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KALEIDESCOPE OMNISCIENCE DIMENSIONAL ASSISTANT - "KODA"•••••ONLINE
TRANSMIGRATION SYSTEMS.•••••ONLINE, PREPARING FOR TRANSMIGRATION.NAME: IZUKU MIDORIYA - VERSION 214 (FROM SUBDIVISION 000004 - "QUIRKS")
PLACEMENT UNIVERSE: IZUKU MIDORIYA - VERSION 4112 (FROM SUBDIVISION: 212033 - "OMEGAVERSE")
***
Everything was going so well.
He achieved the impossible - his dream was within his grasp. He proved his worth. The greatest gift he could ask for was proof that he did. The man who inspired him became his mentor. He worked hard and got somewhere. In the school of his dreams, he found kindred spirits. Friends who cherished him and pushed him further to success. He pushed them to become better people. Teachers who gave him more than life advice, but genuine answers to questions that bothered him. The stories he heard, the people he met - it set fire to his soul. The flame that Yagi passed onto him didn't burn because of Yagi's wishes alone, but because he desired to protect others.
Even he - the one who was always out of Izuku Midoriya's reach - looked like he was within his grasp again.
"I love you, my son."
Those words lingered in his head on repeat, like a sermon he wasn't supposed to forget.
A quiet, unspoken worry whispered in his head. If he forgot those words, he'd forget the person who told them to him. What a frightening thought.
It snowed early that year - little specks of white came fluttering down from grey clouds.
"Fucking Deku - what the fuck are you doing here?!"
The dry, cold air made his throat hurt when he swallowed his feelings and flashed a bright smile.
"What do you mean, Kacchan? I'm a student here just like you!"
He had always loved Katsuki's red eyes - whenever Izuku had the pleasure of looking into those eyes - they burned with so much passion and conviction. Even at the worst depths of their messy, turbulent relationship, Katsuki never stopped staring at him with those beautiful eyes. That's why, when their gaze met and Izuku saw those red eyes - his body froze. That unreadable expression - what is that?
That's not the Katsuki he knew.
"You should fucking be here, Deku. It's only been a week since he-"
"-has it been a week already? Time's moved so quickly I barely even noticed," said Izuku as he walked past Katsuki into the front gates, "There are more important things to worry about. I can't take time off for something like that."
Katsuki reached out to him and grabbed his hand.
"You can't do this, Deku. He wouldn't want you to do this," said Katsuki as he squeezed his hand, "Listen to Principal Nedzu and take a break from school. You won't fall behind or anything. Your not a fucking extra, Deku so don't act like one."
This was the first time they'd held hands like this since they were kids. How funny that it took Yagi's death to bring them closer. At least, Izuku found it funny. Katsuki was still looking at him with that unreadable expression. He hated it, but hatred wasn't an emotion that heroes were allowed to have.
So instead, he gave Katsuki a bright smile.
"I'm really okay, Kacchan. I promise. Let's get to class before Eraserhead gets worried that we're fighting or something."
He ran off without looking back that day. That was probably for the best.
Izuku Midoriya knew that if he stayed alone with Katsuki for a moment longer, he would have broken down and lost the smile plastered on his face. It was a hollow, empty smile but it was a smile all the same. After all, Yagi told him that true heroes can keep smiling even when their pain.
PLACEMENT ERROR INTERCEPTED•••••••••••••••EMERGENCY PROTOCOL ACTIVATED.
PROTOCOL 2B9211••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••UNSUCCESSFUL
PROTOCOL 2B9212••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••UNSUCCESSFUL
REQUESTING EMERGENCY PLACEMENT•••••••••••••••REQUEST RECIEVED.
***
It had been a few months since Yagi passed, and Izuku was starting to feel okay again.
He took up Eraserhead's request to spend time training with him until Gran Torino was persuaded to return to U.A. The Underground was different than he thought. It was fewer assassination missions and more quiet moments observing the city. Then again, maybe Aizawa just didn't want to bring his underage student to dirty jobs. Aizawa taught him that the Underground exists to protect Japan from itself once, and he didn't really understand that until the Shie Hassaikai Raid. Sasaki Mirai was the only person in Japan who knew Yagi as well as he did, and Izuku was quietly looking forward to meeting him. He thought if he met the people his mentor loved, he'd feel closer to him in some way.
"I will never accept you as All-Might's successor," said Nighteye with a harsh glare, "It should have never been a quirkless rat like you. You couldn't even protect him during his last moments."
There was a piercing sensation in his chest - as though he'd been stabbed and an old wound reopened.
Mirio assured him that Nighteye would come around eventually, and even apologised on his mentor's behalf. Lemillion was a great hero, and Mirio Togata was a kindhearted person. He was someone who shined like the sun because the flame inside him was pure and just. He was too pure and too just for this world, apparently.
"Don't cry, Deku. You need to smile, Eri's watching. You have to protect her for me, okay? I believe in you. You can do it."
It was happening again, right before his eyes.
Just like Yagi, his flame was snuffed out and Izuku was there to pick up the embers he left behind. He fought Overhaul, but he couldn't do it at full strength - the weight of Mirio's death was like a ghost on his shoulders. He couldn't bury the thought, and he suffered the consequence.
Overhaul got away in the end, but at least Eri was safe. The doctors said he narrowly avoided death. The bones in his legs were completely shattered and one of his broken ribs punctured his lungs. There was only so much Recovery Girl's quirk could help with - so they outsourced the rest to a hero named Mystic, Tokoyoshi Fuji. His quirk helped to locate and speed up the healing process that Recovery Girl wasn't able to heal on her own.
He would recover, said Dr Fuji, but the process would hurt like hell.
And it did, but nothing compared to the weight of Mirio's death.
"The price of saving one little girl," said Nighteye one day, when he visited, "Perhaps I judged you too harshly, Deku. If Mirio and All Might gave you their hopes on their deathbeds, perhaps you're not too bad. It would be a shame if their deaths meant nothing because you were too weak to continue their dreams."
He felt like screaming, but no words left his mouth. Not even the cry for help that sat so delicately on the tip of his tongue.
PERMISSION GRANTED FOR EMERGENCY PLACEMENT.
SIMULATING UNIVERSES••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••EMERGENCY PLACEMENT FOUND.
NAME: IZUKU MIDORIYA - VERSION 214 (FROM SUBDIVISION 000004 - "QUIRKS". Timeline B-44)
PLACEMENT UNIVERSE: IZUKU MIDORIYA - VERSION 53422 (FROM SUBDIVISION: 000006- "QUIRKS", Timeline: V-22)
***
Nothing happened for a while, and their lives went on as they were supposed to.
Koda's parents were unsatisfied with the way U.A. trained their son, so he left them at the end of the first year. School reopened in April, and Hitoshi Shinsou of General Education took Koda's place. A few months later, after an incident in the Girl's Bathroom - U.A. came under fire. Mineta Minoru was withdrawn with disciplinary effect, and Neito Monoma - the highest-scoring student in Class 1-B - took his place while someone else from General Studies moved up as well. The promotions were sudden and hadn't happened before in U.A.'s history, but it worked itself out eventually.
They both found their places in Class A's delicate social ecosystem. Hitoshi found a comfortable spot in Izuku's friend group, and Neito joined Katsuki and company on the other side. He and Katsuki had barely spoken a word since Yagi's death, but Izuku told himself he preferred it that way.
The more things they left unspoken, the less vulnerable he'll feel in the end.
At Nedzu's suggestion, Izuku began training with Shoto and Endeavour instead of Gran Torino. Endeavour is a meticulous and cruel mentor, but he's exactly what Izuku needs to control his quirk. It doesn't take long for him to realise that he and Endeavour are painfully similar; gifted with powers too great for their bodies to control. Under his tutelage, Izuku learns what's necessary to be a strong and powerful hero. Nothing else.
Nothing happened for a while and Izuku realised something.
When did he stop listening to the voice in his head that told him to do the right thing? When did he start going along with whatever his teachers and mentors chose for him? When was the last time he cried? Why was he still smiling?
An attack by a villain while on patrol sent him to the hospital again.
"Izuku? Baby, Momma and Daddy are here-"
It's a familiar quiet, one that reminds him that he's not good enough.
"-we came by with some fruit. How are you going?"
There it was - that desire to scream, but nothing came out again.
"Did you two leave work because of me? Sorry about that. I'm doing well, don't worry."
It twisted into a bright smile - one he couldn't turn down, no matter what.
"Zu, bud," said his father as he took a seat, "I'm not going to lie, I'm worried. These villains are getting ruthless without the League around to keep them in check. Your mother and I were considering, what if you...what if you gave up on this whole hero business, kiddo? With all you injuries, it's clear your not cut out for it. And I'd hate for something to happen to you while I'm in America, Izuku."
What if you gave up on this hero business? It's clear you're not cut out for it. So many people have died to give you this chance, yet you're still failing.
Do you honestly think a quirkless, worthless person like you could defeat All For One? Why are you even wasting your time chasing this useless dream?
You should give One For All to someone who'll use it meaningfully.
The words repeated in his head like a broken record - he was worthless. There was no meaning to his journey. He was undeserving from the start. He wasn't the protagonist of this story. Yagi and Mirio both made mistakes when they chose him. He was no symbol, not like they were to the people around them.
"Please, don't take this away from me. I'll do better, I promise. I have to continue. Yagi, Mirio, so many people are counting on me, I can't just-I can't just abandon their dreams. Mom, Dad, I'm begging you, please."
He made a silent promise to himself that day - that he'd do whatever it took to never worry another person again.
No one would ever have to think about him.
No one.
REWRITING PLACEMENT MEMORIES••••••••••COUNTERED BY EMERGENCY PLACEMENT PROTOCOL.
PER EMERGENCY PLACEMENT PROTOCOL - MEMORIES WERE NOT REPLACED.
BEGININNING UNIVERSE CLEAN UP MEASURES••••••••••••••••••••100% COMPLETE
***
A year passed and nothing happened. Well, some things happened but nothing too important.
He learned a very important skill - the ability to vanish without anyone noticing. He started small, only for a day and then an entire weekend. He needed the break. The world was too loud and it was hurting his head these days. He got his act together after that last hospital trip. They called him "Green Might" behind closed doors. He got better control over One For All and managed to contact the vestiges within. Everyone was so proud of the hero he'd become. Even the Hero Commission took notice of him. A new symbol of hope and peace was on the verge of being born. He had everything he wanted and a future that others would kill for. And yet, every time he smiled, he felt himself dying a little on the inside.
Their graduation loomed over the horizon - their last summer as Class A was upon them.
Denki and Mina had a brilliant idea - a bonfire party on the beach to celebrate. Once their work studies started, they'd be too busy to hang out or do anything. Might as well enjoy the present. It didn't take much convincing for the rest of Class A to join them. Even a few students in Class B attended. They gathered just before sunset on a beach to eat barbecue, light sparklers and make memories. The water was much too cold to swim in, but that didn't stop Tetsutetsu and Denki from jumping in.
He was actually having fun, and then Momo told him that they ran out of drinks. The convenience store wasn't that far away - he had no problem getting it for them. If only he had said no to her. He would have still been blissfully ignorant. He and Katsuki hadn't spoken in two years.
He wished it had stayed that way.
"M-Midoriya?" Eijirou's panicked voice rang in his ears, "Did you, uh, see that?"
Katsuki turned around, panicked rage coloured his face, "What the fuck Deku? What are you doing here?!"
Eijirou and Katsuki went ahead to get some extra snacks.
He felt himself freeze, "Momo sent me for more drinks!"
The only thing Izuku saw them getting was a piece of each other's lips.
He shouldn't have been so surprised - they were perfect for each other. Eijirou was the only person Katsuki ever acknowledged, of course, they were dating.
"Of course out of everyone who saw that it has to be you. Fucking shitty nerd," cursed Katsuki as he walked over and grabbed Izuku's collar, "Don't get the wrong fucking idea, Deku. You didn't see shit. You don't know shit."
"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me! I won't tell a soul, Kacchan!"
Eijirou tapped Katsuki's shoulder, "C'mon, Kats. Let him go, if we don't explain ourselves, he'll misunderstand-"
"-There's nothing to misunderstand," was his swift response, "I'm really happy for you both, honestly!"
Katsuki scoffed, "Shitty Ass Nerd, what part of you don't know shit do you not understand, Deku?!"
He gave Katsuki a smile, "I'm so happy for you, Kacchan."
It was the same one he gave the media and his teachers, and their reactions were so tame.
Yet when Katsuki received that smile - that perfect hero's grin - his eyes went wide and he let go of Izuku's collar.
He didn't stay long enough to listen to Eijirou's frantic explanation. He didn't want to hear it. He put on a bright smile and went through the rest of the party as if nothing had happened. He got in his carpool and went straight to the apartment he'd secretly been renting. This was his last sanctuary. The only place where he couldn't feel anything anymore.
It wasn't his business that Katsuki was in love with someone. They were barely acquaintances anymore.
And yet, the tears began to stream down his cheeks at the thought. They were devoid of any real meaning for him to latch them onto.
He was too empty for those tears to mean anything.
Izuku Midoriya died the same day Toshinori Yagi did - the puppet Deku was just parading around in his place. There was no real meaning to his life. He was just a tool used by U.A. and the HPSC to promote propaganda to the public. He had no real friends - no one would ever understand the feelings he had or who he was. To everyone, he'd always be the boy who had everything. He was the inheritor, the successor, the next symbol - he was so many titles but each and every one of those titles belonged to Deku. Izuku Midoriya had nothing.
Maybe that was for the best.
After all, at his core, he was still that worthless, quirkless boy no one cared about anyways.
Even if he were to die in this apartment - not a single person would care or notice.
PLACEMENT SUMMARY:
Izuku Midoriya 214 has been placed in Universe 000006- "QUIRKS", Timeline: V-22.
Simulations are not in favour of Izuku Midoriya 214's survival. New simulations place odds of survival at 10.2%.
Recommended Actions: Termination of timeline to preserve universal stability.Do you wish to proceed with this?
>YES
>>NOTermination Request denied.
Welcome to your new universe, Izuku Midoriya.