Work Text:
Izuku would often catch glimpses of a better life than his. At least he felt it was better. Better than his at least. He’d see a small group of friends often eating lunch on a rooftop, laughing and smiling together. They looked happy. It made Izuku jealous. How could it not? These people, who he would often see through another person's eyes, seemed so happy with just each other, while he had no one.
Except, that wasn’t entirely true and he knew that. These were people he had once known, people he had once breathed with. He knew they had all gone to school together once, but he’s not sure what quite happened after. Izuku also knew he had a quirk then too. It was a fun one, one that had to deal with clouds. He would dream of messing around with it often…
Izuku was treated differently in those glimpses too. He was treated with love and respect, he was treated like a person. He wasn’t bullied, he wasn’t tossed aside by teachers, he was treated like someone who had worth. Izuku couldn’t help but long for it, to be treated like that again. He longed to have a quirk again too.
He couldn’t help but think it was ironic. His life before was so different from the one he lives now. Where he once had a quirk, now he lives without one. He had once had friends, and now he has no one. Before his friends had joked and laughed with him, now he was just told he was nothing and was constantly laughed at.
It sucked.
~~~~~
The battle trials were what caused him to remember his death. Kachaan had gone too far and had caused a partial building collapse, and suddenly Izuku couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t like the building had fallen on him though. He was injured, sure, but why was he worried about the building falling onto him? Suddenly though, he was hit with a memory of nothing but dust and rubble surrounding him. His breath soon became quick and short in his realization. He died. He had died once, and he was going to die again. He couldn’t breathe. He was pinned down and he couldn’t breathe. Why can’t he breathe? In his panic, he lost consciousness.
Hizashi had been walking quietly past the infirmary, only to be completely thrown off as he heard sobbing coming from the room. It wasn’t just normal crying either, it was the earth shattering kind. The kind of sobbing one does when they’re whole world falls apart. He slowly opened the door to find one of his students sitting there, crying. The cries hurt his heart, he couldn’t help but reach out.
“Listener?” Hizashi’s voice was soft, as the boy turned his head towards him. Suddenly Hizashi’s breath was stolen from him as the boy’s face shifted. It reminded him of someone, someone who was long dead.
“What’s wrong bud?” He said calmly, ignoring his small moment of panic, as he entered the room and sat next to the bed, ignoring the weird sense of familiarity that surrounded the boy.
A sob and a stare was what he got in response before the boy answered. “ I thought it was gonna happen again. I don’t want it to happen again…”
Hizashi paused before he spoke, “What do you mean? Has- has something like this happened before?”
“ It happened about fifteen years ago I think..”
Hizashi looked at him, his face twisting into confusion. “Buddy I hate to break it to you but you’re way too young for something to have happened fifteen years ago..”
The boy looked at him again, and suddenly there was a face of someone who no longer existed resting on the teenager’s body. “But it did, I was doing a work-study, or something of that nature I think… I know it was for school,” suddenly the boy’s voice became a whisper. “I think Shouta was there too, and I was trapped.”
Hizashi watched the boy take in a sharp breath, knowing soon it would lead into a sob. “I couldn’t breathe Hizashi. I couldn’t move, and I couldn’t breathe!”
It was said in a voice that didn’t belong to him, and the wailing soon returned. And Hizashi could do nothing but sit there and blink. The kid had said his name, his name that he definitely hadn’t advertised to his first years. He was also sitting there, crying about an accident that sounded way too familiar. An accident that hurt too much for Hizashi to even really think about anymore. Crying about an accident that happened just before the kid was most likely even born. He sat there crying as if he himself were in the accident. It was haunting.
Hizashi couldn’t even bring himself to comfort the boy who was sitting there, wailing on a bed, crying about a building taking his life away. Hizashi could do nothing but sit there in stunned silence, with a boy who was clutching onto his shirt like a lifeline, and perhaps in some way.. It was.
~~~~~
The USJ incident was what led him to something that used to be his. His body was there. That was his body. It was torn and broken, but it was his. What did they do to his body? He couldn’t help but freeze as it spoke in a voice that was not his own. It was twisted, broken. It was not his anymore.. It was wrong. It was a body and voice that was no longer his. They did something to it. They broke his body. What did they do to his body? Why was it so wrong? He couldn’t help but scream. Heroes and villains alike shuddered at the earth shattering sound.
It wasn’t until classes had resumed, that Aizawa was able to catch Midoriya. While his memories were just a little bit fuzzy, he knew he couldn’t forget the screams and cries he had heard from the student. They were quite concerning if he had to be honest. It was concerning to hear anyone make a scream like that, let alone a child.
“Midoriya,” he called out, “-stay for a few minutes I’d like to talk to you.” Shouta watched as the boy tensed where he was standing.
“Um, yeah sure.” He responded hesitantly, making his way to his teachers desk. “So uhhh… what was it that you needed Mr. Aizawa?” The boy nervously rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet as he waited for the teacher's response.
“Well to put it bluntly, I wanted to talk about some things that I had overheard at the USJ inccindent.”
“Oh…” Came the boy’s reply, “umm I just uh..” He took in a nervous breath, “I ran into something that used to be mine I suppose..”
Shouta stared at him for a moment. ‘Used to be his?’ What on earth could that possibly mean? “Care to elaborate on that Midoriya?”
The kid sighed before he began speaking. It was deep and full of nervousness that almost seemed impossible for a teen. “I get glimpses.”
“Glimpses?” Shouta questioned.
“Yes, glimpses,” the boy repeated, his head nodding slowly in confirmation. “I used to only see good things. Like me hanging out with my friends, or eating with them on our school’s rooftop. You know, good memories…”
Midoriya took in a shaky breath, and Shouta could see tears starting to form in his eyes. “And then uhh..” He took a breath, struggling to try and keep his emotions to a manageable level. “Then there’s you and Mic-sensei…”
Shouta couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows, “What do you mean?”
The teen took in a large breath of air, then continued to let it out in a calm sigh. “I’m not exactly sure?” Midoriya brought his hand up, bringing it to his head, and gave it a nervous scratch. “You guys feel familiar.. I feel like I’ve known you guys all my life even though I just met you a few weeks ago.”
And while Shouta would agree that, yes that is indeed a bit strange, he wasn’t about to invalidate his student. He could tell just by the teens demenor that he was struggling to try and get his words and feelings out in a calm manner. Which Shouta honestly had to give the kid some credit for that. This topic didn’t seem like one Midoriya was willing to talk about, it was almost as if he were afraid too.
“Then uhh…” The kid’s words trailed off as a look of thought came onto his face, as if he was trying to figure out the best way to word his train of thought. “Then there’s what happened at the battle trials.. What All Might had us do made me remember something..”
“Okay,” Shouta drawled out the word as he took in the teenager's words. “Would you be willing to tell me what it was you remembered?”
Shouta watched as the boy shifted, clearly nervous about the topic. “I’m afraid you won’t believe me..”
“I-” Shouta blinked, there it was. Shouta knew the kid wasn’t comfortable with the topic, now he knows the reason why. “Why wouldn’t I believe you?” He asked, somewhat taken aback by the lack of little trust Midoriya had in him.
“Nobody else does, they think I’m lying.”
Shouta couldn’t help but sit there, stunned into silence. Izuku Midoriya? A liar? What a load of bullshit. He may have only known the kid for like a month, but he knew one thing. Izuku Midoriya was not a lair. And Shouta was more than willing to tell him so.
“Kid you are many things, but a liar is definitely not one of them.” His voice grew uncharacteristically soft. “So please explain to me what it was you remembered.”
Tears had started to fall down the boy's face as he took in a hesitant breath. “I remembered how I died Mr. Aizawa.. I remembered nothing but dust and rubble.” He took in a sharp breath. “I think.. I think you were there too.” His crying soon got just a bit more hysterical. ” And I remember dying… I couldn't breathe .”
He hiccuped. “A building fell, and I was left to die in it’s aftermath…”
The kid looked up at Shouta with a haunted look in his eyes, and Shouta couldn’t help but give a haunted look in return. Because for a moment, it wasn’t Izuku Midoriya who was looking back at him. No, it was the face of a boy who was long dead, the face of someone who no longer existed.
“Kid I-'' he swallowed, what Midoriya was talking about sounded alot like reincarnation, but was that even possible? There were a few reported cases of it, but were they true? Shouta couldn’t help but think so, because here was a kid, crying in his classroom. Crying about an event that had happened at least a year before he was born, an event Shouta tried to often forget because it hurt to even think about most days.
He breathed in, steady and slow before continuing. “I believe you,” he said slowly, almost not believing the words that were leaving his mouth. “But I need you to tell me what happened at USJ okay?” He looked back at the teen, trying to get just the tiniest bit of trust from the kid.
“My body..”
“Your body?” he questioned. That was honestly slightly concerning.
Scratch that.. It was highly concerning.. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not one hundred percent sure?” He took in a shuddering breath. “Something there used to be my body, I’m almost certain of that. I think they did something to it….” His crying began once again, only now it was just a bit louder.
“What do you mean by 'they’?”
“I don’t,” Midoriya’s voice grew louder along with his panic. “ I don’t know! ” He yelled, taking in a sharp breath. This time, the child’s voice was nothing but a whisper. “I can’t remember..”
The kid was silent as tears ran down his freckled cheeks. Now to say Shouta had had enough was an understatement. He may want to be seen as a harsh teacher, but if he was being honest with himself he couldn’t help care. He cared so much, it almost hurt. He quickly got up to pull the kid into a hug, allowing the poor child to cry on his shoulder.
“Then allow me to help you okay?” He held Midoriya close, he was almost sure he knew who the boy used to be, as weird as that sounded in his head. But he didn’t want to cause anymore stress on him. They would just have to figure everything out together. Slowly, for both their sakes. “And if I’m not available I want you to go to Mic. I’ll fill him in on what’s going on alright?” Shouta questioned, praying for just the tiniest bit of trust.
It felt like an eternity before the boy whispered, “Okay.”
“If you ever remember anything, or something happens, I want you to come tell either of us and we’ll figure it out together, alright?”
Another sob, “Okay… thank you..”
~~~~~
“Hizashi can I talk to you for a sec?”
“Uhhh yeah,” he looked up from the papers he was grading. “Lemme just finish marking these worksheets real quick..” He watched Shouta nod as he moved across the classroom to steal a chair from one of the desks, and quickly making himself as comfortable as he could.
Hizashi quickly finished the paper he was grading and looked up at the other man. “So, this seems rather serious, what’s up?”
He watched as Shouta leaned back, folding his arms in the process.
“I wanted to talk to you about Izuku Midoriya..” His friend took a moment to look at his face, which most likely had a slight look of horor too it.. “What’s that face for? Did something happen?”
Hizashi took a moment to collect himself, breathing in slowly to calm his slightly rising panic. “You could say that, yeah..” he responded, biting his lip in the process.
“Care to share with the class Mic?” Shouta grunted, his eyebrows raising.
Hizashi felt himself grow nervous. In all honesty, he wasn’t even sure if the encounter he had with Midoriya in the infirmary had happened. Maybe he was being indenial or something, but he really didn’t want to talk about it. It scared him. It brought back memories he had long since tried to bury, and feelings he didn’t want to feel at the current moment. Maybe not ever.
“Hizashi.” He quickly looked back up at his friend, noticing a look of worry making his way onto his face. “Tell me what happened.” Shouta’s voice went soft, a very rare occurrence in all honesty. Hizashi couldn’t help but sigh, his panic breaking just enough for him to think clearly.
“I think Midoriya is possessed.”
Okay… maybe not clear enough.
Shouta gave a quick laugh, “I mean my running theory was reincarnation, but we can go with that one too.”
Okay, that was honestly not the reaction Hizashi was expecting. He was thinking more along the lines of, “that’s fucking stupid.” Or maybe, “what the fuck is wrong with you, you’ve finally lost it.”
“So,” his friend began, “care to tell me why you think Midoriya is possessed?” Shouta asked, his voice slightly teasing.
Hizashi couldn’t help the embarrassed sigh that escaped him as he slumped back in his chair, running a hand down his face in exaggeration. “From the sounds of it Shouta, you know why.”
“It’s more of a hunch really based on what you breifly said to me before,” he grunted, shruging. “Plus what I saw and heard is most likely different from what you did.”
Well Hizashi couldn’t really argue with that logic now could he. “Yeah yeah I know.” He sighed. “It was different.. It was honestly kinda freaky.” Hizashi looked up to his friend, his eyes holding a guilty look. “He looked so much like Oboro Shouta… Even sounded like him for a moment. The poor kid was crying, and I could do nothing but sit there and just stare at him.”
Hizashi couldn’t help but sigh with guilt. “I wouldn’t blame him if he hated me, but honestly I can’t even handle the thought of that.”
Hizashi watched his friend shake his head, very obviously not agreeing with the words coming out of his friend's mouth. “I’m almost certain he doesn’t.” Shouta leaned forward, in a slightly teasing manner. “He looks up to you, any idiot with eyes can see that much.”
He couldn’t help but sputter, words utterly failing him. “I think you’re imagining things Shouta.” Hizashi replied, very much indenial about the whole thing.
Shouta let out a deep laugh, very much obviously taking delight in his friend’s dismay. “Anyways,” his friend paused, his joking manner going away as quickly as it came. “I just wanted to let you know, I told Midoriya he could come to you or I if he had any issues, or if he remembered something.”
Hizashi couldn’t help but blink stupidly. “Why me?”
“Well considering you also seem to think something is going on here, that for some reason, has to deal with our dead friend.” Shouta paused, taking in a nervous breath as he realized just how harsh his words sounded. “It seemed fitting that both of us try to figure this out.. I’m almost positive Midoriya has Oboro’s memories, or at least something of that nature.”
His friend slumped in his chair, obviously slightly uncomfortable about the current topic. “I don’t know, logically it just makes the most sense to have both of us be there when he needs someone to talk to.”
Hizashi looked back up at his friend. “I mean, you said something about reincarnation earlier, why don’t we just run with that theory?”
”Because it makes me feel weird, what if that’s not the case here? It makes sense to an extent, but it doesn’t fit the whole picture.” His friend responded.
Hizashi could see where his friend was coming from, as it did indeed make the most sense. “Alright.” He paused, taking in a breath. “So where do we go from here?”
“I don’t know Hizashi.” He replied, a large sigh escaping his chest. “I don’t know.”
~~~~~
It wasn’t until after the incident at Kamino Izuku Midoriya walked into Hizashi’s classroom. A look of glee resting on the student's face, as he excitedly walked up to the desk where he sat.
“Mic-sensei!” The kid practically yelled, very obviously unable to handle his excitement. “Look what I can do!”
Hizashi watched as his student held out his hand, a look of concentration coming across his face, and slowly a small cloud began to form. Midoriya then looked up at Hizashi, a bright and familiar smile spreading on his face. Hizashi couldn’t help but mirror the expression.
“That’s absolutely fantastic kid!” He couldn’t help but match Midoriya’s energy. It was absolutely infectious.
Hizashi watched as Midoriya looked down back at his hand, noticing small tears forming by the kid’s bright eyes. “It’s home.” He said softly.
Hizashi’s voice went soft, as did his expression. “Yeah kid.. It is.”