Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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The date was February 22^nd, 2226.

The sky was a heavy dark gray with rainclouds. The small village of Shocker Town was being flooded as citizens scrambled to keep each other safe.

But that was all in the past. That already happened.

Except this time, there was a monster rampaging through the streets making everything worse.

It resembled a scorpion with its head having a stinger at the top alongside blades that went outwards on his forehead and a sharp mouth underneath its eyes. It had more stingers pointed outwards on top of its shoulders and blades that went pointed downwards. On its right arm, there was a long stinger on its wrist while the left hand was a large scorpion claw. Segmented legs wrapped around its chest, arms, and went down to the blades on its feet.

The monster jammed its stinger in the ground, puncturing through the concrete. The ground started to shake as many bystanders nearby lost their balance, fleeing for their lives.

A man with many hats covering its face marked the time and walked away.

A rainbow-colored portal opened from above. A long sleek white train shot from it, train tracks building upon itself, allowing a path for the train.

The train sped right past the scorpion, dropping off its passenger.

A green-haired teenager stood in the scorpion’s path. There was a silver belt locked around his waist.

The belt was silver and sleek with a thick black stripe surrounding it. In the center was a buckle with the emblem over a small glass square. There was a column of buttons to the right of it. One red, one blue, one yellow, one purple. The words “Den-O” were on the top of the buckle.

Izuku Midoriya yelled, “That’s far enough!”

The scorpion pointed its claw at him. “You think a little teenager is going to stop this?!”

“I’m not just a teenager...” Izuku responded, pressing the blue button on the belt. The belt’s emblem glowed blue and lit up the dreary scene. He took a black train pass and swiped it over the belt. “Henshin!”

“ROD FORM!”

Izuku Midoriya disappeared underneath a suit of armor.

It was a black and white under skin with silver gloves and boots. The belt now had four sleek attachments to the sides, two on each side. There was a railroad-like silver stripe going down the middle of the chest piece. The same railroad pattern went from the top of the helmet all the way to the bottom of the mouthpiece, dividing the helmet completely in two. There were no eyepieces, just two black half circles where the eyes should have been. The rest of the helmet was white with a gold stripe from the back of the helmet coming towards the front sides.

A ball of light escaped the buckle and circled the hero. The orb’s path formed a train track around him. Pieces formed from the track and flipped on the armor to form a blue chest piece and shoulder pads. The orb made its way onto the railroad on the back of the helmet. A metallic blue and orange turtle manifested, skidding across the railroad. Once reaching the front, it unfolded, letting its fins shoot upwards as blades and having the orange hexagons go to the front, becoming his eyes.

Izuku Midoriya was an unlucky Quirkless teenager with dreams of becoming a hero in spite of that. One day, the teenager stumbled upon Imagin, time travelling sand monsters from the future that can take possession of anyone and use their power through the vessel. Partnered with four of his own, Izuku uses his time travelling gear and armor to protect time and space as...

KAMEN RIDER DEN-O!

Now with another mind taking control of his body, Den-O rubbed his forefingers together as he rested an elbow on his hand leisurely. “Mind if I reel you in?”

“Shut the hell up!” the scorpion yelled, stomping its foot as it charged at Den-O.

Den-O took an attachment from his belt as he ducked underneath the scorpion’s attack, spinning away from the stingers. The hero then kicked the monster in the gut, knocking him backwards.

Soon, all the attachments from Den-O's belt formed a straight line and surged with power to extend to the size of a full-length fishing rod. Using the weapon as a spear, Den-O raised it over his head, blocking another stinger and kicking the monster’s side. The hero casually sauntered toward the monster, meeting him with a slash. The scorpion staggered as it tried to attack again, but Den-O easily blocked it and jabbed the sharp point of his rod into the scorpion’s thick skin. Sparks flew as the hero kicked his armored boot again and then swung a roundhouse kick to the monster’s side before continuing the assault with another stab.

As Den-O held his rod upwards, blocking the pincer falling towards him, another voice spoke inside of Den-O's head. A much gruffer and heavier voice. None of which belonged to Izuku or the being controlling him right then.

The voice pleaded, “Kamenoji. Let me do it! Please.”

The hero thrust his weapon up and then twirled it before jabbing the rod’s lower end into the monster’s gut.

As the monster staggered from the blow, Den-O draped his weapon over his shoulder as he answered the voice inside.

“Go ahead,” the hero said, taking out a small black train pass. The hero pressed the yellow button. Another jingle started to play and the glass inside of the Den-O emblem turned yellow. The pass was swiped over the buckle.

“AXE FORM!”

The blue armor dissolved from Den-O's body. A ball of light escaped the Den-O belt and circled the Rider, bits of a golden yellow chest piece and shoulder pads appearing from its path. They all spun around in mid-air before landing directly onto the Rider’s torso and shoulders. The chestpiece’s shape resembled a six-pack abs with yellow on the sides and black divided into the middle with small metal vents on each row. The ball of light skidded across the rails located on the middle of the helmet and formed into a large blade that divided the helmet in half. On each side of the blade, a yellow piece folded into place right in front of Izuku’s eyes. Together, the golden yellow pieces formed a wide diamond-shaped mask with a thin black visor, two black lines above it, and a green gem in the center.

The fisherman from before took a step back, exiting Izuku’s body as another mind entered, one much more manly, and took full control.

The hero took out Izuku’s pack of pocket tissues and threw them all in the air as they scattered through the pouring rain.

“My strength has made you cry!” Den-O exclaimed. He gestured up toward the falling tissues. “Wipe your tears with this!”

“More bother!” the scorpion grumbled.

As the scorpion charged at him, the new Den-O took the rod attachments and rearranged them to form a new combination. When completed, a curved blade enlarged from the top side, forming the weapon into an axe.

In one motion, the scorpion wildly sliced his claws through Den-O's armor, letting sparks fly from the impact.

Slice! Slice! Slice!

There was no effect.

Den-O didn’t feel a thing. Which was expected.

It’s hard to when you have the power of invulnerability.

Den-O walked forward, completely unbothered.

The scorpion rammed his blades again.

Slice! Slice! Slice!

No effect.

Now, it was Den-O's turn.

Den-O raised his axe over his head and chopped his enemy.

The scorpion staggered backwards, but rushed in again and lifted its blades, cutting Den-O again.

Slice! Slice! Slice!

Still, that didn’t stop Den-O as he gripped the axe tight and chopped straight through the Imagin’s exoskeleton.

The scorpion ignored the pain and rammed his blade in Den-O's torso. But, the hero caught the blade, holding it in place. The monster struggled to get out of the hero’s grip.

“Let go!” The monster yelled. “Don’t interfere!”

Den-O snapped back, “This will be the last time I interfere!”

The hero slammed his palm into the monster, throwing it far into the air. He hovered the black train pass over his buckle.

“FULL CHARGE!”

Den-O hurled the axe straight up to the sky.

FFFwwwppp!

The axe spun through the air; its movements were blurry to everyone else.

The scorpion Imagin rushed in for another slash, but Den-O pushed back with his full might right at the monster’s chest with both palms.

Den-O placed his left fist by his side as he crouched down and slowly chopped the air with his right arm. Energy gathered from the belt down to the Rider’s feet as Den-O shot up into the air like a rocket. The Rider performed a split kick as it grabbed the falling axe and yellow bolts of electricity shot from the belt to the handle of the axe. In one motion, the hero sliced right into the scorpion’s head and through his entire body.

The scorpion exploded into nothing except a fireball in its place and a few grains of sand.

Den-O looked up at his enemy’s remains. “Dynamic Chop.”

Izuku’s thoughts popped in, “Good job, Kintaros. Head back to Den Liner and I’ll go check and see how Amajiki is doing.”

“Very well, Izuku,” Kintaros replied. “However, if you allowed me, I would be able to handle that extra vermin on my own. I don’t know why you insisted on taking that scrawny fellow and his friends with us.”

“I know you’d probably be able to fight that turkey too, but we never encountered another type of monster that could follow the Imagins back in time with them. From what Urataros told me, since Amajiki is a Kamen Rider like me, that means he’s more than equipped to handle it. Besides...” Izuku paused before squealing a little. “Amajiki is a part of UA’s Big Three, the highest ranked students in the school, the ones closest to becoming pro heroes themselves! I have so much to learn from him! Especially if he’s a Kamen Rider too. Oh my god, this is such an amazing learning opportunity! I’m so thankful Owner allowed them to come back with me. And, I need to see his gear in action. I don’t know too many Kamen Riders so I need to what the crucial difference is with that, his fighting style as wel-!”

Izuku’s thought immediately shut off as Kintaros’s loud snores filled his mind. The bear spirit left his body, giving Izuku full control again. As the yellow armor disappeared, leaving Den-O in his base form, the Kamen Rider summoned his personal motorcycle and climbed on it, speeding away.

Like a true hero, Den-O didn’t dare to hesitate as he headed towards danger.

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Meanwhile, another monster was making its presence known.

Its head was like a turkey with its whole head entirely red with yellow eyes and a beak. Only it was the top half of the beak. Below the beak were small black indentations of a human’s eyes, lips, and nose. It had a large red comb on the top of its head that went down behind it. White feathers decorated the head around the comb with braided ties of white hair going down to its shoulders.

Blue and black feathers with white tips’ decorated the whole body with golden yellow feathers covering the top of its arms and shoulders in a pattern that looked like wings. Small black wings curled from the back of its shoulders over the front of them like a scarf. It was wearing a small, fringed skirt with a white belt and a feathered sash similar to a Native American outfit. On its legs there were small yellow bumps on its ankles and feet that made it look like a rooster’s taloned feet.

Red ribbons shot out from the monster’s feathers, tying up random bystanders, choking the life out of them.

But then a flying white train appeared, ramming into the ribbons and cutting them apart.

As the civilians scrambled to safety, the train sped right past the scorpion, dropping off its passenger.

A purple-haired teenager stood in the turkey’s path. There was a black and silver belt locked around his waist.

On the teenager's left, there was a small silver holder with enough space to hold medals. On the teenager’s right, there was a black circular device with gold around its side and a small indentation on top big enough for someone’s fingers. Locked in the front, The holder was black with silver edges and light blue lines surrounding the slots.

Tamaki Amajiki yelled, "Stop right there! You’ve done enough!”

The turkey jabbed a fist in the empty air. “What are you going to do? I may be a turkey, but you’re just a chicken!”

Tamaki’s shoulders slumped as he felt the full weight of the insult. “There’s no need to be so hurtful...”

The turkey fired off a whole slew of ribboned feathers. Amajiki rolled out of the way and took out three medals, each one with a picture of an animal in front. One red hawk, one yellow tiger, and one green grasshopper.

Tamaki placed the red and green medals in the left and right slots of the belt before placing the yellow in the middle. He took the scanner from his right and pressed the trigger inside of it. He moved it across the belt with his right hand while his left hand moved toward his right shoulder, palm out like a claw.

Ch! Ch! Ch!

Tamaki held the scanner above his chest and released the trigger inside of the scanner as he stood back up, facing the monster.

“Henshin!”

Coins swirled around Tamaki. An image of the red hawk coin appeared in front of Tamaki...

“Taka!”

Then, an image of the yellow tiger coin...

“Tora!”

And, finally an image of the green grasshopper...

“Batta!”

They combined into a single image with the hawk on top, the tiger’s face in the middle, and the grasshopper’s head at the bottom and overlaid itself on Tamaki.

“Tatoba! TaToba! TaToBa!”

Tamaki Amajiki disappeared underneath a suit of armor.

Black armor appeared over Tamaki’s body, completely encasing his body inside. A red hawk with its wings spread out covered the helmet with large green eyes. The Tatoba logo was displayed right on his chest piece. The yellow tiger’s ‘fur’ went out in lines to his shoulder pads down to his yellow striped gauntlets. The grasshopper on the emblem had its ‘legs’ extend all the way down in perpendicular lines. When it reached Tamaki’s legs, the padding became more segmented like an actual grasshopper’s going down to his boots.

Tamaki Amajiki was a teenager part of UA’s Big Three with lots and lots of anxiety issues. One day, he and his friends discovered a set of mystical coins imbued with powers from ancient philosophers known as Core Medals. They soon discovered of an evil plot from an evil scientist, using these coins to create monsters known as Greeed and Yummies. With a special belt that works in conjunction with Tamaki’s Manifest Quirk and the Core Medals, Tamaki is able to create armor based on animals and plans on saving all in those in his reach as...

KAMEN RIDER OOO!

The turkey raised its fists and red ribbons shot from its feathers, intent on ensnaring the hero.

OOO readied his weapon of choice, a long black and blue sword. His blade crossed with the ribbons back and forth, shredding into nothing. The hero ran forward, lunging at the turkey, but the monster easily blocked the strike. OOO swung his sword, coming up again to attack the turkey’s side, but the turkey ducked out of the way. The armored hero was able to pull his sword back in time to block the fighting jabs coming his way. But, through that, OOO was left open for a swift kick in the chest.

WHAM!

The hero ignored the sheer pain as he charged back in, swinging his sword again. Sparks were emitted from where the blade scraped the turkey’s skin. His hero training kicked in, OOO attacked more precisely and willfully, not letting the turkey gain any advantage.

OOO was a hero in his own right. But, with the power of animals on his side, he was more than that. When focused, he was a true predator.

But, even predators don’t notice all of their surroundings.

In this case, OOO never noticed a stranger off to the side. The man was wearing a lab coat with long flowing silver hair. He had crouched down behind a newsstand, watching the fight with intrigue. Specifically the coins that were in OOO’s belt...

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The white flying train had stopped on the ground, parked near the fight between OOO and the turkey. Even though outside was total chaos, the citizens inside were having a relaxing time.

“I’ve got yummy sludge here!” Naomi, the stewardess of the train, called out, as she took a tray of teacups filled with rainbow-colored sludge inside and left her station.

Naomi was dressed in a mix between a maid outfit and a flight attendant. She had long black leather sleeves and pants with red gloves and boots. There were multiple wrist watches on her arms and legs, each one a distinct color and model. She had long black hair that was combed and tied up in a bun. Her most distinctive feature was the strands of pink hair that went down from her hair to her chin.

A skinny, purple creature with long pointed shoulder pads, white gloves, and a long robe that went down to his three-taloned feet, threw away his coloring book.

His head was comprised of two orange curved eyes, a silver-fanged mouth, and a sharp chin.  Where his ears should have been, there was instead a silver earphone on each side, connected by a small wire. On the back of his head, there was a light purple braided ponytail that went all the way down to his waistline.

“Yay, finally!” the purple monster cheered, clapping his hands together.

Sitting in the booth next to the purple dragon was a yellow bear-like creature with blonde fur along its forearms and vest’s collar, black helmet and horns and muscles, and yellow six-pack abs, shoulders, and claws. Its arms were crossed across its body.

Naomi set her tray down at their dining table. She handed the purple dragon a cup. “Here you go, Ryutaros!” Then, she gently placed a cup in front of the yellow bear. “And, here you are, Kintaros! I’m sure you worked hard out there.”

Kintaros laid back in his booth, mumbling, “I’m tired already...”

The purple Imagin bowed, taking a sip of his drink. “Thanks!”

The yellow bear threw his head back, his body falling quickly asleep. Ryutaros impatiently slapped him, wanting to play with him. “Why are you still sleeping, Kuma-chan? Come on, Kuma-chan!”

Naomi quickly left that booth as Ryutaros was busy trying to get the large bear to wake it up. She gingerly walked over to the next booth.

There sat a red demon with spikes on its shoulders and a jagged head with two horns coming from its forehead, two dark eyes with no pupils, and a constant smile that was filled with a shark’s fang.

“Here you go, Momotaros!” Naomi said, going over to Momotaros’s booth and placing a cup in front of him.

Momoataros rested his elbow on the table in slight boredom as he glanced back at the yellow bear and yelled, “Hey, dumbass! Don’t fall asleep! We’re supposed to be watching these strays!” The red Imagin mumbled, as he turned his attention back to the newest passengers on their train. “Glancing...”

Nejire Hado, a tall girl with blue eyes and long periwinkle hair, stared with big energetic eyes at the turtle creature right next to her. Patterns on the turtle’s body formed hexagonal shapes across his chest and legs. There were three small fins coming off his head. His eyes were a deep orange, and he had no mouth but a small indentation instead.

Sitting right next to them, a tall young man with a muscular build looking annoyed at the both of them. This teenager’s eyes were blue and pure oval shaped. His hair was mostly bright blonde, but there was a wave of curls in front of his right eye that were dull blonde. There were a few strands of red hair in the mix as well. The teenager had a black leather jacket with its right arm replaced by a red leather arm that only went up to his right elbow. His right hand was the most distinct, having a bird’s wings on his wrists and a black tattered cloth wrapped underneath the wings. The hand was a mixture of red, green, and yellow, with red compromising most of the hand and black compromising the fingers. There were golden rings on the index and middle finger. The fingers were clawed as if they were talons.

“Wow, Urataros, how does this work?” Hado asked, feeling the turtle’s skin.

The turtle wrapped an arm around her shoulder, sliding closer to the girl. He smoothly pulled out a fan and fanned them both. “It’s all in the wrist...”

Naomi greeted, setting down their cups, “Here you go!”

“Thank you, Naomi,” Urataros acknowledged with a slight nod.

Ankh looked at his drink with disgust while Hado gingerly picked up the cup, admiring it before taking a sip.

“Mmmm!” Hado hummed. “Delicious!”

“Ah, you have some on your lip...” Urataros took a napkin from nearby and dabbed it sweetly on the girl’s mouth. “It’s so wonderful that you’re having a such pleasant time with us.” The suave turtle squeezed her shoulder a bit more. “Perhaps you can lend your bubbly presence on a more frequent basis?”

Hado replied, “Well, maybe. When we asked Midoriya what happened to the Yummy, we knew that we had to help him. Even if Tamaki was the only one allowed to actually go and fight, Ankh here wouldn’t want to be too far from the Yummy.”

“Well, I don’t care if he’s an Ankh or a Tank!” Momotaros rebutted. The demon pulled himself out of his booth and strolled to their booth, glaring at the dirty blonde. “He needs to mind his own damn business!”

Ryutaros echoed, following Momotaros from behind, “Business!”

Momotaros yelled, getting right in Ankh’s face, “Get off my train, goldilocks!”

The dragon cheered the red Imagin on, “You tell him!”

Ankh leaned in, asking Hado, “Seriously, what’s with the deal with this bootleg looking monster?”

“Who the hell are you calling bootleg?!”

Urataros stood up from the booth, folding the fan, “Isn’t being a monster the thing you should have a problem with?” He glanced toward the table with a slight grin. “Because the first part is pretty spot on, right?”

“It is...?” Momotaros asked, momentarily confused as he stared down at his hands awkwardly. A few seconds later, finally understanding the insult, Momotaros lunged for the turtle. The red Imagin pushed the blue one against the wall, strangling the turtle’s throat with his bare hands. “Ya wanna say that again, Turtle?!”

Urataros, unable to get out a response, instead whacked Momotaros’s horns with his fan.

Momotaros yelled, “Why you little-?!”

Suddenly, a female voice could be heard from outside the train car.

“Would you idiots shut up?”

The door to the dining car opened and a white-haired girl with red eyes wearing a white jacket over a bright red dress stomped in, groaning.

“I can hear your dumb shouting all the way from my room. Now, do I have to knock you all into next week or-?”

The girl froze the second she realized who was in the train car. She went pale, not taking her eyes off of them. She almost had to grip onto the wall behind her for support.

Naomi, approaching her counter, held her tray close to her chest as she leaned in and whispered, “Eri, is something wrong?”

Eri hesitantly pointed a finger, shaking in place. “Is he... is he dead?”

Hado instantly answered, shaking her head, “No, silly! I know that Ankh scowls so much that you’d think he’s dead, but-”

The girl had turned to look at her friend. As soon as she did, she stopped mid-sentence.

Ankh had now slumped unconscious in his seat with his eyes closed. The boy’s hair became pure blonde and became styled like a cowlick with the bottom swept backwards. The taloned hand was now gone.

“What the?!”

Momotaros asked, “What’s goin’ on? Is he dead?”

“He’s not dead!” Hado answered, looking underneath the table.

“Hello in there!” Ryutaros bounced over to Ankh, knocking on his head. The monster yelled, “Hey you, are you really dead?!”

Hado slid out of her booth and began scouring the train car. “Where’s Ankh?!”

While the girl moved around the train car, Ryutaros bowed with his hands together over the blonde. “Rest in peace!”

Momotaros grumbled, trying to make sure the girl wasn’t crazy, “Hey hey, calm down. He’s right here.”

Urataros cupped his chin before wagging a finger at Hado, “Oh, I see. You’re referring to the boy’s power to move his hand on his own.”

“What the hell are ya talking about? What hand?”

Ryutaros yelled, pointing outside, “You mean that one?!”

Everyone’s attention turned to the windows. Sure enough, Ankh’s demon hand was moving on its own, flying through the air and disappearing into the rain.

Momotaros and Ryutaros pressed their faces to the glass in shock. Hado panicked, shaking her head. “What is he doing?! I need to go catch him!”

The third-year student made a beeline to the exit as Momotaros casually waved her off, “Yeah, go get him!”

Urataros asked, “Weren’t you supposed to be keeping an eye on them?”

“Agh!” Momotaros yelled, realizing his mistake.

Eri asked, “Can someone explain to me what’s going on?”

“No time!” Naomi exclaimed. “Get the nets!”

“We have nets?!”

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The fight between OOO and his opponent was going longer than OOO liked it.

“Time to raise my game.”

OOO already knew what to do next.

The hero took out the red, green, and yellow medals from out of the holder and concentrated, closing his eyes. Thanks to his Quirk, Manifest, Tamaki can change his limbs to fit the characteristics of anything he consumed. But, lately, through the power of his OOO belt, Tamaki has been able to manifest them in a different way. And, with special pills provided with his support gear, Amajiki is able to consume almost any animal’s DNA...

Three medals popped out of his skin through his armor. One aqua shark, one dark blue whale, and one crimson wolffish.

OOO grabbed them and placed them into the holder. He took his scanner from his side and slid it over the buckle.

Ch! Ch! Ch!

"Same! Kujira! Ookamiuo!”

Images of coins spun around OOO until three images appeared in front of him: of a shark, a whale, and a wolffish. They combined into one image and then placed itself over OOO’s insignia over his chest.

All of a sudden, the armor changed completely. The red hawk on his helmet was replaced with the frontal fins of a shark. The yellow tiger on the chest was replaced with a whale where its waves stretched out, giving OOO gauntlets on his wrists that each resembled a whale’s head. The green grasshopper on his legs was replaced by a crimson wolffish that had the animal’s rock-breaking fangs extended from his knees to his toes.

“Sa-ra-mi-uo! Sa! Ra! Mi-uo!"

All of a sudden, OOO’s vision cleared completely, easily seeing through the rain. He charged toward the monster, toward more ribbons shooting his way. The hero held up his gauntlets as shields before striking at the monster’s side, knocking the turkey into the air.

But, OOO wasn’t done yet. OOO crouched, letting the droplets of water pass down his leg. Discharging the water like a jet, OOO zoomed through the air, his foot colliding with the monster, the blades shredding through its skin.

A few feet away, Den-O rode through the rain, now seeing the fight between his upperclassman and the monster.

“So cool...” Den-O marveled.

But his thoughts of admiration were interrupted when he noticed a floating hand about to cross his path. The same hand that belonged to Mirio Togata or his nickname that Izuku heard in class, Ankh.

“What the-?” Den-O asked before quickly snatching it out of the air.

“Let go of me!” the hand yelled.

Underneath Den-O's helmet, green eyes went wide open at the shock of it all. “What the-?! How the-?! How?! What are you doing?!”

“I want my Medals! I can have them all in this time!”

Den-O was completely confused by what the hand was ranting and raving about, but nonetheless, he kept his grip on it as it jerked around in his hand.

However, Den-O was so focused on this that he hadn’t stopped the motorcycle yet.

In mid-air, the turkey punched its two feathery fists together, throwing a right hook straight at the armored hero. OOO was shot toward the ground from the impact, falling right towards Den-O!

By the time Den-O noticed, it was too late.

The cycle fell to the ground as the two heroes toppled all over each other. Den-O's foot instinctively kicked out, hitting OOO’s belt and shooting the three medals right out of the belt, cancelling OOO’s transformation. Right as they fell on the ground, Tamaki’s back knocked into Ankh’s hand. Three small silver medals came out of the demon’s skin, rolling in the same direction as the other medals.

Den-O quickly pulled himself up off the upperclassman, bowing in apology, “I’m so sorry! I’m very unlucky like that!”

“Don’t be so intense...” Tamaki said, shrinking within himself as he stood back up.

The turkey landed right on the ground nearby. Both Tamaki and Den-O's attention turned back to their opponent.

Red ribbons wrapped around the turkey, creating a domed like shield around its whole body.

"I know what it’s doing...” Tamaki muttered before turning towards Den-O. “Get to the other side and make sure it doesn’t escape. I’ll take care of it from there.”

“Yes, sir,” Den-O nodded.

As Den-O ran off, Tamaki closed his eyes and concentrated on some of the other food and DNA he digested earlier. The belt glowed yellow. And three coins popped out of Tamaki’s body.

Tamaki grabbed the medals before they fell to the ground. One for a golden deer, another for a golden gazelle, and another for a white cow. The purple-haired teen placed them in his belt. He took the scanner from his holster and moved it across the medals.

Ch! Ch! Ch!

“Henshin!”

Tamaki hovered the scanner over his chest as images of medals swirled around his body. His arms dropped to his side as the icon of a golden deer appeared before him...

“Shika!”

And then an icon of a gazelle...

“Gazelle!”

And then an icon of a cow.

“Ushi!”

The icons combined into one image before moving themselves onto OOO’s chest, becoming his new armor. The front of the helmet was now golden with antlers sticking out from the eyes. The gazelle in the center of the armor’s logo had its antlers stretched out into blades that went up to his shoulderpads and over his wrists. The cow’s face at the bottom of the suit's emblem matched the black and white spots of his legs. There were now kneepads that were shaped like a cow’s head with a golden nose ring.

“Shiga-ze-shi! Shi-gazeshi, Shiga-ze-shi!"

Transformed again, OOO wasted no time performing his finisher, scanning his belt again.

“Scanning Charge!”

OOO’s body charged forward. The antlers on his head grew to their full length. The hero jolted forward, headbutting the dome. His horns punctured through it, breaking it apart. The turkey couldn’t react fast enough before OOO launched his enemy into the air with his antlers. The hero leaped up even higher than the turkey. The bottom half of OOO’s body gained more mass as it took on the shape of a cow. His claws then stomped on the monster with all of his strength, pinning it as they fell toward the ground.

Faster and faster!

BOOM!

As the monster was crushed underneath the weight, OOO became engulfed by the fireball that followed, completely unphased. OOO skidded to the ground, his tentacles morphing back into his legs.

Silver metal coins were scattered in the wake of the destruction.

As OOO’s legs morphed to normal, Ankh started floating over the silver coins, grabbing as many as he could.

“There you are!”

Hado floated near the ground with her Quirk and held out her palm. A small stream of golden yellow energy unraveled into a spiral from her wrist and tied it around Ankh, capturing the floating hand.

As Ankh struggled against the bonds created from Hado’s Quirk, Eri came into view, running towards them with a giant butterfly net. She reached out and caught the hand in her reach.

“Oh, hi, Eri,” Den-O greeted, waving hello.

“Hi, Izuku,” Eri said calmly, taking a moment to catch her breath. She snapped her head toward the others. “Now, will someone tell me what’s going on?!”

From the shadows, none of them saw the strange scientist slinking away with his hand up, the rainfall wrapping all of the medals that OOO and Ankh dropped as they floated nearby.

“This... this might be what I need to finally change this world...”

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Naomi cried, “Bad!”

Ankh had put his glove on, his hair becoming wavier like before. The third years were now huddled in a booth with Izuku and Eri on the other bench. All of the Imagin were now looming over them, blocking any chance of Ankh leaving again.

Izuku slowly said, “Ok, so let me see if I understand this correctly...” He pointed a finger at the annoyed Ankh. “You’re not Mirio Togata. You’re a living creature called Ankh that’s been weakened to the point that you can only create a hand, which you then placed over Togata’s corpse so you can control his body and have more movement.”

“Not a corpse,” Tamaki quickly clarified. “Mirio’s alive. He’s just...” He bit his lip, glancing at his friend for help.

Hado chimed in, “Mirio got really injured a few months ago. He’s fine when Ankh possesses him. But we have faith that he’ll heal eventually...” The girl didn’t bother to judge Ankh’s expression. “Trust us. This is something we’re not taking lightly.”

Eri, careful to avoid looking right at Ankh, said, “Um, ok... And Ankh is made up of a bunch of metal coins like treasure?”

“More or less,” Tamaki answered. “They’re called Cell Medals. They’re made up of a very rare metallic alloy and they’re all imbued with power. It’s a long story, but through my belt and my Quirk, Manifest, I can create special Cell Medals infused with animal DNA called Core Medals to transform like you saw.”

“I see!” Izuku answered, leaning in. His curiosity was now getting the better of him. “So, what exactly is your Quirk on your own without the belt? With the name Manifest and from some of the observations during that fight, I assume you can change your body and create limbs based on animals. But, what kind of animals? Is there a limit to how much you can create?”

Tamaki turned his face away, his face flushing as a result. Ankh stared at Izuku for a second before whispering, “... There’s two of them.”

Izuku asked apprehensively, “Two of what?”

“Oh my god, you are!” Hado exclaimed, practically throwing herself across the table to bring him closer to her. “I have so many questions for you too!” She grinned. “I want to know all about this time travel stuff!” She suddenly snapped her head in Eri’s direction. “Like you!”

The white-haired girl blinked, pointing at herself. “Me? Like what?”

“Like where you come from?” Hado asked. “If Midoriya really does drive this big train through the past and the future, what time are you from?”

“The future...”

“Ooh! That’s exciting! Can you tell us about anything interesting happening soon?”

Eri frowned, shrinking in herself and holding tightly to her dress. Izuku immediately noticed his friend’s apprehension. The Quirkless teen had questions about Eri’s history but knew the girl herself never liked to talk about it.

Izuku quickly jumped in, shaking his head, “There’s no need for that yet. If you have any questions about any of this, you can ask me. I already told you a lot of the basics about me. I drive this train to different points in history. I fight with my friends here...” The greenette quickly gestured to the monsters nearby. “They take control of me and use their powers through me."

Amajiki said quietly, “Wait...” He pulled himself out of his mood and stared at Izuku with narrowed eyes. “These Imagin possessing you is this Alter Ego Quirk I’ve heard about, isn’t it?”

Izuku already knew where this was going. “Yes,” the boy nodded before admitting, “I don’t have a Quirk. I’m Quirkless...” He waited to gauge their reaction of shock and surprise. “If any of you have a problem with this, you need to tell me now.”

Eri took a slow breath before finding Izuku’s hand and squeezing it before looking at the third years. “And I’m Quirkless like Izuku, too. If you don’t like either of us now, then tough.”

For a moment, silence filled the train car before Ankh shrugged. “So?”

Both Izuku and Eri snapped their heads toward his.

“I literally don’t care,” Ankh continued. “I don’t care about any of this crap. I still hate the both of you.”

Hado rolled her eyes at that, nudging him with her elbow. “Ah, you hate everyone!” Looking back at Izuku and Eri, the girl replied, “Even though Ankh is fussy like that, Tamaki and I feel the same way. Being Quirkless will not change our opinion of you.”

“She’s right,” Tamaki agreed. He messed with his fingers before looking back at them apprehensively. “I would worry a little more about you, but I end up doing that with anyone anyway...” He took a slow breath before staring into Izuku’s eyes. “Working on being a hero when you’re Quirkless... even though you have these Imagin with you, that still takes a lot of courage. You shine brighter than I do.”

Izuku fidgeted in his seat, “Oh, uh, thank you... But, regarding that particular bit about worrying about each other...” The boy put on a brave smile. “Maybe we should work together more often? We can keep each other in a loop.”

Tamaki’s reply was soft. “I’d like that. Kamen Riders should help each other.”

Izuku and Tamaki liked that. They were both Kamen Riders. That meant they were part of a special legacy of heroes, ones that fought for all of humanity. It felt right that they could depend on each other. Both were already thinking on having them work together to fight their respective enemies.

However...

"I believe that arrangement should be terminated.”

Before anyone could react, a cane was held to the third years’ throats. Izuku and Eri snapped their heads toward Owner, the fancy gentleman who, as stated by name, was the one who actually owned Den Liner.

“I didn’t fuss with Izuku’s decision before. However, I did state plainly that under no circumstances were any of you allowed to interfere with the past.”

Owner moved his cane, twirling it around as he looked back at the third years, specifically the monster wearing a teenager’s face. “It could lead to disastrous consequences. It’s clear from what I’ve seen that you are all too much of a risk. It’s safer for all to stay in the present for when you return.”

Hado urged, “Ankh, c’mon! Apologize!”

Ankh didn’t answer her, instead sliding out of his booth. All of the Imagin held up their hands, ready for a fight to happen. The golden blonde glared at Owner.

“Like I care what you think. I could do a lot of damage if it served me. If I wanted to do any damage, trust me, I would have put up a lot more of a fight...” Ankh tsk’d, flaring his nose at everyone and holding out his demon hand. “I was only out there for less than three minutes. You tell me what kind of ‘disastrous consequences’ could have happened in that amount of time?”

WHUMPF!

Den Liner was suddenly thrown into the air off the train tracks. Dishes and teacups clattered, hitting the windows. The train lights suddenly flickered on and off as everyone lurched toward the front of the train, getting tossed around like dolls. Tamaki was barely able to brace himself and throw his body over Izuku in time. Hado activated her Quirk, keeping Eri, Naomi, and Owner from getting hurt. All four of the Imagin floated for a moment before they hit the wall, squishing Ankh in the process.

“Ugh! Get off of me!”

“Ya get off of us!”

Eri asked, “What was that?!”

The girl’s voice could barely be heard over the now loud sounds of the train.

Hado answered, “I think something just hit us from behind!”

Izuku didn’t know what was happening, but he knew he had to act fast. He pulled himself out of Tamaki’s grip, yelling instructions to them as he bolted toward the doorway, “Amajiki, Hado, stay here and keep everyone safe! Don’t go outside. We don’t know what’s going on! I’ll get this train under control.”

“Midoriya, wait!”

But, the Quirkless teen had already staggered out of there, heading into the next train car, moving past all of the other passengers on Den Liner. Many of them were hanging onto what they could to keep themselves stable. Izuku hated moving past all the scared people and not trying to help them directly. But he knew he was the only one who could get everything under control.

Izuku soon found himself in the familiar red cockpit of the train. Den-O's motorcycle was stationed in the middle with a screen showing the outside.

(Hey, it’s a time train. Were you expecting anything complicated?)

The teenager pulled his legs over the motorcycle and stabilized the handles as much as he could until the train could drive straight, moving across newly laid tracks.

“As far as I can see, the train’s damaged, but not by much. We should be fine for me to slow down now.”

But then, Izuku noticed something up ahead.

“What the-?”

A rainbow-colored portal closed behind an armored blue warrior as the stranger shot straight for Den Liner.

Izuku jerked the handle to move around the obstacle, but Den Liner wasn’t fast enough.

The strange being gave a single punch to the front of the train.

The impact was incredible, shattering many of the windows on the train as many passengers felt the full force of the attack.

Den Liner went airborne as it went off the train track, arced through the air and jackknifed toward a swirling portal of time.

Izuku lost his grip on the motorcycle; his body was thrown against the ceiling. The boy couldn’t focus, feeling completely disoriented. He smelled smoke before he could see the blue and white sparks shooting in all directions!

In a flash, Den Liner exited the portal, spinning through the night sky of Japan. Izuku tried to pull himself up, but he couldn’t get any balance, being thrown around like a pinball.

Izuku blinked, looking at the screen, but it was now filled with static. But, even still, he saw the ground coming fast, rushing right at him.

The boy made one last scramble for the controls, but it was too late.

An entire train had crashed.

And Izuku was completely out.

Chapter Text

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Izuku woke up.

The boy’s head hurt. He groaned as he tried to sit up. But he was too quick to do it, sending a spear of pain through his head.

“Ugh...”

Izuku climbed to his feet, feeling woozy and disoriented. He wasn’t in Den Liner anymore, instead standing on a bunch of pebbles.

Where was he again? What happened?

“Izuku!”

The greenette whipped his head around, stumbling a little. Eri slid in, catching him in time. The girl asked worriedly, “Are you alright? How are you feeling?”

“Thanks, Eri,” Izuku mumbled. “I feel a little woozy, but I think I’m okay. I just need a minute...” Izuku looked past her to see the broken train of time.

Den Liner was upright, but all the cars weren’t straight. Some of them weren’t even connected with each other anymore. Still, Izuku could see the signs of damage, electricity sparking in the front while broken glass littered its surroundings.

Izuku glanced around to take in his environment. Though, there wasn’t much. Besides the shuffling coming from Den Liner, the place was completely devoid of any sounds of life. The area was thick with shadows, only lit up by the blinking lights from Den Liner and a few distant road lights. Several metal boxcars hid him and Den Liner from view.

Den Liner had crashed into an abandoned train yard.

Even dazed, Izuku didn’t miss the irony of that.

Eri explained, “Amajiki pulled you out of there and he and Hado have been working on making sure everyone else is alright.”

Izuku pulled out his phone to look at his home screen. Knowing the date is the first thing every time traveler should do. Last time he found himself in a train crash, he found himself in World War 2 and then Jurassic times. (Long story.)

The screen protector was scratched up, but it showed the date perfectly.

September 5th, 2236.

Izuku let out a sigh of relief as Eri confirmed it. “Yeah, this is your present, the day you left. So, you should be fine for now.”

As Izuku pocketed his phone, he looked up to see Tamaki approaching them.

“Amajiki,” he called out.

The third year asked, “Midoriya, are you alright?”

Izuku gave a curt nod. “Yeah, I’ll be fine, but how is everyone else?”

“Nejire and I already looked everyone over,” the hero student explained. “There are a few minor scrapes here and there. Some needed CPR, but everyone should be alright. I’m more concerned with you. You were in the front of the train and that was the area most damaged.”

Before Izuku could reassure him again of his wellbeing, out of the corner of his eye, the Quirkless teen saw Hado floating towards them.

“Oh, hey, sleepy head!” Hado greeted, landing nearby. She hummed, looking over Izuku and his injuries. “Are you alright?” Izuku didn’t even have a chance to answer before Hado held out her hand. “I think we need to get you back to UA now. Let Recovery Girl take a look at you.”

“Wait, are you sure?” Izuku asked. “I feel fine. And, besides, I should stay here and help with Den Liner.”

Amajiki said quietly, “I know you’re worried, Midoriya, but that train is not going anywhere.”

Eri nodded, “I agree. Den Liner’s too damaged to go anywhere. Everyone is fine for now, even the idiots. And Owner knows some people who can come and fix it.” She gave a small smile. “The best thing you can do now is get some rest. You can come back in the morning.”

“But-”

Hado chimed in, “Don’t worry. I found some heavy-duty tarps. Between me and Tamaki, we can cover the train so it can’t be seen from the air and then we come back later when we know you’re feeling alright. Besides, it’s getting close to curfew.” She gave a wry smile as she fussed with Izuku’s hair. “We wouldn’t be good heroes if we let you stay out after hours for no reason.”

Izuku was about to argue again. After all, there was still the issue of none of them knowing how exactly Den Liner got damaged in the first place. Even with what Izuku saw, he was still confused on who or what was that. It might’ve been the smarter idea to stay there and figure out what to do next.

But, judging from the expressions they were all giving him, Izuku didn’t want to make them worry any more.

The Quirkless teenager bowed his head politely. “Of course. Thank you.”

Eri smiled as Hado led Amajiki away back toward the train. Izuku watched as they all got back to work, trying to ignore the unsettling feeling in his stomach.

“Just crashing Den Liner isn’t enough. My bad luck has always told me that there is more disaster to come...”

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As Izuku, Tamaki, Hado, and Ankh all reached the gates of UA, the monster-like being tsk’d, narrowing his eyes at everything.

“There’s something different...”

Hado asked, “Like what?”

“It’s too quiet... I don’t like it.

Tamaki commented, “Well, you don’t like anything...”

“There’s an ominous desire in the air...” Ankh replied. “One that is suppressing all others.”

Izuku asked, “What does that mean?” Getting no response, the teenager looked across the road. “Are you talking about how we haven’t seen a car since we left the trainyard?”

Hado chimed in, “Yeah? Well, it is pretty late.”

“I was wondering that too,” Amajiki commented, hands stuffed in his pockets. “But I wouldn’t expect anything right now. There is not a ton of activity in this area at night. No one wants to do something wrong by accident right next to a hero school. Especially with the dorm system implemented, that means the pro heroes are close by.”

Izuku felt like shrugging. Yeah, that explanation made sense, but still...

As Tamaki and the other third years pulled out their Student IDs to enter the gate, Izuku followed them from behind.

But then, a robotic voice called out, “ERROR. UNKNOWN ID.”

“Huh?” Izuku called out, raising his student ID again, but the error occurred again.

Hado hummed to herself, “Huh? I wonder why it’s not working. Maybe the ID’s broken? Or maybe the gate’s broken?”

Tamaki sighed, narrowing his eyes at the gate, “I think it might be something with the security. Possibly a glitch in the system. It let us in after all.” He turned toward Izuku. “After we drop you off with Recovery Girl, we can tell Power Loader and Nezu about it. They should have it fixed before morning.”

As Tamaki shared a glance with Hado, the girl already knowing that she’d be the one to do the talking, Izuku nodded, but then started to slide away from them.

“That’s a good idea, but honestly, I don’t want to bother Recovery Girl at this hour. I’ll just head to bed and talk to her in the morning.”

Hado asked, tilting her head in confusion, “Are you sure? You don’t want us to make sure you’re alright?”

Seeing Izuku shake his head no, Tamaki added, “Midoriya, it’s alright. I know there’s a certain expectation for being a hero student, but you don’t need to do this. You’re acting like going through a train crash is something you’re used to.”

Izuku winced, nervously smiling, “Well... it has happened before. I kind of gotten used to my bad luck.”

Ankh echoed, “Bad luck?”

“Yeah, well, a lot of stuff happens to me, not just with hero stuff,” Izuku explained, looking off in the distance as he remembered every incident. “Like the time I got tied up by an actual chicken. Or the time someone sneezed with their Quirk, and I ended up being thrown into freeway traffic. Or the time someone got sick with their Quirk, and I ended up passing out from heat exhaustion in winter...”

It was then that Izuku noticed Tamaki and Hado’s faces twisted in shock, pity and concern. (Izuku wasn’t sure why. He didn’t even get to any of the bad stuff like the time he got stuck in hardened chocolate on a wrecking ball in the middle of a hero fight and ended up getting used like a yo-yo by a villain.)

Meanwhile, Ankh started cackling, throwing his head back, “Mwa ha ha!”

“Don’t worry, I can make it back...” Izuku said, stepping backwards. He opened his mouth to say more but knew that nothing was going to help his case. After the day he had, he just wanted to go to bed right then and sleep. Plus, a part of him was starting to have second doubts about his agreement with Tamaki before. Whatever happened with Den Liner... maybe it was the best if he could figure it out on his own first before asking for help.

He quickly whirled around and ran towards the dorms. “Thank you so much for your help today! See you later!”

The moment Izuku was sure he was out of sight, his green eyes looked back to see that the third years weren’t following him. (In fact, Tamaki and Hado right then were trying to convince Ankh that laughing at others’ misfortune wasn’t right.)

Izuku took a long sigh before he changed his pace into a brisk walk to the dorms. Even though Izuku was just doing his best to shut his mind off and focus only on his destination, a small part of him noticed the environment around him was slightly different from when he left, here and there. A statue in a different spot. Buildings that had different paint to them...

“Huh. Maybe Cementoss and the staff has been doing some decorating recently and I just haven’t been paying attention?”

Pausing a moment to look at his dorm building, Izuku didn’t notice anything different. 1-A, Alliance, paint, it was all the same. He took a deep breath through his nose, giving himself a moment to calm down.

“I should really get some sleep now...”

Eventually, he climbed up the stairs in the entrance and opened the door.

The common room of the dorm was where things took a turn for the worse.

No, it wasn’t the fact that the courtyard in the middle of the first floor was now gone, instead replaced with more seating.

It was the fact that there were only two people in the common room, watching TV on the couch. It was Neito Monoma and Ochaco Uraraka.

That immediately struck Izuku as strange. Monoma was from Class 1-B, someone with a lot of arrogance and pride in wanting their class to be better than Class 1-A. Someone like him wouldn’t want to just hang out with someone in Class 1-A so casually.

And then, Monoma leaned in closer to Uraraka, his lips puckering to kiss her on the lips.

Izuku’s eyes widened. He felt a million things at once.

He felt his stomach churn. He felt like the whole place was going to explode. He felt like he was about to explode!

(He hadn’t even kissed Uraraka yet and this happens?!)

Before Izuku could think about it even more, his body moved on his own.

Izuku ran toward the couch, yelling, “Hey!”

That stopped them both as they looked at Izuku waving his finger, now seeing that they were not alone.

“I... uh...” Izuku paused, puffing out his chest to make himself look taller than he was. Admittedly, this wasn’t something Izuku wouldn’t think he would have to do with a girl, but he figured this was the right thing to do. “Monoma, you, uh, can't kiss Uraraka like that.”

Uraraka said, “He’s right.” She looked over at Monoma imploringly. “We’ll get into trouble for doing this.”

Monoma replied, not even glancing in the girl’s direction and scoffing in Izuku’s face, “Ochaco, we won’t. As long as July 15 here doesn’t say a word of this, right?”

Izuku narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out the weird phrasing for their comments before answering them. “I don’t know what this is, Monoma-”

“That!” Monoma interrupted, standing up from the couch and getting right in Izuku’s face. “Is Supreme Commander to you! You should always address me by my status!”

Izuku fought the urge to roll his eyes. He knew Monoma could act conceited at times but calling himself ‘Supreme Commander’ was just too much.

The Quirkless teen kept his voice level, standing his ground. “I think you should head back to your dorm now before we both do something we regret.”

Monoma’s expression morphed from one of contempt to a sneer of amusement. “Ha. I always knew a powerless nobody like yourself wasn’t memorable, but I didn’t know you were this stupid.” He spread his arms. “This is my dorm.”

Whatever comeback Izuku had at that moment had completely vanished.

Izuku was used to prejudice for being Quirkless, at all the comments that were made that he wouldn’t do anything because for not having a Quirk. Heck, he was even used to Monoma acting like a jerk toward him. He got used to it.

That wasn’t what bothered him.

What bothered him was Monoma had said. Powerless.

That usually meant Quirkless.

There’s no way Monoma should know that.

True, Izuku told him that he used to be Quirkless before the Final Exams, but everyone mostly believes that Alter Ego is his Quirk.

Izuku didn’t realize his mouth was hanging open for a few solid moments until Monoma started knocking on his head.

“What’s the matter?” Monoma asked as Izuku took a few steps back. “You need me to speak more clearly?”

Uraraka sighed, crossing her arms as she moved to his side, “Neito, you need to be a lot nicer. How will people respect you if you try to act all big all the time?”

“They’ll respect me because I deserve the respect,” Monoma said, acting like this was the hundredth time he heard this argument. “I worked hard to be the leader. None of them have been able to be close to me.”

Izuku didn’t know what was going on, but he looked back at the brunette in front of him. He took a step forward with his hand reached out.

“Look, Uraraka, I don’t know what’s going on, but I know you. Whatever I did wrong, I’m so sorry. Just let me-”

It was then that Monoma stepped in between Izuku and Uraraka, giving a hard shove as Izuku fell to the ground. The greenette blinked as the blonde pointed a finger at him.

“You stay away from her, alright? I won’t ask again, side character.”

Izuku grunted as he pulled himself up, silently debating on what to do before one of the Imagin could took control of him and use Monoma’s face to clean the carpets.

“Hey, Supreme Commander, what’s going on?”

Izuku turned his head toward the elevators as a muscular teen, taller than anyone else in the room, wave in greeting.

The greenette blinked, “Yoarashi?”

Izuku thought to himself, “What’s going on? He goes to Shiketsu. I think I would have heard if he was visiting us...”

A black-haired teen stepped from behind Yoarashi, looking right at Izuku. Izuku thought the teenager looked familiar, but it wasn’t until he started speaking that the Quirkless boy’s eyes widened in shock.

“Aw, sick!” Eijiro Kirishima said. “Are you having an impromptu training session right now?”

“Oh!” Yoarashi exclaimed, pounding his fist into his palm. “Of course! That’s the kind of passion I’d expect from our Supreme Commander.”

“Manly passion!”

A single tear dropped from Kirishima’s cheek before both he and Yoarashi turned toward each other and knocked each other’s heads in.

Watching the small drip of blood fall from their heads, Izuku scrambled up from the ground, walking towards the two of them.

“Kirishima, I’m so glad to see you! When did you come back?”

The boy in question raised an eyebrow. “Huh? I’ve always been here.”

Izuku shook his head, completely confused. “No, you haven’t. You’ve been missing for weeks!”

Both Yoarashi and Kirishima looked at Izuku like he was a crazy person. The hardening teenager replied, “Are you sure you have the right person?"

Yoarashi added, “Yeah, we don’t even know your name.”

A voice drawled from behind all of them. “Would you all keep it down?”

Izuku leaned to the side to see another familiar face, Hitoshi Shinsou, opening the fridge and handing a drink to someone that Izuku didn’t recognize, a teenager slouching over the kitchen counter with desaturated bluish-gray hair, no eyebrows, bug-wide eyes, nose often simplified as two dots, and overly distinctive straight teeth.

“Yes,” the stranger said. “We are trying to let the world pass us by.”

Shinsou shrugged, taking a sip of milk, “What Fujimi said.”

Kirishima argued, “Sorry, insomni-bros, it should always be loud in here. After all...”

Yoarashi finished, “You can’t contain this much passion!”

“No, no, Shinsou and Fujimi do have a point,” Monoma said, giving another slight shove at Izuku while approaching Kirishima and Yoarashi. “It’s good to see the two of you have such enthusiasm,” The two bros briefly gave each other a fist bump. “But it’s important to be considerate of our fellow classmates.” He cupped his chin. “After all, our class is only the strongest by our weakest link. So, we shouldn’t be bringing each other down.” He started giggling before going into a full-on almost maniacal fit of laughter. “We have to prove that Class 1-A is the superior class of our generation!”

As everyone looked on, acting like this was normal behavior (even Uraraka couldn’t help but smile from seeing her boyfriend act so goofy...), Izuku’s mind suddenly pieced it together.

Monoma would rather let hell freeze over than compliment Class 1-A. He had a strong sense of pride for his own class.

The real Monoma.

Izuku thought, “This is an alternate timeline...”

It all clicked. That’s why Kirishima and Yoarashi didn’t recognize him. Why Monoma knew he was Quirkless. Why Yoarashi and Shinsou were in the dorm, even though they weren’t in his class before. Why Uraraka seemed fine with kissing Monoma.

Even though this made Izuku feel slightly better about the whole Uraraka / Monoma kiss (Not by much), this worried the Quirkless time traveler immensely.

Yes, Izuku was able to change the past before like when he removed Todoroki’s scar from his face. But there were too many changes here. If Izuku’s ID didn’t work at the gate, it most likely meant that he wasn’t a student at UA in this timeline.

Izuku’s trip to the past shouldn’t have changed this much. It had to be the being that attacked Den Liner...

The Quirkless teen quickly bowed and mumbled an apology to the students before stepping back toward the doorway.

“I have to get to Den Liner right now and try to fix this now... Who knows how many other changes are there?”

The door suddenly slammed open!

All heads turned to stare at the figure in the doorway. They all froze up, even Izuku.

Izuku didn’t recognize this adult either. The man had his long hair tied up in a ponytail. He wore black and red clothing that looked similar to bulletproof clothing and had six small folding knives, three on the right side and three on the left side, with two pairs of pockets beneath them, but his most striking feature was his mask, which completely covered his face.

“It’s curfew!” the man said. “You all should have been in your cots already! Don’t make me show up here again!”

All of the students quickly bowed and apologized, “Yes, sir.”

Izuku had been distracted, seeing all of them scramble to the elevator, that he didn’t notice the figure reaching for his arm until it was too late.

The boy snapped his head back toward the doorway as he saw the adult swing him roughly outside. The stranger pulled out one of their knives and cut through Izuku’s arm, drawing a trail of blood.

“Agh!” Izuku cried as the stranger let go of him, letting the Quirkless teen roll down the stairs and onto the rough stone path. He pulled his head up to see the man slowly walk down the stairs toward him.

The man snarled, “I told you before, July 15. Your role here is to clean up after others. You aren’t to be seen by any of our gifted students. Your sole presence would diminish their potential.”

Izuku took a moment to gather his breath. He was starting to recognize the man by his voice, but he wasn’t sure where he heard it before.

“I’m...” Izuku bowed his head. “I’m so sorry! It won’t happen again. I’ll just go and-”

“That’s the same pathetic excuses that I heard before...” the man said, pulling up his mask and bringing up his hand to his mouth. The one that had a few drops of Izuku’s blood. “It seems you need to properly be punished for your actions.”

The Quirkless boy suddenly recognized who this man was upon seeing just how unnaturally long the man’s tongue was as it licked the blood.

All sense of control left Izuku’s body as he collapsed to the ground, completely paralyzed. He hadn’t experienced this feeling before fighting this man in the original timeline, but it was the same thing his friends had experienced. Still, he was able to control his eyes and mouth as he uttered out the man’s name.

“Stain...?”

The former Hero Killer, now UA teacher in this timeline, put his mask back on. “Yes, stain. That is exactly what you are.”

Izuku thought, “Oh wait, I think this is his vigilante outfit before he became the Hero Killer. In this case, he would be...”

“As Stendhal, Class 1-A's official homeroom teacher, I hereby deliver your punishment!”

Izuku knew of Stai- Stendhal's limits from the previous timeline. That there was a time limit based on the blood type that Stendhal would digest. Both he and Eri would have the shortest amount of time under Stendhal’s Bloodcurdle Quirk because of their Type O blood, making it only two minutes under his Quirk.

Still, two minutes was plenty of time for an adult wanting to punish a child for what they did wrong.

The teacher lifted Izuku up by his shirt and started using him as his own personal punching bag, knocking Izuku down with a blow and then lifting him back up with a kick to the gut. Even if he wasn’t paralyzed, Izuku wouldn’t have been able to react in time for the swordsman to take out one of his knives and slice it across his chest.

A stream of red blood was all Izuku could see before he dropped back to the ground.

“Stendhal! Stop! I’m here! I’m here!”

Izuku recognized the manly voice from behind him but couldn’t crane his head around to look at them.

Stendhal twirled his knife in his hand, looking at the new arrival. “June 10^th. I’m sick of this fake trying to interact with my students. If I see him again, he won’t be the only one punished. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir, it won’t happen again.”

Izuku felt his body being lifted with both hands as his head fell to the side, the Quirkless boy was now able to see the face of the person who had saved him. Someone who he would always recognize.

“All Might...?”

There were a few differences. All Might’s hair no longer had the signature ‘bunny ears’. The blonde wasn’t buffed up like he was when using his Quirk, but he was no longer the skeleton that Izuku had seen when they first met, instead having a normal body weight. He was also wearing a grey janitor jumpsuit.

Upon hearing Izuku’s words, the blonde gave the teenager a look of confusion before his eyes widened and he looked back toward the masked man in front of him.

“Yes, we will work all night,” All Might said, bowing to Stendhal. “Every night. We’ll be sure to make up for this transgression.”

A moment of tense silence passed, Stendhal’s deadly aura could be felt by the both of them, before the masked man pocketed his knife. “Very well. You both have my permission to go now.”

Stendhal started to walk past them, but right as he was by their side, the man leaned in and hissed into Izuku’s ears, “Listen to me. For this world we live in, it is necessary to have conviction and desire. My students in there will become the true epitome of that ideal. As for you and the rest of the powerless, your souls only exist for the sake of others, to lift them up. If you can’t be a part of that, then make no mistake. You will become a target of my purge along with the rest of the mutts, all to create a better society.”

(Yep. That was Stain, alright.)

As soon as Stendhal was out of hearing range, All Might sighed, shaking his head. “Why do you keep doing this?”

Izuku looked at All Might, confused, but stayed quiet, not sure how to answer it.

By the time the two of them reached the school building, Stendhal’s Quirk had worn off, allowing Izuku to walk on his own. But All Might didn’t let out of his sights, taking him into a janitor’s closet. Without waiting for Izuku to argue with him, the man pulled out a few bandages and started wrapping around them around Izuku’s chest wound.

As the man finished treating Izuku’s injuries, Izuku said, “Thank you, All Might, for helping me back there.”

The man looked at Izuku, brow furrowed in annoyance. “Why do you keep saying that? ‘All Might’? Do you have a concussion too?”

Izuku fought the urge to try and explain the truth right then and there. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, this was not the Symbol of Peace he had only started to reconcile with in his own timeline. This wasn’t All Might.

The teenager apologized, bowing his head slightly, “I’m sorry... Yagi.”

“I keep telling you. Please just refer to me by my birthday. That’s how everyone else addresses us. You need to get used to doing that, so you don’t slip up,” Yagi paused, looking right at Izuku with sincere eyes. “I don’t care what happens to me. But, if you get into trouble, I can’t save you.”

Izuku stared back at Yagi, almost in shock from hearing words he thought he would never hear. His eyes drifted to his hands and then Yagi’s.

“It’s because we’re Quirkless that we’re here, aren’t we?” Izuku waited for Yagi’s response for a few seconds before looking back at the blonde. The janitor was completely confused by Izuku’s words. “Um... Sorry. I mean... powerless?”

“Ohhhh...” Yagi said, nodding along. He let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, it’s the luck of the draw. Still, we’re lucky to have been assigned here. It’s better to be here among the Commanders in training than anywhere else. At least in my eyes.”

“Commanders?” Izuku echoed. “Not heroes?”

Yagi rolled his eyes at that. “Heroes? Just because we live in a world with superpowers, that doesn’t mean we live in a fairy tale with standard heroes and villains.” He stood back up, grabbing a large black trash can. “Well, okay, we had enough chit-chat for now. We better get back to work.”

A part of Izuku still felt like now wasn’t the time to be doing clean-up when he should try and head back to Den Liner right then. At the same time, out of all the people he met in this new timeline, Yagi was the only one who seemed like he was Izuku’s best bet on figuring out just how messed up the world was.

Ignoring his other thoughts, Izuku stood up and put on the smaller janitor’s uniform. The two of them worked together going to different rooms to collect trash to dispose of. Izuku followed closely behind Yagi, sweeping behind him when he paused, noticing where he had wandered off to in the dark hallway.

The door to Class 1-A was right in front of him.

But even that was different. The class name wasn’t painted in bright red lettering. And the size of the door had diminished significantly. Instead of reaching for the ceiling, it was a normal size.

Izuku could recall the very first day of high school. He was so excited, yet he stared at the massive door for a long time. Not only to calm his nerves, but to marvel at the door itself. He figured out long ago that the size of the door was to accommodate a whole variety of Quirks and be accessible for them.

So, why were the doors now “normal-sized”?

Izuku leaned down the hallway to see Yagi not focusing on the teenager, instead going through his own work. The boy quietly cracked the door open just enough for him to slide his body inside and look around, flicking on the lights.

The classroom itself was more or less the same as the original UA’s. Only the students’ desks were bigger, pushed into each other. It felt more like a classroom at a college, not a high school.

Izuku briefly looked under the teacher’s podium. There were no juice pouches, no spare sleeping bag.

It was as Izuku thought. Whatever happened to Eraserhead in this world, he wasn’t the Class 1-A teacher. It was Stendhal.

“Just how many people lives’ are affected by this change?”

Izuku pulled himself up when his eyes caught a glance of a paper at the far end of the room. The boy quickly moved toward it, inspecting it closely.

It was the classroom’s seating chart.

Teacher’s Podium

“Ok, so... I recognize everyone on here. It’s a mix of Class 1-A and 1-B students as well as Shinsou and Yoarashi. Fujimi is the only one I’ve never met before, but I saw him back at the dorms. But there’s still a ton of my friends unaccounted for. There has to be some sort of correlation as to why these students would be here. Think, Izuku, think...”

Looking over every student, Izuku didn’t find any correlation between their Quirks or backgrounds (At least none that he could guess from his old timeline.) But it wasn’t until Izuku started taking stock of which students were missing that it clicked for him. And it painted an even worse picture for Izuku.

None of the students in this class were mutants. All of their Quirks didn’t manifest body parts at birth that stayed active even when they weren’t in use.

Izuku’s eyes went wide with worry. He suddenly remembered what Stendhal had said, how he was supposed to purge ‘mutts’ from the world. Was that just Stain or was it the role of these ‘Commanders’? Izuku was sadly used to discrimination for being Quirkless, but this was different.

“You’re taking too long in here.”

Izuku snapped his head toward the doorway. Yagi sighed, shaking his head as he grabbed the trash can from the front of the can. But the greenette ignored the man’s expression of disappointment and quickly approached him.

“Sir, please tell me, what do these Commanders do?”

Yagi waved him off, “You don’t need a history lesson from me. I am not a teacher. So-”

But Izuku cut him off, grabbing the man’s wrist. Yagi looked to see a pair of pleading eyes look back at him.

“Please. Tell me.”

Yagi was a bit unnerved by Izuku’s strange request, but once the greenette let go of him, the blonde slowly dropped the trash back into its regular can as he answered the boy.

The blonde explained, “The Commanders were established a long time ago. Each one of them is supposed to act as a soldier for our world’s cause. They’re people chosen to protect the world for our Great Leader.”

“Chosen?” Izuku echoed. “You mean... no one here chose themselves to be here?”

Yagi replied, “I would assume there are a few. But you’re considered lucky to be here. As for the Commanders in training, based on their powers and how much they're able to evolve past their sickness.”

“Sickness?”

“Yes. You’re smarter than I am. You know about powers showed up one day out of the blue hundreds of years ago from a disease. Those who are able to harness their powers without letting the disease transform their body are the ones that moved past it and evolved into something better.”

“And...” Izuku said slowly. “Those who have any form of mutations because of their power...”

“Those are beings the world has labeled as Kaijin. The Commanders are the ones in charge of eliminating them.”

“What?!” Izuku cried, letting complete shock show on his face. “Why would they need to do that?!”

Yagi explained, “The government has said that there’s something in a Kaijin’s DNA in conjunction with their power that causes them to have more violent tendencies. If they're not under study by scientists, they’re out hurting a lot of innocent people.”

The room hung in agonizing silence for a while. Izuku stepped away from Yagi, trying to hide his shaking nerves. It felt like an eternity as Izuku shook his head no, refusing to believe any of what Yagi said.

Eventually, Izuku glanced back at the man. “Do you... do you believe that? That these Kaijin deserve to be killed?”

Yagi closed his eyes, taking a long sigh. “... I don’t know. But, even if I did believe it, there’s not a lot I can do on my own.”

The boy asked, “Is Class 1-A the only class for these Commanders?”

“For this grade, yes. There’s one for every year.”

That helped clarify things for Izuku, somewhat. There were still some anomalies here and there. Bakugou wasn’t a mutant, but for some reason, he wasn’t here. Same for Aizawa. But he couldn’t worry too much about them at the moment.

“And do you know what ‘One for All’ is?”

“One for All? No...”

The boy saw it in the man’s face. It wasn’t him trying to hide a secret. It was genuine confusion.

Toshinori Yagi was still Quirkless. He never received One for All in this timeline. And, if all mutant Quirk users were being hunted down like this, then Toshinori Yagi would never have met Fumikage Tokoyami and offered him One for All. If the Quirk was still out there, Izuku doubted that anyone would have given it to Tokoyami.

Izuku continued to shake his head, his hands slowly curling into fists. His eyes closed in deep thought. “Iida... Tokoyami... everyone. I don’t know what happened to all of you. But I promise you I will fix this.”

Opening his eyes, the child declared, “I need to go.”

“Go?” Yagi tiled his head in confusion. “Go where?”

“I’m sorry, but I need to leave this place before things get even worse.”

Izuku tried to walk right past the blonde, but Yagi grabbed Izuku’s wrist, yanking him back. The blonde’s blue eyes were filled with concern.

“Things will get worse if you try to leave,” Yagi stressed. “Abandoning your post will lead to much punishment. You work at a whole school of Commanders here. You won't get far.”

“I’m sorry, but I have to.”

“I don’t know what’s going on with you today, but I am not letting you go. You need to stop for a moment and think about what you’re about to do. Be realistic.”

There was a moment in time where the blonde before him had told him this before. But, Izuku said no to that. And he wasn’t about to accept it now.

“You haven’t smiled.”

Yagi looked at Izuku, completely confused. “Excuse me?”

Izuku clarified, “You haven’t smiled once since I’ve seen you today.”

“I mean...” The man hopelessly shrugged. “I don’t think there’s anything to really smile about.”

“Exactly,” Izuku replied. “Once upon a time, you met someone. Actually, two someones.” He smiled to himself, thinking fondly of his fellow classmate. “Two inseparable best friends who would say that they lived through the abyss or something like that.” He chuckled. “But they both found their reasons to smile through it all. And the three of you became stronger together. So much so that you trusted them with something so important that it changed their lives forever...”

Yagi looked so confused, eyes scrunching up. “... You know you’re not making any sense right now, right?”

“I know,” Izuku confirmed before staring back at Yagi with a sincere look. “But listen to me. I know the power of your smile. I felt it before. How it can inspire others to do the right thing. How just seeing it can bring such comfort to someone.” Izuku looked out the doorway toward the windows. He took out the train pass, the source of his Kamen Rider suit, and gripped it confidently. “If the world is just as bad as you’re implying to be, then it’s something I know you would never smile about. I need to fix this so that you can smile again. So that everyone can.”

The two of them stood where they were in a moment of silence. Izuku didn’t look behind him, but even he could tell that his speech alone still wasn’t enough for Yagi to smile.

Still, Yagi said quietly, “You’re going to do this crazy thing, no matter what, aren’t you?”

Izuku nodded. “Yes.”

“And the only way for me to stop you if I have the Commanders here restrain you putting us both in even more trouble?”

Another nod.

Yagi sighed, rubbing his forehead as he stepped out into the hallway. Finally, he sighed, turning back towards Izuku.

“Alright,” he conceded. “If you’re going to do this, then going out the front gate is not an option. I can sneak you out of here without raising too many alarms.”

“Thank you,” Izuku said.

“Don’t thank me yet. Have you ever been submerged in garbage?”

(Izuku did, but now didn’t seem like the right time to bring that story up.)

Chapter Text

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Izuku didn’t have too much stealth training in his hero courses yet (And the few times he did, the Imagin took possession of him and made him too loud with their catchphrases.)

But, still, he did his best to sneak around the empty city at night, ducking behind every obstacle in his path and listening to any movement.

Peeking from an empty alleyway, Izuku was tense, hoping that no one was following him.

“I wish Amajiki and Hado were here,” Izuku thought. “But Yagi didn’t want to waste any time in getting me out of there...”

(Plus, Izuku still felt awkward about the idea of asking his upperclassmen to jump into garbage like he did.)

“The only comfort I have is that since they have Quirks and they are students at that alternate UA, which means they’re relatively safe. Hopefully, I can fix this sooner than later...”

The greenette pulled out his phone and pointlessly pressed the power button on the side. Nothing happened.

“I can’t call or text anyone either. My phone got damaged during Stendahl’s punishment. I’ll just have to get back to Den Liner as fast as I can...”

His eyes looked out to a small courtyard in front of him. Completely silent and devoid of life so late at night.

“Shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Cutting through this courtyard is my best plan.”

Izuku’s head darted from his left to his right before he bolted, keeping his head down, getting there as fast as-

He stopped as something caught his eye.

“That wasn’t here before...”

Izuku approached it slowly.

It was a statue of two figures. Both wore a black leather biker outfit with a green bug-like helmet with red eyes that covered their entire heads. Green padding covered the chest. Both looked near identical to each other. Only one statue had silver gloves and boots whereas the second statue had red gloves and boots. Both were saluting.

Izuku looked closer at the words on the slate written near the base.

[Kamen Riders Ichigo and Nigo. Let both of them always stand as reminders of what they fought for in our Great Leader’s name.]

The boy slowly tilted his head up until he stared at the heads of the statues themselves.

“Kamen Riders 1 and 2...” Izuku thought in awe.

Izuku had been told about them when becoming a Kamen Rider.

Kamen Riders 1 and 2 were the very first Riders in history, from a time before the Dawn of Quirks, fighting off an evil secret society known as Shocker led by their Great Leader. The Riders fought Shocker in their infancy, making sure it never rose to power. Even when it reappeared many times throughout history as a known terrorist organization later on, they were stopped by the current generation of heroes. Their actions started a whole legacy of heroes for centuries. Ones dedicated to protecting all of humanity.

So, why was there a statue made saying that the Kamen Riders worked for Shocker, the very enemy they were fighting against?

“It has to be some weird propaganda thing,” Izuku reasoned. “The timeline couldn’t have changed that far back...”

“Mister.”

The sudden voice made Izuku jump up an entire foot. The boy clenched his heart, calming it down.

Izuku turned toward the newcomer, a young boy with black hair that obscured his right eye, dark green eyes that were half closed, and blush marks on his cheeks. His clothes were filthy and torn.

“Oh, hello,” Izuku greeted with a weak wave.

But the boy didn’t wave back, instead staring at Izuku with a smug look on his face.

Izuku leaned forward, “Um... is there something I can help with...?”

No response.

The Quirkless teen’s eyes narrowed. “There’s something about this kid that feels familiar, but I’m not sure what.”

Izuku tried again, “Are you waiting for some-?”

“Excuse me.”

The greenette turned around, eyes focusing then on another child in similarly dressed rags. The girl in front of him had large green eyes with three upper eyelashes and notably small eyebrows. She had light-tanned skin. Her dark green hair is worn in low pigtails.

And she was currently pouting at Izuku. She pointed right at Izuku’s back.

“You have ice cream there,” she said.

Huh?

“See? Here?” The girl tried touching the back of Izuku’s clothes, poking at it rapidly.

Izuku craned his head around in both directions, trying to see what the girl was talking about. “Wh-where?”

“Here!” The girl exclaimed, but when Izuku looked at where she was pointing, there was nothing there. Looking back at the girl, she gave the teenager a shrug. “Oh, wait! Never mind! Sorry to bother you.”

Izuku stared at the two kids in confusion as they both started to walk away from him, talking amongst themselves.

The teenager thought, “Ok, I had stuff spilled on me before without me knowing, but something about that didn’t feel right.”

His eyes narrowed in suspicion before he started patting himself down. With a jolt, he reached into his pockets and pulled them right out of his pants, both of them completely empty.

Izuku snapped toward his head in the direction of the kids and ran toward the corner they had walked around when he caught sight of them again. They were swapping items between each other. A phone, a wallet, a black train pass.

The boy asked, “Is this a train pass?”

The girl shrugged, “Who cares? It’s probably worth something.”

Izuku reached his hand out. “Wait, stop!”

Both thieves glanced back at Izuku with fear before running away from the teenager chasing them.

The girl yelled, “Uh-oh! Split up! Hurry!”

Both ran off in opposite directions down the road. The boy went left. The girl went right.

Izuku didn’t hesitate. He moved after the boy.

The boy had his Rider Pass. Izuku could afford to lose his phone and his wallet, but absolutely not the pass. Without it, he won’t be able to transform into Den-O at all.

“Slow down!” Izuku yelled in vain. The boy obviously didn’t listen to him, leaping over a trash can and kicking it back in Izuku’s direction, sticking to the wall of an alley for a moment. “Wait a sec!”

Izuku wasn’t sure when it clicked for him, but following the boy’s footsteps, seeing his movements across a small clearing with ruined buildings made Izuku think.

“Wait. Green hair. Green eyes. Tall leaps. Wall adhesion. Are they...?”

As if on cue, right as Izuku passed a wall, the greenette saw movement sprinting towards him. With a single leap, a teenage girl’s foot roundhouse kicked him before pushing Izuku away with her feet.

WHACK!

The Quirkless teen’s body flew from the impact, rolling across the ground until coming to a stop. He panted for breath as he looked up at the new figure. But it wasn’t new. It was someone he knew from the original timeline. One of his classmates. One of his friends.

“Tsuyu...?”

Tsuyu Asui had landed right between Izuku and the boy. The frog girl was no worse off than the other kids. She wore a green denim jacket over a white shirt and black pants. Yellow goggles were worn over her face, obscuring her eyes.

Izuku couldn’t see his attacker’s eyes, but he could tell that she was determined.

“Samidare, gimme whatever you got.” Tsuyu said. “Ribbit.”

The frog boy nodded, throwing the black train pass at Tsuyu.

THWIP!

Before Izuku could react, Tsuyu’s tongue zipped out, sticking to the train pass and yanked it inside her throat.

Izuku pulled himself up to his feet. “This just became a lot harder...”

Both Samidare and Tsuyu leapt out in opposing directions.

“Wait!” Izuku yelled, following the teenager. “Please stop! Tsuyu!”

For a single moment, in mid-air, Tsuyu glanced back at Izuku. Even if Izuku couldn’t see her full expression, he could see how shocked he was that a random stranger knew who she was.

Then, it turned to anger. At the audacity of using her first name.

Tsuyu switched directions, shooting her tongue right at Izuku. Izuku stopped only a few inches short of it, but the girl knew that her opponent would do that. She sprang toward Izuku, aiming a side-kick at Izuku’s head. The boy was knocked right down, spinning from the attack. He looked up to see Tsuyu leaping back in the direction they had come.

Izuku grunted, ignoring the pain as he chased her through an alleyway. He kept her in his sights.

However, he wasn’t aware of Samidare and Satsuki, Tsuyu’s younger sister, hiding behind the corners exiting the alley. They watched each other, readying themselves for the very moment Izuku would exit the alley.

Tsuyu soared through the air over the. Both siblings nodded to each other as they both tugged a rope from both ends. Izuku couldn’t react in time before the rope tripped him up, falling face first on the ground.

Before he could get up, Tsuyu hopped right on top of his back, pinning him down with both of her siblings holding down his arms. Izuku squirmed like a rat in a trap, but he couldn’t break free of them.

Tsuyu’s tone was cold, more than Izuku had ever heard her before. “How do you know who I am?”

“I’m... Look, I know this is going to seem weird, but I’m a friend, alright. I’m here to help.”

Samidare laughed, “Yeah, right. That’s what they all say, old man.”

Izuku ignored the insult and stressed, “Listen, Tsuy-”

Suddenly, the Quirkless teen felt himself choking for air as Tsuyu’s tongue wrapped all the way around his throat.

“You don’t get to say that. Only the people I care about get to call me that. Ribbit.”

“Fine...” Izuku managed to get out. “Asui... I am not your enemy. You have to trust me on this.”

None of the frogs responded to Izuku’s words. Whatever Tsu-Asui's reaction was to that, Izuku couldn’t gauge it from his head stuck on the ground.

Suddenly, the sounds of police sirens pierced through the night sky.

Izuku felt one last shove from Tsuyu jumping off him. The boy glanced behind him to see the Asui siblings leaping away from the scene.

And it was then that he started to hear heavy footsteps coming from the opposite direction. Izuku closed his eyes in regret before running toward an empty car, ducking down to hide from whoever was coming.

The Quirkless teen hated to admit it, but if he gave chase to Tsuyu and her siblings again, then he would be seen by the police. If he got arrested, that would cause even more problems.

“If Tsuyu and what I now can assume are her brother and sister are operating in the area, then I can still find them later and get back my Rider Pass. People in that situation usually don’t go too far from where they live to get what they need...”

Izuku hugged his back to the car, listening as a few familiar voices started to get within range. Being a hero fanboy, he recognized them instantly. And, from the shadowed outlines Izuku could see, they were all wearing their same hero outfits from the main timeline.

Though, it didn’t matter. In this timeline, they were most likely not his allies. For the first time in his life, Izuku needed to run away from a hero fight.

Death Arms’ deep voice cried out, “Go! Spread out! Find those Kaijin mutts!”

A bunch of men in black masks with holes for the eyes and mouth and clothes with white spine and ribcage designs all shouted “Yee!” as they passed the car Izuku was hiding by.

Izuku caught sight of them in the light. He thought, “Are those the Shocker troops?”

Still, Izuku could hear the chatter in the background.

Mt. Lady groaned, “Do you have to say it like that every time? We all know the deal by now.”

“Are you seriously complaining about that?”

“Hey, gimme a break! I just transferred and started doing the night shift! And this is so boring!” She complained, giving a long yawn at the end.

“True, but it’s pretty easy to find the Kaijin off their guard. There’s a higher chance of them being defenseless and easy pickings.”

Slugger said, hitting the ground with his bat as he spoke, “I hate this too. I rather find the freaks during the day. It’s much easier to see how broken and dirty they are in the day. I love beating that out of them until they can’t breathe anymore.”

Death Arms let out a heavy chuckle, “Yeah, those undesired Kaijin were doomed from the start. None of them had the strength to evolve like the rest of us. They will never belong in this society.”

“Agreed,” Slugger replied. “This will be an act of charity for th-”

“Yeah, yeah. We got it,” Mt. Lady dismissed. “Animal abuse. Now, can we get a move on already?”

As they passed Izuku by, unaware of him hiding in the shadows, Izuku kept himself as quiet as possible even though he felt sick all over. People, heroes that he knew in his own time, were casually talking about hurting others like it was fun.

Izuku didn’t know what to do next. His Rider Pass was gone. He couldn’t transform into Den-O. And now, the area was swarming with Commanders, that Izuku knew of their strong Quirks and skills. He needed to find somewhere safe to go in the meantime.

And he knew just the place.

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At least, Izuku thought he knew the place.

Because when Izuku had managed to sneak toward his destination, his heart dropped at the state of it all.

It was the Milk Dipper, Izuku’s family café. What was left of it.

The sign above the doors for the restaurant had been broken off. The windows were cracked, glass practically non-existent. Old graffiti could be seen along the walls and the one door that was still standing. The other door for the entrance had fallen, broken apart in splinters.

Izuku found himself approaching it slowly, even reaching for the door handle that wasn’t there anymore, stepping inside.

The normal bookshelves that filled the café were destroyed, leaving books scattered all around the café. Tables and chairs had been moved in a failed attempt to block the doorway, but Izuku could see that they were broken through as well. The telescope that was supposed to be in the center of the café had been lit on fire, practically already in ashes.

Izuku looked around the ruined café, remembering every spot. The counter where Izuku and Jin played cards. The corner where Izuku had started a game night with some of his friends. The table where Izuku and Eri would hang out and talk to each other over snacks.

He had only been at the dorms for a few weeks. It didn’t feel like he was gone from the Milk Dipper for that long...

The boy nearly cried out as he finally became aware of the tears streaming down his cheeks. He quickly had to wipe them away before anyone could see it. (Especially one of his Imagin that is more sensitive to crying than anything.)

In vain, the teenager called out, “Mom? Jin? Hisashi? Anyone?”

Suddenly, a light shined on Izuku’s face. The greenette’s eyes closed instantly, holding up a hand over his face.

“Ribbit... how did you find our hideout?”

The light fell away as Izuku’s eyes adjusted, now seeing all three Asui siblings surround him, covering all directions of escape.

Tsuyu growled, “If you don’t answer me soon, you’re going to get hurt...”

Her sister piped up, jamming two stunning rods together, “Better give us your food too.”

Her brother added, jabbing a poker he was holding “Food!”

Izuku held both hands up, trying to diffuse the situation. “I’m sorry. But I don’t have any food...” He kept glancing back and forth between all three of them. “I just came here because this used to be my family’s café. I honestly wasn’t expecting to find you all so soon. This is just...” He gave a light shrug. “An unlucky coincidence.”

Satsuki said, “Oh, I bet!”

Samidare added, “You know about our sister. You know about this place. It’s obvious you have been trying to find us. A spy for the Commanders, I bet.”

“No!” Izuku yelled, a bit too loudly, but kept his composure. “I swear I’m not with those guys at all. There’s no need to be scared of me. Just put down your weapons and I can explain myself. You don’t have to do this.”

“Ribbit. Are you an idiot?!” Tsuyu yelled. “We have to! We’re doing this to survive!”

Satsuki added, “Besides, we’re not scared of you. If you come near us, Shocker won’t protect you.”

“Shocker...” Izuku paused, averting his gaze. There’s no way that things could have changed this much. How was Shocker involved in so much? He looked back at them with pleading eyes. “Listen, I don’t know much about what happened with this Shocker or everything. Please, I don’t know. How long has this been going on?”

“We’ve always lived like this!” Tsuyu snapped, glaring at Izuku. “Shocker is in control of the entire world. Thanks to them, there are only two types of people left in the world... Those who are considered as evolved perfect beings and those like us, who are just seen as trash...” She bawled her fists together. “So, stop pretending like you don’t know any of this!”

“I’m...” Izuku said quietly, looking away from the pain radiating from her. He uttered a small apology, “I’m sorry, Tsuyu.”

“DON’T CALL ME THAT!”

Tsuyu lunged for him. Izuku ducked underneath the long tongue whipping right at him. He grabbed onto her wrist.

“Stop!” Izuku exclaimed. “Fighting like this won’t solve anything.”

Tsuyu ignored him and pulled her tongue toward him.

If Izuku wanted to end this as peacefully as he could, he learned from experience. He would have to fight instead of being her punching bag.

Izuku dodged the tongue whip and kicked her side. The girl staggered from the sharp hit as Izuku ran toward the counter and vaulted over it to the kitchen, ducking out of sight.

The frog sprung straight through the opening... unprepared for Izuku to be hiding right next to the counter. The boy pushed off from the ground with both feet up, kicking her right in the gut and knocking the wind out of her. The girl’s body crashed into a cart, spilling leftover metal pots and pans.

Izuku sprung back up as he saw Tsuyu look back at him. “You’re not the only one that can pull that same trick.”

Tsuyu narrowed her eyes at him before shooting her tongue out again. The Quirkless teen rolled across the sides of the kitchen, narrowly avoiding it.

Both Satsuki and Samidare had moved toward the kitchen counter, watching the fight as it was happening. Both of them knew their older sister was the strongest when it came to fighting, but that didn’t stop them from wanting to help out.

Satsuki yelled, throwing her electrified batons, “Tsuyu! Catch!”

The weapons flew towards the frog. Izuku grabbed the closest thing he could grab, a metal pan, and chucked at it in midair.

CLANG!

Tsuyu glanced away from Izuku as both pan and metal rods collided, the rods bouncing off toward the wall. Her attention was diverted just enough for Izuku to make his attack. Izuku lunged at her, sending a straight punch at her face.

POW!

The punch connected, sending her right back, but right as Izuku drew his arm back, he noticed the wall behind her.

The stun batons had hit a wall outlet. Small sparks started to fly. And Tsuyu was about to fall right next to it.

“Watch out!” Izuku yelled, running toward her. He tried to grab her by the wrist, but she already jumped away, leaving Izuku to grab empty air.

Landing away from the fire, Tsuyu stared at Izuku, both stunned and confused, as he ran toward the doorway and grabbed the fire extinguisher. He pulled the pin, letting the white foam stream from the tip and suppress the flames.

The Quirkless teen’s shoulders sagged with relief...

THWAP!

Right before Tsuyu’s tongue wrapped around his entire body, constricting Izuku’s arms and legs like a snake.

The girl spun the boy around to her as her siblings entered the kitchen, looking questioningly at Izuku.

“Something’s not right...” Tsuyu thought. But, nonetheless, she didn’t relinquish her hold over the intruder just yet.

Samidare asked, “Hey, old man... what exactly is your power?”

Satsuki added, putting her hands on her hips, “Yeah, you haven’t been trying to use it once. If you had something flashy like a spy would, we would have seen it already.”

Tsuyu glanced at her siblings with a look telling them to not bother with this, but Izuku stop struggling and looked at Tsuyu dead in the eye.

“I wasn’t born with one. And, even if I was, I wouldn’t use it now.”

As both Samidare and Satsuki shared glances with each other, Tsuyu studied Izuku for a few minutes longer. The girl thought of herself as a good judge of character, a useful trait to have when you’re living on the streets. So, she was just as concerned to believe this stranger in front of her was telling the truth.

“And now... an important announcement for you citizens! Gather around your screens and bear witness! Fine for not watching this notice is 500 Shocker Dollars!”

All four of them craned their heads toward the far back of the café's kitchen. A small portable television (not in all the best condition) had suddenly turned on and was now playing a news bulletin.

Izuku felt Tsuyu’s tongue loosening as the girl gave a silent glare to him. Tsuyu elbowed him toward the television screen, the three frogs hanging in the back as they kept an eye on both him and what was going on.

The Quirkless teen felt it was best to watch the television screen and not worry about the Asuis at the moment. A logo of a bird with its wings over the whole globe flashed on screen before showing a dark room with bright light illuminating two people around a circular desk.

“Hello, everyone,” a red-haired female reporter said, looking up from her papers. “I am Desumi Ichinose.”

A brown-haired woman introduced herself, resting her hands on the table. “And I am Hajime Miya Sumi Jiena Misudachi Jingugi Arisugawa. And tonight, we have an important update for all of you regarding the villainous terrorist group known only as the League of Kaijin.”

Izuku made a quizzical expression at the screen, tilting his head in confusion. “Is that...?”

Ichinose continued, “The League of Kaijin, a group of unevolved terrorists that launched their first attack back in April, is the newest threat to our lives from the mutant population.”

The screen changed from the newsroom, now showing clips of various battles from Musutafu, Hosu and Kamino. Izuku focused both of his eyes on the screen. Though it wasn’t the best footage (just because everyone can record stuff now doesn’t mean they’re good at it), there was no mistaking it.

A giant shadowy beast leaped into a crowd of Shocker combatants. A mighty roar erupted from its beak as it sank its talons into the ground, ripping the concrete off the block.

Izuku gasped under his breath, “Tokoyami!”

The frogs noticed that and glanced at each other in apprehension but made no move as Izuku looked at the rest of the footage of the League.

The scene turned to the outskirts of a ruined city. There was a being dressed in black wearing severed white hands over his mouth and arms. Only those arms multiplied, becoming stronger and gaining muscle as they threw explosives, letting fires spread everywhere.

“Shoji...?”

The screen went to another scene of a blur moving across the screen, knocking into a truck and forcing it to crash. It went by too fast and Izuku wasn’t able to see much of it. But he did see the engines sticking out of the person’s legs.

“Iida.”

More footage played of someone with a snake Quirk using a sword to eviscerate more of Shocker's enemies. Izuku didn’t recognize them. It wasn’t Spinner, member of the League of Villains in his timeline. Their scales were grey instead of green. Izuku saw out of the corner of his eye Tsuyu’s shoulders tensing up, but honestly, he didn’t register it. He was more focused on his own friends.

Izuku hated to admit it, but there was a small sense of relief he was feeling. Even though his friends were now being seen as the villains in this world for no good reason, he was at least glad to see that they were alive. Tokoyami, Shoji, Iida, even Tsuy- sorry, Asui. Their circumstances weren’t the best, but at least they had at least some sense of life.

That feeling didn’t last long.

The picture went fuzzy for a second before it went back to the newsroom where Ichinose spoke clearly into the microphone.

“Well, we have an announcement. From the grace of our Great Leader, we’re going to bring you footage from their location now of an important update on the progress of the League.”

The picture changed again to another scene. The walls in the background were made up of blue technical panels. A man in a lab coat with long flowing silver hair faced the camera, hands interlocking in front of him, showing himself as an absolute gentleman. Even though he wasn’t smiling, there was something on his expression that showed how smug he felt.

The caption for his name read “Dr. Dee: Head Shocker Researcher”.

“Thank you, Ichinose,” Dr. Dee said, bowing politely. He placed his hands behind his back as he strolled along the secret hallway, the camera following his movements. “I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that this League absolutely terrifies me. Though our formidable Commanders have been performing admirably to reign in this menace, with every attack, the League of Kaijin have been proven to be absolutely dangerous. Their violence towards us evolved humans speaks more than anything they could say, but seeing as we have one in custody with us, I figured we should remind us of their intentions.”

Dr. Dee stopped as they had reached a steel reinforced door. He pulled open a small hatch, showing who was lying inside and Izuku’s eyes bulged out of his socket.

“Koda?”

It was his classmate wearing a much different outfit than Izuku had seen before. He was wearing a brown suede vest with an animal fur collar around his neck and a red tank top with a necklace having a lion’s fangs.

But Izuku wasn’t focused on that. There were bruises all over Koda’s body. His body was paler than Izuku had ever seen.

And he had a silver muzzle over his mouth.

Dr. Dee continued, “Unfortunately, this one’s power is tied to his ability to speak so it was necessary to dampen his power.”

Without knowing it, Izuku had his fists clenched in anger, shaking his head. He whispered under his breath, “You have Quirk dampeners. You can do this without going that far...”

“But we were able to get some footage of what he was saying before we had to restrain him like this.”

A black and white CCTV scene started to play, watching overhead as Koda struggled in his bonds, not wanting to get into the long metal stretcher that the Shocker combatants had already prepared.

“Our goal is the destruction of all mankind! The League will finish you all!”

Izuku was now trembling in rage. He didn’t care that this was an alternate timeline. He didn’t care that he really didn’t know what this Koda had been through. But, in that brief look into Koda’s cell, he saw the eyes of someone tired, someone weary, someone defeated. There was no way the animal lover Izuku knew would ever say something like that.

It was fake. It had to be.

The screen then returned to Dr. Dee as the scientist moved away from the cell, “I know. It’s terrifying. The future that Shocker provides us all is protection, selecting carefully the best of humanity’s prime fighters and training them to become Commanders. To use their strength and courage to protect us all from the vile creatures we all call Kaijin. It is integral to ensure that they don’t dominate the world.”

Izuku mumbled, “More like trying to ensure your domination...”

“As head scientist of Foundation X, as well as a loyal follower of our Great Leader, our goal has always been to unite us all under the Shocker Flag. But, these Kaijin have always fought back, not wanting to believe what they really are, genetic mistakes. That’s why Foundation X has created this!”

Dr. Dee stopped walking and faced the camera. He snapped his fingers.

SNAP!

The dark background behind him lit up, each light turning on as it showed a massive hangar holding something giant inside.

Frightened, both Asui siblings held their older sister tight. Tsuyu squeezed them gently, trying to comfort them, but even she was terrified by what she was seeing.

A silver humanoid robot stood at attention 50 m tall. Catwalks on multiple levels were seen surrounding it, most likely for anyone to work on the robot directly. The big machine resembled the designs for Kamen Rider Ichigo and Nigo in a way with its head resembling their helmets with large glowing red eyes and even having its waist shaped like the Kamen Riders’ belts with a red core in the middle. Long silver panels stretched out from its’ shoulders, with wires sticking out of them. Its chest was the most horrifying aspect of it, resembling a skeleton’s ribs as it covered glowing red orbs in the center as if it were a heart.

The scientist explained, “This, along with its pilot soon-to-be-announced, has been given the codename of Poseidon. Named after the famed Greek god of the sea, this machine will eliminate any of the Kaijin who have upset the global balance in ways you couldn’t possibly imagine like tsunamis washing over empires.”

The video stopped panning over the big machine and went back towards the scientist as the man stared directly into the camera.

“If any Kaijin out there are hearing this, I want to tell you this right to your face.”

Dr. Dee narrowed his eyes.

“We humans have evolved. We adapt to change. But creatures like you aren’t capable of that. We have the power to reach into our souls and pull out the courage we may not know we possess. You’re strong, but we have something worth fighting for that you will never have: humanity. And we won’t tolerate you trying to take that away from us any longer.”

The scientist jabbed his finger right into the lens.

“No matter where you go, no matter where you hide, Shocker will hunt you down and eviscerate you from our world. And that’s not a threat. That’s a promise.”

The screen turned black, ending the broadcast.

It was a good speech. Izuku will admit that. But he saw through it all. All the hatred and bigotry.

“This isn’t right,” Izuku said, averting his gaze from the screen. “They’re going to kill anyone who decides they don’t want to be a part of Shocker...”

“Ribbit. I’ve never heard of anyone say anything like that...” Izuku looked up to see Tsuyu looking at him with confused eyes. “Just who are you?”

Izuku held out a hand to her as he introduced himself, giving a small smile, “Hello, my name is Izuku Midoriya. And I want to be a hero.”

Satsuki echoed, “A... hero?”

The Quirkless teen nodded. “Right. Someone who wants to protect you. Protect all of you. I want to stop Shocker from hurting any of you, but to help do that, I need that train pass you guys took from me.”

Samidare arched an eyebrow, “The train pass?”

“Right,” Izuku confirmed, his eyes darting between each one of them. “You can keep everything else you got from me, but I need that pass.” His eyes finally settled on Tsuyu’s. He took a step toward her. “Ts- Asui.” He paused, catching himself. “I know this seems completely strange, but I know there’s a part of you that wants to be a hero too. No one here can say that this world is right. Please. Help give me the chance to fight back and make it better.”

There was a moment of silence as Izuku looked pleadingly at her. Tension radiated from every inch of her until she shuddered. And started gagging.

“GACK- CAK- PHHT!”

The Rider pass shot out of her throat high into the air. Tsuyu’s tongue extended to its full length, catching it and dropping it right into her hand. The girl’s eyes looked over to her siblings, who gave small nods of encouragement.

Tsuyu held it out for him. “Ribbit. Just leave this place and don’t get us involved in this. You understand?”

Izuku gave her a meek nod and took it from her hand. “I do. Thank you so much.”

CRASH!

The instant that Izuku had the pass in his hands, the whole building shook, dust falling from the ceiling.

Blue and red lights shone through the closed windows. A voice called out from a megaphone from outside. “ALL MUTANT AND REBEL ACTIVITY IS TO CEASE AT ONCE!”

Izuku and the others all made a break for the entrance, but once they all saw a looming figure coming toward the entrance, loud footsteps pounding on the floor, they all ducked for cover.

“We know you’re in here!” Death Arms’ voice boomed, only a few feet away from them. “Come out or we’ll bring this whole place down with you inside!”

Izuku yelled, “Just try it!” The greenette stood up from cover and faced Death Arms. Still holding the fire extinguisher, he aimed the nozzle straight at the Commander’s face. White powder shot out, blinding the man’s face.

“ARGGHH!”

Tsuyu put on her goggles as she held to her siblings and made a gigantic leap straight out of the café. As Death Arms moved to claw the powder out of his eyes, Izuku followed quickly behind.

From right out of the café, Slugger prepared his bat. “Not so fast!”

Izuku ducked underneath the strike as he swung his fire extinguisher at the man’s face.

BONK!

Slugger staggered back, still reeling from the impact. Izuku looked around, now seeing no signs of the Asui siblings anywhere. He could hear distant shouting, telling each other to split up, but couldn’t figure out exactly where.

“Halt!”

Izuku quickly turned around to see a whole squad of Shocker combatants coming at him. He raised the nozzle at them and pulled the trigger.

Nothing came out.

“Ah, great,” Izuku thought. “Out already?”

That’s when the villains pulled out their guns.

Yep, this was Izuku’s bad luck at play.

The greenette raised the fire extinguisher over his shoulder and heaved it toward the combatants with all of his might. It missed its target completely, not even hitting any of them and rolling towards them on the ground. But the momentary confusion was what Izuku needed to run away, ducking underneath any bullets coming his way.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

For several minutes, Izuku did his best to avoid them as much as possible. There were so many people swarming the area, he had to avoid every single one of them. Jumping into every dumpster. Climbing up fire escapes and then jumping from roof to roof when safe. (Which was something he did in hero training, but never thought he would actually do. He can officially mark that from his bucket list.)

He didn’t know where Tsuyu and the others went. He just had to hope that they were safe too.

But, as Izuku was sneaking close to a tunnel, a loud voice boomed out, “NOT SO FAST!”

The boy froze, darting his head back and forth to see if someone had spotted him, but then soon realized that the voice was coming from inside of the tunnel.

Izuku peeked his head inside and was horrified by what he saw.

Tsuyu and Samidare were only a few feet away from Izuku on the ground, watching the other far end of the tunnel. It was the three Commanders with a squadron of Shocker soldiers right next to them.

Mt. Lady, normal-sized, held Satsuki up off the ground. Her arm had closed the frog girl’s chest over her own.

The Commander snarled, “Unless you don’t care about what happens to her, you’ll come with us!”

“Tsuyu...” Satsuki begged, eyes almost on the verge of tears. “Help me...”

Both Tsuyu and her brother sprung up on their feet. But Slugger simply laughed at them both. The Commander called out, “Oh, you feeling froggy, huh? Then jump!”

Death Arms and Slugger put themselves in a fighting stance.

Through clenched teeth, Tsuyu glared at both commanders for a moment before looking at her sister with an angry expression. She glanced between her sister and her brother before she clenched her fists hard. Tsuyu forcefully grabbed Samidare by the wrist and started to turn away. “Let’s go...”

As Satsuki’s eyes widened in fear, Izuku ran into the tunnel, getting right in the frogs’ path. “What are you doing?! You’re just going to leave her with them?!”

Tsuyu yelled at Izuku, “There’s no way we can stand up to Shocker’s forces!”

Izuku argued, “But, she’s your sister!”

A moment of hesitation. She replied, averting her gaze, “Ribbit. It’s her fault for getting caught. You’re only as strong as your weakest link. The only thing we can do is try and come back for her later…”

“Tsuyu...” Samidare pleaded.

The older sister snapped her head at her brother, replying in a harsh voice, “We survived this long because of that reasoning! If I try and fight them, I’ll lose the both of you!”

Samidare shrunk from that response, but Izuku continued to argue, grabbing her by the shoulders, “So, it’s just fine to let these monsters do whatever they want?!”

“Of course not!” Tsuyu yelled, freeing herself from Izuku’s grasp but not letting go of Samidare. “But I have to do this. They’ll get what’s coming to them later. Even if I have to take them out myself. Ribbit.”

Izuku shook his head. This was escalating far too fast. His Tsuyu would never say any of these things. “Tsuyu, you can’t mean that!”

“Stop calling me that!” The girl snapped. “I’m just facing reality. This is the way the world works. The world doesn’t choose to save people like us.”

Before Izuku could argue with her more, Mt. Lady called out, sounding almost bored, “I like watching drama as the next girl, but enough talk. Come with us now.”

Izuku took one last glance at Tsuyu, but from her unwavering expression, it was clear that she wouldn’t change her mind. The Quirkless teen took one long breath and closed his eyes.

He had to stop thinking of her as the Tsuyu from his timeline. This was a girl that fought tooth and nail in a world that hated her. Who was dealing with taking care of her family all on her own. Who was trying to make the best decision for all of them, even though it was hard. Izuku could get that.

But, what Izuku couldn’t get was leaving someone behind. And, if Tsuyu was going to do it, then he would have to be the one to pick up the slack.

Izuku thought to Momotaros, who had already been on his way, “Momotaros, I’m going to need your speed now.”

“Heh. Ya know it.”

Izuku’s eyes snapped open. He held out the Rider Pass as he stepped in front of the two siblings, summoning his belt. “I’ll take care of this. As soon as you get your sister, the three of you get to safety.”

The frog girl was confused to see what Izuku was doing as he strapped the Den-O belt around his waist. But he didn’t waver as he pressed the red button and swiped the pass over the belt.

“Henshin!” Izuku yelled. The black and white armor appeared over Izuku’s body.

“SWORD FORM!”

A ball of light circled around Izuku, forcing Tsuyu and Samidare to back a step away from the transformation. The orb’s path formed a train track around him. Pieces formed from the track and flipped on the armor to form a red chest piece and shoulder pads. The orb made its way onto the railroad on the back of the helmet. It traveled along the path to the front, turning the track gold with a green gem in the middle. The light formed into a red peach shaped visor. It split into two and the tips of the visor separated as if they were a bug’s antenna. There was a small blade underneath each eye.

Izuku felt the mind of the Imagin in the forefront as his body gave himself a thumbs up and struck a pose. “I have arrived!”

Everyone looked on in shock at the sudden appearance of this new armor. As Den-O assembled his sword together, Samidare tilted his head in confusion, “Mister... are you?”

“I’m Den-O," the hero replied, draping the finished sword over his shoulder. “Kamen Rider Den-O.”

“What?!” Death Arms yelled. “You dare call yourself a Rider?”

“Yeah, wanna see?”

Den-O chucked his sword toward them like a spear. The weapon flew toward Mt. Lady’s neck.

SWOOSH!

It barely grazed the girl’s neck, creating a clear cut of blood across it.

It wasn’t supposed to hurt her. It was just supposed to draw their attention for Den-O to make his move.

Den-O channeled his superspeed into his legs, catapulting himself straight in the crowd of Commanders. Mt. Lady looked back right as Den-O’s soles connected to her face. Snatching Satsuki away from her, the Kamen Rider pushed the Commander down his foot, her body skidding across the rough road.

Death Arms was the first to snap out of his daze, yelling at the other Shocker combatants, “Take him down!”

With his free hand, Den-O grabbed his sword from nearby, slashing Death Arms’ chest.

“AGGHH!”

Den-O ran through the crowd. He jumped up, jerking left and right as his legs kicked the sides of the approaching fighters.

“Hey, Frogger! Catch!”

The hero tossed Satsuki right at them. Tsuyu’s tongue extended as it wrapped around the girl and hooked her towards him. The second she was in arms’ reach, Tsuyu closed her eyes and hugged her tight. At that point, she wasn’t sure if Satsuki was shaking or if it was herself.

Satsuki whispered, “I’m sorry, Tsuyu. I’m sorry…”

Tsuyu didn’t answer her, not knowing what to say. She just hugged her tighter.

Meanwhile, Samidare was staring at Den-O as he fought off the Commanders. The boy asked, “What’s going on? I thought that all Kamen Riders were supposed to be Shocker’s elite soldiers...”

At the moment, Den-O held his sword up, blocking Death Arms’ fists and pushing against it.

“How dare you!” the Commander snapped. “Calling yourself a Kamen Rider… Kamen Riders are only supposed to protect humanity’s dreams, not those freaks!”

“Kamen Riders protect humanity’s dreams of hope, freedom, peace! That’s for everyone to have! Those things are not what you’re fighting for at all!”

That is what Izuku would have said if he was said in control, but since Momotaros was the one in the driver’s seat, the Rider instead replied, “Ya care about dreamin’? I’ll make sure ya have one right now!”

Den-O pushed back against the Commander, punching him right in the gut as he kicked a Shocker grunt nearby.

“That’s good, Momotaros,” Izuku thought as Den-O continued fighting. “Mt. Lady’s out for the moment, which is good even though we’re underground, and I don’t imagine she’d really use her Quirk like this when there was a chance of getting crushed herself. Death Arms should be our priority right now. But you have to be careful to watch out for his fists.”

“Oh, wow! Don’t get punched! Thanks for the advice!”

“Sorry… Look, Death Arms does put too much in his attacks and he leaves himself open for a few seconds afterwards. He shouldn’t, but he does.”

“Anything else?!”

“Yeah, you have to watch out for Slugger and his Quir- Wait, where is Slugger?!”

As Den-O held the blunt side of his sword upwards, blocking another one of Death Arms’ hits, the baseball-themed fighter made his move. Standing in the back of the fight, Slugger took out a baseball and threw it in the air.

“HOME RUN MIRACLE!”

 Slugger swung his bat, hitting the ball in mid-air. It was then that his power activated. Upon impact, the baseball multiplied into thousands upon thousands of baseballs. Following the main one’s momentum, they all flew through the air.

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!

The baseballs were too fast, too numerous to dodge. Both Den-O and Death Arms were on the receiving end of it, feeling like they got punched all over, as both of them fell back in pain,

Pushing away Death Arms’ head away from him, Den-O grunted, trying to catch his breath, “Hitting your own guy to hit me too? Now that’s cold.”

Observing this from behind, Tsuyu commented, “See what I mean? Only underhanded guys like that are the only ones who can win in this world.”

Satsuki argued, “But Den-O saved me. He’s on our side!”

Samidare nodded, “I agree! We should help him.”

“No,” Tsuyu reinforced, grabbing them both. “Now, come on. Let’s get out of here.”

Right as Tsuyu had grabbed them both, she turned around to see more Shocker reinforcements blocking their exit. Snapping her head around, she could see even more on the other end of the tunnel. They were trapped!

As Den-O noticed that too, Izuku thought, trying to ignore the pain, “Momotaros, I’m sorry. But I think it’s time to change the music. Ryutaros, you got a playlist in mind?”

Ryutaro’s voice chimed in. “Oh yeah, I do!”

Momotaros grumbled, “Seriously? When it is ever my turn?!”

But, still, the red Imagin complied, leaving Den-O’s body as the purple dragon now took control. Den-O sprung up to his feet, pressing the purple button and sliding the pass over the belt.

“GUN FORM!”

The red bug eyes broke apart and disappeared. The red chest armor unlocked from the Rider’s torso. The pieces surrounded the Kamen Rider and unfolded in mid-air before relocking onto Den-O. The sharp front piece unfolded upwards, revealing a flap on each side. With the train track going down from the center, each side resembled a dragon’s tri clawed hand. There was a clear yellow-ish glass orb in each of the dragon’s palms.

A ball of light escaped the Kamen Rider’s belt and hit the back of Den-O's helmet. It skidded along the train tracks in the center, transforming into a dragon’s head with a golden top, golden whiskers and red eyes. As it locked into place in front of Den-O's eyes, its small purple wings unfolded parallel to the Rider’s face, creating a new visor. The dragon’s two-pronged golden top with a green gem was placed into the middle of the visor, acting as the centerpiece. The dragon’s golden whiskers were now facing upwards at the bottom of the visor, giving the Rider small fangs.

The Shocker troops took a step back in shock as the Kamen Rider removed two of the attachments from the sword. He placed one on top and one perpendicular at the bottom, giving the weapon a handle. Den-O turned in place as if he was about to dance, but really, he was just showing off his gun.

“Mind if I kill ya?” Den-O asked. “Sorry! Can’t hear your answer!”

Den-O fired his gun in rapid succession. BAMBAMBAMBAM!

But Slugger swung his bat just as fast, deflecting every attack. “I don’t think so!”

The Kamen Rider pouted. “Aw, but I just want to dance!”

“I don’t dance!”

Den-O raised his fingers high into the air, cackling. “I know you can!”

SNAP!

Slugger looked down to see his hips gyrating. “What the f-?!”

Shocker grunts somersaulted over the crowd, joining Slugger’s spontaneous dancing. They all ran past Den-O and the Asui family as they stood in sync behind him, performing the same dance moves. The frogs were just as confused, but they recognized the moves to be baseball poses.

Slugger held up his bat horizontally as he started shuffling and swinging underneath it.

“It’s good…”

He then tapped the ground like as if it was a cane and started patting the imaginary baseball mitt in his hands.

“It’s great…”

The Commander then ran forward, performing the splits. Though aware of what was happening, he was unable to stop as his privates grinded across the hard ground as if he were sliding into home base.

“It’s awesome!”

Slugger was stunned for a solid moment before an intense wave of pain swept over him and he collapsed, practically shaking on the spot and trying to deal with the pain.

As many others followed Slugger’s lead against their will, Tsuyu pointed a finger at Den-O as he approached them. “How did you-?”

“No time! Come on!” Den-O yelled, scooting them toward the tunnel exit. “This way!”

Rushing the frogs past the crowd of dancing henchmen, Den-O couldn’t help but ask, “Can I pet you cute froggys when we’re done?”

“NO!”

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Reaching a small underpass, the Asui family were in front of Den-O as the Kamen Rider suddenly stumbled forward. They turned around as Den-O's purple armor vanished in an instant.

“What the-?” Den-O asked, looking at his hands. Izuku was now the one in control. But that didn’t make sense. It was sudden. Out of nowhere. Ryutaros still should have been in control. The only time Den-O felt like this was when-.

Underneath his helmet, Den-O's eyes widened as he snapped his head to the right, hearing a familiar scream.

“YEAAAAHHHHHH!”

The Asui siblings covered their ears in pain as the force of the sonic wave threw Den-O directly into a nearby pillar. “OW!”

Den-O's body dropped back to the ground as he looked up in the direction of his attackers.

Eraserhead and Present Mic.

Both of Izuku’s teachers in the main timeline. But, from the looks on their faces, it sure didn’t seem like they were going to treat him any differently than a villain.

“This is bad...” Den-O thought. “If Aizawa is going to be the one fighting me, I won’t be able to use any of the Imagin while he’s using his Quirk. Not to mention Present Mic is already strong on his own...”

Eraserhead called out, hands gripping his capture weapon, “Surrender. Move from the Kaijin and then we’ll deal with you accordingly.”

Den-O gritted, “Not a chance.”

Present Mic apologized, holding his hands up to calm everyone down, “Hey hey hey. Sorry for the loud shout out, but grumpy Eraserhead here really doesn’t like kids.” He shrugged. “It’s no wonder he never became a teacher.” Ignoring his friend’s rolling of the eyes, the loud hero took a step forward, putting a hand over his chest. “Little listeners, I get it. You’re in a tough spot, but we’re here to help.” Present Mic reached out a hand to the Asuis. “Just come with us. Shocker will take care of you.”

“Like at that damn Tartarus Hospital?!” Tsuyu yelled. “Throw us in there, thinking you did a good job? That’s even worse than our life now!”

Present Mic sighed, slumping over as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Why does no one take my advice?”

Eraserhead commented, “Because you’re a walking disaster.”

“Ah! So hurtful!”

They acted the same as the real timeline. But, if they’re working for Shocker, then it didn’t matter. They were still Den-O’s enemies.

“YEE YEEE YEEE!”

More Shocker grunts appeared, flipping out of nowhere and advancing on them.

Den-O grunted as he pulled himself up, walking in front of the Asui family. He spread out his arms to try and shield them as they all tried backing away from the Commanders and their army.

“You guys need to run!” Den-O said to them.

Tsuyu was already about to spring away toward another building, but both Samidare and Satsuki held onto Den-O's right arm.

“We can’t leave you!” Samidare cried.

Satsuki added, “You can’t take them on by yourself. If you keep this up, they’ll kill you!”

Den-O clutched his bruised side. “I know it looks bad...” He let out a groan of pain as he jerked his arm away from the kids. “But I still think I can pull something off. Even if I can’t, I’ll think of something because...” He looked over his shoulder toward them. “Because we can’t give up. Never. Not until the very end!”

Tsuyu looked at Den-O, narrowing her eyes at that statement.

Meanwhile, Eraserhead sighed, “Right words. Wrong decision.” He raised his hand, signaling the combatants. “After-!”

He paused as everyone turned his head toward a motorcycle revving in their direction.

OOO’s red, yellow, and green armor could be seen coming right towards the scene on a bright yellow motorcycle.

Den-O's eyes widened. “Amajiki!”

But OOO pulled his cycle to a stop... right in front of the Shocker army. He lifted his leg off of it and looked towards Den-O and the others.

“I shall be the ones to take care of you.”

Den-O gasped, “What?!”

Eraserhead said, crossing his arms, “Do whatever you want.”

Present Mic tried to intervene, “Wait a moment. You may be a Kamen Rider, but we still have more experience. Maybe you could go on intermission and-”

“When I want your opinion, I’ll give it to you.” OOO turned toward the blonde, a deadly aura surrounding him. “All Kamen Riders not loyal to Shocker are pretenders in this world. I shall be the one to deal with them. Understand?”

Even though Present Mic couldn’t see OOO’s expression, the adult could feel the malice behind it. He suddenly started cowering, backing away.

Before Den-O could step in, OOO’s fingers suddenly became long yellow tiger claws. Like a tiger, OOO charged straight at his prey, claws out.

Den-O tried catching them as they dug into his shoulder. He pleaded, “Amajiki... I don’t know what happened, but you gotta snap out of-”

OOO drew Den-O closer to him. He whispered, “Midoriya, you need to trust me right now.”

Den-O couldn’t even respond as OOO drew his claws back, slicing Den-O across the chest and then jamming them in as he uppercut his claws. The hit sent Den-O flying in the air. His back hit the hard end of a flight of stairs as he stopped halfway up.

Tsuyu’s arms wrapped around her family as she attempted to jump away from the fight. However, OOO’s legs became segmented like a grasshopper’s. He jumped toward the night sky, punching his claws right into Tsuyu’s back.

The girl felt the sharp sear of pain as OOO spun her around in mid-air and sent a hard right hook to her jaw. The Asui siblings fell toward Den-O.

OOO plummeted to the ground, faster than them. Landing at the bottom of the stairwell, OOO took out his scanner and moved it across his belt.

“Scanning Charge!”

The Kamen Rider leaped high into the air. Energy swirled all around him like an aura. His legs transformed to normal as a brief projection of red wings could be seen as he shot a foot out straight toward Den-O and the others.

Den-O didn’t know what was going on, but he still felt it right to trust his upperclassman. Instead of trying to attack, he leaped toward the Asui family, shielding them from the attack.

Then, OOO aimed his foot only slightly downwards.

A large explosion erupted from the energy of OOO’s finisher on the stairs, but not even touching Den-O or the others. All it did was block them from sight of any of the Shocker grunts or Commanders.

None of them saw the yellow strands of energy wrap around Den-O and the frogs’ waists, carrying them away from the fight.

OOO paused, watching the explosion slowly clear itself out until it was clear that there was nothing on the other side. Holding back a sigh of relief, he looked back to the crowd of dangerous Shocker grunts and Commanders behind him.

“What are you all standing around for?!” OOO yelled. “A pat on the back?! Get back to work finding more of those freaks before I scan my charge in your ass!”

Many of the Shocker grunts saluted, leaving the scene. “YEE YEE!”

As for the Commanders, Eraserhead quietly shuffled out of there, leaving Present Mic to beg for forgiveness.

Forgiveness from the Kamen Rider, an elite soldier in charge of commanding this world’s twisted soldiers.

This… was not something Amajiki was at all prepared for.

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Ankh had his back on the door for the random rooftop as Hado floated down, releasing her Quirk. Den-O and the others took a moment to catch their breath, but Tsuyu still looked wary.

Den-O removed his belt, cancelling his transformation as the armor dissolved away. He bowed his head towards the upperclassman. “Hado, thank you so much for saving us.”

“It’s no problem,” Hado said, squatting down and smiling towards him. “But, next time, don’t wander off without telling me or Tamaki. We were trying to find you all night when we heard the commotion.”

“Sorry for not trying to find you guys first, but it was the only way I could get out of UA and get to Den Liner to try and fix everything,” Izuku meekly apologized with a slight grimace. He pulled himself up to his feet. “I’m assuming you know how bad this world is now?”

Ankh scoffed, “Yeah, it was that overwhelming desire I said earlier.”

Hado chimed in, “When we got back to our dorms, a bunch of our classmates started treating Tamaki differently. Praising him for being a Kamen Rider and for destroying the Kaijin. It was pretty easy to figure out that this world was messed up. We saw the announcement from that Dr. Dee guy when we started to search for you.”

Tsuyu watched the conversation with weary eyes, unsure what to make of this. But, as OOO appeared, swooping down and landing on the rooftop with them, she became tense again as she sprung to her feet, ready to protect her family.

But it was soon obvious that it wasn’t needed when OOO removed the belt, cancelling the transformation.

As Izuku and Hado turned toward him, the purple-haired teen fell to his knees, burying himself in his hands.

“Oh my god, that was one of the worst moments in my life!” Amajiki cried. “Trying to act like the villain everyone was expecting me to be. And worse, in front of people?!” The shy teen turned away from the group. “Ah! Don’t look at me.”

Izuku approached the upperclassman, trying to reassure him, “Hey, don’t worry, Amajiki. From your performance, I’m sure those Commanders and Shocker people bought it. And…” He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck with a small smile. “Even though it was kind of scary, it was honestly pretty cool too.”

“That’s worse!”

“Ah, Tamaki. Don’t be so silly,” Hado smiled as she gave a few comforting pats to Amajiki’s shoulders before turning to Izuku. “Now, what do we do about this world? Do you have a plan?”

“I…” Izuku paused before his shoulders slumped. “I don’t. I’m hoping that fixing Den Liner will help, but…” He let out a long sigh before walking towards the edge of the rooftop, leaning on the railing on the side. “For the past hour, I’ve been seeing heroes, people I look up to, acting like heartless soldiers to someone just because of how they were born. Public announcements of eradicating them all acting like it’s completely normal.” He averted his gaze to the streets below. “I’ve been time travelling for a while and faced threats I never would have thought possible, but it’s never been this bad.”

“I understand how frightening this can be. Even I don’t believe that this can be fixed.” Amajiki said before pulling himself up and walking to Izuku’s side. “But you’re the best expert when it comes to this time travel stuff.” Amajiki looked into Izuku’s grim eyes, giving the most comforting smile he could. “Can you sincerely tell us that there’s nothing we can do to put our world back to what it should be?”

There was a long moment of silence that both shy teenagers were painfully aware of before Izuku made up his mind with a slow nod.

“You’re right,” Izuku confirmed. “We don’t give up to the very end.”

The greenette turned toward the third years. “Ok, I have a plan. I’ll head back to Den Liner and help get it running again.”

Hado asked, “Okay, but what can we do?”

“The three of you need to go back to UA. When Den Liner gets up and running, we’re going to need to figure just how exactly this world changed, what’s the diverging point and how Shocker fully came to be. UA has the best resources to find that info in the library or maybe from one of the teachers. Try to find out about that blue being that attacked Den Liner. Maybe there’s a record of that figure in this time to give us an advantage. Plus, if something does happen with the Commanders, you’ll be able to help from your side. In this timeline, there’s no reason for any of them to suspect you, especially since they apparently treat Amajiki’s status as a Kamen Rider higher than their Commanders.”

Amajiki shoved his hands into his pockets. He mumbled, “Yay…”

Izuku continued, “Plus, with how much this world has changed, we’ll need everyone we can get working on this from multiple angles…” He pulled out his broken phone. “We will need a way to communicate since this got damaged.”

“Here.”

Izuku tilted his head in confusion, looking at the two green soda cans in Amajiki’s hands. “Thank you, but I’m not really thirsty right now.”

Amajiki shook his head. “No, these are part of my support gear. They’re communicators. We’ll be able to contact you without worrying about if anyone is listening to any phone calls or texts.” Hado took one of the cans and opened the top. Izuku watched in awe as it unfolded out, becoming a metallic robotic grasshopper with a speaker inside.

As Hado folded it back and Izuku took both cans, the teenager couldn’t help but think, “Wow, that’s so cool! I should get one of those!”

Hado put a finger to her chin. “Wait, both Ankh, Tamaki and I remember our world. Is there anyone else that you know of, Midoriya, that could also help us out?”

The Quirkless teen shook his head. “No, the only reason why you guys remember the original timeline was because you were on Den Liner when the change happened. And the only people who remember their original world that would remember outside of Den Liner are people called Singular Points. Eri and I are the only Singular Points that we know of.”

Ryutaros’s voice popped into Izuku’s head. “And Tenko Shimura.”

“And Tenko Shimura,” Izuku relayed to the others before his eyes widened upon that realization. “Wait, what?!” He darted his head to the side. “When did you learn about that?”

“It came up after one of our gaming sessions during Training Camp.”

“That far back?! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“I just did!”

Hado leaned forward. “Who’s Tenko Shimura?”

Taking a moment to calm himself (and trying to put that concern aside for another day), Izuku turned back to the others. “It doesn’t matter. If he is here, I don’t know if he will help us. And, we don’t have a lot of time to try and track him down before Shocker’s Big Machine is ready.”

“Got it,” Hado nodded before holding up a finger. “One more question. What about them?”

She pointed at the Asui siblings on the side, who had been listening in the whole time. Their faces were a combination of confusion and curiosity. But, for Tsuyu in particular, it was a lot harder to discern. She had been staring at Izuku, trying to get a good read on him.

Tsuyu called out, “Time travel? Singular points? What exactly do you mean by that?”

Izuku turned to face the frogs. The look he gave them was strange for Tsuyu to see. Somewhat hopeful.

“Thank you for giving me my pass back. I… You don’t have to get involved with this if you don’t want to. I’m sorry for bothering you all with my bad luck. But, if you want an explanation, then I think you should come with me.” Izuku reached out his hand to them with a smile. “At the very least, it’s a safe place for you guys to hide out until you figure something else out.”

Tsuyu didn’t answer him at first, looking down at her younger siblings. Both of their eyes were pleading for her sister to let them go.

The reluctant older sister looked back at Izuku after a long moment of silence. “…Ribbit. Do you at least have food there?”

“Yeah,” Izuku replied with a nod. “I’m sure you’ll like it.”

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“Alright! Who wants sludge?”

The three Asui siblings were huddled into their own booth on the dining car for Den Liner, looking down at the cups being put in front of them. The train car itself was intact for the most part, lights and cooking equipment still functioning normally. Anything broken had already been swept up.

Izuku moved from Naomi’s countertop as he started to hand them plates of fried rice and noodles. “Here you go.”

Samidare and Satsuki had already started to dig into the food, but Tsuyu didn’t move. The girl stated, looking down at her cup, “This doesn’t look good.”

Izuku admitted, “I know it doesn’t, but it’s a lot better than you’d think it would be. Trust me.”

Tsuyu rolled her eyes. “I don’t think I should. I don’t like liars. Ribbit.”

Izuku blinked at that. “Why would you think I’m a liar? Everything I told you so far is the truth.”

“Oh, you mean besides your crazy story about time travel and how you’re not actually from this world and the Kamen Riders and their Commanders are supposed to help people? Yeah, I can see how someone like you would think that.” Tsuyu paused, looking directly at Izuku. “Back at the café, you said you didn’t have any powers. And even though you managed to fool me, from your fight, that clearly isn’t the case.”

Izuku cringed, holding his tray tighter. “Well, technically, I told you that I wasn’t born with any power. And I wasn’t. I got those powers you saw earlier through something else entirely.”

Tsuyu paused, the circumstances drawing her attention. “From where? Is Shocker capable of something like that? Or do you know the League’s sensei?”

“No, it’s nothing lik-“ Izuku started to say before narrowing his eyes at that last detail. “You know about All for One?”

Samidare answered, in between bites, “Yeah. Shocker blasted his name a few years ago, wanting people to be scared of someone that could make them ‘devolved’ creatures. That really is making people afraid of the League, afraid that they could lose their status.”

Satsuki added, “But, we never met him personally. Even though Tsuyu has.”

Tsuyu shot a glance at her sister for that comment. Izuku asked, “You know how to contact the League?”

The girl sighed, not even looking back at Izuku, “Yeah, I do. Someone I know has been a part of it for a while. They tried to get me to join them a few times, but I don’t care about what protection they think they have. Going after Shocker is a mistake and would put all of us in the line of fire. Ribbit.”

It was then that Tsuyu grabbed a spoon and started to eat some of her food. Izuku walked back to the counter, returning the tray and trying not to think about that response.

This was not the Tsuyu he knew, he had to remind himself. Protecting her family was probably her top priority in this world. It would have been a risk to try and fight despite that.

“Well…” Izuku sighed before turning back to her. “To answer your question from earlier, no. I didn’t get my powers from Shocker or from All for One. I get my powers from some people who are… unconventional.”

“And who would that be?”

As if they were waiting on cue, the door slid open as all of the Imagin filed into the train car. Their eyes immediately fell on the frog family. Momotaros immediately ran out of the train car.

Kintaros and Ryutaros sat down at their respective booths as Naomi offered them some sludge to them.

“Oh my, it’s true…” Urataros commented, cupping his chin. He strolled casually toward them. “I must say, Izuku, I am loving the new company you have been bringing here lately.” He rested his elbow on his hand as he rubbed his fingers together. “Fishing from your own dock, I see.”

Before Izuku could try and answer that, Momotaros entered the car again, this time holding a few dog collars in his hands. Izuku stepped in the Imagin’s path, sensing that this could escalate.

“Uh, Momotaros, what are you doing?”

Momotaros pointed at the Asui family. “Ya just brought extras here a few hours ago and they dicked around before the train crashed.” He shook the collars in Izuku’s face. “I’m not letting that happun again!”

Izuku argued, “It wasn’t their fault. Besides, you shouldn’t do this anyway. Putting collars on people is not something anyone should do.”

“It don’t matter!” Momotaros said, moving past the greenette. He slammed his hands on the table and pointed one of the collars at Tsuyu. “Put this on, Frogger!”

Tsuyu didn’t even bother looking at Momotaros while she took a bite out of her food. She replied, her voice chilling, “Ribbit. Get that out of my face right now. Leave me and my family alone before you do something you regret.”

Momotaros scoffed, “Is that any way to talk to yer babysitter?!”

The instant that Momotaros finished that question, Tsuyu’s long tongue poked out of her lips and acted as another limb as she slapped the monster across his face for both cheeks.

SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!

Tsuyu ended the barrage of slaps with an uppercut straight to his chin!

The red Imagin felt faint as he fell back on the ground, completely dazed. The frog girl returned to eating her food as Eri entered the cabin. Taking in the scene, Eri rolled her eyes and rubbed her forehead in frustration.

Crossing her arms, the white-haired girl stopped by Kintaros’s side. She asked, “Hey, Kintaros? If Momotaros is on babysitting duty, can you babysit him as well?”

“Of course! No problem!”

The yellow Imagin flexed his muscles as he stood up from his booth, plopping his butt directly onto Momotaros’s body, practically crushing him.

The red Imagin raged, “Ya idiot! The nosy bitch didn’t mean for ya to literally sit on me!”

But Kintaros was already partially asleep. Unfortunately for Momotaros, with Kintaros’s natural invulnerability, he was now a literal unmovable object.

As Momotaros raged as hard as he could to get the big bear off him, Eri gestured to Izuku for him to come over as both Singular points moved to the far end of the train car. The girl reached out to touch his shoulder.

“Hey,” Eri said softly. “How are you holding up? We all saw that Dr. Dee Dee’s announcement on the TV. Tokoyami and your other friends being the villains in this world…” She shook her head. “That’s not right.”

“I’m doing as good as I can be,” Izuku admitted. “But thank you for checking in on me.” He flashed her a smile and she returned it as well. Izuku glanced back at the Asui family. “Do you know if Owner will be mad at me since I brought them here?”

“No, I don’t think so, but he’s dealing with a bigger problem right now…” Eri sighed. “Izuku, we can’t fix Den Liner.”

Izuku spasmed for a moment in shock. “What?! Why? I thought you said Owner was going to call someone to help with that.”

“That’s the thing. There is no one,” Eri answered, her expression become more and more sullen. “Owner had me get him a full list of smart people to help repair it.”

She pulled out her phone to show Izuku all of the people she tried to contact, reading them off. “All of these people. Sento Kiryu, George Karizaki, Rinna Sawagami, Gai Amatsu… But none of them are answering.” Pocketing the phone, she sadly pointed out, “With how much this world has changed, they’re either impossible to reach now or they might not even be alive for them to help us.”

Izuku asked, scratching his head, “Have you tried contacting Hisashi and Deneb? They were able to fix their own train before.”

Eri shook her head. “They’re not answering either. Whatever happened to this world might have done something to them too.” Her shoulders shrugged. “I think we’re on our own.”

Izuku racked his brain. There had to be someone that could help them. He didn’t know any of the people that Eri had mentioned then. So, then it had to come to him. Who was the smartest person he knew? If this was his original timeline, who would he try to contact for an engineer?

“Mei Hatsume!”

Eri arched an eyebrow. “Who?”

Izuku explained, “The pink haired girl you saw at the Sports Festival.” Seeing Eri’s nods of recognition, the boy continued, “She works in the Support Course. Or at least should be, but she should still be very smart and very handy. With her Zoom Quirk, she would have been labelled as a mutant or a Kaijin in this world. If we can track her down, I bet she would be more than willing to help us out to bring down Shocker.”

“Ok, that’s a start, but what else?” Eri asked, throwing up her hands. “You and I both know how Den Liner works. Even if we figure out what day was changed in history, we have to create a ticket for Den Liner to go there to fix it. And, to create a ticket, we need someone that was actually there the day in question to travel to that date in their memory.”

“I know,” Izuku’s shoulders slumped as he cupped his chin, laying out all the facts. “It would be good if we could find that flying blue figure I saw earlier, but we would have no idea where to even start looking for him to try and get a ticket. And it can’t be anyone else. For the world to change this much, it had to have been at least hundreds of years in the past. And it’s not possible for anyone to still be alive after all that time, especially if they were born at the Dawn of Quirk- “

Izuku’s eyes widened as he paused mid-sentence. A dangerous idea popped in his head. Because there was one person he knew that was born at the Dawn of Quirks…

The greenette’s head slowly turned towards Tsuyu and her siblings. They were just starting to finish their food. Naomi was by the table, asking them if they wanted dessert. The moment she left to get them some Jello, Izuku approached them again. Tsuyu’s eyes followed Izuku as the greenette bowed towards them.

“I’m sorry once again for bothering you, but I need one more favor from you…” Izuku looked back at her with pleading eyes. “I need to meet with the League.”

A collective moment of shock could be felt from everyone in the car. The Asui siblings, the Imagin. Even Eri stepped forward, already having an idea of where he was going with this. Her voice was weary.

“Izuku…”

The boy ignored his friend’s concern as he went down on his knees, staring back at Tsuyu.

“Please. I’m begging you. I’m begging you…”

Izuku closed his eyes and took a long deep breath before continuing with a sentence he thought he would never say.

“All for One may be the key to saving the world.”

Chapter Text

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The next morning, Tamaki woke up at UA.

But, even then, it was still clear he was living a nightmare.

He had seen the night before just how much the world had changed. People that he fought beside were now acting cold and callous to any civilian with a mutation. He knew that prejudice existed, and had even seen it on a few occasions, but this was completely different to him. It was expected. That was the scariest part of it all.

And, now even lying there on his cot (His soft and comfortable bed had been replaced with a military-like cot), he even saw the tinier details that were changed.

UA’s dorms used to have a bedroom for every student. But now, they were forced to share it with another person as they apparently “wouldn’t need much personal items to dedicate themselves to their future careers.”

The person he was sharing the room with was Shintaro Goto. Tamaki knew of him. Goto was not only his fellow classmate at UA, but he was also another Kamen Rider like him. He was a friend.

And, yet Tamaki didn’t know how to react around him as Goto acted somewhat friendly toward him, telling him to get up for classes and engage in small talk. If it was true that in this world Kamen Riders were the most elite warriors devoted to Shocker, then as much as it pained Tamaki to think about, Goto couldn’t be trusted at all.

Tamaki reasoned, “There’s too much at stake. I can’t chance it.”

Undercover work was a subject that Tamaki had been taught during his hero course training. But Tamaki always thought he would never have to do it, even though there was a part of him that felt comfortable in it.

Being weary of everyone around you, not wanting to be the center of attention, using anxiety to plan the best course of action, always looking for the closest exit to use in an emergency…

That was literally Tamaki’s life already.

Still, Tamaki’s nerves were on edge the whole morning as he brushed his teeth, changed into his school uniform, and then ate his breakfast.

(Even the school uniforms were different. They resembled more of what Amajiki had seen from that other hero school Shiketsu. A dark black jacket and black pants with a white button-up shirt with a hat of Shocker’s logo above the visor. The collars were color coordinated to indicate someone’s status. Green was given to Kamen Riders. Red for any Commanders in training. White for the Combatmen course.)

Nejire and Ankh had joined them, making breakfast look as casual as possible. (Casual as it could be with Ankh who just ate his food like an animal.)

But, when it was time for them to get to class, with them walking into the school building, Goto narrowed his eyes as they all started to walk up the stairwell.

Goto asked, looking at Tamaki, “What are you doing?”

Tamaki fought the urge to glance at his friends for help and replied, “We’re going to homeroom…”

His classmate stared at him, almost confused. “Did you forget? You’re usually on top of these things.”

The purple-haired teen racked his mind for a lie when Ankh stepped in, resting his demon arm on Tamaki’s shoulder.

The dirty blonde commented, “Of course, he didn’t. He just didn’t want to bother with whatever dumb thing you have planned.”

“How dare you?” Goto asked, completely offended. “It’s not dumb for us Kamen Riders to help introduce the new term for the first years! It’s a way for them to learn more from us as they start to become full-fledged Commanders!”

Tamaki, silently grateful for Ankh’s intervention, didn’t mind too much when Ankh’s hand pushed him in the back, making him stumble down the stairs. Ankh let out a cackle, looking down at Goto.

“Even in a world like this, you’re still just as much of an idiot, aren’t ya?” He squatted down on the stairs. “Gotta say, that desire you have to be the good little Shocker soldier you are ain’t so different from the real you, huh?”

Goto let out a Hmph as he straightened his uniform. “I don’t know what has gotten into you today. You have been more unruly than usual, Togata, but it has got to stop now.” He pointed at the demon’s hand. “Take that ridiculous glove off before you enter the classroom. Bubaigawara may like to joke around more than the other staff, but he would have a problem with you violating our school’s uniform.”

Tamaki and Nejire sent a glance at each other, both of them instantly realizing that their homeroom teacher was different in this world as well.

“Go ahead and make me,” Ankh rebutted, showing off his hand in its glory. “I’ll show it close up and personal when I squeeze the life from your lungs.”

Goto asked, glaring right back at him, “Is that a threat?”

Ankh’s lips curled into a sly smile. “A promise, really.”

It was then Nejire jumped in, already dragging Ankh up the stairs before things could escalate even further.

“Okay, bye, Tamaki! We’ll see you later!” Nejire waved goodbye as she and Ankh quickly disappeared from sight.

Goto groaned, “Ugh, someone like that should definitely not be here…”

Tamaki thought, “You have no idea…”

“Come on. We better go over the lecture plan with the other Riders before we have more interruptions like that.”

The purple-haired teen shoved his hands into his pockets, averting his gaze, as he now let Goto lead on to their new destination. Even though he was trying to hide his curiosity at what Goto had just said.

“I thought the only Riders here at UA are me, Goto, and I guess, Midoriya. So… who else is there?”

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Walking into Class 1-A again and standing up in front of the other first years, Tamaki suddenly had war flashbacks.

“Wait! This is just like when me and the others had to talk to the first years about their work studies!”

The second that Stendhal had called him first to introduce, Tamaki gave them all the same fear-stricken, anxious glare he had previously in the real timeline. The anxious teenager quickly turned around, facing the wall and wanting even more to go home.

“Hey… what cha doin’?”

As Goto continued the lecture, Tamaki glanced to the person whispering to him on his right. If this was a perfect world, he would have been here with- Actually he wouldn’t be here at all. If this was actually his world, he would have been there with his two best friends: Mirio and Nejire. (Or actually Ankh in that case.) But he wasn’t. He was here with Goto and… the blonde right next to him. Which he found even slightly scarier.

It was Himiko Toga.

In his world, Tamaki had read all about her, about how she was a known member of the League of Villains. But, in this world, she was just an average second year high school student. Also a Kamen Rider as well, apparently.

“I, uh, just…” Tamaki gulped as he buried his head even further. “A friend of mine told me I should imagine everyone as potatoes, but I can’t do it.”

(Even when it was the second time around...)

Toga’s face looked quizzical before it lit up. “Oh, I get it! Don’t worry, I sometimes imagine people as food too.”

Tamaki thought, “From what I heard about you, I’m not sure we’re talking about the same thing…”

The blonde giggled. “Don’t worry. We’re going to get to the fun part anyway!”

“Fun part…?”

Toga grabbed him by the shoulders and whirled him around back towards the class. It was then that Goto gestured to the both of them.

“Today, us Kamen Riders will perform a demonstration in combat to show the level of combat you will be expected to perform at during your time at this school. We will fight each other collectively along with your own Rider representative joining us.”

Goto paused, opening his palm toward one of the seats on the far right of the classroom, toward Seat 18. Tamaki briefly recognized that in his timeline, Izuku was the one to occupy that seat. But, in this world, it was…

A white-haired girl stood up from her seat, her fingers and palms pointed downwards. Her body language made her look like a ghostly specter.

“Reiko Yanagi,” the girl introduced. “Kamen Rider Emily. Let’s test each other’s spirits.”

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In Gym Gamma, OOO, already transformed, stepped into the small fighting ring that had been established. All fighters had already transformed. Right in front of OOO was Birth, Goto’s Kamen Rider form. To his left was Toga preparing her sword as Kivala. And, to his right, Yanagi’s gaze was locked onto the girl in front of her as Emily.

Birth’s armored suit was grey with a black undersuit underneath. Around his shoulders, elbows, knees, and one of pecs, there were more ‘shields’ like the one on the belt positioned there. There was a gold outlining around the one on the pec as well as colored lines outlining the mouth area of the helmet. The helmet itself was entirely black with the visor shaped like a U going off of the helmet. Right there between the lines of the U was another ‘shield’. His silver belt was locked around his waist. In the middle, there was a circular shield, top half clear, bottom half green, covering up a reactor. On the belt’s right, there was a golden knob and on the belt’s left, there was a small slot up top.

Around Emily’s waist, there was a semi-transparent holder with the only thing visible being a single black eye and two rows of metal teeth with a large orange and black lever on the side. Over her armor, there was a pale purple hooded jacket with a white, furred collar around its hood. The lapels in the front on both sides had three black stripes with white between them. The outer lining of the jacket, the hood and the cuffs were all black as well. The faceplate on the helmet was black from the bridge of her nose down to the bottom and silver going up from her nose to her forehead. Large angular blue eyes pointed at a glare divided both sections of the helmet.

Kivala’s armor was a pearly white suit with purple highlights and silver armored plating. The plating had a distinct batwing like shape around her shoulders, her chest, and her waist, creating a skirt look for the armor. Purple went all the way down her chest and fingers. Down her abdomen, there was a small diamond-shaped yellow gem in the middle. Thin black lines detailed the abdomen, going down to her silver kneepads. There was a red belt around her waist decorated with a small white bat design on the buckle in front. On her helmet, the silver and gold crest rested above her blood-red compound eyes. Fangs could be seen molded into her blank mouthpiece. Her helmet was molded like a bat’s, pointing upwards on both sides with thin purple horns that resembled wings.

“Ready!” Stendhal raised his hand before chopping it straight down. “Go!”

The fight between all Kamen Riders began as they all charged at each other.

CH! CH! CH!

Coin projectiles shot into the air from Birth’s blaster. Emily’s body bent all the way back as she leaned to the left and then to the right. Birth ran toward her, trying to throw a fist in her direction. But the white Rider floated upwards, away from him. Her limbs were limp as she floated past him as if she were a puppet being dragged by her strings.

From the sidelines, being protected by Stendhal from any stray attack, the Class 1-A students, in their black and white training uniforms, started cheering for their classmate.

Uraraka yelled, “You got this, Yanagi!”

Monoma added, “Show them how superior Class 1-A is!”

Despite the circumstances (especially the part about him actually having an audience for this), training like this, fighting each other, was something OOO could get behind. It was something he understood. He didn’t think he could win, but at least, this wasn’t relying on his acting ability anymore.

OOO’s legs transformed into those of a grasshopper as he leaped forward, kicking away Kivala’s sword thrust at him. She tried to slash him again, but OOO ducked underneath the attack, bending his legs deep down. He sprung up before kicking off of her sides. Kivala stumbled back as OOO jumped up and over her, landing a kick directly into her head.

WHAM!

Kivala rolled along the ground in pain and agony, clutching her side.

OOO’s legs returned to normal before he unveiled his long blue and black sword. “Better finish this fast…”

As OOO prepared his finisher, Kivala twirled the sword in her hand as she threw it like a javelin. The hard metal tip hit OOO’s hand precisely, knocking it up in the air. OOO briefly clutched his hand in pain before Kivala rolled over, kicking the animal Rider’s gut from down low. He felt the wind knock out of him right as Kivala grabbed OOO’s belt and yanked it off.

OOO’s armor disappeared in an instant. Tamaki tried manifesting protection with his own Quirk, but he wasn’t fast enough to stop Kivala as she plucked her sword from mid-air and slashed it across the third-year’s wrist, drawing blood.

“Ugh!” Tamaki cried, gritting his teeth in pain.

Kivala tackled the purple-haired teen, pulling out a hidden syringe and stabbing him directly in his thigh.

The second year giggled, whispering closely, “Sucksucksucksucksucksucksucksucksuck….”

Tamaki ripped out the needle from his leg, staggering back. Kivala took full advantage of her opponent’s status, kicking her foot right in his gut. The full force behind her push knocked Tamaki into the air, clear out of the bounds of the fighting area.

“Oof,” Kaminari let out. “That had to hurt.”

Setsuna commented, crossing her arms, “Not going to lie. I kinda expected more from a third year.”

Kendo said, “He probably wasn’t expecting her to try and cancel his transformation. Even for an exhibition match like this, that might have been unsportsmanlike.”

Overhearing their comments, Kivala pointed her sword at them. “All’s fair in love and war.”

Stendhal said, “Toga’s correct. Take that lesson to heart. No hesitation can be afforded when dealing with your opponents, especially Kaijin. Any advantage you can give yourself can mean the different between a blade meeting your blood or theirs.”

“Yes, sir,” Class 1-A all murmured, even though they weren’t as enthusiastic as they should have been.

“Here. Hold this,” Kivala said, tossing the vial of Tamaki’s blood toward the students. Kendo’s hand embiggened as it caught it in mid-air. “My victory snack for later.”

SNAP!

Kivala turned her head toward the other Riders, seeing Birth with his hand pointed at Emily.

Suddenly, red lines appeared out of nowhere from multiple directions. The ‘energy’ all zoomed back, creating glowing bullets at the points of origin. They all flew forward in the same direction at twice the speed. Emily had been able to dodge all of Birth’s blasts before, weaving and floating. but with the ‘energy’ bullets, she was trapped with no room to maneuver.

The moment that one hit her, sparks flew from Emily’s chest!

Emily hit the ground, face first.

Birth kept his gun trained on her. “That is my true power. Consider yourself fortunate. You won’t get to see it as close again.”

The ghostly Rider held up her hand, intending on using her own power.

CH!

A coin-like projectile shot out of his blaster right at her, her hand wincing in pain.

“In the name of justice…” Birth said, finger ready to pull the trigger.

“I got you right here, just-ass!”

Kivala lunged forward, trying to slash and stab the metallic Rider. Fury burned her veins as she continued her onslaught, aiming her sword at his throat. But Birth was smarter, more capable. He admired how much tenacity she had, but her sword would not stop him.

As Kivala jabbed her sword at him, Birth crouched underneath it and shoved his gun’s barrel directly onto her chest.

CH! CH! CH!

Kivala’s body was thrown through the air, rolling along the ground right next to Emily.

Birth dropped a silver coin in his belt’s slot and spun the golden knob on the side.

“BREAST CANNON!”

A Gashapon capsule hovered in front of Birth until it opened in a flash of light, releasing a miniature silver cannon with a red tip. It attached to Birth’s chest, letting him grip the handles on both sides and keep it steady.

“CELL BURST!”

Both female Riders looked to see Birth’s cannon shoot out an intense beam of blinding energy. The raven braced himself for the attack right before Yaoyorozu stuck her riot shield into the ground in Birth’s attack. The raven grabbed onto it and attempted to keep it stable, but even the two of them together was not enough for the destructive force of the laser.

WHAM!

Stendhal called out, “Both Kivala and Emily have been defeated. Therefore…” He chopped a hand toward the metallic Rider. “Birth is the winner.”

Class 1-A began clapping their hands together (drowning out the complaints from Monoma on how their class wouldn’t be deterred from this setback.)

Birth bowed, “Thank you. I hope you all enjoyed this exhibition we threw on. I hope to see you all in the future fighting for the right side. And, if you all have learned anything from this, I would hope there is one.”

The third year put his hands behind his hands as he looked over to Toga and Yanagi. The two of them had cancelled their transformations. (For some reason, Toga kept sending small glances at Yanagi as the girl stood up, looking back at Birth.)

“Could anyone tell me why I was able to succeed in the end of that fight?”

Multiple students raised their hands and Birth called on Awase to explain it all.

“Because Kivala tried to attack you while you were about to finish Emily?”

“Correct,” Birth nodded. “It would have given Kivala the tactical advantage to have me deal with Emily first and then take advantage of the situation to stab me in the back. Instead, she gave out her presence first to try and protect Emily. She wanted to help her fellow Rider first. A noble intention. But this school isn’t here to teach you those things.”

Silence overtook the students, none of them wanting to interrupt their upperclassman, as he continued.

“You’re all here because your power has been dictated that it would serve as an excellent Commander to defend your country, your fellow citizens, the world. But your power is not enough. What you all need is conviction. If you don’t have that and just follow the orders of Shocker just to follow them, to do it because it’s expected of you, then you have no conviction and you don’t deserve to be here. I can already see that in a few of you.”

Some of the students winced or tried to hide behind some of the bigger students, hoping that he wasn’t talking about them.

“If any of you waver like that in battle, it will cost you dearly. Any lingering doubts you have, about how to protect humanity, about what’s right for the world, those are things you must acknowledge before you fight for what you think is right.”

Another long stretch of silence that was interrupted by a slow clap. From a single person.

A single tear fell from underneath his mask.

Stendhal thought, “This. This is why you’re my favorite student, Shintaro Goto.”

Tamaki watched it all in the back, looking at Birth with weary eyes. His mind hadn’t paid much attention to the end of Birth’s speech. Instead, he had focused on a particular phrase his classmate had said.

“A noble intention. But this school isn’t here to teach you those things.”

Tamaki knew from experience that hero course training wasn’t easy. It did take a level of dedication to it that would chew out anyone who couldn’t handle it. But he knew the core of it was always to make people better, to teach them how to be a better person.

This wasn’t that at all. This school was just teaching kids to be brainwashed soldiers. All of them were chosen just for their Quirks and nothing more. They had no choice about whether they wanted to be here.

And it made him sick to his stomach.

But he couldn’t say anything. He had to face away from it all and rub his hands on his pants to keep himself distracted or else he would scream.

Growing up, Tamaki never wanted to speak out because he didn’t want any attention from anyone. But it was ironic that the very first time Tamaki wanted to make a big display about something he believed in, he absolutely couldn’t. Not here.

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Despite being in what she would call “a school for Nazis”, for Nejire, it was like any other day of school. Except this was actually torture.

Because, with this new world, came a ton of questions. Which she couldn’t ask at all or else she would draw her attention to herself and her friends.

Questions like…

“Why is Snipe not here at UA? Is he sick? Or is he not here in this universe? Why is Twice, that cloning guy from the newspapers, here instead? Does he have a teaching degree? Why does he keep contradicting himself? At least no one’s paying attention to Ankh’s hand…”

“Oh, there’s Tamaki! Aw, he doesn’t look happy. I wonder what happened at their exhibition thingy. Goto looks just as passive as ever. So, he’s this class’s ‘Supreme Commander’? Is that just a fancy title for ‘Class Rep’? Why bother changing it?”

“Instead of Cementoss being our literature teacher, we have this new guy named Trumpet? I don’t get it. Is he good at music? Does he like jazz? Why is everyone else so willing to listen to him? And he’s trying to teach all of us about Shocker’s will? You might as well just run a church about it, buddy, with how much you’re trying to preach to us.”

“And we get Muscular instead of Ectoplasm as our math teacher? Wasn’t he one of those guys that attacked the first years at their training camp? Why would he ever want to teach kids? Is he just a softie at heart? But, no matter what, he’s still a really bad teacher! Why do you have your shirt off?! Why would you try to teach us math based on the value of your muscles?! Not all of us have deltoids! Or do we?!”

After ending up drawing a muscular torso with math equations in her notebook to try and make sense of it, Nejire had given up trying to pay attention. Her mind had already started to drift away, staring out of the window right next to her.

“I wonder what else about this world is different…?”

However, soon, Nejire noticed someone familiar on the grass below. She would recognize that messy purple haired, skinny boy anywhere.

“Tamaki?”

Nejire glanced back toward the other students… where Tamaki was still sitting, trying to look busy writing down equations in his notebook.

“What’s going on?”

Her head snapped back to the window, seeing Tamaki stroll through the school grounds.

“That fake is walking up with his head held high. That’s clearly not Tamaki.”

In the front of the classroom, Muscular closed his binder and lifted it off the podium.

“That is all for today,” the man said. “Ms. Joke wanted me to remind you that many of you still need to go by the counselor’s office for your power marital assignments for after you graduate. The deadline for this is by the end of the next week.”

The moment Muscular left, every teenager was already shuffling out of their seats. Nejire could overhear a few conversations about what they were planning to do for lunch. Some of them were just asking about what ‘rations’ were available, others were wondering if they could try to reserve a table, others were busy, planning on stopping by the Support Lab.

The moment that the three of them were alone in the classroom, Ankh had jumped on the desk, crouching on it.

“I have had enough of this!”

Tamaki said, walking to his side, “I agree. This school has changed so much. I don’t want to be here for another second.”

Ankh tsk’d. “I was talking about school in general. To me, this still seems the same as how we left.”

Before Tamaki could argue with Ankh about that, he caught sight of Nejire already going to the doorway.

“Nejire, where are you going?”

The girl peeked her head back in the classroom. “There’s something I need to check on. Go to the library without me. I’ll catch up.”

“What? Nejire!”

But, Nejire had already left, going as fast as she could to the small grassy garden where she spotted the Tamaki from the classroom.

Nejire wouldn’t be able to get every question of hers answered in this world, but she would be damned if she couldn’t find the answer to the most interesting one.

For a minute or two, she walked through it, exploring it all. The scenery was nice, but she was unable to see any sign of the fake Tamaki.

“Maybe I can use my Quirk to get a better vie-?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a brief sign of movement, rustling from the other side of a tall hedge. Pressing her ear to it, she started to hear voices, two of them.

One of them was definitely familiar…

Nejire glanced left and right. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she aimed her hands at the ground, letting yellow bands of energy spiral from her hands and feet. She hovered right up to the edge and peeked over the henge.

There was ‘Tamaki’ sitting on a bench. But he wasn’t alone. Next to him, there was a first-year student with white hair. In between them, there were a few boxes of snacks and drinks. The white-haired girl was eating out of a box of pomegranates in her lap.

‘Tamaki’ moved a can of cherry soda from his lips as he looked over at the girl next to her, sliding closer.

“So, Yanagi. How’s it taste?” ‘Tamaki’ asked.

Yanagi turned towards him. “It’s sour.”

‘Tamaki’ winced slightly. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to. It’s enjoyable to me,” Yanagi replied, taking another bite. “Sometimes, sour is good. I don’t have a lot of variety in my diet. Almost none of us do, with our regulated diets. So, any new flavor is welcome.”

The boy giggled. “Glad you’re enjoying it.” He glanced back and forth. “I know hiding in the bushes isn’t exactly an ideal place for a first date.”

“It’s understandable,” the girl acknowledged. “We’re a part of the Commander course, after all. We won’t have privacy for this kind of endeavor.”

“Yeah…” ‘Tamaki’ paused, averting his gaze. He then flashed a smile at her, showing off his teeth. In a light tone, he teased, “Do you want to know what I would have done on our first date?”

Yanagi blinked. “No. What?”

“Something low-key but blood-churning for the two of us to enjoy. Horror movies. Got a hand on a whole butt load of slashers.”

The girl’s expression stayed neutral. “I didn’t know you were fond of spooky things as well. I quite enjoy them as well.”

‘Tamaki’s grin grew even wider. “Of course. What’s not to love? Gets your blood pumping. Have a few favorites to share. Gun or Knife?, Kaijin Mash, Grave Robber… All of them use practical effects for their kills rather than CGI or hiring someone for their power. Much more satisfying to see…” He took a bite of licorice before glancing back at Yanagi. “Do you have a particular favorite for me?”

For several long seconds, Yanagi stared at amazement at ‘Tamaki’ in silence.

“Something wrong?”

Yanagi stated plainly. “You’re different.”

The boy’s breathing stuttered. A bead of sweat went down his face. “What are you talking about?”

The girl continued, “I’ll admit I was surprised to discover that you were my secret admirer. I had wondered for the longest time who it could have been that was leaving letters on my desk. I know we interact during our weekly Kamen Rider meetings, but you have never shown this side of you before. To me, you have always seemed- “

‘Tamaki’ interrupted, “Shy? Pathetic? An absolute downer?”

“I would have said woeful, but your assessment is correct.”

The purple-haired teen laughed. “Yeah, well…” He took a long breath before slowly looking back at her. “I just… I just, y’know, get shy around pretty girls. Y’know, I feel like I should be… someone else around them.”

“I see,” Yanagi nodded, taking the explanation perfectly. “As I recall, you do hang around that girl from your class quite often. Nejire Hado? That would certainly explain most of your behavior I witnessed.”

‘Tamaki’ laughed out loud at that. “Ha, you’re right!”

“But even so…” Yanagi said quietly before she slowly took her right hand and rested it gently on the taller boy’s hands. Purple eyes shot up in surprise, blushing from the contact. But Yanagi’s face looked just as passive as ever as she looked up to him. “Deceiving others of your intentions is sinful.”

A flash of panic could be read through Tamaki’s eyes, but Yanagi hadn’t noticed. The first-year student was already standing up.

“I apologize, but I must take my leave now.”

“Oh, um,” Tamaki stood up too, tugging away at some of his clothes. “So soon?”

Yanagi nodded, her eyes closed with regret. “Yes, unfortunately. I was requested by Re-Destro to visit the Support Lab and test some of their latest weapons for the school’s defense.”

“Alright then…” Tamaki paused, trying to get rid of the cottonmouth that he suddenly seemed to gain. “I’ll, um, ok then…”

“I hope we are fortunate to enjoy each other’s presence soon. Make no mistake, I enjoyed this. My ethereal spirit feels lighter than before.”

The girl’s expression hadn’t changed, but she put her heart in her movements as she raised her hand from her usual fixed position.

“Thank you,” Yanagi said, waving goodbye.

The boy’s heart fluttered in his chest as he flashed a smile to try and match hers, returning the wave until she was completely out of sight. ‘Tamaki’ stood there for a solid minute, his gaze not leaving the spot where the girl had disappeared. His hand had already reached his heart as if he wanted to clutch it in pain. He took a good long look at his hands, in question and doubt, before he let out a long sigh.

‘Tamaki’ moved to clean up some of the trash they had left behind.

“Hiya, what’cha doin?”

‘Tamaki’ blinked, eyebrows creasing in confusion before his head jerked to the left. He nearly had a heart attack at Nejire as the girl slowly floated down from the blue sky, releasing her Quirk.

“Oh, uh, hey…” ‘Tamaki’ greeted with a smile before he realized that was the wrong move, the wrong personality to try that with. He immediately dropped to the ground, getting into the fetal position. “I was just being depressed! Ha! You know me!”

“Do I know you?” Nejire asked. “Because I know that you’re not Tamaki. So, who are you and what were you were doing with that first year?”

All blood drained from his face as ‘Tamaki’ suddenly tried to make a break for it. But Nejire was faster, her Quirk moving as fast as lightning. Thick, yellow spirals of energy shot out and wrapped around him. The boy’s skinny fingers clawed futilely at the bands.

“Look, I don’t want to get you in trouble nor do I plan on telling anyone about it,” The third year quickly said. She flashed him a reassuring smile. “I just want to know what’s going on. The real Tamaki has a lot on his plate right now. And whatever this is, I want to know if this involves him too.”

‘Tamaki’ stopped struggling, glaring at Nejire with a fire the girl found odd to see coming from her friend’s face. But the ‘boy’ knew there was no point in fighting it, not when Nejire was too far away for him to actually hit her.

The teenager’s body dissolved. Like its skin became wax dripping down from him. And what was in its place was a naked girl with pale, ash-blonde color styled into two messy buns, a straight fringe and two chin-length side bangs framing her face.

A flash of recognition appeared on Nejire’s face as she dropped her Quirk along with her jaw. “You’re Himiko Toga, right? Aren’t you supposed to be with the-?”

Toga interrupted, “Second year students, I know.” The girl had already moved to another bush to pull out her spare uniform. She began dressing herself.

“And, what’s your Quir-power?”

The blonde explained, “To transform into someone as long as I drink their blood.”

“And when did you get Tamaki’s blood?”

“During our Kamen Rider exhibition earlier today.”

Nejire put a finger to her chin. “Oh yeah, I think I’m remembering now.” She then pointed her finger at Toga. “Ok, now for my next question. Why? Why were you Tamaki?”

Now fully dressed, Toga sucked in a breath and looked right back at Nejire. “I am in love with Reiko Yanagi.”

For once, Nejire stayed quiet as Toga continued, her large smile showing off her small fangs.

“I met Yanagi that very first week of school months ago and I couldn’t get her off of my mind. My heart is pounding every time I’m with her. She’s quiet, but she understands my fascination with blood more than anyone else. More than just seeing it as part of my power. Every time she speaks, I want to listen to her every word. But, even when she doesn’t have anything to say, I don’t mind that either. She has a presence, something about her, that always makes you feel like when you’re hurting that you’re never alone.”

Nejire let out a genuine smile. “That sounds nice. Does Yanagi know?”

The third year saw the vampire-like lady’s eyes shrink with fear. “No! Of course not!” Her heart ached, clutching at it. “At least, she doesn’t know it’s me. I’ve been leaving secret gifts and notes all over, letting her know my feelings, the whole semester. Doing fun surprises like that. I even gave her a number to use so that we could text each other more directly and get to know each other. But it wasn’t enough for me. I wanted more.” Her gaze turned back toward the bench, imagining the date before as if it was actually her in her true form. “When I saw the opportunity to get another student’s blood that I could use, I took advantage of it. I thought it would be good to be with her face to face. Let her know how much I love her. But, even then, it didn’t happen the way I pictured it.”

Nejire blinked owlishly at that. Tilting her head, she asked, “But, why did you feel the need to transform into Tamaki? Why not just tell her as yourself?”

“You’re a third year, you should know this by now,” Toga answered. “Romance is forbidden among students here, especially for Kamen Riders and Commanders.” She took the empty can of cherry cola from the bench and gave it a firm kick to the side.  “When we graduate, we’re supposed to be with our selected partner. To breed more evolved children for the future of Shocker and our society. Same sex relationships would get in the way of that.” She sat back down on the bench. “Yanagi would get in trouble if she was dating a guy like Amajiki, but a girl like me? Both her and I would receive ‘special’ treatment to ‘correct’ those troublesome feelings.” She closed her eyes, already imagining all the barbaric things that they could do. “I’m protecting her like this.”

“That’s really what you think?”

Toga looked back up to see Nejire looking cheerful. The third year replied, “That rule you just talked about? That’s dumb. What you and Yanagi have for each other is awesome. Gender shouldn’t matter. Neither should trying to do what people expect of you.” She giggled, looking up at the sky fondly. “Even though I haven’t felt it, I know that love is the best thing in the world.” Nejire got on her knees so that she could look up at the distraught girl. “You should tell her how you really feel as yourself.”

The blonde’s expression morphed from a confused frown to a disgusted glare.

“Are you stupid? Did you not hear a word I said?”

“I did,” Nejire reassured. “But did you hear what you said? Because if you did, you have to ask yourself some questions. Like why are you the one making this decision on your own? Shouldn’t Yanagi have a say in this as well? Why did it take you so long to even try and talk to her face-to-face? Is the reason why you don’t want to is because you’re afraid of Yanagi seeing who you really are-?”

In a flash, Toga already had a knife in her hand, aiming it directly into Nejire’s gut. Her eyes flashed white.

“Shut up,” the blonde said, standing up from her seat. “I don’t know what kind of sick game you’re playing. To get myself and Yanagi in trouble ourselves. But I won’t let her shed any blood for me.” She held tight to the knife. “If anyone finds out, it doesn’t matter who blabs. I will turn your intestines into a sweater. You got it?”

Nejire gave a nod at that. But, before the third year could reassure that she’s not trying to hurt her, the blonde had already scrambled away. The girl slowly pulled herself up to her feet, looking in the direction where the girl had left. Nejire hummed in contemplation.

She now knew the answer to her questions from earlier, but that left another question.

What should she do now?

This wasn’t Nejire’s world. That wasn’t the Toga that was in her own world. Same for Yanagi. And, from what she heard, there were dangerous consequences that threatened both girls if she intervened anymore. When Den Liner is fixed, nothing Nejire would do here would even matter.

But none of this thinking mattered to Nejire.

She already had her answer.

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Meanwhile, in the library, Tamaki had his face buried in a book, blending in with the books that were scattered across the table.

“It’s no use…” he mumbled, completely defeated. “I can’t find anything about that blue figure that Midoriya saw on Den Liner.” He closed the book in front of him (one on Kyoichiro Kuroi) and let out a long groan. “Ankh, how are you doing?”

The purple-haired teen peeked above the stack of books to see Ankh perched up on the table, scrolling through his phone casually with his demon-like hand while his other hand held his ice pop as he chomped down on it.

The monster replied, “Finding a lot of worthless junk on about how ‘amazing’ Shocker is, but nothing too specific about how they were able to worm their way into power. Just that they’ve been here for a long time.”

Tamaki asked, “Where’s Nejire? She should have been here by now.”

“There you are.”

Both Tamaki and Ankh turned to see Goto approaching them.

“Goto, what are you doing here?”

“I was looking for the two of you,” the dark-haired student said, turning to Tamaki. “I wanted to discuss our exhibition today as well as your performance as well. I understand that the other Riders have strength, but I at least expected you to not be the first one out. You can do better than that.”

“Sorry,” Tamaki mumbled in a low voice, trying to hide behind the books again. “But they shined brighter than I am ever capable of.”

While Ankh rolled his eyes at that comment, taking another bite, Goto sighed, “Alright, I understand.” He held up a lunchbox. “Here, I brought extra. You need to eat before our next class. With your power especially, it’s not good to skip lunch.”

Tamaki took a long moment to just inhale as he took the extra lunch away from Goto. “Thank you,” he mumbled.

“Let’s get out of here now so that Togata can get some real food as well.”

“Huh?”

Goto’s eyes narrowed at the perched-up teenager. “It’s bad enough that you’re not using a chair and drawing attention to yourself. But, out of everything you could eat in here, you chose an ice pop. One of the messier things that could spill all over.”

Ankh glared at Goto, “You can’t control me.” The muscular being deliberately taking another bite of the ice pop. He pointed it right at their class rep. “You really wanna make yourself useful to us? Tell us about Shocker and how they got to be here in the first place.”

Tamaki shot a weary glance at Ankh, nervously worrying that the request was too direct.

“Is that…” Goto tilted his head, confused, now eyeing the history books on them. “Is that why you were here? To learn about Shocker history?” He shook his head, facepalming. “Honestly, Togata. I knew you were the lowest of our class, but never this awful.”

Ankh flashed an angry look at Goto, but Tamaki stepped in before anything could happen.

“How… how about you tell the both of us? It could really help…”

Goto eyed both of them suspiciously before he relented and put down the lunchboxes. “Very well.” He began getting closer to the table, reaching for some of the books. Flipping through one of them, the student didn’t glance up as he continued, “Well, let’s start at the beginning. You all know about the Bronze Age of powers?”

Tamaki said, “When everyone had gotten Quir-powers…?” Sensing that he was correct, Tamaki continued. He began rubbing his hands on his knees until they reached his pocket. “Well, in 2018, powers manifested out of nowhere. No one had any explanation for it and the population kept growing and growing until now when we all have it.”

“Mostly correct,” Goto replied. “But poor choice of words.”

Ankh jumped down from his perch and looked back at Goto. “What do you mean?”

Goto raised an eyebrow at Ankh. “Even though the percentage of the human population that has power has increased since 2018, the actual count of the human population itself significantly decreased ever since that baby was born in Qing Qing City.”

Tamaki asked, “The luminescent baby?”

The dark-haired student turned toward Tamaki, a hint of concern on his face. “That baby was more than just luminescent. It was nuclear.”

Tamaki blinked out of shock. He must have misheard it. Even Ankh had nothing to say.

The purple-haired teen stuttered, “Are you… are you sure?”

Goto’s eyes narrowed at Tamaki as if he had manifested another head.

“Yes…” Goto paused with a slow nod, glancing between them both. “According to reports, that very first day, that baby was glowing in the hospital, but it kept getting brighter. Protesters and religious people were gathered around the building when the baby got so bright its temperature increased significantly, causing a massive explosion. It put a crater in the city before its own body couldn’t take it anymore and it died as well.”

The teenager sighed, “It was the first of many. People born with mutations were manifesting throughout the world and causing destruction everywhere. Someone in America with an octopus’s tentacles duplicating until it reached out and suffocated a whole block. Another case in New Zealand where someone had the limbs of a fire truck engine and couldn’t stop spewing water until their whole building was flooded. And it wasn’t just at birth. Those who thought they were lucky had their manifestations at the age of four kill themselves entirely. A girl in Japan whose body became pure diamond, so heavy that she couldn’t move her own limbs. The list is endless.”

Goto flipped the book he was holding to show the gruesome black and white images on the pages. Feathers pinning cops to a wall as the wings literally flew off someone’s back, letting them plummet to the ground. Tiny tanks rampaging the streets. There were giant manifestations of math equations crashing through the buildings of a city.

“How…” Tamaki was barely able to get the words out. “How many?”

“In just that first decade, 60 million fatalities. The list of casualties is incalculable.”

Goto spoke with no anger in his voice. As if he was just casually talking about the weather.

Tamaki wasn’t that well at expressing his emotions. But his mind was boiling over from that news. This was too much for him. Something like this was unimaginable to him.

“That number… it’s greater than any war, any disease, in human history. How could any of that have happened?”

“So…” Ankh laid back on a nearby bookshelf, arms crossed, but even Tamaki could see how tense he was now. “Let me guess. This is where Shocker came in?”

“Correct,” Goto said, closing the book. “Even though no one was able to figure out how the powers happened in the first place, Shocker showed itself as a group of dedicated researchers and scientists who studied the phenomenon and theorized that it was the next step in human evolution. They were able to discover some of the factors that went into how the first generation of these new meta-humans brought so much destruction, with none of them able to control their powers. With their help, they were not only able to discover which people would be compatible with each other genetically, but also created drugs and resources that we can use to control our powers.”

Setting the book back on the table, Goto moved past them, taking a few steps forward. “It’s why our partners for adulthood are selected carefully. It’s why the Commanders and the Kamen Riders were established, why each one of us was chosen for our power, to protect what’s left of our world from the genetic anomalies known as Kaijin. The ones more prone to violence and destruction.”

Goto looked up towards the left. A large sign with Shocker’s symbol hung on the wall, overlooking them all. “Through Shocker’s efforts, the entire world was united. All organizations and countries. Everyone rallied behind them. It’s why we all must follow Shocker’s will, why all of the Commanders out there like Ryukyu and Endeavor work as hard as they do to follow Shocker’s will. To prevent the global doomsday.” He sighed, putting his hands in his pockets and looking back at Tamaki and Ankh with a sad smile. “I hope that answers your question.”

Tamaki had listened in earnest silence to Goto’s explanation, trying to swallow every word of it.

“It does,” Tamaki thought. “It makes sense why the heroes here are so horrible. Because they don’t want this Quirk doomsday to pass if they think that any mutant types are real monsters. They’re still doing their job to protect people. But…”

He raised his hand to his hair, grabbing a fistful of it.

“It’s wrong. It’s absolutely wrong.”

“Tamaki.”

The third year looked up to Ankh holding out his hand. The bird demanded, “Another ice pop.”

Tamaki sighed as he grabbed one that he had gotten earlier and held it out for Ankh. He had no energy to fuss over Ankh’s diet now. And, honestly, to Tamaki, this was Ankh’s way of asking for help.

Ankh immediately tore off the wrapper and began licking it, stepping away from the two of them. Goto came to Tamaki’s side, noticing how pale Tamaki had become. “Hey, is something wrong?”

He turned his head as Goto got closer. The anxious teen instantly wanted to go into some dark corner and hide right then. But he became petrified by something out of the corner of his eye.

Two adults had walked into the library. One was someone Tamaki had met already. Thirteen.

She was talking in idle conversation and holding the papers of someone next to her, reminding him to take it slow and relax.

A man with pale skin and white hair. Someone that only Tamaki had seen pictures of in newspapers, but never actually met. And someone who right then looked somewhat satisfied.

“Tomura Shigaraki?”

Tamaki had only seen the leader for the League of Villains in his black villain outfit, so it was weird to see him wearing the same white dress shirt, red tie, black double-breasted waistcoat and dress pants as his Principal Nezu in his current timeline. He was also wearing a pair of black artist gloves with only one finger sticking out.

“Wait… is he-?”

By now, Goto had noticed both Shigaraki and Thirteen as well. “Ah,” he exhaled in recognition. The teenager had already started bowing to them. Tamaki’s head snapped between Goto and the adults coming their way. Although a part of him questioned why, Tamaki immediately followed Goto’s lead.

Ankh hadn’t done the same, already chomping on his ice pop.

“Ankh…” Tamaki thought, trying to reach him. “Hopefully he doesn’t draw too much attention. And things don’t get worse.”

It got worse.

Because as the adults got within arms’ reach, Shigaraki glanced from the papers Thirteen was telling him about toward the students. In an instant, he reached out and snatched the ice pop out of Ankh’s hands.

Ankh snarled, “Hey! That’s mine!”

“Forget it, NPC,” Shigaraki dismissed. “I need this consumable more than you do. This level that I spawned is something else…”

Seeing Shigaraki take his own bite of his frozen treat, Ankh knew that an enemy had been made. He marched right up to him, turning him around and grabbing him by the collar.

Thirteen exclaimed, “Whoa! What are you doing?!”

Goto yelled, “You can’t just do that to our principal, Togata!”

“Level, huh?” Ankh growled, ignoring anyone else watching this in the background. “How about I level this whole place to the groun-?”

Tamaki yelled, “Ankh!” The teenager stumbled forward, quickly scrambling to pull the muscular being away from the skinnier man. Ankh let go of Shigaraki as Tamaki hissed in Ankh’s ear, “I’ll get you another one!” Tamaki then turned toward the two adults, bowing to them. “We’re so sorry! Togata is… diabetic and not having his sugar can really upset him.”

Ankh laughed, “Is that really the best you got?”

But Tamaki ignored that comment, pushing on Ankh’s blonde head to get him to bow with him.

“We hope you forgive us. We promise, Principal Shigaraki, that this won’t ever happen again. Right, Togata?”

Ankh tsk’d. “Yeah, whatever.”

But it was then that both Ankh and Tamaki noticed the scathing silence coming from the others. Both of them stood straight, watching everyone else’s expressions. Thirteen’s expression was hard to read (especially with her helmet on), but Goto was staring at both of them with confusion in his narrowed eyes. Shigaraki, on the other hand, had his eyes wide, completely stunned.

“What did you just say?”

Shigaraki’s voice alone sent chills down Tamaki’s spine.

Tamaki held his hands up to try and calm things down. “Principal Shigaraki, we- “

“Are you sick?” Thirteen interrupted. “Do you need to see Recovery Girl?”

How do you respond to that?

“I- “

Thirteen asked, “Do you not know your own school principal, young man?” She gestured toward the man, who was completely still, staring at the two teenagers.

Ankh shrugged, “Look, he knows who he is. Shaggy-raki. We just- “

“Excuse me. Your principal’s name is Tenko Shimura.”

Tamaki couldn’t help it. His face twisted in fear at the recognition, remembering the name that Izuku had casually mentioned the night before. The one who was a Singular Point. Someone who retained their memories even if the timeline changed.

Which meant that this wasn’t just the school principal they were speaking to, another version of Tomura Shigaraki with a different life and personality.

Tamaki was face-to-face with the actual leader of the League of Villains.

And now, from Shigaraki’s almost bloodthirsty expression, it was clear that he had an idea on who Tamaki and Ankh were as well.

“Midoriya… this would have been really helpful to know…”

Tamaki was already taking a step back, trying to get Ankh to come as well.

“O-oh right, Thirteen,” the teenager choked out. “We’re just, very tired, and sick. We should check ourselves with Recovery Girl now...”

Ankh had started to follow Tamaki’s lead, the two of them had already turned away from the others. But it was too late. Shigaraki had already draped his hands over them as if they were acting casually. Out of the corner of Tamaki’s eye, he noticed the wide creepy smile coming from his new ‘principal’.

“How about I take you there myself?” Shigaraki asked, his tone forced into being cheerful.

Thirteen said, “But, sir, the meeting- “

Shigaraki glanced back, “Have the assistant take care of it. After all, what kind of principal would I be if I didn’t take care of my little… students?” The villain gave a tighter squeeze to both of them, shaking their shoulders.

Tamaki thought, “I have a feeling he had another word in mind.”

“Of, of course,” Thirteen nodded. She waved at them. “Hope you two feel better soon.”

“Oh, I’m sure they will,” Shigaraki said quickly, cutting off any response from the students. He practically started pushing them toward the exit. “Let’s go… scamps!”

Ankh sighed, “We’re not going to that nurse’s office, are we?”

“Nope,” Shigaraki said in a low voice, not letting them go as they walked down the hallway. “Unless you want me to kill every pathetic student here.”

“Go ahead. I don’t give a damn.”

“Ha! You’re bluffing.”

“Try me.”

Tamaki asked Shigaraki, his gaze fixated on Shigaraki’s hands coming closer to his and Ankh’s throats. “What do you want?”

“We’re going to my… office. Have a feeling you two are what I need to trigger an important cutscene.”

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“Ok, so… this is the place?”

Izuku peeked out from a destroyed car, looking left and right and taking in his surroundings.

At Izuku’s pleas, Asui had agreed to arrange a meeting with the League, giving them a brief idea of Izuku’s intentions. It took some time, but Izuku and the three Asui siblings had finally arrived at their meeting spot. An abandoned car lot a mile out of the city. Half of the spots were empty while the other half were completely destroyed. Cement blocks had risen off the ground, knocking everything off balance.

“Yes, we should be safe here,” Asui confirmed. “A year back, a cement guy came here, and a fight happened with him and some of the Commanders. But there was too much damage for the owner to really do anything about it.”

“Got it,” Izuku sighed, already having an idea of who the ‘cement guy’ was, but he didn’t want to think about another person that was in trouble in this world. The Quirkless teen looked back at Asui’s cautious face and gave her a smile. “Uh, thanks for coming with me. That was nice of you.” He leaned down, nodding at her other siblings. “All of you.”

While the kids nodded back at him, Asui blinked at that statement. “We didn’t do this for you. There’s no way we would have spent any longer than we would have at that train yard with all your delusions of time travel.” She crossed her arms in defiance. “The League may be dangerous, but frankly, I feel safer with the League than with you.”

“Oh. Uh…” Izuku cringed. “Sorry.” The time traveler looked outwards, trying to see any sign of movement. “So, um… do you know when they’ll get here or…?”

The frog girl pointed towards a small clearing in the distance. Cars had already been pushed away from it, circling the area.

“Just go there and wait.”

“Ok then.”

Izuku took a few slow footsteps toward the clearing. Even though he couldn’t see anyone else, there was that feeling creeping up his neck like he was being watched.

Making it to that clearing, Izuku held up his hands. His pace slowed. His head moved in all directions, trying to spot any movement.

“Um, hello?” Izuku called out. “I… I’m probably talking to no one right now. But… I’m here. I’m Izuku Midoriya… I think Asui called you here. And I know that none of you know who I am, but I want to help you. I want to stop Shocker... It’s important. If anyone is there, please say something. Tokoyami? Iida? Shoj-?”

In the darkness ahead, Izuku saw a green flame start blazing to life. It came off a woman’s head.

Izuku hadn’t met her in person before, but he would have recognized Endeavor’s sidekick anywhere.

“Burnin…?”

She certainly didn’t look the same as in the previous timeline. There was a large scar that went across her face. There were piercings in her ears and the right side of her nose. She wore a long white coat over a plain grey shirt. Her black socks covered her knees entirely, covered by her short black boots. An orange headband topped it all off.

Izuku thought, “Of course. With her Blazing Hair Quirk, she would have been marked as a Kaijin as well.”

The Quirkless teen bowed before he stepped forward, reaching out his hand. “Hello, thank you for meeting with- “

Burnin reached for her fire-like hair, pulling it off and holding a chunk of it in her hair. The woman then threw it straight at Izuku like a fireball!

Izuku’s eyes widened before he leaped to the side, barely missing it by a millisecond. His body rolled along the ground as he could feel the fireball hit a junked car, creating a small explosion.

BOOM!

The Quirkless teen put his hands up again. “Look, I’m not- “

Suddenly, a figure jumped up to the trunk and then up to the roof of the car right in front of Izuku.

Izuku was only able to see their shadowy silhouette until they fell straight toward him.

It was the person with the snake Quirk that Izuku had briefly seen earlier. Her snake head had bright yellow eyes with slit pupils and a shock of spiked, shoulder-length red hair around the top. Her costume consisted of a blue bodysuit with a high collar and a snake pattern running down her arms and legs. The suit had darker blue straps around her shoulders and a section over her torso like a snake’s chest. There was a long-tattered piece of yellow cloth around her eyes.

Speaking of eyes…

Her pupils flashed light. Wide, blinding light. As soon as Izuku saw it, his body went limp. He fell forward on his knees, face-first on the ground. He couldn’t move. He was completely immobilized.

“Another Paralysis Quirk? This is different than Stain’s, but- WHOA!”

Izuku already felt his hands being tugged off the ground, hearing the click of handcuffs being slapped on him. Whoever this assailant was, they grabbed Izuku by his hair and tugged him upwards, right as the snake pulled out a katana from her back and held it right to Izuku’s throat. The Quirkless teen could feel the paralysis effect wear off, but he kept as still as possible.

The snake demanded, “Are you wearing a wire? GPS? Anything that could be used to track your location?”

Izuku exclaimed, “No!”

But the snake didn’t even bother for the answer before she patted Izuku down. The only things she found were the Den-O Rider Pass and the green ‘soda can’ Tamaki gave him the night before.

“Soda? Really?” The snake eyed the label. “Grasshopper soda? Hmm…” She shrugged, putting down her sword. “That actually sounds pretty good.”

Right as the snake was about to pop the lid, Asui stepped out of hiding with her siblings in tow. “Don’t do it, Habuko-chan,” the frog warned. “That’s what I told you about. The communication device given to him by that other Kamen Rider.”

“Oh, that’s right…” Burnin commented as she approached the group. She crouched down low, looking Izuku right in the face almost amused. “And you’re apparently this big Kamen Rider who’s come to save us all? Is that right, broccoli?”

“Yes, I, wait, no…,” Izuku stammered. “I’m not with Shocker or the Commanders. I just need to talk to All for One. I have important info for him.”

The person holding Izuku by his hair let out a loud laugh, mocking him, “Yeah, right. What could you possibly think Sensei would need from you? Who do you think you are? A big old hero? A knight in shining armor? What? Can you see into the future?”

“No, I’m not. I just-” Izuku blinked. He frowned as he suddenly realized who had just spoken, recognizing the voice of his classmate. “Wait. Hagakure?”

It would have been obvious if Izuku was able to look behind him and not seen any visible person there. It would also explain how he was able to be handcuffed so easily.

Hagakure immediately tugged at his hair again.

Habuko Mongoose quickly had her sword drawn again, pointing at Izuku’s throat. “We know people like you. People who only act for their own benefit. Who would only search for people like us because you want something. What is it, really?”

Similarly, Burnin’ pulled out a chunk of her hand, letting it dance across her palms right in front of Izuku. “You better choose your next answer very carefully.”

Izuku stared down both League members in front of him, taking a slow breath.

“I want to fix this,” Izuku admitted. “I want to see All for One because this world isn’t right. I want his help to try and make it better for you, my friends, my family. For everyone. I know whatever that Big Machine Shocker showed off is a threat to you all. I think I know something that could really help All for One. I have a very vague idea on how to save us all, but I can’t even start to try it without him or you. Please.”

The silence between the three members of the League stretched on for long. Too long for Izuku’s comfort.

Finally, Burnin’ sighed, “Fine, dang.” She tossed the fireball behind her, letting it ignite a car.

BOOM!

She looked over at the snake girl next to her as Habuko sheathed her sword. “Boomslang, call for a pick-up. Tell them we’re bringing someone new to meet with Sensei.”

Habuko nodded, already pulling out a cheap yet secure phone. “Right.”

Izuku stood up, handcuffs still holding his hands behind him, as the mutants waited for their ride. He stood there awkwardly, just trying to figure out if he should say anything else. If there was anything for him to say.

But then, Izuku spotted Asui’s expression, lighter than he had seen in the past few hours.

Izuku met her gaze, giving a silent nod in gratitude. Asui hung her head, not wanting to acknowledge him.

SNKKKTT!

Izuku’s attention turned back in front of him. A swirling purple portal had appeared. But it wasn’t like what Izuku had seen before when the League of Villains used Kurogiri to get around. Instead of being circular, the portal was shaped as if something had clawed its way through it.

Habuko jabbed at the portal with her sword, gesturing for Izuku to go first. The boy nodded, taking a few steps toward the portal. Right as he passed Burnin’, the fiery girl gave a good shove to his back. Izuku stumbled forward on the patch of concrete, almost falling face down on the now carpeted floor in front of him.

The room that he found himself in was poorly lit. Izuku was barely able to see anything except for a small lit chair in the center. The boy glanced back at the portal, noticing the others jumping through as well as it closed.

Burnin demanded, “Sit down, squirt.”

Izuku nodded, quickly approaching the chair and sitting in it. Even though the chair was admittedly very soft, his nerves were starting to get him, not being able to see anyone clearly. He tried to ignore his stomach turning, the feeling that someone was watching him.

Burnin’s voice called out, “Sensei, this is him. Izuku Midoriya. As you requested.”

Izuku took a long deep breath, closing his eyes in the fearful silence. He focused on steadying his nerves.

“Focus, you can do this,” the boy thought. “You saw All for One at Kamino. You know who he is. No matter what timeline you’re in, you’re not scared of him.”

“Am I a mouse?”

The teenager’s eyes snapped up in the direction of the high-pitched voice as it came closer, coming from somewhere above him.

Izuku thought, “No way.”

“Am I a dog?”

“You gotta be kidding me.”

“Am I a bear? No!”

“I take it back. This might actually be scarier!”

“Depending on who you ask…”

He came out of the shadows like a ghost, walking on invisible air. He pulled up his navy blue, skull-like gas mask so that his beady eyes could look at Izuku directly.

The sentient rat leaned forward, towering over Izuku.

Nezu, Izuku’s former principal, the current holder of All for One, let out a silent growl right in front of Izuku’s face.

“I’m your worst nightmare.”

Chapter Text

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A few hours earlier, Tomura Shigaraki groaned, feeling like he was taking a jackhammer to the head. There was a loud ringing like a bell overhead. He lifted his eyelids and suddenly, everything was different. His heart had stopped.

It wasn’t the dirty hideout for the current League of Villains. Not even close.

It was a dingy office with a bunch of books and awards on the wall. He had been sleeping over a large wooden desk.

Shigaraki’s mind instantly went wide awake from the shock. He bolted out of his seat and looked frantically around. Behind him was a wall of windows.

The villain pressed his eyes close to the window. On the ground below, it was a bunch of bratty teens walking single file into the building they were in. None of them were talking with one another. None of them looked happy.

Shigaraki narrowed his eyes. He didn’t recognize any of the uniforms. He scrambled to look around the room, now noticing the papers on the desk. Reading the stationery on top, it became very clear to him.

“This is UA?”

The villain’s heart was beating a mile a minute.

“I got captured by the heroes! How?! Is this my cell?!”

What made him even more unnerved was that he wasn’t wearing his own clothes. He was in a suit and tie with gloves on. He moved toward a small mirror in the corner, seeing that his long messy hair had been tied up and put into a ponytail in the back.

“Now, they’re dressing me up like I’m their monkey?! What kind of sick, mentally deranged game are they playing?!”

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Shigaraki’s head snapped toward the doorway.

A blonde in a janitorial jumpsuit kept his head down as he slid in, bowing his head toward Shigaraki.

“June 10^th. Reporting for my daily duties.”

Shigaraki didn’t hear that. There was already bloodlust in his eyes as he threw down the papers, running around the desk toward him. He violently took off his gloves and threw the man into the wall. All fingers except one were wrapped around the man’s throat.

“Ugh! I apologize, sir! I should have waited for your permission to enter!”

“Who are you?!” Shigaraki growled. “How did I get here?!”

“I-I-I don’t know, sir!”

“What the hell does that mean?! Give me a name!”

“June 10^th, sir!”

“I said, give me a name!”

The man before him looked at Shigaraki, his eyes entirely full of fear and confusion. “To… Toshinori Yagi, sir.”

The villain’s eyes narrowed. He only heard it once compared to the many, many times he heard the man’s other alias. It was brief, but Sensei had told him.

“All Might…?”

The blonde was so different from the mighty ‘hero’ that he had last seen in Kamino, he never would have recognized him. His voice wasn’t as annoying as it was. His body wasn’t all powerful like before.

Sensei had always told him that the Symbol of Peace was false. That it was just a broken man living a lie.

And, from the looks of it, Shigaraki was finally seeing it in person. The fear in All Might’s eyes. The villain had never seen the man so pathetic, so pitiful, so sorry.

Shigaraki could hardly contain his excitement.

“Principal Shimura?”

The door was still cracked open. And Shigaraki recognized her from the attack at the USJ. Thirteen.

The moment that Thirteen’s gloves opened the door wider, stepping into the room, Shigaraki barked out, holding his other hand out at him. “Stay right where you are!”

Thirteen held her hands up, but her shoulders relaxed upon seeing Shigaraki’s face.

“Principal Shimura, I’m sorry. Is your power acting up again?”

The space woman took a step forward, but Shigaraki held his ground.

“Don’t be a hero,” the white-haired villain warned. “If you’re trying to help him out, you’ll regret it.”

Instead of trying to make a plea to save the blonde from pain, like any other ‘hero’ would, Thirteen laughed.

“No, if you want to rough him up, go ahead,” Thirteen said. “If it helps you control your powers, I’m sure June 10^th wouldn’t mind it.”

Shigaraki blinked. “Wait, what?”

“Though, I don’t think anyone here would want you to kill him.” Thirteen jabbed a thumb back in the direction of the hallway. “A kid missed the toilet and now there’s poop all over one of the stalls. Someone’s gotta clean it up. Might as well be the janitor.”

“Janitor?” The villain asked, now utterly confused, “What is going on? Why are you not spouting the usual dialogue tree that comes from your character class?”

“Huh?”

“Why aren’t you telling me that you’re a hero and all of that shit?”

Thirteen shrugged, “Because I’m not a hero. I’m just a Commander and a teacher. There’s no such thing as heroes.”

Shigaraki stared at Thirteen in shock, releasing his grip on Yagi as a result. As the man gasped for breath, Shigaraki took a moment to process it all. For the first time, his breathing slowed as he actually tried to look at his surroundings.

Shigaraki took a closer look at the diplomas on the wall. ‘Tenko Shimura’ was printed right there on them, Shigaraki’s former name. There were only a few picture frames underneath it, but he stared at the picture of himself standing outside of UA’s gates, smiling with an elderly woman whose hair was styled in a half-up-half-down bun.

“Pause,” Shigaraki thought. “This isn’t the way it was. Is none of this real…?”

He eyed the other two curiously.

“Thirteen just called me a principal. She said that she’s a commander, not a hero…”

This wasn’t a dream. Shigaraki knew that for sure.

Was this him finally going insane? Shigaraki doubted that too.

There was only one explanation for this.

“Did I… did I just spawn into an isekai?”

Thirteen pointed toward the door. “Take a moment to pull yourself together and get going,” she said. “You got a lot of work to do today especially since July 15 abandoned his station.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

As Yagi shuffled towards the hallway, Shigaraki held his hand up and called him back. “Wait a second, NPC.”

Yagi paused in his steps and turned back.

Shigaraki eagerly strode across the room. “Let me get your answer on something. Just a simple question. This isn’t a choice-based game so no timer to this.” Getting right in the blonde’s face, the new principal asked, “Are heroes real? Would someone come and save you right now?”

Confusion took over the man’s expression again. “Huh?”

Thirteen interrupted, “Uh, Shimura, are you talking about the Commanders? The ones that work for Shocker? The country?”

Shigaraki sent a glance in her direction. “No, but thanks for the casual lore dump.” He redirected his attention back to Yagi. “I want to hear it from you. Just you.” He jabbed a finger right into the man’s chest. Shigaraki’s smile widened. “Tell me right now. Do heroes exist?”

The villain could see it. The questioning look as to why someone would be asking him in the first place, why it was so important that he, a powerless nobody, was answering this random question. But then that look decayed away turning over to a sad confession, averting his gaze.

“No,” Yagi admitted finally. “Heroes are not real. There’s no hope for a hero to come and save someone like me.”

There was a moment of pure silence before victorious laughter filled the room as Shigaraki threw his head back. “HA HA HAA!”

The janitor winced at that as Thirteen finally let him go back to his duties. The woman closed the door behind her as Shigaraki threw his head back with a smile so wide you could see it from behind.

“Shimura. Tenko? Are you alright?” Thirteen asked softly. She popped open her helmet, showing the concerned woman underneath.

As Shigaraki wiped away the few tears of joy he had made, the villain knew there were two ways to play this out.

The Villain Route. Unleash the full effects of his Decay Quirk, right there on the floor, killing every unsuspecting person inside. A majority of them would be those hero brats he kept running into. Even if based on what just happened, they weren’t fully themselves. It would be the speedrun for all of this.

Or…

The ‘Principal’ Route. Go along with whatever this school simulator was. Play along. Enjoy this for a bit. Learn and study from these seemingly unsuspecting teachers and figure out what was going on. See if he can find the other members of the League and recruit them back into his… party? Team? Squad?

(He didn’t know what genre this game was now. A dating simulator? That was the closest he could think of with the school setting and only was able to play it once because Kurogiri got the wrong game for him one time.)

Shigaraki already knew what he wanted to do. Like a true gamer, he would experience the game first and if it ever got boring, get ready to rage quit.

“I’m completely fine, Thirteen,” Shigaraki said, with a smirk. “I… I just feel like all of my stats have been replenished.”

Thirteen pursed her lips, understanding the gamer lingo. “Alright then. So, you’re ready to start the next ‘stage’?” She held up a finger as the lid on it flipped open. “Ready for our daily training match? We can put together some fun combos with my Black Hole and your Decay?”

Shigaraki nodded. “Lead the way, party member.”

And that’s what he ended up doing for the next few hours. Following Thirteen as she helped him with exercises designed for the both of them to handle their powers better. (Shigaraki never realized that there was someone out there with a Quirk that similar to his.) And, then sitting in a few meetings and observing classes. During those times, he was able to pull out his phone and discover more about the world. What Shocker was, what Commanders are, and where the other members of the League went.

How did it go, overall?

Well, even hardcore gamers sometimes find a casual game to play.

And Shigaraki found himself not wanting to put it down just yet.

So, when Shigaraki finally found two teenagers that knew of his real world, he knew one thing.

He would not let hackers ruin the experience for everyone. Not yet.

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No student ever wants to be called to the principal’s office.

Tamaki remembered the last time he got called to Principal Nezu’s office, where the little rat talked about Amajiki’s performance in school as well as his recognition of being part of UA’s Big Three, saying that he had full confidence that Tamaki would do great things.

And now, Tamaki was now in an alternate version of that same office with a known psychopathic murderer on the other side of that desk.

Honestly, Tamaki couldn’t figure out which experience was worse.

“So…” Shigaraki paused, looking at the student registry on his school-issued laptop. “Tamaki Amajiki and Mirio Togata.” He turned in his seat, looking at the two students dismissively. “I never heard of either one of you before…”

Ankh was keeping it cool, acting as he always did, with a scowl, crossed arms, and bad attitude.

Tamaki, on the other hand, was fidgeting nervously in his seat, keeping his head down.

“So, you two aren’t just NPCs in this RPG. You’re players as well. So, what is this game’s genre? Would I need to make a party with you two or are you two hackers in this, trying to interrupt my playthrough?”

Ankh stared at the principal as if he was speaking utter gibberish. “Huh?”

“He’s talking like this is a video game,” Tamaki explained before looking back at the principal. “Sir. We were just confused back there. We don’t know-“

“Oh, save it. I know. Yes, I know. My intelligence stats aren’t low,” Shigaraki leaned forward in his desk. “Now, are you going to show me your hidden dialogue or…” The principal held up a hand, his palm pointing directly at the floor. He jerked his head to motion Tamaki to look at the screen where security cameras were showing the unsuspecting students in their classes. “Should we speedrun through this?”

Tamaki’s heart stopped beating. He knew what Shigaraki was implying. He would unleash his Quirk right then and kill everyone in the school. Even Nejire wouldn’t know what was going on…

His heart then went a hundred miles an hour, trying to not let the sudden pressure and adrenaline overwhelm him.

“You don’t have to do that,” Tamaki said. “We’ll tell you everything.”

“Oh, really?” Shigaraki said. He slowly put his hand down, letting his fingers intertwine with another. “Then, go ahead.”

Ankh eyed Tamaki with curiosity as the purple-haired teen explained it all. “I’m Tamaki Amajiki. I’m a third year at UA’s hero course. What it should have been.”

“Uh-huh. And what about my glitch?”

“I don’t know much about it, but you’re this thing called a Singular Point.”

Shigaraki commented, “Singular Point. Catchy title. Go on.”

Tamaki continued, “Because of this, whenever the world… changes, you remember the world for exactly as how you lived it.”

The principal let out a laugh. “Ha! Is that it? With all of my other stats, I have a special buff too?!” He threw his head back, leaning back in his chair. “But then…” He looked back at the students. “How exactly did the world ‘change’? What was it, a server restart, a full-on reboot?”

Tamaki didn’t know what to do next. A villain like Shigaraki knowing about time travel was flat out dangerous.

“Y’know,” Shigaraki continued, droning on. “I’ve seen these patches before. In my world. Small bugs and glitches. Buildings that had LOD issues… That Todoroki kid having a scar one minute and then it being removed from his character customization after fighting that brat…” His eyes widened as he straightened up in his chair. “Izuku Midoriya…”

And there it was. It took every ounce of Tamaki’s self-control to keep his expression fairly neutral.

But Shigaraki had already seen through it.

Shigaraki instantly sprang onto his computer, typing away until he found it. A picture of Izuku Midoriya labelled as July 15.

“Heard that someone named July 15 went AFK last night,” Shigaraki said aloud, connecting the pieces. “Last night was the last time I remember being at my save point…”

Shigaraki glared at the both of them with a smirk on his face. “He’s a part of this too, isn’t he?”

Tamaki squeaked, “Nope.”

Ankh sent the teenager next to him a side eye while looking back at the villain. “So? What does that matter?”

“It explains so fucking much!” Shigaraki exclaimed, pointing his finger at both of them. “I never heard of you two. You’re DLC characters. But Izuku Midoriya was there at every one of my raids. USJ, Hosu, the Training Camp, Kamino. All of them fucked up because he was there. Because he had some advantage there that I never knew about it. Well, now I do…” He grabbed his computer mouse and unleashed his Quirk on it, letting ashes fall on the desk. “You heroes have a cheat code.”

There was a beat of silence that followed. Even though Tamaki had been able to not explain the time travel part yet, Tamaki didn’t want to reveal as much as he did, especially with how Izuku was involved. Tamaki looked back at Ankh at that. The hero student used to be able to look at his friend and feel comforted. It was a different feeling now, knowing that someone else was in control of him. But, still, it reminded him to ask, ‘What would Mirio do’?

Mirio Togata was a guy who shined brighter than Tamaki could ever could. Someone that always trusted the people around him. With strength and courage. Tamaki could never be someone like that.

But, right then, there was only one path for Tamaki to take. He was alone with only a few friends, trying to change the world back to normal. They would need all the help they could get. Even if it did come from a villain.

It wasn’t him trying to believe in others. It was him being rational.

“Look, Shigaraki…” Tamaki spoke up, waiting for the man to draw his attention back to him. “Now that you… know about all of this, maybe we could work together.”

Suffice to say, Shigaraki looked both shocked and confused by that. “Say what?”

“Well,” Tamaki paused to clear his throat. “As you noticed, this ‘patch’ is big. It impacted the entire world. We’re working with Midoriya on trying to fix it. And now that you know about it, maybe you would be inclined to help us. Someone in your position would help a lot more than just us as students.”

“Why the hell would I ever be interested in that?”

“Well, you probably know by now what these Commanders do now for Shocker. Hunting down mutants and labeling them as Kaijin. It isn’t right. The world shouldn’t be like that.”

Shigaraki took a long deep breath, narrowing his eyes at that statement. When he spoke again, his words dripped of malice.

“Tell me. What it’s like?”

Tamaki blinked. “What’s what like?”

“Being stupid your whole life.”

The teenager was taken aback by that answer. Whatever he thought Shigaraki was going to say, it wasn’t that. “What-?”

Shigaraki felt the urge to scratch himself. He kept making his hands into fists but kept uncurling them. He stared directly at Tamaki.

“The whole reason why I created the League of Villains was because I wanted to crumble society,” Shigaraki explained. “Because that society was filled with people calling themselves heroes, making themselves bigger than life, when anyone who doesn’t fit their idea of a ‘hero’ instantly gets beaten down by life every day. Those ‘heroes’ sweep away everyone that they failed to protect. That society was filled with people who all lived their stupid lives because they believed that there will always be a hero to save them. So much so that they wouldn’t bother to even glance at a lost child, thinking that someone else will take care of it. All of this supported by the Symbol of Peace and his idiotic smile.” His steely glare bore right into Tamaki. “And you want me to help bring all of that back?”

Shame burned Tamaki’s cheeks as he inadvertently looked away from the malice of it all. But, still, even with his body tense, he answered, “I’m sorry for all of that. I… I don’t know your life. I… I can’t say I understand how you really feel about heroes. But” He shook his head before looking back at Shigaraki. “Is this world really that much better than that one?”

“Nope,” Shigaraki snapped back. “Let me tell you something. This world is the exact same as the last one. The mechanics are the same. There are only two main differences. People aren’t smiling anymore. And the other? My party is the only one that’s winning.”

Tamaki’s brows knitted in confusion as Shigaraki went back to his laptop, pulling up various pictures on screen. The teenager didn’t recognize all of them right of the bat, but he was soon able to figure out they were members of the League. Muscular with the other teachers, Toga with two classmates, even Compress being an entertainer. (There was also one of a white-haired guy fighting alongside Endeavor. But honestly, Tamaki wasn’t able to pay much attention to that one.)

“I looked up every one of my previous party members and literally every single one is already living a better life than what they were,” Shigaraki recounted. “Even Moonfish and Magne work together baking food or whatever.” The man hummed with a smirk. “Sounds like the only one who isn’t doing so great are your people.”

“And, what about that lizard guy that was with you, Spinner?” Tamaki pointed out, almost uncharacteristically. “No matter what you justify, this world isn’t better for everyone, is it?”

Tamaki saw the flash of hesitation on Shigaraki’s face, the slight slip in his composure, and continued.

“Look, however you feel about what’s wrong with our world… it can get better. It can get fixed. There are ways to make it better than letting this world stay.”

The villain eyed Tamaki coldly, smiling its toothy smile. “You fine with me overtaking hero society?”

“Not that at all,” Tamaki said, staring him down, even though his whole body was shaking. “What you were doing involved killing people who got in your way, hurting them the same way the world hurt you, just because of your old life. But that’s not justification for any of it. In the real world, I’ve met people, genuine good people. That if they saw that little abandoned kid that you mentioned, they would drop everything to help them. They see the world’s flaws and are working on making it better for everyone because they care in their own way. They can change things without having to burn everything down like you and the League were. But, if Shocker truly is in control of everything, they can’t do that in this world.”

“You know nothing!” Shigaraki stood up from his desk, slamming his hands on it. “Things don’t change. Nothing ever gets better. All you can do is make it better for yourself. And, to do that, you have to destroy them utterly until there’s nothing but dust.”

“It doesn’t need to be like that. Not if we help each other.”

Shigaraki snarled, “I will never help a hero.”

And there it was.

Ankh had been silently watching the whole time, not bothering much with it. He really didn’t care about this whole Shocker stuff, only interested in how this all benefits him. And, for the last few minutes, he had been silent watching Tamaki squirm in his seat talking to this big bad villain.

The being already had an idea of what Shigaraki was like. He had him pegged. Someone with the desire to be angry and destroy everything because he found life meaningless. Honestly, Ankh could get that.

Shigaraki was new to this world too, but he was taking his time to enjoy it, finding a joy to it somewhat. The villain didn’t know whether or not this world was really for him, but Ankh could see it in his eyes. The pride. The anger.

To what Shigaraki just learned from Tamaki, the white-haired man thought that the only two people in this world, Izuku and Tamaki, were ‘heroes’. Shigaraki was more than willing to keep this world the way it was if it meant that the heroes would lose.

It was petty. But, again, Ankh could get that.

“We’re done,” Shigaraki said finally, sitting back in his chair. “I’m skipping your dialogue. Move along.”

“Wha-really-no…” Tamaki shook his head. “That’s it?”

“Yeah, go. Let’s see how much completion you can do on your own for this world. I’m not joining through your playthrough.”

“But-!”

“But nothing. You can’t do a damn thing to me. Unless you want to lower your karma,” Shigaraki rested his feet on the desk, side-eyeing him. “You have a complaint? Take it up with the devs.”

Ankh said, standing up, “Alright, I’m not wasting any more time here.”

The bird man already started stomping toward the door. Tamaki sighed, his shoulders slumping, as he resigned to this conclusion. A part of him was glad that he was out of the office without any major consequence. But he was conflicted.

Tamaki paused in the doorway, taking one last look at the villain looking out the window.

“Shigaraki… I can’t do a lot for you right now. But I think… You’ll regret it if you want to stay in this world…”

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Meanwhile, Izuku was dealing with his own dangerous principal at the moment.

Izuku stared at All for One, now having the body of Nezu, as the rat towered over him in mid-air. It was so weird seeing his principal wearing the exact outfit as the regular All for One, just smaller as if it was one of those hero plushies Izuku would buy.

“So, hello there,” Nezu said, in his usual chippier voice. “We haven’t had many visitors come by here. Who may you be?”

Izuku introduced himself, “Hello, I am Izuku Midoriya. I don’t know how much you know already.”

“Ah, I have heard of you. Until recently, you were known as July 15, a relatively unknown servant at UA High School. But, last night, you ran away from your post and allegedly attacked Commanders.”

“How do you know so much about that?”

“Oh, our spy at UA has informed quite a bit of this development.”

The Quirkless teen blinked at that. A spy? Was it the same ‘spy’ from his timeline? No, that wouldn’t make sense…

Regardless, Izuku steadied his nerves as he got back to business.

“Principal Nezu, I mean, All for One…” Izuku bowed his head. “I’m sorry for bothering you but I came here because I need your help.”

The mammal hummed. “Nezu? That’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time… Would you care for some tea?”

“Um, sure…” Izuku said, but then jerked his arms for a moment. “But, uh, it might be difficult to with these on.”

“Of course,” Nezu said, snapping his fingers. “Tsukuyomi?”

FLASH!

More lights turned on, illuminating the room entirely.

It was about the size of UA’s cafeteria with the walls around him lined with dirty old bricks. Izuku noticed he was now sitting in the middle of the room entirely. In front of Izuku, there was a small set of stairs leading up to a balcony of sorts, looking over everyone like an office. To his left, there was a set of beaten and worn-out workout equipment and a training mat. To his right, there was a small bar-like area with one long table and another counter with cooking equipment.

There was more to the little hideout, but Izuku wasn’t focused on that. He was focused on the person coming from behind the bar, draping a cloth over his shoulder and approaching the Quirkless teen.

Izuku gasped, now being able to see his classmate more clearly than just the news footage, “To…Tokoyami?”

The bird reached behind Izuku, unlocking the cuffs. “That was my mortal name. I no longer have use of it. I have fully been engulfed in the darkness. Address me by my title: Tsukuyomi.”

His voice had a small echo to it as if it were two people speaking at once.

Tsukuyomi was dressed far differently than the school uniform or black hoodie Izuku had seen him in normally. Instead, he was wearing a very elegant suit with a tie with a small metal brace that went around his collarbone. But that wasn’t the most surprising thing about him.

His ‘feathers’, the ones that covered his whole head, weren’t just feathers. They were glowing purple, making an aura that looked like he was made of shadow. His eyes were glowing yellow. When he spoke, it was like two voices were overlapping each other.

To Izuku, Tsukuyomi looked like Tokoyami when Dark Shadow was covering his head. But, with the bird’s new look, it was painting an even disturbing image of him.

Kurogiri.

Izuku knew the story behind the teleporter for the League of Villains in his own timeline. How All for One took the corpse of a dead UA student, Oboro Shirakumo, and turned it into a mindless puppet devoted to Shigaraki. Shirakumo’s Cloud Quirk allowed him to generate clouds dense enough to carry people and objects. That was the basis for how Kurogiri carried multiple people into his mists and transported them.

But the portals here were different. As if they were shredded into creation. Like how Tokoyami would fight with Dark Shadow and attack with its talons. It’s a different result at the end, but it looks to be the same process.

Is that what happened? In this timeline, Tokoyami died and All for One, AKA Nezu, reanimated his corpse with all new Quirks? But that would mean-

“Darkness can never truly die.”

Oh, did Izuku mutter all that aloud? Whoops.

As Tsukuyomi led Izuku to the dining table, there was a small feeling of regret that began to grow from coming here.

Before now, in addition to needing All for One’s help, there was a part of Izuku that reasoned that if the ‘heroes’ here were the bad guys, that would logically mean the ‘villains’ were the good guys. Which was why he wanted to find the League, as well as more of his friends. But, if Nezu really did bring Tokoyami back to life like how the real All for One brought back Oboro’s corpse, maybe things wouldn’t be as cut and dry as he thought.

Taking a sip of a cup of tea, Izuku kept glancing around, noticing all eyes were still trained on him. Burnin was leaning back on a banister, looking casual but eyeing Izuku. Asui and her family were sitting on the other end of the table, drinking tea that Tsukuyomi was serving them. Habuko was right next to them, crouching down, practically hiding behind Asui. The snake had a firm grip on her sword. Hagakure… was nowhere to be seen, which only made Izuku even more unnerved.

Walking across the table itself, Nezu put his hands behind his back. “So… did you enjoy the tea? I made the recipe myself.”

Izuku nodded, putting down the cup.

“Good. I’m glad you’re comfortable. Now….”

In an instant, the mammal was right in Izuku’s face, only centimeters away from his face. “Talk.”

Izuku’s eyes started blinking rapidly as if his brain was pulling forward all the information the leader of the League wanted. A feeling overcame his body, loosening his tongue, as if Izuku wanted to confess all of his sins, everything. Izuku realized that this was a Quirk at play. One of All for One’s Quirks. Just even the thought of trying to keep shut made his chest ache.

Fine. If they wanted Izuku to talk. He would talk.

“Ok, look, my name is Izuku Midoriya. I was born Quirkless. Quirks. That’s what I call superpowers that we were born with. And not just me. Everyone in my timeline. In my world, when people first got Quirks back in 2018, they were scared of them, but eventually a job was formed because of them. One from the brave individuals who took it upon themselves to protect people from evildoers. With government support, people were now able to serve as actual superheroes in an official capacity straight out of fiction. Well, I wanted to be one. But, since I was Quirkless, it was kind of impossible until at the beginning of this year when I found myself up on a tree branch with sand in my eyes…”

Izuku continued his whole story, how he became Kamen Rider Den-O, becoming enrolled at the real UA, meeting Amajiki, going back in time, Den Liner crashing, and then finding themselves in this new world. It took some time to get through it all. There were no interruptions from anyone. Honestly, even if there was, it wouldn’t have gotten through. With the Quirk in effect, Izuku was practically a record that needed to be played through.

When Izuku had finally finished it all, Hagakure whistled from nearby, “Ok, now that I have heard the whole thing… I gotta say… Your life is really jacked up.”

Izuku nodded along, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, “Yeah, I heard that before.”

Nezu commented, now back on the table and putting a finger to his chin, “It is quite an amazing story, Midoriya.”

“Oh, yeah, it’s like a fairy tale,” Burnin’ said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “Kid gets some fairy god monsters, rides the magical train back in time, and then when the clock hits midnight, he finds out the world is really shit.” The woman looked off into the distance. “And then, in the woods, the animals sing…”

Samidare laughed at that. “Well, I can sing.”

Habuko added, “Same here.”

Tsukuyomi said, “I can add a haunting melody.”

“Not what I meant!”

Asui commented, taking a sip of her tea, “I’m just glad I can understand it more this time. The subtitles made it all less creepy. Ribbit.”

“Subtitles?” Izuku echoed. He glanced down, now noticing the yellow text floating in front of him, copying exactly what he was saying. For a brief moment, the tension was lifted as Izuku marveled at it. “Whoa, that’s so cool!”

Nezu nodded, “I encourage all info to be displayed for all learning styles.”

“Wow, that’s such a teacher thing to say!” Izuku commented at the current Quirk in effect. “Does this come in multiple languages? What about accessibil-?”

Tsukuyomi said, “Pardon the interruption, but our fellow allies are requesting a pick-up.”

The bird’s hand turned into pure darkness as it stretched out, growing in size. It reached out and slashed the open space in the room.

SNKKKTT!

Shadowed claws ripped open a portal and three people stepped out from it.

As soon as the portal closed behind them, a man tore off his skull-like helmet and Izuku’s eyes widened, seeing the person up close as the three of them approached the table.

“Iida…”

This villainous version of Iida wore a black one-piece sleeveless suit with dark silver armor over his body covering his ankles and boots matching that with spikes on the soles. Bandages wrapped around his arms. Where the giant mufflers on his hero suit should have been, there was instead a holstered weapon on his back. He wore a bevor around his mouth that was full of holes, much like the one on the Ingenium suit. And he wore black-tinted glasses over his eyes.

The other two were also people Izuku recognized. Shoji from his class and Manga Fukidashi from Class 1-B.

Shoji wasn’t wearing his mask like he usually was, letting his full mouth be on display. He was wearing a red zipper vest colored like a real octopus over a light blue tank top. Dark blue jogger pants and black pants complimented the outfit.

Fukidashi was sticking to his manga motif with a manga page template for a mask and a black chest piece shaped like an ink bottle. Underneath it was a hot pink bodysuit with ben-day dots around his wrists and ankles. He wore boots and gloves that were cyan with yellow around its cuffs and splotches on it like black ink.

Iida bowed toward Nezu. “Sensei, we have the location of the Foundation X laboratory.”

Fukidashi added, his word balloon now with the word panic, “We staked it out and tried to gather as much info as we can about the facility itself, but it’s worse than we thought.”

Shoji explained, “We learned that Shocker’s Big Machine, the one that they showed off on the news, is going to launch tomorrow. We’re not sure what it does exactly, but we overheard that this Poseidon is going to use it like he said. To wipe out all ‘Kaijin’.”

Nezu hummed, averting his gaze, “This is most troubling… What about Anima?”

The word balloon said, “We saw him being moved away to another building, away from Shocker’s Big Machine. He’s most likely still there.”

“More importantly…” One of Shoji’s arms became an eye as it looked right at Izuku. “Is this the Izuku Midoriya that Boomslang mentioned to us?”

Burnin’ commented, “No, this kid’s a mutant with a broccoli power. We’re going to have him tell the Commanders to eat their vegetables. Even the greens.”

Habuko sighed, rolling her eyes, as she answered Shoji’s question. “Yes, it is.”

Izuku stood up from his seat. “Hello, look, I know this sounds weird, but it’s good to see you guys again. At least we know we’re all on the same page- “

SPLOOT!

The Quirkless teen froze in place, looking down at the glue that was already hardening around his shoes. Izuku turned around, now noticing the final member of the League. The one that kept hidden in case Izuku tried anything.

Kojiro Bondo. Also, from Class 1-B. Wearing a blue jumpsuit with a nozzle around his collar, wrists, and knees to make him look like a giant glue bottle.

“We’re not, exactly,” Bondo said, approaching the group. “Look, I do want to believe your time travel story, but…”

Izuku said, “Look, if you don’t understand it, I’ll explain it to you again. A hundred times, if I have to.”

“No, there’s need for you to do that,” Iida called out. “I’m sure those of us who were absent for your arrival can read the notes that were taken.”

Hagakure replied, “Iida, we didn’t take any notes.”

“What the hell?!” the engine teen cursed, chopping his hand in the air. “Do you not understand the importance of note taking? How could you be so inconsiderate of your fellow League members?”

Before Iida could go on, Tsukuyomi quietly turned him away from the group, returning attention to Izuku.

“Your tale is most detailed and thought out,” the darkness addressed. “Sensei’s Quirk compelled you to speak the truth. However, what is to say that your mind hasn’t been twisted by madness and corruption?”

“You think I could be crazy?” Izuku asked, almost incredulous. “Fine, then, let me tell you something that I can’t make up. Things I know because I had gotten to know you in my world.” He pointed a finger right at Nezu. “You like it when people brush that spot in the back of your head below your left ear. And you smoke, but you don’t want kids to smell it, so you have your own private space to do it.”

The rodent smiled with his sharp teeth. “How interesting…”

But Izuku didn’t stop there.

Izuku looked over to the woman with the glowing green hair. “Burnin’, you hate Endeavor.”

“Yeah, well, that’s obvious.”

“I remember reading your interview. You said that was your feeling until you started to see him in action.”

Burnin raised an eyebrow and Izuku moved to the next person.

“Hagakure, wherever you are, there were times when you came to the café on your own because we had caramel-flavored coffee, which you love. Plus, when you do come in, you like to watch dokkiri shows, because you love pulling pranks on people.”

A voice whispered directly next to him, “Ok, that’s true.”

Izuku yelped from fright, “Yah!”

As Hagakure giggled, backing away, the greenette pointed toward the engine teen. “Iida, when we ate at my family’s café, you said you loved beef stew. That it was your favorite.”

Iida stiffened. He admitted, “Well, I am fond of it…”

“You also drink orange juice because it helps your engines. Your brother introduced you to it and you loved it just as much as you cared for him. And you were just as devastated when a man attacked him in an alley. In my timeline, he’s called Stain. But, for you, he’s called Stendhal. Is that accurate?”

Seeing Iida’s shocked expression as proof, Izuku moved to the next person.

“Tokoyami, Tsukuyomi, how do you feel about apples?”

The bird replied, “They are the forbidden fruit.”

“Right, but you still love them. You eat them all the time with Eri,” Izuku said. “But your beak makes that difficult so in order to eat, you have to eat from the sides of your mouth to eat and that’s why you love using chopsticks.”

The darkness around Tsukuyomi’s head flickered for a moment as he tilted his head at Izuku.

Fukidashi raised his hand, his speech bubble now having question marks, “You got any fun details about my diet?”

Izuku tilted his head, rubbing the back of his head. “No, I’ll be honest. I barely know you, Bondo, or Boomslang that well. But…” The teenager looked over at Asui. “I do know you.”

The frog girl stared back at him, eyes curious about his intentions.

The Quirkless teen said, remembering back to the beginning of the school year, “The very first day you talked to me, you told me you were blunt, that you always said what’s on your mind. I still see it here. When it came down to it, yesterday, you told your siblings the harsh truth of the world.” He shook his head, smiling back at her. “I don’t believe in it, but I know you did that to try and protect who you could.”

Both Samidare and Satsuki flashed him a smile, but Asui averted her eyes back to her drink.

“Midoriya, I have a confession to make,” Nezu admitted, placing his arms behind his back as he walked across the table. “I believe you. But it wasn’t due to anything you just said…”

Addressing all of them at once, Nezu explained, “It is time for you all to learn my true origins.”

Everyone in the room instantly turned their attention away from Izuku as they looked down at the little mammal at the table, all of them curious, especially Izuku.

Burnin shrugged, “Sure, we heard one crazy story today. What’s another?”

“Long ago, there were two brothers,” Nezu narrated. “One with the power to take other powers away from others and one thought to be powerless…”

Izuku’s eyes widened. He definitely recognized this story…

“When Yoichi, the powerless boy, was taken into servitude for his condition, his brother risked everything to try and find him again, even going against Shocker. They managed to escape and go into hiding. But both of them didn’t make it. The brother with an assortment of powers fell against Shocker’s forces. When that happened, he gave the assorted powers he acquired over time to Yoichi in hopes that they would survive.”

Nezu closed his eyes solemnly. “But it was only for a short time. Shocker spent years, searching Yoichi, decades even. Figuring out how to extract his powers from him so that they could use it.” He shook his head. “Yoichi fought on his own, using powers that extended his life, but he was one man against an entire army, against their Kamen Riders. He didn’t have much to fight with.”

The mammal looked down at his hands. “I was just a simple animal living in the wilderness until I, one day, felt my mind open. For once, I thought of things other than my own survival. For once, I began to wonder about my future.”

Satsuki asked, “Did it involve cheese?”

“Actually, yes,” Nezu answered. “I learned a lot more about the world, including Shocker. Someone of my size back then was able to sneak in and learn many secrets. However, I was captured by them. Once they learned of myself, an actual animal not native to humanity began to develop intelligence, they performed heinous experiments on me. They wanted to know if it was possible to imbue powers into other animals as well. They…” He averted his gaze, looking at the ground. “Drilled into my own brain, implanted devices intended on controlling me.”

The mammal shuddered from the memory of the drill plunging right into his head.

Hagakure commented, “That’s… that’s horrible.”

Habuko asked, “But, how come we haven’t heard more of that? More of these mind control devices being used?”

Burnin replied, “The world’s practically brainwashed already.”

Shoji nodded. “Burnin is right. Shocker really doesn’t need to use that technology. Not with their Commanders and Riders thinking they’re fighting the big bad monsters and saving the day.”

Bondo asked, “But, how does this tie into what Midoriya was saying?”

Iida answered, “Let Sensei finish!”

Nezu continued, “In that same facility, Yoichi was also kept there. The two of us became acquainted with each other, learning of each other’s histories and escaped, destroying the facility before they could ever activate the devices in my head and made me one of their slaves. However… history repeated itself. Yoichi died in the process and he gave his power to myself as a result…” The mammal looked up to each of their faces. “That is the story of All for One.”

Izuku stared back at the animal, putting it altogether.

The two brothers, both who would have One for All and All for One, are both dead in this timeline. All for One gave his brother his own Quirk so that he would survive and then his brother had to give Nezu his Quirk to continue the fight. One for All didn’t even exist in this world. At least, not how it was in the original timeline.

Nezu had High Specs combined with All for One. That was a deadly combination.

“Yes, it is,” Nezu suddenly said, making Izuku realize that he had been muttering again. “I worked tirelessly to free as many people as I could and change this world for the better.”

Izuku gave a curt nod. “Alright, but, again, like Bondo was saying, what do you know about me?”

The mammal explained, “Like I said, before I was captured, I studied the world. I learned many of its secrets. During the fight against Shocker, I learned quite a lot.”

The greenette sat back in his chair, meeting Nezu at eye level again.

The rat continued, “I learned of two beings known as Kamen Riders. Ichigo and Nigo. Even before 2018, before the Dawn of Powers, those two beings fought to stop Shocker.”

Multiple gasps of astonishment came from the League.

“What?!” / “Impossible!” / “No way. They’re the main figureheads for Shocker. You’re lying.”

Nezu looked over to Burnin, “I must assure you I am not. Ichigo and Nigo were ordinary humans until Shocker experimented on them both, planning on controlling them as loyal Kamen Riders to their cause. But, they escaped, fighting them for many years until…” He paused, looking back at Izuku. “A warrior known as Poseidon defeated them.”

That threw up a few bells in alarm.

Fukidashi, with an exclamation point on him, pointed out, “Wait, isn’t that the name of the Shocker’s new pilot for their machine?”

“Indeed,” Nezu hummed. “According to the records I discovered, Poseidon wasn’t affiliated with Shocker at all. However, it was someone with that precise name that defeated both Ichigo and Nigo. Both Kamen Riders were returned to finish their brainwashing, leaving them as the perfect weapons for their organization.”

A solemn silence overtook the room, but Izuku broke it.

The teenager asked, leaning over the table, “Do you know what happened with Poseidon?”

“According to records, when Poseidon delivered the Kamen Riders to Shocker, he gave them a sample of his DNA, informing them of the year 2018 and explaining to them that it would be the start of humanity gaining superpowers. There was more to the conversation, but it was redacted. Poseidon then vanished without a trace.”

Izuku blinked dumbly at the mini villain, trying to process it. There were pieces that still didn’t fit, but what Nezu told him connected it all.

With how the world as it was then, All for One wouldn’t be able to give Izuku the ticket he needed to go back, but he just gave something just as important. Information.

“Poseidon. That’s who attacked Den Liner… That’s who changed history.”

Iida gasped, “So… that means…”

“Yes, Iida,” Nezu said. “A name that was unconnected for many years, now to an experimental prototype of unimaginable power. Originally coming from a man centuries ago, speaking of future events that couldn’t possibly be predicted on his own. And all of us learning this only a few hours before we’re contacted by one of our allies about a boy who claims to be a time traveler…”

All eyes slowly turned back to Izuku. Some of their expressions of doubt and disbelief were now wiped away as they stared at the boy in disbelief.

All for One warned, stepping toward Izuku, “We’re about to undergo an important mission tonight. If the implications of your words are true, we’re dealing with something far more than just a weapon. We will need as many allies as possible. If you are true to your word, what will you choose to do next?”

Izuku closed his eyes and took a slow breath before looking at them all with determination. He had already made up his mind.

“How can I help?”

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It was the end of the school day and unlike her fellow classmates, Himiko Toga was still sitting at her desk, tapping away at her desk. Her mind had been unfocused for the rest of the afternoon. She kept replaying her first ‘date’ with Yanagi as well as her confrontation with the third year.

“Man, I can’t believe that girl! She better keep quiet… Should I stab her just to be sure she gets the message? No, I would get suspected immediately. Everyone knows what needles and blades I use. I show them off all the time… Unless I find a way to perfectly hide the body…”

“Hey, what are you still doing here?”

Toga looked up from her papers to see a crowd of students around her. Normally, she didn’t mind too much. After all, they were her closest friends.

Saiko Intelli, aka the human encyclopedia, crossed her arms. “Are you sick? Are you suffering from blood withdrawal from using your power too much? That’s the only conceivable reason I could see for you not leaving when we reached the scheduled end of the day.”

Camie Utsushimi, aka the human urban dictionary, waved her off, “Nah, babe. It’s these classes. You wanna know how many times I wanna doze off hearing about the ‘great rizz’ of Shocker. Gotta get rid of those bad vibes.”

Seiji Shishikura, aka the human definition of uptight, snapped, “Are you telling our representative Kamen Rider to not wear the pride of our school on her shoulders?”

“No, babe. I’m just telling you that you can’t always be Shocker’s simp. Just because Toga girl can flex her cute butt, it don’t mean she need to flex all the time.”

“You have said nothing that resembles human language.”

Toga sighed, shaking her head, “Look, thank you all, but that’s not it. I just…” She stood up from her chair, getting her stuff together. Her hand pumped up into a cheer, grinning at them all. “I’m just tired, ya know! I was going crazy, thinking about all of the relaxing stuff I can do tonight!”

Intelli offered, “I can brew you a cup of Gold Tips Imperial. The flavor is quite lovely.” She scoffed, looking smug right then. “Ha! I’m sure it will be an experience for you. It’s much more of an upper-class commodity than you ever had experience to.”

“Nah, I’m good.”

“Hey, I know a good way to unwind…” Camie nudged Shishikura with her elbow before leaning in and whispering to Toga. “Don’t ask me how, but Seiji gives totes good foot massages.”

At the sight of Shishikura blushing as red as actual blood, Toga cackled, “Ha ha! Thanks, I actually needed that!”

“It’s no problem. After all…” Camie blew a kiss into the air, with an actual heart flying from her lips. She struck a pose. “We’re the Togasquad!”

Shishikura shook his head, “Once again, please do not call us something so airheaded. It is highly informal.”

Intelli raised an eyebrow, “More informal than apparently rubbing someone’s feet?”

The purple-haired teen grumbled, not dignifying that with a response and letting his hat farther down his head.

Toga shook her head, smiling, as she reached for the door and opened it.

Right on the other side, Hado was there, waiting for them. Her grin was wide as she waved enthusiastically at them.

“Hiya!”

Toga froze upon seeing her. She wasn’t sure what was coming next, why the third year was here, but her mind was already replaying their conversation from her earlier. The vampire’s hand was already reaching for her back pocket…

“Hey babe!” Camie greeted, holding out her hand to shake. “Who are you?”

Hado grasped Camie’s hand, shaking it up and down enthusiastically. “I’m Nejire Hado! I work close with Tamaki, you know, Kamen Rider OOO!”

Intelli narrowed her eyes. “What is an upperclassman such as yourself doing here? Is there a Rider meeting Toga must attend?”

“Sort of…” There was a sly smirk on her lips as Hado looked back at Toga. “I already talked to the other Riders and they have agreed to have a strategy meeting tonight.”

Toga echoed, “Strategy meeting? On what?”

“On, y’know, I just figured we’re all a part of the same program, the same school. I figured it would be good to ensure that we are able to teach each other important things that aren’t just for the classroom. Create special relationships with each other?” She winked at Toga before looking at the rest. “It’s going to be hosted at Class 1-A’s dorm with every one of them.”

Toga clenched her jaw, face twisted and hands fisted by her sides.

“Is this… is this some way of trying to get me and Yanagi ‘together’? I don’t know what this girl’s problem is, but I am not falling for that!”

 The blood sucker offered a sweet and reassuring smile. “Thank you for the notice, but I’m afraid I’ll have to skip it.”

Hado pouted, putting a finger to her chin, “But, all of the other Riders will be there. Give me one good reason why you aren’t able to go.”

“Besides the sword that’s about to go straight through your head?”

Shishikura crossed his arms, stepping forward. “If this event will be hosted in the first-year dorm, then it’s logical to assume more than just the Riders will be attending. Perhaps, the Riders will be able to bring their most trusted allies as well.”

“Ooh, look who has a case of FOMO already.”

“I do not!”

Hado smiled, gesturing to the others. “You can bring your friends along if you like.”

“Ooh, lit!” Camie exclaimed, wrapping an arm over Toga’s shoulder. “It’ll be a party!”

“It will not,” Intelli reinforced. “I agree with Shishikura. If anything, this will be more of a social gathering.”

“That’s the same thing as a party, babe.”

“Definitions are what matters.”

Camie ignored her, shaking Toga around. “Come on, this should show you a great time.”

Toga groaned, “I don’t know…”

But the party girl moved Toga’s head a bit to the right.

Both Intelli and Shishikura were sticking their bottom lips and wide sad eyes in a puppy dog pout. Shishikura, in particular, was squishing his finger against his cheek.

Right next to Toga, Shishikura cried out, “That is not us at all! You shouldn’t be using your power like this, Camie!”

As the illusions dissolved away, Intelli came by Toga’s side, saying, “It is up to you, Toga. If it’s a Rider meeting, vital information could be dispensed that you could potentially miss firsthand. Plus, this is a prestigious school. Being absent on a ‘club’ activity, especially for Rider duties, for no fair reason, would notably mark down your performance and standing.”

Toga thought, “And make people more suspicious. I wouldn’t be able to be near Yanagi at all for a long time!”

The blonde let out a few unintelligible grumbles before smiling back at Hado, trying to show off her fangs in a toothy grin.

“Ok! We’ll be there!” Toga cheered, sending a quick glare at Hado as all of the students finally shuffled out of the classroom.

Hado waved goodbye, “See ya!”

As the periwinkle girl turned away from them, going around a corner, she nearly bumped into Ankh and Tamaki.

Tamaki asked, “Nejire? Are you alright? You took off right after class and we couldn’t talk about what happened at lunch. We have something important to tell you.”

“Oh, trust me, I have a story too.”

Ankh sighed, holding up the green can that was now vibrating and ringing, “How about we just deal with this all at once, shall we?”

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In the privacy of Ankh’s bedroom, Tamaki leaned over the desk with the grasshopper-like walkie-talkie. The teenager recapped, “Ok, so… this Poseidon went back in time, attacking Den Liner in the process when we were on it.”

“Right,” Izuku’s voice replied through the speaker.

Hado chimed in, sitting on her bed, “In the past, Poseidon went and defeated Ichigo and Nigo, two people who were planning on taking Shocker down.”

“Exactly. He then delivered them back to Shocker where the Kamen Riders became Shocker’s allies instead of their enemies.”

Tamaki continued, “And, not only that, but Poseidon also told them about Quirks and when they were happening.”

Izuku said, “With that knowledge, Shocker must have been able to engineer something. Either a drug or something else that caused the first Quirks in history to go haywire, messing with their users’ DNA and labelling them as a threat. That has to be how so many of those disasters you mentioned happened. It’s the only explanation. An evil society as that would have had the resources to do it if they had time in advance.”

Ankh commented, leaning back on the wall, “Shocker then made themselves look humanity’s saviors by placing themselves in control of everything. Labelling who is a threat and who’s not.”

“And changing the entire world.”

Silence stretched between all four of them.

“Okay, so we know what happened to history,” Hado said, breaking the silence. “But there are still some things not making sense. How did Poseidon go back in time in the first place if those Foundation X guys said on the TV that Poseidon was created just now?”

“I don’t know,” Izuku replied. “But I hope that I can find the answers tonight.”

Tamaki warned, “Midoriya, I won’t argue with you about your tactics on trying to search for info. We really needed it but listen to me. These League of Kaijin might not be the same group as the League of Villains in our timeline, but they’re criminals here. I looked it up. No matter what they spin on it, what reasons they had for it, that group has still committed crimes. Bombings, murders, assassinations, raids…” He closed his eyes, letting out a long sigh. “They may be your friends in the real world, but they’re dangerous here. Do they even know you’re calling us now?”

“Yeah, Asui’s watching me now,” Izuku said. A brief pause as the Quirkless teen was leaning into the speaker. He whispered, “Actually, I think Hagakure still might be here. I still haven’t actually ‘seen’ her if you know what I mean.”

Tamaki whispered, “Just be careful, alright? It could get dangerous.”

“Yeah, I’ll try,” Izuku said quietly. “And, speaking of dangerous, I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you who Tenko Shimura was. If I had known that there was an actual risk of you running into him, I would have told you all right away.”

“It’s…” Tamaki paused. “It’s ok for now. As far as I can tell, Shigaraki seems content with just seeing what will happen. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about him, but…”

Hado interrupted, “Look, Midoriya, we got this. We can handle it. You already told us the location of this secret evil lab. Let us know when you go do your mission so we can head out too.”

“Are you… are you sure? You could blow your covers if you show up to help us.”

Tamaki explained, “We’ll have to risk it. If Poseidon is really the key to all of this, we’re going to have to be there to help in any way we can.”

There was a moment of silence as Izuku considered the alternatives. “Ok, you’re right. When the League and I go through with our plan, you guys can show up on Shocker’s side and try to help us. It’s definitely going to be sometime at night, but I’ll contact you then.”

Hado nodded, leaning into the walkie-talkie, “Good, that gives us time to take care of a little party on our end.”

“Ok, sure,” Izuku replied. “By the way, Eri contacted me earlier. She’s having difficulty trying to find Hatsume. Any chance you guys could search on your end?”

Ankh sighed, rolling his eyes, “I got it.”

He pushed himself off the wall and walked toward the hallway, already pushing the door open.

Hado cried, grabbing his arm and tugging him back, “Wait, Ankh, we can do that together!”

“Nope, because then I’d have to go to your dumb thing and interact with people.”

“Oh, come on! Don’t you want to have fun?”

Ankh rolled his eyes. “Your definition is ‘fun’ is everything abysmal with the world.” He looked back into the room and let out a chuckle. “Besides, you should be worrying about that mess instead.”

As Ankh pulled out his phone, strolling away from the room, Hado looked back to see Tamaki completely unnerved. The purple-haired teen shook in place from fear as if he saw a stampede coming his way.

Hado stared at him, confused for a moment, until her eyes widened upon realization. “Oh, I said the ‘p’ word, didn’t I?”

The girl closed the door, making sure they were having some privacy, while Tamaki asked her, stammering the whole time, “We’re-we’re g-g- doing what? A p-p-p?”

“Yes, we are,” Hado said slowly. She grabbed his shoulders and guided him to the bed. “And we’re not just going to one. We’re kind of hosting it.”

“H-h-hosting?”

Hado nodded. “Yes, at the Class 1-A dorm with all of them. Plus, a few others.”

“So,” Tamaki breathed on the verge of hyperventilating. “We’re going to be surrounded by over a whole class of students, all of them potentially loyal to Shocker and this ‘Commander’ course. And, even if they aren’t, they’re all so exceptional and shine brighter than I ever could…”

Hado put up her hands to calm him down. “Tamaki, breathe.”

But the anxious teenager continued, barely able to hear her words. “And, to them, I’m not just a third year. I’m a Kamen Rider. That being a title here, that means they expect more of me. They would all want to talk to me. Try to ask me for their advice, try to include me. I can feel it…”

His hands started to go up to his face with each word said. “They’re getting closer and closer…”

Tamaki’s hands then completely obscured his face. “I can’t see! I can’t see!”

“Tamaki, calm down!” Hado exclaimed, grabbing his hands away from him. “Take a moment and breathe. Count to 10.”

The shy teen followed Hado’s advice, taking those ten moments to calm down. Once he got himself recomposed, Tamaki closed his eyes. He felt himself go into his back pocket and pull something out. Something he brought from the original timeline. Something he always kept by his side.

Hugging it closely, Tamaki spoke quietly, “Nejire, we are trying to fix time and space. Why are we throwing a party?”

Hado began her recap of what happened at lunch while Tamaki listened in earnest silence, swallowing the explanation of his ‘duplicate’ and the ‘secret’ relationship between Toga and Yanagi. When she finished the story with her reasoning as to throw a party, Tamaki nodded with a vacant look in his eyes.

Repeating her words, Tamaki stated, “So, you want to throw a party in the hopes of getting Toga and Yanagi alone together in a room where Toga can give a real confession to Yanagi about her feelings.”

Hado nodded, “Yep, that’s about it.”

Tamaki looked down at his feet. His anxious face became more torn and let out a despondent sigh.

“Nejire… I understand,” Tamaki said, clutching what was in his hands even tighter. “I get what you’re trying to do. Even though it’s an invasion of their privacy, getting into their business like this, I see that you want to help them both. But…”

Tamaki looked up from his lap, frowning back at his friend. “This isn’t our timeline. We’re trying to fix it, to make it go back to the way it should be. If we do, even if somehow we do get Toga and Yanagi together here, none of what happened here will matter. None of this will be real. Toga will be back to being the violent criminal that worked with the League of Villains. Odds are, she and Yanagi will never meet each other unless it’s in a fight. So…”

He let that word hang, but Hado understood. Tamaki wanted to know why. They had a job to do, to fix the world. It felt hopeless to do anything else of real significance when it’s going to be swept away. None of it would really matter in the end. It was hopeless to do anything else. So, why should she even bother with this?

Hado scooted back on her bed, leaning her head back on the wall. “Do you remember that day in our second year? The day we became friends?”

Tamaki blinked, confused for a moment, before his lips curved into a faint smile. “I do.” He scooted back in his place so he was right next to her. “I asked you what your favorite hero was. It was something I got from Mirio, but I was terrified the whole time.”

The girl showed off her incredulous smile as she giggled, “I know. You could barely make eye contact with me through your fingers.” She started to put her hand over her face like Tamaki did before cracking her fingers open, showing her friend her bubbly smile. “But, still, you were the first person to ever try and talk to me.”

Hado put down her hands, looking off into space. “When I got started at UA, I tried making friends on my own. I was so fascinated by everyone that I wanted to know more about them. But everyone thought I was being stuck up. It drove me to not want to talk to anyone, to not bother them. I kept my emotions bottled in.” She looked back at Tamaki. “You were the first person to open that back up for me. You and Mirio gave me back my confidence. You showed me what it meant to be cheerful…” She sighed, making a fist into the air. “That’s why I’m doing this. No one should ever have to hide who they are.”

“And you think Toga’s the same way?”

“I do…” Hado said. “Even though Toga’s ‘accepted’ here at this school, from what she told me, there are not a lot of people that get her really. She has friends, I’ve seen them, but nothing like how she is with Yanagi…” She took Tamaki’s hands, squeezing them softly. “Look, when everything goes back to normal, yeah, maybe that relationship won’t be a thing in our time. But the love that they have for each other right now? That is real. And both of them deserve the chance to know who they fell in love with.”

Tamaki took a moment to process that, eventually letting out a long sigh.

“Ok,” the boy said gently. His panicked behavior from before had finally washed away as he chose to take the comfort in his own friend’s hopes and desires. “It’ll be dangerous, nerve-wracking, but we have time before the mission. Let’s try it. Let’s try to make sure everyone at that party has a chance to be open about themselves and who they want.”

A small smile crept upon his cheeks. “That’s what Mirio would do, right?”

The two of them grinned widely, swinging each other’s hands.

“Thank you,” Hado said. Tamaki suddenly felt the urge to hide from just how bright her expression was then. “Now, let’s get started. For starters, we’re going to have to split up the work, try to isolate them a bit. So, I’ll take the girls. You take the guys, alright?”

The instant those words sunk into Tamaki’s mind, the moment he realized that he would actually be essentially alone for this, the teenager essentially bluescreened.

“Tamaki?!”

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Speaking of computers…

Ankh went on his phone to try and find information about what that white-haired girl had wanted. But he couldn’t find it as easily as he could a lot of things on his phone. So, he decided to go somewhere private and somewhere where he had already seen a computer before.

The principal’s office.

The monster-possessed teenager crouched high on the desk, typing away at the computer, as he found what he was looking for. Speaking into the grasshopper walkie-talkie, Ankh mulled, “Girl you’re looking for is at Tartarus Hospital.”

In the speaker, Eri’s voice hummed. “Must be a patient there. I’ll have to go there myself to see whether or not she can help us. Thank you.”

The dirty blonde scoffed. “Heh, you’re welcome.”

Before Ankh could hang up on her now that they were done, Eri called out, “Wait! Wait a second. Since we have a moment, there’s something I want to ask you, Ankh.”

Ankh tsk’d in response, but paused, waiting for whatever dumb question the girl was going to give him.

“Ok, since you’re not talking. I’ll ask it,” Eri paused, trying to build up the courage to ask. “I... I know you’re controlling this Mirio guy like how the Imagin can do it. But can... Can Mirio actually hear me right now? Can he still think?”

The monster rolled his eyes, hearing that question so many times from all of the other ‘friends’ and ‘family’ Mirio had. Tamaki, Nejire, Nighteye, etc. He really didn’t need to know about this. Not now. Not ever.

Ankh was Ankh. He was his own person. He had his own life.

“Who knows? Who cares?”

Eri yelped at that and tried to answer that question, but Ankh had already hung up on her, closing the can. He sighed, wondering what to do now.

“Might as well mess around with this computer more…”

Footsteps could be heard from outside, alongside the squeaking of a wheel. When it stopped, the door opened wide as Shigaraki started to pull in a cart that carried a TV screen, a small console, and other gaming accessories. When the principal glanced behind him, his eyes widened in rage upon seeing the muscular teenager perched up on his desk.

“Hey, what the f*ck?!” Shigaraki cursed. He tugged the cart fully inside and shut the door. “How did ya get in here?! This sh*t’s locked!”

“I’m an explorer by nature,” Ankh replied, jumping down from the desk.

“Well, then explore your way outta here! I got my sh*t to set up!”

Shigaraki moved past him, plugging in all of the devices.

Ankh asked, “What the hell are you doing?”

“Ain’t going to spend my time all cooped up living with those Commanders. Need my own space.”

The monster scoffed, planning on leaving right then. But then his eyes drifted down on the various boxes of games that Shigaraki had brought. His eyebrow raised up.

“Wait, ya playin’ all of these games?” Ankh asked.

“Yeah, of course. They’re the only multiplayer games I could find. Lots of single player ones out there. Must not be any ones good now.”

Ankh picked one up, turning it over, before typing away on his phone. “You do know that you can’t play these games on your own.”

Shigaraki looked at Ankh intensely for a moment before scoffing, “What the hell are you talking about? It’s multiplayer. I’m sure I can find a queue.”

The bird boy tossed the case over to Shigaraki while showing a result on his phone. “I came across this earlier. As of two decades ago, all video games are either single player or local multiplayer.”

“WHAT?!” Shigaraki yelled, looking over the cover.

“According to Shocker, it’s, and I quote, to bring families and friends together in a familial setting.”

“More like forcing the noobs to spend more time with other people… I hate that.”

Ankh shrugged, “Do whatever you want. I’m outta here.”

“Wait!” Shigaraki cried out. Ankh looked back to see the principal waving the game around. “If I need local players for this, then you’re staying here!”

“Forget it!”

“I’ll detention you! I’ll detention you twice!”

Ankh scoffed, “Moron. We both know this world has been twisted already. There’s no sane reason for me to stay here.”

The bird turned to leave, but Shigaraki sneered, “Like you got anything better to do.”

Ankh froze. The sudden realization that he really didn’t have anything to do then.

He only had two options: playing video games with a known killer and villain or be forced to stay in a crowded room with Tamaki, Nejire, and a whole bunch of bratty kids at a party.

The answer was obvious. But, still, Ankh felt the need to negotiate.

“You got any ice pops?”

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Izuku had done a lot of things during his time as a Kamen Rider. But he never thought he would “hang out” in a villain base. Or at least, what this world’s version was like.

After his call with Amajiki and Hado, Izuku was allowed to “roam” the facility if he wanted. Though, it was clear that from the creeping feeling along his neck, at least one member of the League had to be present to keep a tab on him.

Izuku spent the next few hours using their almost broken-down equipment set to train, and then eating with everyone, a good classic meal of ramen noodles.

During that time, Izuku tried to talk to a lot of the members of the League, even the ones he didn’t really know in his previous life. Some of them like Iida were tight lipped, others like Tsukuyomi really didn’t have much to say to the stranger that came in their lives. (Or, specifically, in Tsukuyomi’s case, he really didn’t remember much about his life before the League.) But, still, he could see it. The few glimpses into their personalities that reminded him of the same people from back home. It was so strange.

There were only two moments in that base that reminded Izuku of what home was and the people there.

The first time was seeing the League’s memorial.

Izuku approached it slowly, the dark table away from everything with picture frames and various items scattered on the table.

“Is this...?”

Tsukuyomi nodded. “Indeed. These are the previous members of the League. The one that chose to stand by us and follow Sensei’s will...” The darkness around him flickered. “We all knew the risks of this fight. However, at any cost, we shall not add Anima to that count.”

The Quirkless teen gave a solemn nod as he inspected the table closely.

There were four picture frames total. Each one with a candle in front of them, lighting up the polaroid pictures. Judging from the background of them, Izuku noted that they were all taken at the same base. All of them messing around and having a good time.

Minoru Mineta posing like a model with his hand on a chin.

Jurota Shishida hanging upside down from an exercise ladder, grinning like a monkey.

Rumi Usagiyama, aka Mirko, taking her prosthetic left arm and pointing it right at the camera.

A man made out of sludge giving a hug to its teddy bear.

On the table, there were various items scattered around the photo frames. They were the deceased’s personal belongings. A collection of various papers with Mineta’s handwriting on it (Izuku couldn’t even get through the first sentence without seeing something graphic.), a fancy tea set, a tiger wrestling mask, and a single flower.

Izuku couldn’t stare at it any longer. He tore himself away before he started to cry more tears.

The hero student wasn’t that close to Mineta. He only met Shishida a few times. He only knew Mirko from watching her fight on TV. And don’t even get him started on his history with the Sludge Villain.

But they were people. People that Izuku knew. Who he can now confirm are dead in this timeline.

Izuku stepped away from it, looking at Tsukuyomi’s shadowy beak. Another person who was dead...

“Listen, Tokoyami...”

“I am Tsukuyomi.”

“But you’re Tokoyami. You wer-“

“Whatever I was before is not who I am now.”

Izuku frowned, not wanting to see this from his friend. Even though it wasn’t intended, it was like Tokoyami was ignoring all of the memories they created.

“Listen...” Izuku urged. “I promise to all of you. I’m going to fix this. I’m going to save you all.”

Nothing could be read on the bird’s face, simply nodding, as he led Izuku to the nearest bathroom. No one heard Izuku’s words except for the frog girl nearby...

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For Eri, the trip to Tartarus Hospital took a little longer than expected. Normally, she’d be able to get there in no time with Den Liner. But, since it’s broken, it meant that Eri had to jog the whole way. She had to not draw any unnecessary attention from anyone passing by, which meant that she couldn’t risk getting a ride either.

By the time Eri had finally arrived at her destination, she was panting for breath.

“I should... I should really go jogging with Izuku more often...”

Still, she pulled her head up high, relieved to see the hospital building.

The Tartarus Hospital was on a small island five kilometers from the city with only a long bridge connecting it to land. The hospital building itself was huge. Eri could count at least 16 floors up above ground.

The white-haired girl took a steady breath, trying to calm herself down.

Eri had been to hospitals before, mainly when she went with Izuku and his friends after they fought the Hero Killer. But there was always that deep-seated fear of needles and operating rooms that would stay with her. The thought of it alone made her shiver. Plus, this was a hospital owned by Shocker. Who knows what that would be like?

The girl peeked through the windows at the front. There was a small waiting room area with chairs for visitors, but it was completely empty.

“Well... that worries me,” Eri thought. “But I guess I don’t have any other option...”

Eri took a moment to steady her nerves before going through the front door. The nurses at the administrative desk sent a glance in her direction, but then looked back at their computers and papers.

“Uh, hello?” Eri asked, giving a small wave of her hand as she approached the admissions desk. “I’m, um, here to see someone.”

No response.

“Okay, uh, I’m just going to g-”

BZZZZZTTTTT!

Right as Eri had begun to move towards the elevators, the closest nurse nonchalantly pulled out a taser and aimed it at Eri’s side. The girl instantly convulsed on the ground for a few seconds, withering in pain.

“GHGHGHGHGH!”

When the electric jolt finally subsided, Eri reached up and used the desk as support to climb back up. She stared at them both incredulously as the nurses looked unphased.

“Did you just stun me?!”

They didn’t even bother to look up.

Eri threw her hands in the air. “You could at least tell me why!”

One of the nurses jabbed their pen at a nearby sign: "Authorized Personnel Beyond This Point.”

“Well...” Eri paused, jabbing a thumb at herself. “That sign can’t stop me because I can’t read!”

(She could, for the most part, but no way was she going to give those nurses the satisfaction. At best, she got the ‘personnel’ part but she didn’t want to ask about that. “Is that like the girl way of saying ‘person’?”)

At the end of that declaration, all of the nurses aimed their tasers at her. Eri froze, holding her hands up.

One of them replied, in a dull voice, “We deal with potentially dangerous Kaijin which only our doctors and workers are authorized to handle. No visitors are allowed without the proper paperwork. Do you have that?”

“Uh...”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Get out of here. We’re already having a malfunction with our security systems,” the nurse paused, prepping the taser again. “The next shock I give you will be painful, but less so if you try to get in there again.”

Eri nodded, quietly shuffling away. "Can I at least get a drink?”

They at least allowed that, pointing toward the vending machine up on the left side of the room. Eri quietly walked toward there, glancing back at the desk. The nurses’ attention was back on their work, their tasers down.

Did Eri have a backup plan? Yes, she did.

Walking towards the nearest plant, she did her best to secretly pull out the green soda can, acting as if she pulled out of the machine. She opened the lid on top, automatically transforming it into a metallic grasshopper.

Eri didn’t understand Amajiki’s equipment fully. But, in addition to being a communicator, the grasshopper was also a moving robot, which meant...

“I could really use some help now,” Eri whispered.

The grasshopper nodded, quietly leaping up onto the vending machine. Eri started to head toward the doorway, keeping track of the robot as it moved across a pipe on the wall. Reaching the desk again, Eri slowly turned, acting as if she was about to leave. She paused, waiting until...

CLANG!

The grasshopper kicked its legs on the pipe above, dumping water all over the nurses.

Shrieks filled the room as the nurses tried to keep themselves and their work dry. None of them saw the grasshopper above them leap and use its mandibles to pull on an above light. Swinging it as if it were a wrecking ball, the grasshopper aimed the light toward several of the nurse’s foreheads.

WHAM! WHAM!

As some of the nurses fell unconscious, Eri crept low, hugging the desk before making a beeline down a hallway and for the nearest set of doors.

“I won’t be able to get on the elevators dressed as this. I need to find another way..."

Eri kept walking as fast as she could until she started to hear shoes squeaking from up ahead.

The teenager quickly ducked into the nearest room, holding her hand to the door and waiting for the nurse to hurry on by. As soon as she couldn’t hear anything, Eri looked around her immediate surroundings. The room was empty, but she couldn’t stay for long. She needed to find Hatsume and leave as soon as she could.

Her eyes spotted the various piles of doctor’s clothes. She was in the laundry room.

An idea popped into her mind.

A few minutes later, Eri peeked out the door to the hallway, left and right, before she stepped into the hallway. She ditched her old clothes, wearing light blue medical scrubs underneath a white lab coat and a medical mask.

“It’ll have to do. Better than nothing. Gotta find Hatsume and fast.”

Eri looked down at her paper tray (what she called a clipboard) and walked forward, pretending to be working. She walked aimlessly until she came across a directory sign. The teenager paused, trying to read through it. Most words didn’t make sense to her, but there was one that stood out to her.

“Pee-die-act-tricks?” Eri thought, trying to sound it out. “Tricks like circus tricks? I guess that’s where kids would be...”

Eri followed the arrow, rounding the corner of the hallway and-

The girl suddenly bumped into someone coming in Eri’s opposite direction. She quickly backed away, bowing. “I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t be. Accidents happen.”

Eri’s eyes widened, recognizing the familiar voice. She snapped her head up in fear, looking at the face of the man she had known for so long. The voice she heard as a child and currently, in her nightmares.

“It’s you...”

Kai Chisaki.

Also known to her as Overhaul.

Chapter Text

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For what felt like an eternity, Eri just stared at Chisaki, completely in shock.

In the original timeline, Eri had been searching for Overhaul, trying to find the villain before the events of her own time began to play out. Before heroes conducted a raid to try and save her and they all died thanks to her.

But, right now, the man in front of her looked nothing like the villain she saw every day as a child.

Eri had found him without even thinking about him. Not now. When she was practically in a whole other world.

Chisaki was a pale young man of a narrow build with short, shaggy, auburn hair parted to the right. His eyes were thin, irises small and gold, with relatively long lower eyelashes and small eyebrows. However, he had none of the piercings nor was he wearing his typical green jacket and suit.

Instead, he wore a full doctor outfit with a medical mask over his mouth and surgical gloves.

And he was looking a bit... nervous?

“Hello, I haven’t seen you before. Are you one of the new student doctors this hospital is getting?”

No response. Eri was trying to swallow the throat.

“Is something wrong?”

Eri finally shook out her nerves, shaking her head at his question. “No, ev-everything's fine. And... uh, you’re right. I am one of the new people here...”

“What’s your name?”

“Er....” The girl paused, quickly correcting. “Eren! Yes, Eren Midoriya.”

(Izuku’s last name was the only one that she could come up with on the spot.)

“Listen, I’m sorry to ask you of this, but I could use some assistance right now.”

Chisaki stepped forward and Eri immediately stepped back, trying to calm her breathing. She kept her gaze on Chisaki’s hand, not wanting to feel the full effect of his Quirk. She had already felt it too much when she was a kid.

The doctor looked concerned at Eri’s reaction but pressed on.

“I need help. We’re a little short-staffed at the moment and I’m in a hurry.” He looked at his wrist on instinct, even though there was no watch there. “I’m late for a meeting with Director Garaki. Would you mind looking after my daughter?”

Eri stuttered, “You-you- your da-daughter?”

“Yes, her name’s Eri.”

The time traveler froze, staring at him with wide red eyes before forcing a laugh out. “Shouldn’t I-?” She jabbed a thumb in the opposite direction. “I think I need to go, uh, student-ing...”

“No, please. It’ll just be a moment.”

Eri hesitated. She didn’t know what to do then. If she kept trying to press on that she needed to be somewhere else, Chisaki might be suspicious and realize she’s not who she says she is. He might even use his Quirk on him in that instance.

And that was something she could never experience again.

 “Um, okay...”

Chisaki thanked her before he led Eri down the hallway. Turning the corner again, the two of them stopped in front of a private room.

“Ok, there she is.”

Eri peeked through the window of the door.

The room has been decorated in bright pink wallpaper, matching the pink comforter on her bed. There were rainbow decals which complimented the room. A wall of various stuffed animals was lined up in the corner. They all surrounded the poster of Shocker’s symbol on the far wall, reminding Eri that this was still not the best room to live in.

The aforementioned girl herself wasn’t paying attention to the world outside. Instead, she sat over the small circular table in the middle of the room, coloring something on a piece of paper.

“She’s... this is so weird to look at...”

Chisaki must have realized that the teenager was staring at the young child because he said, “Do not worry. Yes, Eri is classified as a Kaijin, but she’s a special case. Shocker sees true potential within her.” He sighed, almost fondly. “She can become a true healer like myself.”

“Yourself?” Eri echoed.

“Yeah, I was assigned my healer role when I was four, but I actually spent so much time in hospitals that I eventually gave up my home and moved into the hospital itself so I can get close to the action.”

“And... Eri lives here with you?”

“Yes, her power is difficult to control, which is why she has her own room. The special walls dampen her powers for her and everyone else’s protection.”

The teenager thought, “So, it’s just another prison cell for her?”

Chisaki continued, “It’s the only environment safe for anyone to interact with her.” He laughed. “Otherwise, where else would I go to have tea parties with her and read her bedtime stories?”

Eri stared at him in disbelief. A question hung on her lips until she finally mustered up the courage to say it. “Do you... do you care for her?”

The doctor cocked an eyebrow. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I? Because she’s a Kaijin? I work with lots of other doctors and scientists to make sure she ends up being one of the few good ones.” Underneath his surgical mask, he smiled. “Well, she’s the only real family I have. How else would I treat her?”

Eri didn’t know how to respond to that. She felt like her heart was racing. She really didn’t want to be with this man any longer than she had to.

The teenager asked, “How long do you want me to watch her?”

“10. 20 minutes. The meeting should be over then.”

Eri gave a curt nod, letting the doctor open the door.

“Hey, princess,” Chisaki greeted, swinging the door open and showing both himself and the teenager in the doorway. The little child looked up from her drawing, moving from Chisaki to the time traveler. She stared at both of them, unblinking. Her expression was completely wary, guarded.

“I know for some reason, you’ve been a little agitated today so I brought someone here to watch you while I go to my meeting. Her name is Eren Midoriya. Is that alright?”

The child didn’t respond. She shut her lips. The teenager knew what the girl’s expression was. The girl didn’t want to say anything more for fear of saying the wrong thing.

Chisaki winced at that, but nonetheless, continued, “Have fun you two.” He waved goodbye as he closed the door, unintentionally leaving his daughter alone with herself from the future.

Eri never thought something like this would happen.

Owner had explained to the teenage Eri that you are able to meet and interact with another version of yourself in time. But it should be avoided at all costs because interacting with them could change their future.

But, honestly, in a timeline that was this much different from the real one, something like that really didn’t matter in Eri’s eyes.

“So, um...” the time traveler slowly approached the drawing table. “What are you drawing?”

Young Eri immediately moved her arms and hands over her papers, trying to cover them. “N-nothing...”

“I’m sure it’s not. May I take a look?” Eri asked again, trying to keep her voice gentle.

Now hearing an actual request to see them, the child hesitated before moving them over to the side. She mumbled, “You probably wouldn’t understand anyway...”

But the teenager did. Young Eri wasn’t the best artist in the world, but she could draw well enough. A green bird with purple highlights and a long red beak.

“Overhaul...”

With the stress of the situation, it now took the teenage Eri to remember that she was a singular point. She remembered her original timeline and kept her memories of everything even when the timeline changed. It would stand to reason that her younger self would remember it all too.

“So, while I was on Den Liner when this timeline was created, she had no idea what was going on. She went to bed in one jail cell and then woke up in another,” The teenager thought to herself, coming to grips with all of the insanity of time travel.

Eri froze with no idea what to do. She knew that she couldn’t tell her younger self that she was her, but...

“This is the doctor, right?” Eri asked, looking into the younger girl’s eyes. “The one I just met?”

Young Eri’s eyes widened. “Yes, how did you know?”

“You’re, um...” The teenager bit her lip before smiling. “A really good artist.”

“Oh, ok.”

Eri narrowed her eyes, not sure whether or not she was really that gullible when she was a kid.

Young Eri’s eyes drifted back to the paper, holding it up. “That doctor isn’t him. He looks like him, but he feels different. Everyone else today is also different. I don’t get it. What... what is this?”

Eri grimaced, sitting right next to her. “How would I even explain this to her?”

Trying to explain time travel was bad enough. But, for a situation like this, the truth would be the worst.

Because Eri and her friends were trying to make the timeline back to the way it was. No one else on Den Liner, especially Izuku, would know that as soon as the timeline got fixed, Young Eri would become a villain’s captive once again.

“This is...” Eri closed her eyes. “This is just a little break. Like a dream.”

“A br-break?” Young Eri echoed. “That sounds scary.”

“No no no, it’s not,” the time traveler reassured. “My friend taught me all about it. A break is something that you do when you want to have fun.”

“Fun? I never had that before.”

“Well, today, you’re getting it.”

“Why?” Young Eri asked, staring at her with big wide eyes.

“Because, well, I know that you...” Eri grimaced, a part of her literally screaming that she should not say this. “Work hard every day.”

“So, it’s... it’s just for today?”

There was a long silence, broken until Young Eri understood the unspoken message and began whimpering. Eri took her younger self and held her tight in a hug.

“I’m sorry,” Eri whispered. “I wish I could do more for you... but this is all that I can do at the moment.”

“Can I...” Young Eri hesitated. “Can I ask something? Since this is just a dream?”

“Of course. We’ll do anything you want. Anything.”

The child pointed a shaking finger at the door. “Can I at least not be here right now? Can I leave? Please?”

A small part of Eri screamed out that this was her chance. That if she took Young Eri with her back to Den Liner right then, without any villains there to stop them, Young Eri would be safe and sound when the timeline would be fixed. She wouldn’t have to live in fear anymore.

But the problem is getting the timeline fixed in the first place. Den Liner needed to get fixed for anything to go back to normal. Eri knew it was going to be hard enough trying to find Hatsume and then sneak her out of there. But how would she even get a little kid out of there at the same time?

She definitely didn’t want to entertain the thought to Young Eri, giving her false hope like that. But...

Eri couldn’t say no. They had to try.

“Ok, but you have to do exactly what I say. I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

The young girl nodded.

“Hold on for just a minute,” Eri said, quietly putting her hands up, pushing herself out of the hug and excusing herself out the room.

Young Eri waited a few tense minutes before the teenager popped back in the room, urging her to come outside. When the child reached the doorway, she saw her path was blocked by a maintenance cart with a white tarp. The teenager pulled it over.

“Get in,” she hissed.

The child obeyed, climbing inside, as the teenager quickly smoothed out the sheet, hiding Young Eri completely.

Eri whispered, “We can’t go outside yet. There’s someone else we need to find. But, for now, please stay quiet.”

No response.

“Well?”

“You told me to stay quiet.”

Eri wanted to facepalm at that, but ignored the urge to as she wheeled the cart toward the elevators. She pressed the button and counted down the floor counter as she kept glancing left and right.

“Okay, I still don’t know where to go, but it’s better to get off this floor while I still can before they realize that Young Eri is gone.”

DING!

The doors opened, revealing someone inside.

A male patient with feathery, ash blond hair and golden-brown eyes stood in the elevator. The moment he saw Eri in her doctor gear, there was a moment where surprise flickered on the patient’s face before morphing into something more relaxed.

“Oh, hey, doc,” he tried to say nonchalantly. “I know I’m not supposed to be on the first floor, but uh, I got some killer pains on my back...” He turned away from it, pointing at his back. There was a small bulge underneath his outfit. “My feathers are starting to grow back, and I need help.”

Eri echoed, “Your feathers?”

“Yeah, I don’t recognize you, but I think you know the deal by now. It’s my mutation. Why I’m a Kaijin. Most of the treatments have been working so far, but it keeps coming back. It’s why I have to stay here. Otherwise, I’m a danger to everyone else.”

The girl thought, “I didn’t know what this hospital was for, but alright then...”

The teenager put on a fake smile and shoved the cart inside the elevator, making it a lot more cramped. “Sure, I’ll get a nurse to help you, Mr...”

“Keigo. Keigo Takami.”

An idea popped into Eri’s mind as she squeezed her way inside the elevator.

“You seem pretty cool. I would expect that for someone so young. I should take you to the other teens here.” Eri’s finger hovered over the keypad. “That would be...?”

“Ha! I’d like to think I’m young, but I’m not that young!” Keigo pointed at the keypad. “You can just take me to the eighth floor. Maybe I’ll head down to the fifth floor another time.”

Eri smiled to herself. “Perfect. I know where I need to go now.”

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Meanwhile, the assembled group of students in Class 1-A dorm all looked at a charming Nejire, welcoming everyone in and an anxious Tamaki, silently counting everyone who had arrived.

It was all 20 students of Class 1-A plus Toga and three of her classmates and Goto.

“According to Nejire’s plan, that’s 15 guys for me. 10 girls for her. Don’t think about how I’ll be outnumbered. Don’t think about it at all...”

When Nejire told the group that they were going to split up based on gender, Toga questioned, “Wait, why? Can’t we just all do be in one room for whatever you’re about to do?”

“No, we want to be sure we get to everyone and have them all be prepared for what we’re about to show off. We’re reaching as many people as we can tonight,” Nejire argued. “Both Tamaki and I want to ensure that you guys learn a lot from this.”

As Toga sent a quick glare to the girl, Goto raised his hand. “I want to go on record that I have not been informed ahead of time of whatever activities these two have planned with us Riders. So, I apologize beforehand.”

“Okay!” Nejire clapped her hands before she pumped her fist in the air, cheering, “With that out of the way, let’s get started! Go beyond!”

Nejire waited for any one of them to cheer in, but they all stared at her confused, completely unaware of what she was referring to. Eventually, Nejire led all of the girls to one of the spare rooms in the dorm, leaving Tamaki alone with the boys.

“Okay, so...” Tamaki gulped, looking away from them as he wiped his hands on his pants and took out a bag with some props. “We’re going to start with… with a fun activity. Is that… Is that alright?”

No one answered. Tamaki could feel everyone’s gazes bearing down on him as if they were spotlights. He gulped before turning around and revealing a small box with pieces of paper.

“Ok, so, uh, how about we play some charades?”

Monoma echoed, “Charades?”

Rin chimed in, “I’ve never heard of that.”

That got through Tamaki’s anxiety, making him blink. He looked over to the students in shock.

“Charades…” Tamaki started slowly. “It’s a game. A preschool game… Do you know of that?”

Many of them shook their heads.

“Ok, well… what did you guys play in preschool?”

Sato said, “We never got to go…”

“Huh?”

Shoda explained, a little hesitant as to why their upperclassman wouldn’t know that “We’re Commanders. We were all chosen for our careers as soon as our powers developed at age 4. We’ve been training in exercises necessary to enhance our powers and to prepare us for fighting Kaijin. None of us had the time to play games like these, especially anything like how we heard preschool.”

Right next to him on the couch, Shinsou commented, “All I know is that people got to sleep in class…” He closed his eyes. “It sounds like paradise.”

A terrifying thought entered Tamaki’s mind by that revelation.

“Wait, so not only am I trying to entertain these kids and get them to be more than just Shocker’s soldiers, but I’m also letting them experience childhood wonders for the first time?”

Tamaki clutched his heart by the weight of it all. “The pressure is unbearable!”

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“Okay, uh… Never have I ever…” Tsuburaba paused, his face scrunching up from thinking of what to say. “Never have I ever been camping in the woods.”

Everyone, sitting in a circle of chairs and holding cups of juice, slowly turned their head toward Tamaki at the far end. Tamaki cringed as he took a long sip of the drink in his hand.

Yes, Tamaki was teaching a drinking game to teenagers, but he was desperate!

None of the other games from his childhood were working. Charades were boring, musical chairs weren’t a thing because there was no good music to find immediately even with his phone, and don’t even get him started on duck, duck, goose.

“Really?” Tamaki squeaked.

Awase shrugged, “Were you expecting something else? The only time we’ve been in a situation anywhere close to that is training.”

Shinsou sighed, taking a full swig of his drink and slamming it down, “Alright, this is pointless. Can we go now?”

Shishikura snapped, glaring right at him, “First year, how dare you attempt to belittle our upperclassman’s attempts to create a stronger community!”

“I agree too,” Fujimi exclaimed. “Everyone knows how much I feel like dying, but even if it does happen, I think my undead body might be stuck here, still trying to learn all these dumb activities…” He muttered under his breath, “Is it worth my soul? I’m not sure.”

Kaminari shrugged, leaning back in his seat, “Right. Maybe there’s a reason why we were never allowed to try them. The Commanders were saving us the trouble.”

“Oh, come on!” Yoarashi exclaimed, standing up from his seat. “These games could be good for us! Duck, Duck, Goon was pretty good!”

Kirishima pointed out, “Amajiki told us it was Duck, Duck, Goose.”

“What?! Then why we were chasing people like they were criminals?”

Monoma piped up, “Everyone. It’s obvious what Amajiki has been attempting.”

Amajiki asked, frowning, “It is?”

The blonde copier continued, “On behalf of our class, we appreciate the effort…” He stood up, his look bearing down on Tamaki’s frown. “You’ve asked us to restrict our powers. What we were born with. You’re trying to show us the dangers of what the Kaijin represent, them taking away who we are. We’re supposed to fight against that.”

Kaibara exclaimed, waving a finger at him, “Oh, now I get it!”

Various murmurs broke through the class, all of them now seeing Tamaki’s point. But, for the third year, Tamaki had realized his error, freezing up on the spot.

All of the games Tamaki had been trying to introduce to the teenagers were an attempt to get to know them better. To push away Shocker’s brainwashing and let them be known as individuals. But, in reality, he’s doing the exact thing that Shocker had been doing: forcing them in a certain direction. If he’s going to get through to them, he’s going to have to let them be their own people.

“Ok…” Tamaki said, standing up. All of their attention turned back to him. “I got a few more activities for us to do. And, if you guys don’t like it, we’ll stop for the night.”

Shinsou sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, “Alright, what is it?”

“Well, first off, you can do whatever you want. You can use your powers for this.”

That raised some eyebrows.

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“Was this a bad idea? This feels like a bad idea?” Tamaki thought as he crept cautiously through the dormitory, looking for any signs of life.

Playing hide and go seek with a bunch of teenagers with superpowers felt like a bad idea, but he’s doing it anyway. Only real rule is that they couldn’t leave the dorm and they couldn’t hide in each other’s rooms.

Tamaki already found a good portion of them. Despite there being no limitations now, most of everyone’s Quirks weren’t good for hiding or recon. He thought it would be easy; however, he went up and around the dorm multiple times, but he still couldn’t find the last five kids.

That was, until he reached the first floor and then doubled back with a sudden realization.

“Wait a minute, all of the dorms are supposed to be identical to each other. There’s not supposed to be a wall here…”

Tamaki reached out, feeling the surface in front of him. It felt soft like a blanket…

The teenager grabbed it and tore the blanket, revealing another hallway behind the wall made of solid air.

“That’s really clever,” Tamaki thought. “But it’ll take more than that to fool me.”

Tamaki moved the wall as far as he could, before squeezing through it and going down the long hallway. Reaching the door at the end, he opened it and stuck his head in.

“A weight room? This isn’t in the dorms at home…”

The third year walked in, closing the door behind him. He looked left and right, but there was no obvious hiding spot.

Suddenly, Tamaki reached for the back of his neck, feeling a slight breeze.

He turned around-

“BOO!”

Tamaki’s high-pitched scream filled the whole floor as he fell back, pale and almost unconscious.

Awase undid his Quirk, letting him and Tsuburaba fall down from their hiding spot on the ceiling. They couldn’t help but snicker, seeing Tamaki completely scared to death.

“Okay, that was amazing!” Tsuburaba exclaimed.

“I know, right? We hardly get to do this kind of thing in training!”

Tamaki blinked, looking up to see the two of them smiling. It was nice. This was the right direction…

Even if Tamaki saw his life flash before his eyes. (He spent a lot of time looking in the corner.)

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“Remember! The floor is lava!”

Kaibara leaped, aiming for another chair.

WHOOSH!

A huge gust of wind appeared, carrying the chair away. The boy fell face-first on the ground. He laid still, now completely ‘dead’ and out of the game.

“NO!” Shoda cried, hand reaching out from the table. “It should have been me!” He looked to the sky and yelled, “IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!”

“Oh, don’t worry!” Yoarashi yelled, descending toward him on a hurricane right in front of him. “You’ll go down very soon. Because…” He spread his arms wide. “This game was made for me! This lava wasteland is my castle and I’m the kin- WOAH!”

A flying piece of pale flesh flew right into his back. It covered him completely, taking him toward the counter as his body mashed together with the flesh. The newly kneaded meatball fell into Shishikura’s empty hand.

At that moment, Yoarashi couldn’t move. He was completely immobilized. The only hope he had left was that his upperclassman wouldn’t take his comment seriously and tried to make him a crown…

Shishikura wouldn’t have done that. He would have made a comment about they need a little more discipline. Either way, he didn’t have a choice.

Not when he smelled smoke.

The second year looked over to see flames coming from the carpet. Amajiki had already grabbed a fire extinguisher and was dousing the flames with the white foam. Right next to him on another table, Todoroki blinked.

The icy hot teen stated plainly, “You said that the floor had to be lava.”

“I didn’t mean literally!”

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Tamaki had one final activity for them all to try.

Pillow fight.

Nejire was the first to introduce it to him after he and Mirio had their first sleepover at their house. It was the ultimate way for the kids to go all out without actually hurting each other like a training exercise. It was a way to have a fun time for them all.

After everyone had gathered all of the pillows from their individual bedrooms as well as the spares in the laundry room, Tamaki told everyone the rules.

“Ready… Begin!”

The moment that Tamaki had finished that word, war had begun, making the dorm an entire battlefield. Tamaki had been through some horrible things in his career as a hero and a Kamen Rider. But, from what he witnessed during this pillow ‘fight’, he would have actual war flashbacks about it later.

Tsuburaba exhaled, creating an invisible barrier. He ducked behind it before he and Awase used the solid air as a foothold, jumping up high to chuck pillows at Kaibara. Kaibara rotated his hands at high speed, drilling through the pillows like they were missiles. White feathers were spilt all around him.

Shinsou leaped and aimed a pillow square at Kirishima.

“Why don’t you take a nap?” Shinsou yelled. “It’ll be good for you!”

Kirishima kept quiet, not willing to fall under Shinsou’s brainwashing. He stretched his hand out and grabbed it point-blank before shooting it right back.

Todoroki stomped his foot, creating ice platforms as he dodged pillows coming his way from Yoarashi, Awase, and Fujimi.

Right behind him, Kaminari laid on the floor, eyes closed as if he was already hit. He peeked an eye open, noticing everyone was distracted. He stood back up and swung a pillow right at Yoarashi’s back.

It didn’t even phase him.

When the biggest teenager in their class finally turned back around, Kaminari was already back on the floor, silently accepting that he wouldn’t win this fight.

Meanwhile, Rin had green scales grow from his arms. He picked up a few pillows and threw them at Shishikura, firing off scales to make them go even faster. But then, flesh floated around Shishikura, each one shaped like a finger. They spread like wings as they caught the pillows and then fired it back at full force.

As Rin jumped out of the way, Shishikura failed to notice Monoma coming up and touching him on the shoulder. The teenager whirled around to the sight of the blonde with his limbs detached and ready to mold his opponent into a meatball.

Monoma sneered, “You ready to get kneaded?”

In the kitchen, Sato chugged down a whole handful of sugar as if it were a bottle of water. His muscles bulked up as his strength increased five-fold. He grabbed two pillows and ran right out of the kitchen. Pillows came flying at him from his left and right. Dual wielding the pillows in his hand, the chef swung them around, swatting them away.

Then, the pillow bounced up off the floor, striking him in the face. Sato stumbled back as Goto’s Bullet Trail allowed room for another pillow to hit him in his back.

In the middle of the dorm, Tamaki watched all of this, ducking out of the way of pillows left and right. His eyes widened upon seeing just what the finisher of this war was.

Awase dived on a pile of pillows, using his power to weld them on an atomic level, creating a pillow big enough to fill the entire room. Yoarashi lifted the monster pillow with his gusts of wind, letting the pillow fly through the air.

Tamaki froze, seeing the pillow come right for him. He knew what was about to happen, but he was just happy that everyone was having fun. A small smile crept along his lips.

“I should have stayed home…”

The pillow smacked right into his face. It was so big, so condensed that it actually pushed him back into the wall of the dorms.

Everyone looked over to see Tamaki fall to the ground. Shishikura and Goto had already dropped their pillows and came to check in on them in concern.

“I’m… I’m fine…” Amajiki said quietly as the two of them helped him off. He paused, suddenly realizing how quiet it became.

The first years weren’t staring at him (thank God), but something potentially worse.

What fell out of Tamaki’s back pocket and onto the floor.

A teenager-sized pair of underwear. The waist strap and the leg straps were fully white with black polka dots. The rest of the boxers was decorated in rainbow-colored four-leaf clovers.

Kaibara asked incredulously, “Are those… are those Amajiki’s boxers?!”

Kaminari’s mouth was wide open, in a similar state of shock, “Did we… did we knock those right off of him and out of his pants?!”

Tamaki closed his eyes, hanging his head, as he slowly dragged himself away from Goto and Shishikura. He grabbed the underpants off the floor.

“Yes, they’re mine…” Tamaki mumbled in a barely audible whisper.

Monoma blinked. “But how did they get off of… ya know?”

In the time it took Monoma to blink, Tamaki was already burying his head in the nearest corner. He kept his underpants out of sight, being covered by his back. “I’m still wearing mine. These were in my back pocket.”

All of the other students exchanged dubious glances. They all started crowding around the corner, basically trapping him inside their circle. Even though they didn’t say a word, Tamaki knew they were just waiting for an explanation on why a teenager would have another pair of underpants in his back pocket.

His head still buried in the corner, Tamaki looked down to the rainbow underpants and clutched it tight.

“Back when I got my Quir- power, I was terrified of it. It seemed so scary, growing animal limbs. It felt like I couldn’t eat anything I wanted to eat or else I would manifest in something so horrible. For a while, I wanted to just lock myself in the closet and hide there forever.”

Fujimi nodded along. He commented, “I had a similar incident with the discovery of my power.” He closed his eyes. “That was one eventful birthday party.”

Tamaki continued, “But then, my grandfather visited me. He was much more adventurous than I was. He travelled the entire world. He always wanted me to go, but I could never imagine myself doing that. Even though he could never take me, he did show me something important.”

He stretched the bands of it wide, looking down at it fondly.

“My grandpa’s words exactly were, ‘A man never knows when he’ll die so always have a good pair of underwear.’”

Yoarashi whistled, “Man, you make underwear sound super cool.”

Kirishima had a single tear in his eye as he commented, “Yeah, it’s so manly.”

Tamaki mumbled, “It doesn’t matter what scary things you’re going through. As long as you have a good pair of underwear, you’ll be ready for it…”

When Tamaki had finally brought up the courage to tell Mirio about the story of his underwear, Tamaki was worried thought Mirio would laugh at him, thinking it was just something for him to use in case he ever had an accident. But Mirio supported him fully, even getting his own underwear in support. It made him laugh…

Tamaki hadn’t had much thought about Mirio since coming here. Tamaki had been worried so much about keeping hidden in plain sight, trying to not bring attention to himself and exposing himself and his friends. But he hadn’t thought much about anything else before Nejire wanted to throw this slumber party.

He hadn’t thought about what Mirio would think of all of this.

“If Mirio was still here, he would still act like a true hero. And that would involve giving all of these kids a choice…”

Clutching it tightly, Tamaki finally turned around, looking around at all of their expectant faces.

“Listen, everyone, thank you for doing these things tonight. I hope you enjoyed it,” Tamaki paused, letting himself push through them all as they all went back to the couches and chairs.

Awase chuckled, “Oh, I sure did! Most fun I ever had. I think any of us have ever had.”

Everyone else nodded and muttered their own thoughts on the subject, many of them smiling from the experience.

“Good, good… But I need to ask you all something,” Tamaki sighed, closing his eyes for a moment while clutching the underpants tightly. “Is this something you all want? Being these ‘Commanders’?”

Multiple instances of confused stares and glares occurred. Though, Tamaki saw a few people shrinking down and averting his gaze.

Shishikura crossed his arms. “Where is this coming from?”

Tamaki steadied himself, making sure his hands weren’t shaking from fear. “Look, every single one of you was chosen to be a Commander because of your power, but is this something any of you want?”

There was a moment of silence as some of them were hesitant on what to say to that. Others were still confused as to why their upperclassman was asking them that in the first place.

Yoarashi spoke first, “Look, I believe in passion in protecting others. It’s how I always lived. And I believe the best way to show that passion is to become a Commander.”

“That’s good, but do you really need to become a Commander to do that?” Tamaki questioned. “You’re doing this to help people for your job, but you don’t need that job as an excuse to help people. You can do anything else to help them instead.”

Monoma questioned, raised an eyebrow, “Are you telling us that we should defy Shocker’s orders and not become Commanders?”

“I’m not telling you to betray Shocker,” Tamaki stressed, putting his hands up to calm them down. “I’m telling you to think for yourselves. Is this really what you want? Do you really want to follow Shocker? Someone that forced you in a certain direction instead of allowing you to choose for yourself?”

Shinsou narrowed his eyes. “Is this some sort of trick? A test?”

Tamaki feels like shivering in his seat, but he manages to look at all of their dubious, somewhat fearful faces.

“No. I know you won’t believe me anyway, but I’m telling the truth. All of you right now have the ability to speak your mind. You don’t have to be afraid. So… would you follow Shocker?”

Sato replied, rubbing the back of his neck, “Well, I mean, Shocker does everything for us. They always have. They’re the ones to make sure the Kaijin don’t hurt any of our families- “

“Have any of you actually met a Kaijin before?”

“Well, I haven’t. I don’t think any of us have,” Shoda replied. “But it’s good that we haven’t. We’ve seen on TV how dangerous they can be.”

Tamaki argued, “Kaijin are just as dangerous as anyone in this room.”

Kaminari shrugged, “Yeah, sure. But we wouldn’t hurt innocent people like the League- “

The third year interrupted, “You would if no one else in the world gave you the chance because of how you were born.”

Shishikura asked, suddenly glaring at Tamaki, “Are you actually aware of the ramifications of even bringing up this subject?”

“He’s right,” Todoroki said. “Do you even have any idea of what happens when you defy authority? Defying Shocker?”

Tamaki commented, “I’ve seen some of what Shocker has done already…”

“Well, I know it first-hand,” the icy hot teen standing up and sending a menacing glare at the third year. Tamaki felt the sudden urge to back away from the intensity. “I was trained by my father, Endeavor. Number One Commander in Japan. He’s ruthless.”

Unbeknownst to him, a good chunk of his classmates started mouthing off what Todoroki started to say then. (Since they always kept hearing about how Todoroki was trained by his father, Endeavor. Number One Commander in Japan. Yadda yadda yadda…)

 “We have been taught since birth that Shocker is who we have to obey. Without question. Do you know what happens if we don’t?” Todoroki continued, letting the memory of his past slowly overwhelm him as he felt the urgent need to tell someone about it. His gaze started to drift up, not even looking at any of the other students. “One day, you say you don’t want to train, that it hurts too much. You defy them. And the consequence of that action? You find your mother naked in the kitchen at midnight eating your favorite soba and then your father comes out and tries to say ‘Just go back to bed. Forget all about it, Shoto’…”

By the time Todoroki finally focused back on the group of students, everyone stared at him completely dumbfounded.

Awase summed it up, “Dude, that was not at all what we were talking about…”

“It wasn’t?”

Everyone shook their head no, even Tamaki.

“Okay.” Todoroki stated as he slowly sat down, hiding behind his passive expression.

Tamaki, shaking that image out of his head, stood up from his seat to address everyone. But the moment he locked eyes on everyone, he held up a hand to his face, barely able to see everyone through his fingers.

“Listen, I know what it’s like to be scared. To worry so much about the consequences and let your fears overtake you. But I know just as much what happens when your worst fears do happen. That if you walk away and let bad things happen to people you don’t know, you will regret it.”

In his mind, an image flashed of Ankh and Mirio. Tamaki knew that things would have been even worse if he chose to walk away from the floating hand monster, Ankh, when they first met. Even if did cost him his friend in the process…

Tamaki continued, “There are lot of scary things in this world. Whether or not you think Shocker is one of them. There’s no denying that. But…” He found his hands slowly coming down from his face and clutching his heart instead. “That’s why I’m on this journey right now. To become someone who can fight the scary things in life.”

Monoma questioned, “A Kamen Rider?”

The purple-haired teen shook his head. “No. A hero.”

A hero?

The word itself felt like taboo, like something that should never have been said. Something that should be laughed at. People like Kaminari and Monoma let out a few snickers at that. But they were quickly silenced as each one looked at him with a sense of intrigue.

“It’s what I’ve learned from all of my fights, especially lately. Our desires can give us strength, strength alone that we never thought possible. If all you’re doing is following another person’s desires, you’re not strong. You can’t fear whatever consequences will happen. You have to choose for yourself. Because there’s almost nothing in this world that can stop the power of your desires.”

SLAM!

The door slammed wide open, and everyone snapped their heads at Class 1-A's homeroom swordsman stomping through. Stendhal looked around in shock at all of the feathers, the singe marks and the various thrown pieces of furniture. They started cowering the instant Stendhal looked directly at them.

“WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!”

Tamaki did say ‘almost nothing’...

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“Okay, it’s time for poker night!”

Izuku raised an eyebrow as he approached the table. Hagakure was behind it, preparing the cards and shuffling them like a professional card shark. The invisible teenager wasn’t naked anymore. She was now wearing clothes on top of clothes. Jackets, shirts, pants, you name it.

“Uh...” Izuku hesitated, slowly sitting at the table. “Is this really the best thing to do right now?”

“Sure!” Hagakure exclaimed. “We all know the plan tonight. We’ve done the necessary training we can. We know the location. We know our roles.” She shrugged. “Anything more could push our bodies more than we want.”

“I agree,” Iida said, sitting down along with the other members of the League. “This is the most important mission of our lives tonight. Cramming more exercise in won’t utilize our full potential.”

Boomslang groaned, “But, are we really...?” She trailed off, sending a glance in Hagakure’s direction.

“Oh, come on! I love strip poker!”

Plamo argued, “You only love it because if you strip down, nothing happens to you!”

“So, is that a no...?”

It wasn’t.

Asui asked, with her siblings by her side, “Can I get dealed in? Ribbit.”

“Sure, the more the merrier,” the invisible girl said before she looked over at Izuku. “You playing too?”

“Uh... no thanks,” Izuku hesitated. “I don’t know much about this anyway.”

“Ah, come on! It’s super easy to learn!”

Burnin gave a wholehearted slap to Izuku’s back as she took her seat next to him. “What’s the matter, hero? Fraid of getting beat?”

“It’s understandable,” Bondo said. “This is a game that takes real men to play. Tell him about it, Burnin.”

The fiery woman gave a sly smile at that as Izuku relented and asked to be put into the game.

The Quirkless teen only had one experience with poker when at his café for game night, Jin offered to teach him and his friends how to play. It didn’t go so well with them eventually going back to go fish. But the one thing that Izuku remembered was that you have to watch for someone’s tell. Something in someone’s face they involuntarily did when lying.

Izuku was learning through his hero studies on how to spot that as well. So, this would be a good test for him.

“Ok, well, I know Iida’s ‘tell’ is related to him chopping his hand... but that’s about it. I got nothing on anyone else.”

Urataros’s voice chimed in Izuku’s mind, reaching all the way from Den Liner, “You know, Izuku... I’ve never gotten to play a game of poker before...”

“No, thank you. These guys are still on edge with just me in the room. Besides, I can do this,” Izuku thought right before he looked at his cards. “This is going to be fun!”

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Ten minutes.

Ten minutes were all that it took for Izuku to lose completely.

It didn’t matter whether or not Izuku could read his opponents tells. The fact was his bad luck stopped him from getting any good cards the whole time. Maybe if he had more experience, he could have bluffed his way with only two 2’s. But, yeah, turns out Izuku on his own is really not a good liar.

(It’s a wonder how he made it to this point.)

And, so, Izuku sat in his chair, frozen in place, practically shivering from wearing nothing but his underwear.

He shrunk down, doing his best not to look so embarrassed by the few amused expressions he could see on the other players’ faces.

Hagakure, wearing the exact amount of clothes she had on before the game started, said, “Hey, Midoriya...” She teased, “Wanna play again?”

“Nahahahannaononoono!”

Burnin laughed, “Ha! Guess they don’t teach you this kind of thing at the hero school in your time, huh?”

Izuku quietly shook his head no, his cheeks blushing big time.

Iida asked, placing his elbows on the table, “If you don’t mind me asking, could I ask you a question about that?”

The Quirkless teen perked up, silently thankful that the topic could be changed, “Oh, uh, sure!”

“In your timeline, you say you, along with a few of us...” Iida gestured toward some of the teenagers. “What is a hero school curriculum like?”

Fukidashi chimed in, from the left side of the table, “Yeah, like do we learn to how to build our costumes or secret hideouts?”

Izuku asked, completely confused, “Huh?”

The speech bubble asked, “I remember reading about some older comics and manga that Shocker wouldn’t let us read about fictional heroes.” He leaned in, almost bouncing with excitement. “If it’s a hero school, would it teach us all about that stuff? I assume we learn how to fight and all of that, but what else? Do we fight off against aliens and learn about their weaknesses?”

“No...” Izuku shook his head. “There’s no such thing as aliens.”

“So, time travel exists, but not aliens. Got it.”

(As far as Izuku was aware...)

Tsukuyomi said from nearby, wiping a glass, “I would assume that there would be a lesson on defense against demonic entities.”

Burnin leaned back in her seat. “I wouldn’t mind a ‘Criminal Interrogation’ class. People are nowadays just too scared to say anything to me.”

Surprisingly, that was the only idea that was even remotely close to Izuku’s actual training.

“It’s not... It’s not like that,” Izuku said. A small smile crept on his face even though he was trying to keep some of his body hidden. “I don’t know how to compare it to what Shocker has been doing with the UA that Amajiki and Hado are at, but...” He drew a long breath and exhaled. “How UA is supposed to be...”

Izuku closed his eyes, remembering everything he’s been through at UA. (Trying to remember the things that were supposed to happen, not because of a villain attack.)

The Quirk Assessment Test, the Battle Training, the Sports Festival, Final Exams, Ultimate Move Training...

On the surface, it was a lot of fighting, but there was one thing he learned from all of that...

“UA teaches you a lot about how to be a hero,” Izuku explained slowly. “Training in both combat and rescue, but more than that...” He smiled to himself. “It’s all about teaching you to go beyond. Going beyond your limitations in order to make someone’s day better and brighter. To protect and save someone’s life. Not just making sure they’re alive but doing what you can to make their life better. When you have that mentality, then anything is possible...”

Silence followed as everyone took a moment to take in Izuku’s words. The teenager looked around to see some nods of approval and smiles. Though there were a few of them like Shoji and Tsukuyomi that simply hummed in response, there was one person who was shaking her head no.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Everyone looked over at Asui. The frog girl kept her gaze directly on Izuku, who couldn’t help but wince at her words.

The frog girl continued, “You’re completely delusional.”

“I’m... um...” Izuku gulped. “If you still have doubts about the whole time travel thing, I can assure-”

“Oh, no. I believe it now. Ribbit,” Asui interrupted. “Despite how unusual it is, I fully believe you have access to a working time machine. But, as I see it now, it’s the reason you’re like this.”

“Like what?”

Asui leaned forward in her seat. “The way you talk about your world makes you sound just like the Commanders. That you were one of them.”

“It’s not like that!” Izuku argued. “What the Commanders have been doing, going after anyone with a mutant power, that’s just prejudice. That’s not what being a hero is. Everyone is capable of becoming a hero.”

“Are you sure about that? You mean to tell me that someone like you, born without powers, was still encouraged to be one of them?”

Izuku opened his mouth, but then slowly shut it back.

“Exactly,” Asui noted. “You live in a world with magic possessing monsters and a time train so because you’re surrounded by all of that impossibility, you think the world is just that same fantasy. But it’s not.” She glared at the rest of the League’s judgmental looks. “You all think this. You all think that it’s worth it. That you’ll be able to fight something impossible and win. That you’ll have any chance of surviving. But, even if by some miracle you do win, the world will never be on the side of people like us.”

Right next to her, Satsuki tugged on the back of her clothes. “Tsuyu...”

The frog girl turned, snapping at them, “I’m sorry, but it’s the truth. I’m just being realistic.”

Her siblings’ shoulders fell, averting their gaze.

Asui felt a twinge of guilt for making her family sad, but-

“Yeah, well, so am I.”

Everyone turned toward Izuku. The Quirkless teen was staring back at Asui. He took a deep breath, remembering all of the emotions he felt throughout his life every time he heard that word.

“I’ve been told to be realistic all my life, but there’s not a single person that actually knows what that word means,” Izuku looked her right in the eyes, head up and confident in what he was saying. “Everyone always uses that word to justify anything bad that happens. But, if you wanna actually talk about reality, it’s more than that. It’s the good things in life too.”

Izuku smiled gently at her. “I won’t lie and pretend that my life, my world, was perfect. But, for all of the times I have been judged for because of how I was born (and have seen the same treatment put on to others), I have also met just as many good, kind-hearted people. I’ve made good memories with them. Fun, happy memories I wouldn't trade for the world...” He stood up from his seat. “As long as I remember that those good memories are my reality. That's why I fight. To protect those memories...”

At the end of that declaration, silence followed. Many of the League stared at him contemplatively.

Asui couldn’t help but look down at her siblings with a thoughtful look in her eyes. Even when the world had changed so much, the big sister had fond memories of her siblings that she’d be willing to protect...

“Hey, uh...” Izuku looked over to Hagakure handing his clothes out. “I think you should have this back now...”

Izuku blushed, “Right...”

With nothing left to say, feeling the weight of everyone staring at him, Izuku whirled around, going to the nearest bathroom.

It wasn’t the best exit out of the room, but it certainly left an impression on them.

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After Eri had dropped off Keigo on his floor (and sneakily gave Young Eri an apple to nibble on), Eri rode the elevator to the fifth floor. And, as soon as she got there, Eri knew she got the right place.

Eri pushed the cart out of the elevator and into the hallway. She tried to turn the cart but felt something blocking her way.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!”

She leaned to the side to see a boy with short blond hair swept to the front of his head, moving himself in a wheelchair. He moved to the side, glaring directly at her.

“I’m sorry...” Eri paused. It took a few moments for her to put the pieces together. She had seen him before, but she didn’t know him as much as some of Izuku’s other friends. Though, maybe it would have helped jog her memory if the boy still had his tail. “Ojiro?”

The former martial artist sent a glare in the girl’s direction before turning around and wheeling away from them without a word.

“This place is apparently supposed to be trying to get rid of people’s Quirks, experimenting on them. Ojiro doesn’t have his tail, but why isn’t he walking?”

A small nudge of the cart brought Eri’s attention as she crouched down, peeking through the sheet to see Young Eri’s expectant eyes.

“Do you think I can come out now?” the child whispered.

Eri looked up to take in her surroundings. They had made their way to a small communal area. Though, it was nothing short of depressing. There was barely any space for anything, just one TV not even on, a few couches and tables. Some teenage patients were gathered around a table, playing cards with each other. Ojiro was one of them.

But the most important thing was that there were no doctors around.

“Ok, you can come out,” Eri instructed. “But, if you see a doctor or someone else come after you, hide. Hide until I come back. Ok?”

Young Eri nodded and Eri helped her out of the cart. They held each other’s hands as they approached the table.

A pale girl with dark purple hair looked up from her hand of cards and shot a cool look when she spotted the young girl.

“Oh, hey, there,” the girl said, putting down her hand. “We don’t usually get someone like you around here. What’s your name?”

The child mumbled her name.

The purple-haired girl sighed, “Sorry, but can you say that again?”

Ojiro explained, “Jiro’s hearing is barely functional. You’ll need to speak up if you can.”

Young Eri clutched the time traveler’s hand tight, hiding behind the fake doctor.

“Don’t worry,” Eri reassured in a hushed tone. “They won’t hurt you.” Looking back at Jiro, Eri explained, “Her name is Eri and she wanted to get out of her room for a bit. Would any of you like to keep her company for a minute while I go get someone?”

“You want us to spend time with her?” Ojiro asked, lifting a brow. “No offense, but shouldn’t that be your job?”

Jiro looked at Eri steadily before shrugging. “Sure, we don’t mind. Right, Ojiro?”

The blonde sighed, “Yeah, you’re right.” He looked at the little girl with kind eyes. “Do you know how to play patty cake?”

“Patty cake?” The child hesitantly asked. “I already ate.”

Both of them laughed at that. Jiro said, “Come on, let’s go to the couch. I can teach you a pretty fun beat.”

Needing one more nod of assurance from the future Eri, the young child followed Jiro and Ojiro, leaving the time traveler alone with the last card player at the table: a completely bald girl with dark green eyes.

“I have not seen you before,” the bald girl asked. “You are a new caretaker, correct?”

“Uh, yeah, you’re right,” Eri responded. “What's your name?”

“Ibara Shiozaki. Hello.”

Eri gave a small wave in greeting. “Hello, Shiozaki. Uh...” She chuckled nervously. “How do you like it here?”

“It’s the perfect place for us. We’re treated as well as could be. It’s all very nice.”

“Well, that’s good to-”

“It’s nicer than we deserve.”

Eri hesitated on how she should respond to that. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, it’s expected. We’re all monsters.”

Eri’s smile faded. There was no anger, no hatred behind that statement. Shiozaki spoke as if they were just discussing the weather.

Shiozaki continued, “Every doctor, every nurse, has been putting in their best efforts to cure us from our horrible afflictions.” Her hands went up to her head. “I, for instance, was born with devilish thorns that could grow into the ground. They need to be removed on a regular basis. That’s why I and many others are here.”

“And... does it always work? These treatments?”

Shiozaki pursed her lips, head dropping in mourning. “No, it hasn’t. Many of our afflictions are unique so there are occasions where it doesn’t work properly.” She looked over at the couch where Ojiro was demonstrating how to patty cake. (At least, that’s what Eri assumed was happening.) “Ojiro had a tail that grew like an extra appendage. When that was removed, it somehow destroyed the nerves on his body, not allowing him to walk any longer.”

“What... what happens if the power is successfully removed? Like gone forever.”

“Oh, then we would be assigned into servitude much like any other powerless human. But, if nothing else, we serve Shocker in some capacity. There are rare occasions where the experiments we are put under are designed to make the Commanders’ powers even stronger than before. That is fortunate.”

The time traveler gulped, “Would you... would you want to leave if you have the chance?”

Shiozaki made a dismissive expression at that question. “In good heavens, no. If we’re here, we are kept safe and away from the general population. If I was to leave now, I could spread my affliction onto them and taint them. That is what ultimately happens when you are a Kaijin.”

“Oh... ok then.”

That short sentence was all Eri could say. But, inside, her mind was fighting the desire to try and tell her that people shouldn’t think like that. But then, how could she say that when she tells herself the exact thing? She was born cursed after all...

Eri slowly asked, “Can... can you just tell me if you know where Mei Hatsume is?”

“Of course. She should be in her room,” Shiozaki paused, pointing back down the hallway. “It will be the third door on your left.”

“Thank you.”

Eri went down the hallway. As she approached Hatsume’s room, the sound of beeping and someone’s voice became clearer. The white-haired girl knocked on the closed door.

“Hello?”

No response.

Nonetheless, she opened the door and-

“BOP IT!”

The moment the toy struck Eri’s forehead, she cried out in pain. “OW!”

“Sorry, I’m such a klutz!”

As soon as Eri refocused on the scene, she took in Mei Hatsume standing in the middle of the room, wearing a plain shirt and pants, but there was something immediately wrong...

Hatsume said, opening out her hand, “If you could give that back to me, that’d be great!”

“Um... I’m over here?”

The pink-haired girl wasn’t facing Eri at all. She was looking at the plant right next to her bed. And she was wearing a set of black tinted glasses over her eyes.

Hatsume turned in the direction of the doorway and started approaching Eri. When she got within arm's reach, Hatsume reached out, feeling Eri’s face and body, much to her discomfort.

“It’s on the floor,” Eri replied.

The patient bent down, feeling around until she grabbed the toy. As Hatsume stood back up, Eri had a startling realization. The white-haired girl started waving her hands inches away from the patient’s face. Hatsume had no reaction.

“You’re blind... aren’t you?”

“Yep!” Hatsume exclaimed, lifting her glasses up and showing off a set of completely black eyes. “My mutation affected my eyes so when Shocker tried to fix them, Boom!” She used her free hand to point right at the blank eyes. “Now, my vision ain’t that good!”

“And you really can’t see anything?” Eri asked, backing away.

“Well, I know you were doing this a moment earlier.”

Hatsume began waving her hands wildly in front of her, mimicking Eri.

A flicker of hope swept across Eri’s mind. “Oh, so, you can see movement?”

The patient grinned. “Nah, I just know that people do that all the time when they meet someone blind.”

“And... let me guess. You don’t build things, do you?”

“Of course, I do!” Hatsume exclaimed. She pointed at her nightstand. “Just look at my house of cards.”

Eri did look. And all she saw was a discarded pile of playing cards.

The ‘doctor’ asked, “I mean do you build machines?”

“Not as much recently. Apparently, and I quote...” She put her hands up in air quotes. “Patients shouldn’t make experiments that end up blowing in people’s faces.”

That small flicker of hope? Completely vanished into despair.

“Ok, thank you...” Eri said, barely able to keep her voice steady. She was already stepping out of the room. “I’m going now. Hope I didn’t bother you.”

“Not at all! I got some stuff to listen to anyway!” Hatsume paused, putting on some headphones and some tech stuff that Eri wasn’t familiar with. (Though, then again, Eri wasn’t too familiar with all of the technology in the present.)

Eri closed the door gently, leaving the pink-haired girl to sit on her bed alone. But she felt like screaming as she paced down the hallway, worriedly wondering what to do next.

“Now what do I do? Hatsume is blind! She apparently makes explosions with her experiments. And we don’t want Den Liner to explode. There’s no way I can bring her back now. Not the way she is. She’s practically helpless...”

“We have to look out for an intruder? Shouldn’t that be security’s job?”

The time traveler’s head snapped forward as she could hear voices coming from around the corridor.

“Yeah, normally. But you know that security systems have been on the fritz. For now, all we know is that a white-haired girl caused some chaos in the reception area. No one saw her go for the entrance, so we have to assume she’s still in the building.”

Eri’s eyes widened in fear before snapping her head to the left and quickly entering the nearest private room and shutting the door. She held her breath as she waited for the nurses to pass.

“What would she want?”

“No idea, but if we see her, we have to act as if she’s hostile. And then hold her for interrogation. Some of Shocker’s troops will get an answer out of her.”

“If she is hostile, she’d be stupid to stay here."

Eri grimaced, “Oh, you have no idea...”

As soon as the voices faded away, Eri took a step back from the door, taking a moment to think this through.

“I’m going to have to leave. Try and get my younger self and get out. It’s bad that I can’t get anyone to repair Den Liner, but right now I have to-”

Upon seeing the room that she was in, she froze.

She wasn’t alone.

She wasn’t in any immediate danger.

At the same time, Eri wished she was. Because her mind didn’t know how to process the deathly pale teenager laying in the hospital bed. The teenager that she had met before in the real timeline.

“Bakugou?”

Eri slowly approached the still blonde, his eyes both open and frozen. His blonde hair had been cut in patches, much too close to his brain. Even when Eri was right next to him, he didn’t move a muscle.

“Hello?”

No response.

The girl’s eyes drifted toward Bakugou’s immediate surroundings. There was a screen connecting Bakugou’s arms to it with tubes and needles. A bunch of numbers and green lines were on display. But, to Eri, it looked like complete gibberish.

Instead, she grabbed the ‘paper tray’ on the edge of the bed and read it to the best of her abilities.

“Medically in-doo-ced comma?” Eri read aloud, trying to sound it out.

The doctor’s note at the bottom read “Subject admitted to hospital after multiple violent outbursts at designated Shocker reeducation camps. Most recent trial with experimental subcutaneous control chips for humans resulted in brain damage. Power still deemed to have useful potential in the future. Will attempt procedure again when patient’s body is adequately healthy enough or when Shocker demands it.”

Eri didn’t understand anything she just read. Heck, she couldn’t pronounce a lot of the words in it. But, slowly putting the papers back in their original position, she could only make a guess.

The girl whispered, “Shoc... Shocker did this because you didn’t want to listen to them, is that it?”

No response as expected.

She gave a sad smile. “I guess even in a world like this, you like being a jerk, don’t you?”

Eri knelt next to the bed, her heart heavy with conflicting emotions. She took the comatose boy’s hand and squeezed it softly.

“I don’t know if you can feel this or if you can hear me right now,” Eri said quietly. “But actually, we never got a chance to talk. In the real world. And I doubt we’ll be able to even if we can fix everything...”

She paused to look at him in his face. “You were mean. You were a jerk. A monster to Izuku and I’ll never forgive you for that.” The girl looked up and down at Bakugou’s almost lifeless body. “But you don’t deserve this.” She bit her lip. “And you also didn’t deserve what happened to you at Kamino...”

Eri sucked in a shuddering breath, remembering exactly what had happened in the real world. “Getting taken by bad people who wanted you to do bad things with them. I know how exactly how that feels...”

Her voice shuddered. “Difference between us is that the heroes actually got to save you. You had your friends looking out for you. I didn’t get that chance...” Her hand started to reach up to her forehead. “I’m just cursed like that...” Her hands fell to her side. “Hope that when Izuku does fix all of this and saves you, you take advantage of that second chance...”

Eri looked toward the machinery. She slowly reached for the tubes of the machine, wondering what would happen if she pulled them out. Would it make him feel bette-?

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

The girl’s eyes snapped toward the door in front of the hospital bed. It opened fully, showing off the clean porcelain white bathroom inside. But what was more important to Eri was who had just spoken.

A blonde girl with glasses in a janitorial outfit stepped out of the bathroom. She took off her gloves as she explained, “That machine is pumping drugs into Bakugou’s system, drugs that are currently keeping him alive. Unless you’re here to kill him, then you should just leave him there.” She moved her janitorial cart into the room fully, shutting the bathroom door. “Besides, even with the security system on the fritz, the nurses will get an alert if someone tries to disconnect a heart monitor without a doctor’s supervision.”

Eri blinked, standing up straight. “Melissa? Melissa Shield?”

The time traveler had briefly run into Melissa Shield back on I-Island during the I-Expo with Izuku. Eri didn’t get to interact with her much, but she knew one thing about her: Melissa was smart.

Hope began to ignite again.

There was a chance.

However, the moment that Eri had said her name, a startled emotion flashed across Melissa’s eyes. She averted her gaze, grabbing a mop and started sweeping away from her. “No, that’s not me. I’m October 1^st.”

“No, you're Melissa Shield!” Eri cried, moving around the bed toward her. “Your dad is David Shield. He’s a big scientist that works on I-Island.”

“I-Island?” Melissa echoed. “I’m assuming you mean Shocker Island. That’s where the world’s best scientists go to.” She stopped sweeping, turning toward Eri. “It’s the reason why I’m here in the first place. Someone powerless like me isn’t allowed to be on there. My dad works closely with the Japan division of Shocker so he got me this assignment.”

The Quirkless girl sighed, putting down the mop and crossing her arms at Eri. “So, what do you want? I’m assuming you’re the intruder that I just heard about.”

“You’re right,” Eri confirmed. “I’m here because I need to find someone smart.” She gestured a hand toward the blonde. “And I think that’s you.”

“You... you came for me?” There was actual fear in Melissa’s eyes before she quickly hid her gaze. “No, I’m not smart.”

“Of course, you are!” Eri exclaimed. “You probably know all about smart people things like um, uh...” Eri faltered, trying to think of things that a smart person would know. But all she came up with was homework that she watched Izuku do. “About tri-gnome-tree? About how shapes affect their...shapeliness?”

Melissa made a very dubious face at that. “You mean geometry? Geometry is about shapes; trigonometry deals more exclusively with angles.”

“Exactly! See, you’re already smarter than I am!” Eri snapped before she paused, her open palms becoming fists as her body practically shook with desperation. Her tone softened. “Please come with me. We need help to fix something. And you’re the only one right now who can.”

Melissa bit her lip before she responded bitterly, “Someone powerless like me can’t be smart. They’re not allowed to.”

The blonde pushed past Eri and headed toward the door. Eri pressed on, grabbing Melissa’s wrist and tugging her back towards her.

“Listen to me,” Eri said, staring right into Melissa’s scared blue eyes. “I know what it’s like to feel trapped. To have... something to hide. You feel like you’ll get punished because of it. That something bad will happen...” Her hands started wringing Melissa’s wrist involuntarily. A few tears fell from Eri’s face. “I have to hide a part of myself all the time. But that’s why I have to do this. To take action and get it fixed on my own. So other people don’t get hurt.”

“But...” Melissa muttered. “I can’t leave here. I can’t.”

“I was in a place I couldn’t escape, either. I could have tried to, but I knew that after too many times, that if I left, people would get hurt because of me.” She sniffled, looking down at her feet. Finally, she looked back at Melissa’s quiet face. “But I know that if you leave this place, people will be saved.”

It became quiet after that. Too quiet.

Eri let go of Melissa’s wrist as the blonde just stared back at her, expression worn and tired.

Suddenly, a scream could be heard down the hallway. “WHAT THE-?!”

“It’s not me... It has to be my younger self!”

Fear crept up Eri’s spine before she jolted out of the room, past Melissa. The blonde followed a few paces behind her.

Reaching the small communal area, both girls froze.

There was a group of nurses on the other side of the room toward the elevators. Eri would have instantly tried running away from them, but their attention was being caught by something else.

Standing up, tall and strong, was Ojiro. His long and muscular tail had knocked away his wheelchair.

Eri looked on with a tense expression as Ojiro turned in a circle, testing his fixed legs. Legs that only a few moments prior were completely useless.

One of the nurses panicked, “How did this happen?!” She turned toward another nurse. “Did you give him a drug or something?”

“Oh, sure, I gave him the standard freak juice.”

“Not helping!”

The white-haired girl already had an idea of what happened, scanning the area until she saw her younger self, hidden underneath a table.

“Eri, I’m here!” The time traveler exclaimed, meeting her halfway as the child ran toward her. The teenager lifted her up in full view of everyone.

“I’m sorry...” the child cried. “I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s alright. But we have to go.”

One of the nurses exclaimed, pointing a finger at them, “Wait! That explains it! Kai’s kid!”

The rest of the women snapped their heads toward them. One of them snarled, “Hey, Eri! You can’t be up here.”

“And wait! That’s the intruder!”

“Quick! Call for the guards!”

“I don’t think so...” Ojiro said, moving between the teenagers and the nurses. He glanced back at them with a few tears in his eyes. “I don’t know what’s going on but thank you. I’ll cover you.”

Young Eri hugged her older self tight as the time traveler herself looked at Melissa with pleading eyes. The blonde herself looked down at Young Eri’s frightened expression and then sighed. “Come on, let’s go!”

“Oh no, you- AGGHH!”

Ojiro may have not used his legs in a while, but the moment he could walk again, his fighting skills kicked in on instinct as he wrapped the nearest nurse’s arm with his tail and kicked her away.

The nurse pulled herself up and spoke through their communicator, “Send guards now! A Kaijin has been reactivated!”

As Ojiro continued to fight, Eri ran behind Melissa, holding her younger self in her arms, as they all moved around the corridors.

“Where are we going?!”

Melissa answered, “To the stairs and then to the parking garage! With the security system still on the fritz, that’s the best way we can escape!”

They all skidded to a stop once they saw the door to the stairwell. More specifically, when they saw the squad of Shocker grunts that were blocking their path, all of them pointing guns directly at them.

“YEEEEE!”

Many of them charged forward.

Eri didn’t know what to do. It was too late for them to run. All she could do was hold her younger self tight and-

Suddenly, the tiles on the ceiling opened up. From the darkness, a group of large laser-like cannons popped out, glowing red. Before anyone could react, they spun, aiming directly at the grunts.

Massive bolos wrapped themselves around the grunts’ legs, tying them together and forcing them to fall to the ground. Blue sparks moved from the specialized ropes to their bodies, shocking them in place.

BBZZZZZTTT!

Eri blinked. “What just happened? Why did-?”

“You like my handiwork?”

Both Eri and Melissa snapped their heads back to see Hatsume with a wicked grin on her face, waving around a small device.

The inventor explained, walking past them, “Been messing with the security system for the past few days. Rigged the defenses so that it targets those with an RFID badge, for people who work here. Excluding janitorial staff, of course.”

Did Eri really use the word ‘helpless’ to describe Mei Hatsume earlier?

“Bu-bu-but...” Melissa stuttered before she threw her hands up in disbelief. “You’re blind!”

“Yeah, I know...” Hatsume turned around, not actually looking anyone in the eye. “That’s why I gotta compensate with my other senses. Like this!” She tapped her headphones. “These headphones allowed me to tap into the hospital’s monitoring system.” She turned around, accidentally facing a plant as she wagged her finger. “That’s how I heard everything about you needing a genius to help fix something. And I want in!”

Eri, in a similar state of shock, asked unbelievingly, “But, we can’t take you! You don’t know how to fix this. You wouldn’t be able to see it. It’ll be entirely new.”

“Let me ask you something...” Hatsume paused, giving a sly look at the plant. “Do you really need eyesight in order to make a baby?”

Can’t argue with that logic!

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Back at UA’s dorms, in one of the empty rooms, Nejire spread out the number of sweets and soft drinks she got for the girls. She raised up a glass of her juice while everyone followed her lead.

“Nothing says a slumber party like a toast, am I right?”

Kendo echoed, “Slumber party?”

Toga asked, snapping back, “Yeah, what happened to the strategy meeting?”

Nejire reassured, waving them off, “Don’t worry. We’ll get to that.”

Yaoyorozu averted her gaze, her cheeks flushing with delight. “I must admit. This would be exciting. It would be my very first slumber party. As well as many of us...” She looked up at Nejire. “Could you explain how this is meant to go?”

“Of course, I can!” Nejire exclaimed. “I’ve done it with Mirio and Tamaki all the time! Let’s start off with the perfect topic to get the mood up: romance!”

The energy in the room became filled with teenage awkwardness.

Uraraka let out a few chuckles, trying to hide her blushing cheeks, “Oh, ha ha, sure...”

Kendo forced a smile, “So, that’s what we’re doing...”

Yaoyorozu gasped, completely flustered, “L-love? Before marriage? Is something like that even fathomable?”

Yanagi asked, her expression completely blank as ever, “Why do you wish to speak of romance?”

Kodai whispered, “It’s best to leave it alone.”

But Nejire decided to prod one more time. “But it’s just a good way to start a conversation...” She teased. “Tell me. Does anyone have anything for anybody? Crushes, feelings, assorted fantasies...?”

All of the girls glanced at each other, but none of them made a peep. The girls were afraid of revealing too much to each other. The silence hung in the air for a long moment. Toga took a long glance at Yanagi but didn’t say a word either. Instead, she glared right at Nejire.

However, Komori spoke up. “Well, I know Ochaco and Monoma are letting their hearts shroom.”

Uraraka’s cheeks grew even more red than before. “No, no, I’m not!” She panicked, frantically waving her hands around. “And, anyway, it’s just a fling!”

Intelli grimaced, “It’s understandable. None of us will ever have time for real relationships, what with dedicating ourselves to Shocker’s cause. And any romance that does blossom can only be temporary until we receive our marriage assignments.”

That response prompted a few profound nods from the group.

But Nejire gave a sly glance at Toga.

The blonde was expecting Nejire to force her to say something, but Nejire then smiled at her.

“It’s alright. I’m not forcing you to say anything,” Nejire said. “I just wanted to set the mood for tonight. To remind you all that there are people around you that feel the same way that you do...”

Toga averted her gaze, knowing for sure, that Nejire’s words were directed especially for her.

Nejire winked at them. “Trust me, this is a night you won’t want to forget.”

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“So... why are we doing this?”

Nejire replied, “I saw it in a movie once.”

All of the girls laid on their backs, relaxing as their faces were covered in avocado and their eyes were covered by sliced cucumbers.

“But why?” Kendo asked again.

Nejire explained, “It’s supposed to help your skin, clear like the dead parts of it.”

Yanagi questioned, “But, my flesh has always been on the verge of death.”

Toga shrugged, “There’s nothing that needs to be fixed. For Yan- for any of us. I don’t get it.”

The third-year girl let out a long exhale of relief. “Look, it’s part of the process. Part of being positive and feeling refreshed is learning how to take care of yourself.”

“I take care of myself all the time,” Setsuna argued. “I practically live in the weight room. I have to for my power.” She cackled loudly. “I get to distract guys with all of my muscles on my body and then destroy them with my mind.”

Intelli was amused by that. “Oh, I understand. I will not refute that sentiment.”

Nejire said, “Taking care of yourself is more than just being healthy. Things like skin care and beautification is just as important when it comes to making your mind feel at ease as well.”

Toga grumbled, “Then why does that big girl get to sit out?”

“You mean Yaoyorozu? Oh, she’s just helping with an errand. She’ll be back soon.”

Camie sighed, “Oh, I feel so relaxed… It’s crazy that I’m not even posting about this now.”

CRUNCH!

At the sound of someone loudly chewing, Nejire asked, “Okay, who is actually trying to eat the skin treatment...?”

…

…

…

“Sorry,” Uraraka apologized. “But I was taught not to waste food!”

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“I’m sorry,” Uraraka apologized again, her fingers practically tangled in Yaoyorozu’s hair. “I don’t bother to grow my hair out, so I never had to deal with this.”

“Oh, it is quite alright,” Yaoyorozu replied, quietly trying to strain herself from yelling out in pain ever time Uraraka moved the hair the wrong direction. “A simple ponytail is all I had time for. I never attempted any other hairstyle. Everything else seemed impractical.”

“That’s the point!” Nejire claimed as she was currently braiding Tokage’s hair. “This is a time for us to experiment so get crazy!”

Intelli scoffed, sipping a cup of tea, “Experiment? Well, then this calls for my expertise.” Without warning, Intelli gently pushed Uraraka out of the way. “Move aside, simple girl. I shall take this on. This won't be as complex to me.”

Her power granted her the ability to temporarily boost her intellect after drinking tea and closing her eyes. The level that her intelligence is boosted depends on the brand of tea that she drinks.

As she took that sip, she closed her eyes. Bright yellow visualizations of various math equations she had in her head appeared and circled around her, accompanied by orange, electronic circuit diagrams. All of them were based on scientific principles of tension, elasticity, gravity, pressure as well as calculating symmetry and the angles in her head.

The moment Intelli’s eyes opened, a glint of inspiration could be seen as she went straight to work.

“Ok, I’m done!” Komori exclaimed from the other side of the room, stepping back with a smile to look at her work. “Your hair has been properly shroomed!”

Kendo stood up from her seat and walked to the mirror, now noticing her usual haircut was now in a mushroom braided style.

The martial artist tilted her head left and right, almost expecting it to fall off. “Hm.”

Meanwhile, Yanagi was using her power, floating up a comb as it moved across the long strands of hair. (Honestly, the blonde was just glad Yanagi wasn’t so close to her to do it. Toga didn’t know if she’d be able to bite her tongue that long...)

“I apologize,” Yanagi said, with no real regret in her voice. “Combing is all that I’m capable of.”

Toga chuckled and blushed, “No, you’re fine! I know how to get my hair the way I like it.”

“That is fortunate. I appreciate your regular hairstyle.”

The blonde blinked. “You do?”

“It’s full of spirit.”

Toga slowly glanced toward her with curious eyes. Though Yanagi hadn’t noticed, Toga looked on, admiring how just how lovely she looked...

From a distance, Nejire let out a small smile. “She’s finally enjoying herself...”

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Uraraka asked, “Prank calls?”

Nejire nodded enthusiastically. “Mm-hmm!”

Kodai asked hesitantly, “But, wouldn’t we get in trouble?”

Yaoyorozu nodded. “Agreed. An action like this could have long lasting ramifications.”

Kendo and Intelli let out their own sounds of agreement at that statement.

“True. For anybody else. But this is Present Mic. He is cool with this sort of thing,” Nejire rebutted.

(Well, her timeline’s Present Mic. She’s not so sure about this one, but if there are any consequences, at least, tracing the phone would let herself be the only one who suffers consequences for it.)

Nejire continued, “Trust me! One time, Mirio called him up and together, they sang a classic Disney song together. Present Mic had such a good time with it that he called it out in class the next day.”

Camie asked, “What’s a Disney? Is that a new trend or something?”

“Don’t ask,” Nejire replied before gesturing to everyone. “Well...? Any takers?”

Every girl looked at each other with apprehensive glances. Nejire would admit, even she didn’t know about this. For one thing, she’s not as funny as Mirio was. If it came down to her to do it, she doubts she would have anything to say.

“Don’t worry, girls! I got this!”

Suddenly, Nejire’s phone was snatched out of her hand. Toga bounced to the other side of the room eagerly.

“Toga?” Yanagi asked, her head tilting to the side. “What are you doing?”

“Well, if we’re doing this, we’re going to do it right!”

As Toga dialed the number, she pulled out a small vial. The blonde popped it open and gulped down the red liquid inside.

Over at a dark room in an undisclosed location, Present Mic called out, “Hey, what’s happenin’? It’s Present Mic here to teach you how to do the Shocker kneel through the wheels of steel. Taking requests, comments, concerns. Oh! Looks like we got our first caller!”

BBRRRING!

The Commander clicked the button. A red light lit up on his dashboard. Present Mic leaned over the table. “Hello, who do we got here?”

“Hizashi.”

Present Mic raised an eyebrow, taking a sip. “Eraser?”

The tired man’s voice came through the speaker. “How many times do I have to tell you? Stop burying cats in my front yard!”

Present Mic spat out his drink. “WHAT?!”

“I don’t care if you think they’re so cute you wanna choke the life out of them. When you bury them, you leave all of those dirt patches where the grass doesn’t grow. All of my neighbors know, you idiot!”

“Ok, Shota, I don’t know what’s going on, but you know I have a cat at home! Nemuri and I take care of it all the time. We don’t even bother in the bedroom.”

“Oh, I bet. It’s the one thing that brought you two together...” The voice sighed. “You know if you didn’t have a wife that got you laid all the time, your life would be just like mine.”

Present Mic gasped, almost feeling the need to stand up from his seat, “Ok, that’s the worst thing you’ve ever said to me, man.”

A dial tone could be heard, ending the call.

Present Mic took a long sigh and recomposed himself, getting back his smile. “Hey there, listeners. You probably heard the smooth voice of Eraserhead playing that joke there. You see? We Commanders aren’t all that-”

BBRRRING!

The Commander raised an eyebrow as he answered the call. “Hello, caller? You’re on-”

“Soooo... I hear you’re complaining about what’s been happening in the bedroom.”

“Nemuri?!”

Midnight’s voice sighed, “Look, Hizashi, while we’re on the subject, I got some complaints too.”

“Like what?”

“There are two ways to go about sex,” the R-Rated Commander explained. “You can be planned and protected or hot and spontaneous. And I’ll let you guess on which one you have been.”

“Nemuri!”

“Both have their advantages. Your way, we are able to hit our weekly quota. But my way...” She let out a long exhale. “Wow...”

Present Mic slammed his hands on the table. “Alright, that’s it! Both you and Shota are playing some sick game on me on live radio and I’m not falling for that! I’m the man of the house and I’m not taking this anymore! Goodbye!”

The Commander clicked the switch, ending the call. Present Mic sighed, slumping back and taking a sigh of relief. He pulled himself up after a long moment and spoke into the microphone.

“Sorry, listeners, for that little fun back and forth. How about we take a little chill pill and play the Shocker anthem for-”

BBRRRING!

Present Mic practically slammed the button on. “Alright, who is it now?”

“Hizashi Yamada!”

The blonde’s eyes practically bulged out of his head. “MOM?!”

The woman’s voice berated, “How dare you talk to your wife like that! I raised you better than that!”

“But Mom-!”

“No buts! You can trash talk your friends, you can even trash talk me, but you can’t disrespect your wife! When you do that, it means I don’t have a son anymore!”

At this point, the man was practically crying. “Okay, Mom, I’m sorry-!”

“Don’t apologize to me! You better be bringing your wife a box of flowers and a bouquet of chocolate to her right now to apologize or so help me-!”

Present Mic blinked. “Wait, I think you mean a box of chocolates and a bouquet of-”

“WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT INTERRUPTING?!”

“OK, OKAY! I’M SORRY! I’M SORRY!”

The blonde quickly turned on a song as he scrambled toward the door, running at full speed out the building and the nearest store.

Back at Class 1-A's dorm, the girls marveled at Toga’s acting on the phone, transforming perfectly from Eraserhead, then to Midnight, and then to Present Mic’s mom. By the end, when they heard the man scrambling out of the studio through the radio, even some of the stricter students like Intelli and Yaoyorozu were hiding their mischievous grins.

Now returning to her original form, Toga let out a dramatic bow as some of the girls clapping in applause “Thank you. Thank you!”

Nejire asked, “Ok, so I have to ask. How did you have those blood with you?”

Toga explained, “Eraserhead and Midnight, I encountered before on the streets. I got a chance to sample their blood when fighting.”

“And how did you do Present Mic’s mom?”

The blonde girl winked at him. “You’ll be surprised at how many moms I do.”

“Tee-hee...”

Toga and the other girls looked over at Yanagi, who tried to stifle her giggle at Toga’s words. However, it was a futile attempt as she ended up bursting into laughter and throwing her head back. “Ha ha HA HA HA!”

The vampire’s smile widened, her eyes twinkling just staring at Yanagi. “Is that the first time I ever made her laugh...?”

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Nejire bounced up in front of the crowd, wiggling her hands at them. “Okay, here’s the final activity for everyone to settle in...” She paused and waited for the anticipation to build up before she spoke again. “Dress up!”

Toga echoed, “Dress up?”

“Dress up,” Nejire nodded. “I got a few outfits I found around the school’s support department. And...” She gestured over to Yaoyorozu. “Thank you to Yaoyorozu who helped use her Quir- power to help fill in the rest.”

“So...” Uraraka tilted her head. “What do we dress as?”

“Anything you want.”

And, with those words, it was only a few minutes later that Nejire stood in the hallway, eagerly waiting for them to come out one-by-one.

“Okay, whenever you’re ready!” Nejire exclaimed.

The door slowly opened as both Kodai and Uraraka stepped out, both of them looking shy but paired together in their new outfits.

“Woo-hoo, Houston. Looks like you two have landed!”

Uraraka was taking off her astronaut helmet, looking like she just stepped off a rocket, while Kodai was dressed in silver and wearing green antenna that made her look like the alien Uraraka picked up.

Camie came out, wearing a stylish and frilly pink outfit that made her look like a magical girl. “In the name of the moon, tell me I look good!”

Next came Kendo and Yaoyorozu paired together.

Yaoyorozu blushed, shrinking in herself, “I thought this would be fun to do, but I’m not sure I’m able to pull this look off.”

The fancy girl was now wearing a total punk rock outfit with spikes on her leather jacket’s shoulder pads.

“Oh, come on,” Kendo paused, flipping off her hair as she tore off her motorcycle helmet which complimented her whole biker look. “You can do it.”

“Yeah,” Nejire said. “Watch and do what I do.”

Nejire stretched out her hand like she was holding a guitar and strummed it in one wide gesture. Yaoyorozu cocked her head, clearly puzzled, but nonetheless, performed the gesture.

“BBBMM!” Nejire added to make the guitar strum real.

Yaoyorozu gasped in awe. “Oh, I feel so alive!”

Once they moved away, the door was practically pushed open as Camie and Komori burst through and twirled around their frilly white and red dresses.

“Ooh, that’s right!” Komori exclaimed, holding her fist to her hand like it as a microphone.

Kodai tilted her head. “Are you... a princess?”

“No, silly! I’m...” She flashed a peace sign. “A shrooming idol!”

“An idol? Like for singing?” Uraraka asked. “Those were banned a long time ago.”

“I know, but I couldn’t help myself!”

Intelli walked behind her, tsk’ing. “You should try to make yourself more dignified. Even in an activity such as this.”

“You’re one to talk shroom about me!”

The second year was dressed in a red and blue bunny outfit with ears on top of her head.

Intelli walked past her, sending a scolding glance, “The rabbit is one of the most brilliantly designed animals of our ecosystem and you will not disrespect it.”

Another voice asked, “Oh yeah? Well, is it better than a T-Rex?”

Someone in a dinosaur costume leaped out of the room, holding her hands like a raptor’s. “Rawr! Rawr!” She then lifted up the jaw, revealing Tokage inside.

“Of course, it’s better,” Intelli answered, scoffing at the thought of it all. “Just because an average Tyrannosaurus Rex is physically stronger and larger than an average rabbit, that doesn’t signify its superiority. Dinosaurs went extinct for a reason.” She let out a loud laugh, turning away from them. “I could give you a five-hour lecture on the principle, but I doubt someone of your intellect would be able to keep up. Ha ha!”

Tokage rolled her eyes, leaning to her left and spoke softly toward one of her classmates. “Now I know why the dinosaurs went extinct. Her big head blotted out the sun.”

Intelli snapped toward her, pointing a finger directly at her. “Hey! I heard that!” That finger then twisted up toward the ceiling. “And, for your information, that theory has been discredited! If you’re going to attempt to insult me, at least be factual in nature.”

Nejire put her hands up to try and calm them down, but before she could say anything, something moved out of the corner of her eye. And it actually drew others’ attention as well.

Toga and Yanagi walked hand-in-hand, one of them looking more nervous than the other. But they both found the courage to show everyone what they dressed up as. (One of them needed a little encouragement from the other. Guess which one that was?)

The ghostly girl, in a dark red fantasy dress with a small cape, kept her free hand up, letting the cape block her expression as if they were bat wings.

Toga was wearing a short white dress looking like she was on her way to a wedding. There were blood stains on the front...

“Woah,” Setsuna exclaimed, looking closer at both of their outfits. “You two totally nailed the horror theme! You coordinated together?”

“No,” Toga said, averting her gaze. “We both chose our own outfits separately. I didn’t know until I just saw her now.”

Yaoyorozu asked, slightly confused, “But, where did that blood come from? I don’t recall having that when I made that outfit.”

“I offered it to her.”

Everyone looked over at Yanagi, her eyes looking over her caped arm with an impassive gaze.

“The dress wasn’t to her liking, so I offered my life essence for her. Is there a problem with that?”

No one moved, no one made any attempt to argue with that.

The pale girl turned toward Nejire, slightly bowing to her. “I believe your lessons to us tonight were to have a better state of mind, to make us become more presentable to Shocker. I apologize if something like this is not to your liking.”

Nejire reached out her hand to comfort her. “Not at all. Tonight wasn’t just about making you guys look better...” She paused, taking a step back as she smiled at everyone. “It’s about you guys choosing what you want for yourselves.”

Intelli raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?"

The third year clapped her hands together. “Let me ask you something. How much do you girls really have outside of training and becoming a Commander? Anything at all?”

Apprehensive glances were shot towards each other.

Kodai shrugged, “Well, we don’t have time for anything else.”

Yaoyorozu nodded, “Exactly. Our studies are our top priority.”

Uraraka added, “Our families are depending on us to be the best Commanders we can be.”

“Right, and I get that,” Nejire asked. “But is that really all you have to be?”

The girl looked down at her hands, the source of her Quirk. “Don’t get me wrong. I get it too. A lot of my time involves studying and perfecting my powers. But I’m more than that. Than just my powers.” She looked down at her clothes and shrugged, tugging at her only choice of wardrobe at the moment. “I spend time making my own dresses. Designing and sewing them together. It’s something I really enjoy. Something that I hope to share with the world.”

She clenched her fist as she thought, smiling to herself, “Especially in this year’s beauty pageant! When we get back, I’m taking it this year!”

Camie asked, putting a finger to her chin, “You don’t want to be a Commander?”

“I...” Nejire paused before looking out the window, a wistful look on her face. “I love saving people. I love making their lives better. That’s why I want to be a hero.”

“A hero?” Uraraka echoed.

“Yeah, you girls right now think I’m being crazy right now, but that’s just me being me. I ask questions all the time. And, when I don’t get the answers, I find out for myself. I’m sure you all have more questions. Are you willing to answer them yourselves?”

There were a few moments in silence before Nejire turned toward them, trying to bring things back.

“I’m going to go get us some more snacks. Be back in a bit!” Nejire exclaimed as she smiled and let out a huff of laughter as she bounced past them and turned a corner toward the staircase. The moment Nejire walked toward the stairs, someone called out.

“Hey!”

Nejire glanced back to see Toga running up to her with a serious expression. As soon as the blonde was right next to her, Toga looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was near enough to hear them. She frowned, looking wearier than ever.

“Did you... I gotta know,” Toga whispered. “Were you really doing all of this for me?”

The third year admitted, “Well, at the start, but I wanted to make sure everyone else had a good time.” She tilted her head. “Did you?”

Toga sighed, looking down at her bloody chest. “She gave it to me. She gave her own blood to just make me happy... I couldn’t... I can’t...” She snapped her mouth shut, the feeling of shame and nausea in her stomach overcoming the yummy smell of blood.

“Yes, you can. Just breathe,” Nejire instructed, moving her toward the stairwell. She placed Toga’s back to the wall and took a step back, allowing Toga to take a moment.

The blonde felt the gaze on her for a long, tense moment. She didn’t look up, but she whispered, “Someone giving their blood to someone like me is special. It’s important. And, yet I can’t give the same for her. I can’t do anything right for her...”

"You can,” Nejire reassured, bending down so she could look up at Toga. “Look, you’re already asking yourself the right questions. ‘What can I do to make things right with Yanagi?’ But the thing is, you already know the answer to that...”

Toga glanced at her sincere expression and bit her lip, trying to think all of this out. “But Shocker... the Commanders... I already told you about all of that risk.”

“But you never told Yanagi that. And there’s only one way to do that...”

“POP GOES THE WEASEL!”

“EEP!” Nejire yelped in a high-pitched squeal. She jumped back, frantically looking left and right. “What was that?!”

Toga shrugged, “What was what?”

“That scream?!”

“I didn’t hear a scream...”

As Nejire’s attention was diverted, Toga sneakily pulled out her phone, turning off her ringtone. But she saw a notification on the home screen.

“I... Thanks. I should go now,” Toga said, already promptly walking away from Nejire. But the blonde was tugged back. Toga looked back to see Nejire’s smiling face.

The hero said, “You got this. This is your life and you deserve to live the way you want.”

Toga stared at her, mouth open, before it closed and she responded with a resounding nod and a grin. Nejire let go of her arm as she climbed up the stairwell. She waved once to say goodbye, then became aware of a loud stomping from behind.

The girl turned toward the stairs, seeing Tamaki come up it as fast as he could, almost slamming into the wall.

“Nejire, we have to go,” Tamaki urgently warned.

Nejire leaned in, “What? Why?”

Tamaki cringed, foot tapping on the floor, “I may have said some things that aren’t exactly Shocker-like.”

“What? Why?”

“I, uh...” Tamaki nervously paused, constantly checking back the way he came. “I spoke my mind tonight.”

“You did?” Nejire asked, shaking her head in disbelief. “Since when?”

“I know. I shocked myself too,” Tamaki said, grabbing by the wrist and already dragging her down the stairs. “But I’m sorry. When I left, the guys didn’t say anything about it to Stendhal, but I have no idea how long that will last. We need to get Ankh and get out of here now before we lose the opportunity to help Midoriya fix all of this.”

When they reached the bottom, Nejire followed Tamaki out of the dormitory as fast as they could, ignoring the glances of the other students coming their way. When they reached the cool air outside, Nejire paused, taking one last glance at the dorm.

She frowned, slightly upset that she wouldn’t know whether or not she was able to help Toga. But, for now, that was a question that would have to go unanswered.

Nejire then turned around, quickly moving to keep up with her friend.

Near the entrance of the dormitory, a figure looked out the window, watching them as they disappeared from sight.

“Is it finally time...?”

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Toga didn’t know what to do. She never confessed her love to anyone before. But that was all she could think of as she climbed the steps toward Yanagi’s bedroom.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this. This isn’t the easiest thing to do. It’s not like I’m trying to stab somebody... No, wait a minute! It is! Only instead of a pretty knife or a needle, I gotta use words, Cupid’s arrow! Yeah, that sort of thing!”

The moment she turned the corner of the dormitory hallway, Toga froze, feeling like her veins were made of ice at the sight of Yanagi waiting outside her bedroom, still wearing her costume.

Her shoulders slumped slightly. “I’d feel better using an actual arrow.”

Suddenly, Yanagi spotted her, and their eyes met.

In an instant, the ghostly girl brought the cape up, covering her mouth. Toga couldn’t help but think, her heart fluttering in her chest, “She looks so pretty...”

There was a long pause until Yanagi’s voice broke the silence. “Hello, Toga, what are you doing here?”

“Hiya,” Toga waved a hand and then moved both of them behind her back as she slowly approached her. “I wanted to thank ya again. Ya know how important blood is to me and ya gave it anyway.”

Yanagi, startled, shook her head. “It wasn’t much of a sacrifice on my part.”

“It was,” Toga interrupted before Yanagi could get another word in. “You do more for me than you know. I feel like I can be myself when I’m around you. I feel like there’s no one in the world like you.” She stopped right in front of Yanagi, gazing her into her eyes. “So, thank you.”

Yanagi blinked, but her expression looked just as passive as before. She took a big gulp. “Well, then, perhaps it’s not a sacrifice after all.”

“Right.”

Toga smiled back but said nothing else.

The white-haired girl looked behind her. “You should head back to the festivities. I must attend to some business privately.”

“You’re here because you texted Amajiki and asked to meet him in private.”

Yanagi stared at her, almost lifeless. She shifted uncomfortably. “Why... what would make you assume that?”

Toga leaned forward, pulling out the phone with Yanagi’s latest message on it. “Because I’m the one you texted.” She opened the home screen, scrolling through almost their entire message history. “I’m the one you’ve been texting these past few months.”

Yanagi stared at her with slightly wide eyes. “It’s... it’s you?”

Toga huffed, “Yes! It’s me!” She spread her arms wide. “I’m the one who knows you leave your computer on so you can always access the Internet whenever you want. I’m the one who left you those special Shocker charms. And I’m the one who thinks you’re super cute and that I can’t stop thinking about you whenever you’re not around.”

The ghostly girl kept her cape up, hiding her face. “You used your power today at lunch so that you could speak to me?”

Toga instantly perked up, eyes brightening. “Yes, yes! That was me!” The blonde took a step forward, but Yanagi turned away in a panic, trying to crouch within her cape.

Toga’s heart jolted in pain. Her voice became more hesitant, not wanting to make Yanagi uncomfortable. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I lied to you. I... I lied to you because I was afraid of what Shocker would do...” She brought both her hands toward her chest. “I wanted to protect you.” Her fingers became slightly stained from the blood on the dress. Her voice was getting louder and louder. “But you gave me the courage to say this now. By giving me something sweet and delicious that can make me become someone like you.” Toga looked back at her with pleading eyes. “I want to be someone like you.”

No response. Yanagi was still busy looking left and right.

“Please. I’m sorry. I’ll give you my blood in return if that’ll fix things...” Toga apologized again, trying to ignore the stinging in her eyes. “Say something. Please. I lov-”

In an instant, Yanagi spun around, stretching her hand out. Her power activated, bathing Toga’s body in a purple glow. Toga floated up as an invisible force pushed her so hard her body slammed into the window.

CRASH!

The world around Toga was shattering like glass in more ways than one. Shards fell around her, but Toga was too shocked and stunned to care.

“She... she...”

Toga barely felt her body being tugged slightly as she gently floated toward the ground. There were some cuts from the glass, some new smell of blood that she could faintly taste. But it didn’t matter.

She let go and surrendered to her sadness, running as fast as she could away from the dorms. She wanted to run away from seeing even a glimpse at the hatred that must have been on Yanagi’s face.

But, Yanagi didn’t have that expression at all. It was one made of regret.

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Ankh considered himself smart.

In a new world, being created hundreds of years ago, the sentient creature had accumulated to this time’s technology expertly. He wouldn’t go anywhere without his cell phone now.

Video games, though, were a different story.

The whole time, Ankh wasn’t good at knowing what buttons were for what attacks, how much to move the controller’s joystick, and kept trying to swipe up.

And the psychotic villain as his partner yelling in his ear was certainly not helping.

“Don’t horde items! You have to use them!”

“Oh my god, you’ve been pressing the wrong button. You’re fat-fingering it!”

“Would you stop pressing ‘Y’?!”’

Speaking of ‘why’, Ankh was finally ready to give up with this nonsense.

Ankh threw the controller against the desk where the console sat. “What an idiotic waste of tim-” The controller somehow hit the ledge of the desk, bouncing right back up with the same force applied.

It hit him right in the face.

“AGGGGHHHH!”

The bird boy fell off the chair, clutching his eye in pain. Meanwhile, Shigaraki snorted, laughing at the whole thing.

“HA HA HA!”

Once he finally had the strength to do so, Ankh stood up, glaring right at the school principal. “Oh, you think that's funny?”

“Of course, it is. Noobs like you going all game journalist is always funny.”

Ankh didn’t know what any of that meant, but he was pretty sure it was an insult.

In an instant, Ankh stretched his hand to pull Shigaraki by his shirt and threaten him. But, at that same moment, Shigaraki reached out with his hand right at Ankh’s wrist.

The one with the glove already taken off. The one capable of using Decay to its fullest.

Ankh tensed, swatting the hand away before it could touch him fully. He looked back at Shigaraki with an amused grin. In his eyes, Shigaraki was practically saying, “Go ahead. Try that again.”

The dirty blonde grumbled, taking an ice cream bar and sitting back in his seat, compliant for now.

“I still think I would have done better if I played with my phone instead,” Ankh insisted. “This controller is pretty useless.”

Shigaraki turned back to his game, playing on his controller. “Says you. No real gamer would ever say that.”

“Oh, really? That’s what you are? A gamer?” Ankh paused to put the ice cream in his mouth, watching Shigaraki’s character play on screen. “I thought you were a villain.”

“A man can be both,” the pale man argued. “In fact, it’s what made me so effective so far. I know how to properly balance my current players to win the raids into enemy territory and claim their rewards.”

“Is that what this is? Because to me, it looks like you’re settling.”

“What are you talking about, NPC?” Shigaraki gestured around. "Me and my squad are on the winning side right now.”

“So, that’s what mattered to you? That’s your desire? Winning? Seems pretty pathetic if that’s all that is.”

A lull of silence filled the room. The only thing that could be heard was the low noise of the background music.

“You don’t see it the way I see it, hero,” Shigaraki said, his tone low and ominous. He put down the controller, leaning back in his seat. “All I wanted to do was show the world how fragile everything is. How NPCs look at people like All Might and think he’s so great that they smile mindlessly. I thought I was the only one to see that...” He looked out the window through the night sky and the horizon of land underneath it. “Well, not one single person I’ve seen here has smiled. It’s under the surface but they know exactly what I have thought of the world. That there’s nothing good about it. It’s just a bunch of garbage.”

Ankh hummed, shrugging, “You already got a few things wrong.” He took the ice cream wrapper and threw it in the nearest garbage can. “First off, the world is not just ‘a bunch of garbage’. It’s all garbage.” He walked over to the walls of diplomas and pictures of this world Tenko Shimura. “Second, you're not the only guy who thinks that All Might guy is an idiot. I’m one of them too. And the last thing...” He pulled his chair away from the screen and positioned it right behind him. “I’m no damn hero.”

Suddenly, the red and green hand flew off of the teenager’s hand. The blonde teenager’s head became shaped like a cowlick. The practical corpse of Mirio Togata was completely unresponsive as he fell back, slumping right in the chair.

“This is who I am. A monster.”

If Shigaraki was at all surprised by the floating demonic hand talking by itself, he certainly didn’t show it.

Ankh zoomed forward, floating only a few centimeters from Shigaraki’s face.

“I know what I am. I know what I desire,” Ankh stretched his finger in Shigaraki’s direction. “But you don’t know anything about that... Or anything about yourself.”

“I loaded into the wrong cutscene because you clearly have no idea what you’re talking about.” Shigaraki grumbled. “I got what I wanted.”

“You didn’t. You didn’t do anything. This had nothing to do with whatever you did in the real world.” Ankh floated out toward the windows. “This world was handed to you...” He pointed again at Shigaraki. “You said you wanted to be the one to show the world your vision, right?”

Shigaraki stood up from his seat, grabbing Ankh’s controller. With his fingers touching it, the controller crumbled away into dust. “Need I remind you who you’re talking to, now?”

“Yeah, and?” Ankh gave a gesture that looked like he was shrugging off the threat. “You may have a devastating power, but you’re not as strong as I am. You’re not ruthless.”

The villain echoed, “Ruthless?”

Ankh zoomed forward, curling its fingers into a fist. “Ruthless. I see my goal and I see the way I can accomplish it. It doesn’t matter what little distractions are in the way. It doesn’t matter who or what you work with to accomplish it. As long as you see your desire and know you can reach it.”

Shigaraki didn’t break his glare off of the demonic hand as it looked to the ceiling with an open palm. “You really think I wanna spend my time with a bunch of idiots playing hero? That’s not what I plan on doing for the rest of my life. But they’re useful for now. You should be able to see the value in them as well.”

Shigaraki turned in his seat as Ankh hovered back toward his body. “I tried getting a hero brat on my side before. Didn’t turn out so great.”

“Ha! Then, you don’t know how to play the game right.” Ankh tsk’d, looking over to the villain. “It doesn't matter what they say. I’m using them. I help them to help myself. I’ll take advantage of whatever good intentions they have and exploit it when the time is right. This world right now will make my end goal much more difficult. If fixing this place gets me to my true desire, then I’ll gladly help these ‘heroes’ save their world. Because then I’ll get my world.”

BZZTT!

“Speaking of those idiots...”

Ankh repositioned himself back onto Mirio’s right arm, regaining control as the muscular blonde stood up, pulling out his phone.

“It’s about time. I’m out of here,” Ankh said, stuffing the phone back in his pocket while walking out the office. Grabbing another ice cream pop on the way out, the possessed teenager looked back at the ‘principal’. “Enjoy playing your little game.”

SLAM!

Ankh reached the hallway and slammed the door shut, leaving Shigaraki alone in the office. The villain glanced back at the screen, slowly sitting back in his seat.

Even though Ankh didn’t say it, Shigaraki knew those last words weren’t about the video game on screen right then.

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Toga sat down along the trunk of a tree. Her dress had been torn. Small cuts of blood oozed from her skin. Under any normal circumstance, she would have just licked it and called it a day. But she didn’t want to right then. She wanted to keep it for a while longer. Just to remind herself that there was something good in the world.

“Hey, there you are!”

Toga looked up from her lap, recognizing Camie’s voice. The illusionist approached her slowly, crouching right next to her. “Are you alright?” Not waiting for a response, Camie looked over her, checking her cuts. “Oof. Yanagi said that you fell out of a window but didn’t realize it was that bad.”

“It’s fine,” Toga mumbled. “I’ve been through worse.”

More footsteps could be heard as Shishikura and Intelli slowly came into Toga’s view.

“Toga, are you inj-?” Shishikura froze, staring at Toga’s bloody dress for a few seconds before she rushes right at her side. “There’s so much blood!” He glared right at Camie. “Did you stab her?”

“Wha-? No!”

Intelli explained, “It was part of our upperclassman’s exercises tonight. Toga’s not really injured, but I heard of her unfortunate fall.” She bent down, pulling out a small first-aid kit. “It is fortunate that I had the foresight to bring this beforehand.” She glanced at Toga with a dubious look. “You won’t argue if I treat your wounds?”

Toga blinked and shook her head shakily. Intelli leaned her back against the tree, gently treating her wounds. Throughout it all, Toga accepted the treatment, just feeling exhausted overall.

“So...” Camie’s soft voice reached through her ears as the illusion girl scooted towards her. “Wanna give us the juicy gossip? Any deets?”

No. No, she didn’t.

Toga silently pushed Camie away to the side.

“Come on,” Camie pouted. “Don’t leave us on read. What happened?”

“Did Yanagi push you out?”

The three girls snapped their heads toward Shishikura. Toga, specifically, had her eyes wide open with fright.

Camie wrinkled her nose. “What? Don’t be so cray cray!”

“It makes the most logical sense,” Intelli stated, finishing the last bandage. “Though Toga’s energy could be seen as... fanatical in some areas, she wouldn’t willingly throw herself out the window. These cuts aren’t consistent with an accident. The amount of force plus the angle and width of these cuts indicates that she was pushed.”

Shishikura’s eyes flashed white.

“Then, Yanagi must be punished now.”

Toga launched to her feet with her fists balled. “What?! You can’t-!”

“It’s admirable that you want to protect your fellow student from punishment. It’s brave for you to do that,” Shishikura interrupted, his voice steady with intensity. “But an action like this is unacceptable, especially in this prestigious school. It’s downright treason! Shocker shall punish her.”

The purple-haired teen suddenly turned around, intent on marching to the teachers’ dormitory.

Toga scrambled forward, grabbing his wrist. “NO! You can’t!”

“Why shouldn’t I?!” Shishikura shouted, even though he looked uncertain as to why the blonde was so insistent. He freed himself from her grip. “Yanagi tried to seriously injure, not just another Kamen Rider, but one of my classmates. Give me one valid reason as to why she shouldn’t receive any consequences to that!”

“BECAUSE I LOVE HER!”

Chills moved across every student’s skin. Toga’s face was now as scarlet as her blood, but she didn’t care. Shishikura could now see the few tears in her eyes.

“I’m in love with Reiko Yanagi, damn it!” Toga sobbed. Her shoulders trembled violently. “She doesn’t love me, but I love her! She doesn’t deserve to be treated like a monster just because of me!” Out of nowhere, she pulled out a small pocket-sized knife and twirled it around. The blade pointed directly at Shishikura’s face, a few centimeters away from his nose. “I don’t care what happens to me, but if you hurt her, I swear to you, I will peel your skin back and then suck out all of your blood like a juice box!”

Silence fell over them all as they all dumbly processed her words.

Camie was the one to break the silence.

“... Did you say that to Yanagi too? That you wanted to suck-?”

Toga snapped, “Not now!”

Shishikura’s breath had hitched, seeing the blade right in front of him. But he stood his ground, staring back at Toga. “Explain yourself now.”

Toga’s thoughts were a mile a minute at then. “I... I messed up. Yanagi is in trouble because of me. No, no, I fucked up. All because of...?”

Who? Who could Toga blame for the pain she was feeling right then?

Yanagi? No. Toga could never blame her. It was all her own fault. Toga hurt her the moment she wanted to live her own life. It was too much for her.

Nejire Hado? Maybe. But she was right. Toga needed to tell Yanagi the truth. She absolutely wanted to. And those few hours with Yanagi and the other girls were so special to her.

Shocker?

That thought gave her pause.

If it wasn’t for them, Toga wouldn’t feel the need to lie as much as she did. She wouldn’t have needed to feel like they needed to avoid punishment from them.

And honestly?

She really just wanted something to hit.

If that was Shocker, so be it.

And, if Shishikura was going to be a part of that after he heard the truth, then he deserved it too.

“Fine,” Toga nodded, her arm dropping to her side. She looked back at Shishikura with a genuinely sad expression on her face. “But you better hear the whole story.”

And, so the truth spilt out like a bursting dam as Toga revealed the whole truth of what she had been doing these past few months, along with Hado’s encounter that day and her attempt to bring the two together, and then what happened when she confessed to Yanagi only a few moments prior.

Everyone listened in earnest silence. Shishikura’s expression softened, although, there was still a look in his eyes that showed the judgment he felt.

At the end of her explanation, Shishikura stated, “Your status as a Kamen Rider wouldn’t protect you. With the amount of transgressions you have enacted, Shocker would execute you.”

“Yeah, ya think?” Camie asked.

“I know,” Toga replied, ignoring Camie’s words. “You don’t think I know? It’s been on my mind the whole time. But you know what?” She gripped her knife tightly. “If Shocker wants a fight with me for this, I’ll gladly show them.”

Intelli chimed in, “You can’t possibly mean-”

“I do,” Toga said. “Shocker is the problem. They've always been the problem.”

“They’re not,” Shishikura argued. “They’re the reason we have a life to begin with. They’ve protected humanity. We owe them.”

“And, what’s the point of having a life if no one gets to live the one they want? Why are we training to protect people if we end up hurting each other in the process?”

Shishikura pursed his lips before pointing out the obvious.

“Doing this won't give Yanagi to you. You’ll never be able to actually live the life you want."

Toga’s face twisted, bitter at that realization, as she glared back at him before they fell.

“Maybe I can’t,” Toga admitted, eyebrows scrunched together in pain. “But I can at least give Yanagi the life she wants. Eventually, someone else will find out about my feelings and she would be punished anyway. She’d have a better life without that threat over her head.”

Suddenly, a long arm wrapped itself over Toga’s shoulder as Camie bounced to the blonde’s side.

“Don’t worry, fam. I got you.”

Shishikura shouted, “Now’s not the time for one of your inane jokes.”

“It’s not,” Camie reaffirmed. “One of my best friends just went through a major break-up.” She gave Toga a gentle shake. “Besties go be there for them, no matter how stupid it is.” She paused with a little giggle. “Besides, this sounds way more fun than throwing a pity party and eating ice cream all night.”

Intelli stepped forward, looking intrigued. “I have outlined the variables. And, I have determined that there is an acceptable margin of risk with this. I volunteer as well.”

The purple-haired teen whipped his head toward the smart girl. “What? How? You think logically, Intelli. What is the logic in this?!”

The genius hummed, cupping her chin. “I have. As per Shocker’s announcement late last night, their device would eradicate all Kaijin as we know it. Our current system of Commanders following their will would inheritably be rendered ineffective eventually. Shocker would need some major renovations to its current system. It is better to get ahead of it before it inevitably becomes a much wider problem. And besides...”

Intelli looked up to the sky with an evil chuckle, practically seeing equations in the sky. “This would elicit a monumental challenge. An equation that would be almost impossible to solve.” Her mouth turned into a sick grin. “For someone like me, it’ll be child’s play.”

Camie and Toga quietly stepped to the side at that, but then looked back at Shishikura. Their Supreme Commander sighed before glancing to the side. His gaze wandered over to the side, looking over at the school building as if it had an answer for him.

Finally, still turned away from them, Shishikura said, “I have a sacred duty as a Commander. Something like that can’t be violated, no matter the circumstance.”

Instantly, Toga’s and Camie’s shoulders tensed.

“Fine. If you wanna fight about this, we’ll fight,” Camie said. Her hands went up to her ears, silently wishing she was wearing earrings so that she could take them off right then. “But you know how I am in training. I pull hair, I bite, and I’m not even afraid to call ‘rap-”

“Hold for a moment,” Intelli interrupted, stretching her hand in front of the other girls.

Shishikura slowly turned toward them, continuing his explanation, “My power is decent in combat. I have adequate control over it. There is nothing physically wrong with my body. If I’m able to be a Commander, I shall. However...” He turned, looking at Toga with a bold expression “As Commanders, our role is to hold society to its highest standard. That includes supporting any Kamen Rider if necessary. You’re the one I work with closely.” He bowed, saluting to her. “If you see a path for our society to be lifted even higher, I will follow your command.”

Toga took a step back, taking a few moments to stare amazedly at her friends. She had no idea they would ever do something like this for her...

Tears of joy fell as she smiled wide.

She couldn’t stop herself from practically tackling everyone in a hug. “Oh, you guys!” Toga squeezed them all. “I don’t know what to say!”

“Of course, we gotchu,” Camie said. “We’re the Togasquad.”

Shishikura sighed, “We are not-”

“Just go with it!”

Both Shishikura and Intelli grumbled quietly. “We’re the Togasquad.”

“Ha!” Toga let out a curt laugh before unwrapping her arms and giving them a moment to breathe. “Now then...” She drew an even longer knife than what she had before. “Let’s get going.”

Toga started marching towards the school building, but Shishikura scrambled after her, getting right within her path.

“Now wait a moment,” Shishikura said, pointing a finger directly at Toga’s knife. “I agree with your intentions, but your solution is flawed.”

“Oh, come on! I’m ready to burn this mother to the ground!” Camie pouted, holding up a flaming torch on her side. “I even got the fire ready!”

“No, you don’t,” Intelli said, rolling her eyes. She waved her hand through the flames, dissipating the illusion.

Shishikura continued, gestured toward the building. “If attempting to defy Shocker won’t get us killed, surely, an action like that will.”

Intelli commented, “Shishikura’s right. General destruction and chaos wouldn’t be effective at all. We’d be no more horrible than the Kaijin. If we’re really attempting this course of action, then we need a carefully thought-out plan.”

“I have one.”

All of the second years turned their heads back towards the trunk of the tree. From behind, Goto stepped out, leaning on the tree with his hands.

“Okay...” Camie paused. “How have you been there, creeper?”

“Long enough to know what side you all are on now.”

The four of them tensed up, expecting a fight at any moment.

But, Goto continued, “I’m not here for a fight. In fact, I work as a spy for the League of Kaijin.”

That took all of them by surprise.

“An important fight is happening very soon. Are you interested in fighting for the right side?”

All of them paused, sharing uncertain glances.

“We’re listening...”

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Finally, it was time.

“Hey, um, Midoriya?”

Izuku, fully clothed, had been stretching and getting himself ready for the big fight (along with everyone else present) before being approached from behind. He turned around, crouching on his knees when he saw Samidare and Satsuki in front of him.

“Oh, hello,” Izuku said. “Uh, what can I do for you?”

Samidare said, “We were wondering...” He paused, glancing over at his sister.

Satsuki stepped forward, “We wanted to know what’s happening tonight.” Both siblings looked over to their big sister talking to Boomslang at the far end. “Everyone else is supposed to help tonight, but Tsuyu says we’re not going to get involved, that it’s too dangerous.”

“It really is,” Izuku affirmed, following their gaze. “But don’t worry. The League and I will take care of it. Principa- I mean, Nez – All for One made the plan himself. Apparently, this laboratory where Koda – Anima – is being held as well as where Shocker’s Big Machine is being constructed is a huge area. So, Tsukuyomi will be teleporting us all into various spots. Boomslang will be helping Invisible Girl and Burnin deal with the power to the site.”

The kids’ attention turned toward the invisible girl (completely naked) and the fiery woman getting her hair ready.

“Comicman and Plamo will be outside, acting as a frontal assault and masking the fact that we’ve already gotten in.”

The three of them looked over to the two aforementioned Kaijin trying to get each other pumped up. They both shouted at each other before bumping their chests... with Comicman falling back from the force of Plamo.

“And Ingenium, Tsukuyomi and Tentacole will be heading to the section of the site where Anima is still captive to try and rescue him.”

They turned their heads to see Tsukuyomi straightening out Tentacole’s outfit. The Dupli teen bowed, giving a firm nod in gratitude. Ingenium was also chopping his hands, directing them towards the middle of the base for further instructions.

Satsuki eyed Izuku. “And what are you doing?”

The Quirkless teen admitted, “I will be with Nez- All for One heading directly for Shocker’s Big Machine so that we can destroy it. At the very least, I’m hoping to get more answers there on how Poseidon managed to change everything.”

Samidare asked, “Is there anything we can do to help?”

Izuku sighed, shaking his head, “I’m sorry, but the best thing for you guys is just to stay here with Asui.”

“But we want to help!” Satsuki whined with her brother nodding right beside her.

“No, absolutely not,” Asui said, overhearing that last part of the conversation. “This isn’t our fight. Do you understand me?”

The kids’ pouts became dejected, but they were easily droned out as All for One hovered them all, drawing everyone’s attention.

“It’s time,” the rat / dog creature announced. “I won’t mince words. Not with so much at stake tonight. We all know why we fight. Not because we want war. But because we want peace.”

Burnin exclaimed, with a fierce grin, “Translation: Let’s go kick some Shocker butt!”

All for One smirked, continuing, “The stakes are higher than what could ever be said. If any of you want to stay here in safety, now is the time.”

Ingenium shook his head. “No, sensei. We are outmatched and outnumbered, but that’s never stopped us before and it won’t now.”

The rest of the League nodded, agreeing with the engine teen’s sentiment.

“Thank you,” All for One bowed. “Now, Tsukuyomi, let us begin.”

The raven of shadow obeyed, opening various portals with his talons. “May the darkness protect you.”

As the various members of the League jumped into their respective portals, All for One floated down, meeting Asui at eye level. Her siblings right beside her watched the mammal warily.

“You have already expressed your concerns to me about joining this fight, which I completely understand,” All for One said in a calm tone. “Would you be willing to watch over our base in the interim? We usually have Tsukuyomi here, but this mission requires as many of us as possible.”

Asui nodded. “Yeah, we can do that. Just make sure you don’t bring any danger back. Ribbit.”

“Thank you,” The mammal paused, turning toward Izuku. “Come along, Midoriya.” He floated towards the portal, disappearing into the darkness.

Izuku nodded, turning back and glancing at the frogs with a gentle smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll be back.”

The Quirkless teen then jumped through, going through the darkness. When he hit solid ground, it was on a metal floor. His vision adjusted to the now dark crammed hallway they had teleported to.

Izuku looked at All for One a foot away from him in the air. The boy couldn’t discern his expression through the mask, but he noticed that the animal was staring at something behind him.

The boy whipped around to see Samidare and Satsuki jumping through right as the portal closed into nothing.

As they landed, Izuku crouched down, asking, “What are you guys doing here?” He frowned, looking at them, worried.

“We told you!” Samidare asserted. “We want to help!”

“But your sister-”

Satsuki interrupted, “Tsuyu’s too worried about us, too worried about Shocker, to do anything.” She clenched her fist. “This isn’t about you. This is our future too! Shouldn’t we have a right to fight for it?”

“You...” Izuku hesitated. “You do, but this isn’t the way. We need to call Tsukuyomi to get you guys b-”

“No, I don’t believe we should.”

Izuku turned as All for One approached the three of them. His gaze bore daggers into the teenager. “You might not understand it. But every one of our kind has to fight since the day they turned four years old. You are treating them as children. But, as of this moment, in the war, all that matters is that they are alive.”

Both Samidare and Satsuki stood with All for One, facing Izuku.

“And right now, they want to fight.”

Izuku blinked, gripping with the realization that he wasn’t going to be able to get them back without a fight. That he was now outnumbered in this decision.

Finally, he sighed, closing his eyes, “Alright, fine. Just stay close to me, you two. Okay?”

They both nodded.

Izuku couldn’t help but worry, “I got a really bad feeling about this...”

Chapter Text

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“We need a better system for this,” Ankh grumbled in the air as Tamaki carried him with octopus tentacles. Bird wings on the purple-haired teenager’s back carried him and Ankh toward their destination.

Floating up next to them, Nejire flew through the air with yellow and gold spiraling waves of energy. “Well, Ankh, do you know if vending machines can fly?”

Ankh rolled his eyes, completely indifferent to her blathering.

Tamaki said, “Ankh, it won’t be much longer. We’re almost ther-”

The hero stopped speaking then upon seeing movement rushing at him. And it was getting bigger and bigger!

Nejire asked, “Is that a speech bubble?!”

Both Tamaki and Nejire dodged the giant cloud-like object, Tamaki soaring down and Nejire flying above it. The two of them then met with each other again.

“I think Midoriya and the League have already started the raid!” Tamaki exclaimed, now seeing the clouds of dust and destruction ahead of them. The site was fairly large with multiple buildings scattered about, making it look like a small city. There were loud noises in the distance, ringing in the teenagers’ ears.

“Ah, gee, ya think?!”

Nejire asked, glancing toward him, “Tamaki, is it time to pull out your big, scary, Rider routine?”

“I’m not sure,” Tamaki responded, looking over the fight of Comicman and Plamo as the two Kaijin tried to avoid being touched by Rock Lock. “We're not going to be able to sneak around like before. Not with an attack this big. Playing games might be too costly.” He looked over at his friend. “Let’s try to find Midor-” His eyes widened. “Nejire, look out!”

Nejire turned her head to see a roaring dragon with pale scales flying right towards her. A dragon Nejire was very familiar with.

“Ryukyu?”

Both teenagers only had a second to react before they both dived, barely avoiding Ryukyu’s large jaw. They both swept around as they turned toward Ryukyu, now flapping her mighty wings in the air to keep herself afloat.

“Hey, Tamaki, what are ya waiting for?” Ankh urged.

Tamaki swallowed all of his anxiety right then and put on his best intimidating scowl. “So, who do you think you ar-?!”

“BE QUIET!” Ryukyu growled, her voice booming over the sky.

Tamaki, immediately intimidated, shrunk down, his altitude dropping slightly from the nervousness.

Ryukyu continued, “You’re here... I can’t believe you’re here. The both of you!”

It was a fact. Not an accusation. A simple fact.

What was wrong with that?

Heart pounding, Tamaki looked at Nejire to confirm if they had the same sinking feeling in their guts.

Nejire cleared her throat and tried to explain, “Ryukyu, we were in the area when we noticed the signs of attack. We’re here to-”

“You’re not.” Another voice interrupted.

The three teenagers couldn’t see who had spoken from Ryukyu’s massive frame. But they soon noticed as Ryukyu’s neck twisted toward them. A big round yellow man stood tall, somehow balancing himself on the dragon.

Amajiki asked, “Fat Gum?”

The BMI Commander explained, “We’ve already been informed by Poseidon. If you, Amajiki, were ever to come anywhere near this site without permission, then it means you’re acting on your own and defying the word of Shocker.” He practically spat in the teenager’s face, “You sided with the Kaijin. You disgraced the title of Kamen Rider.”

If Tamaki wasn’t focused on keeping himself flying at the moment, he would have collapsed on the spot. But a creeping feeling stopped him from doing that.

“Hold on. Why me specifically?”

Ryukyu commanded, “Stand down, all of you. Re-pledge your eternal allegiance to Shocker and bow down before us.” Her wings flapped a strong gust in their direction. “It would be unwise to defy Shocker.”

Tamaki stole a glance at Nejire, both of them thinking the same thing. It would have been smart for them to try and surrender right then, to try and play it up their forgiveness so that they could potentially help Izuku in the long run. After all, even if this is an alternate timeline, both Tamaki and Nejire knew just how skilled Ryukyu and Fatgum were as professional fighters, seeing them firsthand in their respective work studies. They would have to be idiots to try and fight back now.

Fortunately, Ankh has always called them idiots...

The teenagers nodded to each other before looking back at their respective opponents. Nejire said, “Bring it!”

The dragon roared as it charged toward the teenagers.

“Ankh! Medals!” Tamaki cried. “Hurry!”

Right as Tamaki caught the medals thrown to him and placed the belt on, Nejire fired her Surge waves at the dragon right as the Commanders got to the heroes. It was a direct hit!

However, it allowed Fatgum to get close enough for him to leap off of the dragon. (To the best of his abilities.) The massive hero collided into both Tamaki and Ankh.

“AGGGHH!” They cried as they plummeted down.

Nejire cried, “Tamaki!”

She turned to help them, but soon got knocked away, Ryukyu’s claws scratching her entire back.

Both Tamaki and Ankh felt like they couldn’t breathe as Fatgum used his power to try and sink them into his body fat, intending on crushing them when they fell to the ground.

Only a few feet above the ground, Tamaki gritted his teeth as he barely managed to get his scanner over the belt and over the medals. “Hen...shin...”

“Taka! Tora! Batta!”

Three holographic coins appeared, going between Tamaki and Fatgum’s skin. The force of the transformation wasn’t what Fatgum was prepared for. It didn’t hurt the man in any way, only pushing him back and freeing the teenagers before they landed. Ankh tumbled on the rough road while Tamaki landed on his feet, holding the scanner to his chest as he got in a fighting stance.

“Tatoba! TaToba! TaToBa!”

The three coins combined together, forming the familiar red, green, and yellow armor around Tamaki.

As OOO summoned his sword, Fatgum called out, facing the Kamen Rider, “Tamaki, this is a big mistake.”

“I know it is. And I know you can see it like that with this world brainwashing you the way that it has.” OOO said quietly, putting one foot forward. “But, fighting for what you believe in is a part of what the real you tried to teach me. It’s what Mirio would do.” He sprinted forward. “And I won’t disappoint either of you. That is our bond!”

OOO charged, sword at the ready, willing to throw himself in this fight.

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Tsuyu Asui stepped out of the darkness that had been in front of her. And she was angry.

Even more so when she realized where she had teleported into.

It was a dark room littered with a bunch of dead Combatmen and other Shocker grunts on the ground. Asui looked down the open hallway to see Tentacole scouting ahead, his limbs transformed into eyes and ears. The frog girl looked nearby to see Tsukuyomi bowing in greetings.

“We welcome you into our circle,” the shadowy bird said. “It is fortunate that you came to see the appeal of darkness.”

“I didn’t,” Asui argued, looking around. “Where's Samidare and Satsuki? I called you to teleport me to them. Ribbit.”

Tsukuyomi confirmed, “You did. Once we recover our imprisoned comrade, we will regroup with our Sensei. I’m sure that he and Midoriya will protect your family in the meantime.”

“This isn’t what I wanted. Bring me to them now!” Asui scowled.

“If they came with Midoriya, then they are going to the heart of the facility. They will need more strength for whatever horrors lie there. You won’t be able to protect them on your own.”

Asui snapped, “I’ve been protecting them just fine on my own without any of you. Who do you think I am?”

The raven opened his beak to respond, but Asui finished, “Don’t answer that. Just fix this now.”

It was then that Tentacole drew his attention down the hall, the elongated mouth speaking to them from afar.

“There’s something you both need to see.”

Tsukuyomi glanced at Asui before running in the direction of his friend. Wordlessly, Asui followed down the long hallway. She spotted them, both of them stopped in the doorway of another room. Once she saw what was inside, her angry thoughts had immediately vanished. It was replaced by paralyzing fear.

It was a large testing room. It was made up of dull grey and white walls. Three computer consoles surrounded a spot on the floor represented by a hexagonal shape. There was a small flat gurney with restraints made to fit any sized Kaijin near it. Right above the hexagon, there was a shower head. Along the walls, there were shelf of materials and various lab equipment. But there was something else...

As Asui slowly approached the console, Ingenium came running toward the doorway of the lab, dust coming from his trail.

“Alright, there are more reinforcements coming. Let’s-” But then he stopped when he noticed Tentacole’s widened eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Tentacole ran toward the shelves while Asui leaped up toward the ceiling up at the shower head, examining the vat of glowing blue liquid connected by hoses and tubes going toward another section of the lab.

“Do you recognize that?” Asui asked when she landed back down. “That’s not water. Ribbit.”

Tsukuyomi answered, “No, the League has never come into contact with something like this. But I would advise at least being cautious around it.”

“There’s no need to tell me. Ribbit.”

Meanwhile, Tentacole looked up at the shelves in front of him. He wasn’t looking at the lab equipment. He was looking at the jars. Jars housing various colored liquids and each one with shreds of amputated animalistic limbs inside. Bat wings, bear teeth, a lizard’s tail, etc.

“This is all of the raw material they’ve gathered from our fellow brethren...” Ingenium observed, paling at how many there were.

But Tentacole’s attention was focused on one in particular. He reached out, picking up a jar holding up a red liquid inside. The object floating was a severed tongue. The Dupli-Armed teen turned it over, grimacing upon reading the small label.

“Ingenium, this sample was taken from today...”

“Right you are.”

All four teenagers spun their heads toward the doorway.

A whole squadron of Shocker Combatmen filled the hallway, all of them backing up the well-dressed gentleman in front with glasses.

Tsukuyomi bared his talons. “Sir Nighteye.”

Sir Nighteye adjusted his glasses as he stared at the jar in Tentacole’s hand.

“That’s all that is left of your fellow Kaijin,” the Commander said. “We made sure to remove it before we disposed of his body.”

Black eyes glared down at the man as Tentacole tossed the jar away, letting it crash to the ground and spilling the tongue at the ground. “And you dare to call us the monsters...”

“Believe me. I take no pleasure in it. But I know what you’re capable of. I know a future with all of you in it threatens humanity.”

Sir Nighteye snapped his fingers. “Attack.”

With that command, all of the Shocker grunts charged at them. As the League members attacked, Tsukuyomi billowing his shadowy claws at Sir Nighteye, Asui jumped up, scaling the ceiling toward the doorway. Right when she was near the shower head, the frog girl noticed a red laser dot on her shoulder.

BANG!

Asui immediately jumped out of the way toward the ground, letting the bullet hit the tank with the glowing blue liquid. She sprung to her feet, wrestling the gun away from the Shocker combatant. Asui put her force into her shoulder, ramming him into the wall. It wasn’t until he was down that she noticed the liquid dripping from the shower head and onto what remained of Anima’s tongue.

Upon contact, the tongue quickly dissolved into nothing, leaving behind no trace.

Asui’s green eyes widened with shock. “This is...”

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Meanwhile, at Tartarus Hospital, Young Eri held to her older self tight in her arms as they reached the dark parking garage. Melissa stopped by a white van, smashing through its window with her elbow.

CRUNCH!

Opening the door, she cleared up the broken glass quickly from the seat. She bent down and started to crawl under the steering wheel.

“What are you doing?” Eri asked.

“Hotwiring it,” Melissa explained. “We’ll be able to get to the bridge and back to the mainline faster.”

Young Eri echoed, “Hotwiring?”

“It’s a science thing,” Eri whispered.

Ignoring the white-haired girl’s comments, Hatsume whistled, “Sweet, and with the hacks I put into the system, they won’t be able to pull up the bridge before we leave.”

“That’s a thing?”

“Yep.”

Eri couldn’t help but shake anxiously. She didn’t want to be here any longer than she was already. The sooner that she could leave, the sooner she could make sure Young Eri was safe in Den Liner. Away from...

“Stop right there!”

Eri and Hatsume turned toward the direction of the voice behind them, cocking their heads to meet Chisaki’s fierce, angry gaze.

The time traveler was the first to look away.

“Give her back!”

Chisaki charged.

Eri trembled, holding her younger self tight. She couldn’t help herself from whimpering, soft and low.

Hatsume pulled out her device and clicked the button, but nothing happened.

Chisaki rushed past the pink-haired girl and lunged to grab Young Eri, but Eri ducked out of his reach, backing her and Hatsume away from him.

Hatsume asked, all confused, “Is something happening? It should have targeted this guy’s badge right now.”

The doctor growled, “I was so worried for Eri that I left it upstairs, if you have to know!”

Uh oh...

Eri whispered, “D-d-do you have anything else?”

The inventor admitted, “No, but to be fair, I really didn’t know this was going to happen today.”

Eri knew that this was horrifying. She knew exactly what Chisaki was capable of when he was angry. And she knew that it was hopeless to fight him. Even more so when all she had to fight was just her own fists, a blind girl, and-

“AHHHH!” Melissa yelled as she was dragged out of the car by her hair by Chisaki, pulling her away from the car and bringing her toward the others.

Eri exclaimed, “Melissa!”

Chisaki crouched down, keeping a firm grip on her hair with one hand and another on her shoulder. “Eri, listen to my voice, princess. It’s going to be okay.”

The girl didn’t respond as the doctor turned his attention back to the time traveler.

“Hello, ‘doctor’. I don’t know what’s going on, but let’s see how much you know. Do you want to know my power is?”

Oh, she did. More than anyone alive.

Eri yelled desperately, “I do! Please! Don’t hurt her!”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Chisaki said with a strange calm tone in his voice. “I’m a doctor. My job is to heal people of the affliction that has been placed upon us.” He glanced at Melissa. The girl was struggling in his grip, looking utterly horrified. Young Eri couldn’t help but turn away, wanting to cry. “I never agreed with her treatment. She’s been blessed with purity. She should leave.”

There was a small strand of sympathy on Chisaki’s face, looking up at Hatsume. “We’ve also managed to do what we can for her affliction. That patient should be set free as well.”

But, then the sympathy on his face evaporated as he turned back towards Eri, glaring right at her. “But that’s my daughter! She’s sick, diseased! You can’t take her from me! Not from her home where I can take care of her!”

“She’s not your daughter! That’s a lie!” Eri snapped. “You’re not her father! You don’t get to keep her! Not after what you did!”

Chisaki’s eyes were wide with surprise before they narrowed again. “How dare you say that! I am her father! I adopted her!”

That did suppress Eri’s anger for a moment, making her falter. “You... you what?”

“I didn’t give birth to her. You’re right about that. But a dear friend of mine trusted me with his granddaughter before he passed away.” Chisaki’s voice actually shuddered, his grip on Melissa becoming even tighter to steady himself as he averted his gaze. “I’m not perfect. But, every day since then, I’ve been trying to get Eri all that she needed, learning right beside her what it meant to be a family...”

Chisaki’s teeth shut together before he looked back at Eri, a few tears in his eyes. “So, you tell me what exactly I did to justify taking her away from me! Huh?!”

For a moment, Eri didn’t see Overhaul right then. She didn’t see the killer, the villain. The eyes that Eri saw then, they belonged to a father. A man.

Overhaul was evil. Pure and simple. Even with all of the villains Eri met when helping Den-O, not one of them came even to close to Overhaul in her eyes.

But was this Overhaul?

As far as Eri knew, this man’s only crime was working for Shocker, being allegiant to the evil society that would suppress Kaijin, anyone whose Quirk gave them a mutation. But, in this world, that was a lot of people. Heroes. They were the good guys in one timeline, bad guys in another.

Was it right for Eri to take her younger self away from the closest thing to a family that she would ever get? If it meant that she didn’t have to suffer later?

Was Eri right to judge Chisaki just for being Chisaki? To judge him for what he might have done or what he might do in the future?

Wasn’t that what Shocker and everyone has been doing with the Kaijin?

Eri was startled by the small sound of someone struggling in her grip. She looked down to see Young Eri trying to free herself.

“Wha...? What are you doing?” Eri whispered.

Young Eri looked up with sad acceptance. “I don’t want to see anyone getting hurt. Let me go back to him.”

“But-”

“You said that this is a dream. And dreams have to end sometime.”

The girl’s breath lumped up in her throat before she looked back at Chisaki.

“If Eri stays..., will you let us go?”

Chisaki solemnly nodded. “I will. With the security system on the fritz, there won’t be any footage for Shocker to see. I’ll look the other way. No one has to die tonight.”

Eri hesitated, firm stance now loosening. The young child didn’t wait any longer. She twisted out of the white-haired teenager’s grip, landing on the ground. Ignoring the small cut on her arm from the impact, Young Eri walked forward, back towards Chisaki.

The leery expression on Chisaki’s face changed, become more relieved with every step.

But, before Young Eri was completely out of reach, her teenage self grabbed her and spun her around. Eri knelt down and looked at her from eye level.

“Before you go, I want you to know something...” Eri paused. “I’m sorry you have to go back but enjoy this. Enjoy what’s happening now. He... he seems a lot nicer now.” She gave a firm shake of the child’s shoulders, blinking away fresh tears. She then put on a wobbly smile. Like how Izuku would if he was there. “And I promise you. One day, you will get out for real. Away from him. And it won’t be a dream. I promise you that. You have to just keep hoping for that, okay?”

Young Eri nodded, not entirely sure of the teenager’s meaning, too embarrassed and shy to ask for more details, before she ran away, closing the distance between herself and Chisaki.

Chisaki immediately released Melissa, pushing her to the side before he spread his arms wide, reached over and hugged Eri close to his chest.

The good doctor barely noticed everything outside of his purview. How Eri and the other teenagers piled into the car and drove out of the garage. A few Shocker grunts tried to give chase to them but failed before they got away.

All he was focused on was the little girl in his arms and why, even when the danger had passed, she continued to cry her eyes out.

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After teleporting inside the base, All for One lead Izuku, Samidare, and Satsuki down below to the underground complex where Shocker’s Big Machine was being stored.

A few minutes in, Izuku started to realize that he felt pretty unnecessary here.

All for One was powerful. That was no surprise for Izuku. He heard so many stories about how All for One rose to power. But, seeing the actual power of the Quirk in action against combatants and grunts who were basically Quirkless was a whole different story.

Even more so when it was his principal doing all of the work.

All for One levitated the children with him as he burst through the metal ceiling, opening through to the massive hangar bay underground. Scientists on consoles were startled to see a Kaijin in their presence. Many of them ran for cover while others furiously tapped on their screens, either calling for reinforcements or trying to deploy the Big Machine.

100 Combatmen came in to defend Big Machine.

They lasted only a minute.

All for One created a large air cannon that blasted a giant gust of wind, knocking them off the railings and all of the way to the bottom of the hangar. The sensei’s right arm rippled with power as it grew larger and larger, becoming even larger than the rat itself. He grabbed a Combatman’s waist, his fingers completely wrapping around the grunt. The animal dragged it around the floor, knocking them into the other Combatmen like they were bowling pins. With a heavy push, All for One finally let go of the Combatman. The Shocker soldier’s body slid through the floor and actually went a few flights of stairs, his head knocking with each step.

From the sidelines, Izuku held Samidare and Satsuki tight, looking on warily as drill-like objects poked out of All for One’s arm which was then used to impale a Combatman’s stomach. All for One couldn’t help but cackle at the sight of it.

“I know this is not Principal Nezu. I know this world has a different set of rules and here the League are the good guys, but... should I really just be standing here and watching this?”

It became eerily quiet once the violence was done, once All for One had decimated all of the fighters. He put his hands behind his back as the mammal walked in mid-air.

“Now, shall we?” All for One asked.

Without waiting for a response, All for One stretched his arm out. Black tendrils with red cracked lines extended from his paw, piercing through a nearby scientist’s body. It lifted the body up like a puppet on strings, making it lean over the computer console. All for One lifted the scientist’s head up and touched the back of his head. All of a sudden, the scientist started typing away on the console.

A long platform extended outwards from the floor, connecting to the back of the robot. A small hatch opened for the Big Machine.

All for One extended his paw out, gesturing to the machine. “After you.”

Izuku took a moment to get himself ready before stepping onto the catwalk and entering the giant robot with the other kids.

The hangar itself was already big and the interior of the robot was no different. It was more cramped with tubes and various wires restricting movement somewhat, but there was a ton to move through. It was bathed in red light. Izuku paused when he saw the massive turbine below him. He traced the direction of it, noting that the tubes connected to large tanks of glowing blue liquid.

“What is that?” Satsuki asked, the two kids leaning over the edge of the catwalk. “Do you know, Izuku?”

“No, I don’t,” Izuku admitted. “But whatever it is, it can’t be good.”

All for One said, taking the lead as he moved past them, floating up in the direction of a ladder, “Indeed, we shouldn’t dawdle here for long. Come along.”

Izuku and the others caught up to All for One, following him up through the robot. Reaching a small room, completely empty except with a small staircase heading upwards, they stopped and marveled what was right above them.

“Woah...” Izuku remarked.

The ceiling above them was made entirely of water. Blue light came filtering down from above the water, illuminating the small console and chair that was fixed in place. Through the murky water, Shocker’s symbol was gigantic, decorating the back wall behind the control console.

Samidare said, “It’s like we’re underwater...”

All for One hummed to himself as he floated closer to the water. He reached out and touched the surface. A few droplets of water disconnected, floating away from the console. And, yet those droplets continued floating as if gravity wasn’t a thing.

“Now, this is fascinating,” All for One said approvingly, looking down at the single drop of water in his paw. “It is ordinary water, but its chemistry has been greatly altered, affecting its buoyancy. Impressive.” He floated down toward the other kids, meeting them at eye level. “This is where Poseidon would function, I would assume.”

“You’re right. It seems made specifically for him. He most likely has a water-based Quirk to be able to handle himself in those conditions,” Izuku deduced, looking closely at the console from beneath. “So, how should we do this? Should we try and disrupt the console first before we destroy the rest of this machine?”

“And why would we go in that direction?”

Izuku snapped at his head at All for One. He blinked, baffled by what that was supposed to mean.

“The machine. Shocker’s Big Machine...” Izuku said, stepping cautiously toward him. “This thing is apparently supposed to get rid of Kaijin, mutants. It’s somehow tied to this whole timeline that Poseidon created. Shouldn’t it be destroyed?” He spread his arms wide. “Isn’t that the whole reason we’re here?”

“Oh, dear, you’re mistaken,” All for One replied, taking off his mask. “We’re here to disrupt Shocker’s plans. To stop them from using their Big Machine. And the most effective way of accomplishing that goal...” He chuckled, showing off his rat-like features. “Is by commandeering this machine for ourselves.”

“What?!” the time traveler yelled, his outburst filling the small room he was in. “That’s crazy! We don’t know what this thing is really capable of. Or how to pilot it. It’s not going to be as simple as them leaving the key in. We don’t even know how to get it out of here!” He threw up his hands, gesturing to the outside world. “Tsukuyomi won’t be able to transport something that large, right? Same with you.”

“You’re correct in Tsukuyomi’s limitations, but you are incorrect to assume mine,” All for One looked up at the cockpit. He floated up through the water, swimming around before going back down. “There are various methods that could be used for me to commandeer this vessel. It simply requires a little imagination.”

“Ok, but even so, why would you even want to pilot this thing in the first place?”

Izuku asked the question, even though the chilling feeling along his spine was answering it for him.

After all, why would someone take a weapon if they didn’t plan on using it?

All for One explained, “Once this weapon is under our control, when we understand its full capabilities, then we can ensure Shocker will feel the wrath and fury of every Kaijin they’ve ever hurt. They won’t be able to hurt us anymore.”

The children to the side looked on in silence as Izuku argued, “We don’t need this thing. If we disable it, maybe take out its engines, cut its support system, this thing won’t hurt anyone. That’s the most important thing. That no one gets hurt.”

"That no one gets hurt?!” All for One echoed, letting out a sick chuckle before moving toward Izuku, glaring right down at him. “Let me explain this to you. This is war. I promised to help you, but wars are not won without casualties. You don't want any pain? Well, the pain has already happened. Not just to me, but for a lot of young people who didn’t deserve it.”

Izuku stood his ground. “I get it. You want to make Shocker pay for what they did to you. What they did to every mutant in this world. But this isn’t the way. We should be trying to fix the world, not burn it down.”

All for One scoffed at that, “And, if we did disable this machine, how long would you anticipate it would take for Shocker to repair it in its entirety?”

“Long enough for me to change the world so that they don’t get a chance.”

The mammal left out a sly look. “Is that the mentality of all heroes from your timeline?”

Izuku smiled. “I wouldn’t know. I’m still looking to become one.”

Suddenly, without warning, the single drop of water expanded all around All for One’s body.

“Wh-!” Izuku exclaimed, the water actually pushing him back as All for One tried to dispel the water. But the water was fast. Too fast. The water was almost alive, streaming down All for One’s mouth, ears, and nose.

“What’s going on?!” Satsuki asked.

Samidare tried to reach forward, but Izuku moved in front of him, blocking them from getting in the middle of whatever was going on. The water completely covered the small mammal until it encased him completely. The water then became a jelly like substance, showing All for One completely frozen and immobile.

As the children slowly approached the newly formed rat Jello, a panel in the wall slid open. Izuku instantly ordered the kids to get behind him as the scientist Izuku had seen before on TV had stepped out, wearing a silver belt with a golden circular buckle in the front. The buckle had three coin-shaped slots in the middle of it.

“Don't bother trying to free your leader,” the silver-haired man said. “It wouldn’t make much difference. Trust me.”

Samidare snapped, “Oh, sure. We’ll always trust people trying to kill us.”

Izuku said, “You’re the head scientist here, aren’t you? Dr. Dee?” He glanced over at the gelatin. “You did this to All for One?”

Dr. Dee confirmed, “Yes. It’s my Meta ability. Very unique...”

“Meta ability?”

It took a moment before Dr. Dee exhaled, “Ah. Right. People in this world call them powers. I appreciate that terminology as well. Of course, you would refer to it as a Quirk, wouldn’t you?”

Izuku’s face paled. His eyes went wide. “How-”

Dr. D cupped his chin, hardly able to contain his glee. “My gift is called Gelatin. Even with the smallest drop of water, I am able to transform it and make it have the properties of gelatin, able to trap any object inside it and then preserve it as if no time has passed. A mighty power.” He reached into his pocket, unveiling three colorful coins. “It’s how I’ve been able to keep these in my possession.”

The coins in his hand were medals. Amajiki’s medals. A blue shark, a blue whale, and a red wolffish.

The ones Amajiki had created in the past way back when with his power...

All of a sudden, Izuku knew.

“You recognize these, don't you?" Dr. D asked, turning the coins in his hand. “Of course... you’re the other Kamen Rider I saw. It took some time to identify the others I witnessed back then, but with the resources I gained access to when I returned, it was easy. Tamaki Amajiki, Nejire Hado, Mirio Togata...”

“Returned...?” Izuku echoed before glaring at him. “It's you. You're Poseidon, you’re the one who attacked Den Liner. The one who changed everything."

“Is that what you called it?" The scientist shrugged. “To be fair, it was my first attempt at time travelling. I didn’t even know what it was. I just hit it when I was going to my destination and then back.” His hands reached for his belt. “Your friend’s medals were the power source I needed to complete my glorious machine. Able to send me back as far as I needed to.” He saluted proudly, a single tear in his eye. “All in the name of Shocker.”

It came to Izuku then, a flash of realization as he took the situation fully.

“This was all my fault...”

If Izuku hadn’t invited Amajiki and the others onto Den Liner, like Owner had been insisting on, then none of this would have happened. Den-O wouldn’t have knocked into OOO in the past, releasing his medals and unknowingly giving them to this scientist. Then, this timeline wouldn’t have been created in the first place. Millions wouldn’t have died, the idea of heroes wouldn’t have been twisted here, his friends wouldn’t have had to suffer...

Izuku had bad luck in the past. But this didn’t feel like that. This felt like a mistake of his doing.

“Izuku! Knock it off! Get’cha head in the game!”

Momotaros’s sudden outburst pulled Izuku back to reality. The Imagin was right. If there was any chance of fixing the timeline, it meant that Izuku didn’t have time for pity. He needed to fight now.

“You’re doing this all in the name of Shocker? Of some great leader? And, yet you don’t care about all of the pain and suffering you unleashed on millions of people?” Izuku’s shaking hands pulled out the Den-O belt. “It's completely unforgivable. I’m going to fix this! Right now!”

Dr. Dee scoffed, “Ha! If it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’ll get. After all...” He placed the three medals in his belt’s holder in a triangular position. “This belt has more than one use. Henshin.”

The medals suddenly started glowing.

"Same! Kujira! Ookamiuo!"

Streams of water burst from inside, wrapping itself around Dr. Dee’s entire body.

SPLASH!

The water then quickly dissipated, showing off a blue armored warrior. The one that Izuku had seen briefly when all of this had started.

Poseidon’s design was very similar to OOO’s. The logo on the villain’s chest was now in a triangular shape with each animal in each corner. The shark was on the right, matching the light blue helmet with its ‘fins’ pointed downwards from his golden yellow eyes. The whale on the right, matching the dark blue head on the right shoulder that connected fully to the tail on the left shoulder. The wolffish was at the bottom, fitting the dark red sharp ‘fins’ that decorated his legs.

The villain, holding onto a long crimson spear, tapped the floor with it.

The floor beneath them started to shudder as the kids tried to keep their balance.

“What’s going on?” Satsuki asked.

Poseidon said, “You’re here because I presume you’re here for my Big Machine. Well...” He chuckled. “All of you mutts should get a feeling for what it can truly do.”

Above ground, Nejire was being chased by Ryukyu. She finally gained the advantage as she made a sharp banking turn, one that Ryukyu wouldn’t be able to do with her size and send two blasts of spiraling energy toward her. As the dragon was knocked back, bathed in yellow light, the girl noticed the loud rumbling behind her. She turned to see Shocker’s Big Machine being moved aboveground.

“What the-?” Nejire asked before needing to dodge Ryukyu’s bite.

On the ground, OOO was aiming his claws at the ground, hoping to get Fatgum off balance when he saw the giant robot as well. “This is not going well...”

Inside of Shocker’s Big Machine, Poseidon aimed his spear at the Asui siblings. Izuku raced toward him, kicking the blade away from the kids.

Satsuki asked, clutching at Izuku’s legs, “What do we do? What do we do?”

“Um...” Izuku hesitated before glancing at the big blob of gelatin. “Find a way to get All for One free. I’ll take care of Poseidon.”

As Poseidon rounded back, Izuku quickly strapped on the Den-O belt and hit the red button before moving the pass over the belt.

“Henshin!”

“SWORD FORM!”

The ball of light came out, crashing into Poseidon’s spear before it circled around the Quirkless teen, forming his armor. The red chest piece locked in place before it went to the back of his helmet, becoming a red peach that split itself open when reaching the front.

“I...” Den-O jabbed a thumb at himself before posing. “Have arrived!”

Poseidon readied his spear. “So?”

“Don’t gimme that sass!” Den-O yelled, clearly irritated that his cool catchphrase was being overlooked. He assembled his sword just in time to block the overhead strike of the doctor’s spear. “Oh, I’m going to have fun with ya!”

“I should be saying the same to you!”

Meanwhile, Samidare and Satsuki started picking away at the Jello with their hands, but every time they did, the liquid suddenly became hard to pull at. The Jello snapped back from their hands to the structure as if it were tied by a rubber band.

Satsuki worried, “Ok, asking again, what do we do?”

Samidare threw up his hands. “Um... um...”

Desperation gave the boy an idea. A really dangerous one.

The boy pounced forward and took a bite of the Jello. (None of it contained any meat.)

“What are you doing? That’s gross! Spit it out!”

Samidare followed directions, spitting the mushy substance out onto the floor. It stayed there.

Both of them glanced at each other before Satsuki licked the Jello with her tongue. The small pieces that stuck to it stayed there after she pulled back...

The two kids gave one last glance at each other before they both started to lick away at the floating Jello as if they were kids trying ice cream for the first time.

Den-O kicked Poseidon away as he glanced at the display. “Ugh, gross!”

“Oh, I get it,” Izuku realized. “It’s their saliva that’s doing the trick. Hm, but I wonder what it is about it. Is it the proteins or nutrients inside? Or maybe it has something to do with their DNA-?”

Suddenly, a current of water rushed at Den-O!

Den-O swiped his sword at it, but all it did was disperse it, splitting in half as the being made of water resembled the top half of Poseidon’s armored form. It drove his spear straight into Den-O's chest.

“Augh!”

Though it was water, it was still sharp as steel. And, it started to harden, like it was made of Jello.

Den-O tried kicking away the water, but then it found its way right behind the hero, catching him off guard. Poseidon slashed his water spear right across Den-O's back.

“Ugh!” The hero staggered forward in pain.

The current of water then became a puddle, crawling underneath Den-O's feet. Stabbing his spear at Den-O again, Poseidon launched Den-O into the air. The hero's back hit the bottom of the control console before he fell back down with Poseidon slamming him back to the ground.

Den-O groaned from the pain before rolling on his back and seeing Poseidon aim his spear right at Den-O's helmet.

“Goodbye,” Poseidon said. “Your death will ensure this world remains loyal to Shocker.”

WHAM!

A gigantic fist slammed Poseidon, the impact knocking him back towards the wall.

“Now, now. You can’t say goodbye without making proper introductions.”

Den-O craned his head to the left to see All for One with a muscular arm floating right next to him.

All for One said in a cheery voice, “I’m the mammal that’s going to stop you.”

“AAAHHH!” Den-O yelped as he immediately got up and scooted toward the side, keeping himself a sword and arm’s length away from the mammal.

Izuku couldn’t help but sigh internally. Momotaros was always scared of dogs or whatever Nezu was. So, the teenager completely understood the fact that Momotaros wouldn’t be thrilled at being in the same room with a buff Nezu with the power of All for One.

All for One asked, glancing at the Kamen Rider, “So, are you ready for a team-up, Midoriya?”

“Just keep yerself at a distance, ya damn dog!” Den-O barked, bringing up the sword up between them.

“Oh, Midoriya told me about you. Oh my, you do have an energy to you...”

Before a proper comeback could be made, streams of water appeared from the belt and massing themselves into one point on Poseidon’s spear.

SNAP!

A secret panel opened right behind Samidare and Satsuki. The frog siblings looked behind their shoulders to see the dark scenery of the fighting happening throughout the grounds of the facility. In the distance, they saw the small scene of a dark portal opening up and someone with familiar green hair jumping through.

Satsuki stepped closer to try and see, “Tsuyu?”

Poseidon then fired the giant ball of water at the kids. Den-O watched as the rat dog demon punched the water in the kids’ path. However, upon impact, it didn’t stop its momentum, simply rounding back and becoming gelatinous.

“Watch out!” Den-O cried as he activated his super-speed, hugging the kids and shielding them both from the Jello that hit them all as if it were a stone boulder.

WHAM!

All three kids were thrown into the night sky, falling straight toward the roof.

“AAAHHHHHH!”

OOO looked up to meet Den-O's eyes as he took in the situation. “Midoriya!”

All for One glanced in their direction, wondering if it was necessary to help them, if they would survive without their help. But, then-

SNAP!

The rat suddenly clutched his head as he felt something inside of his head start to hurt, like it was trying to bulge out.

Poseidon explained, “We can’t fully control you, but those devices are still in your system. We can still cause you massive pain!”

Outside, OOO ran to help, but with Fatgum in his path, he wasn’t fast enough! There was no time!

SWOOOOSH!

A long golden spiral snapped Den-O, Satsuki, and Samidare back inches away from the blacktop. Nejire moved at ninety miles an hour as she zoomed closer to OOO, dropping them off safely.

“Thank you!” Samidare said as they collapsed on the ground.

“No problem!” Nejire happily said.

OOO’s grasshopper legs jumped over Fatgum before leaning down and checking on the kids. “Are you alright?”

“We’re good, elf,” Den-O replied. “We’re good.”

“Elf?” OOO echoed, shrinking away from that.

Ankh called out, “Stop thinking about now! Pay attention!”

The muscular being sprung up, climbing up on a ledge as dozens of Shocker combatants suddenly came pouring out of nowhere, circling OOO, Den-O, and the others. Den-O immediately pulled the kids up as he looked at all of the opponents in front of him.

There were even a few Commanders in the mix. But even Izuku didn’t recognize all of them. They weren’t pro heroes. Izuku would know that. But he remembered that people who would have been villains in his timeline are Commanders in this timeline...

“Momotaros, just try and get Samidare and Satsuki out of here. There’s too many of these Shocker grunts...”

“I can keep the frogs safe by kicking these guys’ asses.”

“Wai-!”

But Den-O had already started to attack, slashing his sword at them and continuing the fight. OOO grabbed the two kids by their shirts and bounced straight up.

“Ankh, take care of them!” OOO exclaimed as he threw them as lightly as he could to the rooftop where the feathery being stood.

Before there could be any more objections, OOO fell back down, rejoining the fight.

Ankh scowled at the two kids as they got back up. “I’m not watching you brats.”

“Well...” Samidare gasped for breath. “Do you at least know how to get off of this?”

“What?”

The child pointed forward and Ankh looked behind him to see more Commanders and Shocker combatants coming up the fire escape and rushing right at them.

Ankh rubbed his demonic hand, readying for a fight. “Damn it...”

THWIPPP!

A long tongue wrapped around one of the Commanders with diamond-like crystals growing from his skin. The kids glanced to their right seeing their older sister come in and wrestling that Commander to the ground.

“Tsuyu!” they both exclaimed.

Asui glanced at them both, sending a fierce glare as soon as she locked eyes with them. “You guys are in trouble. Ribbit.”

The Commander pushed the teenager off of him, making her roll along the ground. Asui bounced back up, punching a combatant to the side. Another one struck. She ducked out of the way before kicking them and more out of the way.

Kick! Kick! Kick!

They kept coming, but Asui did all she could to defend her family from the Shocker troops.

Back on the ground, OOO slashed his claws diagonally at a Commander attempting to eat him. It knocked him back as the Kamen Rider kept his arms out, making sure no one could get close to him. Nearby, Den-O threw a Combatant high into the air before kneeing another one in the groin.

A Commander with his hair stylized like a clock’s hands stood motionless behind Den-O. The “Minute Hand” above the forehead extended outwards, cutting across his chest.

“AGHCK!” Den-O yelled, falling to the ground from the hit like he was in slow motion. “What’s... happening...?”

Izuku thought, a part of him slowing down as well, “It’s... his... Quirk. Armor...shielded...us...not...for...long...”

The Kamen Rider then continued to fight, trying to wrestle another Combatant to the ground, even when he could feel how sluggish he was.

Meanwhile, OOO slashed the ground with his sword. It broke into pieces, leaving another Commander off balance. The Rider then noticed Den-O struggling against the clock Commander, the villain kicking him down.

“Midoriya, hang on!”

The hero then took the scanner from his belt and moved it over his buckle.

“SCANNING CHARGE!”

OOO’s grasshopper legs launched him up high. The hero then descended through a set of rings that had formed with the belt. However, right as he was about to make contact with the clock Commander, Fatgum had rushed right in, blocking the shot!

The giant Commander squeezed OOO, practically crushing the life out of him. But he wasn’t done yet. Another Commander pulled OOO out of there by his back, only to then inhale orange vapors that suddenly appeared from the hero himself.

As OOO felt himself weaken, becoming so exhausted, the Commander’s muscles then grew, becoming bigger and stronger.

In an alley, Den-O was stuck in one place, slashing his sword left, right, and forward, when OOO fell near him, groaning in pain. The red Rider came to the other’s side, holding his sword out.

“Elf, ya alright?!”

“Yeah...”

But that answer felt sorely weak as the two of them looked on to see the number of Commanders and grunts they still had to fight.

Den-O stood up, rushing at them all. “Come at me, ya damn Nazis!”

The Rider then slammed the sharp edge of his sword overhead at the nearest one, but they blocked it completely with just his bare muscular arms. The Commander rotated his shoulders at superhuman speeds, attacking Den-O with a barrage of bullet punches.

BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM!

Sparks flew from Den-O's armor, the impact of the punches getting right past the plating, as Den-O fell back. OOO jumped to his defense, but a yellow force field coming from another Commander blocked him and allowed the muscular Commander to punch him directly at his helmet.

WHA-BAM!

Meanwhile, the fight between All for One and Poseidon had taken itself outside of Shocker’s Big Machine. All for One had the speed and strength of all of the Quirks he acquired, but with the technology in Poseidon’s belt, fueled by the ancient power of the stolen Core Medals, Poseidon was able to keep him at bay. (Not to mention the pounding headaches he was able to give All for One via the electronic implants in his head.)

On the shoulder of the robot, Poseidon held up his spear as he used it to block All for One’s fist.

“I would recommend that you surrender now,” All for One said sweetly. “Because if this goes any further, you might be taking a long fall.” He laughed. “After all, it’s the least you deserve.”

“Flattery won’t get you anywhere,” Poseidon grunted, slashing at All for One with his spear. “Frankly, you’re the one who should be worried. You brought your whole gang of vermin here. More subjects to demonstrate our Big Machine’s effectiveness.”

“Your machine is durable, I’ll admit. Impressive workmanship. But a giant robot won’t be able to silence all of us.”

“No...” Poseidon backed up, holding his spear up. “But this should.” He slammed the bottom end of his spear onto the robot.

TAP! TAP!

All for One glanced up to see the robot’s eyes lighting up. Shocker’s Big Machine then saluted.

“Mega Max!”

From the area where the robot’s ‘belt’ was located, it opened to reveal a massive turbine. The turbine inside spun rapidly. The vat of glowing blue liquid slowly became gaseous as it was fed through the turbine, dispersing it throughout the scene below. To the mammal, it started to stink of something like peppermint and onions.

“What is this?” All for One asked, knowing that he wouldn’t like the answer.

Poseidon said, “A discovery years in the making.”

All for One hummed as he launched another air cannon, dispersing the gas cloud in one large spot. “Germ warfare.” The mammal turned toward the villain with a look of distaste. “You were willing to sacrifice your own Commanders for this? How incredibly derivative of you.”

“No, of course not,” Poseidon said, pointing his spear at the floating Kaijin. “It’s a volatile virus only to anything non-human. That includes the unique DNA sequence that makes mutants.”

It was all clear now to All for One. Crystal clear. That’s how this Big Machine would rid the world of Kaijin.

“Of course, there is a small number of pure humans that it could potentially affect. But really, you’d have to be unlucky to have it affect you.”

On the ground, OOO dragged Den-O over his shoulder as fast as he could away from the Commanders.

Correction. A coughing Den-O.

Den-O coughed, “Move faster, elf!”

“I am!” OOO exclaimed, stumbling his way as fast as he could with cheetah legs.

Reaching a small clearing only occupied by a defeated Ryukyu in dragon form, it was then that Den-O could no longer hold it. Den-O collapsed, releasing his transformation.

In a flash, both Izuku and Momotaros split up, sprawled out on the ground.

Nejire floated down, “Midoriya, are you alright?”

Izuku gasped for breath, his lungs feeling like they were on fire, as he looked at his partner. “Momotaros, you’re here... And you’re not made of sand like you usually are... The timeline must be really affected...”

“That’s seriously what yer thinkin’ about, right now?” the demon said as Nejire’s spirals helped him up.

The Quirkless teen looked forward, spotting Ankh and Asui with her siblings in her arms, leaping down from the rooftops. She was breathing like crazy, but still desperate to get as much distance as she could.

“Asui!” Izuku huffed out before running toward her with the others following close behind. “Are you alright?”

“Maybe, but not for long.”

The Quirkless teen turned his head to see the Commanders and combatants unaffected by the gas coming their way.

On Shocker’s Big Machine, All for One tried to smash his fists through the sides of the robot, but it proved ineffective, the metal somehow reflecting the attack back onto him. Even when All for One multiplied his arms for an attack, it was blocked by Poseidon redirecting his energy with a water current, washing him away it.

All for One snarled, “Your gas is repugnant, but my people are strong. You can’t keep this up forever.”

“True, the gaseous form of the virus isn’t as effective as I would like it to be...” Poseidon then aimed his trident at the robot as a slot in the Big Machine’s ‘belt’ area unfolded. “But its liquid form is almost instantaneous.”

The mammal glanced in the direction where the trajectory of the machine’s blast would go, including who would be affected by it...

The sensei calculated all of the various routes and paths he could take then. He could attack Shocker’s Big Machine again, but with the factors of Poseidon and the machine’s own durability, he wouldn’t be able to displace the attack in time.

As the liquid sprayed out like a hose, acting as a snake as it went toward its targets, his mind came to the only conclusion that he could.

On the ground, OOO and Nejire were helping everyone else move as fast as they could while trying to mow through the Commanders and the combatants. Momotaros and Izuku were in the back. The Imagin was holding Izuku’s hand as he dragged him away from the water snake. Momotaros pushed Izuku hard out of reach of the snake as the water washed him away, drenching almost every part of his body except the Imagin’s left arm.

“Momotaros!” Izuku cried, looking back at him.

But Momotaros’s protection was in vain as the water continued to advance.

Izuku knew he had to do something. He charged toward it, readying his Den-O belt again.

WHOOOSH!

The teenager had to stop in his track as he saw All for One come into his path and face the virus directly.

“You’re here!”

“Of course, I am,” the sensei replied through gritted teeth. “After all, a teacher’s responsibility is to protect their students.”

All for One stretched out his paws, generating a wall of flames to defend against the virus. It created a fume of steam that circulated around him and Izuku, but it wasn’t fatal like it would have been.

Another headache weakened All for One’s attack, drenching his outfit and fur in the liquid.

What remained of the water split up, circling around them. The trail of water on his left went toward him while the trail of liquid on his right dived right into Izuku.

All for One unleashed a powerful beam of light, creating an explosion when meeting the water on his left.

BOOM!

Then, with his skin hardened, mole-like claws grew from his paws and swept through the liquid, dispersing them fully.

But the damage was done...

Izuku stopped shielding his eyes once he heard nothing except when the sound of hissing.

The small mammal’s head was drenched. Even with all of his skills and powers, he couldn’t avoid getting a drop on him. There was steam coming off of his skin...

“No!” Izuku yelled, running up and catching Nezu in his arms. “Stay with me! Stay with me! I’ll get you dry.”

“Do not worry about me. You’re my responsibility.”

With All for One’s mask cracked, Izuku could see the kind smile in the animal’s face as the animal was bathed in a blue glow, evaporating into nothing from head to toe.

“Be sure to make your world a reality. It sounds quite interesting...”

It felt like an eternity before Izuku’s former principal disappeared into nothing, leaving Izuku with nothing but the tiny clothes in his hands.

Izuku bowed his head, covering the tears in his eyes. No matter how many times he told himself that this wasn’t the real timeline, that it could still be fixed, it didn’t change the personal darkness he felt.

Especially since this timeline was all his fault...

“Izuku!” Momotaros’s voice exclaimed. “Stop it already! We got work to do!”

“Right...” Izuku sighed. “Right.”

The Quirkless teen wiped his eyes and looked up. The second he spotted Momotaros, he blinked. “What the-?!”

“What are ya-?” Momotaros paused, now noticing his new state thanks to the liquid attack.

Momotaros was nothing except a floating left arm.

The Imagin shouted, “WHY AM I JUST AN ARM?!”

Izuku looked up, pulling himself together. “That liquid dissolved All for One like nothing even with a few drops, but I’m guessing because of your sand-like structure, it must have only dissolved what it came into contact with. I’m sure for you this will be only temporary...”

Ankh chuckled, pointing a demonic finger at the floating hand. “You’re looking good.”

Momotaros’s fist twitched with anger. He wasn’t going to take this from another floating hand. Or anyone really.

“Wha did ya just say?!”

Momotaros swatted Ankh’s hand, leading to Ankh swatting him back.

“Guys, that’s enough!” Nejire exclaimed as both she and OOO made their way in front of them, confronting another group of Commanders and combatants.

OOO bared his claws. “We have to remember who the enemy is right now. We need to end this now.”

“Yes, let’s-!”

A Commander with light, almond-shaped eyes and bright golden-blond hair with a crazed look on his face held out his hand, palm-wide.

Instantly, the OOO buckle with the three medals inside was brought into the Commander’s hands, cancelling Amajiki’s transformation. Indigo eyes darted between his waist and the Commander, shocked.

Ankh stomped forward, “Hey, that’s mine!”

But Nejire held out her arm, blocking his path.

“Ankh, Midoriya, find the League’s teleporter and get out of here,” the hero student instructed. “Tamaki will protect you both. I’ll catch up with you.”

“But-”

“You don’t want to argue with me right now.”

Izuku tried to argue, “Guys, you can’t-”

“Sorry, Midoriya,” Nejire cut him off. “I’m calling senpai-status on this. Go. I’ll be fine.” She stretched her arms out, aiming them at the Commanders. “NEJIRE FLOOD! MAXIMUM OUTPUT 100!”

She twisted her hands in a spiral formation, releasing a massive blast of energy concentrated in both hands toward her opponent.

The Quirkless teen wanted to refuse Nejire’s request and stand and fight. But a few things kept him from doing that.

First, he respected his upperclassmen’s decisions. Even with all of Izuku’s fights as a Kamen Rider, they still had more experience fighting than he did. Second, he wasn’t too trusting of his own decision making at the moment. Not with the fact that this timeline was still his own fault.

But the most important reminder was the sound of a hacking cough from deep within Samidare’s lungs. The third years had a point. Both Izuku and the others were vulnerable to the machine’s virus. Plus, both Tamaki and Nejire wouldn’t be able to keep this up forever, not with all of the Commanders and combatants present. It was better to go get help now...

“Fine, we’ll be back! Everyone, follow me!” Izuku exclaimed, making a break to the nearest door. Asui leaped ahead of him, the girl having a better idea of where she left the raven of darkness.

Ankh’s face contorted with anger. “No, Tamaki, we’re not running! I’m not going anywhere without my medals!”

Tamaki said, already running alongside Izuku, “Ankh, now’s not the time for this!”

Momotaros grabbed Ankh by the wrist and tried wrestling him away. “You're coming, tank!”

“I’m not going anywhere!”

“Yes, ya are!”

With no other options, Momotaros’s body became translucent as the Imagin jumped into Mirio Togata’s body, taking possession of both Mirio and Ankh.

M-Ankh.

Ankh’s hair was now bundled up in a messy bun and comb-over. There were a few strands of hair now completely red. Like the Ankh arm on his right arm, the Momotaros ‘arm’ was present on his left. His eyes were glowing red.

“I...” M-Ankh jabbed his left thumb at himself before stretching it out. “Have arrived!”

Even though he wasn’t in control, Ankh thought back, “Hey, this body’s mine! Get out!”

M-Ankh ran, dashing behind everyone else. “Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!”

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Poseidon sat in his cockpit, perfectly attuned to the workings of Shocker’s Big Machine. He was pretty proud of himself for creating such a durable machine perfect for dispensing the virus to large crowds of Kaijin. The villain witnessed the scene of All for One, the famed Kaijin leader, meeting his end by his own ingenious device.

Ha ha!

And now it was time to take care of the rest of them.

The villain scanned and analyzed the area through his machine’s instruments, attempting to find the rest of those filthy vermin!

There!

The instruments now showed a live feed of the League’s teleporter fighting against Rock Lock. Rock Lock kicked a weakened Tsukuyomi back, but then right as he charged in, Tamaki Amajiki arrived with the rest of his group.

“Perfect,” Poseidon said before speaking into the local coms. “Every available Commander, converge on Sector Echo 7-5!”

Suddenly, some weird pale muck appeared on the robot’s sensors, blocking its line of sight.

“What the-? Is this that Kaijin’s glue?” Poseidon asked. “It’s not the right composition nor the right color I would have imagined...”

Either way, he worked on clearing it out as fast as possible. He wanted to get back to work as soon as he could...

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As soon as Tamaki and the others spotted Tsukuyomi fighting, the purple-haired teen leapt into action. Chicken wings grew from his back as he kicked away Rock Lock with his taloned feet.

Asui gasped upon the group reaching him, “Tsukuyomi, can you get us out of here? Ribbit?”

“I’m not sure I have the strength to,” the dark raven admitted. “But I won’t leave without my companions.”

“All for One is dead,” Asui confirmed. “So, you don’t have to worry about him.”

Tsukuyomi closed his eyes solemnly. “Our sensei’s demise must be avenged.”

“How?” the frog asked. “We can’t fight back.”

“Maybe...” Izuku paused, looking over at Tamaki as the third-year student shot out tentacles from his fingertips and tried to wrap them around the Commander’s waist. But Rock Lock was more agile than Izuku would have thought. Even with a knife wound in his gut...

An idea popped into Izuku’s mind.

“Momotaros, give me some of your sand. Tsukuyomi, is it possible for you to give me some of your DNA as well?”

“Why?”

Izuku explained, “Amajiki’s power works based on consumption of what he eats, its DNA. If he takes on Momotaros’ sand properties, the unique sand structure will give him a way to protect us from the virus if it comes back. But more importantly, if he eats Tsukuyomi’s shadow, then it’s possible that he can use Tsukuyomi’s teleportation and get us all out of here.”

Asui argued, “Shadows aren’t alive. They're just light.”

“Maybe, but Tsukuyomi’s unique shadow makes up his whole body which allows-”

Izuku closed his eyes for a second, getting immediately hit by a bunch of sand. He coughed and sputtered.

M-Ankh crossed his arms. “Just get it over with, already!”

After Izuku gathered it all up, Tsukuyomi grabbed a handful in his fist. “I shall handle this. Stay here.”

Before Izuku could argue, the raven rushed forward, digging into Rock Lock’s chest with his talons.

Rock Lock screamed in pain as he staggered back from the attack. The raven of darkness stretched out his hand in front of Tamaki.

“Eat this!” he declared.

In any other circumstance, that statement would have given the shy teenager pause. But, seeing Rock Lock come after them again, Tamaki immediately bit down on the shadowy finger with sand as its spice.

Tamaki coughed up grains as Rock Lock rammed his shoulder into the teenager, knocking him away.

Tsukuyomi bared his talons and slashed diagonally. Rock Lock ducked, but an attack wasn’t the raven’s plan then. He was opening a portal behind the hero.

“Let’s see if you can soar like I can!” Tsukuyomi roared.

Rock Lock threw a punch which the raven blocked it with his forearm. Tsukuyomi pushed it to the side before kicking him right in the gut. With all of his remaining strength, the raven dove, tackling him into the portal that quickly closed right after them.

M-Ankh asked, “Hey, where did they go?”

Asui admitted, “I don’t know.”

Izuku ignored that and went to Tamaki’s side. “Amajiki, did you at least eat something from Tsukuyomi?”

“I... I don’t know if I did,” Tamaki admitted, looking down at his hands. “I’m not feeling anything. Ingesting something like darkness might be taking its time to reach my digestive syste-”

CRASH!

On the road ahead, multiple figures staggered out of a nearby warehouse and collapsed on the ground. Each one of them was coughing and could barely move an inch.

Izuku’s stomach fell. With the exception of Tsukuyomi, it was every single member of the League!

Walking right out of the warehouse, Rock Lock glared down at them all. In his arms, there was Burnin, which he crudely tossed onto the ground next to them.

Asui thought, “Wait, how did Rock Lock get here so fast if he was just fighting Tsukuyomi?”

In the cockpit of Shocker’s Big Machine, Poseidon had finally gotten rid of the unknown goop on his monitors. The villain gave a smug smile, seeing the Kaijin in such a pathetic state. He refocused his sensors to now lock onto the weakened League.

Shocker’s Big Machine then saluted.

"MEGA MAX!”

Another stream of water came out, targeting the very spot where the League laid in agony.

“No!” Tamaki yelled as Izuku and M-Ankh followed him toward the League.

Halfway there, Rock Lock leaped forward. Tamaki manifested tentacle fingers and shot it out. But Rock Lock surprisingly dived underneath it, not letting the tentacles touch him at all, before he pulled out a hidden knife and cut through several inches of tentacles like it was sushi. Blue blood gushed out.

Rock Lock then threw a few extra knives into the air, forcing Izuku and M-Ankh to stop and dodge them both.

Momotaros thought, “Why does this extra smell familiar?”

CH-CHING! CH-CHING!

Something knocked all three of them to the side, stopping them from going any further.

CH-CHING! CH-CHING!

On the ground, all three of them turned to see the sight of the virus washing down on the League members.

They were too late.

The League members cried out in pain and agony. Though, no sound came out in time. Many of them were fidgeting in place or shaking on the spot before they all glowed blue, melting away from the effect. Until there was nothing left.

Asui should have gotten used to seeing it with the life she lived. But she wasn’t.

More senseless deaths. More people to mourn.

But they didn’t have the time...

Rock Lock stood before the weary teenagers. “All of the Commanders are coming here. You can fight me some more and be stupid or you can make a run for it.”

Izuku and Tamaki glanced at each other. Was Rock Lock giving them a chance?

But they didn’t need the warning. Their ears could hear the loud footsteps, the hurried shouting.

Asui was already running away from the scene. And everyone else quickly had to follow. Along the way, Izuku’s eyes spotted the crowds of Commanders and combatants marching after them.

“Oh, no, it’s that one with the thieving power!” Izuku thought. “The one that took Amajiki’s belt. If he gets my Rider Pass, it’s over. They would be able to access Den Liner with it!”

Reaching the walls of the complex, the teenagers found themselves trapped.

Sir Nighteye and Mr. Brave both stood in their path. Behind them, the group of Commanders and combatants were getting closer.

“It’s over,” Sir Nighteye announced. “You have no bright future here.”

Izuku saw only one path for them left.

The Quirkless teen thrust the Den-O pass into Asui’s hands. “Take this.”

The frog frowned. “What?”

Izuku whispered urgently, “If Shocker gets my Rider Pass, it’s over. You have the power to jump over the two of them and get to safety.”

Asui tried to argue, looking right in the greenette’s eyes, “But-”

There was a look of intensity in Izuku's expression. “You have a responsibility to your family. Protect them.”

This was more than just protecting Izuku’s Rider equipment. Asui knew it. Izuku knew that he wasn’t going to escape from this. But he was making sure that she and her family got away, losing the guarantee of his own safety.

Was this the path of a hero?

“GO!”

Asui carried her siblings in her arms as her tongue moved to store the Rider Pass in her stomach. As the frog’s hindlegs sprung her upwards, letting her leap up high, Izuku and Tamaki charged at the Commanders while M-Ankh ran the opposite direction to deal with the large army.

Scaling the wall until she was close to the top, Asui paused, looking back at the scene.

Combatants were trying to climb up the wall and failing very easily.

Tamaki unleashed his tentacles, wrestling Sir Nighteye away from the wall. M-Ankh was punching combatants out left and right. He ducked underneath a diamond fist from a Commander before kicking them away.

Izuku grabbed Mr. Brave’s wrist right as the Commander made a sword out of his hair. The Quirkless teen tried to pull it out of his hand but ended up getting pushed to the ground. Mr. Brave swung his sword, but Izuku pulled himself up to his feet and hugged him in place, not letting the Commander attack. He then kicked a leg toward a combatant charging at him, knocking them down.

But, as hard as they were fighting, it was very easy to see they wouldn’t last long. Not with the number of Commanders that were piling on to fight all three of them at once.

Asui looked away and made the final leap toward the trees, the forest, toward freedom. Not looking back to see the cause of the wailing, piercing screams of agony from each one of them.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

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Tsuyu went back to Den Liner. There was no other option she could think of right then. The only safe place that came to mind was the League’s hideout, but Tsuyu didn’t know the physical location. She needed Tsukuyomi to teleport her in, but even after trying to call him, there was no answer. As she expected.

He was likely dead at that point.

Everyone at Den Liner already knew the grave situation. None of them could contact Izuku or the other one. By Tsuyu’s arrival, their fears were already confirmed. Eri tried hiding her tears from the large bear, simply getting the workers that she recruited to start working. (After the pink-headed one almost caused a small explosion in Naomi’s area.)

Tsuyu didn’t bother looking at their hurt expressions for long. She rested her siblings along the small chairs in a train booth, wrapping a blanket around them and watching over them. Only a few hours later, when Tsuyu was turning over the Rider Pass in her hands, her siblings woke up with her sister looming over them.

“How are you both feeling?” Tsuyu asked, leaning over the booth.

Samidare said, waking up, “I feel ok.”

Satsuki added, “Maybe, just a little tired.”

“Good, now...” Tsuyu let out a long sigh. She was too tired and exhausted to feel the appropriate amount of anger that she should have felt then. But, still, she needed to know. “What were you two thinking?”

Both of her siblings shifted in their seats, feeling both ashamed and guilty. Neither of them said a word.

Tsuyu reassured with a small smile, “I’m not angry. I just want to know why. Ribbit.” She paused, returning to her more neutral expression. “I’m doing my best to protect you both and going with the League goes against everything I’ve been trying to do for the both of you. You both could have died. You risked your lives for nothing.”

Samidare argued, “But, it wasn’t nothing.”

Satsuki added, “He’s right. It’s our future we’re fighting for.”

“It’s not yours,” Tsuyu stated. “It’s his. It’s what Midoriya has been through. If it works (and that’s a big if), it’s not what we’ll be a part of. Don’t focus on the future. Focus on the present. And that means staying alive.”

The two kids straightened themselves up, scooting towards Tsuyu.

“But we want more than that,” Tsuyu’s brother said.

Tsuyu shook her head. “I'm sorry, but that’s the way it is. Focus on yourselves.”

“But we can’t,” Satsuki said.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s not just us. We’re thinking about you.”

Tsuyu stared at both of them in silence as they continued.

Samidare admitted, “Ever since Mom and Dad died by those Commanders, you’ve been the one to take care of us. You work hard. You sacrifice your food, your warmth, your safety...”

Satsuki let out a few tears as she brought her balled up fists toward her heart, “You’re right that Midoriya’s life is not the one we’ve lived. But it’s the life you deserve. The life where you can be happy and safe. The life where you don’t have to worry about us all the time.”

For a moment, Tsuyu was shocked to hear that. She closed her eyes. They were right. Her whole life had been about protecting her family. Learning to be tough to withstand Shocker and the Commanders. A part of her worried about what happened if she did meet her end, or she was captured. How her siblings would be able to fare by themselves. But she never thought about whether or not they would want to protect her. She would have thought that they would be more worried about themselves than her.

“They’ve been growing up, haven’t they?”

Maybe they were wiser than she thought...

Tsuyu opened her eyes and gave them pats on the head.

“I don’t care what kind of timeline it is,” the frog girl smiled. “I’ll always worry about and look out for the two of you. Ribbit.”

Samidare and Satsuki stared at Tsuyu’s warm smile and then at each other before the three of them embraced each other in a hug.

After a moment, Tsuyu’s eyes drifted toward the front of the train car.

Eri and the other Imagin were all huddled around the TV playing a news report.

The reporter was saying, “...With the League of Kaijin confirmed deceased, Shocker’s Big Machine will be officially deployed to rid Japan of all Kaijin tomorrow morning. Along with its unveiling to the public, Poseidon, the pilot of the machine, has decided to commemorate this historic occasion with the public execution of four traitors to Shocker’s cause and to the human race.”

The screen flashed to a scene of outside of the Foundation X facility.

The Commanders that were seen before were marching behind four teenagers: Izuku, M-Ankh, Tamaki, and Nejire. They were all being loaded into a transport vehicle.

All of them looked worse for wear. Each one beaten and battered, barely able to stand. There were collars around their necks, no doubt to suppress their powers or shock them in case they stepped out of line. Their hands were bound together, tied to one of the muscular Commanders as he dragged them forward toward the transport.

More details about the location and time for the execution were announced before the reporter saluted to Shocker, reminding everyone that this was the consequence for defying Shocker, and signed off.

Once the screen turned black, Eri buried her face in her hands as Ryutaros whistled, “Yep. They’re dead.” He hummed, putting a finger to his chin in thought. “You think we can record the livestream of it?”

“We won’t be recording anything,” Kintaros declared as he summoned his axe. “We shall march down there and save Izuku.”

Urataros tilted his head, pointing out, “Has your line snapped? Even if all three of us went there, there will most likely be too many Commanders and soldiers for us at that event. We’ll be captured like Izuku and the rest.” He cupped his chin. “If we plan on saving Izuku and everyone else, we’ll need to know the guaranteed bait and more importantly who we are catching them.”

Eri sighed, her shoulders drooping, “I don’t have a plan. Izuku’s the one that always thinks of a plan.” She bit her lip, not wanting to acknowledge that Izuku’s plans were much better than anything she could come up with. “Hatsume and Melissa are working hard on fixing Den Liner, but I don’t know if they’ll be able to finish before this ex-aid-cute-shyun. Even if they can in time, we can’t just fly in with Den Liner. Izuku would get hurt if we just use the train’s weapons. And then, even after that, we can’t time travel because we still don’t have a ticket.” She closed her eyes bitterly. “I just don’t know what to do.”

The Imagin fell silent at that, but someone spoke up.

“Is that what all heroes do?”

Eri and the Imagin looked behind them to see Tsuyu confronting them, her siblings right by her side.

“I may not know much about it, but from what Midoriya told me about, it’s simple. And something I get now. If someone does wrong by you, if someone goes after people that don’t deserve it, you don't just run away. You fight to survive. You fight to keep it alive.”

The white-haired girl asked, “What alive?”

“Hope.”

Urataros hummed before resting his elbow on his hand as he cupped his chin. “So, lovely Asui, what do you propose we should do?”

Tsuyu, ignoring his comment, held up the Rider Pass in her hands as she let out a declaration for all of them.

“We fight back. Ribbit.”

Chapter Text

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Izuku was in a dark space.

Both literally and figuratively.

The last few hours were actual torture. Painful. It all jumbled into a blur, one he really didn’t feel like trying to remember all too clearly. His mind wasn’t in the right spot anyway.

Right then, he, along with the others, had their limbs locked on a pillar with metallic cuffs that looked like a religious cross, arms spread out to the sides. All of them had been placed together in a dark room, completely devoid of light. But, Izuku had figured out based on the voices talking to each other that he was behind everyone else with Tamaki directly in front of him, Nejire next to Tamaki on his left and M-Ankh on his right.

Though, Izuku had been focusing on something else on his mind for a moment.

M-Ankh was saying, “Hey, hey, Izuku! Pay attention!”

Izuku blinked, “Oh. I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

“I was saying that yer the one that usually comes up with the plans but ya ain’t yapping right now! What’s going on?”

“I...” Izuku dropped his head. “I’m sorry. I focused last night in the heat of the fight but sitting here in silence... it’s not letting me forget.”

Nejire asked, “Forget what?”

“That this timeline is all my fault.”

Awkward silence followed.

Nejire asked, “What are you talking about, Midoriya?”

Izuku explained it all. The true identity of Poseidon, how a scientist in the past got ahold of Tamaki’s Core Medals and then channeled their power into the device needed to travel through time.

He finished his explanation, “I should have tried to handle the Imagin and your Greeed on my own. If I did that, none of this would have happened. So many people wouldn’t have suffered for my mistakes.”

Tamaki said, “Look, Midoriya, this isn’t your fault. If anything, we’re all to blame. We should have kept a better eye on Ankh, guessed that he would have taken advantage of the situation.”

“Yeah, but this was your first time. I have been time travelling for a while now. I should have seen this coming.” Izuku closed his eyes in regret. “And the worst part about this is that in the end, we couldn’t fix it.”

M-Ankh immediately tsk’d, “Ya braindead? It ain’t the end yet.”

Nejire hummed. “Ankh is right.”

“I’m Momotaros!”

The girl asked, “I know this is a very scary situation, but I have to ask. Who’s the one that said that we don’t give up until the end?”

“I did.”

“Right, well, guess what? You’re acting very giving up right now!” Nejire pouted. “I don’t know how we’ll get out of here, but is sitting around, moping about it, going to fix anything?”

“You’re right. You’re right,” Izuku said, taking a moment to put aside his doubts and straightening up in his bonds. “Let’s go over our options again. Momotaros, can you leave Ankh’s body?”

The Imagin replied, struggling in his bonds, “I been tryin’. But I hadn't been able to. This body must be broken!”

Tamaki guessed, “Our Quirks aren’t working because of these restraints. Your powers must be restricted as well.”

M-Ankh grumbled, “Well, can ya call any of the other jerks, Izuku?”

“I’ve been trying, but the other Imagin have only contacted me once to say that we just need to stall. So, right now, that’s our only plan.” Izuku sighed. “Sooner or later, they will have to let us out of here for our...” He cringed. “Execution. We’ll just have to make a break for it then.”

“Exactly,” Tamaki said. “If Mirio were here, he’d tell us the most important thing is not to-”

The ground beneath them started rumbling.

“Panic!”

It took a moment for all of them to realize that what was happening. They were moving upwards. They were underground, now moving up to the surface.

Light broke through as all of the teenagers blinked, readjusting their senses and now taking in their new scene.

The teenagers were in the center of a very large stone courtyard, about a hundred feet across. Their crosses were fixed on a large platform. In front of them, there were hundreds of civilians, all of them gathered around to see this event. Some of them have expressions of pure hatred and pride at justice being done to the traitors of their cause. Others looked more nervous about what was happening. Gathered among them, Class 1-A, in casual clothing, grouped together as they tried to get closer to the front.

Based on the very large shadow blocking the sun, Shocker’s Big Machine was right behind them. There were at least a dozen Commanders surrounding them, spread throughout the courtyard. The only thing that blocked the civilians from the stage was a line of Combatants, each one armed with a machine gun.

On a platform nearby, Dr. Dee stood with his hands on his hips before opening them wide and addressing the crowd, his voice booming through the microphone in front of him.

“Fellow humans!” the doctor announced. “Take a long look at this!” He gestured toward the trapped teenagers. “These are the people who dare to defy Shocker, who work with the Kaijin to make us all extinct! We put our faith and trust in these young promising students to create hope for a perfect world. And, yet they chose to work against us!”

Many people in the crowd started booing as the teenagers tried to struggle out of their bonds.

“These traitors shall be executed. Burned away like ash by two of our most powerful Commanders, what is commonly referred to as Japan’s Dynamic Duo, Endeavor and Dabi!”

All of the teenagers let out confused expressions as they watched two figures come from the side as they turned and faced them.

Endeavor looked the same as he did in the normal timeline, burning scowl and all. But Dabi looked absolutely different. He had none of the burned scars anywhere on his body. His leather-like jacket had blue flames positioned to make him look like his head was actually on fire like he was a demon. The white hair and dark eyes definitely cemented that.

Endeavor crossed his arms, glaring at all of them. “It is unfortunate for you but know that you will be a sacrifice for the greater good.”

Dabi said, “Not that much of a sacrifice. You all are idiots for trying to break the law and going after people like Endeavor.” The firebender let out a harsh laugh, sticking his hands in his pockets. “You’d never catch me doing something stupid like that.”

Endeavor grumbled, rolling his eyes, “Ignore his impudence. He’s like that."

“What’s wrong? It’s part of my charm.”

“It’s the only reason I keep you near me in our profession. Keeping me young in the face of battle.”

“Then, I really haven’t been doing a good job.”

If this was any other situation, Izuku probably would have guessed that without Burnin in Endeavor’s life, Dabi would have been the one to take over her role, becoming close to him as a result. He also might have questioned some other details about Dabi that felt odd. But he wasn’t.

Because Izuku’s attention was more focused on something up ahead.

On a stone terrace a few feet above the crowd, near the line of Combatants, there was something moving on the wall. It wasn’t something invisible like Hagakure, but it was definitely something.

“It’s too far away... Can’t really make it out.”

Dr. Dee spoke, “If you four have any final words of regret for your actions, speak them now so that you can salvage some dignity.”

M-Ankh yelled at the top of his lungs, “LET US OUT OF HERE AND FIGHT ME BEFORE I ‘DIG’ MY FOOT IN YER ASS!”

Tamaki closed his eyes before cringing, “I don’t...” His thoughts turned to Mirio, what he would say in this, before shouting, “I don’t regret it! I don’t regret anything here! Because I choose to stand by my friends!”

Nejire pleaded, puffing her chest as much as she could, “Please! Answer this for me! Are these people heroes or villains? Stop telling yourself that this is the world we live in and ask yourself whether it’s a world you want to live in!”

Izuku opened his mouth to speak, but the doctor let out a long sigh, interrupting him. “A pity. No words of regret. Just ones filled with empty valor.”

The Quirkless teen thought, “Guess since I’m just a ‘slave’ in this world, I don’t even get any final words.”

The doctor saluted his right arm. “Execute now!”

Both Endeavor and Dabi drew back their arms, mirroring each other as they ignited, flames crackling as they prepared to deliver the final blow.

All of them closed their eyes, not prepared to see what would happen next.

If Izuku did have a chance to speak, to everyone here, his final words would have been simple.

“I’m sorry.”

FWIPPP! BBBBBBABABABABABABANNNNNGGGGGGGGG!

The teenagers opened their eyes to see bullets flying. They immediately burned when reaching the flames on the back of the heroes.

“WHAT?! WHO DID THAT?!”

Someone camouflaged had stolen a machinegun out of a Combatant’s hands. When they failed to shoot down the Commanders, they turned it toward the Combatants, mowing over half of them down until they ran out of ammo. They quickly threw the gun to the ground as they leaped forward. They tackled a Combatant, throwing them over their shoulder as their tongue stretched out and did the same thing to another Combatant.

FWWIPPPP!

Her camouflage dropped and Tsuyu Asui revealed herself, her digits sticking to the ground, ready to leap again.

With a small smirk, Asui said, “I’m here to save some heroes. Ribbit.”

Izuku gasped, “Asui?!”

Dr. Dee raised his fist high at that declaration. “You should have run when you had the chance, filthy Kaijin.” He pointed straight at her, commanding his soldiers. “Kill it!”

Multiple Combatants rushed themselves at the frog. For the first one that came right into reach, Asui kicked her foot right into his chest, knocking him down. She then ran for the side, making a leap. She squeezed perfectly through a railing, using one foot to then bounce back with the other railing and then roundhouse kick another Combatant.

WHACK!

Another Combatant had successfully managed to sweep Asui’s legs from underneath. However, she easily recovered, sending a kick to two more Combatants. A Combatant aimed a punch right at her. Asui rolled out of the way before springing back, bouncing on the Combatant’s back.

The force of Asui’s bounce promptly crushed them to the ground.

LEAP!

And she continued.

LEAP! LEAP!

Dr. Dee commented to himself, “So, a frog mutation. Well, this is simple enough to deal with...” He looked down at the two firebenders below him. “Get in there!”

With that command, both Endeavor and Dabi used their flames to propel themselves fast into the fight.

Asui turned around at the roaring behind her just in time to see two flaming fists hit her. One toward her gut, the other toward her face.

WHA-BAM!

The frog rolled in mid-air from the impact, landing roughly a few feet away. Her clothes were still smoking slightly. She twinged in pain.

Dabi laughed, “Looks like the frog doesn’t like fire.”

From the stage, M-Ankh yelled, “NO ONE DOES! IT’S FIRE, DUMBASS!”

“Enough,” Endeavor said. “Let’s finish this.”

Both Commanders concentrated their flames into a point on their fists, making their flames white-hot.

Asui bounced right up to her feet, pulling out the Rider Pass. All of a sudden, the Den-O belt appeared in her hands. She strapped it right around her waist. With the belt syncing to its newest user, the four buttons for the Imagin disappeared. In a flash, a green button appeared.

Izuku looked on. “Is this...?”

The frog pressed the green button. The emblem on the Den-O belt glowed green as a musical tune filled with raindrops started playing.

Both Endeavor and Dabi put their fists together, thrusting them forward. An intense tornado of fire erupted, coming straight for Asui.

“HELLFIRE STORM!”

Asui kept calm, swiping the Rider Pass over the belt.

“Henshin!”

The frog was suddenly engulfed in fire. The tornado was too bright for anyone to see what was happening inside. But everyone knew from the temperature that there was no way a single Kaijin could survive it.

But a Kamen Rider could.

“WHIP FORM!”

The transformation wasn’t fully complete. But Tsuyu Asui jumped through it, wearing her armor. It was the same undersuit and outline for the main Den-O suits. But the chest piece was now fully green with black on the sides and a thin yellow line between the train tracks in the middle. The shoulder pads protruded outwards like a frog’s toe.

Before the Commanders could react, Asui dropped to her hands and slam kicked the two of them right in the gut. The added strength of the Den-O armor made her legs like mechanical springs, knocking them back toward the crowd of civilians.

The frog turned toward the imprisoned students as a ball of light skidded on the train tracks of the helmet, transforming into a metallic frog. Reaching the front of the helmet, the frog folded, locking in two large round green eyes. The silver tongue covered the bottom of the train tracks. The frog’s webbed feet stretched out from the top of the helmet like horns.

Tsuyu Asui was now Kamen Rider Den-O: Whip Form.

Except, that’s not what she would call herself.

In another world, in another time, Tsuyu Asui had an idea of what she wanted to be growing up. Since grade school, there was a name that she wanted to call herself.

For all intents and purposes, that’s who she was here. By fighting to save and protect lives.

A hero.

Not just any hero.

The Rainy Season Hero!

FROPPY!

As three of the Combatants recovered, readying their guns, Froppy took the attachments from her belt and assembled them quickly together.

They aimed their guns.

BBBBBBABABABABABABANNNNNGGGGGGGGG!

Froppy twirled her weapon, now a whip, deflecting every single bullet that came her way.

She leaped forward, slamming her feet on two of the Combatant’s chest before lashing her whip at the last one. Leaping again, upon reaching another crowd of Combatants, Froppy crouched low to the ground as she slashed her whip at a Combatant’s chest.

As the Combatant staggered back, another one tried to strike. Froppy’s whip acted like how her tongue would, wrapping around the Combatant’s arms and blocking the attack. She sprung up before jumping past another one. Her whip anchored backwards as the frog locked her legs around his throat, placing him in a scissor hold and choking him out, discarding his body to the side.

Suddenly, Froppy saw two comets coming her way.

Froppy leaped out of the way right as Endeavor and Dabi, using their flames to fly, crashed into the crowd of Combatants.

The frog thought, “They’ll round back soon. I don’t have the combat skills needed to fight them, so I have to end this fast.”

The two Commanders were coming right at her.

When flames were all that she saw, Froppy held the Rider Pass over her belt.

“FULL CHARGE!”

Green bolts of electricity sparked from the belt toward the bottom of her whip. In one fluid motion, Froppy thrusted the tip of the whip into the ground. Multiple green lasers, each one of them resembling a frog’s tongue, shot out of the ground, coming from the energy of Den-O belt. They all homed in on the targets, wrapping themselves around them and slamming them to the ground. Pure electricity pierced straight their bodies, creating an explosion from within their bodies.

KA-BOOM!

Everyone looked on in shock at the massive fireball that ignited from where Endeavor and Dabi laid.

Froppy looked towards Dr. Dee. “You get one chance. Let everyone go and no one else has to get hurt!” She pointed her whip toward him even as more Combatants tried rushing her. “You won’t get hurt, either!”

“Ha!” Dr. Dee laughed. “You think you can face me? My power exceeds yours!” He placed the medals in his belt and jumped off the platform. “Henshin!”

"Same! Kujira! Ookamiuo!"

As Froppy held up her whip, blocking the strike of the nearest Combatant, Poseidon stomped toward them. He grabbed the Combatant and shoved him to the side before driving his spear right into Froppy. The spear had penetrated right through her armor’s defenses.

“Ugh!” Froppy cried from the sharp intense pain.

Water flowed from Poseidon’s belt, wrapping around the spear until they all reached the tip. Once it did, they coalesced together, becoming gelatinous. It gained mass, growing in size, until it couldn’t hold it anymore.

POP!

The jello exploded.

The force of the explosion combined with the power of the spear itself created a boom as it knocked Froppy back. The belt fell off, cancelling the transformation. The sides of her now normal body bounced along the ground with the Rider Pass skidded a few inches in front of her.

Struggling to get up, Asui grabbed the Rider Pass, but before she could try to transform again, she was pulled right up with a large muscle wrapping around her. Struggling to get away, she looked up to see who was holding her in place now: Rock Lock.

Rock Lock said, “I got her! I’ll put her in a cage now!”

The Commander started to walk away with her, but Poseidon exclaimed, “No! I’ll deal with it personally!”

The villain walked towards them, but another voice called out, “Not so fast!”

A figure walked out from the crowd of civilians. His hands were stuffed in his hoodie before he moved them up to his hood, pulling it off and showing his face for the whole world to see.

Izuku gasped, “Tenko Shimura...?”

Tamaki had a similar reaction. “Shigaraki...?”

Poseidon paused, turning toward Shigaraki. “Shimura, why are you volunteering for this?”

Making his way past the remaining Combatmen, Shigaraki shrugged. “Well, as I see it, you’re already high enough level. I think you can share the XP a bit, don’t you think?”

Underneath his helmet, the villain blinked, confused as to what the principal of UA was saying. Nonetheless, he stepped to the side, jumping back on his platform.

“Very well,” Poseidon said. “Then, let’s all watch. This is how UA’s most lethal principal deals with pesky little rodents that stand in our way.”

He gestured toward the scene as Shigaraki approached both Rock Lock and Asui. Rock Lock’s expression was neutral while Asui was doing her best to look brave.

Shigaraki took off his glove and raised it right up, spreading his digits wide as he covered the girl’s face from his view.

“You’re a principal, right? Ribbit?”

The white-haired man lowered his hand, raising an eyebrow at Asui calming her nerves down as she looked at him curiously.

“If you are, that means your job is to protect people’s future. Your students. Well, right now, your students are in trouble. If you cared about them at all, you’d do something about it!”

Asui jerked a head toward the chained-up students, all of them looking on in intrigue and uncertainty. The girl continued her speech, her voice getting louder and louder.

“They’re heroes! They’re the defenders of justice! And that’s why I believe in them! No matter what you do to me, I believe they will change the future!”

Dead silence. Not even the sound of a pebble falling.

And then, Shigaraki’s shoulders shook as a small laugh came out. “Heh heh...”

And the chuckle became louder. “Ha ha!”

And, then it turned into a hysterical cackle as the Singular Point threw his head back in laughter. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

It was unnerving. Even the Commanders around them didn’t know how to react properly to it.

“Justice...?!” Combing his hand through his hair, Shigaraki flashed a maniacal smile. “Don’t you know? Justice isn’t real!” He pointed right at the captured time travelers. “If it is, it certainly doesn’t come from them!” HIs finger turned toward Poseidon. “And, not from these Shocker NPCs either!”

The mood suddenly became more tense as Poseidon glared down at Shigaraki. “What?”

Asui could feel an aura of malevolence coming from the supposed principal. Shigaraki took a step forward toward the students, spreading his arms wide.

“It doesn’t matter what form this society takes! It’s still everything I hate!” Shigaraki brought a fist forward, crushing it into a fist. “As long as there is a world like this is still breathing, I will crush it!”

Everyone looked shocked. Even M-Ankh let out a confused, “Huh?!”

“You worm...” Poseidon hissed. “You dare betray us?”

Shigaraki responded, “If following you is the main mission goal, then I prefer to glitch this world out myself. After all, you may have brainwashed all of these lap dogs, but I see everything much more clearly.”

Poseidon yelled, pointing a finger directly at him. “Whatever that means, you are deluded. You won’t be able to help these prisoners! You have no hope!”

“I have no intention to!” Shigaraki yelled, pulling the glove off his other hand. “I’ll never help a ‘hero’! I just plan on proving a point I made earlier!” The villain glanced toward the captured students, more specifically, toward Tamaki. He let out a small smirk. “The only way things get better is if you turn it all into ash...”

Shigaraki touched the ground beneath him with his bare hands.

The effect was almost instantaneous.

Decay spread through like a wave, sweeping the stones beneath him and leaving nothing but ash. The villain released it right as it reached the platform where the hero students were. Their crosses disintegrated. The four of them stumbled forward, suddenly free from their bonds.

It was only a second before pure chaos erupted.

Multiple Commanders started rushing to the stage. Some of them went straight for Izuku and the others while other Commanders went towards Asui and Shigaraki.

The frog girl elbowed Rock Lock in the gut, freeing herself. She leaped toward Izuku as Tamaki, Nejire, and M-Ankh all protected him, fighting the Commanders off.

Suddenly, a bat swung!

Slugger hit Asui directly mid-leap. The Rider Pass went flying right out of Asui’s hands. The frog fell back, looking up at the baseball Commander looming over her.

“You got away from me earlier, but you’re not going to bounce back from this!” the Commander held his bat over his head. “Time for a home run!”

“How bout this for a home run?!”

M-Ankh came up from behind, kicking his foot right up Slugger’s... baseballs.

And he didn’t hold back.

Slugger flew high into the air, practically blasting off into space.

M-Ankh continued kicking and punching anyone coming their way as Izuku took Asui’s hand, helping her up to her feet.

Izuku was tired, exhausted, and hopeless only moments ago. But, right now, even in the chaos, he felt like he was lighter, not carrying a heavy burden on himself anymore.

The Quirkless teen smiled widely, bowing his head slightly, “Asui, thank you so much for coming to save us-”

“Call me Tsuyu.”

Izuku blinked in surprise, looking back to see Asui’s surprisingly kind expression, eyes closed, head tilted with a gentle smile.

“That’s what my friends should call me.”

It was a moment before Izuku smiled with relief. “Right!”

Both teenagers enjoyed the moment before M-Ankh shouted, holding a Combatant at bay, “ARE YA DONE OVER THERE?!”

“Oh, right! Right! Sorry!” Izuku exclaimed. He took a breath and loosened his nerves, ready to get back into the fight. Looking back at Asu- Tsuyu, Izuku asked, “Do you know where my Rider Pass is?”

Tsuyu jerked her head toward the crowd. “It fell somewhere down there!”

In the crowd, a few Commanders were forcing their way through, searching for the Rider Pass. Vlad King, in particular, had found himself in a small gap in the crowd where he finally spotted the Rider Pass being picked off the ground by a certain copying blonde.

“Monoma, correct?” Vlad King paused, holding out an empty palm. “Hand it over!”

The UA student inspected it in his hand. “You know, my power allows me to copy people’s strengths.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s what makes me unique, what makes me valuable to Shocker.” Monoma paused, glaring up at Vlad King. Monoma plucked two strands of hair out of Todoroki, Awase, and Shinsou, making them all flinch. “As a leader, I understand their powers, their strong points, and use that to my advantage. It’s how I can fight. But to be a good leader, I have to use their strengths that don’t just come from their powers. Their dreams, their hopes. And right now...” The blonde paused, glancing left and right at his fellow classmates, all of them giving a confident nod in approval. “They all want to be heroes!”

“What?”

“So, I’ll lead them to that path!” Monoma exclaimed, stomping his foot. Icicles suddenly sprouted from the ground before shooting outwards and encasing the blood Commander in ice. “Class 1-A, let’s show the world why we’re the best!”

“RIGHT!”

All of them sprang into action, rushing right for the nearest Shocker fighter.

Monoma tossed the Rider Pass toward Tokage. The girl’s limbs detached. A floating hand grabbed the Pass in mid-air. The head of the class commanded, “Tokage! I don’t know what it does but get that Pass over to those Kaijin now!”

“On it!”

WHOOOSH!

A blast of sudden air from above knocked Tokage’s hand to the ground. The girl looked up to see Airjet providing air support with his arm cannons. She could still feel the Rider Pass in her hand, but heard someone shouting, “Focus on your opponent! I’ll get this over to them!”

Before she could object, the Rider Pass was pried from her grasp.

Izuku, M-Ankh, and Tsuyu ran toward the crowd when they heard a rousing cheer. Some of the civilians grouped together, yelling for their new heroes.

“Go get em!” They shouted. “Kick their butts!”

The Commanders and Combatants nearby weren’t having that.

They started to attack them, trying to suppress it before the uprising became even more uncontrolled.

As Tsuyu leapt forward, wrapping her tongue around a group of Combatants, and M-Ankh, tackled others to the ground, Izuku made his way to a set of stairs and pulled off a Combatant crushing a civilian. He then climbed up a few more steps, kicking Eel Boy in the back. The Commander fell down as Izuku helped another civilian run to safety.

A voice shouted, “Hey, young hero!”

Eel Boy tried to get up, but the Quirkless teen sent a strong kick right to his gut.

“Hero! I am here!”

Izuku perked up, recognizing the familiar cry. He turned his attention toward the voice.

Toshinori Yagi was raising his left arm straight up in the air. For a second, Izuku thought he saw a flash of All Might in the Quirkless janitor, doing his signature victory pose.

But Yagi’s left hand wasn’t a fist.

Instead, it was holding Izuku’s Rider Pass.

“CATCH!”

Yagi threw the Rider Pass with all of his might, which Izuku leaned forward, catching it in his hands. Izuku glanced back at the blonde. Yagi had a full smile on his face.

Izuku thought, “His smile is back... Time to return everyone else’s.” He turned toward M-Ankh, shouting, “Momotaros! Let’s do this!”

“It’s about time!”

While M-Ankh rubbed his hands together, ready to make the jump, Izuku summoned the Den-O belt, wrapping it around his waist in one fluid motion. The four Imagin buttons reappeared in a flash. The Quirkless teen pressed the red button and swiped the Pass over the buckle.

“Henshin!”

“SWORD FORM!”

Momotaros left Ankh’s body, leaving him dazed for a moment, before going straight for Izuku’s body and leaving Ankh to run back toward Tamaki and Nejire.

Nearby civilians watched as Izuku’s body disappeared underneath a black and white suit of armor. A circular ball of light escaped the Den-O belt, circling around him and creating a red chest piece and shoulder pads that locked onto Izuku’s body. The ball of light then moved toward the back of the helmet, turning into two big peach eyes and locking in front of Izuku.

Loud cheers erupted among the civilians as Den-O jabbed a thumb at himself and struck a pose. “I have arrived!”

Izuku Midoriya was now the time traveling Kamen Rider Den-O. But he aspired to be something else. A hero that wanted to help everyone, in big ways or small ways.

From start to finish, he’ll go Plus Ultra!

The Climax Hero!

DEKU!

Deku assembled his sword, slashing left and right, while climbing down the steps back toward what remained of the stage. He didn’t let up, mowing five Commanders in his path. The last one, he paused the blade on their chest, letting them know their fate before striking again.

SLASH! SLASH!

“Kill him! Kill him!” the small crowd cheered as Deku stomped his foot on Present Mic’s chest.

He wouldn’t, of course. He was a hero. Still, it was nice to be acknowledged in a way...

Meanwhile, Nejire’s Wave Motion set her output to 50, blasting her Quirk right at Death Arms. Spiral waves swept Death Arms right into Ryukyu, his hard head knocking the blonde unconscious before her dragon self could fully transform.

The teenager weaved through all of the Commanders and combatants attempting to grab her then, floating up and above like a fairy.

Nejire Hado wanted to explore the world, to learn and connect with others. It’s a part of the reason why she connected easily with her friends, Tamaki and Mirio, so easily. And now, here, in this time and place, she knew that she was stronger because of it.

The Wave Hero!

NEJIRE-CHAN!

Nearby, Tamaki grabbed the Commander currently holding his OOO belt and medals, Overclock, by his wrist. But he wouldn’t let go. Even taking a superpowered punch, Tamaki wrestled it out of Overclock’s hands, tumbling on the ground.

But, as he held the belt up, the thieving Commander from before snatched the belt away from him again.

“Hey!” The thieving Commander turned to see Ankh running straight for him. “Give those back!” Ankh sent a punch right towards the thief.

The Commander jumped back, opening his free hand wide and aiming it at the only weapon his opponent seemed to have: his weird demon glove. “I’ll take that!”

“Good!” Ankh said out of the teenager’s mouth before the teenager fell back, completely asleep. The ‘gloved fist flew in a straight path at the Commander. Imagine the Commander’s shock when he saw the hand open by itself.

“What the-?!”

The hand grabbed the thief by his hair, forcefully slamming him on his back.

“AGCHK!”

Tamaki knocked Overclock back with his tentacles before shuffling over to Mirio’s almost lifeless body. He propped his friend up with his knee. For a moment, he wasn’t paying attention to what was happening around him, instead focusing on his friend. After all, this was the first time in a while that Tamaki was alone with just Mirio, not Ankh as the monster controlling him.

“Mirio...” Tamaki whispered, squeezing his hands. “Please, if you can hear me, keep fighting for as long as you can to come back to us. And I’ll continue to do the same. That is the strength of our bond.”

The purple-haired teenager looked up just in time to see Ankh sliding himself over Mirio’s hand.

Instantly, Ankh sat back up, glancing at Tamaki. The almost peaceful expression on Mirio Togata’s face was replaced by irritated scorn. He thrusted the medal holder into the hero student’s hands. “Go already.”

Tamaki nodded, already knowing what he had to do. He stood up and placed the OOO belt on his waist. He took the scanner from his side, hovering it over the medals.

“Henshin!”

“Taka! Tora! Batta! Tatoba! TaToba! TaToBa!”

Three holographic coins moved themselves in front of Tamaki before combining together into one image and forming the black armor over Tamaki.

Tamaki Amajiki was now Kamen Rider OOO. But he was more than that. He had a light inside of him. One that shined brighter than the sun. One he was determined to clear the clouds inside of his best friend, trapping his light inside.

One day, he’ll shine bright enough for his hand to reach Mirio’s or anyone else in need of help.

The Manifest Hero!

SUNEATER!

Suneater drew his sword, slashing at Commanders left and right when another opponent struck.

CRACK!

No one in time heard the crack of a sniper’s rifle. Even so, no one could hear them over the chaos.

BANG!

A single bullet, perfectly aimed, shot between the flying Commanders and Nejire, hitting Ankh directly in his hand. He fell back on the ground.

Suneater cried, “Ankh!”

Yoroi Musha came up from behind, slashing his sword, even cutting right through his muscle.

Both Deku and Nejire-chan wavered in their fight, momentarily distracted. One of the Commanders, Mister Blaster, fired a blinding laser from his palms.

TSEEWWW!

Deku was down, whipped through the air and landing near the Big Three.

At the same time, another Commander, Kido, threw the bandages on his body into a lasso, activating his power.

BANG! BANG!

Bullets from above made their way through the lasso. Their trajectory changed passing through it, making the bullets hit Nejire-chan to the side.

“AGHCK!”

Nejire-chan fell, but only for a second. Because huge soap bubbles encompassed all four of them, floating them above the ground. No matter how much they thrashed, the bubbles would not collapse.

From his post, Poseidon commented, “You’re fools! The four of you will die! Right here, right now!”

On the ground, Tsuyu, jumping with an injured civilian in tow, looked up at the bubbles. “Even with all of us, we still are outnumbered. We need more firepower.”

Where was Shigaraki during all of this?

The villain had already slipped on his hood, walking into the crowd of civilians. No one dared to say a word in fear of being disintegrated.

Like he said, Shigaraki wouldn’t help heroes. The gamer was just ready to return to his last save. He didn’t need to see the outcome of his fight. He already had a feeling of who was going to win...

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

POP! POP! POP! POP!

Deku and the others suddenly dropped.

Nejire kept flying with her Quirk in control, but Ankh dropped on his shoulders. Suneater landed gracefully, but Deku practically fell to the ground like an idiot.

WHAM!

All four of them looked up to the side toward a nearby rooftop. The ethereal being responsible for knocking out the sniper, Lady Nagant, and then using her gun to pop the bubbles glided down with wings of darkness.

Tsukuyomi yelled, “Don’t assume that! With darkness, no one is ever alone!”

Underneath his helmet, Den-O gasped, “Raven? Would have thought ya were dead!”

“I told you before! Darkness can never die!”

The raven of darkness landed on the cobblestone, surrounded by three Commanders. Tsukuyomi kicked hard at Wash, straining all of his strength into it. Wash stumbled back as Ms. Joke drew back her fist, making a joke. It failed.

There was no humor to be found in darkness, after all.

SKKKKT!

Ms. Joke’s fist flew into a small portal, which connected through another portal right behind Tsukuyomi and to Manual’s face. The Commander went down like a sack of wet cement.

Tsukuyomi lifted his hand, scraping his talons at Ms. Joke. As she stumbled back, the raven sliced the ground underneath her.

SKKKKT!

Ms. Joke fell straight down, appearing right above Wash and slamming right on the washing machine’s lid, shutting it up.

Fumikage Tokoyami was born in darkness. In one timeline, he welcomed a torch for him and his shadow to wield. In this timeline, he ascended from his mortal body, becoming truly one with his shadow.

However, there was still one thing in common in both lives.

The jet-black fighter had the courage and strength to devour darkness whole, fighting for peace, freedom, and justice.

The Eclipse Hero!

TSUKUYOMI!

Nejire-chan readied her Quirk with a grin, “Let’s get back into this fight!”

Both Deku and Suneater followed her lead, charging together. With his super speed, Deku was the first to meet his opponent, blocking a Combatant’s fist with his sword pointed upwards and then slashing him away. Suneater brought out his claws, catching a Combatant’s wrist and then turning and delivering a kick towards another.

Tsukuyomi looked up to Poseidon in his perch. “And you’re a fool if you believe that I am the only one of my kind still fighting!”

The Kaijin turned toward the crowd. His hand expanded as his talons dug into the space above everyone, creating a portal.

SKKKKT!

Tentacole dived through, shooting through the air.

“WHAT?!” Poseidon yelled. “Impossible!”

The Dupli-Arm teen twisted his body, punching Combatants left and right.

“OCTOSPANSION!”

Tentacole’s arm morphed into a giant fist, smashing through Master Driller’s armor and putting a huge dent in it.

Mezo Shoji had been through plenty of terrible times that he’ll never forget. But no matter what world he’s in, he’ll choose to use the body he has to carry the torch for other mutants like him and fight for a better future.

The Tentacle Hero!

TENTACOLE!

SKKKKT!

Boomslang somersaulted through the portal, landing on a narrow set of stairs. Three Combatants surrounded her, going in for the attack. The snake spun around, brandishing her sword as she struck each one of them down.

Mr. Brave raised his blade made out of his hair as he rushed down the stairs. Without a word from any of them, the two of them crossed swords.

The Commander was an expert at swordsmanship more than Boomslang ever could. But all she needed was one successful block.

Boomslang made direct eye contact with Mr. Brave as she paralyzed him with her eyes for only three seconds before paralyzing him with her sword.

Habuko Mongoose never thought she could make friends. Not with her appearance. She thought she would always be alone. But she learned over time through her friendship with Tsuyu Asui, that the world isn’t like that. There are always lonely people out there.

You just have to be hiding, waiting to strike, to bring those friends forward.

The Naja Hero!

BOOMSLANG!

SKKKKT!

Comicman had landed on a group of boulders. He opened his metaphorical mouth wide and shouted to the world.

KA-BOOM! BANG! BLAM! BONK!

Huge, sturdy letters created by Comicman’s speech crashed through the area, knocking the Combatants off their vantage points.

The living speech bubble jumped down from his rock, looking up to see Odd Eye leaping at him with a knife.

BOING!

The letters from Comicman’s speech bounced the Commander away from him like a cartoon, slicing through the crowd with how large they were.

Manga Fukidashi always loved manga. Surprising. I know.  Reading all about stories about change and making the most of yourself... What’s not to love?

He always enjoys a happy ending, making his heart go ‘BADUM!’

He’s determined to give the people he cares about a happy ending. He’ll be the one to write it for them.

The Author Hero!

COMICMAN!

SKKKKT!

Plamo had landed on a small dirt patch near the courtyard.

A group of Combatants immediately came straight for him. Funny. It's as if they were glued together.

The glue stick threw a punch toward a Combatant’s gut, knocking the wind out of him. He ducked out of the way of anoth-

The ground started shifting beneath him, becoming less solid and more like he was in an avalanche.

Plamo turned his head, spotting the culprit. Pixie-Bob.

The blonde Commander had her hands placed on the dirt, manipulating the environment. Beast-like golems had already been molded, ready for combat.

Plamo kicked away the nearest Combatant before jumping right between the horde of Earth Beasts and twirling in place.

“GLUE SQUALL!”

He fired off his adhesive all over the area, sticking the Beasts permanently to the ground. Pixie-Bob also got a glob of it as she struggled to pull her hands out of the glue. She looked up right as Plamo sent a flying side kick right to her jaw.

WHAM!

Kojiro Bondo saw the cracks in his society. Everyone was fighting each other because they were all on different sides. He chose his side because he saw how he could put it all together.

The Bonding Hero!

PLAMO!

SKKKKT!

As soon as she dropped from her portal, Burnin immediately started swinging and kicking Combatants left and right.

KICK! KICK! DODGE! PUNCH! DUCK! KICK!

“Seriously?” she asked. “Come on! Endeavor got the noose so who else can you give me?”

“None! You Kaijin don’t have any rights!”

Burnin looked up to see a gigantic construct of a lion’s head made out of sand. It roared its fangs as it descended upon the woman. The woman pulled out two chunks of her green fireball hair, manipulating them into two swords. Before Snatch, the Commander behind the sand construct, could react, Burnin stuck the left sword in the lion’s jaw while throwing the other one like a javelin. It went clear through the sand, right through the Commander’s forehead. The sand dropped harshly to the ground as the life left the man’s eyes.

“Equal rights, equal fights!” Burnin exclaimed before holding out her swords toward the other Combatants. “Who’s left?!"

Moe Kamiji knew how to fight a war. A part of her enjoyed it, thrived on it. She promised herself she wouldn’t experience the pain of it, however. She knew that if there were any problems, she would fight her way through them.

The Extinguisher Hero!

BURNIN!

SKKKKT!

Ingenium shot forward from the portal like a rocket. His foot swung in an arc, knocking into Manual’s gut. The Commander was thrown back, skidding along the ground, now completely unconscious.

The speedster continued moving using his engines to propel himself forward in a blaze. He kept himself crouched down, flipping Combatants by their feet as he went.

Tearing through everything in his path, Ingenium saw the obstacle in his way, Yoroi Musha. The speedster kicked away the oncoming sword as he swept the Commander’s legs from underneath. The armored samurai fell on his back. His various weapons scattered along the ground.

Tenya Iida looked up to his family, his brother. They meant the world to him. Even though the Iidas didn’t try to put any pressure on him, Tenya knew the pressure of how he’ll honor his family’s legacy. But he had his own family now, some of it coming from Izuku Midoriya. Now, Tenya knew exactly what he was fighting for. A better future.

His brain was in top gear. His engines have been started.

The Turbo Hero!

INGENIUM!

Ingenium drew back his fist to ensure Yoroi Musha was officially unconscious and out of commission. (He’s always been meticulous like that, double checking his work.)

Suddenly, something wrapped around his wrist. Ingenium immediately started sprinting, planning on dragging whoever had captured him with him. But no flames came out of his calves.

WHAM!

Ingenium fell on his side before being pinned down. He looked up to see the monster right above him with glowing red eyes.

“Eraserhea- OOF!”

Eraserhead had raised his foot, stomping hard on Ingenium’s chest at full strength.

He still hadn’t seen the girl who was there the whole time, had been riding on Ingenium’s back as they exited the portal.

“Look around! This chaos is what you Kaijin are capable of!” Eraserhead said, pulling out a knife. You’re finis-!”

The Commander wasn’t prepared as the hand holding his knife was suddenly thrust toward his face, right into his right eye!

Blood splattered the inside of his flimsy goggles, spurting all over. He shrieked with pain “GACKHT!”

“You guys always forget about me!” A voice yelled.

Even though Eraserhead was physically stronger than his invisible opponent, the surprise attack had gotten to him, thrown him off his balance. The girl aimed a punch at his gut and then turned around, jamming an elbow at the same spot.

The girl ran over, helping Ingenium out of his bonds. As soon as the engine teen stood up, she bumped fists with him. “Told ya we should always stick together.” She smiled, giggling a little. “I'm the best backseat driver, after all.”

Ingenium nodded, “You are correct. Thank you.”

The two of them ducked out of the way as Eraserhead continued to fight, throwing his capture weapon at them. Ingenium went right before he charged back at Eraserhead, gaining a small burst of speed even when Eraserhead activated his power again. The Commander kicked at the teenager, turning him around as he struck again, kicking his back.

Eraserhead glanced back behind him to see if the invisible girl was still there and going in for another attack. But he only looked behind him at eye level. He didn’t see the invisible girl crouching down low and picking up Yoroi Musha’s discarded sword. He did notice the sharp searing pain in his leg.

“Aaarrrgghhh!”

Eraserhead tried to hold himself together, ignoring the pain. But he couldn’t help himself. He closed his eyes.

“RECIPRO BURST!”

Ingenium wound back his body before roundhouse kicking hard in Eraserhead’s gut, flames fueling his attack.

Eraserhead’s body went right through a wall, his jaw cracking on a wooden desk inside.

CRAAAASSSSHHHH!

Toru Hagakure liked being invisible. If people could actually see her all the time, she would think she would have more to hide. Her appearance, her looks. It feels like too much pressure. Look at how the rest of the world judges mutants based on their appearances already. She’ll do her best to make the rest of the world as see-through as she is.

The Stealth Hero!

INVISIBLE GIRL!

On his podium, Poseidon snapped, seeing every single member of the League alive and well. “How...? HOW...?!” Poseidon raged, a part of him inside exploding in anger. “HOW ARE THEY ALL STILL ALIVE?!”

It couldn’t have been an error with his invention, could it?

No, that’s preposterous. He’d never make a mistake. This had to be a trick. It had to be!

“MEGA MAX!” Poseidon commanded. But the virus didn’t come out of the Big Machine. Nothing happened.

“What the-?”

It was then that someone made their presence known.

A sword stabbed Poseidon in the back, going straight through his armor!

The villain recoiled from the sudden pain. He spun around to see Rock Lock thrusting back a bloody sword right behind him.

Rock Lock tsk’d, realizing that he hadn’t finished the job yet.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re wondering how this all happened, didn’t you?” Rock Lock said, inspecting the sword in his hands, licking off the blood from the blade menacingly. “Simple. You got screwed.”

Rock Lock tackled him off the podium before Poseidon’s body became liquid, the two of them tumbling on the ground. Poseidon pointed his spear at Rock Lock while holding his chest in pain. “What did you do, Rock Lock?” he growled.

“Oh, my! The big scientist didn’t figure it out yet!” Rock Lock cackled, pulling himself up. “But I’ll catch you up quickly. We faked the whole thing.”

“What?”

“Turns out, my friends and I know one of the League’s allies. Finding out about your big weapon, the League had a bit of a back-up plan in case they couldn’t destroy it in time.”

Underneath his helmet, Poseidon’s eyes widened. “Faking their deaths?”

“Ding ding ding!” Rock Lock exclaimed with a cute smile. “To catch you guys off guard. And, once we learned about it, my friends and I helped with that. Shishikura’s meatballs were the things that blocked your giant robot’s eyes. That gave us the time we needed to get everything in position. Who you saw actually killed by your little water snake? A few well-placed bullets from Goto to disperse your virus when it reached the glamoured illusion from my bestie, Camie.”

It was too convenient after all. A majority of the League just naturally showing up in one place, ready to get destroyed? Anyone could have seen through it, admittedly, if they thought about it. But Dr. Dee was too arrogant, too devoted to his cause. He had been high on seeing All for One defeated at his hands. If someone did try to tell him the truth, he would have absolutely refused to hear it. He was that elated.

There was only one question that still needed to be answered. Poseidon narrowed his eyes. “Who are you?”

"Not Rock Lock. The butler took care of him. But he snuck me enough blood long enough for me to figure out when was the best time to really hurt you.”

As the impostor finished explanation, a sludge-like substance seeped all over ‘him’. In a few seconds, a naked blonde teenager emerged from the muscular man.

Poseidon growled, “Himiko Toga...” His grip on his spear tightened. “I should have known. All Kamen Riders become problems eventually.”

“Right now, I’m not a Kamen Rider,” Toga said, holding her Rider sword high. “I’m just a girl with a broken heart.” She brandished it forward, licking her lips. “And, if I were you, I’d run.”

“I won’t! This world doesn’t have room for people trying to act like ‘real’ heroes!”

The two of them rushed at each other, each one having the intent to kill.

“Attention, everyone!”

Those who weren’t focusing on a fight looked back at the podium. They were all surprised to see a snail man in a luxurious suit and tie speaking into the microphone.

Den-O tilted his head. “The old man?”

Izuku thought, “Owner?”

No one had even caught a glimpse of him at all. Where did he even come from?!

“I have an announcement for you all. The history of heroes and Riders may have been altered... but their ideals in the hearts of mankind will never be swayed.”

Poseidon knocked Toga aside, glaring up at him, “What is this rubbish?!”

Owner explained, “What lies in a person’s heart is what shapes our history. The memories of their deep dreams manifested themselves in the youth of the present, fighting to bring about new change.” He looked over at Poseidon, his smirk widening with every word. “To put it simply for you, no matter how much history changes, heroes will always be there to save the day!”

Some of the civilians who were still hiding, felt like cheering into applause at that.

Kaminari gave an awkward thumbs up, “Uh, thanks, weird snail guy!” The electric teen then ducked underneath a punch from a Combatant.

During his fight, Kirishima ended up back-to-back with Yoarashi, asking, “Do you have any idea what that guy meant by that first part?”

“Nope!” Yoarashi admitted. “But whatever it is, we’re ready! We prepared for this. Right?!” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a brightly colored pair of spare underwear.

“Right!” Kirishima wholeheartedly agreed, pulling out a bright red pair of boxers.

More male Class 1-A students pulled out their underwear, holding it high into the air as if it were their flags of war.

Deku paused, his sword on a Combatant’s chest, looking at all of the undies in his view, “We clearly missed something...”

Suneater paused as well, claws slumping by his side as he felt like getting in the fetal position in the corner. “Oh no. I created a cult... That’s too much pressure.”

“Dude, stop focusing on your panties cult and fight the evil one!”

“YOU!”

Suneater’s eyes rose up to the terrace above him. Stendhal had reached the railing, pointing his sword directly at him. Even though his expression was hidden underneath the mask, the Class 1-A teacher radiated an angry aura around him. He bent his sword back, jumping up to join the fight.

Suddenly, an arm wrapped around Stendhal’s waist, tugging him back on the terrace as the two of them tumbled.

Stendhal pulled himself up right as his new opponent was doing the same.

“Goto?” the teacher asked. “You’re a part of this?”

The teenager nodded, holding his gun firmly, “I always have. I’ve been helping the League of Kaijin ever since I came to UA.”

Stendhal’s hand gripped tightly on his sword. His voice turned cold. “You’re a fake...” He looked back at Goto, eyes red with bloodlust. “Then I will purge you from this world!”

The swordsman lunged for him as Goto fired his gun at him.

CH! CH! CH!

But Stendhal sliced through them one-by-one, unable to be stopped. Goto held his gun high, letting the thick metal block the thin blade. The Commander slammed his weight on the teenager, pushing him further toward the railing, practically crushing him on it.

“How could you?! How could any of you lead my students to ruin?!”

“I didn’t!” Goto let out a grunt, trying to push back and keep himself on the terrace. “This is them doing exactly what you taught them!”

“How? I taught them to follow their convictions!”

“They are!” Goto stared at the mask as if he was looking at the man underneath it. “Just look at them! Truly look at them and tell me that they’re fighting with more conviction than you have ever seen. They’re fighting for something they truly believe in!”

Stendhal gritted his teeth for a moment before looking toward the battlefield and observing his students like the teacher he was.

Yosetsu Awase leaped into the air, tackling the bamboo Commander, Takeshita, to the ground. The two of them rolled before Awase kicked them in their side. Awase grabbed Takeshita’s hand along with the bamboo he was holding, fusing the bamboo to Takeshita on a molecular level. He flipped up on his feet right as Takeshita pulled himself up to.

The bamboo in Takeshita’s hand elongated, almost scratching Awase.

The teenager rolled underneath it, rushing at Takeshita and tackling him to the nearest wall.

WHAM!

Awase rolled along the bamboo, welding the end of the cane to the wall.

The Commander strained himself, trying to pull himself off the wall, but couldn’t. He even tried to use his free hand to break the bamboo but couldn’t even reach it.

“Fun fact,” Awase said, welding the man’s chest to the wall as well, making escape virtually impossible. As he watched the Commander struggle, the boy with the bandana pointed a finger up. “Bamboo’s tensile strength is stronger than steel. Good luck trying to break that.”

The teenager smiled as if he was just speaking casually.

Yosetsu Awase likes wearing a bandana.

Why? It keeps him grounded.

The world he’s living is in pretty crazy. He'll admit that. He’s certainly not one of the crazier parts of it. But he’ll do what he can to try and make the world he’s in a lot more grounded like him.

The Construction Hero!

WELDER!

Romero Fujimi punched a Combatant low in their gut.

WHAM!

The Combatant was down. Another one had already taken his role to attack the teenager like a damn cockroach.

The teenager slid his foot under theirs, flipping them to the ground.

WHAM!

Suddenly, a sweet purple mist filled the air. Midnight walked through it, spotting the teenager collapsed on the ground with his back to her.

Midnight strutted toward him, able to breathe her gas completely immune. If she wasn’t in such a hurry, she would make some innuendo about how her outfit and hair were so perfect that men dropped from the sight of it. But she needed to make sure they were secure even if her opponents were knocked out.

She produced a set of handcuffs. Power dampeners, not the naughty ones.

As the Commander bent forward to place Fujimi’s hand in the handcuffs, the teenager suddenly sprung up, pink gas releasing from his body. Midnight realized her mistake when she saw the lower half of Fujimi’s face being covered by a gas mask. Even more when the teenager gave off a creepy grin.

“You fell for the oldest horror movie trope in the book!” Fujimi yelled as the Commander broke into a coughing fit, dropping her whip. He rushed for it, snatching it off the ground.

Fujimi knew he didn’t have much time before his power fully took effect. He lashed out the whip, using just the tip to wrap itself firmly around Midnight’s neck.

Midnight’s skin became bluish gray. Her beautiful eyes became sunken, completely black. She let out a moan (that was strangely still seductive to any male in the area.)

She was now a zombie.

Fujimi kept his distance from her, using her like a dog on a leash on the others.

Talk about a twist!

Romero Fujimi absolutely loved his power. Relishing it as a perfect match. After all, he viewed a zombie apocalypse as a foregone conclusion.

After all, when there's no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth.

And, when the world is dead, he’ll be the one to walk among them.

The Viral Hero!

HALPERIN!

Sen Kaibara shifted his weight as he grabbed a Combatant and tossed him over his shoulder.

WHAM!

The teenager moved past the Combatant on the ground, rearing back before kicking another Combatant down. He heard a sound behind him. He spun around.

The Commander, Slidin’ Go, was standing perfectly up, smoothly sliding across the ground as if he moved across a stream of slime.

There was no point in trying to dodge. Slidin’ Go had more maneuverability than the teenager, more speed. Kaibara just stood there at the ready, keeping his eyes locked on the target moving left, right, back, forth, zig-zag-!

Slidin’ Go was right behind him!

WHAM!

Kaibara stumbled back from the punch, taking the hit. Slidin’ Go skated around him again.

All Kaibara needed was one more-

NOW!

Right as Slidin’ Go came in for another sneak attack, Kaibara aimed the tips of his toes at the ground. His foot rotated at high speed like a drill, disrupting the ground behind him. It wasn’t enough to do anything significant, but it was just enough for Kaibara to slow Slidin’ Go for a moment. Which was all that he needed.

The student spun around, drilling through Slidin’ Go’s defenses and puncturing through his skin!

Sen Kaibara goes with the flow in most cases, despite having a power to literally drill in and break through his problems. So, unlike the other students, he was fine working to be one with Shocker or whatever.

But, if his friends were going to pick a fight, then he sure as hell would do the same thing.

The Drill Hero!

SPIRAL!

Denki Kaminari leaped up, somersaulting over the ground and dodging the punch from a Commander. His feet landed behind them before he spun around and punched the Commander’s back. Another Commander lunged at him, forcing the electric teen to kick them away before they could reach him.

The blonde looked side by side, noticing that he was completely surrounded. A dozen or so Commanders were focusing on him now. He was hit with the sudden realization that it was hopeless, but it would be absolutely stupid to continue fighting now.

Eh, being stupid was fine.

“Indiscriminate Shock 1.3 Million Volts!”

Kaminari slammed the yellow electricity from his hands onto the ground, planning on shocking everyone around hi-

The blonde suddenly sank to his knees before collapsing on the ground.

A long piece of red string pierced into Kaminari knitted itself into the head of the ninja Commander, Edgeshot. The Commander had expertly cut off his blood flow to render the teenager unconscious. His patented Thousand Sheet Pierce had worked.

Except...

It was too late.

Kaminari’s brain was already fried. The natural electricity his body had created limited the effects of the stroke Edgeshot had given to him.

Giving a very dumb smile, Kaminari had a spark of awareness as he released his electricity over the area.

BBBBBBBZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!

Denki Kaminari may not react the best in dangerous situations, easily getting flustered. For a guy whose role is to be a fighter, that’s certainly not a good thing for him.

He knows that his power is super useful. He just has to learn how to be brave like everyone else.

It’ll come to him. After all, lightning always strikes twice.

The Stun Gun Hero!

CHARGEBOLT!

Itsuka Kendo kicked a Combatant square in the back before she swung her kick at another. Both of them were sent flying over the small walkway they were on.

Blocking her path, the Martial Arts Commander, Blackbelt, stood, ready to strike.

Kendo put her fists up in a fighting stance. “I heard of him. The second he reaches me, the fight is over!”

The martial artist knew that Blackbelt’s power, Fast Fist, was powerful. It allowed him to hit 100 times in less than a second, making it appear like a single attack to the naked eye. She needed a counter and fast!

Blackbelt lunged forward.

Kendo enlarged both of her hands to a gigantic size. Right before Blackbelt could close the gap fully between them, the girl clapped her hands together hard.

CLAP!

Both the sudden loud noise and the small gust of wind created from it were enough to stun Blackbelt in place. Not for long. Only a moment.

But a moment was all that Kendo needed.

CRUNCH!

An enlarged karate chop right to the neck left Blackbelt with white eyes.

Itsuka Kendo leaned a lot into martial arts with her power, including its origins and the best practices. To only use martial arts as a form of self-defense, not violence. With the world the way that it was, she had no confidence in herself that she could fully hurt someone in a fight. But she’s grown past the point of ever thinking there’s no hope!

The Marvel Hero!

BATTLE FIST!

Eijiro Kirishima hardened his arms as he punched Combatants left and right. He was completely surrounded, but he moved, keeping his head down and weaving through them like an expert boxer. He landed a kick squarely in the back of a Combatant’s knee before using his arms like they were blades and slicing through another.

“Your threads have been unruly to fit into Shocker’s image. Clothing is the cage of our times!”

Kirishima spun around, witnessing Best Jeanist close his fist. All of a sudden, the teenager’s clothes unraveled like strands as the fibers then wrapped themselves around his limbs, keeping them together.

“You stand defiant against Shocker?” Best Jeanist said, approaching him. “That goes everything we have built up and worked toward. Do you know what doom you’ll bring to yourself?”

“I don’t care!” Kirishima said as he strained his bonds. “As long as I can protect my friends!” His entire body became extremely hard and rugged. The threads began to crack open like an egg before Kirishima split it open fully, freeing himself. His almost claw-like hands ripped apart what remained of his shirt as he slammed the tattered remains to the ground.

The now shirtless teenager flexed all of his muscles and pecs before going in for the attack again.

If he needed to break apart all of his clothes to win this fight, that’s exactly what Kirishima would do.

After all, he brought spare underwear for a reason...

Eijiro Kirishima was just a boy. But he wanted to be a man.

He’s seen a lot of scary stuff in his life and did his best to process it, make sense of it. But the one thing scarier than all of that was letting that scary stuff again. That’s why he’ll make sure he doesn’t have any regrets!

He’ll fight to survive!

The Sturdy Hero!

RED RIOT!

Yui Kodai reached into her bag of tricks AKA her purse. Three pencils flew through the air, growing in size until they were the size of trees!

Combatants ran in fear as the pencils’ tips struck the pavement, some of them having to dive for cover for fear of being crushed.

The girl rushed forward, tackling a stray Combatant. She put all of her weight into slamming them down on their stomach.

FTEWWW!

Kodai barely jumped out of the way as the oncoming energy beam almost singed her! It got her purse as the laser burned through her bag, spilling its contents.

FTEWWW! FTEWWW!

Kodai ducked, moving away from the lasers being shot at her by the Commander, X-Less. She rolled toward her bag, grabbing the closest thing she could: a matryoshka doll. The girl threw the doll as high as she could, waiting until it was at its highest point before she let it grow so big it blocked out the sun for the Commander.

X-Less focused upwards and fired a laser from his right eye.

FTEWWW!

It sliced right through the doll, splitting in two. X-Less sidestepped out of the way, avoiding it as it crashed back to the ground.

CRASH!

But, right as it did, X-Less didn’t notice the little toy car that cruised toward him until it got big and it was too late.

WHAM!

Yui Kodai usually doesn’t have much to say. She’s a girl with few words and even fewer expressions. Is she too strong minded or not understanding it all? As if she were an alien, she observed everyone silently, seeing for herself if humanity was worth saving to her.

It was.

The Ultra Hero!

RULE!

Kinoko Komori kicked the back of the Commander, Slice, a small part of her hoping that it would knock the woman down.

It didn’t.

Slice immediately spun around, her long red hair hardening as well. She fired off individual strands of her like needles.

“EEP!” Komori yelped as she ran away from them.

The needles finally reached her, cutting through Komori’s legs as the girl fell on her side. Blood flowed as the girl turned toward the woman looming over her.

“Any last words?”

“Yep. Hope you feel very shroomful right now.”

Slice pulled back her hair to finish the job before she suddenly coughed, gasping for air. She stumbled back as she tore at her throat, wondering what was going on.

Komori giggled with relief as she pulled herself up. The girl explained it easily, “Splitgill mushrooms. Just needed time to get the spores in there to grow.” She smiled. “You’re lucky I did those instead of those funny psychedelic ones.”

Kinoko Komori wanted to be a star. Certainly not in the way that Shocker wanted her to be.

She wanted to show the world just how shroomtastic she can be! And that’s exactly what she’ll do!

The Fable Hero!

SHEMAGE!

Neito Monoma was busy fighting off some Commander. He’s not even sure what the Commander’s full name was. Gentle something. Right now, the teenager wasn’t focusing on the man’s name, but his power.

Elasticity. Gentle was able to make his environment bouncy, even using it on air. He was skilled, fast. There was no way for Monoma to touch him. Unless...

Flames flickered across Monoma’s skin, copied from Todoroki, as he shot it out in a stream upwards. Gentle was still nimble, dodging back and forth. The flames were only hitting the objects he used. Still, Monoma fired, setting his space ablaze.

Something was wrong with Gentle. His platforms weren’t as effective as they could be. What was-?

And, then it dawned on him.

At higher temperatures, elasticity severely decreases because the molecular bonds become weaker. Even when Gentle was using the air, the temperature of the area was being affected too from all of the flames.

Gentle was slowing down.

Monoma shouted, “Hey, can you hear me now?”

“My dear boy, I-”

And, then Gentle’s mind went blank, his limbs going straight down. Courtesy of Monoma reaching into his pocket and copying Brainwashing from Shinsou’s hair.

Gentle’s body fell toward the ground, completely helpless. Monoma took the moment to grab Awase’s hair and copy that Quirk into his system. Rather than letting Gentle hit the pavement, Monoma punched right when he was in range. The man’s body crashed into a streetlamp. The shock woke the Commander out of the Brainwashing, but Monoma was already on him, welding the man’s back to the streetlamp.

“What the-?” Gentle cried as he tried to bounce but couldn’t. With Weld active, Gentle wouldn’t be able to remove himself from the streetlamp, no matter how elastic it was.

“I have the strength of my classmates right beside me,” Monoma commented. “After all, that’s the way Class 1-A protects each other. That’s how they prove they are the ultimate class.”

Neito Monoma can’t get stronger on his own. He knows that. Even in a world like this, he’s not the main character. But, here, maybe he’ll have a chance of walking down the straight, noble path that hasn’t been in his reach. Because with his class by his side, he’s done it already.

He created a masterful performance where the supporting roles have upstaged the lead!

The Lupin Hero!

PHANTOM THIEF!

Rin Hiryu kicked his leg high up, knocking down the Combatant right in front of him. Another Combatant came at him from the side with a kick, but Hiryu blocked it, counteracting the attack with a roundhouse kick.

Movement from behind!

Hiryu turned around to see two vending machines becoming wrapped in red fabric... and then gained legs.

The teenager stood there in shock for a moment before he started to gain his bearings. He looked up the path to see the Commander responsible.

Hiryu glanced behind him, quickly rolling out of the blade belonging to another Combatant trying to slice him. Instead of focusing on the Combatant, Hiryu ran forward. His momentum wasn’t stopped even when the mummified vending machines tried to grab him. He stretched out his arms, letting the green scales form on his skin and shield him.

Right in front of him, the massive bus became wrapped in red fabric, becoming another mummy a part of the horde.

Hiryu didn’t hesitate any longer. As the bus mummy slammed his fist toward Hiryu, the teenager jumped, letting the fist hit the ground instead.

WHAM!

The student’s feet leaped up from the mummy’s arm. Hiryu’s shoes stomped on the mummy’s head as he gained altitude and jumped up again, readying his scales.

“This is a tough shot...”

All of the mummies were connected to the Commander through the long strands of fabric. Hiryu saw that they were already making more than just the Combatants. Soon, they would completely outnumber him...

It felt like time slowed down as Hiryu took a steadying breath and stretched his hand, aiming for the perfect spot.

SKRIEL!

The reptilian scale flew with extreme accuracy. It was so small it moved through the web of floating mummies with ease. It landed right at its intended target: the Commander’s face.

“Yes!” Hiryu exclaimed.

Rin Hiryu is a long way from his home country, from his family. He hopes that one day, he’ll be able to return there. But, first, he’ll have to make sure his new home can protect itself without fear. Like a dragon, he’ll inspire them all.

The Imperial Hero!

LONG WEIZI!

Rikido Sato jumped over the stair railing, tackling the Commander known as Onima. Like a wrestler, Sato grabbed Onima by the back of his clothes and held his entire body up over his head. He heaved it down the stairs, letting the man’s body hit the muscled backside of Death Arms.

“Ha! Piece of cake!”

Death Arms turned to see Sato quickly eating a piece of cake that he found on the ground.

(30-minute rule!)

Sato’s muscles became huge and bulky. The boy became so strong he felt like his skeleton wasn’t even ready for the amount of power he had!

Both Sato and Death Arms rushed at each other. Their hands grabbed onto the others’ as they both pushed at each other with all their strength. The two of them generated gusts of wind just from the strength they were exerting.

Sato had a higher altitude which gave him an advantage, but his strength would run out soon. His power came with a time limit.

It would be fine. For now, he’ll ride this sugar high however long as he could. He had a feeling he’d be okay.

After all, he left a cake in the oven at the dorms, and he needed to be there when it was finished. He wasn’t going to lose here!

Rikido Sato is a true chef at heart. He believes that when you serve good food, the atmosphere and environment are a part of making a simple thing like lunch into a great experience. He knows what it’s like to gain strength from the sweetness of the world. One day, he hopes to share it with everyone else.

The Sweets Hero!

SUGARMAN!

Hitoshi Shinsou was up high, fighting on a staircase on a floor way above the ground. The purple-haired teen kicked to the side, knocking a Combatant to the railing.

CLANG!

Shinsou heard the multiple footsteps coming in both directions. Combatants were about to completely swarm him. He was trapped!

The insomniac looked over the railing. It was too far of a jump. He’d die going that way. He would like to go to sleep but not in that way!

“Wait a minute...” Shinsou thought, spotting someone down below.

The teenager held his hands to his mouth, shouting over the fire and chaos, “HEY, MOUNT NASTY!”

Mount Lady stopped in her tracks, glancing around before she spotted him. Two sets of purple eyes locked on to each other.

“THE HOES CALLED!” Shinsou jabbed a thumb in another direction, leaning on the railing casually. “THE GIANT PUSSY PARADE IS IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!”

“WHAT?!” Mount Lady shouted, stomping her feet and getting irritated. “WHY, YOU LITTLE-?!”

It was obvious when the Commander fell under Shinsou’s brainwashing, becoming slack as she stood there. Purple eyes turned white.

“NOW HOLD OUT YOUR PALMS!”

Mount Lady followed his command.

“YEEEEEEEE!”

Shinsou glanced back for a moment to see the army of Combatants coming his way. The teenager ignored the rational part of his mind screaming this plan was stupid and climbed up on the railing, letting his body fly from the staircase. He aimed toward the Commander.

“NOW GROW!"

Mount Lady sprouted up fast, reaching gigantic heights. Shinsou aimed his trajectory, landing on her broad, strong hands that were now the size of cars.

Panting with relief, Shinsou looked up to see the white eyes of Mount Lady. His brainwashing was in control. The teenager pulled himself up to his feet.

“NOW PUT ME ON YOUR SHOULDER!”

Mount Lady grabbed Shinsou, albeit a bit tightly, and the teenager stood on her shoulder as if it were a perch.

“Okay! Now...” Shinsou gave a creepy grin, looking at all of the Combatants on the staircase. “Smash!”

Hitoshi Shinsou always had expectations placed on him, all because of what he was born with. The only reason he’s here in the first place because the people in charge knew that his Brainwashing was a powerful tool for a villain like a Commander to use.

He won’t give up. He’ll show the world who he really is and become something else instead: a hero.

The Persuasion Hero!

SOMNUS!

Nirengeki Shoda ducked behind cover. The boy with cuts all over peeked around the bench before he had to dive out of the way. A web of blades immediately cut through it, splintering it into pieces.

Shoda looked at his opponent’s position before running again. (In hindsight, a Commander named Moonfish that wore a black straitjacket should have been one of the signs that this world wasn’t right.)

“Pretty...” Moonfish said. “So pretty how you keep running!”

Shoda saw a blade oncoming. He slapped it on the side before ducking and continuing again.

The boy might have been a little chubby, but all of the training from UA really made sure his stamina was in top condition. He ran underneath metal pillars, an underpass, anywhere he could squeeze through.

Left! Right! Loop! Left! Jump!

Finally, in an underground parking garage, Shoda stopped and looked back. His opponent wasn’t there at all. The blades of teeth, however, were practically tied up through the environment between pillars, not able to go further.

“His teeth can only stretch so far. If I’m right, he should need to retract them right about... now!”

True to Shoda’s prediction, the teeth retracted as Moonfish stumbled into view again.

The Commander licked his lips. “Pretty, pretty flesh!”

Moonfish closed his mouth for a moment, getting ready to open them and slice the boy open.

That’s when Shoda activated Twin Impact on the blade he touched earlier.

Which meant Moonfish’s tooth.

Instead of the tooth shooting out and hitting Shoda, it instead got redirected and plunged right into the villain’s gums.

“AHHHHH!” Moonfish cried out in pain.

Yep, that had to hurt.

Nirengeki Shoda may not be the strongest or the fastest in his class, but he’s accepted that for a while. However, the one thing he is good at is supporting his fellow classmates. Whenever their initial plan fails, he always provides the second chance they need for victory.

And that’s what he’ll do for the rest of the world.

The Mobile Hero!

MINDZ!

Shoto Todoroki would have thought that if he had to fight a Commander and go against the corrupt world he lived in, he would be fighting the flaming pile of garbage that was his father. (Though, if Dabi was there, he would have followed Endeavor’s lead. Everyone knows that Dabi was the greatest supporter of Endeavor.) Still, he never expected to have a big showdown with his math teacher of all people.

Todoroki immediately stomped his foot to the ground, freezing the ground that he and Muscular were in. That didn’t stop Muscular as he charged in, ramming through Todoroki’s ice wall like it was nothing.

CRASH!

Shards of ice fell around the dual teenager. Todoroki dodged Muscular’s punch, jumping out of the way, before creating more ice to guide him away from the fight with his flames from his other side pushing him forward.

However fast Todoroki was, his speed didn’t compare to Muscular’s. The Commander had jumped high into the air. Todoroki didn’t see the man’s shadow until he was right over him.

WHAM!

Todoroki fell on the ice face-first. He felt his right arm being tugged behind him and felt a painful sensation before he heard the sounds of his bones breaking.

“AGHHH!” Todoroki cried.

Muscular growled, “It’s over. Would have thought you, the son of Endeavor would have understood.”

“I absolutely do! My father became a part of a system that makes everyone fear for their lives.”

“Children like you sure know how to pass the blame. It's no good,” the Commander disapproved, shaking his head. “Shocker has done their best and dealt with the results. It’s fine for what they did. What's bad is when you can't put your money where your mouth is unlike your daddy and your-!”

“That’s where you’re wrong! Because you failed to realize this...” Todoroki gritted his teeth and looked up, glaring right at the Commander’s eyes. “You broke the wrong arm.”

Todoroki stood up and slammed his left hand on Muscular's flesh, burning the man’s flesh as fast as he could. The teenager could feel the traces of heat start to numb the pain in his arm. Muscular held on as long as he could before Todoroki put his left foot on the man’s arm before his legs were set ablaze.

Todoroki leaped back, now free, but he knew he didn’t have a moment to waste. Not with his right arm dangling like one of his soba noodles.

The teenager stomped his left foot on the ground, letting his flames spread across the entire field of ice and melting them. Steam poured from the ground right as Muscular then lunged right at him, fist out.

From Todoroki’s feet, an enormous ice glacier blocked the student from the teacher’s view.

CRUNCH!

The ice compacted from the force of Muscular’s fist.

But Todoroki wasn’t in view anymore.

Muscular darted his head left and right, trying to spot the student. But his vision was completely obscured. He then realized what happened. The flames were placed on the ice on purpose as a means of creating cover for Todoroki.

“WHERE ARE YOU?! COME ON OUT! FIGHT ME! THIS ISN’T HOW ENDEAVOR WOULD FIGHT!”

Inside the steam, Todoroki thought, “No, it’s not! And that’s the point!”

Todoroki got as close as he could without being seen before sending out a very sharp glacier right through Muscular’s arm. Blood leaked from the gaping gash, but the teenager couldn’t stop. Muscular reached up to his wound right as Todoroki rocketed forward, concentrating his flames to his fist. HIs flames were so hot they became pure white.

“FLASHFIRE FIST!”

KAAAABBOOOOOOMMMMMMM!

A violent explosion of flames rocked out of Todoroki’s arm, burning all of the flesh inside of Muscular’s wound.

Shoto Todoroki knew what his path in life was from the very beginning. After all, when your father is trying to live out his dreams and aspirations through you and continue the “legacy”, to Todoroki, it felt like his life was the one trapped in ice.

After going to UA, he learned how close-minded he was. He knows his mistakes, knows that he’s not perfect. But there is a fire within him, one determined to become a true hero to protect his family.

The Promise Hero!

SHOTO!

Setsuna Tokage sent a high kick to a Combatant as she noticed another Combatant aiming a gun right at her head. She wasn’t one to run away.

The girl rushed at the Combatant right as he fired.

The Combatant had a clear shot.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!

He missed.

In fairness, he never expected the greenette’s head to literally pop off her body and zoom off into the sky while the headless body kept moving.

The Combatant jerked his gun down a few inches, but he was too late. Tokage’s body jumped up, roundhouse kicking him right in his head. The Combatant fell like a light.

More Combatants were coming her way. Tokage’s body ran straight for the closest wall, performing a backflip off of it. However, she didn’t land on her feet.

Instead, her feet shot off from her legs like rockets.

Both feet stomped themselves on one Combatant’s head each before they swept another’s legs, knocking them on their side.

Tokage’s body floated towards her legs to put them back on, but an entire group of Combatants had arrived, aiming their guns. Her body and her feet vaulted over the nearest railing, dodging all of the bullets firing.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!

The Combatants ran to the railing, observing the scene in the plaza below.

Tokage’s feet were surrounded by three Commanders. They all swung their weapons down, but the feet were small agile projectiles. They easily evaded the attacks, getting their own kicks in. Meanwhile, the rest of Tokage’s body surged forward, her chest ramming into more Combatants like they were bowling pins.

The Combatants at the railing aimed their guns, trying to get a shot. However, none of them failed to notice that Tokage’s hands were nowhere in sight.

The dismembered left hand crawled along air as it reached the one on the farthest end. The right hand grabbed the Combatant’s shoulder, distracting him for a moment as the left hand snatched their gun from their hands and fired.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!

For the sole Combatant who was left, both of Tokage’s hands grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him over the railing, knocking him against the wall underneath.

Tokage’s body soon reformed together in the plaza. The only thing missing was the head.

Suddenly, Majestic came in, zooming in on a magic ring floating in the air.

Tokage’s kick met his kick, the two of them blocking each other. The Commander flicked his wrist and a magic circle moved towards her. The girl’s body split in half by the waist. The legs and feet dived down as Tokage’s arms matched Majestic’s altitude. The two of them exchanged blows, Majestic blocking Tokage’s punches while getting in a few hits of his own.

Right as Tokage locked her arms to block Majestic’s fist, Tokage’s legs and feet aimed a kick at Majestic’s side. However, the Commander blocked it, not even glancing behind him. Tokage threw a punch, but Majestic flew straight up in a blur, avoiding it completely.

WHOOSH!

Majestic called out, “You’ll need better magic than that!”

“Oh, believe me...”

The Commander spun around, seeing the disembodied head of Tokage. She was missing an eye and giving off a creepy smile. He didn’t even see her coming!

“We’re just getting started!”

Setsuna Tokage has a little bit of a devilish side to her. She enjoys watching people squirm, always thinking of ways to outsmart her enemies. Some might that with her attitude, she would be perfect for the Commander position.

Nah. It’s much more fun to deliver karma to those who would assert their power over others.

The Monitor Hero!

LIZARDY!

Kosei Tsuburaba threw a Combatant, letting him crash into a table.

CRASH!

Another Combatant tried to grab the teenager by his shoulders, but Tsuburaba threw him off. He flipped backwards, grabbing one of the Combatant’s batons. Tsuburaba swung it at the gut of the nearest Combatant on his left, knocking the air out of them.

Speaking of air...

Tsuburaba took a long deep breath, sucking in all of the air he could. The teenager then blew it out. The air solidified into one large wall. He pushed it forward, knocking the Combatants into the nearest wall.

WHAM!

Suddenly, a walking stick struck Tsuburaba’s legs, dropping him to the ground.

"Shall I say, ‘Ta-Dah?” A voice said right above him. One belonging to a certain showman-themed Commander known as Compress.

The teenager immediately flipped himself up, kicking the Commander’s arm away. Compress reached out, but Tsuburaba, already having an idea of what his power was, clamped both hands between it and tried wrestling it away. However, the Commander used the momentum to flip his body and fall to the ground, sweeping Tsuburaba’s legs from underneath.

Right before his back was on the ground, Tsuburaba tried to use the same trick and sweep Compress’s legs. But he didn’t make contact. In fact, when Tsuburaba stood back up, he saw that Compress was nowhere to be seen.

Tsuburaba looked left and right, completely bamboozled.

Movement right behind him!

The teenager rolled to the side, barely missing Compress’s hand by a few inches.

Tsuburaba scrambled up to his feet, throwing his hands in the air. Despite the situation, a part of him was amazed. He asked, completely curious, “Okay, seriously, how did you pull that off?”

Compress chuckled, “A good magician always has a trick up his sleeve.” He suddenly revealed a few marbles in the gaps between his fingers.

“Yeah, well, I might have a few tricks of my own...” the teenager thought as he sucked in all the air he could.

The Commander threw them up right as Tsuburaba shaped his hands into a cube and fired all the air he could. Compress went to snap his fingers and free the objects in the marbles, but the air from Tsuburaba rapidly expanded and solidified around Compress, trapping him in a box and closing in his limbs, similar to the marbles that Compress would make.

Kosei Tsuburaba liked watching classic Tokusatsu productions. He couldn’t do that as frequently in this world, but he still did what he could. He always felt mesmerized, seeing all of the special effects done to bring a concept like a superhero to life. As he got older, his love for the genre never stopped, not just for the special effects, but for showing the indomitable human spirit. He’ll be sure to set up his own stage for this world.

The Blowing Hero!

TSUBURABA!

Ochaco Uraraka stepped to the side, ducking her head out of the way of a blade. Another Combatant thrust his blade forward. The girl perfectly dodged it before she slammed his head into the ground and took his blade away, throwing it up in the air. The other Combatant rushed at her, but Uraraka spun her legs like a top, kicking their weapon away. She rolled forward, picking the weapon up. The teenager struck him with the weapon with a swing and then kicked the Combatant in the gut.

“I don’t want to do this...”

The teenager spun around. Thirteen was only a few feet away from her. Her finger was already pointed at Uraraka.

“But my job as a teacher and Commander is making sure none of my students cause any trouble!”

The cap on Thirteen’s index finger opened. Uraraka felt the rush of wind as Thirteen’s black hole sucked everything in her range. The teenager tried to grab onto a nearby pole but couldn’t reach any further!

Uraraka spun toward the Commander, looking right above Thirteen. She placed her five fingertips together, shouting, “Release!”

Thirteen snapped her head up to see the weapon Uraraka discarded earlier fall right toward her. The Commander raised her other hand to disintegrate it. But Thirteen’s attention was now diverted.

Right as she got within arms’ reach, Uraraka swung the weapon like it was a hammer right at Thirteen’s fingers.

“OWW!”

Thirteen’s arm jerked to the side in pain as Uraraka used the momentum to slide beneath the giant spacesuit. The teenager got right behind Thirteen as she put her full weight into tackling the woman to the ground.

WHAM!

Thirteen tried to reach behind her, but Uraraka kept a firm grip on her arms. Even when she grabbed the falling weapon in mid-air and used it to puncture Thirteen’s spacesuit.

Ochaco Uraraka is a little ashamed to admit it, but her whole journey, it all started with wanting to make money to support her family. Even in this world, that was still her goal. But her family had also told her that she should follow her dreams. And, here, being a Commander certainly wasn’t that.

Instead, she’ll be a hero, one that will look out for other heroes and protect them.

The Cosmic Hero!

URAVITY!

Momo Yaoyorozu would have thought that she would have been fighting Combatants along with the rest of her classmates. But another job fell to her.

She was busy fighting with one of her teachers, Twice. If she was able to fight him on his mistakes during exams, surely, she could do the same here, right?

Anyway, the honor student at the top of her class pulled out a magnum.

Yaoyorozu twirled the gun horizontally in her hands, actually firing it off and landing a few hits.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Four clones melted into sludge, but more rushed at her.

Yaoyorozu jerked her head to the left, barely missing a clone’s fist. She moved through the crowd of clones. Another Twice lunged at her. She held up the barrel of the gun, blocking the attack. He pulled out his measuring tape, slicing it towards her.

The teenager backflipped out of the way. Once, twice, three times!

On the last flip, a handle began to form out of her left arm.

A Twice clone dived at her from her right. She turned toward him and in one fluid motion, pulled the handle out of her arm as it formed into a complete sword!

Twice tried to move, but it was too late. The sword plunged right through his chest. The clone immediately dissolved into sludge.

Another clone charged at her from behind. With her free hand, Yaoyorozu punched that Twice clone in his face.

“Ow! What the heck?!” the Twice cried before slumping his shoulders. “Can’t we all just learn to love?”

Yaoyorozu interlocked her arm with Twice’s, bending the clone down as she vaulted over his body and kicked another Twice in the jaw. She freed herself from Twice as she sliced with her sword, left and right.

SLASH! SLASH!

More clones started to appear, filling her entire vision.

Yaoyorozu thought, “Looks like I’ll have to bring out something unconventional...”

Before they could completely overwhelm her, Yaoyorozu jumped into the fray, wielding a strong and long chainsaw. She revved the blade.

VRRR! VRRR!

A Twice clone paused, “Really? Isn’t that a little over the to-?”

He didn’t get a chance to finish his thought as he immediately got cut down.

Yaoyorozu kept going, making sure nothing got in her way. She mowed through them as if they were weeds. She slashed.

To the left, to the right, oh, wait, she missed one, gotta go back and be thorough!

Blocking another clone with her wrist, Yaoyorozu smiled. An exhilarating feeling bubbled in her chest.

“This is... this is me fighting for what I truly want!”

Yaoyorozu made one final horizontal slash through the crowd with her chainsaw before pulling out an axe out of her chest.

More specifically, a guitar axe.

“What? Are you going to play something for us?” a Twice asked before he closed his eyes and made a rock-on salute. “So punk rock!”

“Exactly!” Yaoyorozu said as she leaped forward, slashing a Twice with her blade. She jerked her head from an oncoming Twice and kept going, slashing another and another. She turned, holding the axe blade up to block the measuring tape trying to cut through her. Yaoyorozu finished with one long horizontal slash. “If I’m going to be a rebel, then I’m fully committed!”

The area around her was devoid of Twices. There were still more straight ahead. And even a single one was still dangerous.

“Oh, that’s nice!” one of the remaining Twices said before shaking his fist at her. “Detention for you! I’ll detention you twice!”

“I don’t think so!” Yaoyorozu responded, dropping the axe as she pulled up her shirt. Her chest began to glow. “I'll keep going for however long it takes!”

Some of the Twices immediately started covering their eyes, not trying to see the teenager’s chest. They even started covering each other’s. But, when the flash was gone, they all trembled in fear from the large cannon that Yaoyorozu was standing next to.

“Oh shi-”

BOOOOOM!

Momo Yaoyorozu knew from the start, what it was like to be at the top of it all. The power, the wealth, the influence. Even when going to UA, she felt like she was still supposed to act like she was at the top. But she never knew what it was like at the bottom. How horrible it was. The few glimpses she saw, especially in regard to Shocker’s doings, opened her eyes. If she won’t help bring everyone else up to the top, then what else could she do?

Watch out because this is her highlight!

The Everything Hero!

CREATI!

Inasa Yoarashi wasn’t sure how it happened exactly. He was caught up in the moment. But, instead of going for the Commanders, he ended up fighting other students. Ones still brainwashed to not have a single ounce of real passion left and choosing to protect Shocker.

The ground had begun shaking, ripping apart at the seams. Yoarashi was barely able to keep his foothold, stumbling and shaking with the ground. Yoarashi couldn’t tell who was causing it, not with all of the Combatants annoyingly trying to attack him. So, he raised his arms, generating vicious gusts of wind. The whole area became its own wind tunnel. All of the Combatants flailed their arms as they floated high into the air, unable to get back on the ground.

The teenager looked through all of the Combatants in the air and sure enough, there were a few others inside, even recognizing some of them briefly. (Including some upperclassman named Shindo.) He wasn’t sure who everyone was, but what was important was that the shaking stopp-

Something whacked him in the back, making him stumble forward.

BBBBBZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTT!

An electric arrow had pierced the teenager, shocking his entire body. Yoarashi fell to his knees. His body was trembling even worse than when he was in the middle of the earthquake only moments prior.

But, still, he refused to give up, keeping his arms up and his whirlwind active.

“This... this won’t hurt me!”

Yoarashi glanced to the side, seeing electric arrows fly right toward him. His wind wouldn’t work on electricity like that. Instead, he redirected the gusts and air flow. The Combatants were thrust one-by-one to meet the arrows, their bodies getting shocked instead.

BBBBBZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTT!

The teenager’s eyes darted left and right. He knew about the arrows now, but he didn’t know what whacked him. His eyes scanned every inch of his view. It took a lot of thought and managing to keep everyone afloat, know where the arrows’ trajectory was, and then know who or what could be used as defenses. He trained to keep track of these things.

It was then that he spotted it. Objects moving not according to the wind’s direction, on their own trajectories. They were acting like boomerangs coming right for him.

Yoarashi stood up, slamming down his hand. The wind followed suit, moving more Combatants to act as shields. He held both arms out, weaving everything out exactly to his advantage.

“I’ll stand here for as long as I can!” Yoarashi roared. “You can’t move me!”

Inasa Yoarashi was hot-blooded, always wanting to dive into his passions. For a long time, he thought his passion was serving Shocker and being a Commander. But, after meeting Tamaki, he realized what it means to truly be passionate. He’ll join the battle with him!

The Thermal Hero!

GALE FORCE!

On the stony terrace, Stendhal’s sword dropped to his side. He took a step away from Goto as he watched everyone closely. Of course, he couldn’t have seen everything that his students were going through. But he saw it as well as he could.

The determination, the conviction on their faces, in their movements. Even saving civilians when possible. This was more than just fighting for their lives. This was fighting for something they believed in, that united them.

Stendhal had never seen this before. Compared to the cause that the Commanders were fighting for, serving Shocker, the children’s goal of a free world made the Commanders look like fakes.

That came with a startling realization.

“I’m the fake here...”

There was a desire in him to try and protect the children, to save them from the consequences of their actions. But he knew deep down that this was the right thing to do...

Goto stood behind him. “Do you understand now?”

“I do...” Stendhal sighed. “Make this a better society.”

In reality, Stendhal could have easily stopped Goto from whacking him with the barrel of his gun and knocking him out.

But, at that moment, he was just too proud.

WHACK!

As Stendhal’s body crumpled to the floor, Goto looked out to the battlefield, determining where would be the best to assist. With all of the other students of Class 1-A, there was still one not accounted for...

His eyes narrowed upon seeing them. He jumped down, hopping back into the fray.

Reiko Yanagi’s whole body went flying, crashing into a nearby noodle cart.

CRASH!

Food tumbled down with wood splintered on the ground as the ghostly girl struggled to get up. She was completely soaked from head to toe as she looked at her current opponents, the Water Hose Duo.

The man said, pointing his hand at her, “You disgraced the name Kamen Rider! Surrender now!”

“No, I won’t back down!” Yanagi exclaimed, struggling to get up. “I’ll stand with my classmates! I have something worth fighting for!”

“We all do!” the woman argued. “You think we want this? We have a son at home we need to get back to! But we can’t if there are people like you siding with the people trying to destroy this world!”

Nearby, Toga was holding the staff of Poseidon, pushing it away from her as she continued her fight against the villain. But the mad doctor tapped the staff on the ground, growing impatient.

"You're boring me...” Poseidon said. “You’re just here to distract me for as long as you can so that I can’t fix whatever damage your friends are doing to my Big Machine. But I assure you...” He twirled his blade, pointing it right at her. “I built it to last.”

Toga grinned, showing off her own sword, “Yeah, well, I’m hard to kill as well. We’ll see what happens.”

“You are quite annoying...” Poseidon paused, looking over at the scene with Yanagi and the Water Hose Duo. “But, after all, you’re not the only traitorous Rider I have to deal with today.”

The blonde followed his gaze. Her eyes widened upon realization of what the villain was implying. “No, you can’t!”

“Oh, I see. You’re protective,” Poseidon said calmly even when Toga charged right at him. The villain held up his staff, letting his blade block Toga’s blade. With her arms raised up, Poseidon used the blunt end of his staff and jabbed Toga’s side. The blonde jerked in pain. Poseidon took the advantage, grabbing the blonde by the back of her hair and then slamming her right on the ground.

WHAM!

Poseidon then became his liquid form, appearing next to the Water Hose Duo.

“You two have done exceptionally well. How about we finish the job?”

“Understood!”

The Water Hose Duo started generating water together, their two streams combining and forming into a large geyser. Poseidon then raised his spear, touching the tip of the geyser with it. The water started then started glowing bright blue. The villain then pointed the spear toward Yanagi. The glowing water followed the direction of Poseidon’s spear. Poseidon shot it forward. The end of the stream shaped into an arrow tip. It became more solid, becoming sharper than steel.

Yanagi scrambled to her feet, holding out her hand to stop it, but it was no use.

Suddenly, clear in her vision, Toga jumped in front of her, holding her sword up and blocking the shot. But, the arrow, fueled by the geyser, kept pushing forward and wouldn’t relent. Still, Toga dug her feet in the ground and her ground.

Yanagi gasped, “Toga...?”

“Yanagi...” Toga whispered. Her eyes were focused on the arrow, pushing back as much as she could. She was trembling, but not because of the arrow. Yanagi could see it was something else. “I know... you don’t have to love me.”

The white-haired girl stayed silent. Her eyes looked expressionless, but her mouth twinged with fear. Her heart had been brought to a stop.

“But... that doesn’t mean I can’t love you!” Toga exclaimed, a few tears coming down her eyes. “I want to love and live how I please! I want to have your blood, but I also want a life where you can be happy! Even if you hate me, I want to see you smile!”

Yanagi couldn’t catch her breath.

But, before she could say anything, the powerful arrow had finally pushed through Toga’s defenses.

BOOM!

The resulting explosion propelled the two of them far back, hitting the ground in crumpled limbs. Yanagi rolled over in pain, looking over a few feet in front of her. She didn’t know where to look first, but she immediately saw Toga covered in blood and her eyes closed.

“TOGA!”

Yanagi scrambled to her feet, running toward her. But she only made it halfway before Poseidon caught up to her, jabbing her directly in the gut with his staff.

“Ooof!” Yanagi grunted as she fell back to the ground. Her eyes widened when she saw the villain aiming his blade directly at her gut.

“You all bore me,” Poseidon said as he pulled his arm back to plunge it into the girl’s body.

Suddenly, a glob of squishy flesh covered the villain. The villain thrashed around, trying to free himself from it, but he got carried away to the side. The disgusting glob then dropped right into Shishikura’s open palm, writhing away. The second-year student stood there along with Camie and Intelli right next to him. AKA the Togasquad.

Camie tsk’d, wagging her finger at the pile of flesh, “Boy, you gotta learn how to read the room. Not your time, boomer.” The party girl glanced over at Yanagi, waving, “Sorry we’re late! Took us a while to try and bust up as much of the Big Machine as we could.”

Intelli admitted, “I initially calculated that it would take me eight minutes to develop a counteragent to their virus and create a jamming signal for many of the Big Machine’s functions...” She fiddled with her bag, the ones filled with chemicals, equipment, and other tools she brought for the job. “Sadly, it took me ten.” She shook her head. “I must be getting rusty.”

The Water Hose duo turned toward them. The man said, “Are there any more of you? Do you realize how shameful you’re all acting right now?”

Shishikura glared, “If it is shameful to fight for our allies, then we’ll wear our shame with pride!” He glanced at the others, holding a fist over his chest. “Let’s go!”

“Right!” / “You got it, babe!”

(You can guess who said that.)

Both Intelli and Shishikura charged for the Water Hose Duo. When water came shooting at them, the two of them rolled out of the way and got in arms reach of the duo.

Intelli twirled the man around as she kicked high at his arm and then at his chest. She pulled a ball out from her bag, already calculating the necessary force, angle, and momentum needed for her while also factoring in other variables such as gravity.

“30-degree angle... the angle of incidence and reflection... cosine...”

The genius flicked it to the side. The ball flew, bounced off a nearby tree branch, bounced off a car, and hit the man squarely in the back of his head.

“OW!” the man cried right before Intelli sent a kick at his face, knocking him back.

Saiko Intelli would call herself amazing. The best

 After all, she thought of herself as the smartest girl alive. Her only flaw was that she never saw this world for what it really was. Toga’s love opened that up for her, letting her see a solution that she thought wasn’t possible with the data. She’ll research to ensure that the mistakes of humanity won’t repeat themselves.

She’s got the winning formula!

The Genius Hero!

EXPERIMENTEA!

Seiji Shishikura pressed forward, jabbing the woman twice before dropkicking kick and falling on his back. The woman rolled from the impact, sending a stream of water like a whip toward the boy. Shishikura removed more flesh from his body, molding them into fingers and having them become shields against the water.

SPLASH!

The teenager placed his arms around him, completely dignified as he sent two meaty fingers toward the woman’s feet. She jumped back, using her water as propulsion. But she failed to see the glob of flesh that she was directly heading towards.

Shishikura stood there patiently until the new meatball fell into his palm.

“May you learn from this lesson and atone in the new society.”

Seiji Shishikura looked up to his father, admiring him for his contribution to society as one of the Combatants. His father praised him for following the road of the Commander, becoming something, he never could. Although he chooses now to fight against his father’s role in society, Shishikura will still act with the class befitting his institution. One that chooses to rescue and save others. That is the meaning of dignity in his eyes.

The Molding Hero!

SHISHIKROSS!

Camie Utsushimi watched it all from the side. She put her hand on her forehead as she noted the crowd of Combatants rushing to the aid of the Commanders.

The girl whistled, “Why don’t you all shock and chill for a bit?”

Camie exhaled deeply before releasing a mist behind the Combatants. It took a solid form before it cleared its throat.

“AHEM!”

The gang of soldiers all stopped in their paths, turning around to see a God-like entity completely disguised in a red cloak and a pointed red hat with only two eyeholes visible.

“It is me!” he introduced, gesturing widely with his cloak. “The Great Leader of Shocker!”

All of the Combatants gasped, looking at each other with pure excitement. Never would they have thought they would actually get to meet the Great Leader of Shocker!

The Great Leader declared, “I have come here to say one thing and one thing only!” He spread his arms wide as if he were inviting them for a hug. “I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!”

The Combatants’ eyes practically became hearts as they all leaped on the spot, ready for their hug. But there was no hug for them.

Instead, they all became entangled in one massive dogpile. Though, honestly, Camie couldn’t tell if they noticed that fact or not, just bathing in the ‘love’ and devotion that they had for their great leader.

Camie shrugged it off. She wasn’t sure how it would take, but she wanted to save the moment. The girl whipped out her phone and smiled at the camera with a peace sign and the dogpile in the background.

CLICK!

Camie Utsushimi got forced to be a Commander. Super uncool. No cap.

Then, she met these people at school, and they all became total BFFs!

Now, she’s joining the bandwagon with them and becoming a hero! OMG! That’s so cray-cray! But, still! Totally slaying!

The Dazzler Hero!

ILLUS-O-CAMIE!

Meanwhile, Yanagi slid down next to Toga with her mouth gaping.

“Toga! Toga, are you hurt?!” The white-haired girl asked, trying to search for injuries. She was covered in cuts and bruises. A small scrape was above Toga’s eyes, showing the wound on her forehead.

The vampire let out a short breath, smiling wistfully. She was looking off into the distance like she was dreaming. “I... I hope you like the blood. I think it’s tasty...”

“No, don’t you say that!” Yanagi stressed as she cupped a hand to the back of Toga’s neck, forcing her to look at her. She resisted the urge to shake Toga and force her to listen to her. “I can still help you!”

“I... I don’t think you can,” Toga mumbled. “You shouldn’t have to. Not if you don’t want to. I know you don’t.”

Yanagi’s breath hitched. Her expression fell to where Toga wasn’t able to see Yanagi’s blue eyes clearly. She was completely silent as she grabbed Toga’s discarded sword from nearby and stood straight up. The sword then glowed purple as Yanagi lifted it with her power, letting the tip of it face her.

“What are you-?”

Yanagi mumbled, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

SLASH!

The sword had slashed right through Yanagi’s clothes. There was now a large gash across her chest. Blood started to pour from her skin like paint on a canvas.

Toga looked on, so genuinely shocked that her heart ached at the sight. She asked with ice-cold dread, “Why? Why would you-?”

“I’m not well-versed when it comes to expressing my emotions,” Yanagi interrupted, completely still and motionless. She looked like an actual living corpse right then. “I couldn’t even bring myself to explain to you the events of last night, to apologize.”

“Apologize?”

Yanagi explained quietly, “You had courage, revealing your true self to me. I felt embarrassment, showing my true emotions so soon. You mentioned before that you liked me when I was spooky. I didn’t want to show you myself blushing, so I hid behind my cloak. And then, when I heard those haunting footsteps nearby, when I felt so worried for your safety if anyone saw us together, I reacted, lost control. And used my power to try and get you away from me before anyone could see.” She dropped Toga’s sword, letting it fall to the ground, as she clenched her fists bitterly. “And now you believe that act came out of a place of hatred.”

Toga blinked. “That’s why she did that?”

“But I would never feel that way about you,” Yanagi continued. She touched her chest, feeling the blood pouring slowly like rain. “It’s not at all possible. I could never hate you.” She lifted her bloody hand, holding it up to her face. “I sometimes feel like an empty vessel, waiting for a spirit to possess me. But, when I’m with you, whether through words, gifts, or disguises, I feel as if there is life inside of me. A spirit or soul that can’t be awakened on its own unless I’m given life. You. You are that life.”

The teenager bent down on one knee and thrusted her bloody hand toward her love.

“You mentioned before that giving you blood was a sign of true love. So, let me make you this sacred oath...” Yanagi said as she placed her free hand over her own heart. “I swear I will always be willing to shed my blood for you if it means you are always willing to bring life to my soul.”

Toga reached out, grabbing Yanagi’s hand gingerly as they both stood back up. They looked into each other’s eyes. It was like a window had opened and they were both seeing what the other one truly was thinking.

The blonde laughed, “You’re too dramatic, you know that?”

“One single moment is not enough to judge one’s sanity.”

“You could have just knicked yourself in the arm a bit to prove your point.”

Yanagi let out a small laugh, covering her face with her bloody hand, “Actions speak louder than words.”

When Yanagi let her hand drop, her face was now bloody. Toga stared at it for one long moment, her eyes softening.

“You know you got a little something-”

“I’m aware.”

To Toga, with Yanagi staring at her, her usually expressionless face now having the faintest hint of joy, stained with blood...

It was the most romantic thing she’d ever seen.

The chaos in the background was raging as Class 1-A, Kamen Riders, the League, Commanders, and Combatants were all fighting for their lives. But, at that moment, the rest of the world didn’t exist. All that mattered was the unspoken message both girls were saying to each other.

“I love you.”

Both girls pressed their lips onto each other, feeling the warmth of the person they had with them. Their hands intertwined, practically digging into each other’s skin before they embraced each other. The two of them were so exhilarated they felt like their souls were walking on air.

And then, an explosion happened.

KA-BOOM!

A blast of energy sent the two of them flying backwards, losing their grip on the others and falling to the ground a few feet back.

However, to the two of them, they didn’t register actual pain then. It was like actual sparks had been created between them. “Whoa...”

“Hope you enjoy the little love show...”

The two girls looked over to see Mister Blaster approaching them with his palm stretched out.

“Because you two are going down!”

“I should say the same thing about you!”

Toga and Yanagi glanced behind them to see Goto leaping over their bodies and firing his gun at Mister Blaster.

Ch! Ch! Ch! Ch! Ch!

The projectiles went firing all at once, all of them hitting Mister Blaster’s arms and shoulders. The upperclassman snapped his fingers.

SNAP!

Lines of motion showed themselves as they all became glowing bullets, shooting toward Mister Blaster. The Commander was hit so hard from the impact that he was thrown away from them.

Goto kept his gun close as he looked down at the girls. “Are the two of you ready to get back into this fight?”

The girls cast glances at each other before they pulled themselves up. Yanagi asked, “Ok, where shall we go?”

CRASH!

Toga guessed, jabbing a finger in one direction “I’m guessing over there.”

All three of them sprinted toward the newly formed crater with dust still being left in its wake. Nejire-chan pulled herself out of it, gritting her teeth and planning on continuing the fight. She stood on her feet as she faced down a crowd of Commanders and Combatants, including Ryukyu, Overclock, and the Commander with the time clock hair.

Before Nejire-chan could charge her Quirk output to the fullest, Goto, Toga, and Yanagi all came to a halt right in front of her. Each one of them chose a defensive stance, shielding Nejire-chan from any more harm.

“You guys...” Nejire whispered. “What are you doing here?”

Yanagi stated, “It's dangerous to fight alone.”

“Plus...” Toga shrugged before sending a smile back to Nejire. “I owe you. Big time. Thank you.”

“For wha-?”

Nejire stared at Toga and Yanagi giving each other a determined nod before looking back at the Commanders. Her eyes darted back between them before she smiled to herself.

There was no question there what had just happened.

Ryukyu asked, “How many of you are going to keep fighting like this?”

“As many as it takes,” Goto said, pulling out his own Kamen Rider belt and draping it over his waist.

Yanagi held a hand over her waist. Her own signature belt had appeared in a flash. “We’ll fight the twisted souls this world has corrupted and reclaim it for ourselves!”

“To put it simply...” Toga paused, raising her hand to the sky. Her own transformation device, a metallic white bat, flapped its wings and positioned itself perfectly between her fingers. “You’re screwed. Let’s do this, Kiva-la!”

The bat spoke, “Right, Himi-chan!”

All three teenagers initiated their transformations. Goto dropped a silver coin in the belt’s slot. Hearts started glowing from Kiva-la's eyes.

Yanagi took out a small eye-like object and locked it in place inside of the belt before closing it back.

“WATCH THIS! WATCH THIS!”

At the sound of the belt’s loud jingle, a pale purple hooded jacket appeared, flying out of the belt and knocking into the Commanders. Sparks flew from the impact and the Commanders recoiled as the jacket flew over to Yanagi. As if the sight of a floating jacket was odd enough, there were two pale, purple eyes that were attached to nothing, floating in the hood as if there was an actual being inside of it.

Goto, Toga, and Yanagi all shouted in unison, “HENSHIN!”

Goto twisted the golden knob on the side.

POP!

The shield split in half, letting the reactor in the belt release its energy into spheres surrounding Goto. The spheres transformed into pure light, placing armor on top of himself. They expanded until the transformation was complete.

At the same time, the bat’s fangs reached out, digging into Toga’s skin. A small yellow heart appeared on Toga’s forehead. The bat’s mouth released her fang, releasing a whole flurry of light purple heart-shaped energy. The hearts floated like loose flower petals in the air before they all reversed direction, placing themselves on Toga’s body and forming armor around her. They all hardened and formed like glass before what was left over exploded outwards, revealing Toga’s armor.

Following their lead, Yanagi pulled the lever twice, closing the eye in the belt and then opening it back up.

“KAIGAN! EMILY!”

The jacket placed itself over the ghostly girl’s body, fusing with the rest of the armor. It fit perfectly over the girl as she ripped the hood from her helmet.

“SACRIFICED! EXORCISED! HEROIC POLTERGEIST!”

All three Kamen Riders took a step forward. All of them were in line, fully transformed.

Birth readied his gun, aiming it at the feet of the Commanders.

Ch! Ch! Ch! Ch!

Sparks flew from the ground right in front of the Commanders. They covered the ground as the three Kamen Riders attacked the crowd.

Shintaro Goto fired his gun at the closest Commanders.

Ch! Ch! Ch! Ch! Ch! Ch!

Coin-like projectiles flew in the air, knocking down the Commanders trying to rush at him. Something slammed into Birth, knocking him far back. A fast blur was all he could see as Overclock gave a barrage of supersonic punches to Birth’s chest.

KakakakakakakakaWHAM!

Birth braced for the impact, even as he skidded far back.

As Overclock disappeared in a blur, Birth placed another silver coin in his belt, summoning a weapon to help him.

“CRANE ARM!”

Birth’s right arm soon became covered in a large crane. He tossed it upward with the hook landing on the shoulder of a Commander with crystals all over. The winch lifted him off the ground, away from Overclock. The crystal Commander now noticed the crane on his body as it detached. The Commander turned around right as Birth leaped over him and placed another coin in his slot.

“SHOVEL ARM!”

An orange shovel attachment placed itself on his left arm. With his shovel arm, he lifted the crystal Commander off the ground.

“Woah, hey!”

The instruments in Birth’s helmet saw that Overclock was coming to his right for another attack. Birth slammed the shovel in Overclock’s direction, letting the muscular body fly.

Overclock’s speed faltered, trying to catch his fellow comrade. Right as they were close together, Birth snapped his fingers, activating his power.

SNAP!

All of the kinetic energy from Birth’s earlier coin projectiles took form, becoming bullets and shooting out right where Overclock and the crystal Commander were standing.

BababababababababaBANG!

The two of them fell on the ground, collapsed in pain.

“That was a dirty trick...” Overclock groaned, looking over at Birth, “What kind of Kamen Rider are you?”

“A new kind,” Birth declared, readying his gun on more Combatants. “Today, the word ‘Kamen Rider’ is the name of a hero!”

Shintaro Goto wasn’t the first to wield the title of ‘Birth’. There was a mentor he looked up to who was Birth before him. Goto wanted to be a person to save the world, but with what happened to his mentor in this timeline, he soon learned how precious one life is to the world. He’ll make sure to keep them alive that way.

The Justice Hero!

BIRTH!

With energy constructs made up of bats coming from her sword, Himiko Toga leaped high. Her armor glided through the crowd as she slashed at the shoulder of the clock Commander. The clock Commander turned, swinging his clock hair at him.

As Kivala, the girl ducked low and cut through her opponent’s chest. The Commander staggered back, letting his hair swipe low. Kivala pushed herself up with her hands, narrowly avoiding getting hit.

Kivala pushed forward, punishing the clock hair with every strike of her sword. The Commander had to go on the defensive, trying to block every strike. The Kamen Rider thrust her sword right at the Commander’s waist. The Commander’s clock hands stretched down low, blocking the blade.

The Kamen Rider pushed the hair straight up, leaving the Commander open for an attack. She kicked him right in the gut, knocking the wind out of her opponent. The Commander staggered back before Kivala put energy into her sword, cutting across the Commander’s chest.

SLASH!

The Commander fell back, rolling around the ground.

Kivala swung her blade in place. She touched the blade, sharpening it from the bottom to the top. She brought it to the side, ready to strik-

An arrow suddenly pierced her lower kneepad.

The Kamen Rider groaned in pain as she dropped to her knee. She looked to see Native getting within striking distance with his bow. Kivala managed to block it with his sword, holding the bow in place before pushing him away.

Native pulled his bowstring back, loading in three arrows at once.

Kivala flipped backwards, dodging the arrows that exploded upon impact.

Boo-boo-boom!

More arrows came her way as she rolled toward Native.

Boo-boo-boom!

The Commander tried to load more arrows in his bow, but Kivala continued her momentum, jabbing the man in the gut with the hard end of her sword handle.

WHAM!

Kivala released her bat companion, letting the bat try to suck it all.

The bat squealed as the man fell to his knees, “Oooh! Sucksucksuck!”

“Yep, that’s how it’s done!”

Himiko Toga is just a normal girl living a normal life. She goes to school. She loves spending time with her family and friends. And, occasionally, she likes drinking the blood of others.

Haven't we all done that sort of thing?

Her love has awakened!

The Cute Hero!

KIVALA!

Reiko Yanagi stretched out her hand.

As Emily, she bent in mid-air, contorting her body easily. As if she was a ghost, her head was bent down with her arms waving with her movements, dodging all her opponents.

To the Commander Crust’s surprise, Emily wrapped her arm around his throat. She spun his body around like a top as she used Crust like a shield. With her free hand, she floated all her surrounding Commanders like Funkman and Eel Boy, knocking them hard on the ground. At the end, she flipped back, floating over Crust as she took hold of Crust’s shields with her power, slamming them right on his chest.

WHAM!

Suddenly, the air around them began to freeze. Small puddles became icy. Water from pipes and fountains became solid icicles, shooting high into the air. Emily floated above the icy ground, not wanting to trip. She sees a Commander with a puffy coat in the distance.

“It’s reasonable to assume he’s the one responsible for this...” Emily thought, glancing toward Kivala. “I’ll need some assistance with this.”

Kivala’s body glowed purple as she began to float. The vampire Rider looked back to see Yanagi as Emily also floating in place.

Kivala started to squeal, “Wait? Are we-?”

“Indeed. Care to dance?”

The vampire Rider gave one long stroke of her arms as if she was swimming, coming to Emily’s aid. The two of them nodded at each other. Emily took Kivala’s hands, extending them outwards and putting them in a ballroom stance.

Combatants came rushing at them, but as soon as they got within range, both Riders kicked the soldiers away. Emily twirled Kivala, letting her dance gracefully from her grasp. Kivala then used the momentum and flew high, landing on the tip of a tall icicle.

Emily released her power. Kivala immediately began sliding down the icicle, positioning herself on her side. Her speed increased with the pull of gravity, making her almost too fast for the icy Commander’s eyes.

The Commander jumped away, trying to grow more ice from the ground.

SLASH!

Kivala’s sword cut cleanly through it. Her momentum sent her right past the Commander, launching him up with her sword as she passed.

Emily pulled the trigger on her belt twice as she jumped into the air.

“Dai Kaigan! Emily Omega Drive!”

She glowed with a purple aura. A purple veil made out of pure energy glide her toward the monster as she performed a flying kick. The Rider’s collided with her opponent, creating a large explosion in her wake.

Ka-BOOM!

Reiko Yanagi was spooky. Like she said to Toga, she sometimes felt like an empty vessel waiting for someone to give her life. But she’s researched for years the power of the underworld, of spirits, of the occult. A society like Shocker and the horrors that they are capable of are no match for the life that has been ignited inside of her.

She’ll choose to dwell within everyone’s lives!

The Exorcist Hero!

EMILY!

In the air, Ryukyu in her dragon form dodged left and right, evading Nejire-chan's blasts. The teenager had finally caught up to her, blasting at her side. The dragon took evasive action, zooming forward before circling back.

The dragon roared, its shockwaves being heard even when Nejire-chan was at a distance. “ROOOORAAHHHHH!”

Nejire-chan sent spiraling blasts, but Ryukyu caught up to her, performing a barrel roll. The teenager tried to move, only to be met with the tip of the wing. The wing sent her backwards as Nejire-chan clutched her shoulder in pain.

“You won’t win!” Ryukyu yelled. “I know how to fly better than you do!”

Suddenly, a train whistle could be heard. Nejire-chan looked around until she saw a glowing portal with the white and red bullet train of time escaping it.

“Excuse me?!”

Both Deku and Suneater tilted their heads to the sky, noticing the train in working condition.

Inside his own mind, Izuku thought, “You guys did it!”

Urataros’s voice responded, “Looks like we got reeled into this right on time!”

Inside the cockpit of Den Liner, Melissa was having the time of her life. She was driving a train... in the air!

The teenager revved the motorcycle handle as she controlled the train, letting it circle around the dragon.

“WHEE!” the blonde shouted as she pressed a button on the handle.

Multiple train cars turned in succession, aiming right at Ryukyu. Den Liner’s weapon system fired lasers, bombs, and missiles, all of them landing a direct hit on the dragon.

Ka-BOOM!

A robotic bird escaped from the train, slicing Ryukyu’s wings with its own wings.

Ryukyu dived down, focusing on trying to land, but her wings couldn’t maintain her weight any longer. The Commander crashed to the ground, completely out now.

In the Den Liner cockpit, all of the Imagin cheered on Melissa’s excellent driving and maneuvering.

Urataros blew an air kiss. “Well done, milady.”

Kintaros clapped his hands in a wide gesture. “You did great!”

“Yay! Yay!” Ryutaros exclaimed, holding up his open coloring book. The page that was open then was a crude drawing in crayon of Melissa on the motorcycle.

“This is such an exceptional machine...” Melissa commented, keeping the cycle steady. “I’m glad I had the honor of working on it.”

Standing in the cockpit also was Hatsume. The pink-haired girl jabbed a thumb at herself, very proud of her achievement. “You weren’t alone! I’m sure it’s because of my excellent tinkering that got this baby up and running so smoothly!” She reached out and slapped the wall of the cockpit for good measure.

Ryutaros whispered to the other Imagin, “The crazy girl is talking to the corner again.”

Both Urataros and Kintaros said in unison, “We know.”

Urataros focused his attention back through the cockpit’s visor. Nejire-chan was pointing straight down toward the fight with everyone.

“Milady, if you could take us down...”

“On it!” Melissa exclaimed as she jerked the motorcycle in a downward motion.

On the ground, one of Shishikura’s meatballs became pure water before recomposing himself back into his armored form.

Poseidon cracked his neck, his body strained from the difficulty of putting himself back together. He was growing tired of this.

“Time to use the Big Machine and end this chaos for goo-”

The thought was interrupted as he saw the bright headlights of Den Liner coming too quickly for him!

The villain focused on becoming liquid again, but he wasn’t fast enough to transform before his body bounced off the side of Den Liner, falling on his side on the ground.

Den Liner started to pull upwards, but only a foot or two.

The passenger door on Den Liner’s dining car opened fully with Eri, Samidare, and Satsuki standing in the doorway. The wind from outside was blowing Eri’s hair a lot.

“Ok, you guys ready?!” Eri asked, glancing back and forth between the two kids on both sides of her.

Samidare and Satsuki exchanged determined nods with the white-haired girl before they bent down and clutched her feet as tight as they could.

Eri closed her eyes as she leaned out of the train car. Her whole body swung downwards, practically falling out of the car. Both Samidare and Satsuki were the only things keeping her from falling face first at such a high speed.

The time traveler held out a blank ticket for Den Liner. She reached out as far as possible, straining to get the ticket close to Poseidon’s head.

Den Liner pulled towards Poseidon’s body before slowly pulling up more and more.

The villain was in Eri’s sights!

“Just a little more... Just a little more...!”

The ticket went over Poseidon’s head for only a few short moments before it glowed. In a flash, the black background of the ticket now had an image of Poseidon in his armored form along with a date in red analog font: 11.11.1971.

“I got it! I got it!” Eri exclaimed happily. “November 11^th, 1971!”

Poseidon stirred at the mention of the date as he glared at Den Liner’s retreating form.

Samidare and Satsuki helped pull Eri back into the safety of the train. The teenager shouted down the halls, running into the cockpit. “I got the ticket! Tell Izuku we gotta go now!”

In the air, Nejire-chan saw Den Liner skid to a stop on the ground in a small park, only a few blocks away from the fight. “Better regroup with them...” The girl tilted her head, now observing the fight between Hiryu Rin and the mummy Commander. Her eyes widened upon seeing what objects the Commander was creating into mummies. “No way. Can it be?”

With another question on her mind, Nejire-chan dived toward the streets.

Meanwhile, with Den Liner parked, everyone was hurrying along to get to their ‘destination’.

Eri and Melissa helped Hatsume jump down from Den Liner onto the grass. The white-haired girl bowed. “Thank you both so much for helping.”

“It’s no problem,” Melissa replied, flashing her a smile. “I actually enjoyed it. Not just working the train itself but working with Hatsume here.” The blonde turned toward the blind girl, repositioning her toward the group. “She’s smarter than what she let on back in the hospital.”

Hatsume giggled. “Same. Her designs and planning gave me some ideas on some other babies we can work on.” She arched an eyebrow in Melissa’s direction. “Wanna work together again?”

“Sure!” Melissa agreed, looking back at Eri. “If you need anything from us, don’t hesitate to ask, alright?”

Eri tried to hide her sigh, absentmindedly nodding in response.

Personally, Eri hoped she never needed anything from them again. She couldn’t bear to go through another timeline like this. And, when the timeline would get fixed, Eri doubted they would speak a word to each other. Still, the thought was nice.

The rest of the Imagin watched from another train car as Nejire-chan floated down from above. “Hiya!”

However, they weren’t focused on the girl, but rather the large vending machine right next to her, being carried by Nejire-chan's waves.

“Pardon me, but is that necessary?” Urataros asked, cupping his chin. “We already have food and snacks aboard.”

“Trust me! I have a feeling Tamaki’s going to need it.”

Kintaros hummed, crossing his arms, “After everything we’ve been through, I doubt that Owner will be receptive to bringing this aboard.”

“I approve.”

“AAAHHH!” the Imagin yelled, some of them jumping in fear. Sure enough, Owner was right there behind them, somehow always getting the best timing possible.

In the doorway of another train car, Samidare and Satsuki stood there, waiting for their sister to come. And, sure enough, when Tsuyu came into view, hopping a few feet in front of Deku, Ankh, and Suneater, the two of them leaped off of the train and ran toward Tsuyu at top speed.

“Tsuyu!”

Both siblings launched themselves into Tsuyu’s arms. Tsuyu smiled as she returned the hug.

“Are you alright?” Satsuki asked.

“I'm alright. Ribbit.”

Samidare explained, “We saw what was happening in that livestream. We were worried that we didn’t get to come help you, but you were amazing! You fought so hard. You were like a real-”

“Hero?” Tsuyu interrupted. Both siblings nodded in sync. “Yeah, I don’t plan on weeping and moping around this world anymore. You two matter to me. I still think it might be a fantasy to be one, but...” She sighed, smiling at the both of them. “As long as we’re still here, I plan on being one for the both of you. Ribbit.”

The three of them smiled at each other before Tsuyu glanced back at Deku and Suneater. Suneater, in particular, awkwardly shuffled in place.

“Get going,” Tsuyu said. “We didn’t go through all of this for you to be standing around. Ribbit.”

“Oh!” Suneater slammed his head at an almost 90-degree angle. “Thank you for helping!”

‘Deku’ didn’t bother saying anything, letting off a ‘hrmph’. He draped his sword over his shoulder as he strutted past her and headed to the train.

Izuku argued, “Momotaros, let me say thank you!”

“Quit ya whinin’! Ya gonna see her when everything goes back to normal. Ya can thank her then!”

“That’s not the same thing!”

Suddenly, both Kamen Riders felt movement behind them!

Globs of gelatin were heading their way!

Deku and Suneater rushed in a burst of speed. Both of them shielded Den Liner and the others as they slashed their swords in sync.

Up, across, down!

Watching Poseidon stomp his way toward them, Deku groaned, “Seriously? How many times do we gotta teach ya this lesson, old man?!”

“As long as I have this power...!” Poseidon brandished his blade before pointing it straight at them. “I can never be defeated!”

Tsuyu jumped, landing in front of the Riders, “Go already!”

“But-”

“You heard him! If he can’t be defeated, then the only way to fix this is for you guys to get out of here! Ribbit!”

Both Deku and Suneater hesitated on what to do before they ultimately made a break for Den Liner, followed by Eri.

The villain demanded, “Where are they going?!”

“You know exactly where!” Tsuyu responded, shooting her tongue out. Poseidon thrust his spear upwards, the tongue wrapping around it. Before Tsuyu could do anything, the villain slammed it straight down, bringing down the frog as well.

WHAM!

The kids cried, “Tsuyu!”

Poseidon cried, “I’m not letting them go anywhere! Their execution will happen right here!”

A voice said behind him, “You forgot about us, then!”

The villain turned around, immediately holding up the sides of his weapon and blocking the other three Kamen Riders kicks toward him. Emily, Kivala and Birth all struggled to break through it, but Poseidon effortless threw them over his shoulder. The Kamen Riders rolled along with the grass, getting back into defensive positions.

In the cockpit of Den Liner, Deku wrapped his legs around the motorcycle. He took the ticket Eri got from Poseidon and placed it inside of the Rider Pass, inserting it inside the motorcycle. The front of Den Liner’s visor showed the date on the front: 11.11.1971.

The date was set. Time to go back in time.

Outside, Poseidon noticed the date on the front of the train. “That date!”

Both Suneater and Nejire-chan came inside of the cockpit, hanging onto the walls next to the motorcycle as the train took off into the air.

Poseidon’s spear glowed as he slashed in everyone’s direction. A blue crescent formed made out of energy, shooting outwards and hitting the ground near them. The resulting explosion blew all of the teenagers backwards.

Ka-Boom!

But Den Liner was already in the air, speeding higher than Poseidon could reach. “No, they can’t!”

Poseidon’s armor became translucent as he became a liquid once again. The current of water rushed towards his Big Machine.

Den Liner passed over the battlefield. For a moment, the three teenagers paused, looking down at all of the students, all the Kaijin, fighting Shocker, the system that they’ve all known, just for the three of them. For a better future. To become true heroes...

Izuku thought, “Everyone... we won’t let you down.”

Out loud, the time traveler yelled, revving the handlebars, “1971! Here we come! Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

A swirling colorful portal opened in front of Den Liner, leading them to the sands of time.

From the ground, Tsuyu and her siblings by her side watched the train zoom straight in, disappearing completely as the portal closed.

“Midoriya, good luck. I have a feeling you’ll need it.”

Her foresight was correct. There was a threat still coming for them...

In the cockpit of Shocker’s Big Machine, Poseidon leaned over the control console.

“Those students didn’t just neutralize my virus, but a lot of its other functions. But they didn’t find everything...”

He clicked the button on the underside. A small panel flipped over, revealing three-coin slots, similar to Poseidon’s belt.

“I knew it would be necessary to create a large-scale model of my time machine.” Poseidon thought. “I planned on transporting the entire army of Shocker to ensure Shocker’s total absolute victory. But I don’t have time now!”

The mad doctor placed the three coins inside of the control panel. The coins glowed their respective colors.

“I can’t let those heroes ruin my paradise!”

Inside and out, the entire robot began to glow before it transformed, becoming translucent like water. Drops of the liquid floated upwards until it disappeared in a bright flash.

The Big Machine was gone, leaving all of the Combatants and Commanders to continue the fight against the rebelling League and Class 1-A. Because frankly, the outcome of this fight didn’t matter.

Everyone’s lives, their dreams, their futures, all hung on a single battle of the past.

Chapter Text

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The date was November 11^th, 1971.

Today was important for two people.

Takeshi Hongo. Hayato Ichimonji.

Two people kidnapped by an evil that was plaguing mankind, Shocker. Two people experimented on and modified to become the ultimate weapons. Two people who became allies of justice.

The first Kamen Riders.

Kamen Rider Ichigo / 1. Kamen Rider Nigo / 2.

Today was important for them. Today would be the day they defeated Shocker for good.

Both were in their respective masks, sneaking through the underground compound that served as Shocker’s base. From how abysmal the security was, they knew they were walking into a trap. But they didn’t run away for the slightest hope that they would still win.

The sky was free of clouds, showing bright sunshine all around. A gentle breeze blew. To the Riders, it felt like the Earth itself was ready for evil to be undone.

When they reached the throne room of Shocker’s Great Leader, the leader in question, completely hidden by his red pointed hood and cloak, made sure to address them both, speaking of their doom.

Even when completely surrounded by Combatants and Shocker’s other generals, the two Riders fought with everything they had.

“Rider Punch!”

Nigo left a ringing concussion in a general’s head, finishing the last attacker of the ambush.

The only thing that remained was Shocker’s leader.

Nigo pointed his gloved hand at the monster on his pedestal. “This will end now! We’ll reveal everything about you to the world!”

Right by his side, Ichigo clenched his fist as he was ready to attack as well. “Let’s go!”

The Great Leader held out his hand, opening his palm. Bullets, made of hellfire, fired out in barrages. The two Riders ducked, rolling to opposite sides.

Nigo was the closest to the podium. He raced ahead, leaping up to the Great Leader. His gloved hands stretched out for the villain’s hood.

No one knew what was under the Great Leader’s hood, but Nigo planned on ripping it out.

Call it a curiosity, but he wanted to see what the face of true evil looked like.

Suddenly, right in Nigo’s path, a large flash of blue light appeared before him.

The Kamen Rider shielded his eyes right as the flash became corporal. It gained arms as it grabbed Nigo by his helmet and tossed him violently to the other side of the room.

CRASH!

Ichigo came to his fellow Rider’s side, standing in a defensive pose as he watched what was happening before him.

The blue light then disappeared. Standing in its place, an armored warrior stood, one neither Rider was familiar with.

The stranger tapped the handle of his harpoon-like spear to the ground. “You Riders are not worthy of seeing upon the Great Leader’s true visage!” He brandished the spear pointing the blade right at the Riders. “Any who shall attempt it shall die!”

Ichigo demanded, “Who are you?!”

“You may call me Poseidon. And all you need to know is that I serve Shocker!” The villain paused, glancing back at the Great Leader. He bowed his head slightly. “Allow me to prove my worth to you by dealing with these Riders once and for all. There is much I should tell you about the future.”

Nigo echoed, pulling himself off the ground, “The future?”

The Great Leader hummed before giving a slow nod. “Very well. See to it that you don’t fail.”

Poseidon promised, returning the nod, “I shall.”

Ichigo and Nigo braced themselves for a fight. The two of them wouldn’t underestimate this stranger or whatever powers they were capable of.

Even so, they were not prepared for the fight that followed.

Every punch, every kick, was countered with such force it didn’t feel like a fight. It felt like slaughter.

The fight eventually led to above ground, where the two Riders fell in pain near a grassy lakeside. They clutched their sides as they pulled their heads up, seeing Poseidon leisurely approach them.

“Is that all you got, heroes?”

No. No, it wasn’t.

The Kamen Riders pulled themselves up to their feet, rushing at Poseidon with their fists drawn. They both threw punches at Poseidon’s chest and sides. The villain effortlessly dodged it, his form becoming liquid as their fists phased through the liquid.

Nigo rolled past Poseidon as both he and Ichigo tried to tackle the villain to the ground. But Poseidon struck back right as they came within range, hitting both Riders with the ends of his spear. They felt the wind knocked out of them as they fell on their knees.

But Poseidon wasn’t done with them yet. The Riders needed to pay. They needed to suffer for defying Shocker’s will.

Poseidon wrapped his free hand around Ichigo’s throat, lifting right off the ground. Ichigo coughed for dear life, trying to get out of his grip.

Nigo scrambled to his feet, aiming a kick at Poseidon’s gut. The villain slashed his spear, blocking the attack. The Kamen Rider staggered from the blow before Poseidon dropped his spear and wrapped his hand around Nigo’s throat, choking both Riders.

Poseidon shook them in his grip, “You will return to Shocker. It is time for you to accept your fate!”

Ichigo gasped, “We will never back down as long as evil still stands!”

Nigo added, struggling to get free just as much as his partner, “We’ll do whatever it takes to defeat scum like you. That’s why we will triumph in the end!”

“Pointless sentiment!” Poseidon said. “Allow me to be the first to make you bow down before evil!”

Poseidon flipped them up almost casually into the air before slamming his palms at their chests, pushing them back to the ground.

WHAM!

Nigo couldn’t move, feeling pain throughout his body. Ichigo dragged himself painfully to his feet.  He managed to fill his lungs with air, but he knew it wasn’t enough. He was barely able to stand right then. Still, he had to keep fighting!

Poseidon reached down, grabbing his spear. Ichigo rushed forward for an attack, but he wasn’t fast enough!

SLASH!

The villain whipped his spear from down low, slashing upwards across Ichigo’s chest. Sparks were ignited from the strike. Ichigo’s suit wasn’t able to help anymore.

The Rider’s body flew up a few feet before arcing back toward Nigo. Ichigo’s suit still sizzled with the man in the suit not making a single movement.

It was an utter defeat.

Poseidon felt like laughing. The heroes were no more.

With both Riders on the ground, Poseidon strut forward, twirling his staff for the final attack.

“The age of heroes will never come to pass!”

Suddenly, Poseidon could hear a train in the distance.

The villain jumped back right as a white and red bullet train filled his vision, zooming between him and the Riders. Soon, the last train car had moved past and standing in his past were the two ‘heroes’ he saw only a short while ago, standing in front of the Kamen Riders.

“I...” Den-O jabbed a thumb at himself before striking a pose. “Have arrived!”

Poseidon exclaimed, “You two! How did you follow me here?!”

“It doesn’t matter,” OOO replied. “We know about your plan to change the future.” He glanced back at Ichigo and Nigo. The teenager felt their eyes watching him, wanting to know more. “We’re Kamen Riders too. We’re here to preserve the legacy of what you two create.”

Both Ichigo and Nigo still had questions, but they knew they didn’t need answers. The only thing that mattered to them was that these teenagers were on the side of justice.

The villain gripped his spear tight. “You should be more worried about preserving your own lives!”

Poseidon slashed, sending an energy crescent toward the heroes. Both Den-O and OOO raised their swords, deflecting the attack. The energy reached the ground instead, exploding on impact.

With explosions around them, the two time travelers charged at him, swords outward. Small globs of gelatin from Poseidon acted as bullets, ripping through the air.

Den-O stopped in front of OOO and used his sword, performing one large energy slash and destroying them all. OOO took the cover to transform, letting his legs become more segmented like a grasshopper’s. The Rider leaped several feet, closing the gap between them and focusing his hawk eyes to zero in on his opponent. Poseidon held up his staff to stab OOO. But the animal Rider reached out his two hands, extended the claws and dug them into his armor.

CRUNCH!

Poseidon melted into liquid as he freed himself from OOO’s claws and moved around him. But, as he did, he noticed the red and white blur that was Den-O rushing at him with super speed. Den-O's sword glowed red as he cut right through the villain with all of his strength. The force of the strike had so much strength behind it that the liquid flew past OOO in a gust of wind. Poseidon returned to his armored form. The energy from the sword managed to hurt Poseidon, making him feel like his insides were on fire.

Poseidon lifted himself up as both Riders ran straight for him. The mad doctor wouldn’t stand for this any longer. He had more tricks up his sleeve...

The villain retaliated, shooting a jet of water toward Den-O. The red Rider held up his sword to block it, but as the water came into contact with Den-O's sword, it wrapped around him, binding his arms with his chest. The liquid poured up and down his body, defying gravity.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Den-O yelled. His scream echoed through the area before they became completely quiet. His entire body was now head-to-toe covered in hardened gelatin.

OOO yelled, “Midoriya!”

The upperclassman raced back to help his friend.

But, a stream of water still connected Den-O to Poseidon’s staff. The villain thrust his spear up, lifting Den-O up above the battlefield. The Rider rose up and up!

OOO jumped up to reach him, but then Poseidon moved his staff in a downward motion. The jello holding Den-O slammed into OOO like a wrecking ball. OOO lost his balance, falling all the way to the bottom.

WHAM!

OOO reeled in pain but only for a moment. Because another stream of water jetted out from Poseidon’s blade, trapping OOO in Jello too.

Poseidon lifted both of them up to equal height. He moved them horizontally away before he slammed them back to each other.

CRACK!

And again!

CRACK!

And AGAIN!

CRACK!

Poseidon released his hold, letting gravity drop the Riders. But it was only for a moment. The villain didn’t relent, sending another crescent of energy right toward the jello before they hit the ground. The jello vibrated with energy along with the beings inside before creating a powerful explosion.

FWOOOM!

OOO and Den-O were thrown back, falling next to Ichigo and Nigo in agony.

The red Rider was the first to try and rise, using his sword to prop himself up, before he collapsed again on the ground. “We gotta... we gotta...”

“We will,” OOO asserted, pulling himself up, feeling woozy, weak, and almost dead. But he knew exactly that he had to fight. “We know what’s at stake. We know what happens if we fail... So many people are counting on us... To build a better future... If we fail, it’s an insult to every one of them!”

Even with the situation, Den-O couldn’t help but think, “Yeah, sounds just like you, Izuku...”

Underneath his helmet, OOO closed his eyes. He hadn’t eaten anything in the last 16 hours except for two things. He just had to pray it worked.

“It has to work... it has to... Let’s combine our powers, Midoriya! Everyone!”

OOO opened his eyes. Two Core Medals had been created from Manifest and dropped right into the Kamen Rider’s open palm. A red Medal with Momotaros’s peach symbol on it and a purple medal with the design of a bird on it.

Den-O still felt weak, but he sat up, able to take a look at the medals.

Izuku thought, “The sand you gave him Momotaros. That’s where that red medal came from! And, that other one, with the shadow from Tsukuyomi... His body must have finally been able to digest it. Or maybe it’s something with his emotional state. After all, not many animals can actually ingest light. Only a few sponges or coral species which I’m pretty certain Amajiki doesn’t eat. And then goes into the ‘darkness’ portion of it, which that could have also affected it since that’s another issue entirely...”

Den-O phased out Izuku’s rambling at that point and shouted, “Hey, Elf! If you’re using my power, then ya better not lose!”

OOO slowly walked away from the other Riders, nervous from the pressure put on him now. Nonetheless, he focused on his opponent. He replaced the yellow tiger and green grasshopper medals with the red Imagin and the purple shadow medals before moving his scanner over the belt.

Tamaki hovered the scanner over his chest as images of medals swirled around his body. His arms dropped to his side as the icon of a red hawk, a red peach, and a purple raven appeared before him...

“Taka! Imagin! Shadow!”

The icons combined into one image before moving themselves onto OOO’s chest, becoming his new armor.

“Tamashii! TaMashii! TaMaShii! Hero Soul!”

The helmet was the same with red hawk wings and bright green eyes. But his shoulder pads were now long red horns protruding outwards with a texture similar to Momotaros’s design. Momotaros’s devil-like face was now in the middle of the armor’s logo right above the design of the purple raven with its wings spread wide. The raven’s ‘legs’ went downwards towards the bottom of OOO’s feet. The Rider’s boots looked like bird legs with wings around the knees and the arches.

Ichigo asked, pulling himself up into a crouch, “What is that?”

Nigo also looked on. The two original Riders were mesmerized by what they were seeing.

Poseidon wasn’t as impressed. The villain fired a concentrated, high-pressure stream of water at the Rider.

But OOO didn’t even move a muscle. Instead, his legs became pure shadow, ripping a portal right underneath his feet with his talons.

BMPF!

OOO fell straight down, disappearing into the darkness.

Poseidon asked, keeping his spear close, “Where did he-?”

BMPF!

A portal opened right underneath Poseidon’s feet. The villain noticed it too late. He couldn’t get away as OOO grabbed him and dragged him into the abyss.

Inside of the darkness, Poseidon felt like he was continually in free fall. His eyes were barely able to make anything out. But OOO, with his sharp hawk eyes, saw enough to know where his opponent was. The distance between OOO and Poseidon was closed with shocking speed.

TSOOOM!

OOO attacked. He fought with everything he had. From the Imagin Medal, Momotaros’s strength flowed within him. It was insane. Like an absolute adrenaline rush. OOO was punching, kicking, hitting, moving all around Poseidon’s body, beating, thrashing, smashing the villain all over!

“You!” Punch! “Won’t!” Punch! “Hurt!” Punch! “My Friends!” punch! “Ever again!” PUNCH!

Poseidon tried to turn liquid and escape, but it wouldn’t work for some reason. The darkness had many strange powers after all. All he could do was take the merciless beating.

And then, it was over.

BMPF!

A portal of darkness opened once again, shooting out both OOO and Poseidon and returning them to the grassy field they were on. Only OOO landed on his feet. Poseidon had fallen on his side, barely able to stand.

OOO took the scanner from the belt, hovering it over his belt.

“Scanning Charge!”

The hero moved his hands, gathering all the energy he had. The energy of darkness and the energy of his strength, both his borrowed Imagin and his own. It became a fireball with black and red flames, hovering between his hands.

OOO launched the fireball at his opponent right as Poseidon tried to propel more water in his defense. The fireball became a dark shadow-like creature, crashing through the water wall as it wrapped its wings around Poseidon, completely trapping him.

The hero spread his hands. A symbol of energy appeared in each hand. They each formed the Taka and Imagin Medals respectively, launching them both forward in one big push. In mid-air, each symbol became its respective animal. A miniature Momotaros rode on the back of the hawk, slicing straight through his opponent. The energy from the attack rippled through Poseidon’s insides before the energy exploded like a bomb!

KAAA-BOOOOM!

An explosion rocked the field as the animals from OOO’s finished evaporated into nothing. OOO pulled out the Imagin and Shadow medals, both of them dissolving like dust.

“That’s all the energy I could get it seems,” OOO commented, putting back his green and yellow medals in his belt to transform back into his default form.

Den-O helped Ichigo and Nigo as they came to OOO’s side, watching the remains of the explosion closely.

Poseidon’s armor disappeared as Dr. Dee collapsed outside of the flames. His belt was barely intact.

“This... this can’t be happening...” Dr. Dee struggled to get out before his eyes fell shut and his body fell to the ground near the shore of the lake.

OOO asked, “What do we now, Midoriya? Are we finished?”

Den-O draped his sword over his shoulder. “Not sure. Let’s-”

Suddenly, Ichigo pointed upwards. “Up there!”

Everyone looked up to see a massive sphere of water in the sky above the lake, only a few feet in front of them.

Ichigo asked again, “What the-?!”

OOO gasped, “Is that-?”

Den-O commented, “Ya gotta be kiddin’ me.”

Izuku thought, “It followed us here?”

The sphere of water then disappeared, condensing into a massive robot. Shocker’s Big Machine dropped from the sky, creating a massive wave as it landed in the lake.

SPLASH!

The vibration from the machine dropping down hit the Riders as they all were thrown back from the force.

But Dr. Dee was fine. The Big Machine had grabbed his almost lifeless body and placed it inside of the ‘belt’ area of the robot. Dr. Dee’s body fell into the liquid vat nearby.

From the cockpit, the future Poseidon commented over the intercoms of the machine, “Those students made that vat into pure water so you can safely preserve yourself.”

Sure enough, the vat became gelatin, holding the young Dr. Dee inside.

“We’ll talk soon, my younger self. For now, I’ll ensure that I’ll keep our future in check.”

Poseidon focused back on his opponents. Following his control, the Big Machine stomped. The surroundings around it started to shake from the massive robot’s movements. The lake’s water started to pour upwards. The turbine on the robot’s belt spun, taking in the water and dispersing it in the air.

The clear sky started to become filled with black clouds, completely obscuring the sun.

Den-O commented, “So, the weirdo wants to set the mood for this fight?” He started to crack his knuckles. “Very well...”

“Midoriya, what’s the plan?” OOO asked.

“I’m Momotaros!” Den-O snapped, making OOO wince from the harsh tone. “And this is where I get big!”

Den-O started running toward the lake. OOO heard the sound of train tracks as Den Liner moved right past the three Riders and picked up Den-O in an instant.

As soon as Den-O got in the cockpit, he activated the weapon systems. The train cars turned, targeting the enemy. Lasers fired from the train car up front.

TSEWWW! TSEWWW!

Shocker’s Big Machine turned, firing off lasers from its own eyes and deflecting the blasts.

WHEWWW! WHEWWW!

Den-O fired rockets next, the train itself getting closer to the Big Machine. But the Big Machine bent his back, letting one of the rockets move past it. The robot then chopped through the other rockets, its small explosions barely phasing it.

Suddenly, rain started to pour, matching the pitch-black sky overhead.

Bombs were deployed from Den Liner, but they missed their mark, going too far and missing Shocker’s Big Machine completely.

Geysers started to form from the lake, shooting right in Den Liner’s path! The Kamen Rider jerked to the right, swerving the train to the side. The airspace became a lot narrower with Den Liner trying to weave through it and back toward the Big Machine.

Den-O groaned, “I can’t see a thing! Can you, Izuku?”

At this point, the rain was pouring so hard they might as well have been in the ocean itself.

The Quirkless teen inside of the Kamen Rider had already started to realize what was going on.

“Of course!” Izuku thought. “These clouds aren’t just random! They’re giving Poseidon the advantage. We won’t be able to do much in this rain! And, with the geysers in our way, we can’t do much unless we’re trying to crash again!”

Den Liner’s path was becoming even tougher. The wind was getting stronger too. It was coming in waves like the ocean.

And then lightning happened.

“YAHHHH!” Den-O yelped as a jagged bolt as thick as a tree lit the sky and hit the side of Den Liner!

Den Liner started to fall out of the sky. Den-O pulled on the handles, trying to get the train back up. The train faltered for a moment before steadying itself on more train tracks. But, before Den Liner could move again, Shocker’s Big Machine grabbed Den Liner by both ends, holding it in place. The train shook as the Big Machine tried to tear the cars apart!

Watching all of this from the ground, Ichigo finally threw up fist. “Your friend is in trouble! We have to help him!”

OOO asked, “Are you sure? The two of you are still injured and you don’t understand how that machine works.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Ichigo responded. “Until Shocker is completely destroyed... the Kamen Riders can never die!”

OOO’s mouth gaped open before he nodded, planning on following them with their conviction. “Right.”

“Hey, Tamaki! You’ll need this, won’t you?”

The Riders glanced behind them, seeing Nejire waving her hands in greeting, completely oblivious to the rain around her. She was right next to a large vending machine. One very familiar to OOO.

“Nejire, when did you get that?”

The girl explained, “Got it from the present and put it in Den Liner before we left! Figured you would need it.” She placed a silver coin inside and pressed the button. The vending machine then folded forward, transforming itself into a motorcycle. She grinned, giggling with a wink. “You know I’ll always have your back, Tamaki!”

OOO nodded. “Thank you, but how do we use it? There’s no space around here to use these properly against that robot.”

“Naomi clued me on that. Trust me, you’re gonna love it!”

A few moments later, Den-O was still on his motorcycle, trying to move the train to get free, but it was of no use.

“Come on, Izuku! Think! What can we do?!”

The Kamen Rider could hear the metal creaking all around him, a sure sign that the train wouldn’t survive much longe-

TSEWWW! TSEWWW!

Blue lasers suddenly struck the Big Machine in the chest from up high. The mecha lost its grip, staggering back. Den-O immediately revved up the engine, circling away from the machine.

Den-O commented, “Whoa! That was close!”

Izuku thought, “But who saved us?”

The Kamen Rider looked up to see a set of blue, yellow and purple train cars above them. Each one was on their own set of tracks, flying steady despite the heavy rain.

“Urataros, Kintaros, Ryutaros? Is that you guys?”

The turtle’s voice responded, “Not really.”

OOO’s voice came through the train’s communication systems. “Midoriya, it’s us. Naomi let us use your auxiliary train cars for this fight.”

Indeed, all three Riders were in the cockpits of each of those cars, using their own individual motorcycles.

“Don’t forget about me!” Nejire thought as she held her hands forward and blasted her own yellow waves into the sky.  The spirals dispersed the clouds and brought out the sun again.

In his cockpit, Poseidon thought, “What? How could this be?”

The villain didn’t have much time to ponder. The yellow train, driven by Nigo, reared itself up from the tracks and produced axes, punching and chopping the Big Machine up as if the Kamen Rider was punching the villain himself.

CHOP! CHOP!

Nigo couldn’t help but think, “Is this how all trains in the future drive?”

The blue train, piloted by Ichigo, did a barrel roll as it dodged left and then gliding across the lake to avoid the remaining geysers as it fired low upon the robot.

TS-TS-TS-TSEWWW!

Den Liner circled near the purple train as it reared its ‘head’ back. OOO activated the train’s weapons system, providing coverage with lasers as if the train was a dragon breathing fire.

TS-TS-TS-TSEWWW!

OOO called out, “Midoriya, we’re new at this so you have to instruct us. How do we stop this permanently?”

Izuku thought, “We have to go after the original Poseidon and destroy his belt. His belt is the reason he managed to get back in time. If it's destroyed, then the timeline that was created won’t exist anymore! Shocker’s Big Machine will disappear in an instant and everything should return to normal! But, of course, we’ll need to get to him when he’s hiding in the Big Machine.”

Den-O ignored most of that, speaking to the other Riders. “We pull off a big finisher, that’s what!”

In OOO’s cockpit, Ankh appeared before the Rider. Before the Rider could say a word, the floating hand pulled out OOO’s scanner and took it away from him, moving toward the front of the cockpit.

“Fly down low toward Midoriya,” Ankh instructed. “I know how we can end this.”

OOO hesitantly nodded, pulling closer to Den Liner.

Ankh made the jump, fighting against the weather, and going inside the train, zooming inside of Den-O's cockpit and near the Rider’s head.

Den-O yelled, “What the-?!” The Rider looked behind him for a moment before shouting, “Stop gettin’ out! This thing is all yer fault anyway!”

The monster ignored the outburst. “Activate that finisher I saw before.”

“Idiot, do you know wh-?” Den-O tried to say, but Ankh didn’t care at all about him. The hand already went to Den-O's belt, pressing the red button. Red electricity started to fly, going right to OOO’s scanner and filling it with power.

“FULL CHARGE!”

Ankh left the same way he came in. The last thing he heard before leaving the train and going back to OOO was Den-O yelling at him to “not get so handsy!”

Once OOO saw Ankh handing him his scanner back, the one already glowing red, the Kamen Rider figured Ankh’s reasoning completely. “Understood.”

OOO placed the scanner back on the holster of his belt before he relayed the plan to everyone.

Inside of his own cockpit, Ichigo nodded, “I see. Let’s combine our strength and show them what it means to be a Rider!”

And a hero.

Poseidon had been fighting back with his Big Machine before Den Liner and the three auxiliary train cars all suddenly started to retreat, moving away from the lake. “They can’t escape me!”

The Big Machine stomped toward the lake’s shore.

CRUNCH!

Grass was now permanently flattened with rocks and hills shaking with every step.

Den Liner stopped in mid-air at about a half a mile before circling around and racing straight forward, a clear path to the Big Machine! The auxiliary train cars followed close behind until...

“Now!”

OOO, Ichigo, and Nigo opened the front of the train cars and released their cycles from the cockpits. The Riders landed their bikes on top of the speeding Den Liner, toward the back of the train.

Oof!

OOO hunkered down, close to his motorcycle, as he and the Riders rode their cycles toward the front of the train side-by-side, fighting against the traction they currently. Ichigo and Nigo gained speed, becoming shielded from the wind as the intense wind funneled into their belts, granting them power.

Poseidon in his cockpit finally spotted the three Riders on their bikes, completely confused as to what they could possibly be doing.

Den Liner was getting dangerously close to the robot, within its reach. The Riders had now reached the front of the bullet train. Den Liner craned its front train car down before pointing upwards at the ‘belt’ area of the Big Machine.

Performing wheelies, all three Riders tore themselves off the roof of the train and rode on air straight the Big Machine with Den-O on his cycle, following close behind.

OOO moved the scanner over the belt, activating his powered finisher. “Scanning... FULL CHARGE!”

Three circles made up of pure energy moved out from OOO’s belt and froze in place, acting as targets for the Riders. OOO aimed at the Big Machine’s head, Ichigo and Nigo aimed at its chest, and Den-O aimed at the robot’s ‘belt’.

The Riders all shouted in unison, “ALL RIDER BREAK!”

Moving through the targets, each Rider felt a surge of energy through their bodies, like their cells were completely electrified! The energy from Den-O's Full Charge was now in each one of them, a vessel for pure power.

All of the Riders raced toward the Big Machine, each one ramming right through the machine’s metal as if it were made out of paper.

Cru-WHUMPF! Cru-WHUMPF! Cru-WHUMPF!

Den-O kept one hand on his cycle with the other hand on his sword slashing through the jello that housed the original Dr. Dee. He didn’t get a chance to look back before all of the Riders reached through the other side. The Rider landed on a mix of sand and pebbles, skidding their bikes to a stop as they looked back at the robot.

The Big Machine was practically ripped in half. Massive holes created a long gap between both halves of the robot. Blue and white sparks flew wildly with small explosions following it until both halves of the robot collapsed to the ground in a gigantic explosion.

Down it came.

KAAAAAA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Den-O and OOO held up their hands, shielding their eyes from the massive explosion before they looked at the burning remains of the robot.

Nejire landed beside them, looking at the crash site. “Is it over? Please tell me it’s over now.”

Silence for a long moment before the Riders heard the sound of moving metal in front.

Den-O cursed, “DAMN IT!”

Dr. Dee stumbled into sight, glaring at all of them. His face and hands were smudged from the ashes inside. Based on the destroyed belt with a metal gash in it, Den-O could tell that this doctor was the original one he tried to slice in jello.

“I’m not...” Dr. Dee breathed. “I’m not done yet! Henshin!”

But nothing happened. The doctor looked down at his belt, realizing that his Core Medals were gone. His head zipped around, searching for them until he finally looked back at the Riders, spotting Ankh with the three aqua medals between his fingers.

“I’ll be taking your Core Medals,” Ankh said, tone dry as ever.

Dr. Dee’s eyes went wide. His belt, unable to hold any longer, shattered into pieces, falling to the ground. The doctor got on his knees in a futile attempt to try and piece them together, but the man’s hands phased through it. His whole body started shimmering like water before the man disappeared completely.

“Shocker... Shocker is eternal...”

Like a ticking clock, everything moved in increments. A wave of light passed through them. The remains of Shocker’s Big Machine disappeared. Everything returned to normal as if the fight hadn’t happened at all.

Nigo asked, “What happened to him?”

Den-O and OOO took off their belts, transforming back into their civilian forms. Izuku explained, “Owner briefly explained this before we got here. Time travel is not a common thing to. What Dr. Dee tried to create, it was only powered through my friend’s medals. The power created was enough to throw him in the past to what he wanted, but it wasn’t stable. Like an anchor, the medals and his belt kept him back here so he could change the past. But, without either one of them, Dr. Dee snapped back to when he originally travelled through the past. And, because of that, the disastrous future that we came from should never exist. Hypothetically.”

Ankh thought before slinking off back to Den Liner, “I hate time travel.”

All three teenagers took a moment, relishing in the fresh air before they all smiled, completely with relief. They felt like collapsing back on the ground and lying there forever. They were at the point of exhaustion that they felt giddy.

But they won.

It was over. It was finally over. They won.

The two original Riders came over to the hero students in the midst of their silent celebration.

“You are all so young,” Nigo stated. No accusation or bias in his tone. Just a simple fact.

Nejire nodded. “Yep! Tamaki and I are third years while Midoriya here is a first year in high school. We go to a school in the future that trains us to be heroes! Do you have something like that too?” She paused, putting a finger to her chin. She leaned close to the both of them as she asked curiously, “Hey, so why do you call yourselves Ichigo and Nigo? Did any other names not come to mind? And why do you guys look almost exactly the same?”

“Ah, such energy,” Ichigo commented, letting out a relaxing sigh. “It hasn’t been too long since I was in high school.”

“Really?”

Ichigo nodded, folding his arms. “Yes, in fact, I remember this time when I was a third year such as yourself. I was exhausted from studying since I was trying to get into Jounan University. But then-”

Before the story could go any further, Izuku interrupted, wincing slightly, “Um, we’re sorry, but I don’t think we can spend a lot of time here.”

Nigo reassured, “We understand. Thank you for helping us against that enemy.”

Amajiki bowed, “It’s partially our fault that he came to attack you two. We apologize if your mission against Shocker has been affected because of this... I can only describe it as a weird incident.”

“Don’t apologize for protecting the lives of others,” Ichigo asserted.

Nigo added, “This may have been a detour, but we do appreciate you all for coming here. Because of Shocker, we have put ourselves in strange situations such as this one.” He glanced over at the original Rider. “I have heard many times of Takeshi’s trick to bury himself as Hitler’s hidden treasure.”

The three teenagers blinked. Izuku asked, “Wait, what?”

The Rider hid his chuckle. “Oh, sure. Now you want to hear his stories, don’t you?”

Ichigo continued, “This incident you can only describe as ‘weird’ is something necessary for our fight. Even if Shocker gets away from us, we shall find them again. I can feel it...” He placed his hands on Izuku and Tamaki’s shoulders, giving them a reassuring pat and nod.

Suddenly, both Ichigo and Nigo leaped upwards, rolling forward. The teenagers’ heads kept the Riders in their focus as Ichigo and Nigo landed on a small hill behind them.

“We are connected by our desire to protect humanity as Riders,” Ichigo said from afar, standing with their back to them. “There may come a day when us Riders must join forces again...” The Kamen Rider held up his hand, clenching into a fist. “But, until that day comes, the future where you come from... its fate will rest in your hands.”

The hero students listened, feeling the full weight of the Rider’s words. No one else in their present would know, but they wouldn’t be the people they were without Ichigo and Nigo fighting to make their world better. Only Izuku Midoriya, Tamaki Amajiki, and Nejire Hado were the only ones that understood the torch that was being passed to them. Those three would have to continue the fight that started so long ago...

“Never back down, Kamen Riders! No matter how far in the future you’re from, we’ll be watching you!”

Ichigo and Nigo reared back, about to jump again back into the war against Shocker, the long battle against evi-

“WAIT!”

Both Riders glanced behind them to see Izuku running at them with shocking speed. It was almost inhuman how fast the Quirkless teenager had arrived at their side. He was hunched over, heaving for breath, until Izuku looked up at them with stars in his eyes. He pulled out a notebook and a pen from seemingly nowhere.

“Before you leave, can I please have your autographs?! I’ll never get this chance again!”

Ichigo and Nigo were stunned. They glanced at each other before they smiled underneath their helmets and turned toward the teenager, ready to give Izuku a new souvenir for his collection.

As Ichigo took the pen and notebook, Nejire pulled out her phone, waving it in front of Tamaki’s face. “Hey, how about we take a picture? You and Midoriya with your Rider sempai?”

Tamaki whispered, “Please, no.”

Tamaki hated taking pictures. He always looked bad in all of them. Plus, the pressure of him meeting the first Riders, probably the first real heroes in history, was now something that began to dawn on him...

“Oh, come on! You know Mirio would want you to!”

“Let’s go back to Den Liner and we can wait for him to answer."

“You know he can't! Let’s go. Opportunities like this come once in a lifetime. And this will be a great first step for you to build your confidence!”

“W-wait!”

Poor Tamaki was completely helpless as Nejire grabbed him by his wrist and started to drag him over to the Riders. His head slowly turned to Den Liner, now noticing Ankh’s hand floating in one of the mirrors.

Tamaki begged, “He-help me. Help me!”

Ankh would have rolled his eyes if he had them, turning away and going back to Mirio’s body in the dining car.

Urataros sipped his coffee, leisurely waiting around. “It seems it’s all over now.”

Ryutaros tapped away at the table. “Yep, seems like it...” His shoulders slumped down as he rested his head on his hand. “I’m bored now.”

Kintaros was in another booth, already fast asleep. His snores were filling up the train car as usual.

With the demonic hand resting back on Mirio’s body, Ankh stood up from his booth, massaging his wrist. His look had a natural glare, feeling like this was all just one big waste of time. Even the Core Medals that the monster had stolen from Poseidon quickly disappeared since they weren’t supported any longer by Poseidon’s Quirk.

The monster then noticed Momotaros approaching him, intercepting his path. The Imagin didn’t move any further, staring Ankh down.

“What?” Ankh asked in annoyance.

Momotaros suppressed the long sigh he had.

The Imagin still thought that this whole mess was all Ankh’s fault for trying to be greedy and stupid. But he had to admit one thing about him: the finisher he pulled out in the final battle was actually pretty cool. Ankh was flashy like he was.

So, he couldn’t be that bad, right?

Momotaros held out a single hand for Ankh to shake.

Let the two of them bury the hatchet.

Ankh scoffed, turning his back to Momotaros dismissively.

The Imagin snarled in anger. His entire body shook in rage as both of his hands bawled into fists.

Forget burying the hatchet! Momotaros wanted to stick one right up Ankh’s ass!

By the time the teenagers had finally returned to Den Liner and the train started to depart back to the present, Momotaros was still fueled by pure rage!

“YOU’VE HAD ME AT A CLIMAX OF ANNOYANCE SINCE THE START! OUTTA MY WAY, BEAR!”

Chapter Text

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It was September 6^th, 2236.

And, Izuku Midoriya could safely say that everything was back to normal.

Normally, whenever Izuku would go time travelling, he would have been gone for as long as he was in another time. Which would have meant that Izuku and the others would have missed at least a few days. But, this time, Owner had allowed Den Liner to drop the teenagers off on the same night they left so they were only gone a few hours.

The moment they landed in the present, all three teenagers checked their phones and saw the typical news alerts of Pro Hero advertisements and battles in the area.

With Den Liner now fully functional, all three of them teleported nearby UA and then walked through the front gate. Izuku’s ID worked. When Izuku walked into the Class 1-A dorm, the few students that were still awake recognized him and the others. No one knew what a Kamen Rider was when Ankh made a comment about it. And the best part of all, Izuku got to sleep in his own bed, in his own room, making plans to frame his ‘souvenir’ of his and Tamaki’s photo with the original Riders as soon as Nejire could print it out.

And then, Izuku got up the next morning and went to class. He was buzzing with joy the whole time. He made sure to say hi to Aizawa and his teaching assistant, Shirakumo. He gave a big hug to Tokoyami and Bakugou for missing them both so much and being alive. (Even though Izuku still didn’t know what really happened to Bakugou in the altered timeline.) Brushing off the comments that Bakugou would kill him the whole time for being weird, he made sure to ask Tsuyu if they could talk in private for a few minutes at lunch, which she agreed.

As soon as they sat on the same bench in the lunchroom, Tsuyu asked, “So, what is on your mind, Midoriya?”

Izuku chuckled, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. “I know I don’t. Um...” He swallowed. “It’s kind of hard to explain but I was wondering about your siblings?”

“My siblings?”

“Yeah, um, how are they?”

Tsuyu blinked at the odd question before answering, “I believe they’re at school right now. I haven’t gotten a chance to really talk to them since moving into the dorms, but I do worry about them. My parents have jobs that don’t allow them to be home much so they would have to take care of themselves.” She put a finger to her chin before turning back to Izuku. “Why do you ask?”

“I was wondering if it would be ok if I could send them a gift basket from my family’s cafe. Make sure they get a little treat.”

“Sure, ribbit. That would be nice. I can send you the details.”

Izuku beamed. “Thanks!” He was already on his phone, texting Jin at the Milk Dipper if he could make a gift basket for the Asuis, along with another for Principal Nezu (That one in particular is going to have a lot of cheese and tea.)

“So could I ask why the sudden interest in my family?” Izuku looked up from his phone to see Tsuyu’s tongue hanging out slightly as she looked back at him. “You normally don’t ask for me. Ribbit.”

The Quirkless teen let out a long sigh. He expected this to be weird for him. Like she said, they don’t normally talk one-on-one like this. But it was for that reason that he had to do this. Besides, he already had an explanation at the ready.

“I... um, had a dream last night.”

Tsuyu croaked in confusion. “A dream? Did it have something to do with what happened to Shoji yesterday?”

“Kind of,” Izuku sheepishly admitted, wincing a little and looking back to his food. “It’s hard to explain. I kind of want to forget a lot about it. But you were in it and... It made me realize that I know we’re not the closest classmates, you and me. I usually spend more time with Uraraka, Iida, and Tokoyami. But...” He smiled as best as he could, getting back to his original point. “I just want to say that I’m glad to have met someone like you. I’m really happy we’re classmates.”

Tsuyu nodded silently before she cleared her throat. She really didn’t know what kind of dream would bring on this amount of appreciation.

Eventually, she said, “Thank you, Midoriya. I will admit, you are quite strange to me. Your Quirk and your muttering can creep me out at times. And your bad luck is something to be weary of...” Before Izuku could fully take in that comment, Tsuyu continued, with a sudden smile on her face, “But, after all this time, I still appreciate having a classmate like you, as well. Ribbit.”

Izuku bowed slightly, “Thank you, Asui.”

“I told you to call me Tsuyu.”

The teenager’s eyes went wide for a moment before nodding and smiling. “Of course. Sorry.”

The Quirkless teen couldn’t say anymore. But he really owed her. He wouldn’t have been able to restore the timeline without her help. One day, he hoped that he could tell his friends everything...

Speaking of his friends...

Uraraka, Iida, and Tokoyami all approached the table. The gravity girl asked, “Hey, are you two okay?”

“Don’t worry. We’re done,” Tsuyu replied. “Midoriya just asked me if it was ok to send a gift basket.”

Iida echoed, “A gift basket?”

Tokoyami asked, “Does this have something to do with your upcoming arrangement with Uraraka tomorrow?”

Izuku replied, “No. And, besides, we both agreed our first date was all Uraraka’s choice.”

Uraraka added, taking a bite of her food, “Yeah, Deku agreed with me that since the night out watching the meteor shower was all his idea that I get to plan-”

Something slammed onto the table.

All five teenagers looked up from their food, raising an eyebrow at the box of chocolates, the bouquet of flowers, and strangely, a photo of Uraraka holding the box of chocolates and the bouquet of flowers.

Their gazes went further up to see Monoma on the other side of the table. The blonde had his arms crossed, tapping his foot.

“I know exactly why you’d place these in front of my dorm, Uraraka,” Monoma said. “But I can’t accept them. One.) You’re in Class 1-A. That reason is alone enough. But, honestly, even if you weren’t, you’re really not my type.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Uraraka exclaimed, standing up from her seat. “I didn’t even send these to you! There must be some mistake!”

“Of course, there is. You’re trying to make me your side character by trading up from Midoriya. But it won’t work!”

“What?! What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I said what I said. I’m in a league much different than the two of you.”

As both Uraraka and Monoma started yelling at each other, with Iida trying to calm the situation down, Izuku couldn’t help but put the pieces together. The Quirkless teen sighed, slumping his shoulders.

Izuku thought, “Ok, which one of you was it?”

Urataros chimed in, “I asked one of my fishes for a lovely bouquet.”

Kintaros added, “Naomi made the chocolate.”

Ryutaros stated, “I borrowed your body last night to make Uraraka pose in that way.”

Momotaros shrugged, “You’re lucky this time, Izuku. The turtle was trying to convince the brat to make the mono guy do a strip dance instead.”

The purple Imagin admitted, “I would, but I actually don’t know what that kind of dancing is.”

“Oh, it’s-”

“SHUT UP!”

Meanwhile, across the busy lunchroom, the girls from Class 1-B watched as their class rep went up to the table and gave a firm chop to their classmate’s neck, knocking him out in one move.

Kodai commented with a sigh, “Here they go again.”

Tokage asked, “Wonder what it’s about this time?”

Shiozaki added, “Kendo wouldn’t have performed retribution unless our classmate was performing a most heinous act.”

Komori said, “Shroom that.”

Yanagi was silent, quietly eating her lunch and scrolling through her phone. None of her classmates found it rude. They just knew that she was more connected to the Internet than anyone else. Any opportunity to check the Internet, she would take, especially between classes. And, besides, there were a few conspiracies brewing online. Reports of ghosts and spirits haunting. She had to see if there was any update for them.

A notification appeared before her. “@CuteBloodyGirl is now following you!”

Yanagi looked at her phone with a seemingly emotionless expression, but she was actually curious at it. She didn’t have many followers. Only some of her friends at UA and that was it. For good reason. She didn’t post much. She was more into creeping onto news accounts. The only things she had on there was a bio stating her name, her status as a UA heroics student, and a quote from her favorite horror movie. And, then the few posts with spooky photos of abandoned dark places and her collections of occult items with no captions.

There was no reason for anyone to really follow her.

The ghostly girl clicked on the notification to view CuteBloodyGirl’s profile. Compared to her own, it was a lot more active with reposts from other accounts, sharing news and rumors of spooky movies coming soon, crime scene photos from defeated villains (Yanagi wouldn’t question how they got that) and-

Yanagi stared at the single photo in front of her. It was said to be a selfie, except zoomed in so close it would be impossible to tell the user’s identity. It was so clear, too high quality, to be anything else.

All Yanagi could see was just a girl’s fanged smile. The blood stained the teeth like paint on a canvas. This detail would have deterred anyone else and tried to report the account. But Yanagi was different. She, instead, was focused on how the smile was curved. How it portrayed a level of childish innocence and life. It unquestionably made the whole image... cute.

There was something familiar about it, but she wasn’t sure.

Yanagi clicked the “Follow” button on their account. She doubted that their souls would ever cross, but for now, she would haunt from afar.

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Eri strapped on her backpack, filled with food and other items she would need. She closed her eyes, taking a steady breath before she left her bedroom and walked toward the entrance of the train. She began to take in the narrow walkway of the train Honestly, she wasn’t sure when she was going to be back.

Everything was back to normal now. Just exactly how it was.

Which meant that Young Eri had woken up back in that dark locked room underground, waiting for the next moment when Overhaul would begin his experiments on her again.

“Young Eri, I... I will save you.”

Because if she didn’t, then it would fall to Tokoyami and all the other heroes... where they wouldn’t survive. Eri had promised her younger self that she would be free, but she wouldn’t let others die stupid deaths before that promise happened.

Eri bit her lip, standing at the doorway of the train.

“I don’t know how long it will take. I’ve been busy with all of this time travel stuff, the Imagin, the idiots, everything...”

She took one final glance at the train. What she thinks of when she thinks of home.

“But I think until I do... I can’t come back here. I can’t face Izuku until I know that everything turns out alright. Maybe... I don’t know...”

She opened the door, leading to the streets of Japan and stepped through it.

From behind her, Owner watched the door close as a young girl prepared to change her past to save her friend’s future.

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That morning, Shigaraki had woken up in a shitty bed in a shitty secluded spot.

Everything was back to normal.

Did he make the right decision in that other server? Honestly, he still wasn’t sure.

But video games were actually good again. So, there was that.

There’s really not much else to say. He spent the whole day playing the games he loved. Spinner had joined his party, playing side-by-side on some of the good ones. And there were a few wins between them.

Still, at the end of the night, when Magne had fetched them food, it was mostly silence. Spinner had tried to engage in conversation, but he knew something was off about Shigaraki. Still, the white-haired man didn’t say a word. After all, Spinner was the one person he couldn’t find out about in the other server. But, no doubt, it wasn’t anything pretty. Even if Spinner believed him, he doubted that the mutant really wanted to know.

But there was one thing to come out of that playthrough.

There had been something on Shigaraki’s mind for a while. It had been stirring in his mind for a while. And playing the side of the “heroes” confirmed it for him.

The League of Villains had been a good plan. He brought together a group of party members that had gotten rejected by heroes’ society and could show the world how much they had failed. And, for their first few missions, they succeeded in creating pure destruction. Infiltrating UA, creating a mass riot in Hosu, kidnapping a UA student, and if it wasn’t for all of that and his sensei, All Might, the so-called Symbol of Peace, wouldn’t have been forced into retirement.

And, so far, that seems like it’s it for the League.

Because all of the members just freakin’ fucked off!

Mustard died due to some other villain group hijacking their raid. Sensei, Muscular and Moonfish are in Tartarus, unable to put a fight. Kurogiri turned all blue and joined the heroes. Dabi and Compress disappeared without so much as a warning or a lead. Toga actually sent a text to him, telling him that she’s tired of him and wants to make it on her own for a while. The others, Zero Nose and Deneb, aren’t bothering to answer his calls anymore. Even the mad doctor that hung around Sensei can’t be contacted.

The only ones left in his League that hang around him now are Spinner and Magne. But it’s only a matter of time until they are gone in some way shape or form. He just knows it.

Shigaraki didn’t know what to do next. He could start over. Form a new League and claw his way back to the top. But that seemed undoable with the low amount of power, resources, and currency. If the League was still together, they could have worked together, but that didn’t seem to be the case here.

Perhaps it was all the fault of Izuku Midoriya. Shigaraki had a hatred of that kid for a while. But, as he just learned, the little hacker had knowledge on how to reset the world. No doubt he used that to dissolve the League. Especially with how Kurogiri swapped factions. If Shigaraki was able to get another League going, then it’s possible that the annoying UA student would get to them too.

But Shigaraki had another choice in mind. Like any video game player, he had figured out another strategy to beat the boss.

He was going to grind alone.

Sure, that felt stupid. In fact, it felt like him going back to the tutorial.

But look what he accomplished on his own.

It was his ideas that sparked how the League operated for the past few months. And, just now, he knew that the hero kids would have failed if it wasn’t for him, choosing the right moment to use his Quirk. And you can’t forget that. His Quirk is not as weak as it was. It could destroy so much if unleashed.

The villain wouldn’t leave immediately. He would indulge in this just a little longer, making sure he got more game time and seeing if Spinner or Magne was worth taking with him.

But, in the end, all Shigaraki could do was rely on himself and his power. That’s the only thing he knew he could always depend on.

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Oboro once told Izuku about a spot on the roof of the school that he and his friends used to hang out on. And, so, Izuku figured it was a good spot for him to talk with Tamaki and the others alone.

It was only a few minutes past curfew, but Izuku was nervous the whole time. He had already transported there with Den Liner and was impatiently waiting until he saw his upperclassmen fly up there with their respective Quirks. Giving them some of Sato’s baked goods, Izuku was soon caught up to speed on what they had to tell him.

“So, Dr. Dee is officially arrested now?”

Tamaki nodded, eating a cream puff, “Yes, the heroes were fast to respond to our request when we got back.”

Nejire added, “Sir Nighteye, Ryukyu and Fatgum all went back to that village and located his secret lab very fast. Even with a few years ahead, a lot of his equipment was heavy duty and really couldn’t be moved as easily. From what they told us, it seemed like the bad doctor was trying to spend all his time trying to recreate his time machine.”

Izuku asked, “So, everything in there is completely gone?”

The purple-haired teen explained, “Well, most of it is still under investigation, confiscated by the proper authorities, but there isn’t anything that they’ve deemed as dangerous.”

“There is one thing,” Nejire clarified. “A Rider belt.”

The Quirkless boy almost choked on his food. “What?!”

“It’s apparently called the Aqua Driver, cobbled together from his original belt,” Tamaki said quietly. “But, like we said, it’s nothing dangerous on its own and even if it was, it’s confiscated now.”

“Although, from what we heard, it is super cool! The heroes believe that the doctor was making it for himself, but it can be used by anyone now! It is supposed to work in conjunction with someone’s Quirk, but only if their Quirk is water-based.”

“Water-based, huh?” Izuku hummed in thought. His mind couldn’t help but think of an immediate suggestion for who would be the best to have that...

Nejire asked, “Yeah, do you know someone with one of those?”

The Quirkless teen winced, admitting, “Actually, I do. But they’re too young now. If they’re interested, I’ll ask them about it in a few years...”

Tamaki admitted, “I’m just glad it’s over now.”

Izuku let out a curt nod before they all started to eat in silence, their minds contemplating what had happened the past few days.

All three hero students had gotten a taste of what it was like to be a villain: scorned, hunted down, afraid of the world hating you. And even though they had gotten through it, the fact of the matter was that it was something that happened because of them. No matter how they tried to reason it, it was ultimately their fault. If Izuku hadn't invited them, if Ankh hadn’t tried to be greedy...

“Hey.” The three teenagers glanced behind them to see a disdainful Ankh holding a bare popsicle stick still dripping. “My ice pop fell. I need more.”

Nejire rolled her eyes, standing up, “I’ll go get you another. And, you know what? You need to stop making such a mess.” She grabbed a napkin and started to dab it on Ankh’s mouth. “Come here.”

“Forget it!” Ankh yelled, trying to push her aside. “Get away from me!”

But the girl wouldn’t relent. Both Izuku and Tamaki watched on, trying to hide their smiles, as Nejire chased Ankh around the rooftop.

But it was Izuku that broke the comfortable silence between them.

“Hey, Amajiki...” Izuku paused, waiting for the third year to look at him with weary eyes. “I know that before...” He couldn’t hide his wince. “Everything happened... We talked about working together as Kamen Riders, but...”

“You’re dumping me, aren’t you?” Tamaki silently interrupted. He had put down his snack and rested his hands on his lap, staring at them with his shoulders.

Izuku panicked, not wanting it to sound that way. He frantically waved his arms and shook his head. “No! It's not like that! It’s, just-”

Before Izuku could get any further, Tamaki placed a hand on his shoulder. “Midoriya, I understand. I really do.” Izuku calmed down, letting Tamaki continue speaking. “The very first time we work together, we almost ended the world. The blame is on both of us. If you hadn’t spoken up, I would have thought the same thing.”

“I’m... I’m glad you understand,” Izuku sighed, averting his gaze. “Owner once told me that all Kamen Riders have to go on journeys of their own. So, it’s the best for both of us that we shouldn’t try to force them together.”

“I agree. I’m sure we both have enough on our plates to deal with on our own,” Tamaki paused. Izuku followed his gaze toward Ankh again as Nejire had placed him in a choke hold, trying to clean his face.

Izuku thought, “Right, Mirio Togata. That’s technically not him at all, right?”

Tamaki’s voice interrupted the Quirkless boy’s thoughts. “Can I... can I ask you something? From an outsider’s perspective.”

“Of course.”

“I can’t ask Nejire. She’s too close to all of this, but...” Tamaki swallowed. He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. “Do you... do you think Mirio is still alive? That he’ll wake up one day?”

Izuku took a long moment to think of his response. He finally said, “I... I really don’t know. I don’t know much about Mirio or how Ankh works. I can speak from my own experience with possession that well, it can just be the monster in the driving seat while you’re completely out and only barely aware of what’s happening...”

The greenette noticed Tamaki moving to his pockets, gripping something tight for dear life.

“But also... I know how important memories are.”

Tamaki echoed, “Memories?”

“You know that Den Liner works because it’s fueled by memories. Well, I saw for myself how important it is. Memories are people’s time...” He paused, making sure Tamaki saw his gentle smile. “No matter what happens with Ankh, as long as you remember your time with Mirio, he’ll always be alive and well.”

The third year blinked, his face slowly turning red. He immediately averted his gaze from Izuku and buried his head in his lap. But there was a small smile hiding underneath.

“Hey, what are you two talking about?” Nejire asked, approaching the two of them with a bright grin. Ankh had gone to the other side of the roof, perched up on the railing and eating his new ice pop while ignoring everyone else.

Izuku admitted, “Well, um, we both agreed that because of the whole evil timeline thing, it was for the best for everyone if Amajiki and I shouldn’t work together as Riders, after all.”

“Aw, really?” Nejire’s cheeks puffed up, pouting. But it was only for a second before the girl gasped with widened eyes. “But wait! We’re still your sempai here! We can still talk to each other and help each other out if there’s any ‘hero’ stuff, right? You can’t avoid that!”

Izuku stared at her until his eyes widened as well. Honestly, the thought hadn’t occurred to him at all. “Oh! Um... of course! I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

“Yay!” Nejire exclaimed, smiling as she pulled Izuku into a hug, practically suffocating him. Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku could still see Tamaki shaking and hiding in his lap, but he did offer an encouraging thumbs up.

The mood from there switched from more intense and exhausting to more light-hearted and fun with Izuku asking questions about Nejire and Tamaki’s Quirks and then Nejire trying to get Tamaki to tell Izuku about the “underwear story”, but Izuku still didn’t learn about it. Apparently, Tamaki didn’t want to relive it more than he had already.

There were also questions about Tokoyami and whether he would be a good fit for Sir Nighteye’s agency. Izuku wasn’t entirely sure where that came from…

But it didn’t matter. By the end of it, everyone was enjoying themselves.

It felt right.

Izuku and Tamaki both had reached a silent understanding.

The road a hero must take can be a lonely one. And the journey of a Kamen Rider can be even more so.

But even though Den-O and OOO would fight without one another, they were never alone in their respective struggles. Surrounding them all were people who were just like them.

People that wanted the best for the world. To become heroes.

Both Riders knew the meaning of the past, what people had to fight for back for in order to make the future better for everyone. The road was still far from complete. But, as long as people like Izuku and Tamaki knew what had been sacrificed in the past, what legacy that they all inherited, it would still continue forward.

This was the beginning of a new tomorrow for all Riders and all heroes.