12 May 2179
The last day had been a blur.
Tenya remembered telling All Might that Midoriya had given him One For All.
All Might had only stayed long enough to give Tenya a number to call, someone who could explain One For All to him properly.
And then he was gone, jumping away, in the direction of Midoriya's flat.
To tell Ms. Midoriya.
Tensei had once told him the hardest part of being a hero was telling relatives bad news.
Tenya had called the number.
Twenty minutes later he'd been in Detective Tsukauchi's car, on the way to Mustafu General Hospital, getting an in-depth explanation and history of One For All.
The same power that now flowed through his veins.
Tenya stared at Midoriya, surrounded by beeping and flashing machines, a tube down his throat breathing for him.
The door to the hospital room opened.
Tenya turned his head, his eyes falling on the emaciated form of All Might, a truth he'd been introduced to the night before.
At any other time that would have been shocking, but right now, it almost felt like he'd been expecting it. Or something like it.
"Any news?" All Might asked quietly, trying not to wake Ms. Midoriya as he sat in the chair next to Tenya.
Tenya shook his head. "No, same as before, critical but stable, life changing injuries."
"Eat this." All Might held out a bag of food. "You're going to be very hungry once One For All kicks in."
Tenya picked absentmindedly from the bag, he wasn't really hungry. "Even if he pulls through, his dream's over, isn't it?"
All Might bowed his head. "I don't know."
"Why?" Tenya looked down at the anpan in his hand. "If All For One is Midoriya's father, why do this to him?"
"That monster isn't Izuku's father."
Tenya and All Might looked up to see Ms. Midoriya, or Inko as she insisted Tenya call her, was awake and sat up in her chair.
"How?" All Might questioned. "We ran a blood test, Izuku wanted to be certain before he told you. His blood matched the blood we got from All For One after my fight with him."
Inko nodded. "He's a clone, exact genetic match."
All Might slumped back in his seat. "So Hisashi Midoriya is a clone of All For One?"
"I don't know." Inko admitted. "I don't know which way round it is. I'm not sure Hisashi does, but whoever calls themselves All For One now, it isn't Hisashi."
"Are you sure?" All Might queried.
"Absolutely, I saw the way Hisashi looked at Izuku when he was born." Inko stated. "He couldn't do that to his own son, everything he did he did to protect Izuku."
"Everything he did?" Tenya blushed when he realised he'd spoken out loud.
"The night you, All Might, fought All For One, Hisashi heard it, with an enhanced hearing quirk." Inko held her hand up, anticipating All Might's question. "I was there, it was given willingly, a woman in our apartment building. She couldn't turn it off, she wanted it gone. I had to convince him to take it, he was afraid he might get a taste for it, that he might become like All For One."
All Might nodded in understanding.
"He altered Izuku's memory, made him forget about his quirk, about Quirksmith, and then took it." Inko continued. "We'd already registered Izuku as quirkless and had him keep Quirksmith a secret, to hide us from All For One."
"Did Izuku know his memory was changed?" All Might queried.
"We never hid the truth from Izuku, he agreed to it. Hisashi promised to come back and give Quirksmith and other quirks he'd copied back when he started at middle school." Inko answered. "He wiped my memories too, just of Quirksmith, in case All For One found us."
Tenya's eyes turned to Midoriya, watching the rise and fall of his chest.
"Hisashi left to protect us from All For One, to lead his focus away from us. Inko paused. "Hisashi said All For One wouldn't bother with us, the wife and quirkless child, because All For One would assume Hisashi would abandon quirkless offspring, like he would have done."
"One For All amplified the residual imprint of Quirksmith." All Might realised. "It's not a weak base quirk."
Inko teared up. "When he was twelve, Izuku t-tried to take his own life, he jumped off a bridge, he was ashamed of being quirkless."
Tenya's felt a cold weight settle in his stomach.
"A hero, I'm not sure who, caught him, I wasn't really paying attention to who the hero was back then." Inko stated. "It was my fault, I let him believe he was quirkless. I knew that Hisashi had taken Izuku's quirk, not that it was Quirksmith."
Inko paused.
"I tried to get hold of Hisashi, every method I had, but he never came. The best guess I have is that All For One caught up to him."
"I see." All Might sighed. "When was the last time you heard from him?"
"When Izuku was eleven, he was in Bolivia at the time." Inko answered. "I was so happy when Izuku got his quirk back, just for a second I could hope that Hisashi was still alive, and then you told me about One For All."
"I'm sorry." All Might bowed his head.
"It's not your fault." Inko assured. "It's mine. I should have insisted that Hisashi didn't change Izuku's memories, I was selfish, I wanted Izuku to be a kid just a little bit longer."
A knock sounded on the door, followed by the entrance of a doctor. Tenya recognised her from when U.A., she was the school nurse.
Recovery Girl.
Tenya also recognised the expression on her face.
She had bad news.
Incredibly bad news.
"Ms. Midoriya, could I speak to you privately?"
Inko shook her head. "It's fine, here's fine, they can stay."
Recovery Girl hesitated. "If that's okay with you, then sure."
"What is it?" Inko queried.
"There's no easy way to tell you this Ms. Midoriya." Recovery Girl paused. "Following our CT scan, as well as the other tests, we've found massive, irreversible brain damage. It's unlikely that Izuku will ever regain consciousness."
"Unlikely?" Inko spoke, her voice hollow. "But that means there's a chance. A chance he could wake up, right?"
"Like I said, it's highly unlikely. But, in this day and age the quirk, or in this case quirks, of a patient can allow them to survive trauma most others wouldn't."
"Izuku copied a regeneration quirk, he grew his entire arm back twice a few weeks ago." All Might explained. "Why didn't it heal this?"
"We ran a blood sample analysis to check, the results show his quirks are still present, well over a hundred of them in fact." Recovery Girl paused. "However, it seems another quirk is inhibiting the expression of his quirk factors."
"I see." Inko said, her eyes vacant.
"All For One must have forced a quirk on him, that blocks his other quirks." All Might realised. "We need to find someone who can take that quirk from him. We need to find Hisashi Midoriya."
"It's possible, with the suppression quirk removed, Hyper Regeneration would heal his body, including the brain damage." Recovery Girl explained. "But, there's a chance, even then, Izuku might remember nothing, a blank slate."
No one knew what to say to that.
Recovery Girl eventually spoke. "I'll leave you alone."
With that, Recovery Girl was gone, a dark, somber atmosphere falling over the hospital room, marred only by the sound of Izuku's heartbeat.
15 May 2179
Shoto sighed, staring blankly down at his phone.
The sound of the front door slamming shut made Shoto flinch.
A few seconds later Endeavor slouched into the lounge area, his flames all but extinguished, despite the fact he was still wearing his hero costume.
"Fuyumi, the remote."
Holding out the TV remote Fuyumi watched her father carefully. "Are you okay?"
"HPSC being dicks again." Endeavor grunted. "Called off the search."
Shoto's stomach froze. "I'd have thought you would want nothing to do with finding Midoriya."
Endeavor took the remote. "This is far bigger than any of us."
The TV lit up, Endeavor quickly changed to MNS station.
"There's only a few reasons the HPSC would call off the search." Endeavor growled. "They found the brat, or-"
"The Mustafu Police Department has confirmed that the body of Izuku Midoriya was found on Takoba Beach four days ago. He was taken to Mustafu General Hospital, however, they were not able to resuscitate him, he passed away, aged fifteen."
Shoto's phone fell from his grip, he barely even felt it.
"Midoriya, a promising U.A. student whose abduction at the Sports Festival ten days ago has shocked the nation to its core. Police have confirmed that the wounds on his body were consistent with those seen in the victims of the Hero Killer, Stain."
"We at MNS would like to offer our condolences to his mother and those who were close to the Midoriya family. U.A. will be holding a vigil for Izuku Midoriya on the 20th, and he will be buried with full honours granted to pro heroes who have fallen in battle."
The screen changed, showing a picture of Midoriya after the cavalry battle, holding up the ten million point band and grinning wildly. Finally, text faded into view, overlaying the image.
Izuku Midoriya
15.07.2163 - 10.05.2179
Shoto felt a hand on his shoulder.
Looking up he saw Fuyumi, trying to give him her most reassuring smile, Endeavor had left.
Clenching his left fist, Shoto stared down at it.
"I'm more than just the sum of my parts. And so are you, Shoto."
Fuyumi pulled him into a hug.
"It's your quirk, not his."
Shoto opened his hand, a small flame flickering in his palm.
"It's my quirk, not his."
20 May 2179
Iida straightened his U.A. uniform, the soles of his perfectly polished shoes tapping with every footstep.
"You know, your tie was already straight."
Iida nodded. "I was merely double checking, Midoriya."
Izuku smiled. "I knew you'd say that."
"Why are you wearing that ?" Iida queried, his tone indicating his distaste.
Izuku looked down at his t-shirt, the same word printed on it. "I was bored of hospital gowns, besides, this used to be fashionable, my dad always wore stuff like this. At least, that is if he didn't alter those memories as well."
"Well, I feel you should be better dressed for an event like this." Iida chided.
"Iida, you're the only one who can see me." Izuku complained. "Besides, it's a vigil for me, I think I can wear what I want."
Iida glanced over at him. "You're less anxious since you…"
"Died?" Izuku finished. "Well, death has a funny way of, I don't know, softening the edges, the everyday fears and worries. Disconnected."
"You're not dead."
"Not yet." Izuku stopped walking. "But I will be soon, I can feel it pulling me, onwards, beyond the veil. I don't know what I will be like if you manage to heal me, whether I'll even be me."
"You have to remain hopeful, Midoriya." Iida urged, chopping the air for emphasis. "We will find your father and heal you, and then I can give you One For All back."
Izuku shook his head. "No, it's yours now, I didn't just give it to you because you were there. I gave it to you because I believe in you, I trust you to use it right."
"Midoriya, this power, I can tell it is not mine, I am just safeguarding it, just holding on to it for you." Iida set off walking again. "Come on, we will be late if we dawdle like this."
Izuku sighed, before setting off after Iida, his footsteps making no noise.
"The Midoriya family would like to thank you all for attending, and so would we here at U.A." Nedzu spoke, standing on a specialised podium. "And now, All Might would like to say a few words, in remembrance of young Midoriya."
Izuku felt his heart squeeze as All Might walked out onto the stage, a bundle of cloth grasped in his hands.
He hadn't gone to the funeral, Izuku was pretty sure that would be a bit too morbid, a ghost watching his own funeral.
Iida hated it when he called himself that.
It was an empty coffin they'd buried, his actual body was in U.A., deep in a restricted lab somewhere.
That was something else Izuku hadn't gone to see.
All Might finally spoke. "Izuku Midoriya, I first met him over a year ago, rescuing him from a villain. The same day, I watched him run out to try and save his classmate from the same villain, as pro heroes stood around and watched."
A hushed silence fell over the gathered students and teachers.
"He reminded me of something, a quote I heard during my time in the United States." All Might paused, wiping away a tear. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing."
"Whilst the man who wrote those words died over two hundred years before the advent of quirks, the sentiment of what he said is more relevant than ever before."
Izuku didn't bother wiping his own tears away, they weren't actually solid anyway.
An afterimage.
The guilt twisted inside of him, that his death, for lack of a better word, was causing all this pain.
Izuku used to dream, years before, of how upset all the bullies would be when he was dead. When he killed himself.
He wanted them to suffer for how they treated him.
But now, Izuku saw death could only be one thing.
Sad.
Not vindicating. Not as revenge.
Just pain.
He could see their faces now, the pain he was causing them.
Bakugo, wearing the scowl he saved for when he was upset and didn't want to show it. Kirishima at his side, crying openingly. Uraraka at the other, Bakugo's hand gripped in hers.
Izuku could see the buried anger etched into Mikumo's eyes, the guilt and self-loathing he was trying to hide from the world.
Kaminari, his usual mirth and humour gone, the somber expression on his face looked totally out of place.
Momo was trying to be strong, a rock for the others to lean on, even though she was hurting on the inside.
A pain that was Izuku's fault.
Izuku had made Iida swear not to tell anyone about the fact he could see him.
Not All Might and definitely not his mom.
He didn't want to give them false hope.
After all, he'd gone in a day or two.
"Like Young Midoriya, I was a late bloomer, I didn't get my quirk until I was fourteen." All Might paused. "This may date me a little bit, but at the time hero schools still required applicants to have a recommendation from a hero to be considered."
All Might's hand rested on the red bundle of cloth he left on the podium.
"I was recommended by Zeppelin, she trained me, mentored me." All Might picked up the bundle. "And when I was accepted into U.A., she gave me this."
All Might let the cloth unravel, revealing a red cape.
"It was her first cape, and it became my first cape too." All Might grasped the cape in his hands. "I always intended to pass it on, a token to the next generation. I decided on Young Midoriya."
A curtain was pulled back, up on stage, revealing a glass case.
Inside was Izuku's costume, not the one Bakugo had destroyed, but an upgraded version. The whole suit was far sturdier, made from a thicker material, whilst the base colour had darkened significantly. The white lines had gained more detail, wrapping around the midpoint of the bicep.
The gloves, identical in design to Bakugo's, had remained, the royal blue of their palms changed to red, matching the new boots, replacing the simple sneakers. White gauntlets, two red stripes running up them, had been added to the arms.
The mask had entirely changed, becoming a sleek, silver metal, downplaying the All Might reference. Kneepads and greaves had been added, made from the same metal, and in a similar style to the mask.
Whilst the cowl wasn't up and couldn't be seen, it too had undergone a vast upgrade. Fragile cloth had been replaced with tougher material and the bunny ears had been changed at All Might's insistence.
They had been shortened and simplified, the angle altered as well, protruding flatter to the top of the head. Over the eyes were a pair of white lenses, akin to that of a fictional superhero Izuku had loved as a child, albeit smaller and more angular.
Spider-Man, a normal human given powers by a freak spider bite. For years Izuku had dreamed the same would happen to him.
Finally, All Might added the cape, deep red and shimmering. All together, the costume reminded Izuku of the stories of knights and dragons he'd read as a kid.
Izuku sighed.
It was a costume Izuku had never worn.
A costume he would never get to wear.
A future Izuku would never have.
Except, that was why All Might was doing this. It was a promise, a costume for Izuku to use when he woke up.
If he woke up.
With All Might's speech over, the gathered crowd began to shift and move. Some left, some chatted and some stood glaring at the costume.
Well, Bakugo did at least.
Walking forwards, Izuku tried weaving his way through the crowd, before remembering the fact he was a ghost and instead just walked through anyone in the way.
Stopping, Izuku glanced over at Bakugo.
The blond teen was staring at the costume with the same intensity he usually only reserved for Izuku.
It was bizarre seeing it from the outside.
"You're not fucking gone, Deku." Bakugo growled. "If you don't fucking claw your way back to this shitty plane of existence I'll come find you and beat the shit out of you, and then drag you back myself. Ya hear me, nerd?"
Izuku couldn't help the fond smile that crept onto his face. "Kacchan."
Bakugo's head snapped around, looking directly at Izuku. "I asked if you understand, Deku."
"You can see me?" Izuku blurted out.
"I can hear you. Just fucking barely. Heard you and four-eyes yammering away on the way here." Bakugo stated. "Figured you couldn't help but come over if I glared at the stupid costume."
"How? How is this possible?"
"I'm not fucking psychic, how do you expect me to know?" Bakugo snapped back. "Maybe 'cause you took my quirk when we were four? I don't fucking know!"
"Maybe." Izuku hummed, he still didn't remember accidentally stealing Bakugo's quirk back then, but he believed Bakugo over his memories, the latter he knew had been altered.
Izuku shuffled nervously.
"All For One isn't my father." Izuku admitted. "I met him, All For One I mean, he's not my dad, Hisashi Midoriya is his clone, who decided to oppose him."
"Good for you, now you can have slightly different, but still crippling, set of daddy issues." Bakugo retorted, but it lacked any heat behind it.
"Kacchan, I need to ask a favour."
Bakugo rolled his eyes.
"Fine."
21 May 2021
"You've barely touched your breakfast."
Momo looked up. "I am fine, Dad."
"Not you're not, Momo." Tadashi Yaoyorozu reached out and grasped his daughter's hand. "And that's okay, no one is expecting you to act as if nothing has happened."
Momo didn't reply.
"When your mother died I fell apart." Tadashi admitted. "If your grandparents, my parents, had been there for me, I don't know how I would have coped. So, it's my turn to be there for you."
"That's different, Mother was your wife, she died saving an entire city from being flooded." Momo paused. "Izuku was a boy I liked."
"Pretending it wasn't much doesn't help with the pain, sweetie." Tadashi spoke. "Sometimes, the loss of what could have been hurts more than the loss of what was."
Momo nodded, gripping her father's hand. "I liked him, I really liked him, and I never got to say goodbye."
"How about we go to the grave tomorrow, it should be in the same cemetery as your mother's." Tadashi paused. "But only if you want to. If you're not ready, that's perfectly fine, and if you don't want me there, that's fine as well."
Momo wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you, I love you, Dad."
Tadashi moved around the table, pulling his daughter into a hug. "I love you too, sweetie."
"Dad?" Momo queried.
Tadashi broke away. "Yes?"
"Can I use your hero name?" Momo looked at Tadashi hopefully. "I was going to use Creati, like Grandmother, but I wondered if you'd mind me using yours since you're retired, I get it if you don't want me to."
"Momo, it would be an honour." Tadashi smiled, hugging his daughter again. "You're going to be an amazing hero."
"Thanks, Dad."
"Oh, this'll give you a chuckle." Tadashi smirked. "Your friend, Todoroki, I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm the butler."
Momo laughed.
Just for a few seconds she could forget the pain.
And then it came, hurting her all over again.
"Sweetie, I forgot to mention, a letter came for you."
Momo and Tadashi broke apart, the latter grabbing a white envelope from the counter and holding it out to her.
"Here."
"Thanks, Dad." Momo took the letter, turning it over.
She nearly dropped it in shock.
It was Midoriya's handwriting.
Hurriedly, Momo opened the letter, pulling out a simple white sheet of paper and unfolding it.
Takoba Beach. 7pm today.
Momo turned it over, there was something more.
7153 2160
It was just numbers, the 2160 could be a year, but the 7153 didn't make sense as the day and month.
Creating a fresh sheet of paper, Momo wrote out a list of possible dates, switching the zero with each of the four numbers from the first set in turn, apart from the one.
15 03 2167
13 05 2167
17 03 2165
13 07 2165
15 07 2163
17 05 2163
Six possible dates, Momo scanned back and forth, searching for any recognition.
15.07.2163, it's Izuku's birthdate!
Picking up the envelope, Momo examined it. The postmark was dated yesterday, from Mustafu.
Takoba Beach, Nine Hours Later
"Here, nerd?"
"No, no, no, that way a bit!"
Bakugo tossed the shovel down. "How the fuck are you trying to help, I can't fucking see you!"
"Language." Tenya chided, watching out for the others to arrive. "Midoriya pointed approximately 1.3m to your left."
"See, four-eyes gets it!"
"Sorry, Kacchan, I forgot." Midoriya bowed his head in apology, before realising Bakugo couldn't see him.
Tenya still hadn't been able to find an explanation for how Bakugo could hear Midoriya. Until now Tenya had assumed he was able to see and hear Izuku because he possessed One For All.
Not that Tenya was even able to use it. The first time he had tried to use it the force had broken his arm and generated an output much lower than that of Midoriya's 100%, instead closer to 60%. Every time he tried to use the quirk since then it just seemed to refuse to respond.
Like it wasn't even there anymore.
Bakugo released a stream of obscenities, distracting Tenya from his thoughts for a moment.
Tenya didn't know how they had managed to convince him to join in on this deception. Midoriya had gotten Bakugo to write nine letters, since he could imitate the green-haired teen's handwriting, which Tenya had then posted.
Two had come back to them, one for him and one for Bakugo. Midoriya still refused to allow them to tell anyone else of his current state, so they would be pretending that they'd followed the letters' instructions, like everyone else.
They're also been sent to Midoriya's home to retrieve a map of Takoba Beach, Bakugo sneaking in with his mother's key while Ms. Midoriya was visiting her son.
It had led them here, not far from where Tenya had found Midoriya, and far closer to where Tenya had spoken to Kamui Woods.
"Hey, Bakubro!" Kirishima landed in a cloud of sand, hardening his legs to absorb the fall from the railings above.
"Shitty Hair." Bakugo growled in greeting, continuing to dig. "Spark Plug."
Kaminari came down next to Kirishima, stumbling as he landed and hitting the deck. "Urgh, sand in my mouth."
Bakugo tossed a shovel full of sand over his shoulder, directly on Kaminari's head. "There, now the rest of you is covered in sand as well."
Kaminari spluttered in indignation.
"Kacchan, whatcha doing?"
"Digging, ner-" Bakugo paused, the nickname momentarily throwing him off. "I'm digging, Round Face."
Uraraka smiled, the expression not matching her puffy eyes. "I can see that, silly! I meant why are ya digging?"
"The letter, mine came with a map and told me to bring a shovel."
Kirishima pumped his fist. "Cool, a treasure hunt! I wonder who sent those letters."
"Izuku."
The group looked around to see Yaoyorozu and Todoroki approaching, the latter having spoken.
"They were from Izuku, it's his handwriting." Yaoyorozu explained.
"Does that mean he's alive?" Kirishima questioned. "Maybe he's been sent on some super secret mission by U.A. and they faked his death!"
"Yeah!" Kaminari added. "Or maybe he's being held captive by some super villain that faked his death cause they want that super sweet quirk of his!"
"Denial."
Akatani joined the group, a crumbled letter in his hand.
"Denial?" Kirishima questioned.
"First stage of grief." Akatani answered. "You're denying Izuku's death."
"Fuck off with the bullshit psychoanalysis, you damn Deku clone!" Bakugo snapped.
"Anger."
"Akatani, I understand you're hurting, and I know you blame yourself." Tenya spoke. "But making others hate you as much as you already hate yourself, I won't help you, all it will do is make you angrier, and lonelier."
Akatani nodded, but didn't reply.
A hollow thud echoed.
Bakugo tossed the shovel aside, brushing the sand away to reveal a metal safe.
"What the fuck, nerd?" Bakugo questioned, before gripping the safe and heaving it out of the hole.
"Woah, it is buried treasure!" Kirishima exclaimed, fiddling with the lock as soon as Bakugo put it down.
"Huh, it needs a code." Uraraka pondered. "What could Deki have used?"
"7153 2160." Yaoyorozu stated. "It was on the back of my letter, it's a rearrangement of Izuku's date of birth."
Kaminari frowned, quickly counting on his fingers. "It is!"
Todoroki crouched down, calmly inputting the code as the others watched on in trepidation and curiosity.
The safe clicked open.
Todoroki pushed the safe door wide, revealing an array of objects, more stuffed in than what seemed physically possible.
Picking up the first that came to hand, Todoroki examined the flat, circular device, its surface a dark grey metal.
"What is this?" Todoroki queried.
"It's a U.A. hologram thingy." Uraraka explained, before noticed the confused looks on Yaoyorozu and Todoroki's faces. "Right, you two are recommendation students! They sent these with our acceptance letters, made a little hologram of All Might that told us we got in."
"It must be a keepsake." Tenya mused.
"It ain't." Bakugo snatched the projector from Todoroki. "If it was then nerd would have kept it in pride of place in his weird All Might shrine."
Placing it down, Bakugo pressed the activation button.
A life-sized hologram of Midoriya appeared in a flash of light. He was dressed in casual clothes, his arm in a sling.
"This is from just after the USJ attack." Yaoyorozu realised.
"If you're watching this, then that means I'm dead." Midoriya stated, before giving a small smile. "I've always wanted to say that, although now I realise I have to die for anyone to hear this, which I'm hoping is something that hasn't happened, but of course it has to have if you're watching."
Midoriya calmed himself.
"Let's stop muttering, this projector only has so much internal memory." Izuku murmured to himself. "So, where was I? Right, I need to tell you about my quirk, and I don't mean Quirksmith."
The group stood with bated breath, waiting to see what the hologram would say.
"I'd like to tell you a story, of two brothers and two quirks. All For One. And One For All." Izuku smiled. "Shall we begin?"
The eight teens watched with a range of emotions and reactions as the hologram of Izuku explained the nature of One For All, and its history.
Tenya watched intently, despite having been told all of this information and more already, noticing as Izuku left out One For All's connection to All Might.
Katsuki was staring at Izuku's hologram, tuning the history lesson he'd gotten the day before out, and focusing instead on the clock in the background. The nerd had recorded this just after they spoke the day after USJ.
Eijiro watched raptly, processing Izuku's explanation of One For All in amazement.
Denki's eyes had glazed over, Izuku's explanation of the quirk physics behind One For All losing him almost immediately.
Ochako tightened her fists, finally finding resolve she'd lost during the Sports Festival. She would be a hero for the people who couldn't be heroes. The people who couldn't protect themselves.
Momo listened to every word the hologram spoke, memoring each and every one of them. The sound of Izuku's voice. She didn't want to forget it.
Shoto processed the history of One For All, comparing it to the writings on All For One his family had passed down.
Mikumo felt robbed, cheated, staring at the brother he'd barely got to know. He should have been stronger, he should have stopped Ichigata before he got to Izuku. He should have saved him.
It was his fault.
Izuku was dead because of him.
"Thank you."
The hologram smiled.
"Thank you for everything you were to me." Izuku had tears in his eyes. "My classmates. My comrades. My friends."
With a final nod, the hologram described, and Izuku Midoriya was gone.
Silence reigned.
Kaminari frowned. "Do you know what I don't get?"
"Maths? Science? Most things?" Katsuki snapped. "You'll have to be more specific, Idiot Face."
"Oi!" Kaminari exclaimed indignantly. "I don't get who has the quirk now, Midori said he'd chosen us, that he trusted any one of us to have it."
Katsuki saw Iida freeze, discomfort clear on his face.
"Who cares, still ain't as impressive as my quirk!" Katsuki growled, changing the subject.
"I do."
They all turned, looking at Iida.
"How?" Todoroki queried, frowning deeply, his scar crinkling in a way Katsuki might find cute on someone else, who didn't have the personality of a rock.
A particularly boring rock at that.
"I was the one who found him." Iida admitted. "Midoriya cut my hand and told me to rescue someone named Eri. And then he lost consciousness."
"Did he wake after that?" Yaoyorozu asked.
Iida shook his head. "No, he did not."
No-one had a response for that, not even Katsuki.
He knew the nerd was doing his not-quite-a-ghost thing, but still, the world thought he was dead, his friends thought he was dead.
And his only chance at getting his life back relied on a shady absentee father the nerd had seen or spoken to in years.
Until then he was as good as dead, that's if the 'pulling' didn't get to him first.
He was as good as dead.
"Look!" Kirishima exclaimed, reaching into the safe. "This stuff's got our names on it."
Pulling his hand out, Kirishima held up a folder with his name scrawled on it, in the nerd's handwriting.
What followed was a strange mix of inheritance bequeathment and Christmas morning as everyone was handed the file with their names on, while Yaoyorozu and Akatani had boxes.
"Woah, there's even more in here, for everyone else in 1-A!" Uraraka exclaimed.
Katsuki stood straighter, his position on top of the displaced sand allowing him to see the others' folders as they opened them.
Kirishima was the first to open his folder, finding page after page of theories and ideas for his quirk and his fighting style. On the last page was a suggestion for a material that would sculpt to his skin and harden with it, along with a note telling him to ask Akatani if it was possible.
Kaminari's folder was of the same contents, the final page a rough sketch for a wrist-mounted dart shooter, to allow him to target his quirk. Again, Midoriya had scribbled that he should ask Akatani to make it.
Iida's binder contained less, with a quirk as well documented as his, with three pro heroes having possessed it. The main idea was a suggestion of altering his lower leg armor to cool his engines as he used them.
Uraraka flicked through her folder, finding less about the nature of her quirk, and more ways it could be used with specific martial arts and wrestling moves.
Katsuki looked down at his own folder, hesitant to open it.
Iida joined him, their position away from the others allowing them to speak freely.
"Are you going to open it?" Iida questioned, his voice taut.
"What's wrong?" Katsuki eyed him suspiciously. "Where's Deku?"
Iida hesitated for a moment. "He's gone."
"What do you mean gone?" Katsuki snapped back.
"When the hologram was explaining One For All." Iida spoke. "He said the pulling was stronger now, that you could no longer hear him, that he couldn't hold on. He said goodbye, and faded away."
Katsuki crushed the strange feeling welling up in his chest. "Don't fucking lie to me, Four Eyes!"
"I wish I was." Iida admitted. "He's gone. Midoriya's gone."
Katsuki refused to believe it, the nerd was just doing a joke, he wasn't gone, he wasn't dead.
He couldn't be dead.
And yet, Katsuki knew Iida was telling the truth. Izuku had only limited time before he passed on, waiting for the father that never came.
Katsuki tightened his fists.
Taking a deep breath, the blond teen pulled back the front cover. It was empty, except for one thing, a slightly crumpled piece of old paper.
Kacchan, I wouldn't be so bold as to tell you how to use your quirk, so I decided to give you this as a keepsake.
A future I wish I live to see.
Katsuki turned the sheet of paper over. It was a child's drawing, of Izuku and Katsuki, dressed in bright colours, fighting a villain, next to each of them was a hero name.
The nerd's was Minimight and for Katsuki he'd scrawled Dynamight.
Katsuki glanced at the title at the top of the page.
My Hero: Kacchan.
Katsuki released a sob, his chest heavily, tears streaming down his face.
"You can't be gone, Deku."
Shoto opened the folder with his name scrawled on it. He couldn't understand why Midoriya had included him. Before the Sports Festival, when Midoriya must have assembled this contingency, the two had barely spoken.
There was a letter.
Todoroki, as I'm writing this we've spoken about six times, but I hope by the time you're reading this we're friends.
I hope that I, or someone else, have managed to convince you to use your flames in battle. If not, then I respect your decision and any ideas in here that use your fire can be disregarded.
Plus Ultra!
Midoriya
Shoto flicked through the folder, finding an array of super moves that used his ice, flames or a mix of the two.
His eyes came to rest on the final super move.
Rising Eclipse.
Shoto gave a wan smile.
Mikumo carefully undid the twine and opened the box.
Inside was a hexagonal metal containment unit, a glass panel on each side revealing a writhing black mass inside.
Nanobots.
Mikumo stared at them in amazement, even in this era of quirks they were still hypothetical, no machine was capable of creating something so small.
Izuku must have used Creation, to bypass the limiting factor.
A note was attached to the unit.
The first nanobots I created, as a keepsake.
At the bottom of the box was a folder, inside was the full specifications for the nanobots, a design from the pre-Quirk era.
Mikumo, if you're reading this I died before the Sports Festival, somehow. I'll remove this note if I haven't.
These are the designs for the nanobots. I'm going to ask Momo to make more for you after the Sports Festival, these took nearly two weeks to produce. My fat stores aren't big enough for such complex designs. I'm not sure this batch is all that stable as a result.
Izuku had been intending to give him the nanobots, a second batch produced by Yaoyorozu. To support his future as a hero.
Momo opened her box, inside was a folder, filled with ideas for how she could imitate quirks with her creations.
Below it was a book, worn and battered, its title barely legible.
Legends of Restaria:
The Blade of Power
The front cover showed a sword, the blade made of emerald, superimposed over that of a buster sword.
A fantasy novel, from the pre-Quirk era.
"Deku's book."
Momo looked up, seeing Bakugo staring at the item in her hands.
"It was Izuku's?"
"Took it everywhere with him." Bakugo answered. "Turn it over."
Doing as she said, Momo found a large score mark on the back. "You used your quirk on it."
Bakugo shrugged. "It was the only time I ever really saw him get mad at me, he cried for ages afterwards, it was his favourite book, his dad gave it to him before he fucked off."
"Oh, I see." Momo spoke, touched that Izuku would give her such a treasured belonging.
Opening the cover Momo couldn't help but smile.
Tucked inside was a photo, of her and Izuku, their heads bowed together as they chose the class officers, the morning of the USJ attack.
She hadn't even noticed the photo being taken, clearly whoever it was that had given this to Izuku.
Flipping the photo over Momo saw Izuku's scrawl on the back.
I love you.
A tear dropped onto the page, the ancient paper absorbing it instantly.
"Oh cool, a football!" Kaminari held up the aforementioned object. "It was in the safe."
Momo looked up, discreetly wiping her tears away, she wasn't the only one crying.
Uraraka frowned. "That's a bit of a weird and random object."
"Nonsense, Midoriya must have placed it in there for us to use." Iida rationised.
"Right, let's go!" Kirishima exclaimed, snatching the football. "I pick Bakugo."
No-one spoke for a second before Bakugo trudged over to Kirishima.
It looked like they were going to be playing football.
"Yaoyorozu, as acting Class Representative, you should be the other captain." Iida insisted.
The others murmured in agreement.
"Right." Momo nodded. "I choose Todoroki."
Kirishima smirked. "Uraraka."
"Akatani."
The dark-haired teen shook his head. "I'm sitting this one out."
Iida spoke up. "Well then, I shall be referee, to balance the teams."
"That sounds fair." Momo agreed. "Kaminari, I suppose you're on our team."
Kaminari sighed but jogged over, clearly he'd expecting to be on Kirishima's team.
"Very well, standard rules apply, no quirk usage, let us begin!" Iida barked as the teams set up makeshift goals, Kirishima on one and Todoroki on the other.
Iida tossed the ball up into the air.
"Begin!"
A frenzy of kicks and sand sprang to life, Bakugo scoring an early goal.
And, of course, no-one was listening to the rules.
As the match settled into a steady rhythm Iida moved over to join Mikumo.
"Midoriya's kidnapping, you blame yourself for it, don't you?" Iida queried. "The second you start blaming yourself for things like this, there's no coming back."
"I know." Mikumo admitted. "I should have been stronger."
"Perhaps." Iida stated. "But that doesn't matter now, what has been done cannot be undone, but we can learn from it, grow from it."
Mikumo didn't reply.
"Use that self-loathing as a fuel, a power to drive yourself to do better." Iida paused. "To be better."
"I know." Mikumo admitted. "I just feel so lost, I never had any family and finally I found Izuku and then he was killed, it's like the world's trying to tell me something. To just give up."
"Grief is a pain that never heals, never fully." Iida explained. "It will always be there, but you don't have to be alone, we're here for you Akatani, to support you."
"Mikumo. Call me Mikumo."
"Very well then, Mikumo it is!" Iida proclaimed, before seeing Bakugo tackle Kaminari. "Bakugo, that's a yellow card!"
"Fuck off!"
Mikumo choked back a laugh.
I miss you, Izuku.
Izuku hovered at the railings, watching the holder of the ninth and final letter.
All Might.
The blond man, in his natural form, stood observing the others as they ran around, booting the football between them, Iida and Mikumo still sat on the sidelines.
"I know you're there, Izuku."
Izuku started. "All Might? You can see me?"
All Might nodded. "I can."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"I heard what you said to Young Iida, asking him not to tell me or your mother." All Might explained. "But, I noticed something change, in One For All. You don't have much time left."
Izuku paused, before nodding. "The pull is getting stronger, if I wasn't consciously holding myself here, it would have taken me by now. Iida can't see me anymore."
All Might produced a manilla folder, opening it to reveal two printed images.
"This is a scan of your brain from eight days ago." All Might pointed to the first image. "These areas here are the damage."
"I know about the brain damage." Izuku said, his tone defeated. "I'm brain dead, this is just One For All holding me here for a little longer, a chance to say goodbye, on my terms."
All Might swapped images. "I'm not sure it is. This scan was done three hours ago, notice any differences."
Izuku stared at the scan, his mind racing. "The brain damage is healing? But that's impossible, not without Hyper Regeneration, and it was suppressed, and now I've passed One For All on Quirksmith will have faded out."
"It hasn't." All Might answered simply. "Tokusei, the officer you copied Quirkspace from, I asked him to check your quirks. They're all still there, every single one of them, just almost entirely suppressed by the quirk All For One added."
Izuku reflected on All Might's words.
"Wait, all of my quirks, I passed One For All onto Iida."
"You did, Tokusei confirmed its presence in his quirkspace, and in yours." All Might answered. "But something happened, like Iida's body rejected One For All and now it's stuck in limbo between the two of you."
"Oh." Izuku breathed, taken aback. "Why? I don't understand, I wanted to pass One For All, I thought I was going to die, I did die-"
"You're not dead, Izuku." All Might interrupted, his gaze intensely falling on his protégé. "You're healing, that's what that pulling you're feeling is, your body pulling you back."
"You don't know that." Izuku replied dejectly.
"What direction is it pulling you?" All Might questioned. "Does it change?"
"It does, but not by much." Izuku admitted, before turning and pointing. "That way."
"Izuku, you're pointing in the direction of U.A."
Izuku let his hand fall. "I am? I am!"
"Like I said, your body wants your mind back." All Might smiled. "Your mother knows, I didn't want her worrying, well, I wanted her to worry, slightly less. I'm a realist after all."
"Why did you guys announce my death if I'm healing?" Izuku suddenly asked, the thought had just occurred to him.
"We want to see what All For One will do. It was Nedzu's idea, to let the bastard think his plan worked." All Might explained, before clapping his hands. "Anyway, onto the plan of action, once you fully return to your body, it will likely take a couple of months for you to wake up, however, we're still looking out for your dad, if he gets rid of that suppression quirk you'll heal even quicker."
Izuku nodded.
"And don't worry, in case we don't find him, Aizawa is preparing a set of accelerated learning plans for you so you don't have to be held back." All Might assured.
Izuku felt himself welling up, his intangibility the only reason he didn't tackle his mentor into a hug.
"Thank you, All Might, for believing in me."
All Might stooped himself down, placing his hand on the space where Izuku's shoulder should have been. "I have always believed in you, Izuku, I know you're going to come back from this stronger than before."
The green-haired teen beamed, before becoming contemplative, glancing down. "You know, when you mentioned 'my dad' just then, I didn't think of Hisashi Midoriya."
"You didn't?"
Izuku looked up at All Might. "I thought of you."
Now it was All Might's turn to tear up. "You did? You think of me that way?"
Izuku nodded, before blushing. "S-Sorry if you think that's weird, or creepy."
"Izuku, I don't think that in the slightest." All Might assured. "I'm honoured, and blown away that someone as amazing as you thinks of me like that. Honestly, I've thought of you as a son to me for a long time now. I would be so proud to have you as my kid."
Izuku wiped away a flood of tears. "Really?"
"Really!"
Without thinking, Izuku hugged All Might, but instead of passing through, the edges of Izuku sparked slightly, but made contact.
All Might wrapped his arms around his protégé.
His son.
"It's time." Izuku stated. "I'm ready to go now."
"I'll stay with you." All Might assured. "Until the end."
Izuku nodded. "I know."
All Might opened his eyes.
Izuku was gone.
Izuku opened his eyes.
He was at the train station near his flat, except every surface was a brilliant white, including Izuku's body.
"Where am I?" Izuku looked around himself in every direction.
"Exactly where it looks like." A familiar voice spoke. "A train station."
All For One walked out of nowhere, joining Izuku on the platform. Except it wasn't All For One, it looked like him, but far younger, and even sounded like him.
Izuku put his finger on it.
Whoever this was, they lacked the same cruelness in the eyes, in the posture. They weren't a monster hurting people to get their kicks.
"Zeroth." Izuku stated. "Aren't you?"
The person nodded, a smile playing on their lips. "I am."
"You're a vestige of All For One."
"Not quite." Zeroth answered. "When I held the stockpiling meta-ability it wasn't strong enough to create vestiges, I'm an imprint."
"What's the difference?" Izuku asked, wishing he had his notebook to write all this down.
"A vestige is a perfect copy, but me, it's a little more hazy, I remember the broad strokes, key moments. Huh, I can't even remember my original name." Zeroth shrugged. "Technically I'm an Imprint of two different people, All For One and the stockpile meta-ability holder. Used to be a two minds, one body sort of thing, but for a long time now we're one and the same, a single being."
"Am I dead?" Izuku suddenly blurted out.
Zeroth chuckled. "Maybe, maybe not, maybe life is just a simulation. Who knows, not me."
"That's not an answer." Izuku stated.
"It is an answer." Zeroth insisted. "Just not a satisfying one. But fine, more clarity then, you're not dead, yet."
"Not dead, yet?"
"Where are we?" Zeroth asked rhetorically. "A train station, which implies you have a choice."
Izuku looked around, finally studying his surroundings closely. Instead of being empty, both platforms had trains at them, their doors open.
"Two trains, that one goes to U.A." Izuku pointed to the one in front of them. "And that one goes, I don't know where, I've never taken it."
"Except this isn't the real world, is it?" Zeroth queried. "It's a representation, of a choice, to pass on, or something else."
"Something else?"
Zeroth smiled. "Home, the long way round."
"Home, my future." Izuku clenched his ethereal white fist. "Then that's what I'll choose!"
"No hesitation, I like it!" Zeroth exclaimed. "Now, which train do you think that is."
Izuku's brow furrowed. "Is the U.A. for passing on or home, it could be either one."
"Don't overthink this." Zeroth teased.
"I got it!" Izuku stated. "The U.A. train is to home, since my body is at U.A., it makes perfect sense."
"Then I guess you'll be going then." Zeroth patted Izuku on the shoulder.
"Can't you come?" Izuku questioned.
Zeroth shook their head. "Couldn't even if I wanted to. Have a good life, kid, and I hope not to see you anytime soon."
With that, Zeroth was gone, along with the other train.
Izuku stared at the empty space for a few moments before taking a deep breath and stepping onto the train heading towards U.A.
Heading towards home.
The solid white doors hissed shut as Izuku took his seat, every surface the same colour as the doors.
Slowly the train began moving, gathering speed with every second until all Izuku could see out the window was a featureless void.
And then, Izuku felt a strange energy, almost like One For All, start to wash over him in waves. Watching in amazement, Izuku saw the colour seep back into his surroundings with every second.
Looking down at his hands Izuku beamed at the sight of his body, whole and normal.
"Home, the long way round."
His whole body ached.
Izuku groaned, opening his eyes to find himself led face down on a soft bed. A bed he didn't recognise.
Rolling over, Izuku slowly raised his body into a sitting position, staring at the bedroom he found himself in and the odd bed clothes he was wearing.
He remembered what had happened now, saying goodbye to Momo, then Ichigata attacking, All For One, the ooze and then nothing.
Standing, Izuku honed in on the wooden door in the opposite wall, his way out.
Pain shot through his temple, a second flood of memories cascading over him.
All For One.
Eri.
Overhaul.
The beach.
All Might.
And now, here. One second he'd been hugging the No.1 Hero, the next he was in that bed.
Pulling the door open, Izuku found himself in what looked like an old fashioned cottage, the floorplan remarkably similar to his home.
Navigating his way to the front door, Izuku opened it wide.
His jaw dropped.
He was in a village, filled with rustic cottages and not a single piece of modern architecture or clothing in sight.
A bustling little farm town.
Wandering out and spinning around Izuku saw a castle in the distance, one he recognised.
Darthmorr Castle, the lair of the evil sorcerer Blackthorn.
But that was impossible, it was fictional, and while it was based on a castle in England, specifically Lancaster Castle, that structure had been largely destroyed during the rise of quirks.
Turning again Izuku couldn't believe his eyes, there it was in the distance.
Elvar, the City of Six Rivers, the capital of Restaria.
"This is Restaria." Izuku breathed in disbelief. "I'm in Restaria, I'm in a fantasy world."