Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been ten years since anything remarkable happened, really. Coincidentally, that aligned perfectly with his time as the Ninth wielder of One for All, but Izuku couldn’t be fussed. Less trouble meant more heroes could finally have more free time, right?

He had given up One for All of his own volition to try and save that crying child, and finally ended a conflict that had continued for far too long and had caused far too much harm. He couldn’t find it in himself to regret giving away the quirk, try as he might, even as the embers of the quirk he had loved had dissipated out into the world. He hoped that the vestiges, and all else who had remained could finally be at peace, after all these years.

Izuku was glad he had gotten to live his dream, if only for a while.

And then Kacchan and everyone else had worked so hard to give it back to him, so they could all become the greatest heroes.

Best of all, now he could guide others towards their dreams.

────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆──

It was rewarding, time and time again, to teach the new students attending UA, eager and bright-eyed with their dreams of becoming a hero. He hadn’t been teaching for too long, but he’d witness the growth of his students and a warm feeling would bloom in his chest, watching their growth from insecurity and self-consciousness bloom into stability and self-assuredness. His first homeroom class was set to graduate this year, and Izuku couldn’t help but feel the same abundance of pride and happiness he had felt at his own ceremony, walking across that stage.

Dai-kun had worked hard to earn his place in the hero course, and had made great strides in Class 2-A. Occasionally, nearly two and a half years ago, Izuku would see Dai-kun in the park, by the All Might statue, practicing the durability of his plates and the length he could throw them. One time, he had managed to catch a small ball two younger children were throwing back and forth with a plate. Izuku was pretty sure he had been testing how big he could make them that day. Warmth spread outwards from his chest. Dai-kun had worked quite hard indeed.

———-⊹ ࣪ ૮꒰ ˶• ˕ •˶ ꒱ა ࣪⊹———-

Today wasn't out of the ordinary. He had been called into the field to assist in a fight when his homeroom class had been taking an exam.

Fortunately, UA was accustomed to teachers spontaneously leaving for hero work over the years, even if they weren’t on priority call until after school hours. He had simply notified the other teachers for one to come watch his class, before silently slipping out of the classroom, ignoring the increasing excitement that his students were now operating under. Only Kota-kun seemed unperturbed, keeping his eyes on the page as a small smile formed on his lips. Izuku smiled himself, before checking the time.

“You have thirty minutes left!” He called out, half way out the door. Some of his class groaned while others laughed. Even those groaning were trying hard to suppress their smiles. After all, Izuku would always give them as much time as they needed within reason and his endless support.

“Be good!”

A chorus of laughter, snickers and delighted agreement followed him as he stepped completely out of the room, activating his suit as he went.

———-⊹ ࣪ ˖ֶָ֢૮꒰ ｡•̀ ˕ •́ ｡꒱აֶָ֢˖ ࣪⊹———-

It quickly became very apparent why he, as well as apparently Shoto, had been called in to help take care of the situation. The battle had nearly turned into a full out brawl. Izuku barely had enough time to dodge another quirk-powered blow, face skidding just past an outstretched punch, immediately hurtling out of the way of emanating light as Shoto launched volleys of fire and burst forth pillars and shields of ice to protect his allies as well as maintain as much infrastructure as possible.

Ingenium, who had been in the area during the initial attack with Froppy, sped past their opponents, clearing out the area while carrying his momentum to dodge and weave between them, punching and kicking whenever an opportunity presented itself. Froppy leapt with graceful, precise motions in the gaps that the Izuku and Ingenium would provide, using her nimbleness and agility to misdirect the aim of their opponents whilst hiding behind well-timed barricades of ice. Shoto’s practiced blasts of fire would ensure Tsu enough warmth as well as the warmth from her hero costume as she darted around, using her tongue to catch and prevent any civilian caught in the crossfire when Izuku wasn’t able to launch out his own black tendrils.

It was almost nostalgic, fighting alongside his old classmates again, even for a short while. With everyone scattered to the winds throughout the country and beyond living their own lives, it wasn’t often more than three of them were on the same case at the same time, despite the frequent meet-ups they would have.

It had taken a lot of effort to dodge, preserve and protect the civilians as the group of five or so villains continued their barrage of attacks. Despite their adeptness in their quirk usage and efficient teamwork, the villains didn’t really seem to have a plan beyond “general carnage.” It was a strange motivation, but not the worst he had heard. Not the worst he had seen. He hoped they’d get the help they needed, whatever it was they were looking for.

Muddied bits of asphalt and destroyed bits of debris were being carefully removed and cleared out by sidekicks and other professionals. His fingers twitched as he saw a fascinating quirk being used by a worker, some sort of levitation or mineral magnetization? But he had to go. Izuku wasn’t sure how long he had been out in the field, but judging by how the sun had long left the skyline, leaving behind a sky painted with dark blues and the faintest remnants of dying warm yellows and the faint glimmering of stars up above, it was safe to say classes were definitely over.

His fingers worked effortlessly at his suit, letting it quietly snap back into his briefcase, softly clicking and whirling as it went. The officers and medics had just given him the clear to leave, and he had some marking to get to.

Shoto-kun, Tenya-kun and Tsu-chan had all tried to insist on accompanying him back to UA, which- Izuku couldn’t decide whether to feel warmed by their care or mildly offended by it. It had been ten years since anything remarkable happened-well, first year of UA levels of remarkable, really, and it had been ten years since any excursion he did out on his own had a large chance of resulting with the heroes or the police being called. Plus, they were all heroes now and he really didn’t want to be the reason why twenty heroes all suddenly converged in the same city on duty.

Reassuring his friends once more, Izuku gave them each a tight hug before they all parted their separate ways-well at least for a few weeks before their planned meetup with the rest of their class.

———-⊹ ࣪ ˖ֶָ֢૮꒰˶  - ˕ -꒱აֶָ֢˖ ࣪⊹———-

Izuku took a sharp left by the konbini as he walked back to UA, into one of the many suburban neighborhoods that populated Musutafu. He preferred walking here when he could, in the calmer atmosphere and sounds of people enjoying their days in the quiet with their families instead of the endless freneticism of the more urban areas, with its constant clatter and noise. It also meant that there was more cool open air for him to relax his exhausted muscles, aching slightly from the exertion used in battle.

Izuku kept walking contentedly, listening to the steady pace of his footfalls on the concrete, occasionally interrupted by a stray puddle or the gentle crunch of fallen leaves. He continued at this slow yet comfortable pace, calmly striding across the streets of Musutafu, taking in the sight, sounds and smells around him. It was wonderful, and he couldn’t help the way the corners of his lips perked up as he took it all in. He loved his home.

So much had changed, yet the vibrant energy buzzing around Musutafu hadn’t stopped, not since after the war had ended. Despite all that he had changed, he hadn’t stopped either. The embers may have faded away, but the spark and life of One for All and his origin would never leave him. Could never leave him.

Humming softly to himself, Izuku took another step forward and-

He paused. Strange.

Blinking, Izuku looked around him. Nothing seemed to have changed around him.

But–

Auburn leaves continued to blow in the wind, as the leaves of trees scattered about the neighbourhood fell to the ground of their own accord. Birds chirped as the pleasant glow of the streetlights illuminated the muted colours of the ground beneath his feet and the vegetation allowed to grow at its side. The cool soothing breeze continued to blow. None of this stopped the creeping sense of unease gradually building up in his mind.

Slowly, more alarm bells started ringing in his head, but it was…odd.

Late construction projects continued around him in the city, projects that Izuku had memorized their locations and monitored, taken extra care to ensure that they would not become another victim to the path of battle and destruction when doing his hero work. Pedestrians continued happily walking about, lost in their own worlds as they finally finished with work and returned back home to their loved ones underneath a breathtaking sky filled with blues and warmth and faint stars. Large bands of clouds stretched across the sky, drifting lazily in the evening air. Nothing seemed amiss. But Izuku was never one to mistrust his instincts. They had carried him this far.

And he couldn’t help but feel something was terribly wrong.

Izuku stopped walking forward and turned right, past the few muddy remnants of rain that had poured into Musutafu from the last few days, stepping into a dark alleyway and surreptitiously allowed his suit to come to life around him. He couldn’t articulate why, but it was best to not attract attention. Not right now. Not when something was off.

There was really only one thing he could do right now to get to the bottom of this, and it certainly wasn’t to go at this alone.

With a gentle pulse and flick of Blackwhip, Izuku leapt upwards to the skies, a quiet shadow along the horizon. He needed his suit to continue his course faster, now carrying an idle sense of confusion that had washed away the calmness of his peaceful stroll. He needed to return quickly to his place of respite, the institution that had given him everything, where he gave them his all every day.

It was time to head back to UA.

Chapter Text

Izuku landed on the street before the U.A. gates. Even in the waning daylight it was obvious that something was wrong. 

A swath of Kudzu trailed up the wall, cresting the edge. It was pretty, but also a security risk, full of footholds. Nezu never would have allowed it. Also, it was clearly months, even years old, and it hadn’t been there this afternoon.

Farther back, the usually uniform windows of the four towers were patchwork, every tenth one or so boarded up. But the building wasn’t abandoned—Izuku could see the glow on either end of the gate, the proof that the security system was turned on.

Izuku swallowed. Then, slowly, he edged forward toward the opening.

As soon as he got within a meter, a barrier shot up to block his way. Izuku sighed. He was kind of expecting that, but it was still disappointing. Then he headed over to the left side of the gate.

Below the microphone embedded in the wall was a small button. Izuku positioned himself in front of the camera, making sure his face would be clearly visible. Then, careful not to break it, he pressed the button. 

There was a faint buzzing noise, and no other obvious effect, but Izuku knew that if Nezu wasn’t watching now, there was a good chance he would review this footage later.

“Hi Nezu,” Izuku said, “I’m Pro Hero Deku. I’m U.A. alum, and I teach history here now—but I’m guessing you might not know that. I think I’ve been hit by some kind of quirk. I’m going to keep investigating, but I’m happy to talk things out if you want. I’ll be—well, I’m sure you can find a way to contact me.”

Message completed, Izuku let his armored finger slide down off the button. Then he rubbed his chin, trying to decide where to go next. His first instinct was that he'd been thrown into the future. The fact that his access credentials didn't work meant he was far enough into the future that he'd retired and his campus pass had been revoked, or else he must have died an untimely death. Neither option was particularly encouraging.

There was an easy way to test the theory. Any civilian would know what year it was. So Izuku shot blackwip toward the last tree he'd swung from and started heading back toward the city.

.*⊹ ૮꒰⸝⸝•̀ ﻌ •́⸝⸝꒱ა 󠁐 ⊹*.

"Excuse me," Izuku said.

The woman at the bus stop kept facing away, pretending she hadn't heard, but Izuku could see the tilt of her eye. She was watching him.

Maybe she was in a bad mood. This wasn't an emergency, so he left her alone, walked a little farther until he made it to the covered bench. There was a man sitting there.

"Excuse me," Izuku said, "I was wondering—could you help me with something?"

The man glanced up at him, brows turned down. "I thought that was your job."

Izuku blinked, surprised to be rejected twice. Maybe this person thought he was asking for physical help with hero work, which would be unreasonable. "I just wondered if you could tell me the date today?"

"September twenty-sixth," the man stated.

That was the date today, but it didn't include the year, so it wasn't at all helpful for Izuku's purposes. He wavered for a moment, trying to decide if he should embarrass himself by asking specifically for the year.

Behind him, a loud crash sounded through the city. Izuku turned in time to see the dust cloud forming, the sure sign of a building colapse.

Izuku was already moving, blackwip pulling him as the zero gravity thrusters made him lighter.

As he crested the first row of buildings he got a better look at the destruction. A fight was raging, the light of dueling quirks flinging out like a rave. Izuku didn't recognize the villain, and he wasn't sure his hero license was still valid. So he raised his respirator and dropped down into the center of the dust cloud.

It was hard to see, so Izuku used Anima's drones to review the damage. The corner of a building had caved in. It slumped in on itself dangerously, threatening to fall all the way. Izuku reached out and set his right hand on the bent wall, and Shouto's ice spread out to secure it. Then he began working upward from the ground, generating beams with Creati to set more solid braces, securing them with Cellophane.

He wasn't sure if the quirk that must have hit him was timed, if he would get sucked back to his own life when it ran out. If so, these supports might disappear with him. When the fighting calmed down, he needed to find a hero and inform them of the situation.

Someone coughed.

Izuku crouched, set his palm on the ground, and used Explosion to clear a section of the air.

There was a man standing on the other side of the breaking wall. He was pale grey, completely coated in concrete dust. His eyes blinked rapidly, struggling to see.

"This way," Izuku said, reaching through a gap, "I'm a pro hero, I can help you."

The man stepped closer, until Izuku was able to grab his shoulder and guide him through to the other side.

"Here," Izuku said, grabbing his cape and moving it into the man's hand, "Wipe your face."

The man took the cloth, brought it up and rubbed at his eyes. He tried to speak, but coughed instead.

"I have to stay here," Izuku said, "But you should try to walk away from the fight. Can you see?"

The cape dropped as the man lowered it. A swath of his face was cleared, like it had been photoshopped onto a statue. He looked around, then nodded.

Izuku pointed back the way he'd come. "Run that way, find the police line and get behind it."

"You'll go in?" the man said, voice grainy, "There are others."

"Definitely," Izuku said, already crouching, examining the other side of the gap, "Thank you for telling me. Please get to safety."

The man nodded, wide eyed, but he did start running in the direction Izuku had indicated.

Izuku smiled, glad he'd been able to help. Then he ducked his head and squeezed through the break in the wall.

Chapter Text

The inside of the building was chaos.

That wasn’t a surprise, he had expected it from the way quirks had been shot out and the noise of the fight cutting through the peaceful silence of the evening.

He had barely taken a few steps into the building, eyes quickly scanning the surroundings before Hikage’s collision detection warnings in the Mech Suit flashed. Izuku dropped down as a large piece of debris flew past him before colliding hard into the wall behind him, narrowly avoiding a support column.

Someone sped past him, dodging a swipe from another man. It was a blur, watching them vault themself over an office chair, and then launching what appeared to be a grappling hook contraption out from their arm, yanking hard on an office chair, causing it to spin uncontrollably and hit the man that had been following in pursuit. This also had the effect of moving the direction of the fight away from the support beam and into the thick of the battle in the centre of what appeared to have been an office lobby.

A hero then. At least the good news was that he wouldn’t need to inform any heroes of the situation.

The hero continued to run and dodge with impressive speed, weaving in and out of people fighting, somersaulting over a sofa as it nearly burst into flames.

The bad news was that the fighting didn’t seem to have any sign of calming down, and he had civilians to protect and rescue from the crossfire.

Heroes cried warnings as it continued, and Izuku only got glimpses of their costumes and quirks as they fought, trying to scan and mentally map the floor plan. Swift movements rose plumes of dust, lowering visibility. Yanking his cowl on to increase his own visibility, Izuku moved silently, beginning his primary search of the first floor. The building lobby was nearly in ruins, tables knocked over and laying onto their sides as chairs and other decorations were used as shields and weapons.

A few other blurs sped past, causing Izuku to roll out of the way and behind a support column. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if he was suddenly attacked due to the lack of visibility. A hero nearby gave no warning as they threw heavy swings that in turn threw their opponents fighting off kilter. Another casted a complex calculated maneuver to swing above their opponent using some sort of net they had cast—a quirk perhaps?—narrowing avoiding some strewn out furniture, instead catching their opponent for a second before rolling safely out of the way of impact. More dust added to the storm, coated every surface surrounding the fight, a reminder of the increasing precarity of the situation at hand.

Izuku had helped out in multiple rescue operations with a large variety of rescue heroes before, as the mech suit’s versatility had allowed him to make quick, efficient rescues. It would be slightly harder, with all the chaos around him, but it would be manageable. He was no stranger to conflicts afterall, with how it had trailed him since his very first week entering the world of heroics.

His boots pulsed softly as he activated Nana’s Float Thrusters and floated off of the ground, continuing his search of the first floor. This sort of rescue work was better in multiple teams and partner pairings, but Izuku didn't have the luxury for that right now. If there had been rescue heroes on the scene earlier, they were likely caught up in the fight.

Never letting his guard down, Izuku helped a group of three shaking civilians exit the building, using soft yet impactful crackles from Explosion to create another gap opening for them to exit. Watching the last of the three, a short man wearing an office suit with small spikes protruding from his head and behind his ears, Izuku also continued to monitor the battle, shifting his full attention to it as the head of the man tucked completely under the gap and out of site, towards the police.

The heroes he had seen earlier had done well on their own, but these heroes fighting together here were almost…

Hikage’s Danger Sensors flashed again and Izuku rolled as a shot of something flew past him, only to hit another hero nearby who had been in the middle of leaping onto the villain and land what might have been a devastating blow, by the look of the reinforced gauntlets they were wearing. The gauntlet wearing hero paused their attack as an explosion sounded from afar to yell at the shooter, who astonishingly yelled back, allowing another villain from behind the opportunity to nearly hit them both in a wave of fire. Their argument stopped abruptly, and the heroes continued the fight, incredibly out of sync.

That was..wrong, wasn’t it?

Of course, it would be naive to assume that all heroes, with their varying personalities and battle styles would get along in battles, it was very rare that licensed heroes would argue mid-battle when there were so many risks and civilian lives at stake.

There was the chance that they weren’t licensed yet, simply hero students on interns, but..despite being horribly mistimed, the way they had held themselves and the skill level they demonstrated from the hired glimpses Izuku he to get aligned more with the skill level Izuku would expect from Third-Years—students who would have had to learn cooperation in their Provisional Licensing Exam in order to pass.

Not all heroes in Japan would battle perfectly in sync with each other, that was a natural consequence of the unpredictability of the profession. You never knew who you might impromptu team up with. Yet the way they had stopped to argue mid-battle, after mistiming their attacks...it reminded Izuku of the way he and Kacchan used to be, the way the unresolved animosity between them had nearly gotten them to fail their Final Exam their first year.

But right here, right now in this partially building of carnage threatening collapse, was a real battle with real consequences.

>⋆⭒˚.⋆<

Izuku wasn’t sure how long he spent in the building, systematically sweeping through the three floors of the building and rescuing caught civilians.

The focus of this primary search was to mainly save as many immediate lives as he could. Despite it being well over office hours, there had still been a couple workers caught in the building, especially on Floors Two and Three. Izuku moved silently as he went, unwilling to miss any noise made by a potentially trapped civilian, leading those he had found towards the closest emergency exits, ones he had reinforced with Shoto’s ice, with Creati generated supports.

The few he did find had been scared of him at first, which was surprising. Most civilians knew he, even with his cowl on, was a friendly face, one Izuku was glad to have become for the public. But the way they had all tensed inexplicably as he approached them, wary and unwilling to listen until he lifted off his hood, was strange. Izuku shook his head. Now was not the time.

His muscles ached more than ever as he worked, the increasing throbbing and radiating pain reminders of how much energy he was exerting. It was exhaustive work, especially after Izuku had been preparing for a long, comfortable night doing paperwork and marking, but it would be better for everyone if he could get these people safely back to their families.

—— . ⊹ ₊ ݁.——

Izuku’s face was met with dust and grime as chaos met his ears, disconcerting thuds and yelling from the battle he had grown accustomed to but not able to join in just yet, as he nearly completed his secondary search of the first floor.

The third floor had been the easiest, the least destroyed and least impacted by the fight. That hadn’t met that his search wasn’t just as thorough. Despite being only one person, Costume Omega had a variety of scanners and detectors that were just as well suited for rescue work as well as battle. The secondary search meant he would be allowed a bit more time to try and find any survivable voids and hidden areas, examining the Thermal Sensor readings he had used in his primary search more carefully now that there weren’t immediate lives in danger. As much relief as he felt when he had finished his first search, anxiety churned in his stomach, his head pounded over and over again as he had to make sure he didn’t miss anybody. Examining a large topped office building divider caught between two flipped over sofas and chairs, Izuku hoped the battle could end shortly and proper rescue teams would be sent in, just in case, as he felt his exhaustion attempting to wear him down. There was no chance he would let that happen.

The second floor had been significantly harder, sustaining more damage from the fight and the partial collapse, notably the large hole off to the side in the floor. It wasn’t in a very people-dense area of the floor, a random area slightly offset from a corner where a lamp and a cabinet likely had been, but that didn’t mean Izuku had been any less scared for the people that could have been on the unsteady ground. Although, he had only found two people on that floor. Apparently—thankfully—the rest of the occupants escaped through the emergency exit when the first sounds of battle came, or decided to flee upwards to the third floor, which was where he had found the four people still there. The damage sustained by the second floor had meant more hidden areas while less total areas to search.

Izuku could see the papers scattered from the cabinet on the second floor, file folders providing slipping hazards for the people locked in combat. The only good thing about the first floor right now was the how it was likely the first place that had been attempted to get cleared out by heroes and had plenty of exits for civilians to run and evacuate out of.

He stuck to the shadows, launching Blackwhip and Tape out on occasion to surreptitiously help guide the fight away from more turbulent and unsound structure. His main focus right now was to complete his secondary rescue search, and he didn’t want to distract the active heroes on the case, or even worse, cause their fire to be drawn to him.

On occasion, he would have to create reinforcements to support pillars while he kept his scanners on, using Hikages Danger warnings in particular to avoid getting caught hard in the crossfires. Izuku had just finished helping a young man out of the building when another explosion sounded and the sensors blared.

Flipping backwards to avoid any collateral damage and whatever quirks were in play, Izuku reached the final section of the floor he hadn’t thoroughly combed through yet. There was only one survivable void left, as the rest of the section was rather empty besides the occasional destroyed office chair or chunk of debris. The survivable void was rather obvious now that he had a closer chance at examining it. It was a table, cleaved nearly cleanly in two propped, against a large metal cabinet against the wall. Whether the cabinet itself was used as a weapon in the battle was harder to say, but a few drawers were certainly missing, some still extended outwards in place. File folders were scattering the ground beneath his feet, trodden on as evidenced by the way they had crumpled, folded and ripped, covered in dirt and dust.

One half of the table had lodged itself under an extended drawer, in a way that would not let it shift away, creating a small space against the cabinet as the wall. From the gap left by the uneven half of the table, Izuku could just make out two people. Thermal scans confirmed this.

As Izuku approached nearer, he could see them clearer. One man and one woman, both slightly covered in dust. By their posture, Izuku wasn’t entirely sure that they had been trapped—not initially at least. Had they stayed to watch the battle?

The man narrowed his eyes when he saw Izuku’s arrival, while the woman slumped slightly, the tension slowly leaving her shoulders. Tugging of his cowl to reveal his face, Izuku spoke.

“Hey,” He said gently. “I’m a Pro Hero. You two seem to be the last ones caught up in this battle.”

The lady beside him smiled warmly at him in relief, while the man beside her slumped himself, but in a way that kept the tension in his shoulders, staring at Izuku sceptically. Using a diluted mixture of Pinky’s acid and some enhanced force from his gloves, Izuku shifted the table carefully, loosening the edges of the particularly lodged immovable areas, granting the two a way out. Once he was done, the man continued to stay silent, glowering at him. His companion beamed up at him with grateful eyes.

“Thank you.”

“Of course. Now let’s get you two to safety—there’s a gap in the wall not too far from here.” He gestured diagonally left to the gap in the wall, only a minute or two’s walk away. The fight had long moved past this section of the floor, the quick pace of battle pushing it further and further away. It would be safe, if they moved now.

The lady nodded, before getting up shakily. The man looked him down as she hesitated.

“I know you said it was a short distance to walk but…Would—would it be okay if you came with us..?”

Izuku didn’t miss a beat. Smiling warmly, he replied instantly.

“Of course.”

——‧₊˚✩——

The walk back, while only about a few minutes’ length, was surprisingly tense, even against the noise of fighting in the distance. The silence was uncomfortable. Izuku readied himself every time it sounded like he would need to step in to protect the two from any stray debris launched their way on accident, readying Shoto’s ice and a few other protection features hidden within the suit.

The woman had been wringing her hands, playing with the handkerchief she had had in her pocket. She would occasionally play with locks of her hair, dark strands covered in white dust, except for the hair around the edges of her face from when she had wiped both hers and her companion. The man continued to almost begrudgingly trudge along.

Izuku cleared his throat awkwardly, attempting to clear the silence. This would be an ideal time to get a better assessment of the situation.

“What happened here?”

The man glared without replying, something Izuku found almost predictable by now.

The woman on the other hand, slowed her fidgeting and responded, in a slightly wavering voice.

“Villain attack. We had been just nearly ready to finish up when we heard arguments and yelling. Fighting, I think. Part of the building seemed to have nearly collapsed. The heroes—I think somebody had called them?—they arrived and we could hear more shouting and crashing. The fight probably escalated to more than an argument…then part of the building collapsed—or at least it sounded like it did? We decided to try and stay hidden while waiting for police or heroes to come, but kind of ended up trapped instead.”

“Are there rescue heroes here?” Izuku asked, remembering the offhanded remarks that some of the civilians he had rescued had made.

While subduing the villains in combat was one of the priorities of the heroes, it was nice to have some rescue heroes on the scene—to rescue, but also provide analysis of the various states of a disaster and help guide the less rescue-specialized heroes to minimize even more damage.

She nodded. “A-a few—most of the heroes are more combat oriented though. The rescue teams got most of the others out of the building from what I heard, but the fight escalated pretty badly and we accidentally got left unnoticed.” She winced. “I’m not sure how long we were left there.”

Hm. That gave him some idea of what was going on, although he would have expected a larger number of heroes called to keep the battle contained in the area, and to help evacuate civilians. Although, once more, it was entirely likely the rescue heroes had to assist into combat themselves depending if the battle had really escalated that quickly. Or perhaps most were occupied elsewhere or not on standby. Izuku nodded, giving his thanks. Her assessment of the situation wasn’t very complete, but that was fine, considering she had been the one caught up in it. He could get a full report from the heroes nearby on the case after these two got to safety and he could help assist in the battle.

While he had paused, the man, whose glare still apparently hadn’t left Izuku, snorted.

“Far too long. It was about time, hero.” He sneered, and Izuku blinked in surprise. He had grown used to some people still harbouring a dislike of heroes after the war, but it wasn’t very often that a regular civilian would say it with so much venom. Before he could say or do anything in response, the woman spoke up again. This time, her voice wasn’t as shaky.

“Hey.” She chided quietly, her voice nearly drowned out by the fighting. “Don’t be so ungrateful. Don’t you remember what Le—“

“I know what he said! Doesn’t mean that he’s right about it.” The man grunted, his dark, dust covered hair covering his eyes slightly as he looked down.

“Besides—that was years ago.”

“Still, you shouldn’t be ungrateful. A hero came afterall.”

“Yeah. After the other ones got sidetracked.”

The lady sighed, long and heavy. Izuku grimaced. This felt like a constantly rehashed argument.

“There’s a battle going on onii-chan.”

“And you’d think the heroes would do a better job at that.”

“They are trying, you know this. It wasn’t exactly their fault that the villains are competent. The heroes are, and you know that, no matter how much it feels like they don’t.”

At this statement, the man—the lady’s older brother apparently—glared at her, but didn’t say anything back.

Izuku continued walking with them in silence. The feeling of offness had returned, nearly swept away by his worry and alertness during his rescue searches. He still couldn’t dwell on the exact effects of the quirk, not right now at least, but he had forgotten for a few moments that he had been hit by a quirk.

Once the exit was only a few steps away, Izuku nodded politely to the last two civilians left in his secondary check of the building. “Exit through here. The police will help you to safety.”

The man grunted, still sounding slighted. His sister sent him a pointed look, elbowing him slightly before turning back to Izuku. Her eyes brimmed with kindness.

“Really, Thank you.”

>ᯓ✦ ๋࣭ ⭑<

Apparently, a couple minutes was all that the heroes had needed to finish off the fight.

Izuku had turned his attention back to it after seeing the pair of siblings safely exit the building, spending what felt to be only a few minutes of sticking to the outskirts and minimizing collateral damage through careful use of Blackwhip, Cellophane’s Tape and Shoto’s ice, unwilling to cause more confusion and friendly fire by randomly joining in the battle.

Now, it had concluded. Izuku stood off to the side, watching the last of the apprehended villains get turned over to the police. What appeared to be pairs of more rescue-oriented heroes were sent back into the building, and relief filled him once again. Good. Now it was time to give and receive a report of the incident.

Then, he heard a lurch, and Izuku felt like his heart had nearly stopped as dread filled his being.

The relief of a battle being over always carried with it a slight inattentiveness, especially in heroes that had just fought in it. The inattentiveness didn’t last for long, as the sobering reality of the destruction around them allowed minds to whirl back into working mode. Everyone knew that the job was far from over immediately after a battle, after all. Some of 1-A would complain about the amount of paperwork and reporting some things would take, the tedious bureaucratic processes that they would need to undergo even with Hawks-san’s efforts and the secretaries and sidekicks hired to help them. But now, his relief instantly snapped back to alertness as he looked at his surroundings. Part of the pillars he had reinforced stayed strong, giving no leeway or signs of collapse. But, part of the building had nearly collapsed already hadn’t it? And the roof of this floor—Floor two had been simultaneously easier and harder to search from the hole off to the side.

This building—this floor—it was already in a vulnerable state from the fight and—

Izuku looked up. Sure signs of cracking and damaged metal and concrete were showing, increasing in numbers more and more and meeting up with hole on the roof.

His chest tightened with worry, as dread built up higher and higher.

The sirens of the ambulances and police officers were too loud, ringing and blaring overtop the relieved cries of citizens and the low chatter of the heroes, too focused on the fight they just fought, too focused on aiding civilians and warding off curious citizens and overzealous news reporters to notice.

Another lurch ominously sounded to his side. Izuku turned his head sharply at the noise. The stability of the support beams below the cracking roof were giving way.

The heroes, the civilians—

The battle had just concluded another part of the building was about to cave in.

It happened all at once. The ominous creaks and cracks exploded into a loud, jarring cacophony.

Heroes and police cried out as they finally realized that another collapse was imminent, and already in motion. But they wouldn’t been fast enough to act. But Izuku had already—

Izuku dashed out quickly from where he had been partially obscured in the sidelines, triggering Ingenium’s thrusters, Shoto’s ice, Cellophane’s Tape and Blackwhip all at once as he went. Ice instantaneously bloomed upwards and outwards, freezing crumbling supports in place and as tendrils launched out at his command, one dark and one light. Ribbons of tape wrapped around any loose infrastructure the ice did not reach while Blackwhip lashed out like angry shadows, wrapping themselves around anything in its grasp and catching falling debris. Izuku took a breath, and the noise of everything around him flooded in.

…when did everything become consumed by silence?

Izuku shook his head to clear it. Regardless, he carefully examined his surroundings as he gently set fallen pipes, cabinets and whatever else Blackwhip had caught onto the ground, letting Blackwhip wind back into his gloves with a whirl and a click.

This collapse had been completely prevented, or at least almost completely. Some of the roof and random rubble debris still managed to fall, almost boxing him if it weren't for the very open area he could see in front of him.

The sound of footsteps reached him as he began to speak, letting his quick alertness and brief panic melt back into a collected mask of calmness, a demeanor that he had learned to use for both his students and on the field. Calm and gentle, while swift and assertive.

“Is everyone alrigh—“

Then, he saw who had approached him, and the feeling of offness returned full force. Izuku froze for a second as his gaze met the cold gaze of the hero nearby. Red eyes glinted with suspicion and a hostility that Izuku hadn’t seen in years.

Caught up in the chaos of the fight and rescue, Izuku hadn’t had time to dwell on the exact effects of the quirk, but…he was hit with a quirk afterall.

And something here was very wrong.

His first theory had been time travel, but that didn't make sense, not really.

This hostility was…jarring.

He had looked up, and his eyes met the face of a friend that should have been familiar—and was to an extent, but not like this.

Nowadays, the most he would have normally been greeted with would have been irritation, or anger without any real heat. Never really angry—not most of the time anyways.

But this expression was very real, wasn’t it?

Izuku had looked up, and he was met with an on edge, hostile, Bakugo Katsuki.

“Deku?”