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Izuku's mind is an enigma, especially to Izuku himself, who is currently, quite literally, sitting in the middle of it. He's unsure of where the vestiges are, they tend to meet him at the metaphorical door, but this time he is completely alone. Not to say that's a bad thing of course, it's nice to have some privacy in his mind, and it's double nice to not have that heavy fog covering his mouth.
Experimentally, Izuku calls out a hello and it comes out much louder than intended. The shout echoes across the entire mind space, the sound seems to travel forever, even when Izuku can't hear it anymore he's almost positive it's still racing down the empty blackness. That should at least get someone's attention if he's lucky, but Izuku is not afraid to admit that is something he's never been.
He starts walking with a heavy sigh, hoping he wakes up soon. He was in the middle of a battle before this, and he clearly wasn't winning if he ended up here. The last thing he really remembers is searing hot pain to his back, or maybe his head, it's still kinda unclear. At least he can't feel the pain here. He'll take what he can get.
It's not long before Izuku is calling out into the dark again, this time with more intent. If being stuck in his mind like this is anything like lucid dreaming then that type of thing matters. His theory seems to have more merit than he was originally gonna give it, because All Might's vestige appears in front of him just a second later.
Izuku is thankful to not be alone anymore, and no offense to All Might, but this is the worst possible vestige that could've come. This one doesn't talk, move, emote, or anything. It just stands, bright and shimmering gold, which is super cool, but also super useless. Izuku can relate.
Izuku gives talking to him a shot anyway, not that he expects much. Or gets much.
"H-Hey All Might. Do you know what's going on?"
No answer, not verbally. The vestige just begins to walk, and Izuku follows, because what else would he do in this situation. He still continues to call out as well, Nana must be somewhere, and she could probably wake him up if nothing else.
As Izuku follows, echoes lessen, but his shouting does not. The space around him slowly goes from inky black to crystal white. There's still no walls or floors, and it somehow gets warmer here. Izuku would almost call it nice if the white wasn't so blindingly bright, he's going to develop bad eyesight at this rate.
All Might's vestige stops suddenly. Once the dark is completely gone from Izuku's vision and he can't tell where he came from anymore. Then the vestige begins to fade, slowly disappearing into thin air. Izuku doesn't even bother to fight it, having been through the vanishing act enough times to know it's a fruitless task.
"W-Was that just All Might?" A voice asks, and Izuku whirls around to find it coming from a little kid. "I didn't know he could disappear, that's so cool! Isn't he so cool, what's your name?"
The kid is small for his age. His hair is wild and undone, because his mother has not yet learned to tame his curls that he inherited from his father. His eyes are wide, and such a bright green, and so so hopeful it's crushing. Even his voice, high and squeaky, drowns in optimism.
Izuku tucks himself behind a smile. "I'm Izuku, what's your name?"
"I'm Deku, are you a hero?"
"No." Izuku says automatically. "But I would like to be."
"Me too, I-I don't have a quirk though, but I'm gonna be the best hero ever! Well, after Kaachan I mean! Oh, Kaachan is my best friend ever, he's gonna be number one and I'm gonna be number two!! Isn't that so cool?"
Izuku doesn't stop smiling as Deku talks and talks. Rambling about everything and nothing, all with an excitement Izuku doesn't remember possessing. It would be cute, if it weren't himself. Because all he does is make himself sick to his own stomach, so Izuku decides to sit down and listen. Kaachan has always said he needs to get better at that.
"Oh, are you tired?" Deku asks, sitting across from him.
"Just a little."
"That's okay, I get a little tired too sometimes. Momma always says that I should take a nap if I'm tired, but I might miss my favorite show if I take a nap. What's your momma like?"
"Uhm, she's very nice, but she's scared a lot, and makes the best katsudon."
"Ooh, mine too!! Momma's katsudon is really good, and sometimes she's scared of sending me to school, but I'm a big boy, I can handle it no problem!!"
It's easy to let Deku's chatter turn into background noise and just nod at the appropriate time, but it's hard to look at him.
"Do you miss your momma?"
"Yes."
Deku sniffles. "I miss her too. Can we go see her?"
Izuku just shrugs. He doesn't have time. He's not well enough. He hasn't become a hero yet. He hasn't become someone she can be proud of yet. She deserves someone like that to come to her.
"That's okay." Deku warbles. "Do you think she misses us?"
"Yeah, mom has a big heart like that."
There's a silence between them that Deku fills with little sniffles and barely audible sobs, not wanting to disturb his older version. In turn, Izuku just holds him close, and practically dwarfs the little kid because of his sheer muscle mass. He misses when his mom was taller than him.
"Izuku... Izuku I think I'm scared too. Is that okay?"
"Of course. It’s okay to be scared, fear is not the opposite of bravery, you just have to have the courage to soldier through it."
"Oh... But Izu, what if I don't want to? What do I do then?"
"Then I guess it's time to go back home."
"Then can we go see momma?"
Izuku pauses for a moment.
"No."
"Okay.”
Another pause.
“I'm sorry.”
“I forgive you.”
— bonus —
Deku watches as Izuku takes him all in. He knows that Izuku remembers him, he knows Izuku knows who he is, even if they don't look or act much alike anymore.
Izuku's eyes are almost gray, and they're so tired. His eyelids droop low enough that Deku has to squint to make eye contact. He reminds him of momma, just a little bit. The way his head hangs low but he still smiles with too many teeth, the way the tips of his green hair have just begun to get matted. He looks just like momma did when he was growing up.
Deku isn't sure why it makes him sad, but he's sure Izuku would get it.
He still decides not to ask, he wants to talk about Kaachan.