Hoo boy, another super late at night chapter!
I basically spent the last couple of days just working on the beginning, and then today just got inspired and finished it all! Even with my asthma kicking my ass due to the changing weather!
I'm a madman some days, I swear.
So the next chapter won't be for a bit, as I would like to get a new chapter of "Three sides of the Same Coin" pushed out, as well as continue with "Izuku Midoriya: The Green Gaul" with a new chapter for it. and while I know some would have liked to have seen Izuku talk to Toga in real time, I honestly didn't feel like writing another 10 pages of it, or splitting it off and leaving you all hanging, so we will be getting a follow up to it. (I know a certain fellow author who would beat me silly with a blow-up hammer if I did that to his vampire.)
The planned storyline for Bearer however will be this, as to give you all a sneak peek at what I have in store.
1. Aftermath of the truth revealed, as well as Kinoko being brought into the Poly.
2. Himiko's first few days in UA, meeting the other members of class 1-A and a certain Unicorn.
3. Kyoka unlocking the Bard kit (special date chapter - no smut)
4. Birthday Date with Mina (ALL THE SMUT)
and Lastly,
5. I-Island Arc, with the introduction of Melissa as well as the unlocking of a new Kit.
So yea, haven't run outta ideas, just need to do some final preparations as well as work on my other stories for those who enjoy them as well :D
Review time!:
TMGoH: Yeaaaa... Reaper was never going to be introduced this early on, but it will happen sooner than later. Considering a certain vampire will help unlock the deadliest of kits. :D and during a time where Izuku has no fucks to give. But enjoy Dark Knight :D
Silvanium: YEP LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!
fallendemon248: Here's the thing, as much as Feo Ul likes to be in charge, she knows Nezu is the top dog, even as weakened as he is, he still commands a lot of power, and she is in HIS HOUSE, mooching off of him. XD So yea, nothing to crazy, but she will have an impact on Kinoko... and mayhap Class 1-B as well. hehehehe
ArashiNokitsune: You'll have to see, besides, if not, He'll need time to process it as well.
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to My Hero Academia and Final Fantasy XIV, they belong to their copyright holders.
Chapter 56
I am the Light!
"Qui…ess…. Los…."
An echoing voice in his head caused the still body of Izuku to stir, laying against a floor of some kind as his eyes slowly began to open, before clenching them shut with a pounding headache suddenly as he brought a hand up to his head, clenching his teeth front he pain.
"You … give up…."
Another voice echoed out from somewhere unseen as Izuku was able to open his eyes and take in the sights before him.
Well, he could, if it wasn't some vague landscape of utter darkness.
Unlike the last time he was in a similar place, this felt more cold and hostile like there was no escape and one was to be forever trapped. Slowly rising to his feet, Izuku dusted himself off, shouting loudly in surprise with a higher-pitched voice, "W-WHAT'S GOING ON?!"
The green-haired boy began to pat himself down, tiny hands roaming his body as he tugged on the familiar 'Plus Ultra' shirt of his younger years and his clearly child-sized shorts.
Gone were his muscles, stature, and bringing his hands up to his head, he could feel the absolute fluffiness of his hair. Something that he had tamed (somewhat) when he started middle school. He felt his chubbier cheeks, squishing them before it finally dawned on him.
He had somehow gotten younger, and judging by how long his legs and arms were, Izuku figured he was back in his four-year-old body.
However, before Izuku could even think of how this had happened, a distant cry of 'No! You're Wrong!' could be heard coming from far into that dark abyss surrounding him.
It was then that Izuku remembered how he got into this place; at least, he thought it was the same place. And the defiant cry of a familiar voice could only mean that it was coming from his counterpart, that had also been consumed by the weird Shadow Beast.
Izuku kept looking about, hoping to hear more of Deku's cries or perhaps the weird voices that had awoken him previously, but after a time, the silence around him grew more before the much younger hero in training clenched his fist and dashed from where he stood, hoping he was going the right way.
As Izuku made his way into the darkness, he failed to notice from behind him, a pair of red eyes watching him, keeping their gaze upon his back until he was out of sight, at which point they too would head into the darkness once more.
They would keep watch and wait to see if the young Warrior of Light would conquer his inner darkness…
Or be consumed by it.
"CAROLINA SMASH!"
All Might shouted, bringing down his cross chop on top of the giant creature's head, the impact sending a shockwave of dust and debris to fly from around the two combatants. The number one hero gritted his teeth as while the beast clearly looked like it felt that blow, the impact of the move barely did anything then caused it to flinch slightly.
The many eyes of the canine-looking foe suddenly shifted to look at the larger man, its many smaller mouths constantly spewing out rants and wails of anguish and pain as it jerked its head back to remove the 'pest' from its head, snapping at the retreating pro with it's much more prominent and obviously sharper teeth within its gigantic maw of a mouth.
Loud explosions could be heard from the side of the beast's side before being hit by large chunks of ice. The beast roared as it turned its head towards the small group of Todoroki, Uraraka, and Kirishima. They tossed more and more of the weightless chunks of ice at the creature's head. The gravity-nullifying girl kept releasing to have the full-weight impact against the beast.
"Everyone, hold your ground! Yaoyorozu!" Aizawa shouted from the side where he was standing with the recovering All Might, with several other students behind him that also had been hurt in the near twenty minutes of combating the strange shadow creature, "Use the flashbangs! Everyone cover your eyes in three!"
Being alerted by the loud voice of the adult caused the creature to turn its gaze towards him, only to be stopped by several bright flashes of light. It howled in agony as it began to step backward. Its hind legs suddenly stepped onto the combined layers of tape and purple balls behind it, trying to reel from the rather upsetting feeling but unable to move its hindquarters from the floor.
The creature suddenly reared up, bellowing a roar that nearly sent everyone flying away from how loud and powerful it was. Aizawa grit his teeth before his tired eyes slowly began to widen in horror, as did everyone else's, as the strange creature slowly stood upright, with a giant shroud of darkness appearing before it.
Now upon its hind legs, like some sort of nightmarish werewolf, the creature swiped at the cloud of darkness that hung in the air, retrieving a giant sword with a blazing red core located at the crossguard of the ridiculous thing.
Its many eyes turned towards Aizawa again, snarling at the man as it brought its sword up, making the homeroom teacher turn away and shout, "EVERYONE GET BACK!"
"T̶̢͇̓̽̿̇H̵͚̻̽R̸̘̤̟̩̈O̵͔̦̺͋̃͘N̸͇͇͑̈́E̵͇͎͒͘͠ ̴̻̩́̊̋͛O̷̢̞̲̭͌̎F̷͈͎̣͖͛͐͌ ̷̨̻͉̈͝S̸̨̭͉̟͊̔̇̃H̴̳̤̓̾̐Á̴̢̯͓͎D̵̢̻̘́O̶̡̠͈̱͑͝W̸̟͔͈̌̓͒͠!"
As the beast spoke the words that sent a chill down everyone's back before a massive dome of darkness and shadow burst forth from its sword, catching everyone around it and sending them flying off and hard into the cement walls or pipes. The screams and pained shouts coming from the members of class 1-A filled the air as the creature licked its maw, bringing down the weapon in its hand down to its side, looking around the chaos it had caused.
Looking for its next meal.
Izuku had been running for who knows how long, considering time seemed to be non-existent wherever he was, with the only sound of his bare feet hitting the invisible floor that echoed in his ears, until he eventually stopped, leaning over and panting hard, trying to catch his breath.
"No! You're wrong! I can be a hero without a quirk!"
The familiar voice of Deku rang out again, much closer and louder than before, causing Izuku to keep breathing deeply while looking around before suddenly spotting the most peculiar sight to his right.
There, standing it seemed, to be a group of shadowy figures, was myself, or rather a boy who looked like himself though all of the colors of his being were flipped to the negative. Magenta-colored fluffy hair, with matching eyes and a much paler complexion. His shirt was a bright yellow where the words 'Plus Ultra' were a brilliant blue. Even his brown shorts were a creamier variation of the shirt's hue.
Slowly, Izuku began to approach the group as Deku seemed to be slowly pushed back towards him by the ever-growing figures of darkness popping up, their visages covered in obscured shadows, but their voices were loud and clear.
"Quirkless Loser!"
"You should give up."
"Defenseless Deku!"
"Such a poor choice of a successor."
"Who would ever love a Deku like you!"
A whimper came out of the negative boy, tears slowly forming from the corner of his eyes, "S... Stop... please stop! I d-don't believe you!
Izuku had pushed himself further, or at least how much faster he could with his shorter legs. He was about to yell something out but was stopped when he collided with something hard.
Falling onto his butt, Izuku winced as he looked up, seeing the ever-growing amount of shadows begin to grow around the other boy, who was now huddled in the fetal position, trying to block out the constant words of discouragement, hate, and loathing being spewed forth from the dark entities.
Izuku slowly picked himself up, reaching his hand out to perhaps comfort his alternate self, but was stopped when his hand pressed against an invisible wall. A cry of pain soon took Izuku's attention when he witnessed several more minor shadows beginning to beat Deku.
"Loser!"
"Weak!"
"STOP!" Izuku cried out, slamming his fists against the wall before him, watching as the shadows ignored him, and seeing the prone Deku clenching his eyes tightly and huddled more into himself, "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
"They cannot hear you." A voice from behind Izuku spoke loud, making the green-haired boy spin around only to come face to face with Fray, looking down upon him with his armor-covered arms crossed over his chest.
"Fray! Thank god! I need your help! We gotta get him out of there!" Izuku said as he tugged on the apparition's tattered skirt, ignoring the cold stare being given by Fray with a look of pleading from Izuku.
"I am afraid that is impossible, Midoriya."
"W-What?!" Izuku shouted in disbelief, turning back towards the heavily crying young version of Deku, whose body began to look like welts were forming from the constant beatings, "B-But there is a wall I can't breakthrough, and they ignored my shouts!"
"They cannot ignore what they cannot hear." Fray spoke somberly, watching the chaos, "While we can clearly see and hear from our side, those on the opposite cannot."
"B-But… How do we save him?" Izuku asked, starting to tear up himself as he looked up to the older man, his tiny hands gripping his shirt into a bunch, "I-I can't just stand here and do nothing!"
"Can't you?" Fray raised an eyebrow gently, looking down at the boy, "After all, this was your own making."
The slow shift of a worried and scared look to one of shock and realization was all Fray needed to turn his gaze from the literal child before him to the mass of Shadows surrounding the other one, "It was you who created this barrier, to block out all the negative emotions you often held towards yourself or others, pushing deeper and deeper into the abyss of your own soul, to be forgotten."
"But," Fray sighed, kneeling down beside Izuku, who just kept watching, "It can never be forgotten, nor can it be ignored as it will forever haunt and consume you." A cold metal hand soon clasped Izuku's shoulder, a literal cold comfort as Fray continued to speak in what would be considered a whisper.
"So tell me, Izuku Midoriya… how are you going to save yourself?"
"HOWITZER IMPACT!" Bakugo shouted as he drove into the back of the creature, a mighty explosion of power going off from the impact, only to see a scuff mark barely visible. The blonde bomber snarled loudly before letting loose with his blasts, "FUCKING DIE!"
"Watch the explosions, Baku-bro!" Kirishima called out with a strained voice as he, along with Shoji, held the arm back that was wielding the giant sword, while on the other side, Sato was tightly gripping the tape wrapped around the other wrist of the creature with Sero and Mineta trying to aid the sugar-eating teenager. The beast's two large feet were covered in thick ice and slowly reached its waist with Todoroki on the side panting heavily, his breath visible from how cold he was feeling.
"Bakugo! Stand down and assist the left arm!" All Might called out, also struggling as he had his giant and muscular arms currently wrapped around the giant maw of the creature, similar to what one would use to tape a crocodile's mouth shut as it continued to shake and whip its head around to free itself from the significant 'pest', "Young Uraraka and Iida! Continue to assault with the pipes and debris!"
Bakugo grunted and reluctantly did what All Might had ordered him to do, while Aizawa had been a few yards away with some of the other students who were still wounded from the last attack and had yet to fully recover.
A shifting and clanging of metal from off to his right forced Aizawa to turn and ready himself to attack whatever was coming, only to see the bright blonde hair of his co-worker poke out from around a bend of pipes. Aizawa sighed heavily, lowering his guard, "Mic, you took your time."
"Hey, it's not easy navigating this maze, and you know iii-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" The loudmouth of a teacher bellowed as he and a few other teachers stood agape at the large wolf-like creature before them.
"Indeed, What has happened, Aizawa?" Nezu spoke, walking past Thirteen and Power Loader, who had also been summoned to aid them; from behind him came Recovery Girl, who looked in horror (and some recognition, Aizawa would later note) before turning her attention to the wounded students.
"As weird as it's going to sound, another Midoriya appeared and attacked him, wearing thick black armor and wielding a giant two-handed sword." the ever tired teacher jutted a thumb to the weapon still laying on the ground in between their position and the creature, "Some words were exchanged, and when it looked like he or it was about to stand down, That thing popped out of the other Midoriya's shadow, grabbed the two and then…." Aizawa looked downcast, trying to gather himself up as Nezu looked at the scene, still listening to the homeroom teacher, "The creature ate them."
"A-Ate them?" Thirteen suddenly squeaked, helping up a still woozy Tsuyu to sit and allow Recovery Girl to work her 'magic', "D-does that mean he's… they…."
"No," Nezu said, eyeing the creature with a sharp glint, "They or he is still very much alive, but how long is the question."
"T-then how do we get him out of there?" Mic asked, clenching his fist, looking towards the Dean, who had his arms behind his back.
"Nothing we have done to the creature has so much as caused it to flinch, aside from All Might's blows, but even then, it's shrugging them off like minor annoyances," Aizawa spoke grimly, his eyes now focusing on the scene as well while Nezu rubbed his chin.
"Well, that is quite the pickle, isn't it…"
Not far from the group of teachers trying to figure out what to do, Momo was panting heavily, chewing on an emergency ration from one of her pouches to try and get not only some of her energy back but also her lipids so she could try and assist her classmates and teachers with more cannonballs.
'You think that will help him?'
A voice in her own mind began to speak, Momo chewing her bottom lips as she watched the group of teachers arguing and contemplating what to do while the others were barely keeping the beast in check.
'While our classmates are fighting, holding back the beast that took Izuku and gobbled him up, are you really going to just sit there and do nothing?'
The voice continued to speak, now clearer like its lips to her ear; Momo vigorously shook her head, either to answer the voice or just clear it from her head, she wasn't too sure.
'Bad enough you couldn't save him then, and what about before? All the signs that he was suffering and what? You did nothing.'
"No… no, I…"
'At the USJ, you did nothing but watch as Izuku nearly killed himself against the Nomu, or before then, in that alleyway against the shark villain.'
Momo gasped gently, her hand brought to her lips; the memories of those two events and the other times when Izuku had just blindly tossed himself into danger and barely escaped with his life flashed in her mind.
The voice giggled gently, 'Little Miss Momo Yaoyorozu, heiress and princess, forever the damsel in distress, waiting for her knight in shining armor to sweep her off her feet. What sort of hero is that?'
"B-but I…"
'But nothing!' It hissed at her, 'If you really want to be a hero, then grow up! This isn't one of your sickly romance novels where everything will come out all happy and rainbows!'
Momo was panting heavily, tears beginning to well up at the corner of her eyes, getting some attention from some of her classmates sitting around her. Mina was the first to speak up, considering she was closer to her, "Momo? You alright?"
The heiress was about to answer her pink-skinned classmate before the voice spoke low in her mind, 'Do you not love Izuku?'
"H-huh?"
'Do you not love the green-haired boy?' It asked again, 'Or is it merely lust that drives you? I wouldn't blame you for such a delicious piece of candy that he is. But that's just it, isn't it? He was your scapegoat from your life, to shield you from the constant gazes and lustful wishes of those who would use and abuse you or your station.'
Momo looked shell-shocked as the voice continued to speak, 'He was never your knight, just another shield to protect you, to be abandoned once you were done with him.'
"N-no… No, that's not true."
"What's not true, Momo? You're starting to scare me…." Mina said, gently placing a hand on the pony-tailed girl's shoulder without even getting a reaction.
'But it is!' The voice, now sounding like her own, echoed in her mind, 'If you thought of Izuku as more than just something to be used and tossed aside like so many of your creations, then why are you just sitting here?'
Momo's eyes widened in shock, a cold sweat slowly sliding down the side of her beautiful face as her gaze slowly began to stare into the void, ignoring everything around her, 'Do you not love Izuku?'
"...I do."
'Would you sacrifice everything to see him smile? Because we know that he would easily do the same for you. For everyone around him.'
With no hesitation, Momo's eyes grew sharp, focusing more on the outside world as she grit her teeth, "In a heartbeat."
'Then stop being the damsel.' The voice said into her ear as Momo's gaze slowly turned towards the abandoned sword of darkness dropped by the one known as Deku, her lover's apparent dark half, as it were. The voice in her head sounded smug for a moment as Momo began to climb up onto her feet, ignoring the questions coming from Mina beside her.
'And become the knight to save what you desire most.'
A sudden shout of 'Momo!' caught everyone off guard to see the pony-tailed heiress dash towards the currently pinned monster, Aizawa had reacted the quickest, but his student had already been a reasonable distance away from him, so his scarf fell short of catching her.
Everyone's eyes went wide as the young woman had effortlessly picked up the giant two-handed sword dropped earlier; some would say it just flew right to her hands as she slid to a halt in front of the still struggling creature.
Everyone gripping the beast could see the angered-looking face that was quite the rarity to show up on the woman's face, for not once in the entire time they had known Momo Yaoyorozu they had never seen her beautiful features twist into something so hateful.
Raising the sword up, panting heavily, Momo gripped the handle tightly with her hands, and as the tip of the sword seemed to be pouring a dark mist down the blade and over her hands.
Momo Yaoyorozu, the class vice-president, heiress to the Yaoyorozu Company, let out the most blood-curdling scream from the top of her lungs as she brought the sword across the creature's body.
"GIVE ME BACK MY IZUKU! EDGE OF DARKNESS!"
'GIVE ME BACK MY IZUKU!'
Izuku's sullen face suddenly perked up, hearing the thunderous yet muffled shout of Momo from somewhere far into the darkness behind him when the sound of slicing came from the invisible wall.
Turning his gaze forward, Izuku was met with a large gash that seemed to have formed across, leaving a deep cut breach into the normally see-through wall. The green-haired body gasped as he saw several of the shadows, now halting their beating of Deku, step back from where the cut was now visible.
Deku slowly began to raise his head up, panting heavily and spitting up blood, having never seen anything like that before, and slowly began to pull himself up off the floor before being descended upon the shadows once more.
"STOP!" Izuku cried out, rushing forward and slamming hard on the barrier again, slamming his fists into it hard enough to visibly shake it now, thanks to the 'open wound'.
"Face it, Midoriya, you, alone, are far too weak to break down the wall." Fray spoke with a dark tone to his voice, still kneeling down to the ground.
"But I'm not alone!" Izuku shouted loudly, now ramming his shoulder into it as Deku could barely hear his counterpart from the other side, still hugging his arms around his head and body to protect himself, "I have Momo and everyone else on my side! And SO DOES HE!"
"B-But they will abandon us!" Deku shouted out, the mass of shadows growing in strength and number, "They know we are quirkless, and they will leave us!"
"BULLSHIT!" Izuku shouted again, panting heavily as some cracks started to form from where he was slamming his body into, "IS THAT US THAT IS SAYING THAT? OR IS THAT THE SHADOWS OF OUR PAST?"
More cracks began to form, and Deku was panting heavily, "B-but they hate us… me… I don't-"
"THEY CARE ABOUT US, YOU DOLT! AND IF YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT ONE PERSON THAT DOESN'T, WE GOT FIVE OR MORE THAT DO!" Izuku barked again, not noticing the light beginning to surround himself, "I know there is one person you can count on, one you trust fully and would know that they would never abandon you! Just think about it!"
Through the punches and hits across his body, Deku grit his teeth, not seeing the actual point to this, as he knows no one could possibly like a 'Deku' like-.
The magenta-haired boy stopped panting, taking in a deep inhale of air as his eyes shot open; a flash of messy blonde buns and a wide-fanged mouth went through his brain as he remembered the cute and ever-so love-filled chirp of her voice echoing to himself.
'DEKU-KINS~!'
The shadows surrounding the fallen boy were suddenly pushed back by a wave of purplish darkness, while an irate looking Deku stood there, bleeding and panting loudly as more cracks with some light started to shine through as the 'negative' body growled low, taking a step forward and causing the shadows to step back once more, "... You… you made me forget about her."
"YOU MADE ME FORGET ABOUT MY HIMIKO?!"
As another pulse of darkness rippled out from the young boy's body, the invisible barrier suddenly shattered as Izuku had pushed himself through, landing beside his 'darker' half and standing with him.
"I admit, we have gone through a lot of pain and suffering as we grew up, and to just ignore it as if it never happened was wrong of me." Izuku frowned at the mass of beings, which were beginning to slowly form into one much larger shadow, taking the form of the beast that had originally eaten the pair, "As well as pushing down and letting it bottle up wasn't healthy at all. But I see now that this is not a journey I've made alone, nor will it ever be alone, as I have people who actually love and care about me; there is nothing wrong with asking for help, nor should I value our life as nothing!"
"You made me forget her," Deku slowly began to snarl in rage, the energy surrounding both of the boys slowly growing in power as he continued to speak, "You made me toss away the one person who actually understood hardship just as bad or dare I say worse than what we ever could, and for what? Some petty revenge plot that even that handsy asshole at the USJ would laugh at how stupid it was?"
Both boys slowly raised their hands together, Deku on his left while Izuku raised his right. The swirling mists of light and darkness coming off of each of them gradually combined and twisted together in such a way until a beautiful sword manifested before them. To those present, it was like a perfect marriage of both aspects of dark and light, with the blade as pitch black as the night with golden ornaments placed methodically along its broadside and edge, while the hilt was adorned in pearlescent white with matching golden adornments, where both would meet at the crossguard where a gigantic pearl sat in the middle of the golden brace. The blade pulsed with a bright glow as if bathing its ebony blade deep in the heavenly light it produced.
As each boy grasped the hilt, their bodies suddenly burst with the aether tied to them, revealing a fully revived and aged Deku, magenta hair and all, and Izuku.
Both boys were wearing similar armor, both with dark plates that gave off an uneasy feeling to those it would strike fear into, but whereas Deku's was as pure black in all aspects, Izuku's was far different.
Where the black plate was on his counterpart, the color on Izuku's armor matched the pearl white of the sword, though the edges and sharper points of the suit looked scratched and worn down to an end, as if a shell had been opened up with the deep pitch black of the fabric underneath made a statement that everyone had darkness just waiting to break out.
The Dark Knights slowly raised the sword together, causing more light to shine and brighten the area around them, forcing the creature to huddle up more, whimpering from the brightness.
"I AM THE SHADOW OF THE SOUL!" Deku shouted, his dark powers surging around him as Izuku's light began to do the same to him.
"I AM THE LIGHT OF THE SOUL!"
Both boys looked at one another, a smirk across their lips before they shouted together, "WE ARE IZUKU MIDORIYA, NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HEAD!"
The sword came down with a sickening slice, a mixture of both aethers combining and blasting forth into the wolf-like being as it howled in pure agony before suddenly splitting apart and bursting into a bright sea of sparkles.
Izuku was panting heavily, gripping the sword still as he noticed his more elaborate armor, gazing in amazement at it until a pained choke from his side caught his attention to see Deku suddenly fall to one knee, "Deku!"
"I'm fine…." The negative boy lied, panting hard as his body slowly began to fade away, the darkness seeping off of him like smoke falling to the nether, "Completely fine…."
"Even now, you still try to hide your pain," Fray spoke, appearing from a mass of darkness behind the pair.
"F-Fray! Something is wrong with him! You got to do something!" Izuku said, dropping the sword to the ground with a loud clang as he caught a falling Deku. His legs had evaporated into the nether they were in.
The elder Dark Knight made his way slowly to the pair, one with a face of worry, while the other struggled to breathe as more and more of his body slowly began to fade away, "The last of his aether is giving out, what made Deku exist is slowly fading away, having been siphoned off by the creature." Fray explained, standing over the pair.
"But we have to save him! He's still a person; he's still me!" Izuku shouted loudly, frowning at the older vestige, "I don't care if he's some 'dark' half of my soul; I can't just abandon him! Not again!"
"Forget it…" Deku said with a pained sigh, "I can feel my essence slowly fading from me, face it… I lost."
"You didn't lose anything!" Izuku shouted to his counterpart, "You wanted my body, right? Tell me why and I'll make it happen!"
Deku stared at Izuku with an incredulous look, "...We really do have a bad martyr complex, don't we?"
Izuku choked, stammering trying to rebuke that, while Deku gave off a laugh that sounded both amused and painful, "Let's face it, goody-goody… You have more aether than me; mine is slowly dwindling, so you'll be the one driving this train-wreck of a life we have."
"It's not all bad. We have family and friends waiting for both of us, plus I'm sure Kyoka would enjoy a more 'darker' side of myself," Izuku spoke gently, giving himself a little chuckle as did Deku, who then began to cough harshly.
"You asked about my plan?" He asked, seeing Izuku nod, while Fray remained silent and continued to watch, "When I won our fight, I would go back to this woman I met while I was out of your… our body."
"That was… Himiko, right?" Izuku asked, getting a solemn nod from his counterpart.
"That's her; she taught me a lot while I was with her, as I also taught her many things. My plan after acquiring your body was to take her away somewhere safe, where she can be freed from the prejudice of others."
"Is she sick?" Izuku asked innocently, freezing from Deku's glare, only for the magenta-haired boy to sigh.
"She's not well, mentally at least… It would take too long to explain, but years of quirk suppression have given her a need to ingest blood… aside from one time… I had helped her track down some low-end thugs and criminals, letting her feed while leaving them for the police."
Izuku blinked, his eyes widening as he looked at Deku with shock, "T-That was you? All those arrests caused by a mysterious vigilante before Hosu… that was you two?"
Deku chuckled, nodding solemnly before crying out in pain, Fray now at his side, "I need to fuse you back into Izuku's body now; otherwise, you'll be too far gone and fade."
"B-But won't I ever be able to talk to him?" Izuku asked, looking to Fray, who propped up Deku against him and held his hands out, aether slowly flowing out to circle around the pair.
"Whatever memories, be they pain or pleasure, you will inherit them, Midoriya, as will he yours… but no, it will be quite some time until he is strong enough to manifest into a form you can speak with." Fray explained, looking at the pair with a slight smirk, "I'm proud of you."
"H-huh?"
"I'll be honest, the darkness we all have within us is tough to embrace, considering it reveals many dark truths and feelings that often people wish to keep buried deep down. Either we embrace that aspect of ourselves, making sure to never cross over that thin line between good and evil. Or fall to it, letting it corrupt us."
As the world around the pair slowly began to fade away, to Izuku, a bright light overtaking his vision, he could see the slight smile on Fray's lips as he spoke one final saying to him.
"Listen well, Midoriya, for these are the words told to me by Hydaelyn before the very end…."
The world was silent; time seemed to stop as Momo panted heavily, her arms sore from the blade's swing against the creature's body, the channeling of energy she had somehow used overpowering her and the sword.
The beast was still, not moving for a few moments before a blazing light suddenly shot out of the wound caused by the heiress, knocking her down onto her butt while also causing everyone on the beast to suddenly fly a few yards away or land close to her, even All Might was shaken off, landing beside Momo, but moved in a way to protect her and those close by from whatever was happening to the monster.
The creature was shrieking and howling out as glops of darkness began to bubble and boil away from its body; the light from the wound seemed to grow more and more bright and now started to poke through the many mouths and giant melting maw of the creature before it grew silent, falling backward in a mess of sludge, evaporating into the sky with a rising amount of blue sparkles.
As the mass began to disappear, the others who had been on the sidelines suddenly rushed forth, checking upon those tossed off, as well as Momo, where Mina and Kyoka had suddenly hugged her, crying their eyes out from fright and worry.
A shout from Present Mic caught everyone's attention as the mass had slowly faded into nothing, leaving a kneeling figure of pearl-like armor crouched down, face obscured due to his back towards them. As the newcomer slowly began to rise up, the sword that had been left on the ground suddenly flew towards him, and upon reaching his hand, the dark blade transformed into one of pure beauty before being sheathed upon the stranger's back.
Those that were still able to fight got into a fighting stance, ready to take on whomever or whatever was left of the creature or if it had possessed Midoriya somehow. As the 'knight' slowly turned around to face the others, mostly everyone gasped as they could see the ever bright and wide smile of Izuku, who began to blush gently from all the eyes on him; scratching his cheek, he waved to them.
At first, there was silence before Izuku suddenly found himself on his back when the group of his classmates had suddenly bum-rushed him and tackled him to the ground. Many voices were shouting for joy at his return or worried anger for what had happened and how he could believe all those things that 'Deku' had said before.
As Izuku slowly sat himself up, hugging the four women close to him as they cried, laughed, or jabbed their jacks into his cheek. A clearing of a throat coming from Nezu caught everyone's attention, where Izuku's emerald eyes met with the dean's beady black ones, both staring hard at one another before Izuku spoke, causing everyone to look shocked, while Nezu rose an eyebrow in intrigue.
'In darkness, seek joy. Surrender not to sadness, and see beyond despair. Walk free, and bear the light for others to follow. Together, raise it aloft and let it shine. Till the end, blinding and radiant.'
Deku sighed as he huddled back up in the darkness of Izuku's, no… his mind, thinking over the words spoken to him by Fray before Izuku had left for the outside world. His eyes closed as he bore witness to seeing his Himiko once again, watching as Izuku, now in casual clothes and at night, knocked on the familiar apartment door three times with both Aizawa and the Moogle standing off to the side, unseen.
Three times, just like he had promised her.
The joy of seeing his beloved vampire filled his heart, only to see the scared reaction of Toga, seeing that it was not 'him' at the door, but Izuku, a complete stranger. He watched as she learned jumped back to search for her knife, which was odd that she had not been already carrying it, but watching as Izuku had knelt to the floor, bowing to her, and while he couldn't quite hear everything the green-haired boy was saying, he could feel the pain of his heart at the confession and forgiveness the boy was asking from the blonde woman.
It took a few minutes for the girl to calm down and Izuku to sit with her and explain everything that happened. Deku watched as Himiko's world came crashing down before she clung tightly to the boy and held him close, crying her eyes out.
Seeing the vision move from his crying love to the two UA staff members silently entering the rundown apartment, Deku took a deep breath and opened his eyes lazily, hugging his knees to his chest as he continued to float within the darkness of his mind.
He would see her one day, even if it was for the briefest of moments, and he knew that Izuku would care for her in his place, and in time, Himiko would grow to love Izuku just as she did him.
After all, she had only met and fallen in love with one half of the boy (clearly, the better half, if Deku was being honest.) But they were still the same person, and while his feelings may have been forced upon Izuku, Deku knew the boy would fall for her as well.
"... Five lovers… by everything that is holy, this is getting silly."
"Six, if you count the mushroom girl from a couple of days ago." A feminine voice from behind Deku stirred him out of his slump and caused him to whirl around in the air. Deku's eyes went wide as he gazed upon the visage of a rather beautiful woman, looking to be around Midnight's age, with a tight-fitting black spandex suit, large boots, and gloves covering her hands and feet as well as a yellow cape draped around her neck.
Deku blinked as he took in her facial features, and honestly, she had the face of a mother, both caring and loving though easily stern when the need arises. Funny enough, her hairstyle was similar to Mom's.
"I'll take all that as a compliment." She spoke with a giggle to her voice that caused Deku to blush, slapping his hand onto his face before pulling it down. Dammit, he was mumbling again.
"Though, and don't take this the wrong way, I expected you to be a little… taller?" She quipped as Deku huffed, for the older woman was referring to his current 'form' as he had to conserve his aether while it slowly began to rebuild itself, meaning he had to revert back to his four-year-old body.
"It's not like I had a choice in the matter, but who are you? I thought it was only Fray in here?"
The older woman rubbed the back of her head, chuckling softly, "Yea… so I'm guessing you got the memories of all that happened while you were split off from the green bean, right?"
"Yes…" Deku said with a slight blush, scratching his cheek and looking away, "I hadn't realized he was so… 'busy'… during our time apart, nor that he and Tsuyu had consummated the relationship… so many times."
"So did you with your cute little vampire." she chirped up, smiling smugly at the young boy who nearly choked at that little tidbit, "And without protection, you really are a 'bad boy', ain'tcha?"
"Sh-shut up!" Deku shouted, pointing at her, "Y-you sh-shut up and stop dodging the question! Who are you?"
"Heh… alright, alright… no need to get pissy with me, Nine." she smiled and raised her hands up in surrender.
"My name is Nana Shimura, the seventh wielder of One for All, and we have a lot to discuss with you, Izuku Midoriya."