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Chapter Text

Butterfly had been in the ground three weeks before he truly started to haunt Izuku. 

He stood in a black void that extended all the way up his body to his nose.  To his side was a beautiful dark-haired woman with intense features.  Six more figures joined the lineup.  They seemed familiar.  The void before them morphed into a scene.  Two white-haired men, one tall and formal, the other thin and disheveled, argued on a broken street surrounded by fighting masses of people.  The formal man made them stop by taking their quirks, and making all swear allegiance to him to get them back.  The disheveled man called the first his bother, and begged him to stop.  He didn’t.  Instead, he turned against him, forcing a quirk upon him.  Izuku reached out to help.  The scene collapsed into black mist.

“You must be the ninth…” a voice rang out all around.  The disheveled man emerged from the fog.  “I wanted to show you more, but you’re only at twenty percent.”  The man looked emaciated and painfully tired, but his expression was soft and his voice gentle.  “We’re already past the point of singularity, so be careful.”  He broke from his huddled stance to touch Izuku’s extended hand.  “But it’s okay.”  His scarred fingers intertwined with Izuku’s own.  He felt warm. 

“You’re not alone,” many voices said.  The other figures appeared behind him.  Also reaching out.  Also smiling softly.  They sounded familiar. 

Izuku would have smiled back if he had a mouth.  He did though.  White bone stretched past his lips, blood dripping down it.  His teeth were dragged with it.   He felt his eye fall backwards in his socket.  Panic welled up.  His hand shriveled away until only black bone remained.  He remembered now.  Their voices. 

“You are not worthy!”

“Gah!”  Izuku snapped awake.  He panted like he just ran a marathon.  His hand, the one he reached out with, burned and throbbed as if it had been crushed in a vice.  In the dark, he thought he saw something crawling under his skin.

His door opened.  “Midoriya!?” Aoyama shouted.  He scanned the room worriedly, then rushed to Izuku’s side.  “What happened?  Are you hurt?”

“I-I…”  He swallowed.  “I’m fine.  I’m fine…”  His voice shivered with the rest of his body.  “Just a bad dream…”

“Are you sure?”  He eyed the rest of the room.  Izuku followed to see his dorm trashed.  His chair and all his figures knocked over.  Posters fallen from the walls with tears in them.  Even his sheets were burnt and shredded.

How did that…

“Do you want to call Mr. Aizawa?” Aoyama offered.

“What!?  No!  No, I said I’m fine!” he argued.  “It’s just…  Just my quirk acting up.  W-with stress!  Yes!  It’s just my first night back in the dorms and with everything that happened…  Y-you know how it is, right?  Aoyama?”  He didn’t look convinced.  “Look, I promise I’ll talk to the teachers in the morning.  Right now, I just want to go back to bed, alright?”

“Alright…” Aoyama relented.  He got up and maneuvered around the torn bits of bedding on the floor.  “I’ll keep my phone on, in case something happens.  Or…”

“Thanks, Aoyama,” Izuku responded genuinely.

He nodded with a weak smile.  “Bonne nuit, mon ami.”

“B-bon new-y,” he tried to repeat.  That got a little chuckle out of his friend.  Then he was gone.

Alone again, everything began to sink in.  Izuku drew his knees up to his chest.  He watched the ripped pieces of cloth on the floor as if they would reform back into his sheets at any moment.  Something was wrong either way.  He sniffled.

Those must have been the previous holders of One for All.  Like in the Sports Festival.  The woman he recognized for sure as All Might’s master, Nana.  And she did sort of remind him of Mom, like he said.  He also mentioned that he dreamed their memories once or twice.  But he never said they’d talk to me… 

“You are not worthy!” pounded in his head over and over.  But that was to Butterfly.  When he was trying to take over Izuku’s body.  They protected him.  And they all seemed happy to see him in the dream.  They disapproved of Butterfly, not him.

But…  Chills ran through his bones.  Dread creeped back into his heart.  But I am Butterfly…  Izuku buried his face in his pillow, and cried silently until sunrise.

UA hadn’t changed.  All traces of the maze were sealed up.  Classes had been back to normal for a while before Izuku started coming back.  And he had for about a week and a half now.  The prior night was just his first time sleeping in the dorms again instead of going home to Mom at the end of the day.  Well, not home.  Not really.  They were still staying in the temporary apartment just off campus.  Nights were still hard for him.  If every little noise didn’t keep him awake, the nightmares weren’t far behind.  His therapist suggested easing him back to normalcy.  Going back to the school routine helped a lot, so Izuku thought he’d be okay staying overnight sooner than planned.  He didn’t want to go back to square one because of a bad dream.

One would think Izuku learned his lesson about keeping bad stuff to himself.  Both Aizawa and All Might stopped by to check on him during breakfast, and he proclaimed that he was fine.  Same thing when Mom called.  But it wasn’t like he planned to deny the whole thing happened.  He just wanted to process stuff for himself first.  Everyone freaking out would just stress him out more.  He brought the entire school to a standstill with his problems.  The last thing he wanted was for all that to start up again.  Besides, today was the day Aizawa said he could rejoin hero training.

Izuku was the first one in the locker room and the first one out.  He didn’t even mind the eyes on him inside looking for his scars.  Most were well on their way to fading, just like the doctor said.  The only ones really noticeable were the discolored splotches on his stomach and back where the wing spike went through.  A shiver went up his spine at the memory.  He remembered seeing his own spine when he was the one doing the stabbing.

No!  We’re not doing that today!  He forced the thoughts down with a smile, and jogged up the stairs to the start area. 

“Hmph.  Someone’s enthusiastic,” Blood King greeted.  “How ya feelin’ kid?”

“I’m good, thank you.”  Izuku looked quickly between him and Aizawa, then to the lot boxes and pipeworks training ground behind them.  “Wait, if you’re here, are we doing joint training with 1B!?  Is it a team up or are we doing class versus class?  Is there a specific goal or are we just fighting each other?  What about-”

“Pause.”  Aizawa dropped his hand on Izuku’s head.  “We’re only going to explain this once, so wait until the rest of the class gets here.” 

At his teacher’s push, Izuku went to sit off to the side.  He took out his notebook, and immediately began to review his few notes on class 1B, both to refresh his memory and distract from the two adults clearly talking about him.

“You sure he’s good for this?” Blood King asked not quite quiet enough.

Izuku held his tongue.  I’m fine.  They’ll see.  Even when he was home, he practiced.  The day he got the clear from the doctor, he was racing through his neighborhood with One for All.  It wasn’t like this training would be the first time he’d used it since the maze.  His hand tingled with memories of earlier that morning.  It’s just the cold, he told himself.

The rest of his class showed up soon after.  Hagakure and Mina shuffled giggling behind Yaoyorozu under her new cloak.  Mina herself had a new fuzzy jacket over her usual costume.  Ojiro complimented Tsuyu’s new insulated jumpsuit.  Half the class had new winter modifications.

“Wow!  You guys all look so cool!” Izuku said excited.

“Not so bad yourself, dude.  Great to see you back in uniform!” Kaminari returned. 

“All of our costumes have gone through significant changes since the start of the year,” Iida commented.

“I’m still trying to figure out how you got through the summer dressed like that, Iida,” Sato added, pulling down his own new full facemask. 

“You’ve got a cool new look too, Kacchan!” Izuku flagged him as he stomped past.  His new long sleeve suit looked connected to his gauntlets, so it probably redistributed the heat he generated from his quirk to the rest of his body.  It also had a big collar that reached up over his chin.  Along with his new shorter hairstyle, he looked a lot more fashionable.  “Did you get the idea from working with Best Jeanist?”

“Hah!?” he snarled.  Kacchan inhaled to shout some more, but didn’t.  He just scoffed and walked away.

Izuku tilted his head at the strange response.  Too strange for him to savor his sort-of friend not yelling at him.  He’d been like that since Izuku started coming back to school.  Maybe he finally pitied him enough to not get in his face.  Or maybe he suspected something else.

“I think your costume has changed more than anyone, Midoriya,” Ojiro pulled him from his concern. 

“Yeah, I feel like you’ve got more upgrades every time we suit up!” Uraraka said beside him.  She got so close without him noticing he jumped a little.

“I mean, well, I keep finding new abilities with my quirk, so I have to keep up with it,” he replied bashfully.

“Yeah, your color scheme gets a shade darker whenever you get stronger, makes perfect sense,” Mineta joked.  Everyone listening besides Izuku laughed.

“But seriously, those gloves are new, right?” Ojiro continued.

“Yeah!  They get busted a lot, so me and Hatsume use the opportunity to tweak them a little every time.”  Uraraka bristled slightly.  “This is actually my third pair with this main design.  The last ones got destroyed by, uh…”  He dropped his arms to his side.  “Y-you know…”

They all got quiet.  The cold weather wasn’t the only chill in the air.

“Oh?  Slacking off, are we?”  Izuku never thought he’d feel relieved at that annoying voice.  “Don’t tell me you’re underestimating us!”

“Hey, they’re here!”

“Finally!  I’ve been looking forward to this forever!”

“This is going to be so fun!”

“Hear me now, class 1A!”  Monoma slammed his foot to the ground.  “Because today is the day of our class rivalry’s reckoning!”  The rest of his class stood behind him in a mix of challenging stances and awkward second-hand embarrassment.  He launched into a spiel about how much better his class got while 1A was fighting off villains, but Izuku paid it no mind.  Because a different familiar face showed up.

“Shinsou!?”  Every head turned towards him.  The other boy rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.  Around his neck were a black metal mask and a scarf that looked like one of Aizawa’s.

“Shinsou is going to be joining us today,” Aizawa explained.  “He’s looking to get into the hero course next year, and this is going to contribute to his evaluation.”

The man himself stepped forward.  “Just because we fought at the Sports Festival doesn’t make us brothers in arms or whatever.  At my level, good sportsmanship is a waste of time I could be spending catching up to you.”  He made brief eye contact with Izuku, then stood up taller.  “I’m here to become a great hero, not make friends.  And I’ll do whatever it takes to get past every obstacle in front of me!”

Class 1A clapped respectfully.  No one thought that statement would last.

In the midst of that, Izuku recalled his own encounter at the Sports Festival.  The first time he saw the vestiges was under Shinsou’s brainwashing.  They weren’t as clear then, and they didn’t say anything.  But somehow, they pushed him through the fog enough to break the spell with One for All.  He wondered, would something like that happen again if Shinsou got him?  His fingers flexed involuntarily. 

“You are not worthy!”

He shook his head and stepped back.  Okay, priority one: don’t get brainwashed.  He bit his lip.  Shinsou’s quirk relies on call and response.  All I have to do is keep my mouth shut.  I can do that!

The exercise itself was simple enough.  The classes would compete against each other in teams of four, plus two with Shinsou, to capture the others.  Standard rules of engagement and keeping property damage to a minimum applied.  Only real shake up was 1A didn’t interact with 1B much, so they didn’t know their quirks well.

Izuku got a little nervous when Shinsou got assigned to the team he was up against, but that subsided when his own team came together.  Mina, Mineta, and Uraraka.  People he’d worked with closely before and got along with.  They had a good handle on one another’s strengths and weaknesses too.  And, apparently, they had his trust.

“You go, we follow!” Mina declared.

“A-are you sure?”

“Of course!  You’re the only real brains on this team!” Mina shoved him.  “Hey!  I’m including myself in that!” Mineta defended.  “Plus, you’re also the brawn.”

“And the speed.  And the technique,” Mina kept going.

Izuku blushed.

“And the target!” Uraraka interjected.  “The other team probably knows all that too, so they’re probably going to come after him.  Is it really fair to put him in charge while he’s trying to defend himself?”  After everything that happened, went unsaid.  The other two looked away.

“It’s fine, I can handle it,” Izuku assured them.  Or at least tried to.  Uraraka didn’t seem convinced.  “I didn’t come back to school just to take it easy.”  I am not broken.  I don’t need to be coddled.  She stared him down, but soon gave up with a sigh.

“What’s the plan?” she mumbled. 

They discussed ideas in between watching the other matches.  Shinsou was with Kaminari, Tsuyu, Kirishima, and Koda for the first one.  The latter two got taken down pretty quick by Shishida, the beast kid from 1B.  He effortlessly dodged both’s attacks, including Koda’s swarm of bees, then incapacitated them for capture.  If only Koda summoned more bees, or some other kind of bug, to overrun the arena.  The other team would have been overwhelmed and separated to be picked off, or the bugs could gnaw at Shiozaki’s vines to cover a sneak attack.  Phantom bites along Izuku’s neck made his skin prickle. 

Next up was Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu, Hagakure, and Aoyama.  1B had the initial advantage with Kuroiro, a student who could become one with shadows.  He used Dark Shadow against them to get close, deal some damage, then separated Aoyama from the group.  Then Tokoyami revealed that he figured out how to fly.  Izuku was so impressed he didn’t notice at first when the mushroom girl coated the field and some of the other kids’ bodies with fungus.  After that, it was a mad scramble just to stay in the game.  They forced 1B to pull out all the stops, but ultimately, 1A was defeated four to nothing.  However, 1B was exhausted and a huge chunk of the area was destroyed, so it was barely a victory.

The matches took a break to get things cleaned up.  Perfect for catching up on notes.

“Writing everything down, huh?” Uraraka asked.

“Yeah.  We hardly ever get to see 1B in action, and they’ve grown a lot since last time.  Physically and mentally!”  Izuku blew off some eraser shavings and fixed some details on his speculation about Kendo’s strength enhancement from her quirk.  He couldn’t stop the smile on his face.  It felt good to be back in his element.

“…  You’ve grown a lot too, Deku.”

A beat.

“I hope so.”

“Hey there, goobers!” Midnight cheered, then crouched with their team’s circle.  All Might stood above them.  “How’re the plans coming along?”

An image flashed of her crushed against a wall.  Izuku blinked it away and smiled at his teacher.

“We’ve pretty much got it in the bag,” Mineta bragged.

She snorted.  “And how about you?” she turned to Izuku.  “It feel as good as it looks to see you back in the field?”  Midnight poked at his cheek playfully and he pushed her hand away just the same.

“It’s nice.  Really nice, actually!”  The more time passed, the more that morning felt like just a dumb dream.

“That’s what I like to hear!”  To the others.  “Now!  Tell me the deets of this plan of yours!”

Izuku opened his mouth to speak when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Got a minute?” All Might asked quietly.

“Sure.”  He got up to follow his mentor without a shred of worry.  That didn’t last.

“Aoyama just asked me I you’d spoken to me today.”  Izuku’s face fell.  “I’d like to know about what.”

“It’s fine, I ju-”

“Izuku…” All Might warned.  The downside of him living with him and Mom during his recovery is he picked up on a lot of the most annoying parenting techniques.  Like that voice meant to guilt him into confessing something.  Worse was that All Might was better at it then Mom herself.

“…  I had a bad dream.  B-but I’m fine now!” he argued.  I was already back to normal before you brough this up again! he wanted to shout.  But even if he wanted to talk back to his beloved mentor, who was at this point practically another parent, that would just cause a scene and make things worse.  “Please don’t pull me out of the match!”

“Izuku, we talked about this.”  He knelt down and touched his shoulder.  “Pretending you’ve moved past something doesn’t get you any closer to doing it for real.  More of the opposite, I’d say.” 

Izuku felt the eyes of his peers on him.  Kacchan tensed in the corner of his eye.

“I know, but can we please wait until after today’s training?” he all but begged.  All Might gave him the same look Uraraka did earlier.  He sighed.  “Remember what I said about it coming in waves?  This morning was just a low point, but now I’m on the way up.  I feel so much better just being out here!  Please, I just wanna train with my friends again!  Please!”

All Might blinked slowly, then stood.  “Okay.”

“Yes!  Thank you!”

“But we’re going to talk later, got it?” he said, poking him in the chest. 

“Got it!” 

“Good!”  He ruffled his hair and pushed him back towards his group.  “…  Love you,” he said so quiet Izuku almost thought he imagined it. 

He didn’t know if he’d ever get used to that.  After nodding a blushed acknowledgement, he jogged back.  Kacchan watched him the whole time.  Izuku avoided his gaze.

The next match was a draw.  After Todoroki and Iida collapsed under the strain and destruction from their new techniques, Pony, the American horse girl from 1B, stalled until the twenty-minute time limit was up.  But Izuku kept his eyes locked on Iida the whole time.  He was conscious, but trapped up to his neck under a mass of melted tower.  It looked like it hardened after a while, but Izuku kept watching just in case it flowed over his face where he couldn’t breathe.  Then the men in the maze.  It didn’t thankfully, and the class moved on.

Kacchan’s team won in a landslide, even up against one of 1B’s recommended students.  He took an immediate lead the others had to work to catch up with, but he repaid their efforts with grenades for them to use and quick saves.  They also kept property damage to a minimum.  A nearly perfect match all around.

“That was fantastic, Kacchan!” Izuku couldn’t help but say when he came back.

He huffed before responding.  “You’ve got a lot of catching up to do before you’re even close to where I am.  And by the time you get here, I’ll be long gone…”  His voice retained its normal edge, but lacked the volume and passion of his usual declarations.  He continued before Izuku could ask about it.  “And I need a real rival to prove how strong I am at number one!  The rest of these losers are barely jobbers!”

Izuku froze.  Kacchan said that to him before.  But not really to him.  He remembered.  A wing hidden behind illusion slammed Kacchan backwards down the stairs faster than he could react.  Blood dripped down the wall behind him as he fell.  Izuku had stood there a moment to make sure someone was coming to help him.  But the walls were thick and one of his quirks put the teachers in a haze.  He screamed just in case.

Kacchan’s eyes widened.  His lips curled in a sneer and looked ready to attack, but he quickly turned towards Aizawa.

He, he said that on purpose! Izuku realized.  Of course Kacchan suspected.  He had from the moment he entered the shelter while he, Butterfly, was there.  Now he knew.  Or thought he knew.  On autopilot, Izuku watched him pull Aizawa aside to talk.  He knew the truth, but would he tell Kacchan to get him off his back?  Or keep the lie going?  …  What lie? 

“Deku?” Uraraka touched his shoulder.  He flinched hard.  “We’re up…”

“Okay,” he spoke breathily.  Thankfully, his composure came back fast.  “Let’s go.”  Izuku took one last look at Kacchan before he entered the arena.  He looked more subdued than before.  He’s right about something, though.  Izuku held his head high as he led his friends into battle training.  I have a lot of catching up to do!

“You’re just going to let him go!?” Katsuki shouted under his breath.  “He killed and replaced Deku, and you’re just going to let him train like nothing’s happened?”

“Midoriya wasn’t killed, Young Bakugou,” All Might said softly.  He put a hand on his shoulder.  “I know you’re scared for your friend, but I promise, things are okay.”

“How can you say that!?” his voice cracked.  Those blank eyes.  That fake smile.  They were all gone but Katsuki remembered them like yesterday.  He’d been freaked out for so long, and he finally had answers.  “He knows I know!  That’s why he froze up!  Why are you just letting this happen?” 

Aizawa and All Might looked between one another.  The latter stepped closer and pulled him into a one-armed hug. 

“I promise you, it’s not what you think.  I know what you experienced left a mark, but it hurt him too…”  He nodded to himself.  “If he doesn’t want to, I won’t force him…  But after training, we’ll see if he wants to talk with you about what happened…”  All Might patted his shoulder, and Katsuki allowed himself that moment to retain faith in his hero.

Their plan was simple.  Izuku would act as bait to draw the other team out of the shadows into a trap.  Not dissimilar from the maze trap.  He didn’t love how used to playing that role he was getting.  No matter.  This was the best shot his team had at victory.  And he couldn’t deny the thrill when he overheard the other team say he was the one to look out for.

And I’m not about to let them down!  “Everyone ready?” he asked his friends.

“Ten four!”

“Let’s do this!”

“They won’t know what hit them!”

Mina, Uraraka, and Mineta all fist pumped the air.  Izuku couldn’t help but smile.  After all this time, everything that happened, his classmates still believed in him.  He couldn’t let them down either.

“And remember, we’re up against Shinsou,” he advised.  “Keep verbal communication to a minimum, and don’t respond when someone calls you.  Try and stick to the hand signals we talked about.  His new mask can change his voice, so if you need to talk, be sure you can see each other.” 

The all responded with an OK sign.  He nodded back.  The last of his nerves gave way to confidence as he secured his own mask.

The buzzer sounded.  Izuku charged up One for All, and took off.  Wind rushed through his hair.  Pipes flew by in a blur.  He sailed over obstacles at breakneck speeds like they were nothing.

It’s good to be back!  One for All surged through his body like a warm hug.  His hand twitched at the reminder of the disheveled man’s touch.  Then his burnt bedding back in his dorm.  That pulled him from his revery.  He didn’t know what to expect from the quirk.  Shinsou could call up that stuff with his own.  One more reason to avoid him. 

Uraraka shrieked.  Izuku turned and immediately spotted Monoma.  He leaned almost casually against a large barrel. 

“Oh dear, have I been spotted by 1A’s golden boy?” he mocked.  “What are you staring at me for?  Didn’t you hear?  It sounds like my friends have already located your allies!”  He tossed something small between his hands.  “Or maybe that was Shinsou mimicking you little girlfriend, and if you go to check, you’ll lead us right too them!  Decisions, decisions!”

He’s goading me.  He must have copied Shinsou’s quirk.  Izuku lined up for a jump kick. 

“You know, Shinsou recommended I talk shit about your friends, since that got your goat last time.”  Monoma slipped between the cracks to another platform.  “I had a whole speech about Bakugou causing All Might’s downfall and everything.”  Izuku scowled, and gave chase.  “But you know, there’s some things I want to get off my chest.  Namely, what makes you so special that an S class villain would stalk you personally?”

Izuku stumbled the landing a little.  He heard metal clanging in the distance.  The others must be fighting.  Or it’s another trick.  They trust me, I have to trust them.

“And really, wasn’t shutting the whole school down a bit excessive?  How much training time do you think was lost because of all that, hmm?”  His words echoed through the pipes.  Izuku saw him peer through an opening.  “We can’t be in school forever, and the tide seems to be turning on the outside.”  Monoma easily skirted past an air blast.  “I heard about what happened to you.  Do you really think you can handle what’s coming?”

You don’t know anything!  Izuku gritted his teeth.  Through his frustration, it occurred to him that Monoma was likely his bait.  He probably had something planned for when Izuku got close.  If he remembered right, most of the other team, including him, had touch-based quirks.  And as much as his words affected him, Monoma didn’t exactly seem thick skinned.  Why kick up such a stink about 1A getting the spotlight otherwise.  He couldn’t talk back, but he could maybe provoke his ego.  So Izuku stopped, rolled his eyes, and ran away.

“The world is changing fast, and old-fashioned disciples of All Might aren’t going to- Hey!”

Izuku leapt from a tall water tower.  The pipes were nowhere near as bad as the maze when he could get a vantage point like this.  And see the sky.  His saw dust rising from the others fighting.  His team wasn’t as combat-oriented as those on 1B.  They could probably maintain a stalemate if Shinsou wasn’t there.  They needed his help. 

“What’s that?  One scary villain and you can’t remember how to fight!?”

And then there’s still him to deal with, he complained internally.  Monoma didn’t have a quirk related to movement, but he maneuvered over the pipes well enough Izuku could still hear him yammering.  He looked back.  Monoma stayed on the upper levels.  He could easily jump from point to point like that.  Lower, and he risked getting mixed up and vulnerable to sneak attacks among the winding network of pipes.  A maze.  Izuku smiled.  Not only do I remember, I learned some new tricks too!  In full view of Monoma, Izuku dropped to the lowest level beneath the metal canopy. 

“Of course!  Can you imagine if I were a real villain?  How many people could I kill while you cower away!”

Izuku rolled his eyes for real this time.  He felt the pipes around him shake with distant movement.  Heard the clang of careful steps.  Monoma was coming back in at an angle, searching for him. 

“How many people did you get killed in that death trap they buried?”

Izuku bit the inside of his cheek.  Be patient…  He backed up slowly from where he landed.  The footsteps circled the spot. 

“Do you think they missed anyone during the cleanup?  Do you think we’re sleeping above anyone’s corpse!?”  His voice masked his slowed movements.  Izuku watched from the shadows as a giant metal bolt crashed from above, cracking the ground where he once stood.  One of the others’ quirks.  Then he heard Monoma grumble. 

Loose pieces of debris were strewn about Izuku’s feet.  Quietly, he leaned down to pick some up. 

A crash just ahead.  Monoma’s shoes squeaked against his perch as he turned, going through the same internal debate Izuku had about whether or not to go help.  Izuku took the chance to toss a nail behind him.  The noise echoed easily.  He practically heard Monoma’s smile.

“So, this is how you survived?  Hide and hope the villain picks someone else to maim?” he taunted.  Izuku tightened his muscles.  “Well, too bad for you, I’m no mindless Nomu!”  He ran back, attempting to cover the noise by dropping more giant scraps around.  But Izuku could see his shadow above him.  “I am the great Phantom Thief!  And I won’t bow to any tr- Wah!”

Izuku jumped and grabbed Monoma’s ankle through the pipes.  They crashed around from the force of his fall.  Unphased, Izuku dragged him all the way to the ground with a smash to the face.  He wasted no time pinning him down.  Even though he hadn’t gained all his weight back, his current muscle mass was more than enough to weigh down Monoma’s lithe form.  One leg over his thighs, the other digging into his torso, and a hand at each wrist.  His vision mixed with the memory of holding himself down in the same way.  But he didn’t have extra limbs to keep up the attack.  Then, he realized his mouth had morphed into the same snarl.

Monoma’s fingers squeezed his own.  “Twin impact.” 

Izuku’s fingers winced as he felt them crushed under an invisible force.  Monoma used the opportunity to free one leg and kick him off in the stomach.  Right where the spike went through.  His muscles contracted on their own.  His opponent sauntered free.  Panting and embarrassed, Izuku went after him.

“Honestly, that was pretty freaky.  Somehow I thought you were above such underhanded tactics…”  He flipped back up to higher ground.  Then he examined the blood on his glove.  “I saw how chummy you were being with All Might earlier.  And the rumor is he took you in while you were licking your wounds from getting everyone else hurt!  I wonder what he thinks, watching you do that?” 

Izuku jumped after him.  God, you need to shut up!  He raised his arm for an air blast.

“With moves like that and such a high second-hand body count, it’ll be a miracle if he still finds you worthy of his attention!”

Time stopped. 

“You are not worthy!”

Izuku’s arm exploded with black tendrils.

Ochako dove out of the way of another flying barrel.  “This way!” she yelled to her teammates.  She didn’t check if they were following her until after she was out of the line of fire.  Mina and Mineta struggled to catch their breath behind her.

“I guess, hah, I guess they predicted Deku would be the bait, and ignored him,” Mina heaved. 

“We haven’t even seen Shinsou yet, and they’ve already got us on the ropes,” Mineta whined.  “What now?”

“We, we’ll have to-”

A cry cut her off.  The whole network of pipes rattled.  In the distance, over the structures, pitch black tentacles writhed through the air almost like black lightning.  They towered above everything and knocked down anything they touched.

Through the noise came another scream.  Loud and agonizing.  More like a siren than a living thing.  Borderline inhuman.  And hauntingly, dreadfully, familiar. 

Ochako didn’t think, she just ran.  She passed 1B, looking up as confused and horrified as her own group, and paid them no mind.  Then she spotted Shinsou behind some clutter.

“Come on, I need your help!” she yelled to him.

“Where are you going?  What the hell is that thing?” he questioned, stunned.

“I don’t know, but it sounds like Butterfly!”

The viewing platform went silent.  Toshinori’s heart clenched.

“Is that…  Another new move from Midoriya?” someone suggested quietly.

“Stop the match,” he gasped painfully.

“Huh?  What’s going on?” Blood King asked.

Toshinori pushed forward.  “You need to stop the match!  Something’s wrong!” he cried.

For once, Aizawa wasted no time hitting the time out buzzer.  But that didn’t help Izuku.  Inky black lines covered his body and dragged him around as they blew through the arena with a mind of their own.  The video had no sound, but Toshinori could see his pained face.

“Hey, wait!  All Might!” he cried after him.  “It’s too dangerous for you!”

Danger or not, quirk or not, I have to help my boy!  He sprinted as fast as his old legs could carry him into the training zone.  Kayama and Aizawa ran up beside him, but made no move to stop him.  Good.

Izuku cried out again.  Burning pain rolled in waves through him.  Being slammed into the sides of buildings was a drop in the bucket in comparison.  Thick black ropes, textureless but hot to the touch, constricted his whole body.  They dragged over the surface of his skin and twisted it up under them.  He felt them inside too.  Swatting and coiling around in his stomach.  His lungs.  Up through his throat and mouth.  He swore he felt them in his brain.

I can’t breathe! he cried inside.  Every attempted movement was a battle against his organs.  This time, he had no quirk to force them to his will.  He’s never had another quirk.  His arms twitched and back arched stiffly as the whips tossed him around like a ragdoll.  Stop this!  Please!  Someone stop this!

He felt worms wriggling in his heart.

It was like the sludge villain.  It was like growing wings.

Why is this happening!?  I’m not supposed to have any more quirks!  He felt himself flip upsides down, then rolled into a wall.  The other one had all the quirks and he’s dead!  He reached for body sense on instinct.  No clear picture of how hurt he was.  Just pain.

“Stop this!” he roared.  He clawed at the arm most came out of.  The tendrils pawed over the ground like dozens of spider legs, leaving Izuku dangling in the air.  He commanded wings that weren’t there to hold them steady.  Then he started spinning.  “Please stop this!” 

He gripped one, and tried to pull it out.  It felt as though it would take all the tendons in his arm with it.  He screeched at the top of his stuffed lungs.

Then, something slammed into him.  Uraraka pushed past the writhing mass to wrap her arms around his neck.

“G-get awa-y!” he coughed at her.  Tendrils circled back to lash at her arms.

“You, you have to calm down!”

“I-I c-an’t!  I c-n’t!”  His muscles themselves morphed into squirming eels.  “I c-n’t sto-op!”

“Shins-ou!” she yelled, just as a rope snaked around her neck.

“No!”  He reached out beyond himself into the whips.  He imagined them full of snapped bones to be ordered back into place.  Uraraka squeaked in terror as the noose tightened.  “Get back!”  Both hands tried to pull it off.  It struggled under them like a constrictor snake.

“Midoriya!” Shinsou called up to him.  A speck in the black storm.  “Come fight me!”

“O-ok-ay!” he forced out.  And just like that, everything dulled.  The whips blew out into black smoke.  And Izuku fell into the void from his dream.

What?  What happened?  He had no throat but still felt like he was choking.  His one corporeal hand clawed at the space where his mouth would be.  Make it stop!

“It’s over, son,” a voice said to him. 

Izuku froze.  I’m sorry…

“No, Black Whip is way stronger than it was back in my day, and you didn’t get a proper heads up.”  A man with a square jaw and goggles on his forehead came into view.  “Now happened to be the right situation for it to manifest, but not the right state of mind.”

I’m sorry, I’m sorry!  I won’t do it again!  He shook his head wildly.

“I don’t think you have a choice in the matter, kid.  One for All has been picking up the previous holders’ quirks for years, and now it’s got enough juice to start kicking back.”

No!  He remembered.  One.  Ten.  Twenty.  Seventy.  Too many.  All tugging on his brain.  They scooped out his memories to fit.  One day he woke up and couldn’t remember how to get home.  Couldn’t think straight.  I don’t want any other quirks! 

“You can’t let your heart run wild with powers like that.  Anger and fear are fair game, but they need to be on a tight leash.”  His form flickered.

No!  Parts of his body shriveled to heal others.  Always starving and never sleep.  Two wings grew out of one socket.  I can’t do that again!

“Kid, calm down!”  The man vanished. 

No no no no no no no no! 

Other voices called to him.  Called him by his name.  Trying to draw him in closer.  He recoiled back.  It must be a trick.  They wanted him gone before.  They said he wasn’t-

“Deku!”

He gasped awake.  His body floated like it was still in the void.

“I didn’t hit you too hard, did I?” Uraraka asked, still clinging to him.  They fell gently thanks to her quirk.

Shaking, Izuku took in his surroundings.  They were in a crater of fallen pipes.  Black marks ribbed every surface he could see.  Even the concrete of a nearby façade looked like a giant animal came to sharpen its claws on it.

“G-get away,” he breathed.

“Huh?”  She had gashes all around her arm.  And a red ring around her neck.

“Get away!” he growled.  Uraraka dropped her quirk and Izuku hit the ground running.  He had to get away.  He’d hurt enough people before.  I didn’t, the other one did!  But I am shut up!  You shut up!  Just get clear before you screw anything else up!

He ran through the pain of his aching muscles until he found a suitably tight space to hide.  His heartbeat pounded through every inch of him.  Bleeding welts peaked through the tattered remains of his glove.  They circled his skin in a near perfect spiral.  As if it would perfectly peal itself off into a ribbon.  He hiccupped.  Sobbing quietly, he scratched his head and tugged at his hair in search of antlers. 

I have to run!  They’ll come for me!  He breathed so hard none of it stayed in his lungs.  They already did!  I already lost and things were going so well and now it’s going to start all over again!  I can’t do this again!  I can’t I can’t I can’t I ca-

“Izuku?”  All Might whispered.  He crouched at the entrance of the hiding hole, and beckoned.  “My boy, come here.  You’re hurt.”  He sounded at the brink of tears himself.

“I-I c-an’t…  I-I…” Izuku wheezed.  “I-I’m n-ot…”

“You are, you’re bleeding!  Come here so I can help you,” he pleaded.  “We’re all so worried.  You just ran off from Young Uraraka.”

“H-rt her…”

“And she’s crying looking for you!  You two can go to Recovery Girl together.”  All Might said it like a promise.  Izuku heard it like a lie.

“I-m not…”

“Izuku, stop.  Come on.”

“I-I-I’m -ot w-orth-thy!” he sobbed.

All Might finally had the good sense to look scared.  Nonetheless, he crawled in after him.  Izuku recoiled into himself, but the man forced his hand to his face.  It smelled like Midnight’s quirk.

Izuku didn’t fight back.  Neither the sleep, nor his mentor pulling him into his lap.  It still felt like a trick, but on his part more than All Might’s.  After all, the man wanted to be close to Izuku.  Not Butterfly.

The air felt stale.  It was too cold for the air conditioning, but not enough for the heater.  So there was nothing to keep things cycling through the apartment. 

This is how he described the maze, Inko thought.

The door clicked. 

“Izuku?” she called.  She opened her arms reflexively.  He dropped his shoes by the door and walked quickly past her to his room.  The cold quiet resumed.  She turned slowly to All Might.  “…  What happened?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, still red from outside.  “One for All happened.”  His own shoes came off with strained motions.  Whether it was the weather reminding him of his age or pure frustration, she wasn’t sure.  He told her only some of what happened over the phone.

“And what does that mean?”  Her arms dropped to her side, exasperated. 

“Apparently,” All Might sat in his chair and threw his hands up, “One for All has been picking up the previous users’ quirks this whole time, and Izuku manifested one of them in the middle of training.”  It was hard to tell with the way his face was, but it seemed like he had been crying.

“And it hurt him?  The quirk?” she asked as if it weren’t obvious.  She sat across from him with a sigh.  “How bad?”

“Physically, the worst is a few rope burns on his arm.  They’re probably going to bruise something fierce, but no broken bones if that’s what you were asking…  Mentally though…”  He shook his head.  “Poor thing is scared out of his mind…”

“’Is?’” she repeated.  All Might looked at the ceiling.  “What’s going on with my son, Yagi?”

“Okay.”  He rubbed his cheeks.  “You know the nomus?  The mutated creatures, err, people, that the League sends out to fight?”  Inko nodded cautiously.  “The thing that pushes them to that feral doll state is holding too many quirks.  The human brain isn’t equipped to handle that many different things at once.  The neural load is so great, it causes severe brain damage…”

“Like Butterfly…” she whispered with a shudder.  “That’s what’s going to happen to him?  When he gets all those quirks?”  Her voice already broke behind her hand.

“No, no, I don’t think so.”  He sat up.  “It’s all technically one quirk.  All those others should act like different facets, like his friend Todoroki.  You know, the kid with fire and ice?  That should be fine.”

“…  But Izuku doesn’t think so,” she put two and two together. 

All Might nodded sadly.  “Honestly, I don’t know either.  This is the first time this has ever happened…  And either way, he’s terrified.”

Inko looked back down the hall.  The way Izuku described what was going on in his head after Butterfly, it already seemed hard enough.  He struggled to separate the two sets of memories, especially considering they were technically the same person.  He’d made so much progress since then, and she was happy he seemed to be going back to normal.  He was so excited to be in the dorms with his friends again.  But the way his teacher slumped before her, it seemed like he may have been spooked back to square one.  Everything she read about trauma said this was possible, recovery wasn’t linear, but it still hurt.

“What do we do now?” she asked him desperately.  “Are we going to keep him home again?”  She found herself using ‘we’ and ‘home’ a lot more often in relation to All Might, and wasn’t sure how to feel.

“Maybe, but…  I, I had an idea,” he said shyly.  “I mean, I was considering it before today and I’m not sure how it’ll go now but…”  He passed her his phone, with an English website for a grand opening of some sort of museum.  “I’m a patron of the Comics Revival Project in America, and I’ve been invited to speak at the dedication ceremony of the museum in New York.  I was…  Well, I wanted to invite Izuku to come with me…”

“To America?” she gasped.  “For how long?”

“Just a week, over winter break.  Of course, you can- should!  You should come, if we’re going at all.  All expenses paid, of course,” he detailed. 

Inko eyed him skeptically.  “How do you think this will help Izuku with what happened?”

“Well, uh…”  He rubbed the back of his neck.  “I just, I just don’t think it’s helpful to keep him at home to wallow, you know?  He needs something constructive to get his mind off things.”  He took back his phone.  “School was helping but…  I don’t think he wants to use his quirk much anytime soon…”

Inko felt like she was going to throw up her stomach twisted so much.  “Did you ask him yet?”

“No, I didn’t want to get him excited only for you to not be on board,” he confessed. 

She did appreciate the offer, as well as him asking her first.  He had been making an effort since she chewed him out about her son’s quirk.  But there was something else.

“…  Did you know that Izuku’s father works in America?”  An emotion she couldn’t identify crossed the old hero’s face.  Inko took a deep breath.  “I’ve been wanting to speak to him in person.  About what happened with…”  Butterfly.  Hisashi knew somethings.  Broad things that got released to the public.  A villain stalked a UA student and died in the final struggle.  Nothing else.  Not the details that mattered.

“…  Are you sure that’s a good idea?” he spoke up.

“He’s Izuku’s father, All Might.  He deserves to know what happened,” she responded, eyes narrowing.

“No, I meant…  Is that a good idea…  For Izuku?”

She took a deep breath.  “I don’t know.  And that’s part of the problem.  I’ve gotten two completely different stories about what’s going on between them for years, and I’m sick of it,” she explained reluctantly.  The mere mention was enough to well up tears.  “I want the three of use to work it out as a family.  And after everything, I think that needs to happen with us all in the same room…”  She gave herself a final few seconds to think it over.  Izuku hadn’t been out of the country since he was a baby, and a new environment might stress him out.  But on the other hand, there was everything else here at home.  It couldn’t hurt to try something else.  “And if that room is in America, so be it.”

Chapter Text

Was there a suitcase before? Izuku thought, staring down at the one before him.  No.  No, it was just a backpack.  The suitcase wasn’t practical and there wasn’t enough to fill it anyway.  This one was full.  He got to the floor to check he had everything again.  He’d forgotten before. 

Toothbrush, notebook, books he had to read for winter break homework, two weeks of clothes, including formalwear.  They were only supposed to be gone a week, but Toshinori said the weather could be unpredictable and there was a chance they’d be snowed in longer.

Izuku shuddered.  His All Might plushie was tucked in the corner among his socks.  He guiltily moved it back to his backpack.  Maybe the schoolbooks should go in there too.  It was going to be a long flight after all.  But what if something happens and he had to leave the bag behind in a hurry?  He couldn’t lose those.  But Toshinori said we didn’t have to worry about losing track of our bags.  But he doesn’t know everything!  Something could still happen and I have to run and stop!

He smacked his cheeks to reset his thoughts.  His chest strained from breathing so hard.  He hadn’t noticed.

Who am I?  I’m Midoriya Izuku.  I’m sixteen.  I’m a hero student.  Where am I?  My room at the dorms.  What do I see?  Floor.  Suitcase full of clothes.  Wall.  Posters.  The door.  It’s closed…  Slowly but surely, Izuku grounded himself again. 

How long is it going to be like this?  With a sigh, his arms fell to the floor.  Holding his breath kept the tears at bay long enough for him to crawl back up onto the bed.  I should be excited.  All Might is taking me to America!  New York City!  The birthplace of superheroes!  There’s so much history for both fictional heroes and the real thing.  We’re going to the launch party of the pre-quirk comics revival.  He said he’d try to get me a tour at Siegal and Shuster University.  That’s one of the best hero colleges in the world, let alone the country!  Even without all that, I’ve read about so many different things to do there, and Toshinori said we could do whatever I wanted…  The formalwear, the maroon pinstripe suit he wore to I-Island, peaked out of the case.  It was too big for him.  Because it was Dad’s.  …  I want to stay here.

He pinched the corner of his eyes.  No I don’t.  Everyone looks at me like I’m going to explode any second.  And I don’t want to hurt them if I do.  His arms shivered with phantom pain.  He deliberately looked away from the dark marks still crisscrossing his walls.  ‘Black Whip’ the ghost, vestige, called it.  Writhing between his muscle tendons.  Maybe replacing them.  And they were still there.  He hadn’t activated his quirk since, but he knew they were there.  Just beneath the surface of his consciousness.  Waiting.  Izuku felt like if he cut open his skin, he’d see black tentacles coiling around his bones.  Skin ribbon…  And the worst part was that a part of him wanted to see them.  Izuku gagged, and focused back on his bags.

What if my quirks go nuts again while I’m holding my backpack?  That stuff would be shredded.  Back on the floor, he moved the All Might plushie back to his suitcase.  The socks would be a good enough buffer in case something happened.  I should probably put my school stuff here too.  Can’t risk destroying it.  But what if I forget it’s there and don’t get my work done over the trip?  That’s better than destroying school property.  But then I’ll-

“Midoriya?”

Izuku jumped.  His back and fingers curled on their own. 

“We’re about to start Secret Santa.  Would you like to come down?” Aoyama asked.

“Y-yeah.  Yeah, I’m coming,” he called back, fighting against his locked spine.  Maybe he could move again when Aoyama walked away.  But he didn’t.

“…  Are you alright?”  He had asked him that so many times it sounded like noise now.

“M’fine,” Izuku parroted once again.  He forced himself forward, then up on momentum.  The room swirled at the edge of his vision.  He was sweating by the time he reached the door.  Aoyama was still there.  His mouth flattened in that way that said he knew something was up with Izuku, but didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t make him feel worse.  Izuku had enough clarity of mind to be thankful, but not enough to recognize the red outfit he was wearing.  “What’s that?”

“Oh?  Yaoyorozu made these Christmas clothes for us.  I brought you yours!  I-if you want to,” he corrected quickly.  The folded clothes he offered where the same shade of deep red as his own.  A matching hat and black boots and gloves came with it.  They looked more like pajamas than real cold weather gear on closer inspection.  The white puffball on the end of the hat for Izuku was curlier than the rest of the trim.  Like his hair.  Aoyama’s was a star.

People will wonder why if I don’t wear it.  “Thanks, I’ll be right down.”  The coat was just as velvety as it looked.  Perfect size too.  How does Yaoyorozu know?  What does she want shut up!  She’s my friend!  Be grateful for her gift!  Shaking fingers fumbled with the buttons.  At least he didn’t have claws to work with or wings to work around.  Shivers struck his back, threatening to lock him up again.  Izuku paused, held completely still, and let it pass.  Sweat glued the coat to his skin by then.  The boots were actually slippers.  They were comfy.

Aoyama didn’t wait for him to Izuku’s relief.  Or was it disappointment?  I don’t need a caretaker.  He could get hurt but he’s my friend and I keep avoiding him that’s not fair he doesn’t get it he’s annoyed with me he’s even more awkward than I am but-  He bit his hand through his glove.  Handle it, goddammit!  If I can’t handle a Christmas party with my friends, I can’t handle another country!  The wall must have been starting to warp with how often he leaned on it before going down these days. 

“I’m Midoriya Izuku.  I’m sixteen.  I’m a hero student,” he recited.  “I’m in the hall of the dorms.  And I’m going to have a nice holiday dinner with my friends.”  Yes.  Dinner.  I’ll go eat a little, and if I still feel bad, I’ll go back to my room and wait for All Might to come get me.  That’s a fair compromise.  Hound Dog and the other therapists said it I need to set small goals.  But what if my quirk goes crazy again?  With everyone all so close…  No!  He pushed himself off the wall.  A deep breath brought with it all the wonderful smells of his friends’ cooking.  “I can do this.”  Wiping his eyes, he braved the last flight of stairs.

In just a few hours since Izuku was down last, the common room transformed.  Red and green streamers hung from the walls and ceiling, while yellow star stickers dotted the windows.  Little touches of candy canes and holly filled the empty spaces in between.  The Christmas tree, whether it was real or something Yaoyorozu made he didn’t know, sparkled in all manner of colors on the opposite side of the room.  With the snow outside catching the lights, it felt like a scene from a cheesy movie.

And the food.  Curry, fried chicken, meat buns, cheese and sausage cubes on sticks, yakitori, tempura shrimp, takoyaki, gyoza, and an entire chocolate fountain surrounded by sweets.  An elaborate feast laid out on the middle table that almost looked too good to have been made by a couple high schoolers.  Izuku was too mesmerized to be embarrassed by his growling stomach.

“Midoriya!  Merry Christmas!” Iida called him out of his daze.  He went the extra mile with his costume, adding a beard and sack.  Izuku wondered if he asked for it.  “I saved you a seat!”

The others, also dressed up, greeted Izuku warmly as he walked over. 

At least they don’t seem mad I didn’t help set up, he thought.  Then he thought about how much fun it must have been.  He shook his head and put some wattage behind his smile.

“Thanks everyone!”  He eased down slowly.  Sudden movements seemed like a bad idea.  “Aoyama said we were starting the Secret Santa exchange?”  I got something for that, right?  Yeah, I left it on the counter before I went upstairs.  He craned his neck towards the pile of boxes under the tree, but didn’t see his.

“The plan is to exchange presents and play games after dinner,” Iida explained.  He hadn’t sat back down.  No clue as to what was in the sack he was carrying.

“The main course remains in progress…” Tokoyami declared with a hint of impatience.

“But there’s already so much here.”

“I guess hero students can’t go halfway even on the fun stuff.  Soda?”  Kirishima passed a massive bottle over the table.

“Um, I think I’ll just have water, thanks.”

“I’ll get you some!” Hagakure jumped up out of nowhere.  A floating Santa suit bobbed towards the kitchen, only to bump into Yaoyorozu.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got some,” she said, bringing a tray to Izuku and a few others.  “Does your costume fit okay, Midoriya?”

“Yes.  Perfect, actually.  Thank you.”  She just smiled and went back to passing out water.  Izuku didn’t feel as overwhelmed as he thought he’d be.  Everyone was close and paying attention to him, but he was fine.  He was looking forward to dinner actually.  I can do this. 

“Hey, speaking of being hero students, we’ve got more work studies after break, mandatory for everyone this time,” Kaminari spoke up.  He leaned over the back of the other couch, arms crossed over a Santa hat that wasn’t his.  Just then, Bakugou walked by, conspicuously not dressed like everyone else.  “So, where’s everybody going?”

“Ochako and I are headed back to Ryukyu,” Tsuyu answered first.

Only then did Izuku notice Uraraka staring at him.  His eyes immediately went from her face, to the bruise on her neck peaking out from her collar.  He remembered feeling it under the whips.  They hadn’t spoken about it since.  None of them had.  With a shudder, he looked to the floor.

“Hawks is unfortunately unavailable.  I will have to seek alternatives…” Tokoyami carried on the conversation.

“You could come with me to Yoroi Musha!” Aoyama declared dramatically.  “A man of such commitment to aesthetics would surely appreciate your dedication!”

“I will consider it.”

“What about you, Midoriya?”  Kirishima hit Mineta in the shoulder.  “Hey!”

“No, it’s okay.”  Izuku dragged himself to sit upright.  His neck suddenly felt stiff.  Relax, it’s just a question.  “Centipeder was too swamped taking over the agency.  I would have had to go somewhere else anyway…”

Awkward mumbles followed.  Everyone knew Izuku was deemed unfit for work studies.  Between the injuries, poor trauma management, and now an unstable quirk, he was more of a liability than an asset.  All Might said after they got back from America, he’d work with him at the remnants of his agency to learn more about the business side of things.  With where their relationship had been going, part of him thought Toshinori was setting him up to inherit his agency too.

Don’t be presumptuous.  You’re lucky you get to do anything that will make up for the school credit!  He cares about me a lot and business stuff is still important I’m supposed to be a hero and I can’t even trust my own quirk.  His fingers twitched.  I couldn’t before either.

“But hey!  New York Ci-tay!  That’s pretty sick,” Sero quickly changed the subject.  The others murmured in agreement. 

Right, I told them.  Did I tell them?  Didn’t Aizawa?  Or was that me?

“Got any cool plans?”

“Um, there’s a new hero museum opening.  F-fictional heroes.  Like the ones we did reports on?  We’re gonna go to that.  And uh, there are other museums too…”  Don’t give away your position they don’t care anyway.  They’re pitying you because you can’t work they’re jealous because you don’t have to work.  They’re looking at you shut up say more.  “Other than that, I-I think we’re just…  Going to see what we feel like when we get there?”

“Cool, cool.  It doesn’t seem like a place lacking in things to do.”  He taped the tape dispenser at the end of his hat to the top of his head.  The other boys laughed at him.

“I went there once with my family when I was a kid.”  Ojiro’s tail practically wagged.  “We always got up super early and didn’t get back to the hotel until it was dark out we did so much!  It was a lot of fun.”

“Is it really like how it is in movies?”

“Oh!  You guys should totally go see something on Broadway!  They have shows there you can’t see anywhere else in the world!”  Mina leapt over the couch.

“Tickets are thousands of dollars and sell out months in advance,” Jirou shot her down.  Then to Izuku, “If you really want to see a show, I can send you some links.”

“Bootlegs aren’t very heroic, Earphone Jack,” Kaminari teased.

“Neither is making something that inaccessible in this day and age.”

“Midoriya, if there are any shows you’d like to see, I’m sure my family can talk to someone to get you some tickets,” Yaoyorozu offered.

Izuku stammered at being brought into the conversation again.  “Oh, that’s okay.  I don’t think musicals are for us anyway.”  He tugged on his gloves.  “My mom is coming, and she doesn’t speak much English.  I mean, neither do I but…  I just don’t think it would be very fun for her, you know?”

“Ooh!  Mama Midoriya and All Might on a fun foreign trip?  Do I smell romance?”  Mina’s face lit up brighter than the tree behind her.  Jirou poked her hard with a jack.  “Eep!”

“Uncalled for.  It’s Mrs. Midoriya, remember?”

“Is it?”  Then to him, “Midoriya, is it?”

“Y-yes…”  His next words fell out of his mouth before he could stop himself.  “My dad lives in America, actually.  We’re-” he swallowed “-we’re going to see him, too.”

Uraraka’s brow narrowed.  He looked at the floor again.

“I don’t think you’ve ever mentioned your father, Midoriya.  What’s he like?” Iida asked innocently.

But Izuku had nothing to say.  Everyone was having fun.  How was he supposed to say he thought his father only liked him for his quirk without bringing down the mood?  That all the kind words hurt because he couldn’t tell if he meant them or how long they would last?  That he remembered all the hugs and games before they were taken away and they will never come back because his father tried to say all this nice stuff but it wasn’t true it didn’t work and something happened and everything smelled like smoke and a-nd-

Someone touched his shoulder.  “You okay, bud?” Midnight asked quietly.

Izuku gasped.  His teacher looked down at him with a weak smile.  She gently nudged him off the couch, away from the others.  The discussion went on without him.  Intentionally so.  More about work studies.  Only Uraraka looked back.

“You looked a little lost there…”

“H-huh?”  I remembered…  I can’t remember.  But I did.  His mouth bobbed.  The realization hit him, and he exhaled shakily.  Butterfly’s memories were chopped up and stitched back together in chunks like old broken film reels.  And he could remember feeling them get worse.  He remembered forgetting.  “I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay.  You, you wanna go talk somewhere else?”

He bit his lip.  “I don’t wanna go too far.”  I was doing fine. 

They moved to some chairs in the corner of the room.  Midnight leaned forward to be at eye level with him.  She had casual clothes on except for a much older festive hat.  Her hair was loosely styles and makeup minimal.  It was odd how different she looked out of her hero costume.  Izuku wasn’t sure if he felt more or less reassured with her like that.

“Flashback?” she finally asked.

“I didn’t see you here before…” Izuku cut her off right away.

She sat up with a sigh.  “Me and some of the other teachers are doing the rounds.  Your class isn’t the only one having a party tonight.”  A laugh.  “And here I was thinking the dorms would cut into my social time!”  He didn’t react the way she wanted him to, given how fast she stopped laughing.  “And hey!  Check that out!”  She pointed to a door frame across the room.  Something was taped to the top.  “Last class was too chicken to put up mistletoe!  How about it?  Got any targets?  I saw that Uravity girl looking at you.  Scoped out all the spots yet?”

“That’s kinda creepy,” he stated nervously.

“Hah!  Good answer!”  She ruffled his hair playfully, and he couldn’t help but smile.  It couldn’t last, of course.  Midnight had her hair tied back, leaving out the scar behind her ear where doctors had to stich her head back together. 

Where Butterfly, I, slammed her head-first into a concrete wall. 

“What?”

“…  Are you okay?” he asked.

Her smile flattened.  “You don’t have to worry about me, bud.  That’s my job.”  She tugged some hair out of her ponytail to hide the spot again. 

“I’d worry a lot less if I knew what happened…”  I know.  I was there.  His fingers flexed.  I want to know from her.

“They didn’t tell you?” honest surprise.  “Bit of a rough convo for a Christmas party…”  Midnight tugged at her sleaves.  She could get out of the conversation easy enough with her quirk.  Izuku almost wanted her to.  “But, well, you should know the basics at least.”  She quickly checked to make sure there was no one in earshot, then leaned in even closer.  “You know about Butterfly’s disguise, right?  Hell, of course you do.”  Izuku tried to focus on her face over the images his mind conjured.  “Well, I was walking him out when Bakugou came in saying he wanted to talk.  He sounded upset, but when doesn’t he?  So I didn’t think much of it.  Went upstairs to wait…”  She inhaled deeply.  “Then I heard…  Something weird.”

I –Butterfly- screamed.  He -I- wanted to make sure someone would come for Bakugou after I knocked him into a wall too.  Izuku swallowed a gag.  Of all the clear memories, Bakugou twitching on the ground in a puddle of blood had to be one of them.

“I didn’t even get far enough to see what he did to Bakugou,” she continued quietly.  “Butterfly cut me off.  He didn’t attack me right away though.  He still looked like you but…”  Midnight shook her head.  “I don’t know, just…  The way he looked at me.  I just knew.”

A pause.  A long one.  During which neither moved.

Do you know now? Izuku asked inside.

Midnight broke the eye contact with a chuckle.  “It gets fuzzy after that.”

Hole in the wall.  Blood all the way down.  Still breathing.  Didn’t take her quirk.  She needed it for hero work.  Needs it to be a teacher.  Needs it to teach me.  The hair on his arms stood up.

“But then, I woke up in the hospital,” another sigh, “and I cried my heart out.”

Izuku’s own heart clenched.

“Those first couple minutes before somebody came in to tell me what happened were hell.  I was convinced I was the one who fu-  Sorry, screwed it up and ruined the whole plan.  Got you killed.”  Tears threatening to spill glistened in her eyes.  “I would have come visited you, you know, but you were still in critical by the time I was discharged.”

“Thank you,” Izuku responded, coming up blank for anything else.  “…  It’s not your fault.”

“And it wasn’t yours either.  None of it was.”  Her voice took on a firmer, more hero-like tone.  Izuku slouched away.  Midnight reached for his shoulder again.  “Neither was the training exercise.”

He flinched at that.  No one besides All Might or his therapists mentioned it directly since.  Like doing so would summon whatever caused it in the first place.  He tried to find comfort in her touch, but could only picture his skin splitting away and trying to rip hers with it.  She squeezed tighter.

“…  I’m still sorry.”

“Oh, bud.  You’re too good for this world, you know that?” she spoke cheerfully again.  That alone brought more comfort than what came before.  It meant she was changing the subject.  “But seriously.  Heroes get hurt.  Quirks act up.  Shit happens.”  She got up.  “It’s hard, but we’ll get through it.  Just take it easy for a bit, enjoy your vacation, and you’ll be back on your feet fighting bad guys and kissing every girl in town in no time!”

No words existed for the embarrassed sound that escaped Izuku’s throat.  The sheer weight of it made him fold like a lawn chair.

“No?  Boys then?”

Izuku nearly turned himself into a pretzel with the raw force of mortification.  So much he squeezed a wheezy laugh out.

“Ha!  I told the others I could get you to laugh!”  She messed with his hair again.  “You’re alright.  Now go have fun!”

She pushed him again back towards the party still in progress.  If anyone noticed he was gone, they didn’t say anything.  Midnight snagged a few things from the sweets table before disappearing out the front door to go crash other parties.  But she stopped to give Izuku one last little wave before she left.  He had to admit, talking was nice.  It was just really hard with someone who didn’t already know.

Someone else came in when Midnight left.

“Trick or treat!” Eri declared to a chorus of ‘aws.’

“Wrong one,” Aizawa lightly corrected from behind her.  He wasn’t dressed up, but she was.  Eri has her own little Santa suit, though one that actually looked suited for outdoors.

“Eri!”

“Welcome in, kid!”

“Did she seriously just say ‘trick or treat?’”

“Be nice, she’s probably never celebrated holidays before!”  Mina went right in for a hug.  Some of the others followed close behind.

“You’re right,” Aizawa agreed, tone unreadable.  “I tried to explain the concept with multiple examples, and she got a little mixed up.”

“I painted these eggs for everyone.”  Eri held up a clutch of Easter eggs, which prompted more good-natured laughter.

At least she’s having fun, Izuku thought, smiling to himself.  Just then, Eri slammed into his leg.  His instinctual reaction was to freeze.

“Erasersir said you were sick again, so I made you this!”  She held up an egg painted in the green and red of his hero costume. 

Izuku stared down at her.  He didn’t need to look to know Aizawa was watching him.  How much did he tell her?  It couldn’t have been much.  Her saying sick ‘again’ drew up certain ideas.  Then those sparked even more.  Like how he wouldn’t be able to control the whips if they came back right now.  Eri was so small.  So close.  She hugged him and smiled like he was the most important thing in the world when he robotically accepted her little gift.  She had no idea what he was capable of.  How dangerous he was right now.  One slash could probably split her in two.  His veins throbbed with energy.  It would be so easy.  Compulsion to open the floodgates of power entered his headspace; a feeling similar to standing on the edge of someplace tall, then suddenly feeling the urge to jump.  But he buried it down with everything else. 

Izuku wanted to hug her back, but the what-ifs tied his body into place.  Every ounce of focus he could muster went into making sure his quirk stayed locked away.  All he dared offer was stiff pat on the head in the vague direction of being gentle.  Obliviously satisfied, Eri smiled some more, than ran off to pass out her eggs to everyone else.  Some of her hair caught in his fingers.  Izuku kept still as the strands ran through.  The first thing he saw when he lifted his head out of the daze was Kacchan, staring at him with an expression so dripping with visceral horror, there was only one other moment that could compare.  Right after he touched Eri like that the first time, right before he cracked Kacchan’s skull open like the egg in his hand.  Izuku felt sick again.

“Alright!  Sorry to keep everyone waiting!” Sato shouted over the commotion.  He stepped out of the kitchen, blocking Izuku’s view of Kacchan, with a whole roast turkey. 

“Let’s eat!” everyone cheered with him. 

Everyone besides Aizawa, Kacchan, and Izuku.  His teacher watched him like he suspected something, but he’d been doing that since the training disaster. 

Has he?  Or am I just paranoid?  I just assume everyone’s out to get me because they are and if I’m not careful they’ll come for me again they’re my friends they wouldn’t hurt me everyone hurts they aren’t my friends they’re the other one’s friends I’m the other one I’m Izuku I’m Izuku I’m-

“Midoriya?”

“Wha- huh?”

“Slice of turkey for you?” Sato asked him, carving knife over the half-bird.  Some people already had theirs.  “Just one for now.  Gotta make sure everyone who wants some gets it before giving out seconds.”

“Um, y-yes.  Please!”  He blinked back his focus.  “J-just a small slice though.  Not sure how much I’m gonna eat, a-and I don’t wanna waste it.  N-not that I don’t think it’s gonna be good it’s just-”

“Relax man, it’s good.”  He carved into the meat with the precision of those expert chefs you see on TV.  “There’s a lotta stuff here and you gotta leave room for it all, I get it.”  His curled-up brows said he got more than just that.  It dawned on Izuku that Sato was helping to cover for his odd behavior.

“Thank you,” he said upon receiving his plate, hoping both meanings came across.  Sato just nodded and moved on.  He wasn’t the only one who had been patient with Izuku.  They’d all been dancing around his damage all night.  And he wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

The smell of turkey hit his nose.  He hesitated a moment, before slicing off a piece and popping it in his mouth.  The first wave of even smokiness gave way to rich salty-sweetness once he starting chewing.  Sato had options if being a hero didn’t work out.  For a moment, Izuku felt bad for the other classes who didn’t have a guy who did culinary arts as a hobby.  And that was just one of the foods out of the buffet in front of him.

I don’t really want to feel anything right now.  I just wanna eat.

But eating was its own ordeal.  A lot of Butterfly’s memories were vague and twisted, opaque sequenced played on top of one another.  But the memories of starving were fresh.  How every moment that wasn’t scheming a way to hurt him was spent trying to find something to eat.  Hours and hours of gorging himself on whatever scraps he could get his hands on, never feeling full.  That feeling crawled its way back into Izuku’s gut every time he sat down for a meal.  Maybe it was physical memory from having his stomach.  The doctors basically said so.  They had him go through a version of physical therapy that involved controlling his diet in such a way to train the organ to process food normally again.

Ironically, the thought of having Butterfly’s stomach made him sick to it.  A dumb thought, maybe.  It was just another organ.  A stomach can’t really do anything malicious.  His body never showed any signs of rejecting it and subsequent checkups never found any issues.  But that combined with remembering how it felt not knowing how long it would be until he ate again made sticking to that prescribed diet easier said than done.  Izuku had a stuffed plate full of everything on offer before he knew it.  He did know he’d regret eating it all.  But it didn’t matter.  Willpower was a fair-weather friend and everyone eats more than they need on Christmas.

All that food left him tranquilized by the time the class got around to Secret Santa.  Taste didn’t register.  But he still felt the compulsion to find more food.  Someone brought him a chocolate chip cookie half dipped in chocolate.  He wasn’t even enjoying it anymore.  Just something he needed to do because he’d always done it.  Vaguely, he recalled All Might said he’d get them food before they got on the plane.  What if he got air sick and threw it all up later?  And Izuku felt like crap all over again. 

A ribbon was put in his hand, and he dragged its box to him half-heartedly at the call.  Inside was a bag of mochi.  More food.  He didn’t even think to look around for who got the gift he left.  The games and songs after passed in a similar haze.

“You’re not looking so hot,” Jirou mentioned at cleanup. 

“It’s okay.  Just ate too much.”  I feel like I should keep going.  His eyes kept landing on the scraps of meat still clinging to the chicken bones he carried to the trash.  Not so long ago, he would have scrapped off every little morsel.  Maybe even crushed and swallowed the bones all together.  That or my quirks will eat up my muscles.  No they won’t, you don’t have those anymore.  He swallowed painfully, the taste of turkey still lingering.  But what about the new ones?  What if they start eating me again?  A shiver went up his arms and he shook the plates.  Bones and crumbs fell everywhere.  “Dammit!” he cursed under his breath.  His mouth watered again before he leaned all the way down to pick up the bones.  They weren’t even from my plate it’s so gross why do I want this!?

Another pair of hands joined his.  Todoroki didn’t try to give him a sympathetic look or anything, just helped.  That made it easier.

“I would have invited you to come do your work study with me,” he said suddenly, ruining it.

“Thanks,” Izuku replied.  I hate this.  His hands shook and his lip wobbled.  He pulled them as far away from his friend as he could.  This is what it’s going to be like?  How can I be a hero if I’m scared of my own quirk?  I’m not like Sato or Jirou.  I don’t have skills outside of fighting.  Does that even matter?  He shut his eyes.  How can I do anything if I can’t even talk to my friends or clean up after myself without feeling like I’m going to turn inside out!?

Someone touched him and he flinched away violently. 

Iida looked afraid, but quickly forced a smile.  “You seem tired, Midoriya.  Why don’t you go up to bed?”

“But, but what about cleaning up?”

“We can handle it,” Jirou assured over Iida’s shoulder.

“We’re just glad you decided to come!  We know you haven’t been feeling well…” Hagakure added.

“And you’ve got traveling to do soon.”

“You should rest up, dude.”  Kirishima and Sero joined in picking up the crumbs.  The latter used his tape to pick out the smaller bits from the carpet.

Izuku looked to Todoroki, who nodded, then around at the others.  Everyone who looked at him had the same small smile of reassurance. 

Of pity, a bitter part of him whispered.  How long have they been waiting to get rid of me?  No!  Shut up!  They’re my friends and they’re worried about me.  He got to his feet with a shudder.

“Thanks everyone,” he stated blankly. 

“In case we don’t see you again before you leave, have a good trip!” Tsuyu croaked as she took the plates.

“You too.  I-I mean goodnight!”  He smiled awkwardly while she giggled.  With a final little bow, he headed for the stairs.

“Goodnight!”

“Night!”

“Hope you feel better!”

“Have fun in America!”

It was all too nice.  To frictionless.  Izuku felt like there should be more conflict, over what he didn’t know.  His friends were just wishing him well.  It didn’t need a deeper meaning.

But I have to think about these kinds of things!  Overthinking kept me alive, underthinking ruined my life!  If I had thought longer about the doctor’s offer, or even the consequences of running away…  He rubbed his eyes.  Moving without thinking saved me too.  If I hadn’t run out to save-

“You!”  A fist yanked Izuku off balance by his collar, and slammed him into the stairwell wall.

“K-Kacchan?”

“Don’t you dare fucking call me that, freak!”  His arm pushed down against his neck, still clutching his costume.  Small explosions popped from his other hand.  A familiar threat.  Kacchan hadn’t done this sort of move since middle school.  But the choking part was new.  Between his already disrupted thought process and surprise, Izuku didn’t react much right away.  Kacchan snarled some more.  “You see?  You see this shit!?”  His voice cracked.  “This is what he looked like.  This is how he fucking looked at me!”

Izuku didn’t notice Uraraka until that moment.  She’d taken off the Christmas gear and watched pensively from a few steps up.

“You saw how weird he was being with Eri, and all that food he ate!” 

“What do yo-”

“And look!  He’s even doing the fucking hand shit!” Kacchan shouted.

Just as he said, Izuku’s hands had curled themselves near his chest.  He forced his fingers open, but when he tried to move his arms, Kacchan pressed harder on his throat.  He felt like he was watching the moment in third person.  It would be easier that way.  He wished he could be someone else stumbling on this confrontation and stopping it without relying on the buzz under his skin.  His heartbeat pulsed between stretched fingers.  Images of his skin peeling away invaded his mind.  Izuku’s body jerked as if he grazed a hot stove. 

“Don’t you dare fucking move!” 

I’m trying!  I’m trying! he wanted to shout.  Every muscle he could control wound tight.

Kacchan’s eyes wobbled with tears.  “Round-Face, go get Aizawa!”

“Bakugou, I don’t think-”

“What?  This was your idea, wasn’t it?”  Spit flew into Izuku’s face.

“But-”

“How much more proof do you need!?” he cried.  Izuku cringed at that.  “You were right there!  You saw him grow a new quirk out of nowhere!  You heard that fucking screech!  And now, he’s even been acting like the fake bastard!”

Oh.

“I just don’t think this is the right way to go about it!” she argued.

“Then what the fuck is!?”

“I don’t know!  Just, just ask him something only you and Izuku would know!  You grew up together, right?”

Kacchan’s eyes narrowed.  “I don’t think that’s gonna to make a difference.”  One tear fell free.  “Is it?”

He knows…  Izuku dropped his arms.  He knows he knows he knows…  His own tears came out in full force.  They know, and they’re almost right.  Kacchan knows I’m Butterfly.  I, Butterfly, won.  I put my mind in mine.  But everything else is still here too.  I’m still me.  But I’m not.  His soft whimpers came out as hacks from being choked.  But the lack of air in his lungs seemed like a far-off problem.  I’m not Butterfly, but…

“Bakugou, stop it!”  Uraraka jumped in to pry his hands away.  “You’re hurting him!”

“You’re just gonna let this creep get away because he made a sad face?  Do I gotta remind you who’s face he’s fucking wearing!?”  He pitched back his arm for a strike.  Not like the ones from middle school.  Stronger.

The sparks stopped.

“Let him go.”  Aizawa appeared, quirk active and hair raised.

“Aizawa!  This ain’t Deku!  This is-”

“Midoriya Izuku, your classmate who recently went though a number of traumatic experiences, not helped by being pipped to a wall.”  His capture weapon lashed out faster than their eyes could track.  One band went around Kacchan’s mouth, muffling his now sobs.

Izuku remained against the wall, mumbling through his frantic breaths.

“What was that?”

“J-just tell him!  Just tell him…” he blubbered out.

Aizawa looked at him questioningly.  “Do you actually want him to know, or do you just want him to stop?”

“Does, does it matter?”

“Alright,” he huffed.  “All Might is on his way to come get you.  Be ready to go.”  Then he dragged Kacchan kicked and screaming down the stairs.

Uraraka stepped back into the picture.  She put a careful, comforting hand on his arm, before stepping closer into his space.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.  “I just-”

“It’s okay…”

“I just wanted to talk to you about what’s been happening.  I didn’t mean for him to attack you…”  Now she was crying too.  “I’ve been so worried about you, and everyone’s been acting like nothing happened and I can’t take it anymore!”  Both her hands gripped his arms, almost but not quite painfully.  Izuku welcomed the grounding feeling.  “I know I don’t have any right to what you’re going through, but I just…  I just can’t sit back and do nothing again!”

“…  A-again?” Izuku breathed out after a long pause.  They got the same idea at the same time, and slid down to the floor, hand in hand.

“Back when all the stuff with, you know, was going on, you were suffering constantly, and I couldn’t do anything to help you!”  She inhaled a tear that fell in her mouth and coughed a little.  “I’m supposed to be a hero, and you’re my best friend.  But I didn’t do anything until I pulled you out of the maze!”

“That, that’s not nothing.”  He squeezed her hand.  “From what the doctors told me, I was in pretty back shape.  You floating me out was faster than just carrying me.  You…  You probably saved my life.”

“It doesn’t feel like enough, though,” she said, voice shaky.  Then she sat up and shook her head.  “Oh, now I’m the one making you comfort me!  That’s not fair!”

“No, it’s okay.  I, this is helping.  A little.  Just talking about it.”  I think.  Maybe.  Better than being alone.  But what if something happens again while it’s just us?  He eyed the bruise on her neck.  The hand he was holding still had bandages from where Black Whip tore at her skin.  Butterfly only spared her and the others because he still respected heroes.  And because I wanted a ready-made social circle to slot into.  He bit the inside of his mouth.  How long had they been quiet?

Thankfully, she didn’t like it much either.  “So…  What was up with the new quirk?  The black ropes?” Uraraka asked earnestly.  “Do you think…  Could Butterfly have forced a quirk on you?  The people who took our statements after it was over said he could steal them and switch them around…”  She bit her lip. 

“Maybe…”  That felt like a more honest answer somehow.  Even if it came from One for All, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind Butterfly triggered it.  But he defaulted to the stock response anyway.  “I went to the doctor.  They said it might be a new manifestation of my own quirk.  Like, the energy I stockpile for speed and strength concentrated into a physical form outside my body.  O-or something.”  He turned away.  Technically true.  Recovery Girl suggested that before All Might mentioned the previous users.  “Or just a secondary mutation.”

“But something that, that extreme out of nowhere?  You’ve really never experienced anything like it?”

“I mean, I was a late bloomer with my normal quirk…”

“I guess so…”  The silence returned, though Uraraka couldn’t bare it for long.  “Deku?”

“Yes?”

“Are you okay?”  She turned to look him in the eyes.  Hers were bloodshot and puffy, though his were probably worse.

“Huh?”  Leave it to the most basic questions to stump him.  The truth was on the table, but he barely knew how to process it himself.  How would she react?  He took a moment to think of something that at least sounded good.  “I, I will be.  Eventually, but…  I think…  P-part of me is still down there.  In the maze, I mean.”  That’s a lie.  Too much of me came back.

But it was a lie Uraraka accepted.  Saying nothing, she rested her head on his shoulder with a deep sigh.  The warm feeling spread throughout his body in a wave.  It was nice.

“All Might is probably going to be here soon.  You should get ready.”

“Yeah…”

Neither moved.  Sounds of dishes being washed and decorations thrown into boxes filled the silence.  Those sorts of things should have been drowned out by laugher and conversations that weren’t there.  Meaning everyone else must have heard the shouting, killing all the fun.

“Do you really have to go?” she asked, almost pleadingly.  “We just got you back…”

The front door opened.  Izuku felt his phone buzz in his pocket.  All Might texted asking if he needed help carrying his stuff.  With a heavy sigh, he got to his feet once more.  Uraraka remained in place, clinging to his hand for as long as he remained in range.  Her touch lingered over his skin.  The warmth didn’t.  He looked back once, and caught a glimpse of the All Might keychain he gave for Secret Santa in her opposite hand.

That should make me feel something, he told himself at the top of the stairs.  She called me her best friend.  Not even Kacchan said that when we were still friends in kindergarten.  She really cares about me.  They all do.  No one else went upstairs.  They’re waiting to say goodbye to me.  So why does it feel wrong?  He stared over his suitcase and backpack again.  Everything he needed was split between them, but not in the right place.  That’s it.  They care for someone else.  The one still in the maze.  With the last of his self-control, he zipped up both bags as they were.  Neither of the others would have taken so much effort.  I’m not Butterfly, but…  I don’t think I’m Izuku anymore either.

Chapter Text

The first time Izuku went on a plane, it was something momentous.  The flight to I-Island was technically the second time he’d left the country, but he was too young to remember so the first didn’t count.  And he got to go with All Might.  Everything, from the airport shops to the moving walkways to watching planes take off from the window, was this exciting new experience leading up to spending time with his mentor at one of the biggest quirk and technology expos in the world.  Even though that last part didn’t pan out, Izuku remembered the trip fondly.  Not this time.

He squeezed his arms over his chest and dug his fingers into his ribs the whole walkthrough.  Open rooms meant no way to hinder movement.  Thick crowds meant nowhere to run if something happened.

No one could stop me.  So many people would get hurt…  His shirt risked tearing he clutched it so hard.  If Black Whip acts up…  Why are there so many people around after midnight?  How long would it take for someone to be able to stop me?  It’s just one quirk it’s not as bad it’s strong and unpredictable and I have no idea what it’s capable of.  They walked by a happy group speaking a language Izuku didn’t recognize.  And there are so many people here who aren’t Japanese.  What if they don’t understand me when I try to warn them to get away?  What if they don’t understand me apologizing?  They’ll think I’m a villain and since this is an airport it’ll be an international incident and then-

“Gran!  Over here!”  All Might called.

“About time you all showed up!” the old hero barked back.  Izuku almost didn’t recognize him, he’d never seen him in civilian clothes before.  “And why’d you have to schedule a flight at one in the morning!?  It’s your plane!”

“Sorry about that!  It’s hard to get a spot at big airports, and this was the only one I could find that gets us stateside in time.”  He rubbed the back of his head, before clearing his throat.  “Gran, this is Mrs. Midoriya, Young Midoriya’s mother.  Mrs. Midoriya, Gran Torino, the hero who trained me when I was Izuku’s age.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, sir.”  She bowed.

“Pleasure, miss.”  He returned the gesture.  Then he turned to Izuku.  “And what about you, boy?  Too good to greet an old man?”

Izuku flinched back, suddenly remembering his own presence.  “H-hello, sir.”  He didn’t recognize his own voice.  Neither did the adults the way they paused awkwardly.

“Well, uh, let’s head to our gate, shall we?” All Might cut the tension.  Both he and Mom pushed Izuku forward with a gentle hand on his back.  Gran walked ahead of them.

How much does he know?

The gate didn’t go right to the plane, instead opening onto the tarmac.  Wind howled and engines roared.  I won’t hear anyone coming.  They could come from anywhere.  Izuku covered his ears as he speed-walked with the group.  His stomach, still reeling from Christmas dinner, churned in protest.  Then, on the plane, quiet.  I’m trapped.  His skin crawled.

“Whew.  I hate doing that,” All Might broke the silence.  “Alright everyone, make yourselves at home.”

Thin walls divided the fuselage into three rooms: a common area with seats and couches, a cubby-like room with just a bed along the wall, and a master bedroom in the back.  It contained a king-sized mattress, cabinets, shower, and bathroom, with plenty of walking space in between.  All Might bequeathed it to Mom and Izuku.

“Wow.  I didn’t know you could fit all this on a plane,” she commented, spinning around to look at everything.  Izuku focused on the line of windows on either side.  If the hardwood paneling covered them up, he could imagine they were in a compact luxury hotel room.  “Do you want to change into your pajamas right now, or after takeoff?  I think it will be easier now.”

“Huh?”

Mom frowned, then whispered.  “Are you sure you want to go?”  He just stood there blankly, luggage at his feet.  She cupped his cheeks in her hands.  “America is a long way from home.  And I know you’ve been having trouble lately with…”  Her lips pressed together.  “Just say the word, and we can go straight home.”

“…  Right now?”

“Right now.”

“I…  I want to go.”  He meant it in theory.

“Okay then.”  She pulled him down to kiss his forehead.

Despite the bed calling out to him, they had to strap into the regular seats for takeoff.

“Does anyone want something to eat?  I had the fridge stocked,” All Might offered.

No.  Yes.  Izuku closed his eyes and tried to steady his raging gut.  I ate way too much at the Christmas party I don’t know when I’m going to be able to eat again I don’t want to throw up I’ll starve if I don’t I should’ve saved the bones I should just throw up and get it over w-

“Izuku?”  He opened his eyes.  All Might knelt before him, wrapped present in hand.  “Merry Christmas, my boy,” he said, voice gentle but firm.  Like the people in American Christmas movies who treated the holiday like the linchpin of a just world.  In short, he meant it.  “Now seemed like a good time for you to have this.  Didn’t want to play favorites at the Christmas party.”

He wasn’t at the party at all.  Maybe he was telling Gran…

He took the silver box with equal reverence.  It weighed a little.  All Might got him something last year, but it came in the mail.  Izuku shuffled the red ribbon off the box instead of breaking it, and pulled at the paper along the seams.  Inside was a plain-looking clothing box, but in that-

“Wha-!?”

“Hope you like it,” he chuckled.

Inside the box, tucked and folded like any other item of clothing and not a significant piece of history, was All Might’s Young Age Letterman Jacket.  Chromatic blue that would later adorn his Golden Age costume, with embroidery of a cherry blossom tree in full bloom against the full moon, framed by ‘Plus Ultra.’  Not a replica either.  They didn’t even make replicas it was so obscure.  Some of the colors were faded.  And some threads were loose.  Faint grey marks where soot was washed out dotted the white sleeves.  This jacket saw combat.  Not just that, but some of All Might’s first ever fights.  And now, it was in his hands.

“You’re really giving this to me?”  He didn’t dare look away for fear the illusion would break.

“I figured you’d get more use out of it than me.”

“Hmph.  Just like you to make his gift all about you,” Gran admonished.

“Hey!  He’s a fanboy and I’m not doing anything with it.”

“It belongs in a museum…”

“Really?  You’re not even going to put it on?”

Izuku dropped the box like the nothing it was, before carefully dawning the jacket.  The sleeves needed to wrinkle to get his arms all the way through.  The back went down to his thigh like a robe.  The adults chuckled at how he swam in it.

I could fit my wings under this.  His spine locked.

“Say ‘thank you,’” Mom whispered.

“Th-thank you,” he chattered.

All Might took it as him being overwhelmed.  “You’re welcome, my boy.”  He hugged him, cheek resting on top of his head.  Izuku heard a kiss.

“Good morning everyone, this is your captain speaking.”

We have a pilot?

“We’ve completed final checks and will be pulled out of the gate shortly.  Please take your seats and fasten your seatbelts, and enjoy the flight.”

The seats resembled easy chairs more than stiff airplane seating.  Izuku forgot sometimes how rich All Might was.  Comfortable as they were, his skin prickled when his back touched them.  There should be something in between but wasn’t.  He gripped the armrests, pushing himself against the back.

It’s all in my head.  I’m in control.  I’m in control…

Lights fell away beneath them.  Crop circle-like streets surrounded glowing towers.  Where they stopped painted a perfect outline of the coast.  Fishing boats chased cruise ships.  Cruises seemed fun.  There was a special hero cruise a few years ago.

Maybe if I ask All Might nicely, we can do something like that sometime.  Izuku pressed his face to the window to watch Japan slip away.  The plane wing blocked most of the view.  But the winter chill came with them.

My hands are cold.  Izuku tried to rub them together but felt static.  Wha…?

His hands, stuck curved like claws, wouldn’t move when he told them to.  Carefully, he attempted to straighten them.  Too much too fast in this state, and they’d shatter.  Suddenly, they got warm inside, as if flowing with hot water.  But the outside remained frozen.  If only Izuku could will the warmth out and move again.  He tensed his fingers to stretch the skin, which split from the cold.  But neither blood nor heat leaked out.  The cracks just got bigger.  And bigger.  And more of them.  Cutting through skin like broken pavement.  Loose pieces floated away.  First in tiny bits of confetti, then in long, connected ribbons.

No.

Skin gave way to black muscle.  Only it wasn’t.  Izuku once saw a video of a black worm parasite slithering out of the body of a praying mantis.  Clusters of those worms coated his bones.  Then they grew, and lashed out.

“No!”

Black Whip came alive.  Each strand thrashed around the cabin aimlessly, leaving long black streaks on whatever they touched.  Terrible sounds of carpet scraping and furniture crunching send shivers up Izuku’s spine.  The whips where there too, digging up through his arm under what remained of his skin.  He tried to grab them, but his hands were completely overtaken.  He couldn’t even unstrap himself.  Panting, he attempted to wiggle himself free.

A tentacle pierced an air vent.  Steam hissed.  The plane jerked.

“Stop!” Izuku begged.  “Please stop!”

More and more whips joined the frenzy.  Soon, they carpeted the floor and walls.  Izuku saw through the forest enough to see tips picking at the windows.

“Sto-”

Metal screeched.  Wind howled.  The plane cracked open like and egg, and Izuku fell out.  Too terrified to stream, he watched the white plane turn into a black spec against a blinding blue sky.  Further and further he fell.  His ears gave up with all the wind.  He didn’t hear the splash of the water.  The ocean.  He didn’t dare look down into empty abyss beneath him.  What if he forgot which way was up?  But he kept falling.  Sinking now.  No matter how hard he swam.  Air didn’t matter as much as the sunlight fading fast the deeper down he went.  A dark shape bloomed in the middle of his last remaining light.  Bigger.  Closer.  The plane crashed above him.

Izuku screamed silently.  It took him several seconds longer than it should have to breathe.  Meanwhile he kicked whatever trapped him.  Something soft.  Sheets.  He looked around.  The big room from before.  Mom slept away on the other side of the bed.

A dream.  Just a dream…  He sat at the edge of the bed, ran All Might’s jacket under his fingers, and took stock.  Who am I?  I’m Midoriya Izuku.  I’m sixteen.  I’m a hero student.  Where am I?  Sweat tickled his back.  Where am I?  I’m on a plane.  All Might’s private jet.  Going to America.  Over the ocean.  The ocean…  He shook his head.  What do I see?  The floor.  The curved walls.  The closed window to outside.  Several thousand feet in the air.  Only a few inches of metal and plastic between everyone here and certain death.  He couldn’t breathe again.  That’s nothing to Black Whip…  Where’s All Might?

He stopped at his door, rattling harder than the plane.  Izuku’s hand went up and down, knock or not?

Do you really need to wake him up for this?  He pulled his arms up into All Might’s jacket.  If something does happen with Black Whip, he can’t help you.  You’ll hurt him.  Inhale, exhale.  But he won’t hate me for it.

The door slid open slowly.  All Might slept close to the wall facing it, leaving maybe enough room for Izuku to lay beside him without waking him.

Like a little kid.  He sighed.  This is pathetic, he thought as he crawled onto the mattress.  But it did make him feel better sitting there.  A little.  It was probably a lot warmer under the covers.

But what if I hurt him?  Uraraka’s neck bandage flashed in his mind.  She was a hero student in full action mode.  All Might was frail and asleep.  Black Whip could rip him apart.  What would happen then?  I’d be a murderer.  Like Butterfly.  Me.  Memories of bodies crunched under his curled fingers.  Of the honest fear in Kacchan’s eyes in the bunker.  At the party.  And what would All Might say?  Izuku pictured him in a vision like the Black Whip holder.  All the ways his body could be distorted from his wounds.  But he couldn’t picture All Might being mad at him.  Izuku sucked in a breath.

“My boy…”  Long arms encircled him.

His mind trashed to run away before it was too late, but his heart, always stronger like All Might said, couldn’t bare to retreat.  His mentor’s presence eased him like a dip in a hot spring after trekking through a blizzard.  He shouldn’t have been out in the blizzard in the first place.

“I-I’m s-so-orry…”

“Shh…”  His chest rumbled against Izuku’s ear.  “Bad dream?”

Izuku only whimpered.  All Might pulled him down beside him, about a foot apart.  That meant talking.  He at least let his sobs calm down first.

“Was it Black Whip?”  Sometimes Izuku wished All Might didn’t have that sixth sense for what bothered him.

“During the training exercise…  What, what did you think was happening to me?”

“To be honest, I don’t really remember.  I just knew you were in trouble.”  He brushed his face.  All Might’s wrist to the tip of his fingers were the same length.  “Why?”

“…  Uraraka asked me if Butterfly forced a quirk on me.”

“I suppose it would look like that from her perspective…”

Izuku bit his lip.  “Do you think…  Maybe she was onto something?”

“What do you mean?” he asked earnestly.  “You said one of the previous holders spoke to you about the quirk, yes?”

“Yes…  But do you think…  Would that have happened without Butterfly?”

“…  I don’t know, my boy.  And If I may be honest again, I don’t think there’s much to be gained wondering ‘what if?’  At the end of the day, it was a freak accident neither of us could have seen coming.”

“I destroyed my room that morning…”

“What?”

“During the vision with the old holders.  Black Whip must have activated in my sleep.  It broke a bunch of stuff…”  He closed his eyes before All Might could react.

He sighed harshly.  “My boy, we talked about thi-”

“What if the other quirks make me crazy too?” he squeaked.

“Izuku…”

“No I mean…  What if, all those quirks…  I remember forgetting.  Basic things.  Like how old I was and my home address…”  No where else to go.  Turned around.  He hugged me when I came back.

His hero notebook morphed into a lifeline of a diary.  Scattered memories and stream of conscience thoughts piled on top of each other as if that would help make sense of things.  He needed the folding and sticker quirks to keep it on his arm so he wouldn’t forget it.  So many times, he sat down, pen in hand, frantically writing until he forgot mid-sentence.  He forgot his own name sometimes.  Izuku cried again.

“People aren’t supposed to have that many quirks!  I only had a few before they started messing with my head!”  He covered his face, searching for misshapen bone.  “They said I’ll get se-seven!”

All Might pulled him back in.  Izuku grabbed his shirt instinctually.

“I think you’ll be okay…”  He didn’t sound sure.  “Technically, it’s all one quirk.  So, the neurological problem shouldn’t apply.  And if it did, we probably would have seen symptoms already.”

“What if I forgot them?” he whispered.

“No, no…”  All Might kissed the top of his head.  Then again when he couldn’t come up with something else to say right away.  “Hey.  You’re good at taking notes, right?  Maybe you could start keeping a record of what goes on during your day.  A journal.”

“That didn’t work last time!” he wanted to scream but couldn’t quite manage.  “And what about when they manifest!?”

“You know…  A lot of people go through something very similar to this,” he said.  “A lot of young kids hurt people on accident when they get their quirks for the first time.  It’s just part of life…”  He kept going before Izuku could interject.  “But there’s also excitement.  What’s it going to be?  Will it be like my parents’ quirks?  Will it be different?’  Maybe, maybe it would help to think of it as finally getting to experience a milestone you missed out on.”

Black tendrils around Uraraka’s neck.

“I don’t think I can do that…”

All Might paused again.  “…  Would it make you feel better if I told you about my master’s quirk?  So you know what to expect?”

Nana?  He wasn’t worthy to say her name out loud.

“Maybe…”

“Okay…”  He took a deep breath.  “She could float.”

“Float?”

“Float.  Just herself.  With an extra kick from One for All, it was practically flying,” he spoke with the reverence he reserved for his master.  “And I believe her predecessor’s quirk had something to do with smoke, but I’ll have to do some more research to make sure.”

Float and smoke.  Izuku squeezed his lips together.  Those doesn’t sound too bad.  But what if I get float, and don’t know hot to turn it off?  I’ll suffocate in high altitude, or crash into the ground from too high up.  And smoke…  Dad’s own smoke sent him to the hospital.  It’s why he couldn’t be a hero.

“Izuku?”  Based on his tone, he sensed his apprehension.  “Are you sure you want to go on this trip?”

“What?  But we’re already so far out…”

“We have to stop to refuel in Hawaii anyway.”  He adjusted himself to look Izuku in the eyes.  “If you want to, we can turn around.  No questions asked.”

“We?  But you’ll miss your speech.”

“A speech is a speech, they don’t need me.  But you do.”  There was that reverence again.  He kissed his forehead, then hugged him.

But they do need you.  Risky projects need positive publicity to get support.  What’s a better endorsement for bringing back pre-quirk superheroes than All Might himself?  Lots of people worked hard to get it this far.  They’re relying on you.  On me.

“…  I wanna go.”

“Okay.  And you can change your mind at any time.”

“I know.”

“Good.”

“…  Good.”

“Izuku?”  All too familiar panic stabbed Inko’s heart.  Calm down, he’s probably just in the bathroom.  She lasted ten minutes alone in the dark, then she checked herself.  The unlocked door opened empty.  Deep breath.  He couldn’t have gone far, we’re on a plane.  A freezing plane.  She shivered on her robe before stepping out.

All Might’s old friend, Gran Torino, slept on the couch.  No sign of Izuku.  Nor was he in the other bathroom or the unused flight attendant space.  Only one place left.

As big as Izuku has gotten over the years, and how skinny All Might was compared to his prime, the boy still looked small in his arms.  They laid intertwined, Izuku tucked under All Might’s chin, shoulders scrunched from hands clinging to his shirt.  The same way he held onto Hisashi when he was little.

But this wasn’t Hisashi.  It was an unrelated adult man Inko didn’t know very well, hero or not.  Her skin crawled up her arm from the hand gripping the door.

It’s not like I haven’t seen this before, she rationalized.  The three of them lived together for weeks now.  Izuku fell asleep on All Might all the time.  He slept between the two of us that night we all shared a bed after Izuku ran out in the snow.  All Might has been nothing but kind and courteous.  There’s not a malicious bone in his body.  Her other hand formed a fist.  He showed more love to Butterfly than his own mother…  And yet, the danger alarm wouldn’t shut off.  Perhaps danger was too strong a word.  Discomfort fit better.  ‘Even if it’s fine I still don’t like it.’  But Inko’s anxious heart read both emotions the same.

I should wake them.  Bring Izuku back to our room.  She didn’t move.  But he’s sleeping now.  He’s had such a hard time lately.  I don’t want to take that away.  And I don’t want to ruin the trip with a misunderstanding…

All Might’s fingers rested on the sheets behind her son’s head.  Relaxed.  Comfortable.

Inko once overheard him call the bond of their quirk, One for All, stronger than blood.  She didn’t think much of it then.  In context, it was reassurance Izuku’s hero wouldn’t abandon him to his demons.  But it etched itself in her mind and kept coming up like a bruise you kept hitting accidently.  That night, Butterfly’s final stand, All Might knew something bad happened before they came to the hospital.  Before any calls.  And when Izuku ran out in the snow.  He knew that too.  He ran into their room, woke her up, and they both saw his empty spot on the bed.  The bed Inko was in.  Just like now.

I should have felt him get up.  Paid attention more.  She shouldn’t have to.  Good parents were naturally in tune with these sorts of things.  No wonder Izuku went to All Might instead…

She shut the door, and sat by the window until the sun came up.

Toshinori woke up with the sun.  Old habits died hard, even on vacation.  He stretched carefully so not to disturb Izuku.  The boy slept on, still cradled to his chest.  His bones melted with a pleasant exhale.

I love you so much…  He kissed the top of his head.  How Toshinori used to daydream about holding him close.  Keeping him safe.  No safer place than his own private jet.  No one could get to them out here.  If only he were here for better circumstances…

The food alarm on his phone went off.  He sighed, and gave Izuku one for kiss before carefully prying himself free.

Gran was still asleep outside, but Mrs. Midoriya sleeping in one of the window seats surprised him.  Guilt replaced confusion.

She was probably looking for Izuku…  Did she see us?  Probably.  He smacked his forehead.  God, what must she be thinking?  Besides the creepy stuff, what must it feel like for your own son to seek comfort in someone else?

Toshinori used to ask himself similar questions about Nana’s son.  Never met the kid.  She gave him up before they started training.  But the closer they became, the more he wondered what he would have thought about his mom taking care of someone else.  Maybe that’s why he couldn’t bring himself to tell her how much he loved her.  The fear of inserting himself where someone else belonged.

What will Izuku’s father think of all this?

Izuku checked his location while waiting for lunch in Hawaii.  His therapist said it helped with grounding.  Japan’s main island seemed like a continent compared to these specs.  The map pin completely covered them when he zoomed out just a little.  The airport sat in between two mountains, and Izuku bet you could see the ocean from both sides in other parts of the airport.  The distance counted 3,959 miles between here and Tokyo.

Would Butterfly follow me this far? he wondered, because his brain was stupid.  He considered distracting himself with Class 1A’s group chat.  There were a bunch of messages.  His thumb hovered over the app.

“Food’s ready!”

He jumped.  All Might set a plain cheese and tomato sandwich in front of him.

“This should be easy on your stomach,” he said. 

Izuku ate slowly.  The longer he stayed outside his own head, the more he regretted agreeing to lunch off the plane.  Hawaii was technically part of America, and Christmas was a huge deal in America, so the airport was packed.  He couldn’t hear what Mom said to All Might right next to him over the chatter of the crowd.  How he managed to score seats at the busy sandwich shop.  Especially since it was the only restaurant in the small terminal.

If this is one of the smaller airports in the islands, I can only imagine how bad the crowds are in the big one.  Izuku fought back the impulse to speed eat.  It won’t make the plane refuel faster, he told himself.  Not his train of thought.  People here would have nowhere to run from Butterfly.  Or maybe he would have gone on a rampage back home to force me to come back.  The bread tasted unpleasantly sweet, to much to work as bread but not enough to be cake.  He concentrated on that.  Or tried to.  It would have worked.

“Excuse me?” an unfamiliar voice asked in Japanese.  Two girls about his age approached their table.  One nervously held the other’s arm.  “Are you Deku from UA?”

He swallowed.  “Um, yes?”  Both girls squealed.  He glanced between the girls and the others.  Mom and All Might smiled proudly, while Gran kept eating like nothing happened.

“Could we, um, could we please get a picture with you please?” the nervous one asked.

“S-sure…”

More squealing.  They skipped around his chair and leaned down before he could offer to stand.  Izuku reluctantly flashed a peace sign, following their lead.  They didn’t give him any instructions or requests, so he just tried to smile as best he could.  Which probably wasn’t great given everything.  He heard the camera sound at least a dozen times before they were satisfied.

“Thank you!”

“Thank you so much!”

“Plus Ultra!” they said at the same time.

“Plus u-ultra…”  He waved them goodbye awkwardly.  The girls met up with their parents presumably, before vanishing into the mass of people.  Too many people.  Butterfly I could hide so easily.

“You know…” All Might began.  “You’re allowed to say no to things like that.”

Izuku creased his brows.  “But wouldn’t that be rude?  Heroes get a lot of support from their fans…”

“You don’t have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable,” Mom said.  “But I’m sure you made those girls’ whole week.”

“But if you don’t want to do that, you could just say they got the wrong person.”  He took a bite of his own sandwich.  “I do it all the time.”

“I don’t want to lie…”  Pretend I’m someone else.  Like to Kacchan.  Like to Midnight.  He picked at the crust of his sandwich.

“I mean, it’s more like being polite.  Like when you say someone looks nice even when they don’t.  Not a big deal.”

“Not very Superman-like of you,” Gran teased.

Mom and All Might laughed.  Izuku finished his disappointing meal, even though he wanted to stop.

“Hey, you want to watch a movie?” All Might woke him up gently.  Or he would have if Izuku was actually sleeping.

“Wha-?”  He blinked.  Sun beamed through the bedroom window.  Between jetlag and flying against time zones, he had no clue what time, or even day it was.  I wonder I could have used the sleep quirk on myself.  “Are we in California yet?”

“No, still over the ocean.”

Izuku cringed.

“A movie might help get your mind off things.  Sleep clearly isn’t working.”

“That obvious, huh?”  He rubbed his eyes.  Every time they closed for too long, he saw himself back on the ambulance.  Round face.  Thin face.  That, or Black Whip.  All Might patted his shoulder.  “…  Which movie?”

“Superman.  The original from the 1970s.”

He frowned.  “Didn’t we already watch that one when we were hiding?”

“Your mom picked it out.  She thought you would like it.”

Izuku sunk back into the bed, face planted in the sheets.  All Might sat beside him.

“Why did you come to me instead of her?  When you had the nightmare?”

“I don’t know…”  I don’t want to talk about it.  You get it.  You talked to him.  And Mom…  She’s always worried.  She deserves better I don’t want to hurt her don’t want her to go away I need her need her to stay need her to-

“Hey.”  He rested his hand on his back.  “Your mother loves you.  No matter what.  I know it’s hard to open up about these things, even if you’re close…  And if you’re worried about how she feels…  I think she’d feel a lot better if you at least tried talking to her.”

“Did you talk to her?”

“A little,” he said softly, then said nothing for a long time.  “She wants to talk to you, but she’s afraid of stepping over boundaries.”

He didn’t know what to say to that.

“You’re one lucky kid, you know?  Most parents think their kids’ boundaries don’t apply to them.

So that means I should let her cross them?  That’s not what he means dumbass you worthless ungrateful-

The hand patted his head.  Izuku held it.

“You don’t have to talk to her about the Butterfly stuff, but you shouldn’t shut her out either.”  His finger’s massaged Izuku’s skull so well they flattened out his jumbled thoughts a moment.  “This whole thing has been scary for her too.  I’m sure it would mean a lot just to spend time with her.”

Izuku followed All Might to the common area.  Gran moved to a chair, still asleep.  Mom waited on the couch.

“Hey sweetie, did you get any sleep?”

“A little,” he lied.  Mom knew it too, the way her smile faltered.  But not for long.  Not after he fell into her arms.  She squeezed him tight the way only she could.

“I love you, baby.”

“I love you too, Mom.”  This beats talking.

Suddenly, the clouds broke to a great cacophony of city lights.

“Wow…” Izuku whispered to himself.

New York City.  He’d seen cities at night before, but this one felt different.  Bigger.  Taller.  Unreal.  He couldn’t take his eyes off it the whole decent.  And he looked out the airport window for it every chance he got.

Exhaustion melted away as the skyline approached.  Izuku watched out the taxi window like his face was glued to it.  His heart jittered, but not with excitement.  He couldn’t quite put a name on what he felt.

They crossed a bridge.  Lights turned to lines, swirling and mixing together.  Even though it hurt his eyes, he couldn’t look away.  He’d miss something.  Something specific.  He was looking for something.

The streets didn’t look all that different from Japan.  They passed the same sort of signs advertising restaurants and products sponsored by heroes.  Izuku recognized a few of them.  Dad sent stuff about American heroes sometimes.

Dad.  Dad lives here.  That’s it.  I’m nervous.  Just nervous.  More than that.  These were the kind of nerves he got going into a difficult fight.  Fight.  Be fast turn around!  He shook his head.  But he wouldn’t have to physically fight Dad.  Dad wouldn’t hurt him.  Something twinged in the back of his mind.

But he needed to see something.  Historic buildings.  Must be.  He looked a bunch of them up before coming.  But it all looked different at night.  Every time they passed a big park, he wondered if it was Central Park.  He could just ask.  But his mouth locked in place.

Buildings formed canyons.  How easily he could leap between them.  Maybe even glide.

He clawed at the seat cover.  Glide.  Can’t fly, I can’t fly, could glide maybe.  Could get away.  Hot air fell out of his mouth.  Stop.  Reason it out I need to go, no!  Hold on!  I can do this…  His jaw resisted closure like a rusty garage door.  Who am I?  Midoriya Izuku.  I’m sixteen.  I’m a hero student.  I’m visiting America with my Mom, All Might, and Gran Torino.  What do I see?  My shoes.  Taxi floor.  Lights in the windows.  What do I smell?  Smoke.  The last passengers must have been smoking.  Dad smells like smoke Dad’s here you need to- No!  Deep breath.  Deep breath…  What do I hear?  The engine.  The radio.  There’s classical music.  I’ve heard this one before but I don’t know what it’s called.  His fingers straightened out.

Okay, think.  What’s going on?  What’s making me react like this?  He wrapped his arms around himself.  I’ve got nothing with New York.  I’ve never been.  Butterfly maybe?  But how?  When did he go?  Izuku ran down an abridged history of his counterpart.  Quickly.  Like walking over hot coals too fast to be burned.  Dad still lived in America in his timeline.  Maybe, after he escaped, they sent him here instead of Dad coming back.  But why freak o-

A sharp chill went up his spine.  Then outwards where wings weren’t.

I need to get out run glide fly!  Fly before I can’t!  He’s after me nothing is he’ll get me again he’ll take me back not he won’t he’ll protect me.  Izuku gagged.  No he won’t.  He’s dead.  He’s dead…  I’m dead.

Izuku bent his fingered enough to check his phone.  Distance between here and Tokyo: 6740 miles.  He was 6740 miles from his own corpse.  And yet it followed him here.