Before today's chapter, SonderDaisies and MooseMuse from AO3 did a piece for the fan art contest! SonderDaisies drew Jirou leaving the scene of the crime after making the very first 1-A_No_Dream message. Meanwhile, MooseMuse drew Seiko's lovely masterpiece and Izuku's reaction! As always, it's shared on my Tumblr~ There are also two other people who are still finishing up their art, so keep an eye on my Tumblr!

Also: There's an important announcement at the bottom, so be sure to check the author's notes!

Chapter 102

.::A New Day::.

Monday dawned with an overcast sky, fitting the mood as Kyouka and Kaminari trudged to Munakata High School. They joined the crowds of their peers heading towards the building, the air thick with tension and heads drooping with dread at the coming challenge:

Exams.

As much as it sucked, it could admittedly be worse. Thanks to the online module's existence, the exams would be only two days instead of three for them. Six of the nine core subjects would be covered, with three exams each day: science, math, and Japanese on the first day; and social studies, English, and health/physical education on the second.

The other three subjects—home economics, music, and art—were more hands-on and dependent on actually being there for classes than the rest. As such, those all got tested on the third day for students who attended primarily in person, while online students would be excused. Kaminari had just managed to miss the cut-off for having to take those exams when he switched to online, much to his joy.

They still had to get through two days though. Kyouka felt almost nauseous as they entered the building, heading to her homeroom in this world for the first time since waking up. Any doubts about the lingering subconscious impressions from their counterparts vanished as she did. Everything felt both alien yet weirdly familiar, somehow knowing where to go even without following Kaminari.

"Man, I think I'm gonna be sick," he groaned as they walked down the hallway, arms folded over his stomach. "I haven't been this nervous since the last finals!"

"Yeah, I'm not feeling too hot either," she agreed with a grimace. Exam days were always stressful, but this time she had even less knowledge of the subjects. She just had to hope that her cram session with Tokage would be enough to get her through them.

Her specifically. Kaminari was probably screwed either way.

He was probably aware of that, because he looked almost physically sick. She was pretty sure he'd looked better back at USJ. "I think I forgot everything already," he whispered. "I tried to go over everything one last time before bed, like Yaomomo said to do that one time, but there was just so much and I had no idea where to even start...!"

He trailed off into a whimper, and Kyouka's grimace grew. Yeah, she couldn't blame him. "At least we don't have to fight teachers?" she said awkwardly, trying to lighten the mood.

It seemed to have the effect she'd hoped for, because he immediately snorted and cracked a small, somewhat shaky smile. "Oh man, that would be so weird," he said. "Can you imagine fighting Akino-sensei? I think his Quirk is just making flowers bloom. Not even creating flowers, just making them bloom."

Kyouka smirked. "Seriously? That totally fits his hippie vibes. Or how about Murasaki-sensei? Doesn't she just turn stuff purple?" She hadn't seen the history teacher in person yet, but she had seen her plenty over the virtual lessons. Her blackboard was notably purple instead of dark green. One memorable lecture had also featured her freaking out when she'd accidentally dyed a pile of handouts purple.

"Man, how would that even work in a fight?" Kaminari asked, smiling a bit more brighter now as he chuckled. "Just turn us purple?"

"Heck if I know," Kyouka said with a shrug. "But I mean, I guess turning people purple would make it harder to hide if you manage to escape."

"What are you two talking about?" They turned to face the newcomer, a person Kyouka had honestly forgotten was here: Iida. Seeing him in the Munakata uniform of a powder blue sweater-vest and white button-up paired with plaid slacks still felt so weird, as did the different glasses. Running into him out by the office buildings hadn't been nearly as odd since she'd seen him in casual clothes before, but a different school uniform? It felt like his head had been pasted onto a stranger's body.

"Oh, hey Iida," Kaminari greeted with a nod, quickly getting over his own surprise. "We were just talking about fighting teachers."

Iida's face flashed with surprise and quickly screwed up in disapproval. "Fighting teachers?" he repeated incredulously.

"I was trying to help him with his nerves," Kyouka explained with a shrug. "We're obviously not really gonna fight the teachers."

"Still, that's a rather... inappropriate topic," Iida replied. "Couldn't you have chosen another one?"

"Sure, I guess, but I mean, I just said the first thing that came to mind. It's just a distraction."

A distraction that had lost its effectiveness now that Kyouka had mentioned that. "Ah crap, and now I'm remembering the tests are a thing," Kaminari groaned, shoulders slumping. "Dang it, I'm gonna fail so hard..."

That gloomy declaration was enough to redirect Iida's attention, changing gears from scolding to his version of a pep talk. "Positive thinking is a key part of taking exams!" he said firmly, chopping the air for emphasis. "If you go into it believing you will fail, you will fail! So don't go into it thinking of failure, go in expecting success!"

Kyouka quietly snickered at the motivational speaker impression, while Kaminari remained completely unmoved by it. "Pretty sure positive thinking won't magically make me know the answers to all the questions," he grumbled sulkily. "I'm doomed."

"Cheer up, Jamming-whey," she teased. "At least if you fail, it won't be the end of the world. Way better than the last exams." The finals at UA before summer had much higher stakes than this, what with Aizawa's threat of keeping students who failed from attending the summer camp. That had turned out to be a lie, but it'd placed plenty of pressure on them to do well.

The reminder seemed to have a bit of an effect, because he slowly nodded and regained a bit of his color, though he still seemed a bit subdued. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Compared to then, this is nothing."

"What do you mean?" Iida asked, clearly confused, and Kyouka mentally cursed herself. While he might not be their Iida, he acted similar enough that she forgot that he wouldn't remember the final exams for a second.

Fortunately, she didn't need to scramble for an excuse because Kaminari replied for her. "Last time, my stepsister said I'd have to babysit the twins over break if I scored last on the exam," he said with a shrug. "It was really high stakes for me."

"Oh, do you have younger siblings?"

"Yeah, Maki and Momiji. They're three, and they're kinda little nightmares to deal with sometimes. Half the reason I came here was to get some space from them."

Iida frowned. "I know children that young can be rambunctious, but it can't be that bad, can it?" he asked doubtfully.

"Didn't they set a fence on fire last month?" Kyouka asked, remembering the text chain she'd read. Iida jolted in alarm while Kaminari perked up and nodded.

"Yeah, they did! And actually, about that. Remember how Momiji doused the fence in maple sap and Maki got her hands on matches?"

Kyouka's eyebrows raised as she slowly nodded. "Yeah...?"

"Well, turns out maple sap isn't normally flammable like we thought. So we're not sure what's going on there. But also, yesterday a snowman they made caught fire. So uh, yeah."

He shrugged, while Kyouka and Iida both stared at him. Caught fire. Not melted, caught fire. "Okay, yeah, that's terrifying," she finally declared.

"Why are they allowed around matches?" Iida asked. "I mean, I assume they're not, but, why are the matches left in their reach?"

"They're not. Akiko says they hide them, but the twins keep finding them somehow. They're almost wondering if Maki might have some kind of Quirk that helps finds matches...? Or else is what makes the maple sap and snow catch on fire?" Another shrug, while Kyouka just slowly shook her head. This world's Kaminari was even more screwed than they realized.

"Well, I suppose winter break should be... interesting for you," Iida commented, and the remark had them both freezing, not that he noticed. "I suppose your parents will be quite happy to have the extra help in watching them!"

"...Yeah, I guess so too," Kaminari said faintly.

"Anyways, shouldn't we be getting to the classroom?" Kyouka piped up quickly. They still had a good ten minutes until class began, but Iida perked up and nodded.

"Indeed we should, Jirou-san! I was planning to do a final review before first period. I suggest you two do the same!"

"Sounds like a good idea," Kyouka agreed with a nod. "You go on ahead, we'll be there in a second." Iida nodded and headed off, and as soon as he went into the classroom Kaminari spun to face her with absolute panic.

"We forgot about winter break!" he hissed.

"I know!" she hissed back. Winter break. How could they forget about that? No doubt their families would expect them to go back home for the holidays. She pinched the bridge of her nose and took a breath. "Okay, it's only the eleventh. After this week, we still have another week of school. So it's not too urgent. By that time, we might already be home."

"Do you really believe that?" Kaminari asked skeptically, and she sighed.

"I have no idea, but honestly, probably not," she admitted reluctantly. That would be great, but with how things were going, she wouldn't hold her breath. "But by then, there should be enough happening that I don't think we'd be sticking around anyway. Worst case scenario, we just run away before then." They had plenty of places to go.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he muttered, but still seemed a bit shaken. She couldn't blame him, she was still a bit freaked out too.

"Let's just focus on the exams for now and worry about it later," she said, and he nodded as they headed for the classroom. Still, she knew forgetting about it was easier said than done. Returning home, or even just having their families visit Hosu for the holidays, would completely derail any plans they had to meet the others. Not to mention the awkwardness of navigating family dynamics they had absolutely zero memory of.

Still, they'd have to figure out how to handle that themselves. Because right now, the others had enough to worry about on their ends.

She pushed the thought away as she stepped into the classroom, feet naturally carrying her towards a desk she had never before seen. They could worry about the future later. For now, she had a test to take.

At the same moment, Izuku hesitated in front of the door to Aizawa's new cell, holding a tray with breakfast. The idea of facing his teacher after what happened yesterday had his stomach in knots. Technically, this would be his second visit since then, but when he'd checked in last night Aizawa had been asleep, so they hadn't talked yet. He couldn't avoid it this time though.

He took a deep breath as he knocked on the door before entering the code on the keypad next to it. Back when he'd first visited Shinsou in this hall he thought the keypad was just to make it harder for him to escape, but he now realized it was also for Shinsou's safety. Probably the most reassuring part about the move was that the doors in this hall all required a code to unlock them, so no one could barge in on Aizawa like those people had yesterday.

The code for Aizawa's room had been set to 8443, just one number higher than the code for Shinsou's room. The pad gave a cheerful-sounding beep to confirm it was now unlocked, and he pushed the door open.

The sight of Aizawa in a bed was only marginally better than seeing him chained to the floor. He had leather cuffs around his wrists and right ankle, though Izuku could only see the straps on the right side running over the edge of the mattress from the doorway. His newly re-splinted leg was elevated on a pillow, blanket settled around it so his toes protruded above it. Seeing that was a relief at least.

Aizawa's eyes were initially closed when Izuku entered, but they slowly opened as he stepped inside, quickly focusing on him before heaving a sigh. "Guess it's morning then," he muttered, and something about the way he said that just made Izuku nearly break.

"Y-yeah, it is," he mumbled as he walked over with the tray. He'd tried to pick stuff that would be easy to eat in bed: a breakfast sandwich made with salmon and vegetables, some melon bread from a convenience store, and a few slices of a daikon radish. He still hesitated next to the bed, fidgeting awkwardly as he glanced down. "Um, d-do you want me to help you eat, or...?"

Izuku trailed off as Aizawa sat up and shifted to reveal his left hand had a cuff with a longer strap that allowed him to lift it. "I can feed myself," he said crisply, and Izuku admittedly felt a surge of relief. He carefully set the tray on Aizawa's lap and went to sit in the chair as Aizawa began eating, still fidgeting as he glanced over his teacher's counterpart.

Aizawa's left hand didn't have a mitten, but now that the blankets had shifted he could see one the right one did. It was different from before, white and very plush-looking; the round shape almost reminded him of a plushie's hand. The cuff overlapped with the hem tightly, and Izuku's stomach sank as he noticed the lock on the restraint. There wouldn't be any removing that anytime soon. Given they'd left one hand free...

"I guess it must need both hands after all..."

"What?" Izuku startled when Aizawa spoke up, eyes snapping up to find the man frowning at him. Aizawa's eyes flickered towards the mitten and his expression darkened, shoulders slumping as he sighed. "You know about it, don't you." It wasn't even a question and sounded so tired, and Izuku winced and grimaced as he reluctantly nodded.

"Um, if you mean that your Quirk can apparently erase Quirks more, uh, permanently... Y-yeah, I kinda do. I mean, I don't know exactly how it works," he added quickly, not wanting Aizawa to think it was common knowledge in the base. "I'm just assuming it requires physical contact with all ten fingers based on what Hijack told us yesterday."

The name had Aizawa wincing, lips pulling back in a grimace as he stared down at his breakfast. "I see," he murmured, and Izuku's heart sank at the sheer guilt in his voice.

"He doesn't blame you!" he said frantically. "He was in a lot of shock at first, but he doesn't blame you for it! Really! And he was really worried when I told him and Kacchan about the attack!" The others had been horrified when they heard about the attack. Izuku and Shinsou actually had to physically restrain Bakugou from rushing out to find the villains and attack them in revenge. They only got him to stop by Izuku pointing out they were already dead.

Something told him that mentioning that would not be good right now, though. Aizawa's face grew even darker, scowling bitterly to himself. "Of course he was," he muttered. "If I die, it might get stuck like that."

Izuku's stomach lurched at the obvious self-loathing. "That's not why he was worried at all!" he protested, feeling his eyes tear up. "You're our teacher! We're all really worried and don't want anything to happen to you! And, a-and..." He trailed off, squeezing his eyes tightly shut as he took a deep breath. "Please, don't talk like that... Please...!"

His voice choked at the end, sniffling loudly as he wiped away his forming tears with shaking hands. Still the tears didn't stop, just quietly crying as the stress of it all seemed to weigh down on him. Waking up here, finding his friends locked up, seeing Aizawa show up injured and then getting tortured and nearly killed... He choked down a sob at the last thought, his chest painfully tight.

Aizawa still didn't look at him as he cried, just stared down at his plate in silence. That just pushed Izuku to try to stifle his crying and stop even more. Aizawa had been through enough, he didn't need the kid responsible for his suffering breaking down next to him. After a while Aizawa sighed and pressed a hand to his eyes, seeming so very, very tired.

"Kid, please stop crying," he muttered. "I'm sorry I said that, okay?" The apology had Izuku wincing, eyes wide as he quickly shook his head.

"You don't need to apologize, you have nothing to be sorry for!" he protested. "If anyone should be sorry, it's me! It's my fault you got hurt! I-it's my fault you're even here!" His voice wobbled again, sniffing back another sob. "It's because of me you're going through any of this! I'm so, so, so sorry..!"

Aizawa didn't respond right away, didn't even look at him, just kept pressing against his eyes. Soon he heaved another sigh though and pulled his hand away, staring down at his breakfast once more. "...Kid, can I ask you something?" he finally asked, and Izuku wiped his face as he nodded.

"Y-yeah, of course..." Answering some of Aizawa's questions was the least he could do. The man really had been through so much because of him. Still, Aizawa seemed to hesitate, lips pressing into a thin line for a moment before nodding and looking at him.

"You're not actually Quirkless, are you?" he asked bluntly, and Izuku flinched, feeling the blood drain from his face. Oh. He should have expected that. He grimaced as he looked down at his lap, feeling a fresh wave of guilt.

"I guess not," he muttered, and then quickly added, "But I wasn't trying to lie to you about it! I really didn't have a Quirk for the longest time. I grew up without one, b-but..."

"But now you have one," Aizawa finished for him, and Izuku nodded miserably. The hero sighed softly, closing his eyes as he kept eating. "I don't expect you intend to reveal what it is, so don't worry about that."

The remark had Izuku wincing again, feeling like another wall had grown between them. Why? Why did it feel like every time they made progress, something would happen to set it back? He hated that, that they were somehow becoming even more distant. Right now, he knew their trust was more unstable than ever, and that this would be a defining moment in their relationship. Whatever he said next would either make it stronger, or push Aizawa away even farther.

The thought had Izuku swallowing dryly, taking a deep breath as he made up his mind. "I... don't know what my Quirk is," he admitted slowly, and saw Aizawa shoot him a surprised look, probably not expecting him to actually talk about it. "I knew I had one, but I thought it was just a strength Quirk. But then yesterday..."

He trailed off, frowning as he glanced down at his hands. "Yesterday, when I saw you on the ground all beaten up like that, it's like something in me—snapped. Honestly, it's all kinda blurry now and I barely remember any of it," he confessed, frown growing. "I was just really, really mad. I thought my vision went red, but then, um..."

"Then I used Erasure, and you realized it was real," Aizawa supplied when Izuku trailed off, and he nodded.

"Y-yeah. I still don't know what that light did, exactly. I think it might be connected to how everyone went flying...?" He shrugged uncertainly. "Like I said, it's all... blurry. I don't really remember much after I ran to get Tomura-nii." His frown grew at the name, glancing down at his lap again. "...They don't know."

"They?" Izuku risked a glance, and could see comprehension dawning on the man's face, eyes growing wide. At least he didn't need to explain what he meant. "So your Quirk is a secret then."

"Yeah," Izuku confirmed with a small nod. "I don't really have much reason to use it, so not many people know. Not even Tomura-nii or Kurogiri. Right now, the only ones who know are Kacchan, Hijack, Aiko-nee, Seiko, and... you, now."

"I see," Aizawa murmured with a frown, glancing down at his hand. He seemed conflicted, like he wanted to ask more, but finally shook his head. "I won't tell anyone. I assume you have reasons to hide it."

"Thanks," Izuku sighed, feeling a bit of relief. If Aizawa had asked why he wanted to hide it, he honestly wouldn't know what to say. He didn't want to keep lying or avoid answering his questions, not with their trust so fragile right now. But explaining anything would probably make things even worse for that very reason.

He tried to push away the thought and started rambling. "I'm still not sure how they don't know after yesterday though. I... didn't really give a good explanation, and just said I found everyone already like that... But they didn't press...? Or at least Tomura-nii didn't, I haven't talked to anyone else yet... But I mean, Minotaurus and Sickle Claw hit the wall hard enough to make it crack, so..."

Aizawa frowned as he mumbled. "Midoriya, out of curiosity, you said you thought you had a strength Quirk?" he asked, and Izuku nodded.

"Yeah. I have to do a lot of training because it's so powerful. When I first got it I broke my bones a few times because my body wasn't strong enough to withstand it." At this point he was pretty certain that applied to both worlds, even if he couldn't remember it in this one.

"I see. Then what's the biggest thing you could lift or move without using your Quirk?" Izuku stared at him blankly, not understanding the meaning of the question, and Aizawa sighed. "Just humor me. I'm guessing your training regiment is focused on strength based on what you just said. You don't even have to say it, think of the heaviest thing you've moved on your own."

Izuku nodded, automatically thinking back to his training at Dagobah Beach. He knew his counterpart hadn't done the same training, but he knew that their bodies' physiques were similar enough, even if this world's body was a little less fit. By the end of his training at Dagobah Beach, he'd been able to move fridges, wardrobes, cupboards, gym lockers, old TVs, safes, a rusty pickup truck...

"You look like you have some stuff in mind," Aizawa observed as Izuku reflected on his training. "Now, think of the strength needed to move those objects... And imagine what happens when you use that amount of strength to punch someone's solar plexus."

Izuku froze, his brain responding to the prompt with only the sound of a loud crack. "Oh my gosh," he whispered, face paling. He had never thought of that before, but even without One For All, that would definitely cause serious damage.

Aizawa just nodded while Izuku's mind imploded. "Something that not many people realize is that with the advent of Quirks, people's bodies also evolved. Strength, durability, speed and reflexes... The natural baseline for the human body's basic potential grew stronger, even for those born without Quirks. Not many people ever need to tap into their body's full potential, so it's not widely known. It becomes especially noticeable if focused your training primarily around strength, though."

"Oh," Izuku said faintly. That... definitely explained some things. He'd never actually tried fighting without One For All, at least not after he started training with All Might. In retrospect, it really should have been obvious that this just wasn't normal. He didn't just push that pickup truck over sand (seriously, it got stuck so much), he hauled it to the top of the garbage pile. That had to be, what, five meters tall?

...Holy crap, he climbed a five-meter tall tower of garbage while carrying a pickup truck. How did he never realize how crazy that was!?

"It sounds like Kurogiri and Shigaraki are at least aware of that potential, based on Kurogiri's comment to me yesterday," Aizawa said as Izuku continued to reel from this revelation. "Combine that with the natural boost from adrenaline, and it's easy to write off what happened yesterday as you tapping into even more natural strength after getting upset. They probably thought you were in shock at your own strength."

Yeah, now that he said that, that probably explained why Shigaraki didn't try to push him for more details yesterday. It sounded pretty crazy, but... given everything else that Izuku had experienced since waking up here (including waking up here), not too crazy. Then again, at this point Izuku's bar for what sounded plausible was probably out of whack given the whole multiverse thing.

He just blinked slowly as he pushed that out of his mind. "...I guess so," he murmured, still feeling a bit dazed by—well, all of this, and Aizawa hummed. He grabbed the water bottle that came with his breakfast (cap already helpfully removed), and Izuku's heart then soared when he reached for the painkiller pill. Izuku had added it to the tray to help, but he hadn't fully expected Aizawa to actually take it after everything that happened yesterday. Even if he was in pain, he had more reason to be wary than ever.

So the fact he did take it, even after yesterday, meant he still trusted Izuku. The realization had him harshly swallowing down the urge to cry again, because Aizawa did not need to deal with that. His chest felt so much lighter at the reassurance that their relationship hadn't been completely ruined like he'd feared.

"I'm done with breakfast," Aizawa informed Izuku dully, and the teen glanced at the tray in surprise to see the plate was indeed empty. He quickly picked it off Aizawa's lap, mindful of how he couldn't remove it himself with only one hand mobile.

"Okay, I'll just take it back to the kitchen then," he said. "You're probably tired, so I understand if you want to rest, so I'll leave you alone." Aizawa hummed again, already leaning back against the pillows. Izuku fidgeted awkwardly, not sure what else to say. "I'll... come back later? Around lunchtime?"

"That's fine," Aizawa murmured, eyes closing. Izuku took it as a silent dismissal and headed out without another word, making sure to close the door quietly. Once in the hall he sighed, shoulders slumping tiredly.

This... was all so messed up. He had so many new questions now, but he just shook his head as he turned to the keypad to re-enter the code. Two beeps informed him it was now locked again, and he carried the tray to the kitchen. At least he didn't need to worry about someone breaking into Aizawa's cell while he was gone, but his list of worries seemed to grow by the day.

Escaping was a higher priority than ever.

So to clear something up: everyone in the Alliance still think Izuku is Quirkless. Credit to CocoaNerd, who recently pointed out on Discord that Izuku moved some VERY heavy stuff on Dagobah Beach before getting OFA. Namely, the truck. Based on our guesses, it's a Suzuki Carry truck, which is around 1,300-1720lbs depending on the model. Even when stripped of the engine, transmission and such, it'd still be pretty dang heavy. And he didn't just push it over sand, he put it on top of the dang trash mountain. Downix estimates that thing is around 5.2 meters tall (a little over 17ft). So if Izuku can do that WITHOUT One For All, then holy crap he was still way stronger than the average person.

So basically: they think that Izuku is super strong and just unaware of his own strength.

Also, the anime this weekend revealed something. Something big. Remember when I asked if people would mind manga spoilers? Well, this was the specific manga spoiler I was asking about and have been hinting at. So I can now do this reveal without any guilt/worries about spoiling anime-onlies! Hooray! :D

But more importantly, I have some bad news.

Ignite to the Call will be going on hiatus for the rest of August.

This was a decision I made after a lot of hard thought, especially since I just had another hiatus pretty recently. The buffer is lower than ever—as in, I put the finishing touches on this chapter last night. I have 103 written, but that's it. Along with that, at the end of the month, I'm going to start the job hunt for real. We're also planning to try to take a short trip later this month, pandemic permitting, and I don't know how much writing I'll be able to do then. I want to have time to build up the buffer as much as possible before I get a job, as well as have time to focus on some of my other stories I've neglected. (To any fans of The Bloody Oracle of Kiri, I'm doing an update this week!)

I'll be back on September 6th with Chapter 103 (and announce the winner of the art contest then!), but before then, I'll be posting a little something special. I ended up writing an omake for this chapter last night that ultimately clocked over 1k words, so I'm gonna post it over on AO3 to start a side-story collection! I've been wanting to do something like that for a while now, and this omake is a perfect way to start it. ^^

On that note, I'm sorry to FFN-only readers, but I won't be cross-posting the side stories. I've ranted so much about this site's interface, and I meant it when I said I'm not posting any new stories here. If you forget why, you can find my reasoning in Chapters 62 and 63 (particularly 63). The fact that the site was essentially down for a WEEK when I first posted Aftershock, with absolutely zero word from ANYONE about the issues, was the final straw for me. This site is run by a skeleton crew, and it's just awful. It's clear that whoever owns FFN doesn't ACTUALLY care about anything other than their mobile app, and nice as it is, I uninstalled that thing when it gave me virus warnings on my phone. FFN will never fix any of the major issues with the browser's interface, it doesn't even have a proper link for logging in on the mobile site.

I'm updating stories that were already cross-posted, but that's it. Sorry again if you can only view FFN, but I just can't support this site.