Chapter Text
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CH 1: Taking a Step into a Dream
In a world of heroes many don’t understand just how fragile the peace and safety they provide is just a blimp in existence. For every beaming beacon of hope there lived monsters hiding in their shadow. So much more powerful than anything they could fathom that even when these heroes are compared to gods they are nothing compared to these beings.
Shouto learned this cruel reality as a child.
Stories of heroes and villains were what were familiar to everyone. His mother held him and encouraged him during the dark days of his father pushing him. Yet his older brother always looked at him with resentment and at night he felt as if he was watching him and his mother. Watching. Waiting. The light of wanting to be a hero seemed to cast a heavy shadow only able to see his older brother's insanity.
That is when his world turned upside down.
They called it a Tragedy, a random fire caused by his older brother while everyone was asleep. The only problem with everyone's assumption is they acted as if Shouto had been sleeping during the accident. Claiming he had vague memories of waking up in the middle of the night despite recalling how Touya was at the door with something behind him. Shouto had gotten scared, though he can’t remember why, and let out a scream waking up his mother and his older brother ran.
But not before his mother had caught sight of what had startled him. He can recall faded memories of her screaming as she goes after him. She tells Shouto to stay in bed as she will handle this with a terrified expression.
He had ignored that warning.
It was deathly quiet as he slowly left the room trying to brave his fears in that empty house as if a spell had fallen over the estate. There was only the creak of the floor with each passing step as if everything was muffled. There was a sense of dread as he reached the center of the house trying to peek over the balcony. It was so quiet, he didn’t understand how the house could be so quiet after he had screamed. Did no one else besides mom hear him? Not even dad?
A cold chill goes up his spine as if something had pressed against his spine with an icy blade. His small hands clenching at the bars of the balcony as he stared at where he assumed should be where Touya sleeps. Waiting for any other noise, to hear his mom scolding Touya but it was deathly quiet as if there was something wrong. The chill crawled up his spine as if he had activated his own ice.
Go back to bed.
You shouldn’t be here.
It was as if he was paralyzed as if something was coming. No wind, no stars, the very hair on the back of Shouto’s neck stood on end. Trying to make sense of this feeling as he stared at the other side of his house that seemed so unassuming. A low vibration seemed to be coming from below going through the whole house. Playing in a rhythm he could barely understand until he realized there was some ethereal song he never heard before.
A quiet call emerging from this still silence. Then he heard his mother’s piercing screams and suddenly the monsters in stories had become reality. His house splitting in two in front of his eyes as that song turned into an unsettling bellowing. It splits and seizes as something rips from the building structures, a large appendage covered in flames like it had emerged from the depth of hell itself. It terrified him.
He was so insignificant staring up at this large structure that seemed to have no end as his home burned from its emergence. Reaching toward the heavens as it sings in a sound that echoed in his mind. The fire brushed against it yet never flinched, seeming to grow more with each burn it received. The very earth itself shaking underneath as Shouto stood frozen in terror unable to move, why is this happening? Where is Mama and Touya? I’m scared why is no one coming!?
“Mama! Touya-nii!” He is shouting as hard as it can but it was as if the wind stole his voice as his body trembled with terror.
Overwhelming, alien, and cruel as it did not seem to care one bit about those below it. He was only a kid, he had no idea what was even happening. Only that he can’t understand why his family is silent and he is screaming for something. As the very world itself seems to cave to this very being's presence of awe and terror. But finally something emerges from the terror of the night that was so human.
It was his mother’s and brother's screams.
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He remembers the screaming and crying as he tried to call for help desperately after what happened. His mother had been burned when she finally found him while he just wanted to forget that he barely even noticed her odd behaviors. Endeavor had finally woke up only to find Rei trying to drown their crying and terrified son in an ice bath. Right after realizing their house was on fire the insanity of the situation resulted in the man restraining her.
Rumors spread that she had been the one to make Touya burn to death and planned to get rid of Shouto out of spite toward Endeavor. Shouto remembers his mothers hands when she held him and took him to the bathroom. The way she assured him that she won’t let the monsters take him away as he cried. Only to be suddenly shoved under water as ice was formed around him to try and keep him under. Along with the way it burned his eye as she held him down.
His father told him to just forget his mother even as the scar from the freezer burn reflected what had happened. To forget everything about the one who had once been the only person to love him. To stop talking about what he saw and treating his attempt to explain as the insane babbling of a small child.
No one would listen to him talk of the monster or the terror of the incident. They turned away from him even as his father pushed harsher and harsher. Until he could no longer even cry, feeling a void as he realizes his mother might never be allowed to return home. While he is plagued by memories of the monster that had destroyed their home with cruel indifference. Yet hell never left as his father made sure he knew cruelty didn’t need the shape of a monster.
Evidence of that night faded like a lost memory as his father scrubbed clean of any news of this incident as a family matter. His father thought he could make him just forget, erase evidence of Touya and his mother. Every sign of weakness was met with cruelty, a harsher training a more intense regimen. As if any of that mattered after what he had seen but that is all his father cared about, his damn legacy.
Shouto had to get better at hiding his emotions even as he felt every part of him wishing to scream. But now this is just how his life is and all he can do is learn to live with these memories. This mentality is likely why he can’t find it in himself to react strongly to the destruction of his school even if knew it was a tragedy.
UA was a proud symbol of hope and prosperity for the country. Now it is a monument to those very horrors he once witnessed as a child where no heroes can help survive tragedies. As he walked these halls he could see many of the other students shakened. The safety they believed in had been ripped out from underneath their fear. He had to take a separate direction from his usual route as the scars of the incident broke down walls leaving an empty cavern. Echoes of those that have been lost lingered like ghosts in these walls.
The loss of all these human life building up with each excavation. Reminding them of their own powerlessness that no one had seen this tragedy or destruction to prevent it. Being faced with something they could not pin on, no singular entity to point fingers and being left to clean up a mess. The country can’t help but wonder, why did this happen? Why were they attacked and why does no one claim this carnage?
The more they tried to excavate the more people began to lose the memories of the lost souls that had passed away. Parents screaming lessened as they began to forget their children, the heroes who went missing became just background noise. But no one can forget the carnage that remained as if mocking them and their failure to protect anything. The only evidence that remains is that something is wrong, there was no closure for anyone.
Shouto Todoroki was no exception.
More than aware of half of his class missing even he would notice as he tries to remember any of his classmates but he was never close to them. Always keeping a distance so their names and identity were quick to vanish. In the end they weren’t anything to him and so like sand their identities faded away. He can’t even remember the classmates that had been in school only knowing that there had once been people who filled those seats.
Are humans truly so forgettable? It’s strange to think about, but then his own father pretends his wife and oldest son don’t exist so maybe it isn’t a surprise. Though Shouto will admit he was surprised there had been a survivor found in the wreckage.
A boy by the name of Izuku Midoriya was the only survivor from the General Course found unconscious in the rubble. By some miracle despite the blood on his person he was unharmed there were no bruises, cuts or anything on his person. When questioned on what happened all anyone could get was he doesn’t know. A bastion of hope in the decay though there were a few who wondered if in reality he is the cause of this destruction.
In contrast to the other student whose name still lingered and yet there is no evidence of his remains.
Katsuki Bakugou, a fellow classmate of Shouto. Loud, boastful, and arrogantly confident even at Shouto’s best attempts to ignore him did notice him. He was one of the many lost in the tragedy yet his identity still held to everyone's mind. His mother would come demanding to know what happened to her son, the strife and vindication of a mother who lost her only child. It was hard to see her mother whenever she came on campus, reminded of his own mother. The last time he saw her he witnessed her being pulled by police off campus as no one had an answer she was satisfied with.
Shouto can only assume they were soon going to lock her up in some crazy house as that seemed to be a common practice. As despite all the searching none could ever reach the bottom of that cavern. An empty abyss that caved in every time threatening to consume anything that entered and heroes have disappeared.
And yet the only survivor…
He seemed so normal at a glance. Green eyes and dark green hair when he was found most of the students noticed the blood on his person. He had looked almost soulless when he had awoken that hopeful glee people felt seeming to evaporate once they saw him. So the rumors claimed anyway as Shouto never met him.
A boy who once had starry eyes at finally going to UA even as the general course now seemed almost listless. The few that did know him prior to the incident claimed he had become reclusive and distant. People try to ask him what happened and he would avoid or act out in ways that made most uncomfortable. At least from what Shouto has been hearing anyway.
Ever since news spread there has also been an increase in occult.
These strange groups have started showing up outside the school grounds. There have even been people claiming they are trying to recruit UA’s students leading to the school needing to up their defenses. As now there was a threat after one of these ‘groups’ tried to approach their future heroes. This news did nothing to help the rumors as these groups have demanded to see the survivor who has somehow avoided meeting with them.
Which makes the fact Izuku just suddenly approached him out of nowhere more than a bit odd. As he tried to approach Shouto like a great tragedy hadn’t happened nor that he had rumors of him being involved with said tragedy. It was clear he knew something and Shouto can feel the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
The other was dangerous.
“Well, did you want to be friends?” Izuku questioned. The way his green eyes lacked any light as if they had been snatched away by some unknown entity. His mannerism and demeanor was a shallow kindness as if was purposely trying to say, leave despite having been the one to approach him first. Those eyes were looking at his face but they weren’t even seeing him.
This unsettling pit in his stomach grew as he tried to figure him out.
Did the other actually want to approach him or was being urged to do so by someone? And if it was by someone what would they want with him? The other moved in a way meant to seem harmless yet it can’t mask this unsettling wrongness to him. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to look away as he studied the boy as despite the danger the other wasn’t hostile. As if he was trying to warn him despite offering a hand to take him to whatever was lying in wait.
He will play along for now as gets the feeling that if just comes now will be in actual trouble with a danger beyond the one in front of him.
“Only if you answer my questions truthfully,” Shouto spoke with no hint of his fear showing. His years of living with a man who treated him less than human and more like a tool has hardened him to said fears. Able to play the part of someone not about to take the bait even if now wants to ask who is asking the other to do this.
Those green eyes widened just a hint as his hand moved back to his side. Shouto hadn’t even realized he held out a hand to him but likely he wouldn’t have been able to take it.
“Why do you want to be my friend?” A simple question. For a simple answer, there were many reasons people approached Shouto. Usually in relation to his father and yet something about this boy made him think it might be different from the norm. Those eyes looked at Shouto, almost saddened at his response and even resigned. Izuku seemed to understand what was being said.
“Because you look like… Someone who could use one,” Shouto freezes as the other sounded almost sincere. There was a pit of sadness in the other's voice as if was already taking a step back. Izuku looked up at him, seeming to be almost guarded now and it was clear was hiding something. He likely didn’t want to say anything more…
“I’ll think about it,” Shouto answered, but felt like he had to word it carefully as he also took a step back to allow space between them. He watches the other before finally walking away, able to feel those green eyes lingering on his back. He isn’t sure who had put the other up to it but he could tell at the least the other wasn’t approaching with genuine intent to do harm. Even as a part of him wants to wonder what exactly did Izuku truly want.
It didn’t matter yet there was this nagging feeling in the back of his mind asking him. Doesn’t he want to know? This incident felt so similar to another he knows that has haunted his dreams since he was young. Maybe he can finally get closure if the other is willing to speak with him, but if so.
Maybe he should revisit that night first and try to remember what happened.
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Despite Shouto rejecting the others' attempt at friendship at face value it was only because he could tell the other was doing a performance. So he had to make it clear that he had no interest even if wanted to ask more questions. With the rumors and haunting atmosphere it wouldn’t surprise anyone that he steer clear of him.
However, most don’t truly know much about him or his home life, the horrors that happened behind closed doors and the history that has been dusted under the rug. He has been seeking an excuse to ignore his own issues and troubles and discover what happened that night. If it is connected in anyway to this incident this might be his only chance at answers.
Returning to old relics of the past he goes to find the book that seemed to connect to a world beyond their own. A book of strange symbols and rituals that Touya constantly held onto every night. Apparently from their mother who seemed to have regrets in sharing it with Touya.
Shouto had snuck into the remains of his brother's room after the fire had been put out; he snuck in when no one was looking. Only to find the book just in the middle of that burned room still in one piece barely touched by the destruction around it. It was singed with dark inscriptions with leather binding, but when he looked inside. He couldn’t read any of it marked with a language he had never seen leaving him with more questions than answers. He hid it in his room hoping to eventually decipher it but his father made sure he barely had time to think. So he hid and forgot about it.
Until now.
His hand reaches into the gap between the wall and floor board of his room. Prying the tatami mat and plywood underneath hearing it creak and protest at his rough handling. To create a hiding spot was no easy feat for a child but when you have a father like Endeavor you learn to get creative. And to his relief the book was still there untouched by time.
Its leather binding, the string that holds it together and silver gilding seemed to help give it an almost ancient feel. Yet it was sturdy in his hand as his finger lingered on the indentation of its spine but there was no title or anything from the front or back. At most there was a circle with symbols on its front and something like tentacles around it but nothing beyond that. He opens expecting he was going to have to find and research what these unknown symbols mean.
Remembering when he was younger how confused he had been at the words that made no sense. But that isn’t what he sees now. There was something different about the first page as it seemed to be legible. Words that once seemed unspeakable with the human tongue was now something he can grasp. Those symbols remained but they now had a translation like someone wrote in the margin of these pages just for him to understand.
“Why now?” Shouto was baffled as he had seen these pages so many times. Having to hide it from his father knowing if he learned he had it would throw the book out without a thought. To sneer at him for even daring to waste his time on these occult scriptures. The very thing Touya had held onto so tightly that night just moments before that entity emerged.
Now it was opened, Shouto’s fingers moved across the pages that seemed almost unnaturally warm to the touch like it was alive. Almost like it was inviting him to read and embrace its knowledge.
If you wish to walk in dreams and learn the truth of things beyond your mortal understanding follow these steps exactly. This will open your mind to all that is unknown and known.
Be warned once you walk among dreams you can never stop them. For you will be walking among beings those of the awakening will never meet.
These spells will help you from falling to pure chaos but not prevent your fear, horrors, madness or death. The terrors you see will be real so make sure to follow these steps carefully as well as consider the choices you are making.
And embrace the cosmos and your own fragility as nothing more than specks to those beyond you.
Then you will find your answers.
It was quite an elaborate warning; it did not match the rest of the book nor the actual instructions. It was almost like a courtesy someone had tacked on. An attempt at consideration as a warning to whoever was to read this. But the instructions themselves weren’t exactly complicated, just needing certain candles, dark lighting, and a weird amulet.
Huh, that's odd.
He has never seen that amulet before in his life as his brother never had anything like it. He frowned trying to recall if his brother had anything like that. Maybe it would have been destroyed in the fire if he had been wearing it. Also it is going to be difficult making an expensive purchase without his dad finding out and questioning him. He lets out an annoyed click of his tongue as he looks at the page only to notice something odd.
There was a bump in between the book, his eyes narrow as his hand moves to touch it wondering how he never noticed it. This was definitely not here before he had opened this book many times in secret. And no one else should have known about this book's whereabouts.
Yet it was clear someone had planted this. Someone had gotten into his house and found this book just to place that warning and amulet. This was very much an invite, someone wanted him to perform this ritual. For years he had been left with a dead end, no matter what he did nothing worked and yet now someone was trying to help? Or was this some kind of trap?
All of this was happening after talking to Izuku, was it related? Or was this a really eerie coincidence?
His hand reaches out to grab the amulet. His body trembled despite himself as he grasped the jewel as it gleamed in the low light of the moon peeking through his window. Everything inside of him was saying to put the book away. To forget about finding out about who this boy is or ever finding out what happened that terrible night.
To just live in blissful ignorance yet he ignored his body's fears. He reached for that amulet with a White and Green eye at its center both staring at him. A ritual of candles, marking and fire was all he needed. The amulet shone with ominous light as the fire flickered. The book said the ritual only needed to be completed once for the amulet to imbue it protection. The warning was clear, there was no turning back once he completed it.
And he chose to go into the abyss.
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No longer will he be in the comfort of his home.
There is a low pulsing underneath him like a heartbeat underneath him. It seemed to be almost rhythmic as it soothed him trying to lull him into sleep. If he wasn’t careful he might fall for it as he slowly opens his eyes.
The ritual must have worked as he was no longer home, he isn’t even sure if he is in japan as the area was unfamiliar. There is a low fog clouding his vision as tall grass circled him, seeming to be hiding his body. The light of the sun did not touch his skin nor provide him any warmth almost like it wasn’t truly there. His body was detached, unable to move as if there was a heavy weight on top of him.
As the grass flickered he was suddenly hit with a sense of fear as he realized. He wasn’t alone.
A loud rustling as if something was approaching him fast made him freeze every part of him frozen in terror as it came closer. Closer, and closer, it moves to his side then it stops his body tensed as he tries to explain this feeling of fear. As something brushes against his back a low trill like noise escapes the entity. Then it pulled away as did the feeling of terror as something moved into view.
A certain young man with green hair and green eyes looks down at him puzzled. Allowing Shouto to let out the breath he had been holding back at seeing a familiar face.
“Do you not have a sense of self-preservation?” A voice rang in Shouto’s skull as ge finally regained feelings in his limbs. Pulling himself up as he knows the other meant no harm even as his body still recoiled at the others presence. Still reeling from his earlier fear he tries to ignore it and remind himself the other hadn’t attacked him. Even as the sensation of something inhuman touched his back lingered.
“You aren’t trying to kill me so I don’t think that’s the issue. First, where am I?” Shouto questioned as he still has no idea where that book took him. The brush of wind blowing around him seemed to be whispering in a strange tongue. Everything felt surreal like it was just a dream wishing to lull him back into the tall grass even as his body had been seized with terror moments before. Izuku seemed to laugh, the way the others' faces lit up surprised him, did he say something funny?
“Did you seriously come here with no idea of where you are or where you were going?” Izuku looked amused and smiled at him. At least it was clear the other wasn’t actually a threat but could tell the other was teasing him a bit. He moved to stand up fully, his eyes looking over at the environment but it was as if everything had been covered in fog. Like everything is being covered, hidden from his view purposefully.
“This is the only place where I can just be me. Let me just say that weak protection won’t do you much good with me,” Izuku noted with a wry smile. A true enigma that seemed human yet his very presence seemed to be different. As if was both far too young and much too old in the body he inhabited.
Shouto wondered if maybe the other was trying to help him, “I was told I could get answers here.”
A snort escaped Izuku but he covered his mouth with his sleeve. Shouto wasn’t trying to be a comedian but he seemed to be good at making him laugh. Shouto isn’t too sure what was so hilarious but it made him tense as that smile grew on the others face. The rumors that lingered around the boy that survived the tragedy was full of contradictions. In this moment he can start to see why as he can’t tell if he was malicious or truly was concerned about him.
Try as Shouto might he could not tell if the other truly cared or was looking down at him for jumping headfirst into this mess. The spell had said it would protect him but it warned of other dangers. Did that make the one in front of him one of the dangers it warned about that it can’t protect from?
“Sorry I shouldn’t have laughed,” Izuku apologizes. The smile turned into something like a sneer, “Actually I’m quite annoyed despite laughing so I’ll ask again. Do you know where you are?”
He could not answer.
“Haaa, what were they even thinking? You should have just stayed ignorant,” Izuku noted with contempt as his teeth were clenched in a smile that he couldn’t tell if was genuine or not. Those green eyes stared Shouto down as if trying to assess his intentions, “And if you’re seeking ‘truth’ rather than making up your own, you might end up learning things you might regret.”
Did the other know what he was looking for? Could he happen to have any knowledge about what happened that night his brother disappeared and mother broke trying to kill him? Or what happened at UA? To Bakugou?
As he opened his mouth to speak suddenly the whole area grew dark and a loud thunder booms above them. Izuku’s smile turned almost into a sneer once more becoming a threat. Those once beautiful green eyes turned into a deathly white as he looked down at Shouto with pity.
The wind was picking up. The tall grass around him whipped as the sun slowly disappeared. Its subtle warmth that he barely felt was replaced with a cold chill.
“If you know what's good for you then you won’t talk to me again nor go looking for the truth,” Izuku said with that pitiable yet cruel smile. There is danger like when initially approaching Shouto, a threat that could kill him in an instant. The wind was picking up as the very world seemed to howl at them as if they didn’t belong.
Shouto needed answers as it was becoming clear the other wasn’t just some weird kid. There was a crack and he looked at his neck realizing the amulet was cracking. He felt panicked as he looked back at the other needing to understand, “Who are you? And what do you-”
A crack of thunder drowns out his words as a tree catches on fire as the dream-like landscape seems to be becoming a nightmare. He flinched, turning toward the burning tree as the wind howled before realizing he had made a mistake. As he had exposed his back to Izuku as he turned his head to look at him only to see Izuku was wearing a hood. His face is covered by the shroud as the air itself becomes harder to breathe.
“They say ignorance is bliss. You should heed those words,” Izuku's voice carried in the wind. As something from under his cloak began to emerge from under his cloak crawling like snakes among the tall grass. It made Shouto freeze as the thing that emerged wasn’t human at all and realized that is what had touched him. His body freezes in place as they spread far toward him. Their touch looked like death itself as the plants around it darkened and decayed as a black and green liquid released from its limbs.
Shouto tried to see Izuku’s face trying to understand what he had even done wrong. Only to stare into ghost white eyes shrouded in the darkness. There was no joy nor anger, as those tendrils raise into the air so large there is no plausible way they could have all been hiding under that cloak. And he is reminded of that night, being so small as that entity extended to the heavens itself.
They had no mercy left to give as they came crashing down upon his head…
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Cold sweat marred Shouto’s body as he thrashed awake. Memories of the dreams felt like a blur as he tried desperately to remember what happened. Sweat beads down his face as his skin felt cold like he was soaked in an ice bath despite his attempt to warm himself up. This heavy weight was on his chest holding him down keeping him restrained and his hands scrambled trying to pry it off.
That is when his hand made contact with something flick and rubbery instead of his sheets. Its body was warm almost like a furnace. A trill rang in his ear almost like it was trying to ‘soothe’ him as it moved around his neck. Trying to soothe him even as it was holding him down against his will with a lot of force. Nearly suffocating him.
Then it seemed to find what it was looking for. It tendrils snake around the amulet and yanked. It was not gentle as it lifted his head trying to pry it off even as Shouto struggled against it.
“Stop it-” He hissed as the clothed necklace part slowly dug into his neck. Trying not to shout as he didn’t want his father to see this. The book was still splayed beside him as he tried to desperately pull the amulet back. It didn’t seem to enjoy his resistance as its soothing trill turned into a deep rumble. He gasps as it wraps its tendrils around the amulet and begins to crush it once realized he wasn’t giving it easily.
A deathly green glow emitted from the amulet as it shattered the precious item like it was nothing more than a nuisance. It practically dropped the human attached to the item within seconds not caring as the teen hits his head on the floor. Eliciting a startled gasp as his skull burst with pain at impact while the amulet were just pieces on his body.
Those appendages don’t even wait for him to recover before seeming to disappear into the dark recesses of the corner of his room. The candles were blown out as it retreated into the shadows, any evidence of its appearance was gone. Leaving only the damaged amulet and a headache from being dropped. His hands reached to grasp at the damaged amulet but it was nearly dust.
Crumbling away in his hand like sand with only the green gem that had once made up the eye remaining. A small crack was in its center but still held its shape as the only remains of what it had once been. It had been very intent on destroying it, he panics as he goes to look for his brother’s book with fear the entity had also stolen or damaged that as well. But to his surprise it seemed to be in one piece. As he goes to open it, it seemed even this wasn’t able to fully escape the entity.
The first page had been blotted out with a strange black ink of sorts. The very spell to open your ‘mind’ to the other side was defaced.
The ink was still fresh smeared all over the page as if the assailant had been angered by its very existence. The instructions crossed out making it clear this had been deliberate not wishing others to come in. That is when he noticed the draft. His head looked up and the window had been open…
Dropping everything he goes to the window to catch the entity but he was far too late since his first reaction was the book not the intruder. The memories of how the entity had held him down before crushing the amulet still drifted in his mind. The dream he had was becoming harder to recall and he wondered if this was the others doing.
Yet Izuku was still there in his mind holding strong, able to recall he had been in his dream and that entity might have been him. Despite everything else fading he can still remember the other's face and the fear that gripped his heart when he froze in terror. His heart was racing as he tried to recall why he was thinking of this person now. The thoughts refused to leave like a plague once it settled into his mind. He needs to know the answers...
Who is Izuku Midoriya, really?