Chapter Text
It was a Sunday afternoon—almost two weeks since Izuku had been here—when everything went to hell.
The dorm was bustling with activity, everyone rushing around to either complete their homework, play video games or catch up with friends. Tenko was currently murdering everyone at Mario Kart. Todoroki had been avoiding Izuku ever since he last spoke to him. Iida lead a five-person study group to figure out Present Mic’s newest assignment. Kaminari had tried to rope Izuku into helping them, but Izuku only took a sip of his drink and gave him a cheeky smile. He'd done his time during school and wasn't too keen on going back.
It was strangely nostalgic, being in the dorms again.
Yaomomo approached him not five minutes later while Izuku was watching as Tenko won his fifth Mario Kart game. Kacchan threw his controller at Tenko’s head and Uraraka had to hold Tenko back from lunging. Kirishima did the same to Kacchan.
“We’re planning on doing a class trip to the mall. We have a few ingredients that we need for the next week if we’re going to cook,” Yaomomo said. Their conversation drew a few people over, probably wondering just what they were talking about. The Mario Kart game was put on hold (which was probably for the best anyways). “Want to come?”
“I’m not part of the class?” Izuku said slowly.
“But you stay here often enough that we figured you would be lonely if we all left,” Yaomomo said which was true, but she didn't need to say it. “It would be rude not to invite you.”
“Besides, it’s better to have a hero with us if villains attack,” Sero said.
At least he was honest, but that was not the most comforting thing to say. Especially knowing Class 1-A's luck.
“I…do not have the best experiences at the mall,” Izuku said sheepishly, remembering the last couple of times his mall trips had ended up sour. Shigaraki and the League had never made mall trips fun for him.
Tenko laughed in agreement, rubbing the back of his neck. “I understand how you feel.”
He probably does, Izuku thought and shuddered to think of what his counterpart did.
Izuku went to the mall.
In the end, he was no match for the combined persuasive power of 1-A. Sero’s point also rang true—if anyone wanted to start trouble, they would have to go through him first.
At first, the mall was great. Even though Izuku ended up having to cover all of his face to prevent being confused for his nasty villain counterpart, he was glad to be out of UA. He hadn’t been able to leave in almost a week, with the other week spent in a police station.
The mall was familiar and fun, the shops bright and colorful. It was a welcomed distraction to Izuku’s current situation. If he stopped for a moment, he could almost pretend that this was his world, with his friends and his home. Then, one of his much-to-young classmates would walk in front of him (or he's glance at Tenko) and the image would be ruined. He tried not to feel bitter about it, he really did, but the rock in his stomach only grew heavier as time went on.
For the first hour, nothing remarkable happened. The class stuck together as they migrated from shop to shop, teasing and laughing. A couple people recognized them from the Sports Festival and asked for autographs. Izuku made himself scarce when that happened. Jiro ended up buying a kazoo on a dare. Uraraka bought some limited edition Thirteen merchandise (Izuku wished he could buy some too, but he didn’t have money and would’ve felt guilty asking. That didn’t stop him from staring enviously at Uraraka). Iida ended up dragging half the class into a sports’ wear store, and coming out with a variety of new shoes, leggings and training gear. All in all, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Izuku should’ve known it wouldn’t last.
It was Shoji who spotted him first and quickly alerted everyone else. Soon, the horde of first year UA students were chattering nervously as they stared at the other side of the mall because there, leaning up against a wall, was Midorishi Izuku.
"Oh, that's not good," Tenko said in an almost breathless whisper.
Izuku thought that was probably the understatement of the century.
To most people, he would be invisible—his spot was strategically picked so that the majority of people wouldn’t even be able to see his shadow. He wore nothing to hide his face. Midorishi kept his eyes firmly on the civilians in front of him, watching as each one passed. There was a knife strapped to his side. His face was so, so similar to Izuku’s own. He’d seen him once before during Kamino, but it was nothing like this.
A scar ran down the length of Midorishi's face. Unlike Izuku's poofy, curly hair, his was cut shorter. His clothes were dark but so obviously stuffed to the brim with an assortment of weaponry. His eyes were just as green, but there was nothing there—they were the same eyes Izuku looked at when he saw Shigaraki Tomura. Dead, empty, gone.
Why was he here? From what Izuku had heard about his counterpart, he was smart. He wouldn’t take risks at random. For him to come to a crowded mall of all places—it meant he wanted something.
There was a pit starting to form in Izuku’s stomach.
“I’m going to call the heroes,” Iida said and immediately pulled out his phone.
It only took three rings before Midorishi slowly turned his head, like something out of a horror movie, and met Izuku’s own. There was a sadistic grin on his face. A little splotch of dried blood stood out on his right temple.
“Run,” Izuku said because he knew that look. That was the look of someone who had a plan. 1-A hesitated, staring at him with wide eyes. Aizawa had just answered Iida’s call. Izuku turned to them, snapping, “Run now!”
Just as they were about to listen, a black mist appeared behind their feet. It crawled up their bodies and engulfing them in a matter of seconds. People in the mall were starting to scream and panic. Izuku desperately lunged to try to grab someone—anyone—but they all slipped through his fingers and disappeared into the warp gate.
The black mist enveloped him and he had just enough time to think oh fuck, before he was falling.
Izuku hit the steel ground hard enough for the clang to echo around. The impact knocked the wind out of him and white hot pain burst through his temple but Izuku didn’t have time to worry about that. Years of engraved hero instincts took over as he shook his head and flipped to his feet, surveying his position.
He was in an empty warehouse-like place. The little light in there came from three broken windows that were near the top of the high ceilings. There were no doors or easy escape hatches that Izuku could see from where he was. A catwalk hung from the ceiling and various wooden boxes littered the room. It looked like it hadn’t been used in a long time. Around him, the rest of 1-A lay, groaning but alive. Their bags of newly bought items were scattered and broken, but it wasn't the time to worry about that.
Izuku rushed over and grabbed the nearest student, Tenko, to his feet. “Is everyone okay?”
"What the fuck," Kirishima groaned into the floor.
Beside him, Kacchan was already on his feet. Most of the rest of the class hadn't moved, save a few like Todoroki and Momo who were already looking around for escape routes. That was good—they needed all the help they could get at this point.
There was a mixed set of replies but luckily no one seemed injured enough that they wouldn’t be able to move or fight. Izuku had a very bad feeling that Midorishi wasn’t quite done with them all yet.
His feeling was proven true when the black mist—Kurogiri, of course, who else would it be?—appeared. Midorishi himself stepped through the portal with a grin.
"Hi," Midorishi said. "Welcome to the party. Glad you all could come. Hope you don't mind, but I invited a few other guests."
A screech sounded from inside the portal and a horrible feeling pooled in Izuku’s stomach. The sound rattled in his brain and Izuku fought to not cover his ears. Although he hadn't heard anything like that in years, those screeches were ones that he could never forget. A large, clawed black hand reached out as the creature crawled its way out of the swirling black portal. Its entire body was covered in an array of scars, its brain clearly on display for everyone to see. Its beak curved at the end and it carried a set of razor sharp teeth. It stood up, towering over everyone gathered in the warehouse and stumbled over to stand behind Midorishi.
Four more Nomu crawled out in the same way.
This was it. Izuku was never visiting another mall in his life.
The black portal finally took a familiar shape. Kurogiri’s golden eyes glowered at them all as the villain tugged at his suit. Izuku hadn’t seen Kurogiri since he was put in Tartarus and he didn’t partially want to become acquainted again so soon. Midorishi grinned and waved like this was a high school reunion.
Beside Izuku, Tenko took a frightened step back. Kacchan had tiny explosions coming from his fingers.
“So, Kurogiri, you're uninvited now. Thanks for the drop off,” Midorishi said, not once taking his eyes off of the group of UA students.
Izuku felt One for All rattle beneath his skin but he waited—he had to plan this right. He couldn’t fight recklessly.
Kurogiri hesitated for a moment, looking at Midorishi incredulously. Midorishi spun on his heel, his smile fading and snapped, “Didn’t you hear me? Leave. I don’t need you.”
"If this is how you want to play this game, then so be it," Kurogiri said. "Dinner is at seven. Sensei still wants to meet you."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. This won't take long anyways," Midorishi said, uninterested. The Nomu stayed stock-still behind him.
Izuku tensed up, expecting a trap but Kurogiri was gone not a second later. Midorishi cracked his knuckles and laughed. Izuku tried not to cringe as the sound echoed across the empty warehouse.
Midorishi met Izuku’s eyes. “Glad you could join me! You’ve really been a real pain in our sides lately, y’know? So I figured, since it was my idea to send you here, I might as well kill you, right? Big ole fuck you to your world. What kinda world would it be without the League anyways? Maybe send a message to All Might as well. Class full of dead kids isn’t a fantastic morale booster, in my opinion.”
Midorishi stepped forward, taking the knife from his hip and spinning it around in his fingers. He had this wild and crazy grin on his face, but Izuku knew that Midorishi was not a stupid person. He was young and rash but he was smart. Izuku knew that better than anyone.
This wouldn't be an easy fight. Not with the Nomu and a class to protect.
"Nomu," Midorishi said. The creatures tensed at their name. "Kill them."
We don’t really know whether to validate this hero license or not. For now, it would be better to just avoid conflict.
Sorry, Naomasa-san, Izuku thought as he powered up One for All.
It took the combined force of the police and heroes almost a day to set up.
Bringing Yasutake Takanori had been the easy part. The not-so easy part was convincing him to send a small group of heroes into the other world and bring them back. It was true that he had the control, but it was the trust issue that most everyone was worried about. Bringing everyone back safely would be the most important part. How were you supposed to trust a villain?
That, thankfully, fell on Naomasa’s shoulders. Shouto had done his fair share of threatening. He didn’t particularly want to do any more.
In the end, Naomasa managed to do it. Shouto wasn’t sure how, didn’t partially care, but he was thankful. They were so close to getting Izuku back.
The plan is simple; send himself, Ochako and Bakugo (who stubbornly insisted that he was not going to be left out) to the parallel world. Find Izuku before the two hours is up. In order to send him back, since Yasutake was not the one who sent him there in the first place, one of the three there was sent there had to be touching Izuku. If they didn’t find him in enough time or didn't touch him as Yasutake warped them back, Izuku would stay in the alternate world.
Shouto watched as Naomasa made the final preparations. His hero suit felt strangely heavy. Ochako stood beside him, also ready to go. Bakugo had been watching the entire setup since Shouto and Ochako had first brought the villain in. The rest of their class, having come for support, gathered around the three.
Naomasa poked his head in the room. “We’re ready.”
“Finally,” Bakugo said. He was the first to follow Naomasa into the next room.
Shouto and Ochako shared a look before Ochako shook her head in exasperation. Behind her, Kirishima laughed. Ashido shook her head in exasperation, but followed him out. The rest of the ex-class was not too far behind.
"Why is Bakugo coming again?" Shouto muttered to Ochako.
"Because I didn't feel like arguing for hours," Ochako said, which, admittedly, was fair.
The room Naomasa lead them too was white. It almost looked like a lab out of a scifi movie—if labs normally had villains chained to the center of the room. The walls almost sparkled, pristine, as Yasutake glared at them from the center of the room with as much fury as he could muster. Bakugo glared back with even more force.
“You have two hours. Two hours until we bring you back,” Naomasa said. “Yasutake-san said that he could get you close to where Izuku is. You’ll have to find him from there. Remember—”
“One of us has to touch the fucking nerd,” Bakugo snapped. “We got it.”
“Right,” Naomasa said, not at all off-put but Bakugo’s attitude. He’d probably dealt with enough weird or frustrating situations not to be put off by it. Not to mention, he’s been supporting class 1-A since they were first years. “We don’t know much about this world. We do know that it’s parallel. We know that Midoriya’s counterpart is a villain and is working under their All for One. Be sure to be careful.”
“Good luck,” Yaomomo said. Ochako gave her a hug.
“Tell Midoriya that he needs to stop getting involved in this kinda stuff, man,” Kaminari said and laughed.
“He’s been like this since the start,” Jiro said and she rolled her eyes. “I doubt he’ll be stopping any time soon.”
“He does really get involved into the strangest things, doesn’t he?” Ojiro laughed, rubbing the back of his head.
Tenya approached them. Shouto knew how badly he wanted to go as well, how much it hurt him having to stay behind. He was one of Izuku’s first friends and one of the one’s that Izuku trusted completely. However, someone had to say behind and look after the agency, especially if something went wrong. They couldn’t afford for all of them to go. Not when this world still needed them, too.
“Stay safe,” Tenya said as he swept both Shouto and Ochako into a hug. "And bring him home."
“I won’t be coming back until I do,” Shouto promised.
He met Tenya’s eyes and could only hope that Tenya could see the fierce determination that he felt. He would not stop until Izuku was home, safe.
"Don't worry about us," Ochako said.
Tenya nodded and stepped back.
“Send us to Deku,” Ochako told Yasutake.
He looked like he was about to spit at her feet but one look from Naomasa had him freeze. Instead, the villain huffed and held out his hands. The tips of his fingers sparkled until a brilliant light weaved its way in an intricate pattern down his entire hand. Gold and green light swirled around, steadily getting brighter and brighter. The very same light that had send Izuku away two weeks ago. The pattern snaked its way from Yasutake to the floor and then crawled its way up Shouto's entire body. It tingled just for a second before fading entirely.
Shouto was about to ask is that it? when the light exploded into a burst of color and blinded him. Shouts of alarm were heard all throughout the room and he tried to answer them, but nothing came out of his mouth. All he felt was burning and burning and burning.
Suddenly, he knew nothing.
“Don't leave a single one alive,” Midorishi said to the Nomu.
The beasts didn’t hesitate to comply, each lumbering forward before launching themselves after the group with incredible speed. Izuku immediately blasted three of them away by a well-timed punch using One for All and fought off the other two using his shoot style.
All the while, Midorishi watched with glee.
“Get behind me!” Izuku ordered.
Class 1-A complied, but they were all tense and ready for a fight. They’d done this once at UJS and another time during the summer camp but this…cut off from everyone, targeted specifically to be killed? This was going to get messy.
“Iida, call the heroes!” Uraraka said in panic.
“I can’t!” Iida was aggressively dialing his phone, but just like USJ, nothing was happening.
“Oh no,” Midorishi said. His voice was almost like a purr. “Don’t think we forgot about our little mishap last time. You won’t be able to reach the heroes here.”
That was great. Fantastic. This day was just getting better and better.
For the next five minutes, Izuku did nothing but defend everyone from the Nomu. It wasn’t easy and he took more than a few blows and injuries. These Nomu were much like the one at USJ with their nullification powers. They were specifically designed to counter and nullify One for All. Plus, he couldn’t go all out, not with the 1-A behind him and Midorishi just waiting for an opening. It looked bad, and the battle probably should have been a slaughter but...
Deku wasn’t the Symbol of Peace for no reason.
So he defended everyone to the best of his abilities. He blocked attack after attack from the Nomu, sending them sprawling only for them to get back up. They nullified his power but Izuku only produced more. He would stop their attacks for as long as he needed to. Again and again and again—
There was a flash on his right. Izuku didn’t have enough time to even turn before pain burst through his side and he was thrown off his feet. He flew ten yards before crashing into a stack of boxes. They shattered on impact, letting the splinters rain down on him. Izuku tried not to groan as he hoisted himself up to his feet. He had to get back to the students—
Midorishi stood in the way, his left side glowing white. Izuku had no idea what type of quirk that was. Knowing All for One, Midorishi probably had several.
“Hey, stop that,” Midorishi said. “I want to see the Nomu kill them. You’re in the way.”
How could someone like that ever be him?
The Nomu advanced, this time slowly. Izuku glanced desperately at the class and tried to rush around Midorishi, but he consistently stood in his way. Izuku had no choice but the fight his counterpart if he ever wanted everyone to get out of there alive.
Midorishi must have seen the change in his expression because he laughed. The glow faded from his arm replaced with red sparks of lightning and looked eerily similar to Izuku’s own.
Oh yep, he definitely had more than one quirk. Cool. Great. Fantastic.
It was fine, he could still do this. He’d beaten All for One. He’d beaten Shigaraki Tomura. He’d stopped the league. If this villainous fifteen year old version of himself wanted to fight then fine, he would give him a damn fight.
Izuku bared his teeth in a dangerous smile and raced to meet Midorishi when he attacked.
The impact was enough to shake the entire warehouse. The wind was so strong that it almost tipped a Nomu off balance. Behind him, he would hear the class duck for cover even as the Nomu continued to advance.
Midorishi didn’t give him any time to make sure everyone was alright, sending blast after blast of pure power. He switched quirks so fast that Izuku didn’t have time to learn what they did half the time. His villain version was good. It was obvious that he trained under All for One.
But Izuku knew All for One. His quirks, his fighting style, his power.
Izuku glanced behind him only to see a Nomu dangerously close to the class. Bakugo looked ready to launch himself at it, held back only by Kirishima. He paused in his battle, twisting midair to fling a blast in the direction of a nomu. It sent it off balance and into the side of the warehouse. Izuku took a hit from Midorishi but it was worth it if it meant keeping them safe.
"You're distracted," Midorishi said.
"Kinda hard not to be," Izuku replied.
Izuku took another hit. His skidded to a stop a few feet away from the class, breathing heavily. Tenko watched him with horror in his eyes. He was pretty sure Hagakure was crying.
They were only kids. They weren’t pros—not yet. USJ and the training camp were bad enough. They shouldn’t be in a battle like this yet. They shouldn’t have to experience this.
“—We don’t have authorization for combat!” Iida said in a harsh whisper. He seemed to be arguing with someone in the class but Izuku didn’t dare turn to look. Not with Midorishi and his Nomu slowly advancing. At the rate this battle was going, the ending wasn’t going to be pretty.
“Well, what are we going to do, die?!” Jiro snapped right back. Her ear jacks were already plugged into her amplifier.
Izuku never thought he’d have to use his power on civilians, much less students and people that he considered friends. Now he knew how Aizawa felt when Izuku hd begged him to let them fight during the summer camp.
“As pro hero Deku, I authorize you to use combat to defend yourself and escape!”
Midorishi and the remaining three Nomu cornered them.
The other two were in an assortment of disarray. One was so badly burnt from different explosions that it was almost unrecognizable. Its head had been trapped in ice. The other had been attacked by a mixture of ten different quirks. They had both been so beaten that they stumbled to the ground and hadn’t once tried to get up. If anything, that only served to piss Midorishi off more.
“Why can’t you just die?” Midorishi asked. Izuku only narrowed his eyes. One for All crackled around him dangerously but his arms ached from the forced output from such sheer power. He was the only thing that stood in the way of Midorishi and his Nomu. He wouldn’t let them get to everyone again.
An explosion rocked the warehouse.
It came from the back, out of sight from Izuku. He didn't dare look in the direction, eyes firmly on Midorishi. Uraraka squeaked in surprise. Iida tried to shield as many other students as he could despite the lack of debris. They all tensed up, ready for another villain. Midorishi seemed entirely unbothered as he glanced over his shoulder with a glare.
“Nomu,” Midorishi said. The three remaining Nomu stood at attention, waiting for orders. Their huge heads turning to stare unblinkingly at the very man that commanded them. “You, on the right. Go make sure that wasn’t the heroes. That would be….unfortunate.”
Izuku sure hoped it was the heroes. He only let himself be a little relived that Midorishi didn't know what, exactly, that was either.
"So! We have time to kill, I guess," Midorishi said, leaning casually against the side of one of his Nomu. He met Izuku’s eyes and raised an eyebrow. “Why a hero?”
“Why a villain?” Izuku challenged.
“Because I’m strong,” Midorishi replied, immediately. “Yet you call yourself Deku.”
“Someone once told me,” Izuku grinned. He thought of Ochako with her words years ago. He thought of how his name evolved into the person that he was today. He was proud to call himself Deku. He was proud of his name. “That my ‘Deku’ sounds like you can do it.”
“It still means useless.”
“Not to my world,” Izuku said. “Not to me.”
That was the difference between the two of them. This Midorishi had let the word useless become who he was and everything he did. He tried to escape what he himself had created and, in turn, got lost along the way. Izuku wasn’t like that. His useless meant useful. His power meant hero. He fought for his family, his friends. For all the innocent people that needed him. He wasn’t going to let down his friends. He wouldn’t disappoint everyone who believed in him.
"Probably should've expected that. You hero types are always the same. Guess you'll always be a deku," Midorishi said.
His left side exploded in the red lightning. It was definitely some sort of strength enchantment quirk—perhaps something to imitate One for All. Midorishi probably thought of it as a joke, to defeat someone with their own power.
Midorishi noticed him looking and smiled in a cruel way. “Like it? Sensei gave it to me. Pretty similar to your quirk, isn’t it? I think it’s funny!”
Izuku thought he had a pretty terrible sense of humor.
Midorishi readied his fist. Izuku powered up One for All. He wouldn’t let this man hurt his friend. He wouldn’t let this man kill any of them.
Just as Midorishi was about the attack, a hand tapped on his shoulder. Midorishi blinked in surprise while the lightning around him crackled out of existence. Confused, Midorishi turned.
“Hey,” Todoroki Shouto said and coldcocked the bastard.
There, standing in a blue and white jumper, was Shouto. An older, more experienced, more familiar Shouto. There was no doubt that this was Izuku’s Shouto—the very same one that he had grew up with, that he had fought with, they he had become best friends with. The one that always seemed to have his back after years and years of fights.
"Shouto," Izuku breathed. He felt like he could cry.
“Is this a bad time?” Ochako stepped out of the shadows with a smile on her face.
She, like Shouto, was dressed in her hero costume. The pink and blue colors were a welcomed sight as well as was the Nomu that floated several hundred feet above her, flailing around wildly.
She met Izuku’s eyes and laughed, loud and relived and happy. Shouto smiled at him and gave a two-fingered wave.
“You guys,” Izuku said and, yeah, he was definitely crying.
Midorishi stumbled to his feet, eyes wide and crazed. He spat blood onto the ground. His body sparked with power. Shouto barley turned to look at him. Ochako rolled her eyes.
Midorishi stumbled forward with a snarl. “You… how did you even get here?!”
“It’s a parallel word, you fucking dumbass,” and, for the second time that night, Midorishi was sent to the ground.
Izuku could honestly say he was surprised when he saw Kacchan—his Kacchan—standing over Midorishi and cracking his knuckles. There was a terrifying grin on his face but Izuku had never been more relived to see it.
Ochako and Shouto immediately pulled him into a hug. Ochako was crying, but furiously wiped her tears away. Shouto held him like he was going to disappear again.
"Deku," his Kacchan said as a way of greeting.
"Kacchan," Izuku said back, trying to keep his relived laughter at bay.
Kacchan rolled his eyes and almost immediately lunged at Midorishi when he tried to attack again, a shit-eating grin firmly in place. Explosions sprang from his palm with vengeance.
From there, the fight was entirely one sided for all the right reasons.
Midorishi never stood a chance, even with the two reminding Nomu helping him out. Kacchan was a terrifying power when he wanted to be.
But, Izuku thought as he looked at the gleeful expression on Kacchan’s face as he pummeled Midorishi to the ground, he might be enjoying this just a little too much.
“I feel like I should be mildly terrified,” Izuku said to Shouto as he watched Kacchan blast the shit out of his counterpart.
Shouto snorted. Behind him, the class (uninjured, thankfully) watched in amazement. Iida helped Tenko to his feet. Tsuyu and Uraraka were supporting each other’s weight. Kaminari was sitting on the floor, watching the fight like he couldn’t believe his eyes. The younger Kacchan was watching his counterpart with grudging respect.
Ashido hesitantly approached, eyeing Ochako and Shouto, as she watched the fight happen in front of them. “So that’s what you meant when you said that your Bakugo would beat the shit out of you.”
Shouto and Ochako glanced at her in surprise. It was almost like they hadn’t noticed the entire class that Izuku had been protecting. If he hadn’t been so tired and sore and relived, he probably would have laughed at their expressions.
“Yeah…” Izuku said.
He was just glad that Kacchan wasn’t after him this time.
“Believe it or not,” Ochako said. “He used to be worse.”
Izuku remembered those time when Kacchan would ruin his stuff and make his desk explode. All the taunts, all the threats that he received. Ever since Kamino, Kacchan had calmed down considerably. They weren’t what Izuku would call friends—he doubted they’d ever get to that point—but they could work together when needed. Rivals was better than enemies.
“Way worse,” Izuku agreed.
Kacchan just blasted Midorishi across the warehouse. One of the remaining two Nomu were missing and Izuku had no doubt that his Kacchan had something to do with that.
“Speaking of worse…” Shouto said and both he and Ochako jumped at the chance to scold him as if getting sent to an alternate reality by All for One was somehow his fault.
“It’s not my fault!” Izuku said with a huff.
“All you had to do,” Shouto said. "Was walk across the street to a coffee shop. It was two blocks away. But no, instead you got sent here and we had to find you."
Todoroki was staring at his alternate self like he couldn’t believe that was actually him. Everyone else didn’t seem to know how to approach this new, different Todoroki.
Ochako grabbed his cheeks and pulled. Izuku tried to swat her away but she had a grip of steel. “I take my eyes off of you for a day and you disappear to an alternate reality. Seriously, why is it always you?!”
“That’s what I want to know!” Izuku cried because if someone—godly force or otherwise—was doing this to him then he would like it if they stopped, please.
Class 1-A watched on in the background. No one was quite sure what to make of the newcomers. Shouto was an intimidating presence but he was softer than his counterpart. Ochako had the confidence of a hero with years under her belt and the experience to match it. Both were nothing like what they were when they first arrived at UA all those years ago.
The scolding trailed off and Ochako pulled him into another hug. Izuku didn’t hesitate the return it.
“We missed you.”
“Missed you guys, too,” Izuku said and damn, he was not going to cry again. It didn’t stop the bubbling relief in his chest because he would finally be able to go. “I just can’t believe you’re here. How did you even get here?”
“It’s a parallel world, right?” Shouto said. “That means that there was the same quirk in our world. We just had to find it.”
“We cracked a cold case,” Ochako told him.
“And we cracked a cold case,” Shouto agreed, trying to hide his smile.
Izuku was definitely going to ask for more details when he got back home but for now, Izuku was content to watch as Shouto scanned the class. His eyes landed on Tenko.
Oops. Izuku forgot about that little detail.
Ochako seemed to notice and visibly tensed up. Tenko looked like a deer in headlights. “An alternate reality, huh?”
Izuku liked Tenko. Much more than he liked his counterpart. Tenko was a fun person to be around. He liked to play jokes with his friends, was good at Mario Kart and always offered a helping hand when needed. He tended to shut down when stressed. He snorted juice from his nose when he found things funny.
Tenko wasn’t Shigaraki. He never would be.
“His name is Shimura Tenko,” Izuku said carefully. It wasn’t hard to miss the surprised looks that his friends shot him. “He wants to be a hero. He’s a friend.”
That alone wouldn’t convince Ochako and Shouto. It had taken him two weeks—two weeks of getting to know Tenko, of seeing his determination to become a hero. Shouto and Ochako did not have that time. Their untrusting expressions and closed off looks told him so. However, as wary as they were, they no longer looked like they were about to attack any second.
Shigaraki has left his scars on them, too.
Another explosion happened behind them. The screech of a Nomu could be heard, echoing through the warehouse. Shouto didn’t bother to look, too focused on examining every single one of the people that Izuku had spent the past week with. Shouto’s eyes fall onto his alternate self for a little too long.
Izuku knew immediately that Shouto could tell that his alternate self didn’t use his left side. Todoroki could tell that Shouto did use his left side. Izuku couldn’t tell which side was more surprised.
“I was working on it,” Izuku said, instead, when he caught Shouto’s look.
Shouto nodded as tilted his head as his younger counterpart glared at him.
Todoroki asked, "Why?"
"Someone once told me," Shouto said steadily and ignored the looks from the entire class, "That it was my power. My abilities. Everyone else was giving it their all. It wouldn’t be fair to everyone if I didn’t give a hundred percent, right?"
Toodoroki’s eyes flickered over to Izuku. Understanding blossomed there, but Torodoki immediately closed off his expression and said, “I see.”
Todoroki still had a long way to go. That’s okay, because he had his friends to help him out.
Uraraka hesitantly approached, looking at Ochako with wide eyes. “Wow. This is me as a hero?”
“Sure am!” Ochako said proudly. Then, she seemed to realize something and looked up at the Nomu that was still screeching at them a hundred feet above. “Speaking of…”
Ochako pressed her fingers together and the Nomu promptly dropped from the sky. It hit the ground with a thud, not ten feet from where Kacchan and Midorishi were still fighting. Shouto froze it to the ground before it even had the chance to move. It cried out, struggling to escape its icy prison, but not even a Nomu could escape from something like that.
“Watch it, Round Face!” his Kacchan snapped as he dodged the nomu. He flung Midorishi over his shoulder when the villain tried to take advantage of his distraction. Kacchan then nearly slipped on a piece of ice, cursing all the while. “Fucking half and half!”
Midorishi sneered in their direction right before taking an explosion to the face, courtesy of Kacchan. Ochako caught sight of it and whistled, visibly learning back.
“I just…I don’t get this,” she said. Shouto nodded in agreement. Izuku didn’t know what they were talking about.
“Midoriya ‘I have no self-preservation when it comes to anyone in danger’ Izuku,” Shouto said. Izuku nudged his side with a snort but Shouto paid him no mind. “As a villain.”
“I’ve seen him break his arm to save a cat,” Ochako told 1-A like it was a story that everyone needed to hear.
Izuku felt his face heat up when several of them, including younger Kacchan and Tenko, turned to look at him.
“He does seem to break his arm over everything,” Shouto agreed which was a load of bullshit because Izuku hadn’t broken his arm in months, thank you very much.
“Guys,” Izuku tried.
They didn’t listen. Ochako gave Shouto a weird look. “Yeah, but…a cat.”
“To be fair, it was Hitoshi’s cat.”
“Hitoshi’s cat hates him.”
“She does.”
“Are we sure we’re talking about the same person?” Tsuyu asked.
Ochako smiled at her, but Izuku knew that smile. Nothing good ever came from that smile. Unfortunately for Izuku, Ochako wasn’t the one that he needed to worry about.
“Oh, definitely,” Shouto said. Izuku begged with his eyes for Shouto not to tell any more embarrassing stories, but Shouto didn’t even glance in his direction. “One time he accidentally made a baby cry and started crying himself.”
Tsuyu is so surprised that she laughed. Tenko shot him a look and Izuku tried to hide his face. Todoroki was watching his counterpart like he couldn’t quite believe what he was like. The younger Kacchan snorted. Kaminari and Kirishima laughed so hard that they had to sit on the floor.
“Shouto, please,” Izuku begged because his friends were awful. He’d rather be beaten up by his alternate self than listen to Ochako and Shouto drag his good name through the mud.
But, as much as Izuku was embarrassed, he couldn’t help but thank his friends silently.
Shouto and Ochako were heroes. Very good heroes. They’d gone through hero training, they’d been in countless situations. They dedicated their lives to keeping people safe and calm, which was exactly what they were doing there. Keeping Everyone’s mind off of Midorishi Izuku and the attack that he had just tried to make. They knew what they were doing. Kacchan had the fighting part down. They just had to keep everyone from panicking until another hero (one from UA, Izuku hoped) arrived on the scene.
So far, it was working.
A door slammed open behind them. Light from the outside streamed in.
Izuku sighed in relief when a familiar voice called out, “Is everyone okay in here?”
“Aizawa-sensei!” most of the class called out, relived.
At the sound of their voice, Aizawa quickly entered the warehouse. His students flocked to him and nearly tackled him to the ground from the force of their hug. Aizawa stumbled, huffing at them, but there was an undeniable amount of relief in his eyes when he saw they were all okay.
“Over here,” Izuku called. Ochako waved at him.
Aizawa took one look at the two newcomers and sighed. He walked over anyways.
“What happened?” Aizawa asked.
He still seemed to be checking over all his students to make sure they weren’t terribly injured. Izuku liked to think he did a pretty decent job defending all of them when he saw there were no more than a few bruises and some minor cuts.
“Midorishi ambushed us at the mall,” Izuku told him. “Kurogiri warped us here. Midorishi and five Nomu tried to attack us. Shouto, Ochako and Kacchan showed up. They’re from my world.”
“Good to see you again, Aizawa-sensei,” Ochako said.
Shouto offered a wave. Aizawa looked at them and then pinched the bridge of his nose like he couldn’t believe there were more of them.
An explosion rocked the warehouse. In front of them, Midorishi and Kacchan were still locked in a battle. Midorishi had lost his remaining Nomu, having been burnt to a crisp not two feet from where he stood. Midorishi had long since lost his smile and was staring at Kacchan like he was the devil himself. Kacchan just bared his teeth in a grin (he was enjoying this way too much).
Aizawa looked like he was about to step in but Shouto held out a hand.
“He doesn’t need any help, if you were wondering,” Shouto said. He never took his eyes off the battle.
“Bakugo has an awful personality but he’s number two for a reason,” Ochako agreed.
“Number TWO?!” Younger Kacchan spat.
Kirishima had to hold him back so that he didn’t lunge at Ochako.
Ochako raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “I dealt with this fit once, Bakugo. I’m not about to deal with it again.”
Younger Kacchan spat at her in rage. The rest of the class, including her younger self, looked at her in surprise. It seemed that not many people were willing to talk to Kacchan like that. She saw their faces and laughed, proceeding to explain everything about what happened during the next few years of UA.
The rest of the UA teachers arrived not five minutes later after Ochako had thoroughly trapped everyone in what Izuku was sure was another embarrassing story about his hero exploits.
There was an initial rush of panic when they first arrived, unsure if the students were safe, but that faded when they saw the group watching Kacchan’s match like a football game. All Might and Present Mic came to a stop next to Aizawa, watching the entire beatdown with wide eyes. The rest of the teachers followed suit, not exactly sure what the make of the entire situation.
Izuku must think it was a little crazy with Shouto and Ochako there, standing next to their counterparts. The five Nomu were in various stages of disarrangement. Midorishi was there, but with the amount of explosives and the blonde and black blur, he didn’t seem to be a problem.
“Bakugo?” All Might asked.
“Bakugo,” Aizawa agreed.
At first, Tenko had thought the situation at the mall was only going from bad to worse.
Kurogiri, the fucker, warped them all the what looked like an abandon warehouse (now wasn’t that just cliché—). Midorishi and his five Nomu were a terrifying sight to behold. When Midorishi attacked, Midoriya was immediately on the defensive, desperately fighting to keep them safe. Tenko couldn’t help but think this was like Kamino Ward all over again. Except, this time, they didn’t have any way to escape. Then, by some miracle, they were saved by people from Midoriya’s own world.
Not just any people, either. Todoroki Shouto, Uraraka Ochako and Bakugo fucking Katsuki.
As the tide changed and the battle raged on, Tenko couldn’t help but admire the three. They were so different from what he thought they would be like. Tenko had seen Midoriya’s pictures, he knew they were different, but knowing something and seeing something were two very different experiences.
This Todoroki carried himself with a dignity that their Todoroki didn’t have yet. The calm, cool persona but without all the coldness. He was more approachable, more friendly. He joked and laughed and teased Midoriya.
Midoriya’s Ochako was confident. She knew her abilities and used them to the fullest. She was strong and capable and let everyone know it by the way she carried herself, yet Tenko could still tell that she was every bit as kind and honest as the person he liked to call a friend.
Tenko didn’t get to form much of an opinion about their Bakugo, seeing as he blasted off to go beat up Midorishi almost immediately but Tenko couldn’t help but be at least a little bit grateful that he was here. He couldn’t help but admire the strength as he held off a hero that almost killed Aizawa in USJ with apparent ease.
The most surprising change wasn’t one of the newcomers; it was Midoriya himself. Tenko hadn’t noticed how reserved Midoriya was being until he saw him next to people that he was comfortable with. He laughed and joked and took their teasing in his stride. His expression was open and truly happy—a far cry from the smiles that he’d been giving the entire time he’d been suck in their world.
Tenko was happy for him.
Now, the battle was winding down. The teachers had arrived and Tenko could hear the distinct wail of police sirens on the distance. The man that had caused them all so much pain and suffering, from USJ all the way to Kamino Ward was finally defeated.
It was over for Midorishi.
When All Might first got the news that the class had been attacked and were currently missing, he panicked. He begged Aizawa to take him and let him search even though his power was completely gone. Aizawa had agreed, if he stayed with the police.
All Might had never felt so useless. Those few hours wondering if his students were even still alive were the worst of his life. hen, they’d gotten a call from Aizawa—he’d found them, they were safe, and All Might could finally breathe again.
When he arrived at the scene, he could safely say that he was not the only one surprised by the outcome. His students were safe, of course, but they were not alone. Midoriya Izuku stood beside two newcomers—two very, very familiar newcomers.
All Might was willing to bet that there was a third, based on the explosions and the yelling that were oh so familiar.
Todoroki Shouto, Uraraka Ochako and Bakugo Katsuki were not three people All Might expected to see. At least, not as grownups.
The battle winded down to a close with Bakugo standing victorious. The gathered police didn’t quite know what the make of the situation. All three of the newcomers showed their hero license although the debate over their validity was fresh on everyone’s mind. They took it in stride, not quite sure if they were valid but not willing to argue—and promptly tied the unconscious and beaten Midorishi as much as they could.
With that, All for One was left without a successor.
It wouldn’t stop him. Not for long. All Might knew that the most out of everyone but it would slow him down. Give them time for a counter attack. They would stop him before he ever got strong enough to search for another. With the combined might of UA, the knowledge that Midoriya had given them and the heroes from all around Japan, All Might was confident they would win.
He looked at his students and hoped that they would never have to worry about that man again.
The line of police was difficult to get through, but All Might managed. He approached where all of his students were gathered around, giving statements to the police. None of them seemed injured and for that, All Might was grateful, but they weren’t who he was looking for.
He found Midoriya Izuku and the rest of the people from his world near the corner of the warehouse. They seemed locked in conversation and All Might almost didn’t want to interrupt, but some words needed to be spoken. As he approached, he started to hear snippets of their conversation.
“—You can let go of me,” Midoriya was saying.
The other Todoroki Shot has his hand firmly clamped on to Midoriya’s wrist. Midoriya seemed to be giving him an exasperated look as he struggled to free it.
“No,” Todoroki said. “Naomasa said we have to be touching you if you want to be sent back with us.”
The older Uraraka scratched the back of her head sheepishly. “We only had two hours to find you. We kinda got caught up in the chaos and lost track of time.”
“And you’re a dumbass who would definitely get his ass stuck here a second time if halfie let you go,” Bakugo said.
“No, no. I think I’m done with dimension hooping,” Midoriya said but still failed to free his wrist.
Bakugo was the first to notice All Might, crossing his arms over his chest and raising his eyebrow. He was covered in a variety of bruises and cuts. One of his arms seemed to have taken the worst of it, with a large purple bruise spanning from his shoulder to his fingertips. One of his gauntlets was broken.
Their Todoroki gave him a nod in greeting. Their Uraraka waved cheerfully. Midoriya turned around to face him with a smile on his face.
Looking at the four of them, standing together like the heroes they were, all All Might could say was, “Thank you.”
Midoriya looked confused, like he didn’t understand what All Might was thanking them for. “What?”
All Might glanced back at his students who crowded around each other and chatted in excitement. All Might was just glad they were still alive to do such a thing. “You protected them. For that, I thank you.”
Midoriya blushed to the roots of his hair.
Their Uraraka threw an arm around his shoulder with a smile and said, “He couldn’t be able to not help someone even if he tried.”
“I know,” All Might said. “Your world is lucky to have him.”
Midoriya sputtered out something incomprehensible with their Uraraka laughed. Todoroki nudged him, wrist still firmly clasped in his hands. Bakugo crossed his arms and rolled his eyes with a tsk sound.
These were heroes—the ones that promised with their blood, sweat and tears to protect the innocent. The people who poured their life into their work and see it not as a job but as a duty. If his students came out to be half the heroes that these four were, All Might would consider himself satisfied.
“All of you,” All Might said. He wished he could pour all of the gratitude he was feeling into words. Maybe then he would be able to properly thank all four of them. “Thank you all.”
“I’m sorry that I couldn’t have helped more,” said Midoriya, who had helped the most out of all of them.
All Might looked at Midorishi Izuku in custody, going to Tartarus to never escape again. He thought of all the information they’ve gained, all the plans that they received. All for One might still be free, but he had a devastating blow delivered to him tonight. It was only a matter of time before All for One was defeated as well.
“My boy, you’ve done plenty.”
Midoriya beamed at him. Their Uraraka elbowed him in the side playfully. Their Todoroki mothed something that looked suspiciously like Dad Might to Midoriya, who promptly stepped on his foot. The three laughed and joked and teased each other with Bakugo sitting on the sidelines looking resigned.
They didn’t even notice when the bright light appeared on the corner of Todoroki’s face, quickly spreading down the side of his cheekbone.
Just as All Might is about to say something (because being enveloped in light is strange) Bakugo stretched, cracking his fingers (which were already glowing) and said, “Fucking finally.”
The light had taken over at least half of their bodies at this point. A gold and green swirl of colors spreading as fast as it could. Their Uraraka lunged and grabbed Midoriya’s shoulder, despite Todoroki never having once let go of his wrist. The light traveled from the tips of their fingers onto Midoriya who started to glow as well.
“Time to go now, I guess,” Todoroki told All Might.
The light had attracted more people and, by the time the light reached their toes, the entire class of 1-A was standing there and waving their goodbyes.
“It’s been interesting,” Tsuyu said.
Ashido laughed in agreement. Sato and Shoji offered small waves. Aoyama flashed the four of them a dazzling smile. Sero, Ojiro Iida, Uraraka, Koda, Tokoyami, Hagakure, Todoroki and Yaomomo all called out their own version of a goodbye.
“Come visit us soon!” Kaminari shouted and was promptly whacked by Jiro.
Kirishima helped him to his feet while Bakugo—the very Bakugo that All Might has been teaching—rolled his eyes.
Tenko stood a little bit in front, bittersweet smile on his face. “Bye, Midoriya.”
“You’re going to be a fantastic hero, Tenko,” Midoriya said. The green and gold light had almost covered his entire face. Pieces of the older Uraraka, Shouto and Bakugo were already chipping away into nothingness. “Tell Mirio I said goodbye.”
Tenko looked at his hands and back to Midoriya. His gloved fingers curled into a determined fist. “I will. Thank you.”
Midoriya’s feet started flaking away, leaving nothing there. Bakugo was almost completely gone already, Uraraka a close second. She still had her hand clasped firmly on Midoriya’s shoulder. Todoroki hadn’t let go of Izuku’s wrist, despite being nothing more than a glowing torso at that point. The light grew brighter and brighter until All Might was forced to look away. He could only vaguely see Midoriya’s outline through his fingers until suddenly there was no more.
Midoriya Izuku disappeared in a gold and green light.
When Midoriya Izuku opened his eyes, he was surrounded by his friends.
They took one look at him, awake and okay and alive before tackling him to the ground. Their laughing and cheers and joy echoed around the pristine white room as they all chattered excitedly. Izuku almost felt overwhelmed. His friends missed him just as much as he missed them.
It takes a while, and with some prompting from Naomasa, but they eventually untangle themselves and let Midoriya stand. He laughed, relieved tears running down his face as he hugged all of them, making assurances that yes, he was okay and yes he was still alive and yes he was never going to do something like that again.
Sero patted him on the back. “Midoriya, dude, don’t ever scare us like that again.”
"We kinda need you, dude," Kirishima agreed.
Tenya pushed his way through the crowd. Izuku made out his broad shoulders before he shot off for a hug. Tenya caught him with a breathless laugh before putting him down and holding him at arm’s length. “I’m glad you’re back.”
“Everyone…” Izuku said and there were definitely tears in his eyes. He was so relived to be back. There was a lot to say but…he was safe, he was home, he surrounded by his friends and family, and most, importantly… “Tenya, I owe you an apology. I really do get in trouble just by being there.”
Tenya laughed and his friends pulled him into another hug. Their comfort and joy was contagious. Izuku couldn’t stop himself from smiling. The past few weeks had been a lot, both mentally and physically. He’d learned a lot of things about himself that he never knew. He learned from past mistakes and fixed ones for the future. His guilt, his grief, his laughter, his joy, his happiness. Yet, he felt most safe here, surrounded by friends.
Midoriya Izuku was finally home.