Chapter Text
After the failure of the Cultural Festival, Midoriya continued to write his notes on the various quirks that he saw from the videos that were sent from Nezu. Since his classes special event was cremated and with Gentle Criminal and La Brava invaded the school, all classes were put on hold for the next few days. He wanted to talk to Nezu and have tea while discussing his recent notes on how the quirks of the hero courses can be distributed in hostage takeovers, but he was busy dealing with some of the school board, the superintendent of Japan, and with the Chief of Musutafu to discuss what measures they were going to take after the incident.
Togata looked ashamed of what he had done. ‘I know that making Eri happy was a special mission for the Cultural Festival, but it wasn’t just about making one person smile, but everyone smiling… and I ruined it. Why? Why did I act so irrational that made me lose it so badly?’
After the incident with the Cultural Festival, Togata was brought in to the school infirmary to understand the damage, along with a couple of students who were unfortunately brought it due to the severity of quirk.
Nejire and Tamaki can see the stress that their friend is going through. Imagine that someone you care about was responsible for destroying an event that meant to a lot of people. For crying out loud, Nejire won the beauty pageant and it sucks that her counterpart didn’t get to participate or even win it.
Class B can acknowledge this. For weeks they planned that stage play, even though it was a crappy remake of Romeo and Julient, plus adding some marks from old pre quirk era movies like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars which didn’t make any sense at all. Either way, they put a bunch of effort into that, and they were proud to participate and Kendo for going in the beauty pageant. To look at their alternate class getting angry, hurted them alot.
Monoma, in his delusional way, believes Class A was at fault for bringing a villain here since they would bring havoc and get the fame. His other classmates, who have an actual brain, knew that as much as they hated to say it, Gentle Criminal and Mirio Togata were to blame for the chaos.
As things were, Class 1A has been targeted as vile people who hurt those around it. Because of the frequent, high-profile encounters with villains, they keep getting blamed for all the changes and messes UA has been caused. It doesn’t make things any better when one of the students was taken to join the other side because of his ruthlessness, aggressiveness, and a brash personality of winning.
Almost everyone looked at Bakugou.
“Looks like some things still went the same. Bakugou was the main target and still got captured.” Ashido said with a saddened look, she thinks things got much worse there than it was here.
He couldn’t help but remember the time when Bakugou was taken from the League. It was a huge downfall for his former best friend.
A huge sharp pain was what he was feeling from seeing the words befold him. Bakugou felt like his mind shattered into a million pieces. Obviously, things went south between him and Deku. His former friend would still believe that one day they could still be friends, but Bakugou wanted nothing to do with it. So… he didn’t even acknowledge his existence after the Sludge Villain disaster, so why are things going well for him, a lot more better for the former quirkless nerd.
‘I know things went bad between us. I always hated Deku when he kept believing in a dream that couldn't come true. He needed to be put down for good. It’s what's best he can do for his own life that he can’t even uphold. I don’t get it… In that world, he's not even the same class as me, he's not even a hero. So why… Why is it so hard for me? Why am I still getting scared? Why do I still want to ruin his life and kick him like the pebble he’s always been? WHY AM I CARING ABOUT A WORTHLESS DEKU?’
His mind begins to recall the events before. Especially… when the Symbol of Peace was no more.
All Might.
The man who became a legend, the Symbol of Peace. The man who stopped all organized crime around Japan and put an end towards the disasters it caused. He’s been recognizable for his accomplishments all over the world. He made his name when he started out in America, he then returned to his home to mark his beginning where he’ll save everyone, with a smile.
The pros can remember how famous he was when he first started. He was basically a one many saving machine, he took down villains so fast and saved civilians in an instant, and that was under 10 seconds. Miruko can remember the times that she wanted to badly fight him, but as much as it pained her to say, she could’ve never defeated him, not in his prime. If she would’ve known that his time was limited, maybe there would’ve been a chance.
Aizawa, Hizashi and Nemuri can remember the times he was basically Superman in those old DC Comics from the pre quirk days. Around their time, a flashy quirk that beats villains was something that was popular. Shota can remember the time when he was in 2-A, his quirk couldn’t allow anyone to use theirs but he had no motivation to strive for his own direction to the future. He can’t be like All Might since his quirk wasn’t powerful enough to shine in the spotlight, which made him feel outcasted and sidelined. He looked back at his colleagues and recalled the times when they felt giddy and happy, along with his old friend… Oboro…
Nezu looked back on how Toshinori felt unstoppable during his final year at UA. One for All surely was one of a kind. But, he still felt like something was missing from him, the power is what he displayed and it is his to control, but he still couldn’t help but figure something was missing from Toshinori.
Class B students remembered the times All Might did for them, especially in class when they improved their quirks to rival Class A’s and this was before his secret was revealed to the public.
Class A students revisited the time during their 1st training session as a 2 vs 2 match. It was hectic and All Might showing his buff form just had everyone riled up. To think he was only a skinny man that nobody would have thought of as the legendary All Might.
People all over the world considered All Might a ‘god’. Someone who could do anything with a smile. He was like an actual comic book superhero that was real and made everyone hope. Imagine how your god will fall down, everyone loses their minds, they believe that the world is doomed with any protection.
Hawks mumbled to himself about how the Meta Liberation Army was using their ideology to convince others that All Might’s hero society was a corrupted utopia that was ruled by greedy people and took the strongest of them to be their all elites. In a way, Redestro was kinda right, but was still in the wrong. “If one thing is true, peace was going all over when All Might came to Japan.”
Visions of his psyche changed from his memories of what went downhill of the hero society.
“Oh, so I guess we're heading back to what happened in the Summer Camp?” Sero said. Some of the boys were looking how the change of scenery would have Midoriya shift his focus, on the days before the training camp or during.
Jiro looked at the alternate Midoriya’s eyes and noticed they looked tired, distanced, and broken recently. Of course the Cultural Festival did affect everyone but Class A took a turn for the worse when everything that passed was affecting them worse than in this world. It all started back from the beginning of UA, and took a sour mood later after the exams. Whatever happened during that week must’ve worn out Midoriya a lot.
Koda saw how Midoriya looked sorry for the members of the other Class A who he interacted with. His looks definitely can tell that he felt remorse for those who are being put on the spotlight and not in a good way.
It was the day when All Might retired. Where everything went into pure chaos.
Toshinori and Nighteye looked at the surprising tone the other Midoriya was talking about. Nighteye knew that when All Might was going to “die”, he had done everything he could to make him consider retiring earlier and choose a successor like him to carry on his legacy, only for All Might to deny and kept fighting to save others.
‘If you continue like this, then you’ll face an enemy so powerful that it will end in a painful and brutal death.’ Nighteye said to an injured All Might.
Nighteye hasn’t forgotten these words. He still envisions it, he believed that his death would come to pass at Kamino Ward, but time was still on his side. The year is still prior before that vision would come true. That’s why he hoped that All Might’s “Protege”, would come to his agency so he can evaluate the kid to see if this is what he had to offer the world. He didn’t believe that Midoriya would carry on the Symbol of Peace’s legacy and believes Lemillion can bring hope to the world. He now sees as Mirio has done an excellent job with Permeation, and hopes One for All can make him the ultimate hero for decades to come. But what he is seeing from the other dimension, he saw that Lemillion has done an excellent and poor job with two quirks and tried to figure out the problems.. He wonders if his counterpart has done anything to improve on this. To his knowledge, Togata has tried and done an excellent improvement with One for All, in a much better state than Midoriya has done but… he couldn’t but notice that something was incredibly wrong. Was there something that he didn’t know of, or is it something that All Might knows that he doesn’t.
Bakugou also has this concern too. Last time they met, he discussed the former users' quirks, especially the 4th user. His name and his quirk description was crossed out from All Might’s notes. He found it odd and knew that All Might was hiding something, something that they didn’t want to know. He looked at All Might who was just staring at the screen.
All Might still recalls everything that Nighteye has told him and so far, he is still here. If he were to die, it will be before he sees the Young Deku show the world that he is here. Time is still there, so there's still time to make his mistakes, right again. He just had to know what he could do to; change whatever happened. The thing is, we don’t know what we have done until it’s too late.
[Flashback]
On the last day of the semester, Izuku was eating his lunch with some of the other members of 1-C when he was approached by Uraraka and Shinso.
“Hey Midoriya, were you really the one to write that analysis of us?” the bubbly girl asked.
“Um…” Izuku stammered, caught off guard by the statement and the fact that all of his classmates were now staring at him. “Yeah?”
“Well, it was really helpful!” Uraraka bowed in gratitude. “I never realized ginger could help me with my motion sickness; this is going to make using my Quirk so much easier. I couldn’t have passed the test without you!”
“Wait, all this time, I could’ve just taken ginger this entire time? I’ve been saving up on motion sickness pills to relieve myself from vomiting!" Uraraka said as she was pouting on this new revelation. Iida and Jiro comforted her on this mistake as they were with her multiple times when she was close to vomiting right in front of them.
“Of course. But not only just ginger, taking honey or inhaling peppermint tea are effective to ease off nausea. Just remember to take it on a daily basis before stretching as it will help in the long run.” Nezu decided to assist the gravity girl.
“Yeah…” Shinso agreed. “The EMP grenades you got me to talk to the Support Department for were a huge help against Power Loader…”
“Oh…well…you’re welcome!” Izuku answered back, still a little flustered, made worse when Yaoyorozu and Shoji added their own thanks, followed by several other members of 1-A and 1-B. When they had finally finished, he felt like he was going to pass out from the rush of blood to his head, only to be tapped on the shoulder by one of his classmates from 1-C; Kagaya Taiyo, a tan, blond haired boy with the Quirk ‘Sunshine.’
“Hey! I know him, I passed by him several times when we were on our way to our dorms. He seems pretty nice. Also that sunshine quirk, if he was in our class, there' s no doubt about that with warp reflection, it can help blind enemies too easily.” Hagakure said with an excited expression and a possible lilac on her cheeks.
“I guess the kid is way too nervous to accept any compliments. What is he, touch starved?” Miruko said what she saw was dead silent. Midoriya’s classmates can remember on the 1st day, he was nervous, plain, and touch starved in the beginning, especially when it came near with Bakugou. They didn’t really notice that much until now. Hound Dog can remember that the Midoriya kid was a huge mess and had problems that needed help. These “little” mistakes can come in the long run and if there’s no help when they need it, it will be too late.
The Yaoyorozu’s looked at the bully. They recalled how their daughter mentioned how Izuku looked too nervous, out of place, and felt like a broken vase all the time. They have seen this type of behavior before. Victims like him get nervous and have horrible flashes from their abusers, and going and surrounded into a new environment of where the abuser is till there, they felt like their suffocating of horrible memories.
It wasn't just them looking, Inko was furiously looking at the blonde haired kid while Mitsuki and Masrau were looking down ashamed of their son’s actions as they were being stared at by some of the students and pros.
They need to make things right, somehow. The question is, how are they going to fix this.
“You doing alright, Midoriya?”
“I’m…I’m alright, Kagaya.” Izuku answered, managing to get himself under control. “I’m just glad that I was able to help them.”
“What was that about, anyway?” Togeike asked.
“Oh, Principal Nezu had me do some analysis on the hero students to help them with their exams.” Izuku explained.
Only to realize that this got even more attention from the rest of the table. “What is it?”
“Analysis? Like what you write about in those notebooks of yours?” Togeike clarified.
“…Yes?” Izuku replied, feeling awkward again.
“Do you think you could do that for any of us?” Kagaya asked. “I’m trying to get into the hero course myself, but there’s not much I can really do with my Quirk right now.”
“Oh, please move in! If he were in there, it would make our combo moves into a special all time ultimate teamwork attack! If our class needs space, kick out Mineta!” Hagakure excitedly jumps up and down while Mineta gets irritated that she wants him kicked out.
“Torru, please keep it in your pants, girl.” Ashido said, with new information that she might have a crush on that Gen Ed student, what is this, love at first sight? Either way, she now has something to tease her about.
Maybe it was the confidence Nezu had been imbuing into him or the change in how people saw his analysis compared to Aldera, but Izuku’s awkwardness immediately vanished as he started to break down Sunshine.
Inko looked happy immediately as she saw her son look happy at helping his friend, a real friend. This was something she always wanted, her son living a normal life. Where kids celebrated his birthday, going out to hang out. No kids came to her son’s party, no one wanted to hang out with him. Until he got to UA, Izuku kept calling her when he made friends with Uraraka and Iida. She smiled at that one great memory, it was like her Izuku was finally moving forward and shining like the star.
“Well I’m glad that finger breaking kid is surrounded by positive influences in his life. That's what he really needed.
“Well, if you’re interested, I was wondering if your Quirk could power certain kinds of support equipment…”
Eventually, the whole table got involved in the conversation, though it went from Quirks, to favorite heroes, to sciences or sports that the Gen Ed students were interested in, but still encouraged Izuku to share his take on the subjects. By the end, several of the students invited Izuku to hang out over summer break. What surprised Izuku the most out of all of this was that while his classmates seemed interested in how Izuku could help them improve their Quirks, they were also just interested in him as a person, and seemed to appreciate his company. He had even been called a friend by some of them.
“You know, if Midoriya was in our class, I would’ve definitely invited him to our game tournaments.” Kaibara said, with the acknowledgement form his peers. Fukidashi even suggested, “Midoriya would have loved the drawings I made. I bet this would help him in his analysis books.” He proudly shows his enthusiasm for what he does if they compare notes and drawings, maybe a manga version of their adventures here in the hero utopia.
“I would ask Midoriya if he would like to help with my garden. He told me recently that he was getting interested in composting.” Ibara said with a small blush on her cheeks. Some of the girls wouldn’t mind having him over and having the time to get to know him more. Maybe become something much more, that spread the minds of Setsuna and Kendo. Yaoyorozu looked furiosu that some of the girls from 1B looked at him lustfully while Uraraka looked at her and them and wondered, if there could be a chance with just the two of them, together.
While the crushes are in their own dream land, many of Class 1A thought of the times before the war happened, some hanged out with others and even went to the city but not once had they asked him to hang out, at least not that much. Midoriya always looked secluded in his books and his training. They may be friends with him but they don’t know him that well. Like what kind of hobbies did Midoriya like doing besides heroes, and taking notes?
Ojiro and Sato realized that Midoriya always felt left out of everything when it came down to talking and hanging out like a group. The only time they truly hung out like a class was that potluck dinner they had in the dorm living room.
Ashido and Kirishima were then reminded that Izuku felt disappointed when he wasn’t going to be performing that much when he was cut off from the dance team and helped with the backstage crew. They didn’t know that Izuku promised Eri that he was dancing so he could help her smile, if they heard this sooner, then maybe they wouldn’t have asked him to pull up Aoyama for a human disco.
Hagakure and Sero felt bad for calling out to him for coming so late for the performance. If he did come late, there had to be a reason.
It always felt like Midoriya was used as a non serious character. Just be used like a person that didn’t have any rights to say anything back.
The entire class was heartbroken, to know that the fact that they probably acted like friends but haven’t gotten to know one another as they should have. Their fri- no… I don’t think any of them had a right to call him their friend. Their classmate is out there hurting himself more to the brink of death, they want to help but even if they do find him, saving him was a completely different issue as they don’t understand Izuku’s feelings. He has the right to say what he wants and not anyone else. Maybe because of Bakugou, he had no right to make any decisions since that was stripped away from him so young, now how can that be fixed?
Maybe the tape is supposed to help Izuku Midoriya.
Izuku’s first semester at UA ended with him amazed at what had happened to him. He had made friends, and even students outside of his class seemed to like and respect him. The teachers were helpful and encouraging, he actually enjoyed being at school, and through Nezu, Izuku felt as if he was finally finding his purpose, something in himself to be proud of.
When Inko asked Izuku later how his semester had gone and how his exams went, she cried a flood for how proud she was of her son, and was relieved at how happy he had become.
Inko was happy for her counterpart not to worry that much more than she is right now. All the stress that she has had ever since her baby was trying to achieve his dream, it felt lifted as her baby was chasing a different dream, one where he’ll be safe……. Safe. That’s a word that any parent would want their child to be at all times.
The next day Izuku was invited to hang out at the newly-cleaned Dagobah beach by Togeike and the other 1-C students.
“Wait, Dagobah beach?!I heard about that beach. It used to be one of the beautiful sights all over Japan but it was closed when many folks decided to dump their waste on such beauty. Is it still as polluted as it is?” Shiozaki questioned remembering the times when her parents told her about Dagobah.
“It was, until someone cleaned out the beach. Nowadays, many people in the area receive those spots for barbecue and night parties now.” Honenuki said from the rumors he heard of.
Setsuna just had a great idea. “When all of this is over, all of Class A and B should have a joint barbecue party in celebration, when we win this war.”
All Might smiled underneath that his students were thinking optimistically about his student’s achievement before entering UA. ‘Ever since Young Midoriya cleaned Dagobah Beach that day, many people from the area could finally hang out after years worth of garbage cluttering the area. I should’ve given him props for cleaning the beach to the public, this would’ve boosted his confidence. I have to make sure this kid is worth something to not only the world, but to me as well.’ He once told his students that true heroes don’t seek out fame or fortune, but to save and improve people's lives. But sometimes, the heroes would want that fame to be seen as wanting to be the spotlight on everything, and that shows people's minds are branched to popularity instead of overlooking others of their noble accomplishments. It’s a back and forth struggle with a rope that gets caught up in the middle but it seems to be overpowered by greed. He would like Young Midoriya to receive the credit and the respect, but it's not just him, everyone who has done a part to help contribute to those around.
Later that night, Izuku got everyone’s attention during a barbecue, seeing an article on his phone about All Might stopping a villain attack on I-Island. What was notable here though was that All Might did not defeat the villain alone, having been joined up with the winner of the Third Year Sports Festival, Togata Mirio.
All Might perked up. Including Nighteye, who had a smirk across his face. In his eyes, he sees his star intern, rise up with All Might. The news article displayed a massive power that shocked the island and reports saying he could be the “New All Might”. He was happy that it was coming together, it was exactly what he had hoped for.
But… this was something All Might didn’t want. He was glad Mirio was going to get the credit for an accomplishment that was shown. Helping the Symbol of Peace by defeating Wolfram. This would build up Togata’s status as Lemillion since they… look alike…
A surprised look and a mindset just crossed his mind
‘Was this the reason why Sasaki was wanting me to give One for All to Young Togota? Wait… no… he couldn’t have… Mirio Togata has improved a lot in his last 3 years that's for sure… but, Mirai has always been careful when it came towards precisions in combat… he wouldn’t choose someone that looks like me, right?’
He was thinking this and looking over at his former sidekick. Considering the fallout they had when it came down to One for All, he knows that Miriai was trying to think the best for him, but he wanted to save because he wanted to save.
Izuku was most interested in how Togata’s Quirk had apparently evolved over the past year, somehow incorporating increased strength that allowed him to fight on par with All Might, though his mumbling was distracted and later forgotten by a few of his female classmates fantasizing over getting Togata’s phone number once the term started up again.
Further into the break, Izuku woke up late at night to the sound of his mother’s frightened voice talking over the phone.
“Mitsuki…it’s going to be alright…the heroes will find him…”
The room shifted into a dead silence. Inko knew exactly what this was, it was the day her best friend’s son was taken by the villains. She remembered this carefully when she received multiple calls from her saying that villains took her son, not to mention when multiple news reports said a student was taken from a training camp from UA, so she’s been on edge from that. At the time, she did care about Katsuki and his well-being. Back when he was little, he always was a wild one and full of edges that need work but he always respected her but… now knowing the full truth, she did not care on what happens to that brat… but then again, she doesn’t want him to be full of misery for the rest of his life. Even though she wanted him to suffer for everything he did to her son, she still couldn’t do it. She’s crossed in the middle that she can’t figure out.
Mitsuki, for all of her life, had a temper. There was no doubt about it. So when they had Katsuki, they promised to love their child and guide him differently, a much better way on how his mother grew up. They really loved Katsuki, and wanted the best for him. But when he was growing up, they felt like their son inherited a bad attitude, a much worse one than Mitsuki was growing. They did everything in their power to make his life better by making him friends with Inko’s son, hoping something positive can help. Then when he was growing with his quirk, and people praising him, acting like he’s the next messiah, some part of them felt proud to know their son was doing great.
How wrong they were, now, seeing their son become a mons-. They can’t even admit it, which is worse. How can this change so badly? They became so stupid to know this too late. Marasu felt to blame to try to make things alright. Mistuki felt idiotic, her own selfish and disruptive attitude felt like it made everything worse. Like the times she yelled out her husband and son, on how harsh she treated them. She was a good woman, but she had a hot temper, had an ideal confidence, and a strict but caring personality like she’s the dominant figure in the pack. These were traits that her son developed and inherited, and those traits were used on an innocent boy.
She then started crying while her husband reassured her. ‘I’m so stupid, this whole time… I was wrong… HOW CAN I NOT SEE THE SIGNS! HOW DID IZUKU NEVER TOLD ME THIS?! HOW COULD I NOT SEE THIS?!’ She frustratingly grabbed her hair at her poor parenting. She always assumed that maybe her son being a hero wasn’t a good idea, but he was so hell bent on making his #1 position of heroics to be a reality. So she put her trust in UA, hoping it can make him make his dream come true but also guide and watch him.
Which they did, Katsuki is a brat with issues but UA was doing their best to keep their son in check and show him a way of his own hero way. But that couldn’t help him with his kidnapping.
So when she got the report that her son was taken, she felt like she was suffocating.
Izuku went into the living room where his mother was pacing, a worried expression on her face as she talked.
“Mitsuki, I’m coming over there, alright? I’ll be there in a few minutes…” Inko hung up, shuddered, and noticed Izuku watching her.
“Mom?” he asked, seeing how scared she was.
“Izuku…” Inko put her hands on Izuku’s shoulders. “There was another villain attack at the Summer Camp that the hero students were training at…and Katsuki’s been kidnapped.”
“…I’ll get dressed.”
There it was. Another confirmation that even in a different world, Katsuki Bakugou was taken, again. Now Bakugou could look down at that humiliating defeat that he was so weak that he had to save. He didn’t even realize this until now, but Bakugou wondered how his parents took the news when he was captured.
Izuku’s contact with Bakugou’s parents had lessened over the years ever since he started bullying Izuku, but he still saw Mitsuki as his aunt, someone as tough, if not tougher than her son.
Both the blonde haired duo couldn’t help but feel more stupid. They really believed that their son needed positive influences in his life, that way he could get better and build a mutual respect for those around him. That's why they encouraged Inko’s son to become friends with their son so not only can Katsuki realize that positive influences can help further the bond between people around him, but to also further connect Inko’s and her friendship…
.
.
.
.
But that didn’t happen. Instead, without knowing, Izuku became a victim of Katsuki’s bullying and it further went into a person who is cut off from everything. They became so negligent from their son’s personal life that they didn’t know what was happening behind the scenes. Their own son ruined a person’s life for 10 years. 10 years… 10 fucking years… how the hell can you make that up. As of right now, they can’t even look at their own son, believe that he is right now a m-
That’s a word Mistuki can’t even say. If she said it, that means she would mean it. She tried so hard to deny it but it couldn’t be helped. The evidence is right there, and so far, he may have done the damage, but who was the one that made Izuku Midoriya’s life a living hell.
It was them.
They destroyed Izuku Midoriya’s life. Now, if the green haired kid was here, he may deny it, he would even say that it’s not their fault, but really it is. Masaru even believe that somewhere deep down his heart, Iuzku hated them for bringing such a negative impact in his life that he may have thoughts of suicide. Just thinking that made the grown man want to throw up.
‘How could I be so blind. My nephe-... actually no… I don’t have the right to call him my nephew after what has happened. This is also my sin. I should have stepped up when it mattered. As of right now, my nephew is still caring about our wellbeing. He’s really one of a kind.’
Seeing her pale and shaking, clutching one of her son’s old All Might onesies was one of the most unsettling things he had ever seen. For the only time in his life that he could remember, it was Mitsuki who was falling apart while Inko was trying to comfort her. Once they had arrived, Izuku immediately set about making some tea for Mitsuki, as his mother was too preoccupied trying to reassure her friend along with the police.
Mitsuki can’t ever forget what was probably the worst day of her life. She clearly remembers that when her kid was taken, she felt like time stopped all around her. The news report sounds and her husband freaking out, it was all canceled to her as she felt her world was falling apart. Inko called her saying that things will be alright, but how can it be when your child was kidnapped by the villains?
Things didn’t improve over the next few days. The morning after, when Izuku looked up the news to find out more about the attack, he realized that this was possibly worse than the USJ. Reports were still coming in by that point, but it had been confirmed that more than half of the students were injured, some seriously and still hospitalized. Vlad King, 1-B’s homeroom teacher was in critical condition. The Wild Wild Pussycats, who were helping to train the hero students at the Summer Camp were all severely injured, with one of their members, Ragdoll, kidnapped as well.
Vlad King looked down at the injuries his counterpart endured.
They know that Kaminari and Ashido from that world had a traumatic event from almost certain death from Muscular that they wondered if they probably suffered the same fate like they did or maybe worse.
Uraraka and Asui wanted to know if they encountered Toga in that world since it was their first time meeting each other and how this… ‘love’ bloomed from Toga’s sick twisted mind.
The Wild Wild Pussycats fell down especially Ragdoll, in the aftermath, her quirk was taken and she could no longer do hero work. It was like the piece of her identity was stripped away with force.
If they knew that their teammate was being targeted too, they didn’t want to admit this, but they would focus on Ragdoll first then the students, I mean they’re like family.
There was only one person that felt so bad about all of this, and that was the blonde haired kid with a laser beam power on his waist. He still felt sick and felt his world crashing any second, especially before coming here that he had to wait for his parents to confirm a few things with his ‘uncle’.
Izuku and his mother stayed over at the Bakugou’s house to try to help them out. While Izuku knew now that Bakugou wasn’t his friend or someone to admire, he still cared for his honorary aunt and uncle, and he was worried for them. He helped Masaru prepare the meals and handle some of the other chores that needed to be done, but Mitsuki could hardly ever tear herself away from Inko out of fear for the fate of her son.
Three hero students had died in the past year from 1-A. As bad as Bakugou had been to Izuku, was he going to end up like that?
He wouldn’t admit it but Bakugou had felt a lot of feelings when he was kidnapped. Who wouldn’t. No matter how strong he was, no matter how prideful he was, deep down, he was scared. The Great and All Mighty Powerful Katsuki Bakugou felt useless when he got himself taken
And if that weren’t bad enough. He cost All Might his career. If he just reacted quicker, if he just wasn’t so weak, if he didn’t get kidnapped by villains, maybe he wouldn’t have to retire.
The press conference did not inspire confidence or hope in Izuku. The reporters tore viciously into Nezu and Aizawa, the 1-A hero course homeroom teacher, questioning them about the safety of the school considering how many students had died and UA’s failures in protecting them from villains. Criticisms towards Bakugou were particularly uncomfortable with Mitsuki and Masaru in the room, as the reporters pointed out Bakugou’s violent behavior at the Sports Festival and his internship, questioning whether the League had kidnapped him with the intention of swaying him to their side.
Aizawa, Vlad King and Nezu clearly remember that interview. Eraserhead never loved the press and hated being distributed on live TV, but he needed to do it to prove that as his teacher, he had to take full responsibility for negligence and obscure concerns. But there was one major difference that may have affected other things, and that was Bakugou’s development. He put Bakugou and Midoriya together during the final exam against All Might to bring out their weaknesses and help them develop an understanding between the two rivals. But with the problem child not in the course, he probably thought the other him wouldn’t even give a rat’s ass about how he does things so he probably threw the temper tantrum bart to the lions’ den.
Even though he defended him when one of the interviewees asked him about how Bakugou would convert to the villains side due to his anger attitude and brash aggressiveness that he displayed during the Sports Festival, there was a little part of him that he knew somewhere deep down his heart that Bakugou was just a lost cause.
He may have stood up for him because he knew he would never go down the dark side, but that doesn’t mean they were wrong. Aizawa admitted this because before the final exams, Bakugo was getting worse. It was because of Bakugo not improving in the internships while Midoriya’s progress skyrocketed. He knows that hot tempered brat was competitive and hated losing and falling behind by anyone. His actions were made aware that it could look villainous, but when he says that, it makes it sound like he didn’t even do anything comforting to help him but just let it happen. That's the thing, he let it happen.
The reporters knew he didn’t like the media, so they took advantage of this and hoped he would crack but no, he did fail as his teacher but try to make some understand that his desire to be number one is assured but wants to win in a way All Might does. He worked hard to be the best he wants to be. That’s what Aizawa defended.
But it doesn’t mean that he actually physically or mentally helped Bakugo with his path or his issues. He then understood what the parents meant, if Bakugo really did the things that were shown, then he had helped him but not doing anything.
Personally, Izuku knew that Bakugou would never join the League, if only for the fact that he would never join a group of people that he saw as losers. Despite Aizawa’s attempts to defend Bakugou and his teaching methods though, Izuku wasn’t encouraged. Aizawa’s claim that Bakugou worked harder than anyone in his class to become the number one hero did not sit well for Izuku.
Besides being so similar to how the teachers at Aldera had talked about Bakugou, Izuku had seen how hard the other students worked, and had actually taken the time to apply Izuku’s advice to try to improve themselves. He kept this to himself, but all the same he couldn’t help but feel like UA was discounting the efforts of the other students and making excuses for Bakugou’s behavior.
This nonsense disrupted Aizawa’s mind as the other Midoriya was basically discounting everything he believed. “What is he saying? I’m not trying to ignore his behavior, I’m trying to show that the reporters were wrong about his actions, improving his worth of becoming the number one hero.”
“Uh yeah, the actions of showing off his power of his goal, but what about his attitude.” Kamui Woods said. “The way I'm seeing it, all the other students have been training hard and improved a lot because of Deku’s advice, almost everyone in Class A and B students improved a lot in that dimension but not him. I bet he didn’t want to follow any orders or advice, hell I bet he tried to find him and kill him.”
“You're basically saying that as long as he demonstrates great power, his attitude and behavior are nothing and easily dismissed. Like it didn’t matter. You are saying that ‘Oh he’s a bully and doesn't respect anyone but as long as he’s powerful and dedicated to his goal, then that doesn’t matter.’ From the way I see it, you're defending a suicidal killer.” Mount Lady backed up her partner's advice.
The word suicide still struck a nerve to some here.
Even the teachers here couldn’t help but being shown what Midoriya was saying was hurtful, but he may be right. A teenager has more knowledge of a teacher than them. They know every student is different and are in need of help if they need it, but when a student has problems but isn't being addressed more and acted like it was a comic gag, then that’s a problem that isn’t being taken seriously. What's worse, is when a student is having problems but isn’t showing or saying anything, then it gets worse because a teacher cannot get into a student’s personal life without consent, otherwise that can look like harassment.
But they aren’t just teachers, they are pro heroes. The laws are different than any other world. The concept makes things difficult since they are teachers first in a school but it also seems like it's being belittled. That hurts a lot especially Midnight since she has a soft spot for Midoriya.
Aizawa just shook his head back to the screen as it was shown that he’s not winning this argument and refused to talk back more as they were wasting more time, but somewhere deep inside of him, he knew they were right, but didn’t want to admit it. He knew deep down that if they are right, then how many students were affected because of his shitty teaching.
Izuku didn’t have long to stew over this though, as the news switched to a live report in Kamino, where the heroes were assaulting the League of Villains’ base. The Bakugous and Midoriyas were horrified to see that an entire warehouse district had been destroyed in a fight between All Might and some unknown villain, while Bakugou was trying to fend off attacks by a group of villains Izuku assumed to be the League.
If there was one group that understood most of what was happening more closely, it was the Bakugou Rescue Vanguard, that featured Yaoyorozu, Kirishima, Iida, Todoroki, and Midoriya. The five of them went out of their way, broke the rules, and tracked down the missing 1A student and see if they could get him back. Even before that, they were deadset on going. Kirishima and Todoroki were dead set on going while begging Yaomomo for her help since she put a GPS tracker on one of the Nomu’s. They were able to convince Midoriya to try again to save Bakugou, and then Iida came back to the hospital to try to convince them to stop this crusade, but decided to join them to make sure they don’t do anything foolish.
They traveled, infiltrated the warehouse with disguises, and kept a low profile as best as they could to see if they could save Bakugou. Only for the place to be destroyed by a huge shockwave filled with Nomu’s, along with their friend, the League of Villains, and the masked floating man who was All for One.
They managed to rescue him before he got caught up more with League since he was fighting them back and had an opening. They all left the area and made either way to the city when they saw All Might fighting All for One.
Yaoyorozu and Iida questioned if doing this illegal rescue mission with no license was the right thing to do. For both of them, they thought the pro heroes could do this. But Yaomomo was essential to this mission and she trusted Todoroki’s decisiveness, later on the mission, she then put her trust on Midoriya because he developed a strategy into saving Bakugou and keeping them from joining the fight. Todoroki and Kirishima wanted to save him because it felt like since it was in their grapes that he was with Todoroki; and Kirishima couldn’t do anything since he was stuck at the cabin.
It was because of Kirishima that the group formed, logically speaking, the pros can handle this, but he never thought of it that way.
‘I know the pros can help and save him, but I just wanted to save my friend.’ Kirishima thought, as he did break the law and went into a search that could’ve hurted his school. ‘If Midoriya and Iida weren’t around, would we still save him? I mean Yaoyorozu would still have gone along, but it was only because of Todoroki’s judgment that she agreed. Midoriyabro was friends with him, but I don’t think the other me knew that. Would that opinion change?’
What terrified those watching though was the fact that All Might actually seemed to be struggling to fight against this masked villain, particularly as he was trying to get to Bakugou and bring him to safety. This villain attacked All Might and the surrounding area with massive shockwaves in one attack, only to grow spear-like protrusions and walk on air in the next.
“Is that villain…using multiple Quirks?” Izuku asked out loud. He began to think back to his meeting with All Might, when the hero showed Izuku his weakened form as well as the injury that caused it.
Everyone in the auditorium was well aware of the full blown fight. Endeavor, Edgeshot and Best Jeanist know front and center.
Kirishima just realized and almost said something, until he shut his mouth quickly but a little yelp fell from his voice which got a hearing from Jiro and Shoji. He wondered if he and his squad still formed up and tried to rescue Bakugou. The only that would change is Midoriya since he wasn’t part of the hero class and the big getaway from Kamino ward wouldn’t have been thought of, but maybe they could’ve still been successful even without him. Would it?
Iida saw what Kirishima almost tried to do and almost freaked out. If he blabbed about him going to Kamino, then it would lead back to the others including him, and they would be in so much trouble especially since the chief and detective are here.
The power that this villain displayed, as well as the vicious ferocity that he and All Might displayed towards each other made Izuku wonder if this was the villain responsible for inflicting such damage. This left Izuku with a particularly frightening possibility;
Could All Might lose here?
Bakugou was not faring any better, as he continuously tried to dodge the attacks of several villains. Just when it looked like a masked villain in a top hat was going to touch Bakugou though, a familiar blond-haired student wearing a hero costume seemingly popped out of nowhere and knocked the villain out with a single punch, only to blitz several times through the League and knocking them away. They saw Bakugou turn and shout at Togata, only for the student to grab Bakugou around the waist and leap away from the danger, eliciting a cry of relief from Mitsuki and Masaru.
“Mirio!” Nejire and Amijiki happily said when their friend saved the explosion boy. Mirio looked surprised that he’s out at the battlefield with All Might. Judging by the last few encounters before, it kind of looked like he’s All Might successor instead of Midoriya.
Nighteye looked surprised and felt proud that his star student had taken the mantle. This is exactly what he wanted. He still hopes that this world can still have a future if Mirio still gets One for All. Little does he know, from Mirio's perspective, for some reason, it just didn’t feel right.
Bakugo just scoffed and rolled his eyes.
Kirshima was glad that his friend was saved, but he couldn't help but think. ‘Bakubro is okay, Lemillion saved him. That’s great… But… I couldn’t see us anywhere near him. We weren’t there to save him. I couldn’t save him…’ All he did was tremble and gripped his hand in shame..
With Bakugou out of harm’s way, All Might was able to unleash his full power on the mysterious villain. In a fight that would be remembered for decades later, All Might defeated the villain in a massive blow that created a tornado. However, though he was standing, the fight had taken too much out of him, and revealed the skinny form Izuku had seen a year ago.
In the eyes of the world, it was like the once ‘god’ was just a simple man. It broke thousands of people to know that he looked so weak, especially Bakigou since All Might’s identity was revealed, the man who looked like a skeleton with no bones. But even if he looked frail, he was still All Might.
Uraraka and Iida were shocked to see that revelation. They noticed Deku going with a skinny man back at UA, they had no idea that the skinny man was ALl Might. They kinda wished that he told them the secret since they were friends.
Though everyone was stunned at this revelation, it only took a second for Mitsuki to snap out of it as she and Masaru rushed out with the police to get to their son. Surprisingly though, Inko did not insist that she come with them, and chose to take Izuku back home. As they were driving, Izuku asked her about this, thinking that his mother would want to stick with her friend.
“I came here to help my friend, Izuku. Now that we know that Katsuki is going to be alright, I don’t think she needs my help anymore.” She explained, but gripped the steering wheel a bit harder. “Also…I wouldn’t want to make you be around Katsuki if you didn’t want to.”
Inko gasped. Her counterpart knew. She definitely had to know about the abusement.
Izuku felt his stomach sink, but before he could try to make excuses, his mother interrupted him.
“I know that you two haven’t been friends for some time…even if you never told me everything that went between you…but I think that part of the reason you’ve been happier lately is that Katsuki’s no longer in your life.”
The mother of the green haired cinnamon roll was in a trance when her alternate self realized things weren’t going well with those two. To herself, she knows that something must’ve happened between these two but was for sure that things were going to turn out alright, but she was wrong, she was dead wrong. All this time, her precious baby has suffered so much and she did little to question how much he endured for all those years.
Her baby was hurting for so long, and she didn’t do anything or ask. She’s in fault too.
Izuku didn’t respond to this, and Inko didn’t push him anymore, but he hoped that she knew he was grateful regardless. As they went home though, Izuku’s mind drifted back to what had happened that night. The League had been defeated, but most had escaped, and All Might would soon announce his retirement.
Perhaps it was because he already knew about All Might’s limited time, but Izuku found it harder to celebrate All Might’s victory with everyone else.
“Wait, Midoriya knew about All Might’s secret before anyone else?” Yanagi asked. “Well… he is All Might’s successor, so it’s pretty obvious he would tell him.” Yui answered for her friend.
“Wait hold on, I don’t think All Might would boldly say his weakness on his stomach. I feel like something like that would be kept private.” Bondo believed something this important would be kept to himself and not shared.
Seeing his students having more questions and seeing the raising eyebrows from some several 1A members, Vlad King needed to clear some things out since he’s lost in the dark. So he asked the former number one hero. “All Might, did he know about your secret after you gave him your power?”
“No, before I had him take on my quirk, I told him that my injury was a serious one that damaged my internal organs, so I could only do a few hours of hero work per day. I didn’t tell him who it was until very late because I was for sure that All for One was long dead.
“So, he now holds the one quirk that can beat Shigaraki and All for One. A power that is wanted by them. I still can’t believe it. Our one hopes for victory and is nowhere to be found…” Vlad King grumbled to know that a special power now belongs to a kid. It made things look off of how their hopes are now being placed on a kid's shoulders. Who right now is in MIA.
All Might’s legacy, his accomplishments and his effort, are now in the hands of Izuku Midoriya. Which meant that the entire thing is now in his hands.
But that’s not how Class A thinked.
As he couldn’t help but think…
What happens now?
Nighteye believed that in that world, Lemillion would make his name known and secure the future, like he always believed.
Nezu himself felt like it needed something more than All Might. He wouldn't consider All Might as a perfect hero, of course he has strengths and weaknesses but there was something that Midoriya has that All Might doesn’t, something that is very needed when he is now comparing the two of them.
[Flashback Over]
With Midoriya finally done remembering All Might’s final battle, he let out a sigh and looked at the poster of All Might's signature smile. The smile of a man who broke his dreams is now considered being a man with no smile at all. It felt like Japan just lost their Lord and Savior, meaning there will be no one to protect them from the forces of darkness.
“You know what I’m noticing, the other Deku seems to think that All Might is the only hero in the world that can solve any problem. And given how things have fallen since Kamino, things got worse for both but I bet that none of us gave up.” Uraraka said while noticing how things fell out badly in that world.
Her friends see her point and notice that things went horrible in both worlds but then again, how can anyone stand up and fight when two students were murdered, disaster and disaster was happening left to right.
“This isn’t just Deku’s problem anymore, it's all of our problems. We all have to come together and unite as one. I just wanted Deku to realize what he’s doing is dangerous and he shouldn’t be the hero for all of us, that we should help and be his hero.” She said with sincerity, this was something that she wanted to say to him when they found him last time.
Her classmates looked at her with that envy, but even if it was said to him, forcing him to come back would still be a hassle and it sure that even Uraraka’s little speech wouldn't bring him back.
Nezu took note of this and decided to come back to that later after the tape finished playing.
If it has seemed that goodness that was once in the great hero has now been reduced to rubble. Even if All Might broke his dreams, he still couldn’t help but admire the hero who always saved people. Now that he can no longer do hero work, who is going to save those when they're in need.
Midoriya then sees himself in the mirror of his desk and reminds himself to never lose that hope. He quickly gets reminded of the fox he saved and showed himself a different way to help those within their own way. He smiled softly and continued to work on his notes for his 1A buddies.
Ippan sees this warmly, knowing that the fox looked like her. It made her believe that the kid that's been showing from his perspective, this made her realize something she should’ve known. The kid is nowhere here, and wondered if he’s sick, or somewhere special and no one is allowed to talk about it.
‘Maybe, just maybe, the hero who saved me, was that him? Maybe? No… it couldn’t be, but then again, the hooded masked hero did sound a lot like him. If it is him, I want to thank him, and… I want to help him…’
He couldn’t be a hero, but helping his friends with their quirks, probably made him help them more than he realized.
His thoughts snapped when he received a text from Kaguya, which said.
[Midoriya, quick, come downstairs you have to see this! Endeavor is fighting someone in the city and I think he’s losing! I think it’s one of those Nomu’s that attacked the school!”]
Both Hawks and Endeavor remember that fight. It took a lot of power from Endeavor to defeat an advanced Nomu. He looked enraged that it took the villains sending Nomu out after his hero advancement status went up. Now looking back at the fight, if he would’ve known it was going to get more serious, he might’ve not let his guard down and take it down with full force and try to apprehend Nomu and get answers on the villains. Maybe there could’ve been a chance to locate them, maybe he would’ve gotten to Dabi and learned the truth sooner than later.
Just by seeing this text, he closed his journal and made his way downstairs where his friends were watching TV where Endeavor was going against a hooded Nomu in Fukuoka.
“Wow, I still can’t believe how much worse it got in the training camp. The other Midoriya was right about one thing, without All Might, it was just pure chaos.” Sero said.
“Just what else can make things worse.” Shinso replied back
“I mean, if everything is in chronological order, then maybe the war will be shown. And judging how a lot of things were being placed out, I feel like this will lead to disaster, ribbit.” Asui boldly said.
This crawled up to the skin of all the heroes. If things were bad in Kamino with these disasters, then imagine what it could be like in Jaku Battlefield.