Work Text:
He's going to pull a hero from the past.
He's going to pull a hero from the past and kill them.
That was all Midoriya could think of as he fought the villain. As he struggled to summon One for All to a higher capacity, he ran through a mental list of who it could be.
The villain had apparently missed the first time which had resulted in a young Shouta and Hizashi existing in their present. They had been disoriented and confused, but had quickly learned of their situation. Or at least Shota did, Hizashi still struggled with it sometimes.
It was weird fighting next to the younger and less experienced versions of the UA teachers. It was weird having them be fifteen with him.
What made the whole conundrum stranger was that their current version, Midoriya's versions, were missing. So were many of the other heroes. All Might had tried to keep Deku up to date as best he could but in the end he went missing and silent too.
The UA was now staffed by strangers who didn't know what they were doing either. And now there was also a villain who could apparently summon people from the past into the present.
Midoriya grunted as the villain socked him in the gut. The punch was strong enough that Deku ended up flying backwards a few feet.
He was alone.
He had left the dorms after being overwhelmed by his friends, and the young versions of his teachers. Wandering the streets had rewarded him with a front row seat of the bizarre ritual which had started the whole mess.
In the present the villain snarled. “Stay down kid, this will be better for you if you do.”
“What did you do?! How did you bring them here?!” Midoriya shouted.
The other turned in a slow circle and stalked toward him. The dark hood pulled over his face showed nothing, but Midoriya could sense a smirk there.
All Might's advice echoed in his head. Most villains you encounter will love to show off their work. They, deep down, want you to be impressed by it. If you ever find yourself in a stressful situation that has no solution, getting a villain to gloat often opens up a loophole.
“There hasn't been anybody with a time quirk in several decades!” Midoriya tried, and the villain scoffed.
“This is no quirk, boy. You are witnessing the wonders of science! The hero system is a useless ploy, soon everyone will see that when I kill the no. 1 hero.”
Midoriya felt himself become even more confused. “All Might was in his prime years back! How's going into the past going to make killing him any easier?”
He actually slightly pitied the guy. All Might had been especially fond of punching people through buildings back then. That pity evaporated though when his rib gave a painful twinge.
He curled over clutching his side. Definitely broken or dislocated .
The villain shook his head and in a condescending tone, “Oh, you know, All Might was a child once too…An awkward teenager much like you if I had to bet.”
Deku felt all the blood drain from his face. A child All Might? . It felt like the world was spinning off its axis.
The villain was upon him now and was ripping out a chunk of wall. Before he could move he was soon pinned under it.
He could only watch helplessly as the villain ran back to his machine and began twisting the nobs and muttering under his breath.
“ 35 years before now…
“Toshinori Yagi…
U.A. high…”
He slammed his hand on the button and the machine began to buzz and spin. Midoriya cried out and tried wiggling out from the section of wall but it felt useless. Every time he tried pain would shoot from his ribs leaving him breathless.
There was a flash of blinding white light and it seemed like in that alleyway there was a rip in time and space. From the back wall a slim doorway opened.
The villain cackled and ran over, thrusting his hand into it. He must've grabbed onto something because his grin grew wider.
Deku watched as the villain yanked his arm back, clutched in his hand was the clothed shoulder of a blond teenager in a training uniform who gave a startled cry as he was pulled out.
The boy's head twisted to see who grabbed him and Deku's heart sank as he recognized the much younger side profile of his mentor.
The villain threw the young all Might against the wall on the opposite side of where Deku was pinned while laughing. Young All Might grunted as he hit the wall and somehow managed to maintain his footing.
“Finally I've found you. The world will see the hero agency fall with your death!”
As the villain talked Midoriya could see All Might's eyes dart from the doorway to the villain to him. When their eyes met Deku was shocked at the youth he saw in them.
All Might's eyes were a bright blue, and he actually had the whites of his eyes. He was so used to seeing glowing blue pupils from black sockets that it was strange seeing him with normal eyes.
Midoriya had been told by many people that the current All Might was a shadow of his former self. He always had trouble believing that but now seeing him this young, Midoriya understood what they meant.
“Hey kid, has this guy been giving you trouble?”
It took him a moment to realize Young All Might was talking to him. In response he nodded numbly.
The other cocked a grin, and Midoriya was hit with homesickness as that was All Might's genuine smile, not the fake one he gave audiences.
“I'm Toshinori Yagi, but you can call me Toshi. What's your name kid?”
“Izuku Midoriya, my hero name is Deku.”
The villain continued to rant and Toshi sent him an annoyed look.
“You know, I was having a very pleasant afternoon with Master Shimura before you showed up.”
“That will be your last one All Might! Savor it while you can!” The villain charged and Toshi acted. Jumping high he twisted in the air before planting both feet and kicking the villain into the ground.
“Need any help Izuku? You look pretty pinned over there.” Toshi called.
Midoriya grunted. “It's my ribs, I can't get out without hurting them further.” His mother would never let him out of the house again if she found out about yet another injury.
The villain heaved and tried to grab Toshi, but the younger ducked before socking the villain with a brutal uppercut. “Hah! Wouldn't want that to happen. You're my only friend here, Midoriya!”
With the villain reeling Toshi launched over and quickly lifted the piece of rubble off of Midoriya. “Are you a student? Where's your friends or your professor?”
Midoriya crawled out. “All the professors are missing. I left my friends because I wanted to be alone for a bit.”
Toshi clicked his tongue. “Maybe next time bring a friend with you eh?” He held out a hand and Midoriya took it grumbling.
“You don't say…”
The moment their hands touched it felt like a zap went through Midoriya. He could feel One for All stirring within him in recognition of the One for All in Toshi. From Toshi’s wide eyes, he knew instantly the blond felt it too.
“What the hell?” Toshi whispered and Midoriya sighed.
“You're in the future Toshi, I'll explain more later, but just know that guy over there wants you dead for the significance you have in my time.”
Toshi set his jaw and nodded. “All right then. Let's finish this.”
Finish it they did, by the time they were done, they were wrapping bits of metal around the bad guy to hold him in place.
“He called me ‘All Might’ when I first came out…” Toshi let the question trail off but Midoriya got it nonetheless.
“Yeah, uhh, I don't know how much I should be telling you this…” Blue eyes met his and Midoriya continued. “I don't want to screw up the present, you knowing could screw things up.”
A smile twitched over Toshi’s face. “Ah, I suppose you're right. I don't like it but you're right.”
He stood up and stretched, even as a youth he was still really tall.
“How old are you?” Midoriya blurted out before he could stop himself. Toshi looked down at him and crossed his arms above his head stretching his back.
“Fifteen, though I'll be sixteen in a week.” Midoriya felt his head spin. All Might's only slightly older than me…
He paused looking between the villain and Midoriya. “Do you need any help getting him to a police station? Or do you want an escort back to U.A.?”
Deku shook his head. “I'll be fine, thank you for the offer though.” He looked at the doorway. “Hey, it's probably best if you go back–”
There was a guttural scream from the doorway and a flaming mass flew out. Toshi gave a startled cry and jumped to tackle Midoriya to the ground and cover him.
The flaming mass flew right over them and plowed into the villain, flying off with him. Toshi rolled off of Midoriya and cursed, watching the two of them head off.
“Shit, this is bad.”
Midoriya was more focused on the doorway which was gone. The machine that opened it was fried. “We have a bigger problem,” Toshi looked over in confusion and Deku pointed. “The doorways gone!”
“Huh.” The blonde boy said dryly. “Guess you are getting that escort back.”
…
The quick plan of action was to take Toshi back to the U.A.. Midoriya was currently taking his young mentor through backroads to avoid recognition. While doing so he gave Toshi a run down of events.
“All Might is my mentor, he's training me how to use One for All. Currently he works at U.A. and helps train other students. The thing is he and a bunch of other professors went missing some weeks back. Even our principal, Nezu! The government had to quickly install substitute teachers. Thing is though they're all awful so all the classes just sit out in the stadium doing nothing.
About eight days ago, young versions of two of our professors, Aizawa and Yamada, showed up from the past. They claim a doorway and some weird hooded guy pulled them here. We call them Shouta and Hizashi just so we don't confuse them with our professors.
Now I have a theory that the hooded guy who pulled them here was the same who pulled you here. Shoto Todoroki, he's a friend of mine, would even go so far as to say that they weren't the target, merely an experiment or victims of crossfire.
Now they stay with us in our dorm room, which is also where you'll be staying. All of us are trying to find a way to send them home, and you now. Any questions?”
Midoriya turned to Toshi and saw that the blond was wincing. “No…ah, you summed it up really nicely.”
Midoriya nodded. “Great, now let me-”
Toshi grabbed his shoulder. “Wait! I actually do have one, several actually.”
Izuku nodded for him to continue and Toahi nervously plucked at one of his bangs. “You bring up this man, All Might. Who is he?”
Midoriya froze and began to babble. “He'sjustamentornobodyreallyimportant,Ahahah-” Toshi slapped a hand over his mouth.
“Good grief you talk a lot!” He muttered rolling his eyes before fixing them on Midoriya with a glare. “Bullshit.”
Midoriya inhaled sharply and Toshi removed his hand. “Am I to become him? Ah-ah-a- dont say anything! Let me speak.” He said quickly, noticing the younger boy opening his mouth.
“The hooded villain called me All Might, you seemed shocked to see me but you weren't unfamiliar with me, and you flinch whenever I curse. Meaning that you aren't used to hearing cursing coming from me, thus implying that I hold a role in your life where I can't curse often, a mentor role perhaps?”
He crossed his arms and fixed him with an arched eyebrow.
Midoriya inhaled. “You- ahum. You are…noooot…uh… All Might…???” He offered a wide smile while Toshi gave him a look.
“Midoriya, I took you for many things. A liar is not one of them. And hearing how painful that denial was only confirms it.” the older boy spun on his heel and continued walking.
Stuttering Midoriya chased after him. “Wait! How can you be so sure? Maybe I am lying!-Ah telling the truth!”
Not looking back Toshi merely extended his left arm and pointed. Midoriya following it and felt his stomach drop when on the building next to them, a billboard with a familiar figure was painted on it.
It was All Might standing tall and proud with his hands braced on his hips, wide smile on his face and his signature quote. Don't fear, because I am here! Also on the billboard in smaller, no less noticeable writing was: All Might for better Foster Care Systems.
“Oh…uh-that's your much more famous twin!”
“My family was murdered by villains Midoriya!” Toshi called back nonchalantly.
Midoriya laughed and then Toshi’s words hit him. “Wait, WHAT?!”
The rest of the walk back was in silence after that.