Chapter Text
When Toshinori sees a boy with green curls on one of the screens, he is immediately reminded of Inko, a lawyer he dated in his past. The examinee wasn't an exact replica of the woman, but they shared too many characteristics with her.
The boy’s green hair, emerald eyes, and facial structure were the exact carbon copy of Inko's, which made him believe that the child was somehow related to the woman. The thought of the child being his biological son floated in his mind, but he quickly dismissed the theory when he saw him launch himself toward the zero-pointer.
As the boy pulled back his fist and aimed for the zero-pointer head, he couldn’t help but think that this was something Inko wouldn’t do. Despite being compared to a bloodthirsty shark in her field of work, Inko isn’t what Toshinori calls a fighter. She’s a pacifist, thinks before she acts, and would rather use her words than her fist.
Additionally, the boy is far too reckless to be raised by someone like Inko. He couldn’t imagine a world where Inko’s child-rearing skills would result in her child punching through the face of something like a zero-pointer. The child kept punching and kicking through the metal to widen the hole until it was big enough to crawl inside, all while hanging on to the machinery with one hand.
“Who’s that?” Kayama asked as she watched the same screen drawing in everyone’s attention.
The examinee must have done something to disable the zero-pointer because it stopped moving and began to tumble to the ground. A few gasps could be heard, assuming the worst was about to happen. If he were watching everything in real time rather than footage of an event that had already occurred, he would have gotten out of his seat and sped his way to the boy’s battle center.
“Midoryia Izuku,” the principal answered as he pulled the examinee’s info on a computer. “Age fifteen with an emitter quirk called Superpower.”
“Superpower,” Kan repeated, unimpressed by the name of the quirk. “What does the quirk do?”
“Enhancement of one’s physical abilities,” Nezu disclosed. At that moment, the screen showed the teen leaping out of the hole he made earlier.” It’s a simple quirk on paper, but it seems Midoryia has been working on utilizing his quirk to his full potential.”
After hearing the teen’s name and quirk, Toshinori is certain the Midoryia is not his or Inko’s son. If Midoryia were then, he would Inko would have informed him of his existence. The teen’s surname would have been an Akatani instead of Midoryia.
“What is Tensei’s little brother doing?” Yamada shouted, interrupting Toshinori from his train of thought. “Don’t tell me he’s going to do what I think he’s doing.”
Tensei? The English teacher must be referring to the Turbo Hero, Ingenium. He hasn’t had the pleasure of meeting the pro, but he has heard only positives about the man.
“He’s going to get a kick out of this when he hears about this,” Kayama snickered as the younger brother lifted a brunette girl by the waist and tossed her into the air. “Who had known that the polite boy I know would throw a lady into the air or have the strength to do so!”
“He doesn’t have the strength to toss her in the air,” Aizawa analyzed, as a nagging thought in the back of his mind tells him that something about the scene is suspicious. “If you have forgotten already, her quirk nullifies the effect of gravity. She is using her quirk to make herself float.”
On the screen, the brunette was floating toward the boy. Midoryia noticed her presence and, somehow, he and the brunette high-fived each other mid-air. It was enough to halt the boy’s fall. Still meters above the air, the teenagers carefully position themselves for their descent.
And with one glance at each other, the brunette canceled the effects of her quirk by touching her finger pads together. Unexpectedly, the pair remained calm as they fell. Everyone in the room braced themselves to see them hit the ground, but they were relieved to see how Ingenium’s younger brother caught them both in his arms.
The pair began to laugh as the bluenette stumbled backward. A misstep later on the younger Iida's part, the three fell to the ground. Still, despite being covered in dirt and bruises, they were smiling.
“Looks like you’ll have an interesting set of students in your homeroom, Aizawa,” Nezu stated, sounding very amused. “And with so much potential, too!”
The principal stared at the paused footage with amusement and curiosity, making it evident that he had already decided. These three examinees will be enrolled and placed in Aizawa’s homeroom.
“No,” Aizawa counted as dread dawned on his face. “I don’t want them. Give when to Kan.”
Toshinori knew it was a losing battle the moment the mammal set his sights on something, if the principal’s manic laughter was anything to go by.
Izuku arrived on the scene to see an arachnophobe's worst nightmare. It had only been a couple of hours after the entrance exam, and a humanoid spider was attacking a concert of a wildly popular idol group known as The Lost Starlights. Some sort of giant humanoid spider crawled around the stadium, letting out a screech as the concertgoers ran away from it.
It was a twenty-foot-tall humanoid spider, with the bottom part resembling the body of a black widow and the top part resembling a human woman. The skin of the human part matched the bottom half, and fortunately, her chest was covered by a thick layer of webs. However, the woman had sharp fangs that seemed to paralyze her victims when biting them, and long, white hair covered in grey oil that made anyone who touched it become fatigued.
“I suddenly realized that I have something important to do,” Uraraka mentioned, shuddering when the spider spat out a liquid to the exit. The liquid instantly hardened when it made contact with the door, blocking everyone. “Sorry, but I will have to go!”
“Sky, no,” Izuku lightly scolded, grabbing the girl’s wrist. “We have a duty to stop Chaos, including fighting giant spiders!”
Uraraka sighed in defeat, summoning her bow and arrows out of thin air. To the brunette’s right, Tsuyu manifested a sphere of water floating above her palm. To the left, Momo spread her arm wide as sharp rock projectiles appeared behind her.
“Aqua, you will act like bait and grab the spider’s attention,” Izuku ordered, surveying his surroundings. “Ore, when the spider is distracted, hurl the rock projectiles to dismember the spider’s legs. Sky, you’ll act as support and free the victims from their cocoon prisons.”
“On it, prince,” Sky responded, visibly relieved that she didn’t have to directly face the spider. “I'll see if I can create another exit after freeing everyone.”
Izuku nodded in acknowledgment before telling Tsuyu to grab the spider’s attention. The water user took off, using some magic to create a stream of water beneath her feet to propel herself to the spider. To grab the spider's attention, the water user lifted the sphere above her palm and hurled it at the spider’s face.
Noticing the sphere, the spider fired a violet beam coated in black particles toward the water sphere. When the sphere and beam collided, the sphere managed to overpower the beam and continue to head toward the hybrid’s face. Around the same time, Uraraka used her wind magic to compress the air pressure beneath her feet and propel herself toward the cacoons. Knowing her limits, she would carry two cacoons at a time and sped her way to a location free from panicked people.
“Oh, remove its legs!” Izuku shouted, and a faint voice in his mind told him to clap his hands. “I’ll weaken the hybrid after you dismember its legs. Aqua, you go to the exit and see if you can create another exit for the audience!”
Momo hurled the sharp projectiles toward the hybrid’s legs, successfully slicing off all of the hybrid’s eight legs. A second later, Izuku clapped his hands. Suddenly, he is enveloped in a white light so bright that he shuts his eyes. He sensed a surge of energy unfamiliar to him, unlike the magic-based attacks. It was an odd, but not uncomfortable feeling.
“You have armor,” Sky squealed from afar, making Izuku open his eyes. “Now you look like a proper prince!”
Izuku checked himself out and noticed his entire body covered in a transparent, golden light. His usual attire could still be seen underneath the golden light, but the light surrounding him resembled a full suit of knight armor.
Not wasting time, he leaped toward the spider and kicked it with so much force that it crashed through the wall. Before the hybrid could attack, Izuku raised his hands, and with palms out toward the spider, he released a stream of gold chains. The spider tried to fight against the chain by opening its mouth and firing another beam, but the gold chains wrapped around the spider’s mouth.
It didn’t take long for the hybrid to be completely wrapped in chains. Izuku let out a sigh of relief and thought he was in the clear until he took a step forward. He stepped forward and heard a sickening squish. A fresh wave of panic hit him. Slowly, he looked at the ground to see that the transparent armor covering his leg was covered in a grey liquid. He hadn’t even realized his leg was covered in the hybrid’s liquid!
Initially, he thought he would be paralyzed or fatigued like everyone else who made contact with the substance. There wasn’t much he could do but frantically wipe the substances off himself with the sweaters he found on the floor. However, it didn’t take long for him to realize he wasn’t becoming weak or immobile. From what he observed, the effects take about ten seconds to kick in. It had been longer than ten seconds, so what could this mean?
“The armor must have protected you from the effects,” Momo theorized as she appeared beside Izuku. “Its magic was powerful enough to paralyze and fatigue anyone who made contact with the liquid, even if the liquid had only made contact with the individual’s clothes.”
“But it didn’t for you,” Tsuyu noted from behind, covered in dust and tiny pieces of debris. “If you weren't covered in magical armor, you would have become paralyzed.”
Cool, another ability unlocked! Things are finally looking up, and everyone will discover more abilities they had forgotten in their previous life! Maybe, they will advance their magic further and faster than expected, which means they may have the upper hand!
“Make sense,” Izuku agreed, suddenly realizing that Tsuyu should be creating an exit for the concertgoers. “Wait, why are you here? Have you already made an exit?”
“I did,” Tsuyu confirmed, spreading her palm outwards to show how she can pressurize water. “I had a vision of pressuring water to cut through walls. Whether it be from a past life or something my mind came up with, that’s up for debate.”
“It was really cool,” Uraraka added, popping out of nowhere. “Tsuyu stood there like a statue until bam! She’s creating a large blade of water and slashing the wall to create a makeshift exit for everyone!”
“And what are you doing here?” Izuku asked, remembering how the brunette was supposed to free the people trapped within the cocoon. “Did you free everyone from the cocoons?”
“About that, the webs became dust seconds ago,” Uraraka mentioned with a confused expression. “I think it’s because you weaken the spider, but I’m not sure.”
That could be it. Izuku doesn’t know and frankly, is too mentally tired to care. He had used all of his brain power taking the written portion of the exam and strategizing how he could get the most points in the practical portion of the exam. He really didn’t need to get the most points in the group, but everyone in the group made it a competition to see who could score the highest number of points. The winner got bragging rights and picked out the movies for the next three nights.
Obviously, he wanted to pick the movies for the next three nights.
“Well, glad things wrapped up nicely,” Izuku commented, clapping his hands to see if that would remove the transparent armor. It did. “Let me purify spider lady before the heroes arrive and try to arrest us.”
Walking up to the hybrid, Izuku had summoned his staff and pointed to the creature. He had done this plenty of times by now, but this time, something feels off. Even though they had weakened the hybrid, he couldn’t help but dart his eyes from place to place. He sensed some type of invisible danger, but that shouldn’t be the case. All threats have been taken care of…
“Stupid prince, don’t look so happy,” the hybrid darkly chuckled through the chains, her voice sounding masculine and sinister. It sent a cold chill down the teenagers’ spines. “You think rediscovering your powers will make you par with me? Don’t be ridiculous. If the elemental powers weren’t enough to stop me from destroying your kingdom in the past, what makes you think you could stop me now?”
Izuku began to tremble as his mind was brought to the ashy remains of a town. The fields were littered with the bodies of people dressed in clothing associated with mages, knights, or martial artists. Weapons were bent, crushed, melted, or reduced to tiny pieces. Buildings reduced to rubble, ash, and debris. The streets were coated with pools of red and the cold corpses of innocent people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
A few more moments passed, and he could barely understand what was occurring. People dressed as nuns and priests arrived with stretchers to carry the deceased. A man with messy, shoulder-length hair evenly split between white on his right and black on his left approached him. He looked like a traditional Japanese man with an all-black kimono and matching hakama, except he was wearing a dingy grey cloak with a large, seven-pointed golden star symbol on the back. The man has the same star symbol on his forehead, which should have some significant meaning, but is impossible to remember.
“Your highness, I need to bring you to your mother,” the man said, his voice distorted and barely recognizable. “Chaos had declared war on the royal family and made its first move.”
It took a gentle hand holding and squeezing his hand to snap him out of his thoughts. It was Uraraka. Then, a comforting hand was placed on his shoulder. It was from Momo, and despite being equally scarred as him, she had it in her to comfort him. Tsuyu pointed her trident at the spider with shaky legs, but didn’t let her fear get the best of her.
Ah, it seemed he was lost in the memories his mind had buried in this lifetime. The memories he saw were brief and fleeting, but they instilled fear that was beginning to take root and consumed him.
How could it not, when Chaos is speaking through the humanoid they had weakened, treating the creature nothing more than a vessel he can speak through? There’s a significant difference between speaking about Chaos and hearing the entity speak, even though he was here in person.
“If the elemental powers aren’t a threat to you, you wouldn’t be doing all this,” Izuku stated, masking his fear with a neutral expression. “You wouldn’t be corrupting innocent civilians in an effort to have them kill us.”
From his time as a reincarnated, magical prince, Izuku learned that the most important thing is never to show any signs of weakness. Don’t let the opponent know you’re terrified of them, or else they gain more control of the situation. Put on a mask of facade to hide your feelings and face head-on the opponent threatening your home. Act unfazed so as to not let the opponent know how their actions significantly impact you.
But doing all that can be challenging when the lingering feelings from buried memories remain. Izuku's hands were shaky, and his legs began to tremble, but he kept his head high and stared directly at the spider’s eyes.
“You’re terrified of me, prince,” Chaos said through the spider humanoid. "You may have lived longer in this life, but your kingdom will meet a similar end.
“Not if we have anything to say about it,” Momo declared, taking several steps forward. “We will uphold our duty to fight alongside the prince, protecting him from the likes of you.”
“The past will not repeat itself,” Tsuyu said, her words sounding like a promise. “You will not replicate the events leading to the kingdom’s destruction in the present.”
“We grow stronger for every fight we win,” Uraraka added, and despite the fear on her face, she had it in her to stand beside Izuku. "It’s only a matter of time until we win the war and defeat you.”
Before Chaos could say something that would bring an overwhelming sense of fear or dread, Izuku gripped his staff tightly and said those all too familiar words.
“Under the name of light, I free you from the corruption of the night,” Izuku chanted, waving his staff to activate the magic. “Purify!”
The spider woman was enveloped in a white light, and the darkness within her disappeared. Moments later, an unconscious teenage girl lay on the ground.
The meeting room was already set. At the head of the rectangular table was a man of average stature with short, spiky periwinkle hair and eyes white as the arctic ice. He was lean and toned, and despite his appearance, he radiated power and wit. The tailored suit and polished dress shoes may also have contributed to his intimidating aura. However, the star pin on his suit diminished a little of the intimidating aura.
Still, it was apparent that he was the leader.
To the leader’s right was a tall, broad-shouldered, muscular man with shoulder-length dirty blond hair and hazel eyes. He wore a typical Hawaiian shirt, brown khaki shorts, and tan sandals. The man looked like an average tourist, if it wasn’t for the sword strapped to his back. The unusually sharp, canine teeth also made him stand out compared to an average man.
On the opposite side of the tanned man was a petite woman with bubblegum hair. Her hair was tied into a messy bun, but a few strands of loose hair were at the front. She wore a plain blue sundress with gold star patterns stitched to the hemline. Without the sharp, polished nails, she would have looked like an average, harmless woman.
Next to the woman was a man with long, wavy, ginger hair with yellow tips, which he kept in a ponytail. He was a tall man of average build but possessed the qualities of a cat. On top of his head were a pair of cat ears, the same color as his hair. His nails were sharper than the woman’s nails, and behind him, his fluffy tail was flickering. The white shirt and navy overalls make him look like a farmer, especially with the basket of vegetables he was carrying. Overall, he was radiating sunshine and positivity.
Lastly, across the ginger-haired man was an average-built man who was neither tall nor short. His short, neatly styled hair and eyes were both black. Underneath his right eye was a small but noticeable mole. He wore a grey dress shirt and black pants, making him appear ordinary compared to the other adults in the meeting room. However, a handkerchief sticking out of his front pocket has an embroidered gold star.
“I believe we all know why we are here today,” the periwinkle-haired man began as he pulled footage of a harpy creature attacking the general public. “The past has come back to haunt us once more by none other than Chaos.”
“Kenshin, are you positive this is the work of Chaos?” the petite woman questioned with a raised eyebrow. “It has been over a thousand years since Prismatic Kingdom was destroyed and Chaose had been defeated…at the cost of the Royal family and six noble families' lives.”
“That's what I had initially thought, Lucia,” Kenshin admitted, turning his laptop so everyone could see the footage. “But creatures such as the Harpy couldn’t be harmed by quirk and are borderline immune to conventional weapons.”
On the screen, several civilians use their quirks to defend themselves. A mother of three children attempts to create a dome to trap the harpy, only for the harpy to easily break the dome by screeching. A teenage boy nearby breathes out fire, aiming for the creature’s wings. Despite hitting directly at the harpy’s wing, the creature is unscathed by the yellow flames.
“How?” the ginger-haired male said in disbelief, nearly dropping his basket. “This should be possible.”
“Many things that were once thought impossible became reality,” the blond-haired man mentioned, a bit of worry seeping into his voice. “You said that yourself a long time ago, Jules. Unfortunately, it seems to include Chaos’s continued existence.”
“I don’t like when you’re right, Noah,” Jules sighed, looking at the screen worriedly. “I thought we were done with the war in our second life.”
“In hindsight, it was naive of us to believe only the kingdom’s people were reincarnated,” the black-haired male pointed out, sighing. “We should have prepared for the possibility of Chaos to be reincarnated or lying dormant.”
“We were naive in a lot of things, Katio,” Kenshin admitted as the screen showed three teenagers using their magic trap to catch the harpy. “But it’s pointless to dwell in the past. We must decide how we are going to proceed from here.”
The footage on the screen abruptly turned black, most likely because the camera was destroyed during the altercation. Despite only getting glimpses of the teenagers, they looked very familiar. While their faces were never fully shown in the footage, everyone couldn’t help but think these teenagers were important.
But for the life of them, they couldn’t figure out why. The teenagers can’t be part of the military or one of the queen’s guards. If they were, they would be at the very least in their mid-twenties like the others. They could have been the children of soldiers, but if that’s the case, they needed to be stopped.
“Like, what are we going to do with Japan’s request for the Special Forces Unit?” Lucia mentioned, looking unsure.”If they hadn’t already, they will suspect that they are dealing with something that is not quirk-related.”
“We will need to disclose the existence of magic,” Kenshin stated, a little displeased at the thought of involving outsiders. “Up until now, only certain individuals from different, collective countries know about the existence of magic. However, we must start involving the police, pro heroes, and local governments impacted by Chaos’s actions.”
“There’s a risk of the information being leaked,” Noah remarked, doubtful if involving non-magic individuals would be the right course of action. “If corrupted folks hear about this, they will want to indoctrinate or shape folks like us into tools. Different jurisdictions will be fighting over people like us.”
“An unfortunate risk, but we don’t have the luxury of keeping everything a secret,” Kenshin continued, closing his laptop shut. “I fear a war is brewing in Japan, and if we don’t act now, Chaos will get the upper hand.”
“This is going to take a few weeks to arrange everything before we depart, isn’t it?” Jules commented, exhausted at the thought of the paperwork and preparation he would have to do.
“If we’re lucky,” Kenshin responded as everyone groaned. “In the meantime, it will be up to our allies in Japan to collect information and monitor for any reawakened individuals.”
“What are we going to do for the children acting like soldiers,’ Katio asked, folding his hands together. “If I could help it, I don’t want any more children to get involved, much less die, in a war we should have finished.”
Until the children can be identified, there isn’t much they can do. It’s unlikely the children were reincarnated within a family with a reincarnated adult, giving them free rein to do whatever they want. Additionally, these children possess potent magical capabilities. Compared to the children, everyone in the room possessed significantly weaker magic. If they or another reincarnated individual attempted to stop them, they would be outmatched.
Then, there are memories. Not all reawakened individuals regain their memories of their previous lives. The closer the relationship an individual has with the seven families, the lower the chances the individual would regain their memories. Servants, royal guards, advisors, and those types of people have a significantly harder time remembering their past lives. Almost all of them died protecting the prince before the queen's sacrifice. Anyone who died before the queen's death was not recarinated, regardless of rank and power level. Still, the very few who survived past the queen's death and were close to the seven families have significant difficulties recalling more than the basics.
“They may potentially be the strongest individuals out of all of us,” Kenshin said with a concerned frown. “Our allies in Japan can attempt to initiate the first contact, but the children may not be open to talking if the responses from various entities continue to escalate.”
Lucia, who was checking her phone’s notifications, handed her cellphone to Kenshin. The man’s frown deepened when he saw what was displayed on screen.
“Let me guess, things escalated,” Katio assumed, the disappointment evident on his face.
“Is the country’s public safety commission deeming them a threat?” Jules asked, increasingly worried for the children. “Or do the government want to recruit them to the military?”
“Don’t tell us that there are already agencies using the vigilante reform act as a justification to hunt these kids down and forcibly make them work for the agency,” Noah continued, displeased by the turns of events. “Because that would spell trouble not only for the kids, but for the rest of us folks.”
“I’m afraid it's all that, and more,” Kenshin revealed, turning the phone to show what’s on screen. “The Japanese politicians are divided on what to do with them, but I’m most concerned about how a noticeable amount want to use them as an asset they can control and boost in power.”
The Special Forces Unit was founded decades ago by governments in North America and Europe by a community of reincarnated individuals and high-ranking politicians. The group's purpose was to protect reincarnated individuals from becoming assets and tools, but unfortunately, that is difficult to do outside of the listed countries.
And yes. There are indeed plenty of reincarnated individuals within the government and military ranks in the listed countries, but they are treated like human beings. They have their rights, freedoms, and voices. They can come and go whenever they please. The same can’t be said for most other countries in the world.
“Just great,” Lucia complained. “Lobbying countries to pass laws, stopping a group of overpower children from taking matters into their own hands, dealing with the mindfield that is politics, and preparing for a war with Chaos. We have so many things to do in so little time.”
Everyone but Kenshin groaned at the thought of all the work they would need to do. Those who didn’t have their laptop pulled out their devices and began emailing or doing paperwork. Kenshin, who has a different set of responsibilities, began to draft an email to one of their several allies in Japan.
Looking at who’s closest to the top of his contacts, he sees Tsuchikawa's contact information. Cracking his knuckles, Kenshin began to type one of many emails he would be sending. The faster he gets this done, the faster he can start preparing to deal with Chaos.
Izuku never had nightmares until he became a magical boy. He had been bullied, beaten, and treated as a second-class citizen due to his quirkless status, but his experiences never haunted him when he slept. In a way, he was privileged to get a whole night’s rest. If he’d ever woken up in the middle of the night, it would be because he fell off the bed.
It’s just a shame he never realized how lucky he was to have the luxury of consistent nights of uninterrupted, blissful sleep. He had been waking up with a gasp and a body soaked in cold sweat a lot more after the incident with the humanoid spider. Chaos’s voice would linger in his mind, whispering how he would eventually steal the magical core of every element and conquer the planet.
Sometimes, he couldn’t sleep after waking up from a nightmare. Last night was one of those nights. He hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep, and due to not having the energy to deal with bullying and a school that couldn't care less about his well-being, he opted to skip school.
Somehow, Iida, Todoroki, and Shinsou knew he was skipping school and decided to visit. When he heard someone knocking on the door, he expected to be the delivery guy delivering the merchandise he had ordered last week. What he didn’t expect was for three of his friends to be carrying bags of groceries.
“How?” Izuku asked as Shinsou shoved a bag of groceries into his hand. “I didn’t tell anyone but Mom that I will be skipping school today.”
“Your mom texted us,” Shinsou answered, entering like he owns the place. “Everyone wanted to come, but unlike us, the rest had tests today.”
“I had a test today,” Todoroki shared, ignoring Iida’s look of disappointment. “It’s the last test before the marking period ends.”
Tired and unsure what else to say, Izuku shook his head. He’s the group’s leader, not the mom friend who ensures everyone stays out of trouble and completes their obligations.
“Just make yourself at home,” Izuku said as he turned and walked straight to the kitchen.
Approaching the kitchen, he sees Shinsou eating the last croissant. On the stove, the turkey bacon is sizzling in a pan. Nearby, a carton of eggs has been opened. A bowl, fork, and paper towels are next to the carton.
How did Shinsou get everything set up so quickly? He had only been at the door for a minute!
“Did you skip school to make me breakfast?” Izuku asked, placing the bag of groceries on the table. “Because if you did, we could have cooked something together after school.”
Shinsou did not grace him with an answer. Instead, he finished the croissant without a single of guilt on his face. When Izuku looked closer at his friend’s face, he noticed the dark circles under his eyes were darker than usual. He looked like he hadn’t slept at all, and now that he thinks about it, Shinsou’s movements are sluggish today.
“Nightmares,” Izuku simply asked, pulling the produce out of the grocery bag.
Shinsou nodded, putting his hand in the bag to pull out three tomatoes.
“My moms told me I should take a break from school and see if that helps,” Shinsou answered, traces of doubt in his voice.
Izuku wished taking a break would be enough to reduce his nightmares. If only there were more they could do to cope with the reality of being child soldiers in a magical war. It would make everything simpler if he could go talk to a professional about his nightmares and the increasing anxiety associated with being a recarinated prince, but the professional would most likely tell someone.
“I haven’t been able to sleep as well, Hitoshi,” Iida admitted as he entered the kitchen. “I didn’t want to burden anyone with my nightmares, but when Ms. Midoryia sent the message, I thought I could alleviate the stress by visiting.”
“He didn’t want to be alone,” Todoroki added, manifesting out of nowhere. He continued to speak even when Iida began to sputter. “His parents are out of town, and his brother is taking a week-long vacation with Kayama.
“Shouto,” Iida shouted, his cheeks reddening from embarrassment. “How did you know about my parents’ trip?”
“I know everything,” Shouto said, refusing to elaborate no matter how much Iida protested.
For twenty minutes, everyone worked around the kitchen, doing their part to help make breakfast. Izuku found himself on bacon duty. Shinsou was making scrambled eggs with chopped tomatoes and green onions. Iida was washing the dishes and cleaning the counters. Todoroki was putting the groceries away since he’s familiar with the kitchen’s layout.
When it was time to eat, everyone helped themselves to a serving of eggs and bacon. As they ate, they began discussing the topic plaguing their sleep.
“Chaos knew what he was doing when he possessed the humanoid spider,” Izuku explained, his grip on his fork tightening. “He wants us to be scared and plant seeds of doubt about our power because he knows how much of a threat we are to him.”
“We can’t let our fears get the best of us,” Iida said, looking almost scared yet determined simultaneously. “We must develop coping strategies to cope with our emotions and encourage sleep hygiene.”
“I like talking to Fuyumi,” Todoroki mentioned, taking a bite of his eggs. “It helps me to talk to her when I have nightmares.”
“Not everyone has someone to talk to,” Shinsou pointed out, pointing his fork at Iida. “Tenya, Tsuyu, and Momo have no one to talk to about our magic business.”
“We can do a video call every night with everybody,” Izuku suggested, continuing when everyone seemed curious about the idea. “We can let out our feelings without judgment and share any new tricks we may have to help us sleep.”
“That’s a great idea, Izuku,” Iida stated, seemingly liking the idea. “We can’t go to therapy without the risk of getting discovered, so this is the next best idea.”
“Sure, why not?” Shinsou shrugged, open to the idea. “Someone may have better luck than I in understanding the breathing strategies my mom tries explaining to me.”
“They should show us one day,” Izuku mentioned, to which Shinsou hummed in response.
“But we know how to breathe?” Todoroki said, sounding confused. He didn’t know Hitoshi meant the breathing techniques people used to self-regulate or encourage sleep. “Why would they teach us something we already know how to do?”
Covering his mouth, Izuku stifled a chuckle. Iida choked on his orange juice and was pounding his chest. Shinsou simply gave Todoroki an “are you serious?” look before realizing that yes, the heterochromia teen is the type of person to make such assumptions.
“Shouto, I think Hitoshi means the tricks therapists teach people to do to help them control their emotions,” Izuku mentioned as Shouto blinked at him in response. “You know, the controlling one’s breath to prevent hyperventilation or panicked breathing that can lead to a panic attack.”
“Oh,” Shouto said in realization. “Are you speaking from experience?”
“I deny answering your question,” Izuku answered as he stuffed his mouth with bacon.
The act alone was enough of a confirmation for everyone in the room. Call him stubborn, but he refused to give his friends any more ammunition to justify their overprotectiveness. It’s bad enough that the girls are dropping by to provide him with home-cooked meals and treats they so happened to have extra of. Now, it seems the guys are growing increasingly worried for his well-being. Just look at them! Iida is now analyzing his every movement, Shinsou is giving him his mom’s numbers so they can teach him some breathing strategies, and Todoroki is telling him that he will drag him to speak to Fuyumi.
But despite his friends’ overprotectiveness annoying him, Izuku gets it. After all, aspects from their previous lives had bled into their current one.
A little girl struggled to stand as the weight of the quiver filled with arrows strapped to her back, but she remained determined. She placed a hand on her heart as she kneeled before the shy prince.
“I, the duchess of wind, would swear my life to protect the sole prince of the Prismatic Kingdom,”
A little boy strapped with daggers and an assortment of tools awkwardly approached the prince. He wasn’t accustomed to having so many things strapped to him, but that didn’t stop him from giving a deep bow.
“I, the duke of Lighting, pledge my loyalty to the prince of light.”
A child in an oversized cloak was practically engulfed in the fabric from head to toe. The only thing people could see from the child was his nose and lips. When the child kneeled before the prince, he almost tripped over his own cloak.
“I, the duke of ice, will dedicate my life to the prince.”
A different boy looked uncomfortable in his attire. He wished he had a cloak to cover his arms since the tunic he wore was short-sleeved. He also viewed himself as the least dressed compared to the others, but out of respect for the prince, he didn’t complain. Instead, he bowed.
“I, the duke of fire, will serve the prince until my dying breath.”
A girl who lacked confidence internally shared thoughts similar to those of the Duke of Fire. She didn’t think she was dressed for the part, but like the generation before her, she’s willing to dedicate her life to serving the prince.
“I, the duchess of ground, will lay my life for you, my prince.”
A different girl in a caserock robe seemed unfazed, but internally, she was unsure. She didn’t know if she was the best person out of her siblings to serve the prince. Still, she bowed before the prince.
“I, the duchess of water, am eternally in your service, my prince.”
The prince looked at each person and stared in awe. He didn’t think too much about the implications of the pledges made to him, only that he would be seeing more of them in the near future. After all, he’s a lonely kid who hasn’t interacted with kids around his age and whose friends only consist of his mom’s staff.
But despite aspects from their previous life bleeding into their current one, Izuku knows his friends’ feelings are genuine and beyond the arrangement his mother made. He can’t help but think the queen made the right choice in picking them to be his knights.