the same, sitting down on Izuku's other side and creating a blanket. Toshinori smiled, knowing that Izuku was in good hands. Unbeknownst to those on the ground floor, Uraraka had overheard everything and was already making plans to join them. Toshinori turned to leave, only to be stopped by Momo. "Wait sir. Both you and Izuku have implied that you teach here, and even taught us before, but I don't recognize you. Will you explain that?"

Toshinori laughed at her question before answering. "You'll know shortly after the training camp, young Yaoyorozu, I promise." That is, assuming that the League still attacks them. But then, Izuku has yet to be wrong about the future.

A/N: Just to make things clear, I adore Midoriya Inko … for the most part. My one problem with her is that she says she supports Izuku becoming a hero, but when things get tough, she asks him to quit. It's only thanks to Toshinori begging her that she relents. I understand that she worries, but he made it clear that he wanted to be a hero, and she has to know how dangerous that life is. Honestly, what did she expect