Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Meeting Myself
Twenty years. Twenty years of war, blood, and death led to this. It led to the dull thud of Shigaraki Tomura’s corpse falling to the floor as a thirty-six year old Midoriya Izuku stood over it, beaten, bloody, and panting. Only silence remained as Izuku stood there, the last living thing in the ruins of Musutafu city. “Is... is it finally over…?” The man asked, not expecting the answer. After a few seconds of silence, he fell to his knees, his eyes watering. For the first time in a decade, the tired man let his emotions seep out as he sobbed on the ground, finally able to grieve for his fallen friends, his family, his mentors, and the millions of innocent lives that were lost due to one man’s wicked crusade.
“Greetings, Midoriya Izuku,” a voice caused Izuku to flinch. He looked up to see a glowing man with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He looked like All Might if All Might had a normal physique. Izuku instantly recognized who it was. This man was the original holder of One for All. “Congratulations on winning the war against All for One.”
“But… but it was for nothing,” Izuku simply looked up at the man before punching the ground, causing the already scarred ground to crack even more as tears spilled from the man’s face and into the cracks. “It was for nothing! What is the point of winning this war if there’s no one to win it for?! Everyone’s dead!”
“Right now, yes,” The First replied with a patient, gentle tone. He could feel Izuku’s pain, his grief through the connection they shared in One for All, “but there is a solution. A second chance, if you will.”
“A second chance…?” Izuku looked up at the man, the smallest glimmer of hope shining through his eyes. Although he was tired from all the fighting, from all the death, he was willing to do anything to save his friends. To save everyone. After all, that’s what heroes are for.
“I can channel the power from All for One and grant you a wish,” The First said, holding out an open hand towards the corpse of Tomura. Yellow particles started to appear from the corpse as it flew to the First’s hand, channeling and forming a ball that floated a few inches above The First’s open palm.
“What do I need to do?” Izuku asked, the desperation and hope transforming from a small spark to a raging fire in the man’s eyes. A second chance. Yes, he will save them all.
“All you need to do is say the word and it shall be done,” The First stated simply.
“I… I wish for a second chance,” Izuku muttered before raising his voice to a shout. “I wish for a second chance! A chance to save everyone! A chance to right my wrongs!”
The First nodded, a satisfied expression on his face as he tossed the small ball, letting the particles explode in a flash of golden light, creating a portal in front of the two. “I like your drive,” The First stated, his lips curving upwards. “Stand up, Midoriya Izuku, ninth user of One for All. Stand up and save the world.”
Izuku forced himself to stand up, taking one step at a time. “Thank you,” he whispered before crossing the portal.
As the golden portal closed behind him, The First looked at the horizon as the sun started to rise. “It looks like my work here is done,” he heaved a sigh as he started to fade. “I’m sorry it had to be like this, brother.”
And with those departing words, The First was gone and for the first time in centuries, neither One for All, nor All for One continued their existence on this earth. It truly was the end of an age.
Midoriya Izuku appeared in an alley in the middle of Musufatsu city. He could only assume that this is the same exact place he was when he entered the portal. He took off his tattered hero costume, revealing a black t-shirt and basketball shorts. The man then walked over to the nearby dumpster, putting his hero costume in the bin before closing it. He can get a new one later down the line. He looked down to see a rather large shard of glass on the floor. He picked it up, peering at his reflection. Over the years in the war, Izuku’s features started to change as he used One for All more, the energy he stockpiled affecting his appearance. Due to the negative energy that contaminated the area as he fought, his hair and eyes started to change until he had jet black hair and deep, crimson eyes.
“The first thing I’ll need is an ID and a place to stay,” Izuku thought to himself. More importantly, he needed a new name. He pondered for a little while, ideas sifting through his head until he found one that deemed fit.
“Gisei Kuro,” Izuku muttered to himself. The Black Sacrifice. It seemed fitting.
“Alrighty then,” Izuku, no Kuro said, hope flaring in his eyes. “Let’s go save the world.”
A couple years had passed since Kuro had arrived in the past. He had made a pretty substantial name for himself as Black Charge, ranked 24th on the ratings list. He stuck to using One for All, but he did have other quirks at his disposal. The man smiled as he looked at his new apartment complex. Today was a very important day. Today was the day he would be moving into the apartment next to the Midoriyas. On top of wanting to keep watch of his younger self and his mother, he wanted young Izuku to start his training earlier so as to ease his body into an ideal state for One for All. He heaved a sigh as the moving crew pulled up. Now came the boring part.
After around three hours of unpacking, Kuro decided that it was time. He walked over to a plate of chocolate chip cookies that he had baked and headed out, steeling his nerves. The reason why it took so long for Kuro to move next to the Midoriyas was because of the fact that Kuro wasn’t emotionally ready to see his younger self and his mother. He grit his teeth as he remembered Inko turning into dust, a brave smile on her face as she told Izuku to live on.
I failed her, Kuro thought to himself. He wasn’t able to save her. What kind of hero did that make him? How could he expect to save the world when he couldn’t even save his own mother?
No, I can’t think like that, the man shook his head, dispelling the negative thoughts. I’ll save her this time. I’ll save all of them this time.
The pro-hero took another deep breath before knocking on the door. A wave of emotions flowed through the door, hitting Kuro at full force as it opened, revealing a thin woman with dark green hair. Kuro almost forgot how Inko looked before she started stress-eating. “H-hello,” Kuro said, forcing the tears back as he offered his mother the cookies he baked for her using her recipe. “My name is Gisei Kuro, but you can call me Kuro. I recently moved into the apartment next door and I wanted to introduce myself.”
“How sweet of you,” Inko took the cookies gingerly in her hands. Kuro knew that the cookies that he baked could never be as good as Inko’s. Despite using the same recipe, Inko’s cookies always tasted way better. After a while, Kuro just chalked it up to a mother’s touch. “My name is Midoriya Inko. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m sure Izuku would love these. Speaking of which, let me introduce him to you right now.”
Inko walked back into the apartment for a couple moments before walking back out, the plate of cookies replaced by a shy, broccoli-headed boy holding his mother’s hand and clutching to a notebook. As soon as Izuku saw who was at the door, his shyness vanished in an instant, replaced by wonder. “Oh my gosh!” His smile made the sun seem dim in comparison. “You’re Black Charge! Can I please have an autograph?”
“I’m sorry about little Izuku,” Inko smiled fondly at her son as he flipped through his notebook. “He’s a huge fan of heroes.”
“It’s no problem,” Kuro smiled as Izuku gave him the notebook and a pen. He looked at the paper to see a shockingly good sketch of him along with observations of his quirk and traits.
“Heh, not bad,” he said as he signed the notebook giving it back to Izuku. “You got some brains on ya, little man. I’m sure you’re heading places.”
Izuku squealed before running back into the apartment. “I have to say he reminds me of myself when I was younger,” he said nostalgically. “I’m happy that I’m inspiring the younger generation to be the best version of themselves.”
“That’s admirable,” Inko said with a soft smile. “I’m glad that there are people like you out there.”
“Likewise,” Kuro said, earning a confused look from the single mother. “I can tell you’re a good mother. I’m told that I’m a pretty good judge of character. I can see that you’re doing everything you can to make Izuku happy.”
“I see,” Inko nodded, a satisfied smile on her face. “I guess I will see you around, Gisei Kuro.”
“I sure hope so,” Kuro returned the smile as Inko closed the door. As soon as she did, the man heaved a large sigh of relief before walking off. He needed to sort out his thoughts.
Later that night, a large robot was destroying the building of a loan shark. People screamed and fled as rubble started to fly everywhere from the explosions. A little girl tripped as she was running away, her mother going back to help her daughter up. As a large slab of concrete flew in their direction, the mother stood up, arms outstretched, as if to block the slab from falling on the little girl. Before either of them could be harmed, a flash of black and yellow whisked them away from the danger.
“No need to fear, for I am here!” Both Kuro and All Might shouted at the same time as they gently placed the mother and child down respectively.
“If it isn’t Black Charge!” All Might boomed happily. “It is a wonder that I haven’t met you in person yet, considering you’ve been on the field for two whole years.”
“It’s an honor, All Might, but I think we should deal with the tin can first,” Kuro gestured at the robot.
“Agreed!” All Might bellowed with a hearty laugh before the two charged into action.
“TEXAS SMASH!” All Might shouted as he landed a straight punch on the Robot’s torso, sending it flying. Kuro then dashed forward, performing a Missouri Smash, taking the robot’s head clean off.
“A fine job!” All Might boomed as Kuro landed next to him. All Might held out his hand for Kuro to shake. “Thank you for the help, Black Charge.”
“No problem, although it wasn’t needed,” the force of the two titans’ hands grasping together made a small shockwave which only succeeded in making the two heroes smile more. “That’s one mighty grip you have on you.”
“I can say the same for you!” All Might replied.
“The police will be here shortly,” Kuro said as the two detached hands. “I’m going to go continue my patrols.”
“I wish you well,” All Might said. Kuro responded with a smirk as he held up two fingers to his forehead, flicking them outwards before vanishing in a flash of black lightning.
“Black Charge, huh?” All Might rubbed his chin. The number 1 hero didn’t miss how the man used one of his techniques. Although he knew that people imitated his moves all the time, it took a large amount of strength to actually pull off any of his techniques. “What an interesting fellow.”
The next day, Kuro was getting his mail as he saw a dejected little Izuku walk up the stairs. “Is something troubling you, little man?” Kuro asked the boy. Izuku stopped in his tracks, looking up at the man with pleading eyes.
“Black Charge… do you think I can become a hero?” Izuku asked, his eyes watering as he clung onto the man with his words.
“Anyone can become a hero, little man,” Kuro got on one knee so he was at eye level with Izuku. “Tell me. What’s your quirk?”
Izuku cringed at that. Of course Kuro knew that Izuku didn’t have a quirk and it pained him to ask that question, but he couldn’t just tell Izuku that he knew he had no quirk. It would make no sense. “I…” Izuku looked away. “I don’t have a quirk. All the kids at school are telling me I can’t become a hero.”
“Look at me, little man,” Kuro said in a commanding tone, causing Izuku to flinch, turning his head to see the pro-hero’s eyes bore into Izuku, as if he was sifting through the deepest parts of his soul to get a gauge of his character. “When I said anyone can become a hero, I meant anyone, quirk or not. Say, do you want to become a hero?”
“Of course!” Izuku declared, holding a closed fist to his chest as he stared back at Kuro, his eyes blazing like a pair of stars. “That’s my dream! To become a hero like All Might!”
“If that’s the case, then meet me at the beach after school tomorrow,” Kuro said. Izuku nodded, the determination in his eyes burning even brighter.
That’s the spirit, Kuro thought to himself, his lips twitching into a smirk. It was time for Izuku to start his training. If All Might didn’t name Izuku his successor, then he would. “I’ll talk to your mom and we’ll get that body of yours in shape.”
“Un!” Izuku nodded, the doubt in his mind long gone. There were many things that Gisei Kuro wasn’t sure of, but he was sure of one thing. Midoriya Izuku will become a hero. He would make sure of that, even if it was the last thing he ever did.