Chapter 31

.::Finally Something Nice::.

No.

No, no, no, no, no!

Izuku wanted to scream as the portal vanished around him, a pained gasp escaping him as he staggered where he stood. Tears stung at the corner of his eyes as he stood there, his breathing harsh and heavy as his heart thundered in his chest.

Aizawa-sensei had been captured by the League. His face still appeared clearly in Izuku's mind, that blinding white blindfold covering his eyes and the gag tied around his mouth. Too tight, some voice cried, the cloth was digging into his skin, they were both so tight. His teacher had been so much paler than he remembered, so much smaller and vulnerable than he could ever imagine even as he tried to struggle.

A pained gasp escaped him as he fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around himself as he tried to steady his ever-faster breathing. It felt almost like he was hyperventilating—no, he was hyperventilating, this was too much, this was too horrible, why was Aizawa-sensei there, why did he look like that, what were they doing—

He didn't know how the sudden calm washed over him, just that his mind randomly went blank. He blinked in surprise at the abrupt change, his panic just... gone, and leaving his mind feeling oddly empty and clear. As he sat in a dazed sort of confusion he belatedly noticed a pair of hands gripping his shoulders, and he slowly lifted his head to find himself staring into a pair of eyes that looked like the night sky.

Aiko. The woman crouched in front of him with a faint frown, her galaxy-like eyes boring into him as she gently held his shoulders. "You okay?" she asked softly, and Izuku blinked slowly.

"I... think so?" he said, the words quiet and tinged with muted uncertainty and confusion. "What...?"

"You were having a panic attack, so I stopped it." She released his shoulders and backed off while Izuku just stared at her, gradually piecing it together.

"I... My mind just—went blank," he said slowly. "Did you...?" Aiko sighed as he trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck and looking away.

"Yeah. I tapped into your emotions and did a quick shut-down. Sorry for doing it like that, I am... not good with strong emotions." She grimaced slightly and got to her feet, Izuku absently following suit. She turned away to pad over to a small kitchen and only then did Izuku finally notice his surroundings, realizing with a start he didn't recognize it at all.

At first glance, they seemed to be in some sort of apartment. The furniture was maybe a little worn, but the space was warm and inviting with light yellow walls and a brightly colored rug. Photos sat on a table beneath the window, creamy curtains pulled aside to let sunlight stream inside, and Izuku realized with a start that a framed poster of a hero team hung on the wall next to it.

"Is that an autographed poster of Team Storm Chaser?" he blurted, and was responded by a warm laugh from Aiko. He turned to look at her in the kitchen, standing over a steaming red pot and watching him a fond smile.

"Yep," she confirmed with a bright smile. "Figures you'd still recognize a bunch of heroes you never met." Izuku felt his cheeks flush as he turned back to the poster, drawn in by the sense of familiarity. The poster showed the six heroes who had been active around the time of his birth, gathered on the steps to one of their bases.

Storm Chaser, the founder and leader, stood front and center. Shadesse and Phoenix, the two female members of the group, flanked him on either side, with Noir standing close to Phoenix and the mist-producing Veilance on Shadesse's other side. The space-themed Cosmonaut sat on the steps behind Storm Chaser slightly to his left, waving at the camera and almost seeming to be giving their leader bunny ears.

A pang of nostalgia and comfort washed over Izuku as he looked at it. They had this exact poster hanging over the couch in their living room at home, mainly because his own room had no space left for non-All Might posters. That poster had also been autographed, a gift for his fifth birthday that had left him squealing with delight, and he briefly wondered if this might be that very poster.

A look at the signatures squashed that thought, though. Shadesse's signature instantly caught his eye, making his shoulders droop in disappointment. The Japanese heroine, who had a ninja theme and could store objects in scrolls, had disappeared from the public radar when he was about four. To this day he didn't know whether she died or retired, but her signature had been absent on that poster.

In her place this poster lacked Noir's signature, which made him a bit sad. The French hero had also disappeared rather abruptly, the last member of Team Storm Chaser to leave the public eye, but Izuku had been eight at that point and could thus remember it more clearly. His missing signature suggested he'd died earlier in this world. He noticed the poster also lacked Veilance's signature, but that didn't surprise him. The man had died while Izuku had been an infant, the first in the string of tragedies to befall the team.

The team had mostly disbanded before Izuku was old enough to fully appreciate them, only able to look in awe at their history. Team Storm Chaser had been among the first hero teams that could be described as truly international, basing themselves out of no single country. The complexities and differences in international laws made it tricky for most heroes to work outside the country where they received their licenses. Rescue heroes had always been given leeway to work in other countries, but most of them still had one country where they primarily based out of.

While only one member remained active in his own world, their influence remained powerful. Plenty of rescue heroes cited them as an inspiration, from full teams like Eurosafe who operated all across Europe to individual heroes like Thirteen here in Japan. He still thought Thirteen's costume might be at least a partial homage to Cosmonaut, who also sported a helmet that had a digital screen to mimic eyes and facial expressions—

"Izuku, you're mumbling again," Aiko commented, and he slapped his hands over his mouth with a startled squeak. Blushing, he turned around to find her watching him with an undeniably fond smile, her expression soft as she propped her hand on her cheek. "My, some things really do never change."

Izuku felt his face grow even more red, and he groaned softly as he hung his head in embarrassment. Aiko just laughed quietly, and he glanced up when he heard a cabinet opening to see her pull out a mug. His heart swelled as he recognized the bright blue, red and gold color scheme as trademarks of All Might, something in his chest soaring at the sight. This was the first time he'd seen any merchandise for his mentor and predecessor since coming here.

She set it on the counter alongside two other mugs, and at that moment his brief euphoria was replaced by surprise. "Is there someone else here?" he asked, and paused. "Um, and where is 'here' anyway?"

"My apartment," Aiko replied, pouring the pot's contents into the mugs. A sweet aroma drifted his way as he watched brown liquid pour out and he perked up, instantly recognizing it as hot chocolate. He crossed the room almost unconsciously, hands cupping around the All Might mug with a bright smile.

"Thank you," he said. Rather than respond Aiko pulled out a few tiny marshmallows from an open bag on the counter and sprinkled them into his mug. "Thank you so much," he repeated even more enthusiastically and firmly, and she laughed, adding marshmallows to one of the other mugs. The stars in her eyes seemed to twinkle and flicker, a subtle thing that was no less mesmerizing.

"As I said, some things don't change," she said with a smile as she carried them to the couch. Izuku followed dutifully, silently noting a door that led presumably to a bedroom before sitting down. He sipped at the hot chocolate as he watched Aiko set the third mug on the coffee table.

"Seriously, is someone here though?" he muttered with a small frown.

"Yeah, she'll be out in a minute," Aiko said as she sat next to him with her own mug. "Before that though, mind telling me what's got you so freaked out? It's not every day that Kurogiri randomly warps you to my living room seconds away from a panic attack." The comment made Izuku freeze with the mug right next to his mouth, suddenly flashing back to the scene he'd seen just before arriving. Aizawa-sensei bound and gagged, shoved to the floor and clearly in bad shape—

He sucked in a sharp breath, and then winced when he accidentally inhaled some of the hot chocolate in the process. "Hot!" he yelped reflexively, coughing and hurriedly putting down the mug. A water bottle happened to be sitting on the coffee table, and he swiped it up to down it to soothe his sore tongue. Once he finished he paused, lowering it with a frown. "...Um, this isn't mine."

"No, it isn't," Aiko agreed, sounding amused. Izuku's shoulders slumped while she gave a soft snort, turning back to sip at her hot chocolate. "If you don't want to tell me what happened, that's okay." Her words made him freeze again, and he turned to look at her in surprise. Aiko didn't look at him, her eyes closed as she idly sipped from her mug. "You're still having an episode, right?"

"...Is it that obvious?" he asked gloomily, and the corners of her lips quirked upwards.

"Izun, usually you'll tell me exactly what happened to freak you out the second the panic attack stops so I can go fix it. You also don't look around like it's your first time ever seeing this place and act shocked that I have a poster showing a bunch of heroes." Her voice had a faint teasing note to it, one that felt both comforting and familiar yet guilt-inducing to Izuku at the same time.

"We're really close, aren't we," he murmured, turning to look at his hot chocolate with a more somber mood.

"You're like my family," Aiko replied softly, and the words startled him enough to snap a wide-eyed look back at her. She still looked at her mug but had a soft smile, her eyes distant and wistful as she spoke. "It might not be by blood and you might not always remember me, but that's okay. I don't have many siblings left, and you're the only family I can see. As long as I still breathe, no matter what you do, I'll be on your side."

As he listened Izuku felt his shoulders sag once more, slowly turning back to his mug. Aiko's words made a warm feeling curl inside his chest, a flicker of fondness and safety and familiarity that didn't belong to him. Once again it struck him how out of place he was here, and how he'd just stolen the place of another Izuku while all the people around him remained oblivious.

He sighed, gingerly sipping at the hot chocolate while being careful not to scald his already-sore tongue. "I'm sorry I don't remember you," he said after he swallowed, and meant it. Aiko just hummed though, neither sad nor happy as she sipped her own.

"It's fine, and I mean it. It's always a gamble if you do or don't with episodes. Honestly, sometimes I feel like it's better you don't always remember," she added more softly, and he raised his head in surprise to find a wistful smile on her face. "It feels nice to have a blank slate sometimes."

Izuku frowned, a bit confused by her statement, especially when she made a small snort at some joke he didn't understand, but he didn't feel up to asking about it right now. He still felt guilty for not being her Izuku... and also more than a little shattered by the revelation about Aizawa. His stomach sank as he turned back to his hot chocolate a final time, frowning miserably at his reflection in the warm brown liquid.

"...They captured a hero," he said, and Aiko looked over at him. He continued staring at his reflection, just... talking. "I was hanging out with Kacchan and S—Hijack, in Hijack's room, when we heard everyone come back. We could hear them all coming from this one direction and I realized they kept people prisoner down there too, so I went to look, and..." He trailed off, taking a shuddery breath.

He couldn't get rid of the image of Shigaraki slamming Aizawa's face to the floor. It hadn't been too hard, but it had brought back horrible memories of the Noumu slamming his teacher's head against the plaza at the USJ. A cold chill rushed down his spine at the memory, both memories, his hands shaking as he gripped the mug tighter.

"I see," Aiko said softly next to him, and faced her mug with a sigh. "Well, that explains Kurogiri randomly dropping you off. Even when you're not mid-episode, you tend to get pretty freaked out by how rough they can get." Izuku glanced at her in mild surprise, watching her sip her hot chocolate with a thoughtful hum. "They won't get suspicious about you having an episode so you're good for now. But back up, what was that about Kacchan?"

She turned to look at him with her eyebrows furrowed, while Izuku just stared at her. After a few seconds of silence Aiko blinked, head tilting slightly to the side. "Did that come out weird?" she asked.

"I think, yeah? A little bit?" He'd kind of expected something more—he didn't know, sisterly, he guessed? Like, comforting him? Not just commenting on him hiding his "episode." Which... actually was good to know. He hadn't thought about that yet, he'd been too focused on freaking out over Aizawa being captured, but at least he didn't have to worry about that now.

"...I am not the best at comforting people, heh," Aiko said with a sardonic smile, chuckling humorlessly as she turned away. They sat in silence for a few seconds, and then she faced him again with a frown. "Though seriously, what's this about Katsuki?"

"Huh? Uh, how—" Before he could finish he heard thumps from the other side of the wall behind them, and he twisted to look at it with wide eyes.

"Oh, guess she's done with the shower," Aiko hummed.

"She?" Izuku repeated. "Who—" He didn't get a chance to finish before the bedroom door opened, and he turned to look at it in surprise. Then, for the second time in not even fifteen minutes his heart seemed to stop, his eyes widening in recognition as a familiar person stepped out. "Uraraka?"

Uraraka squeaked at her name, whirling to face him with equally large eyes. As their gazes locked he felt his heart skip a beat, a sudden sense of nostalgia and familiarity washing over him. Her hair still looked wet from the shower, and she wore a slightly too-big t-shirt and pink pajama pants with a paw print pattern that had to be rolled up around her ankles. But after everything else that happened today, she had never looked so amazing to him.

As they looked at each other she visibly lit up, her face breaking into a giant smile. "Deku!" she cheered, and lunged across the room to tackle him in a hug. Izuku yelped as his arms flailed at his sides upon impact, sinking even deeper into the couch. If he hadn't already been sitting the hug would have knocked him off his feet for sure. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"Uraraka?" he sputtered, still in shock. "What the—how—w-what are you doing—" Then something else registered and he bolted upright with enough force to knock her arms loose as he gasped. "The hot chocolate!" He'd been holding the mug when Uraraka tackle-hugged him, but when he looked at his hand now it was empty. Oh crap, where did it—

"It's right here," Aiko said, and they both looked at the woman as she held up his mug with an amused smile. "You are so lucky I have such good reflexes, or this would have spilled all over me." Izuku's face turned bright crimson, and it grew even redder as he realized Uraraka was still partially leaning over him. When he looked at her their eyes met again, and he could see her realize the same thing as her own face flushed red.

Cue Uraraka scrambling back and Izuku sinking deeper into the cushions, both of them covering their faces and wishing they could disappear. Aiko just laughed at their embarrassment, setting Izuku's mug on the table next to her own. "I found your friend hanging around a villain base the Alliance planned to raid earlier today," she told him with a smirk. "It sounds like she thought it was their base, and she was hoping to join the Alliance to find you."

Izuku's embarrassed flush vanished as he snapped a look of stone-cold horror her way, horrified by this information. To her credit Uraraka couldn't meet his gaze, staring down at her feet with a miserable frown. "You were what?" he squeaked.

"I didn't know what else to do!" she protested. "I know it's dangerous, but I mean—I couldn't just leave you alone! You're—" She stopped short, shooting Aiko a mild frown. Izuku followed her gaze, and the woman tilted her head at them with a sunny smile.

"Don't mind me, keep on talking," she said cheerfully, and Izuku had to suppress a groan.

"Aiko-nee, I'm really sorry, but could you maybe give us some space?" he asked hesitantly. "I know it's probably rude to ask b-because this is your apartment, I guess, but this is kinda private, and..." He trailed off as Aiko's smile shifted to wide-eyed surprise, making him shrink back nervously. "Um, w-what is it?"

"You called me Aiko-nee." She broke into a brilliant smile that caught him by surprise, almost as much as her words did. She really did care about the other Izuku, huh. Her fondness for his counterpart was evident in the warmth of her voice and expression, clearly happy he used the term even while supposedly amnesic. After a moment she got off the couch and grabbed her mug, ruffling his hair with her free hand while he squawked. "Alright, I'll give you two some space. You'll have all night to talk anyway."

"We will?" Izuku asked in surprise, and Aiko hummed, plucking a cell phone from the couch's arm.

"Kurogiri texted me to ask you to spend the night." Wait, what? When did that happen? Aiko turned on the phone to open her texts as she added, "Himiko also said she took your friend back to his room before Tomura could notice, so you don't have to worry about that." Oh crap, Izuku totally forgot Kacchan was still in Shinsou's room when he left. He'd been so freaked out by seeing Aizawa-sensei it slipped his mind.

Aiko slid the phone into her pocket as she smiled at him. "Anyways, your room's in the apartment next door, and there's plenty of your stuff there if you guys want to hang out there. I'll give you two some space to talk for now, Seiko never comes here so you'll have plenty of privacy. I need to go talk to Tomura and Seiko about things."

"Things?" Izuku repeated. In response Aiko just smiled wider, and while it wasn't malicious it had that eerie sort of too-happy cheer that sent a chill down his spine.

"Things," she chirped happily, and headed to the door. "I'll be back in a couple of hours. While I'm gone, please tell your friend exactly why this was such a stupid idea. I'll be back by dinner. Bye!" She gave a final cheerful wave before exiting into the hallway, the apartment silent in the wake of her departure. For a moment neither of them spoke, just staring at the door. Then Izuku spun to face Uraraka, finally letting his horror explode.

"What the hell were you thinking!?"

Uraraka lives and is NOT a prisoner of the Alliance! Whew! A lot of people were freaking out over her fate last chapter. And also Aizawa. I had WAY too much fun seeing everyone's reactions last time.

So many great little moments here. Aiko is finally ready to start playing a bigger role in the story. There are big plans for her, and plenty of mysteries surrounding her.