Chapter Text
Eri was burning. She knew it wasn’t from the small flames that were scattered around the destroyed neighborhood intersection. The burning was coming from inside herself. Raw and mysterious white energy, created and stored by her quirks’ power, continued to involuntarily release itself as to not cause any more harm to Eri. This chaotic power, however, was now being released into the one person she didn’t want to hurt with the function of her curse. Pure terror was screaming out of her lungs as Eri desperately tried to make the self-created energy waves disappear. Her small hands latched harder onto the back of the green-haired teen who protected her from Chisaki a few moments ago.
The green-haired teen who called her quirk kindhearted.
The green-haired teen who asked if she was injured, even though he was the one in pain.
She didn’t want her unnamed protector to disappear like her papa did. She didn’t want to hurt anybody else with her cursed existence.
As the green-haired teen fell to his hands and knees, Eri tried to push off from him and get away. The unfamiliar feeling she developed of wanting to be rescued made way for a new emotion. She wanted to protect her protector. All she had to do was run away and not touch anybody.
The cape that was tied around both the green-haired teen and Eri, which helped keep them together when they battled Chisaki, now made her frantic efforts unsuccessful.
Unaware of the people coming up from underground, she looked up to the sky and yelled out a primal scream as more energy waves flew out of her.
Already glistening in the sun, the horn on top of Eri’s head flashed a blinding white.
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It’s okay, Eri. You’re safe now.
Those were all the words Izuku Midoriya wanted to say to the screaming little girl on his back. Eri had protected both of them from the mostrous fusion of Chisaki and Katsukame. Because of her quirk, Izuku was able to use 100% of his power and was healed each time he landed a punch or kick on the colossal stone figure they battled. It was a miracle to the One For All user that Eri was able to unfuse the monster her foster father/abuser turned himself into.
Eri, whatever happens, know that it isn’t your fault. I’m the one who asked you for help. To keep using your amazing quirk.
The hero known as Deku wanted nothing more but to tell Eri how amazing her rewind quirk was. She would be able to help countless people in the future by turning back the clock on life-threatening injuries. She could help usher in a new wave of medical research that could possibly eliminate any of the pre-quirk diseases that still existed. She had the power to do anything she dedicated her mind to, because the heroes who saved her would protect Eri from madmen like Chisaki and the Eight Precepts of Death.
However, Izuku couldn’t say any of these thoughts to the blue-white haired girl screaming in pain on top of his back. He could only join the six year old in yelling, as the energy radiating off of Eri was pulling him apart from the inside.
The hero student didn’t blame her for the pain he currently felt. Nobody ever tried to make her feel safe since her quirk manifested, let alone help her learn how to control it. Izuku tried his best to keep 100% of One For All coursing through his body to prevent Eri from unwillingly rewinding him. Unfortunately, because the green-haired hero also felt pain whenever he accessed his full power, the dual levels of pain he now experienced was quickly causing him to pass out.
Izuku was scared. He was scared for not only himself, but for what would happen to Eri once Izuku wasn’t there to take the energy she was emanating. The last time the hero in-training felt this level of fear, he was about to be crushed by the muscle-augmentation of Muscular while protecting another small child in Kouta Izumi.
As Izuku started to feel his muscles and height slowly disappear from his frame, he decided he wouldn’t cry out to his mother or All Might like he did when things looked dire against Muscular. The acceptance of defeat didn’t even cross his mind.
Instead, Izuku only hoped for one thing.
This isn’t my final moment. I d-don’t know how this is going to end. I hope I get to see all the amazing things my friends, family and Eri get to do.
A blazing white enveloped Izuku as his world went black.
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Like many of the other exhausted police officers who watched from the sides of the battlefield, the feeling in the heart of Naitoai Sā could only be described as pure terror. Not at the sight of a passed out Chisaki and Katsukame, the hands of the former being restrained by the quick reaction of hero in-training Uravity (which was insanely impressive to Naitoai, also known as the pro hero Sir Nighteye). The overwhelming sense of fear came from watching the violent white energy encompassing both Eri and his intern Deku, and their respective screams of pain that didn’t stop.
What also completely terrified Sir Nighteye was that he had no idea what the future held for the screaming duo, or for himself. His intern had already beaten the visions of his Foresight quirk by not being murdered when Chisaki was fused with Katsukame. Nighteye could still see the three spikes going through Deku’s chest, also impacting Eri at the same time. Chisaki would reassemble Eri back to life, leaving the ninth One For All user dead on the ground. While he was grateful for his visions to be proven wrong, it didn’t help with the current matter at hand.
Eri, the little girl who the Nighteye Agency swore to save and protect as their raid of the Shie Hasseikai and the Eight Precepts of Death came to fruition, was at risk of fatal quirk exhaustion.
Izuku, the successor to his dear friend Toshinori, would be rewound out of existence if nothing was done. The future hero Deku, who he came to respect over the past few weeks and already twisted the future, wouldn’t be able to be the next Symbol of Peace.
For all the logic that ruled his brain, Sir Nighteye couldn’t begin to understand why he started crawling on his side towards the screaming kids, particularly when he still had a spike through his abdomen. As he crawled, all he could think about was how the ninth One For All user took his wish for Chisaki to be unsuccessful in killing Deku and Lemillion, and made it a reality.
I’ll help in anyway I can. To make sure the hero Deku gets to continue on in some way.
He ignored any screaming he heard behind him from the heroes who just appeared from underground. Naitoai continued on crawling, even when the spike loosened and fell from his abdomen.
For the first time since All Might got his debilitating injury from All For One, Sir Nighteye closed his eyes and wished against the fate he routinely saw. With his last breaths, he sent his energy towards a future that would strive to be better.
He opened his eyes to nothing but white.
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The feeling of slow-motion was one that Shouta Aizawa hated with every fiber of his being. Every hero felt that the concept of being too slow was the most common trigger when it came it to hero-related nightmares and paranoia. The pro hero Eraserhead had felt that feeling more times than he cared to admit. It was why he didn’t have a problem expelling students or speaking against unprepared heroes. Being too slow could mean hearing the last breath of a person you hold dear.
Shouta cursed loudly in his head towards that bastard Hari Kurono and his ability to slow down the movement of others. As he was brought up to the battlefield above ground by Ryukyu, the actual hatred Eraserhead felt for Kurono doubled as he analyzed what was happening.
The girl they were supposed to be rescuing and his student (that he recently deemed “Problem Child”) both looked to be losing control of their quirks. The currents of energy running out of Eri looked to be directly affecting Midoriya, who was trying to combat that energy with his own quirk. Once Eraserhead registered both of their voices yelling out, he immediately knew that their combined screams were going to haunt him in future dreams.
He also saw Chisaki being held down by his student, Uraraka. Chisaki looked to be hurt and unconscious for the first time since their raid of the Shie Hasseikai began. If he wasn’t so focused on calming down the situation, Shouta might have felt a little pride for how Midoriya and Uraraka seemed to have handled the situation.
What confused him the most was why Sir Nighteye, one of the few pro heroes Eraserhead worshipped, was crawling towards Eri and Midoriya when he looked to be fatally injured.
“WHAT’S THE SITUATION?!” the Dragon Hero: Ryukyu yelled out to her intern.
Shouta could see the pain and determination in the eyes of Uraraka as she replied back. “Nighteye is in front of me and we’ve called for an evacuation of the local citizens. Deku defeated Chisaki with power I’ve never seen before and kept Eri safe, b-but something is wrong with his quirk. He can’t turn it off!”
Grateful that he was being held up by Asui (another one of his students), Eraserhead had enough of being slow and seeing his student in pain.
I’m sorry, Midoriya. I know how much you value your quirk. But I’m going to erase it for a moment…
Before he could finish his thought, the spike that had been lodged into Sir Nighteye’s torso fell out and Midoriya looked to be melting into his hero costume.
Shouta activated his quirk a few moments before his red eyes were met with an overwhelming white flash.
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The white flare that blinded Ochako Uraraka, but looked to completely envelop Eri, Sir Nighteye & Deku, disappeared as soon as it arrived. It took all of her willpower to not let go of Chisaki’s hands and immediately sprint over to her best friend when the light vanished. The hero in-training couldn’t help but let out a few tears before she even got a glimpse of what was in front of her.
Sir Nighteye laid unconscious on his side, breathing. Wait, Sir is breathing?! The hole that was carved into the pro hero from Overhaul had completely vanished from Sir Nighteye’s torso. Was this part of Eri’s quirk?
Ochako wanted to keep analyzing the intimidating man who gave her best friend an internship, but she quickly cocked her head to the side to see what happened to Deku and Eri. She saw the six year old girl sleeping and breathing heavily, her sweet face looking angelic in relief. Because of how exhausted Eri looked, she looked even younger and smaller than she already was. Seeing the green tuft of hair next to Eri’s sleeping face, Ochako’s emotions zipped back between relief and shock when she got a good look at Deku.
An arguably more angelic face slept next to Eri. The four freckles that normally appeared on each cheek of the greenette looked even bigger on his (now) smaller face. The U.A. student didn’t want to believe it, but Deku looked to be the same age as the girl they saved. She ultimately couldn’t tell, as the hero costume that normally fit Deku like a glove looked like an overgrown pajama set on his smaller frame.
Seeing the same thing, the dragon quirk user yelled to her two interns. “Froppy, check on Nighteye and make sure his heart rate is normal. Uravity, check on both the status of Eri and Deku. If you think those energy waves might make an appearance again, try to get Deku away from Eri. Suneater, keep Chisaki and Katsukame contained. I’ll stay and protect Eraserhead and Lemillion. GO!”
All heroes in-training ran over to their respective assignments, Tsuyu giving a ribbit of support to Uraraka. It looked like she didn’t want to admit what she saw either.
Ochako’s ears went numb, and if she heard Ryukyu shout out instructions to police officers to confirm any other victims and to look out for League of Villain members, she didn’t register it. All she did was stare blankly at the two...kids in front of her. If innocence had faces, she was seeing it right now. Both of them slept with their arms around each other, at least that’s what the zero gravity quirk user assumed. Even with the sleeves of his costume damaged, the arms of the green-haired boy looked to be swallowed up by his costume. Eri looked like she was holding a stuffed teddy bear, never wanting to let go.
The hero in-training, Uravity, fell to her knees as she confirmed in her mind what she saw.
Eri rewinded Deku’s age. He looks to be about six years old now.
As she silently freaked the hell out, the green-haired boy stirred and opened his eyes. Ochako got to see cutest green emeralds shine in the sun as Deku’s eyelids fluttered and analyzed his surroundings. Looking suddenly uncomfortable and tense with everything around him, the small boy continued to hold the girl in front of him as he noticed Ochako in her hero outfit. He studied her for a moment before tears of unrecognition start to well up in his big eyes.
“Are you OK? Everything is going to be alright.” Ochako managed to get out, already fighting back tears as she looked into the lost eyes of her best friend.
The small voice that comes out of the boy’s mouth is unrecognizable and high pitched. “A-Are you a hero?” Deku asks, the look of fear desperate in his eyes. His little body looked like it might pass out in anxiety.
Ochako choked out a sob before she lifted her visor and wiped away her tears. She put on the biggest smile she could muster and said “Yes, I-I am. My name is Uravity.”
A small smile appeared on the boy’s face. “Ok” is all he could muster before he fell unconscious again.