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"It says...." Midoriya read the caller ID on the phone."That's Present Mic! Don't answer it!" Eiyuu-Midoriya warned. Izuku looked panicked briefly and the phone went to voicemail. "You know who this is mother fucker," a normal volume sounding voice, thick with thinly veiled anger."Holy crap is that Present Mic?!" Izuku whisper shouted. Eiyuu-Midoriya remained passive. "Get your ass UP. Pick up the fucking phone and call me back,"Eiyuu-Midoriya and Izuku looked at each other."Taking it to Aizawa?" Izuku asked, jumping from the next one to find Aizawa. "Taking it to Aizawa!" Eiyuu-Midoriya agreed as he jumped after him. 'We'll work out an explanation later' Eiyuu-Midoriya mused. Several Months Earlier..."Oh! God! Is it the wrong year?" A voice complained. Likely irritated with the bombardment of Allmight paraphernalia.A moment of silence, then a sigh."Whatever, I can roll with it - hey.... kid... *Izuku* wake up" Izuku Midoriya opened his eyes to....?"Huh-" he sat up and gawked at the strange man he was certain he'd never seen before, but recognized him. For starters, the man before him looked uncannily similar to himself, sharing his green eyes and dark green almost black hair. From the odd clothes Izuku could guess the person before him was a hero (or villain). Dimly Izuku noticed the single Rubik's cube earring on his right ear. "Why do I feel like I've seen you before?" Izuku asked. "Because I'm you obviously," the very strange man replied.Izuku blinked owlishly. "No way"The self acclaimed future Midoriya Izuku sat down in the chair at his desk. He rested his arm on the top of the chair, half lidded his eyes like he'd prepared this conversation a hundred times and had a pretty good expectation of what happened next. "Crash course: You got your wish, you become a hero. You prove everybody wrong and you save countless people. You even have allies that understand and respect you," he said staring into Izuku's eyes. Izuku didn't understand why he wasn't happy about this. Why didn't he seem elated to share this with his past self? Maybe it wasn't that impressive to the one who already had and knew all that stuff?"So how and why are you here? It sounds like everything is going great in the future!" Izuku asked. His future self - his hero self regarded him with an almost dead expression. Present Midoriya didn't notice already rambling off. 'If I just hold out for a bit longer all my goals and wishes...' he thought hopefully. He felt something flick him in the forehead and recoiled. Wincing as he looked up he saw Hero Izuku had leaned forward and flicked him. His fingers still outstretched from the action. "None of that overthinking will be necessary," he remarked finally. Izuku rubbed his head but nodded. "I came here because, I needed to stop you from making a mistake." Hero Izuku commented.Izuku jolted. "What mistake?!""Becoming a hero obviously," he scoffed. At this Izuku felt a little angry."You too huh? I don't get it. You told me I get to have everything I want. Don't tell me..... I failed...!" Izuku started up again and ceased with the indifferent gaze from his future self. "Turns out I do have a quirk," the man carried on over him as if he hadn't spoken. He ignored the way Izuku's expression lit up faster than a Christmas tree. "I've always had it I guess. However, it's very specific, I so far seem to be able to send myself into the past and only myself."Hero Izuku explained.Izuku was listening with rapt attention. He'd even gotten a notebook from the shelf and was writing. "My- Your quirk's active all the time. You just don't know how to use it." Hero Izuku explained. 'No one does,' he thought bitterly. "Wouldn't that cost a lot of energy?" Izuku asked. His pencil hovered over the paper."Not really, since even though it's active it's not actually being put to use. Not in use the power that would be used is just.... There," "What is it exactly...?" Izuku asked."It's a regression type quirk." Was the reply.Izuku scrunched up his facial expression in thought. "Like a video game?""Yeah it grants me the ability to come to any past point in my life. As long as it's already happened, I can send myself there and see the version of 'me' that exists in that time." Izuku looked entranced. Then he remembered himself and hurried to write down the information."The catch is if I fall asleep, the control is lost and I'm sent back to my appropriate time. I can send myself back again -like picking up where I left off-" "It'd be amazing!" Izuku exclaimed. "Just think of all the hero work you could accomplish - all the people you'd be helping!" "Izuku, with that mindset be aware there are some people you just can't save, some things you cannot prevent." Future Midoriya warned."Do not let it get to you," he advised. "What do I call you?" Izuku asked, shoving the book in his bag, probably planning to head to the library after class. "Just call me by my last name." Eiyuu-Midoriya huffed. "But we share the same name-" Izuku protested quietly. "I refuse to be referred to as my hero name by you," he snapped. Izuku looked shocked. The older Midoriya blinked as if realizing his mistake. He inhaled deeply. "I just... Don't want you to get the wrong idea." "What could be so bad ? I'll bet it's really cool!" Izuku remarked. "You'll be late for school, young Midoriya," Eiyuu-Midoriya remarked, dodging the question. "Wha??" Izuku looked at the clock which did confirm he had fifteen minutes to get ready and be out the door. Or he really would be late. "Oh!" Izuku made a mad dash for the bathroom. "Oh so naive..." Eiyuu-Midoriya commented when his younger self was no longer present. 'Was there cynicism in that tone?' Izuku wondered as he rushed to get ready. ❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃⍟❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃"You should stock up on buying these, in a few years or so they'll stop making them." Eiyuu-Midoriya remarked holding up a box of Gobstoppers. Izuku glanced at them. "Hmm,where did you get those?" he hurried to grab the books he needed from his locker and was grateful that his future self wasn't distracting him. "Hey! Deku!" A familiar angry blonde called. "Oh no," Izuku whispered, already deflating at the thought of Kacchan and his other friends. Well actually he wasn't sure they considered themselves friends, more so they had a common goal. Then again maybe they were friends. Who wouldnt want to be friends with someone like Kacchan who had a powerful quirk -?Eiyuu-Midoriya looked at Kacchan like he was a disappointment. Being the older one, Eiyuu-Midoriya stood a little more than a head in terms of height over Kacchan. It added intimidation to the cold expression on his face. Kacchan was saying stuff as he always did every morning. But he was so worried about his current companion and the onslaught of information he received he couldn't really dwell on it until he felt himself get punched in the stomach for ignoring Kacchan. Nervously he glanced at his future self who was standing off to the side and glowering. 'I have it handled.' He mouthed and prayed Kacchan missed it. "Hi, Kacchan..." Izuku tried. He almost flinched at the murderous glare from his future self, now directed at him. "Hey, Bakugou," Eiyuu-Midoriya remarked, putting emphasis on Kacchan's real name. "What!?" Kacchan turned to Eiyuu-Midoriya and was point blank finger flicked almost fifteen feet away. The two other kids looked like deer in headlights and ran back down the hallway, not giving Izuku a second glance. "Kacchan!" Izuku yelped, but he was silenced by Eiyuu-Midoriya who covered his mouth and rolled his eyes. The hallway was quiet too come to think about it."Hey- you--" Izuku started up. Then he abruptly remembered earlier this morning when his future self finger flicked his forehead. He hadn't gone flying like that. "Whoa! All that strength and you didn't do that when you did the same thing to me! That kind of control must take a lot of effort and practice! Is Kacchan alri-" "Get your stuff and get to class." Hero Izuku said with finality."But I share class with Kacchan-" Izuku almost went quiet with the way his future self cringed. "..You know it'll be worse when he sees me again- -" he tried quietly."I won't let him see you again." Eiyuu-Midoriya said simply. Izuku's eyes widened. "But...! Okay." he slipped out of his older self's grasp. A lot of students were looking at the future Midoriya -not that they knew he was the future Midoriya Izuku- with expressions of shock, awe and fear. Izuku trudged down the hall and silently thought that this made it official. His life was going to be different now.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Once the younger Midoriya Izuku had slipped off to class, Eiyuu-Midoriya -the hero Izuku from the future- decided to handle the problem at hand. "Even so, no matter how much you deserve it, I'm out of line for beating up a kid," Eiyuu-Midoriya remarked staring down Bakugou. "Sakitotsu there's the guy beating up Bakugou just like we told you!" One of the students behind him called his attention. Sakitotsu was a man with autumn leaf gold hair and rectangular glasses and only slightly shorter than Eiyuu-Midoriya. "Oh lovely you've been spared" Eiyuu-Midoriya commented under his breath cynically. Sakitotsu glared sternly at Eiyuu-Midoriya, not that he felt threatened. In the past, when it was Izuku getting bullied, shoved down stairs or getting beat up... Things were fine. No need for him to step in and be responsible as an authoritative figure. After all*'it'll teach the quirkless kid to understand the superiority of those with quirks '*. What a load of- "That's enough young man! Cease your behavior of bullying children." He warned and Midoriya liked to think of the amusement from rolling his eyes rather than *doing* the action in front of an adult. Something about being respectful. "Like hell I'm being bullied!" Bakugou commented, shaking off the shock from being sent flying. 'Huh- even the younger you is durable. Maybe next time I'll use more power.' Eiyuu-Midoriya subtly smirked. All though if I had used any more force, and I might have broken something. "You still have to acknowledge that you are an adult hitting a child."Sakitotsu reprimanded. "I can't allow something like that," he said, you know, like a hypocrite. Where was this valid reasoning when Midoriya was getting bullied? Kacchan Bakugou may have been an exception given his younger self's disposition, but was that applicable to the others who followed his lead?Eiyuu-Midoriya narrowed his eyes with this train of thought and he had had plenty of time to think about it. "You're coming with me to the principal's office and Bakugou -kun you should head to the infirmary and get that bruise checked out, then head to the office so he can be dealt with" he jabbed a thumb in Eiyuu-Midoriya's direction, firmly ignoring the snort from the Midoriya in question. Bakugou glared at the man, probably about to tell him where he could shove the idea of going to the infirmary. Then begrudgingly decided to follow the request.❃❃❃❃❃⍟❃❃❃❃❃❃❃"...And that is when I arrived on the scene Principal Raiju! Not only is he making an uninformed visit but he's harming students!" Sakitotsu insisted. Likely hoping he would get banned. "Hmph, I was just defending my younger brother. Imagine how it feels to come to his school and everyone is just letting other students walk over my younger brother," he remarked playing the sympathetic older sibling role pretty well. "I get that I wouldn't expect to be taken seriously or remembered since I've been in the U. S. With our dad, but this is pretty disappointing," he commented."Bullshit! Deku doesn't have any siblings!" Katsuki spat. "I suppose you know because you know, because you're the same age as me, right Katsuki?" Eiyuu-Midoriya asked deadpanning at him. Katsuki made a face, about to argue."I'm twenty eight this year, you're what 14? Don't act like a know-it-all on things you know nothing about." Eiyuu-Midoriya remarked casually as he stepped back to the wall, fairly close to the door. "Well, to.. to ensure the hostile energy here dies down, why don't you two settle things between the *actual* involved parties-" the principal started to reason. "As for you, Midoriya Akatani, You don't show your face around here or I will call the police or even pro heroes to have you dealt with. A strength reinforcement quirk could be useful, I'd hate to see it and it's owner branded as a Villain," Eiyuu-Midoriya understood the thinly veiled threat for what it was. He said nothing, letting the reasoning work in Bakugou's favor.'Heh, I'm still too kindhearted for my own good,' he thought icily. He leaned back against the wall and had an epiphany. "Now then I suggest -" Sakitotsu smiled a bit too smugly. Eiyuu-Midoriya huffed indignantly. "I have a better suggestion."He turned to face Bakugou who glared at him in response. "You will say hello to Izuku- Izuku will say hello back. That will be the end of your interactions with each other." Eiyuu-Midoriya interrupted."I'm quite familiar with your quirk. If anything happens, well, I'll know about it" he promised. "Well it seems like a fair compromise," the principal said nervously. Eiyuu-Midoriya's tone far more threatening than it was before. Bakugou just huffed irritated. "Whatever" he muttered."Just keep shitty nerd away from me and out of U. A." He said pointing a finger at Eiyuu-Midoriya as he left. Eiyuu-Midoriya in question snorted in response. "He's got a big storm coming." During lunch Izuku snuck off to the school rooftop, if he stayed at just the right angle Kacchan would never see him. It was a good place to talk to his future self. Especially considering what happened that morning."First things first, his name is Bakugou Katsuki." Eiyuu-Midoriya remarked folding his arms across his chest. "He doesn't deserve that nickname until he apologizes" the gentle breeze ruffled his hair as he leaned against the wall of the entryway back into the building and closed his eyes. "Oh, and I'm not allowed to come to this building anymore." He smirked at Izuku. "Too bad you can't use that as an excuse not to come to class. Silver lining? Bakugou and his accomplices should leave you alone for the rest of the year,"Izuku stared dumfounded. "Wh-?! How did you accomplish that?!" He startled."Well I flicked Katsuki down a hallway-" he started. "Yes! I remember!" Izuku put his hands on his head. "But you don't have a strength quirk, how'd you knock him so far back? With such little effort?" "If they bother you, I'll come get you," Eiyuu-Midoriya promised. As soon as Eiyuu-Midoriya left, vanishing into green light particles, his day continued like normal, getting verbally mocked and shunned. At least Kacchan... Bakugou didn't do anything else physically violent.❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃⍟❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃He got his notebook out of the school fish pond. "Dumb fish ..... My hero analysis book isn't food you guys," he grumbled picking it up and shaking the water off of it. He inhaled deeply. "My dream can still be realized. There's an opportunity to become a hero" He raised his hand up grinning to himself in an almost crazy way. Right as he was going to launch into his victory laugh -even though he technically hadn't won anything or surpassed any limits- a foreboding sensation occured. He turned back to see a enormous dark green mass of sludge or slime. Where it's face likely was were eyes and a mouth displaying large teeth, not helping Izuku calm down. Beyond his panic he could hear it talking, meaning it was sentient so it was clearly the effect of someone's quirk.Before Izuku could react outside of dropping his book, a iconic silhouette appeared. The ever smiling hero All Might. When Izuku came to, awaking at All Might hurriedly although lightly, slapping his face he was pretty sure he'd die of shock. All Might was here-!!The All Might!! Oh but he needed proof to say he met him..!He fumbled for his notebook hoping to ask for a autograph and hurriedly flipped through to a blank page. 'Ah! He already signed the autograph...!!' He almost cried happy tears."Hey.. wait! Is that it? I..." Izuku jumped to his feet notebook in hand."A pro battles not only enemies but also time." All Might said as though that made sense. "I... I Had something I wanted to ask." Izuku faltered. "Until next time..." All Might carried on as though he hadn't heard him. Getting ready to leap into the air. Likely to take the sludge villain to the authorities. Then All Might became aware of Izuku on his leg while he was in midair. Desperately clinging for life until All Might landed. "Release me! Such enthusiasm..!" All Might insisted, clearly not anticipating a passenger."If I let go I'll die!" Izuku protested over the rushing wind, the urge to scream like he was on a very unpleasant roller coaster, his mind running a million miles an hour to catch up with the very stupid thing he just did and the terror at being so high up. ❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃⍟❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃When they landed, on a random building Izuku took a moment to catch his breath. "So... Scary," he panted. Then he snapped to attention at All Might's comment about not having time. "Ah! Um! Wait!" Izuku fumbled to get to his feet. Izuku saw, in that moment, a chance. An opportunity to ask his idol an important question. "No I will not wait! Didn't you hear -" All Might started to refute."Even without a quirk, can I still be a hero?"He thought back to the words of his future self."Can... Can someone without a quirk... Become a Hero like you?" Izuku asked."Because I don't have a quirk, I well, maybe that's not the only reason. But I've always been picked on ...That's why.... maybe that's why I think that saving people is just about the coolest thing someone can do. I sort of have a quirk now but it's not exactly useful for combat. So I wanted to know, even with everyone saying I can't do it. I want to do it," Izuku rambled probably trying to convince himself more than anything."The same way you save people with that fearless smile! I want to be the strongest hero, just like you." At the silence he hadn't expected he steeled his resolve. He swallowed and was about to rephrase his question but when he looked up as the steam cleared, All Might had shrunken. The blonde hair was roughly still the same, albeit wavy and more unkempt. Though that was about the only resemblance outside of the clothes which now looked oversized. This new person mimicked All Might's face being in shadow, although it was limited to his eyes, with the piercing blue still visible. "An imposter?! How?! Wha-? What the fu--" Izuku startled about to back away." I am All Might," the human pole before him snapped with a deadpan, his hooded eyes appearing almost scary and the mouthful of blood that poured out did not help matters."No way!!" Izuku yelped. 'I did a really stupid thing didn't I?'"You know how people hold in their guy at the pool? It's like that!" All Might remarked."NO WAY!!" Izuku shrieked. "A fearless smile?" All Might wheezed as he sat down."Well you've seen the real me kid, don't go writing about it on the internet, okay?" "Five years ago, an enemy did this to me," All Might explained, lifting up his shirt to reveal a malformed and damaged torso that looked as though it was still healing.Izuku was not ready for the reveal and did all the could not to shriek again."My respiratory system was nearly destroyed, and my stomach was removed" All Might admitted, not letting the shirt back down.'How are you alive?!' Izuku screamed internally."I've wasted away because of the aftereffects of those surgeries. I can only do my hero work for about three hours a day now." All Might shared. 'Whoa that's...!' Izuku tottered like he was going to pass out again. With all the new heroes popping up, he hadn't given it too much thought. He'd noticed but hadn't bothered to investigate like he typically might have. He blinked."Five years ago..? Izuku took a step back. Frantically he thought back "Was that when you fought Toxic Chainsaw?""That lowlife? He could never do this to me!" All Might responded immediately."This was never made public. I mean, I asked that it not be made public."A symbol of peace who saves people with a smile...Must never be daunted by evil," All Might said in a grave tone."The reason I smile... Is to stave off the overwhelming pressure and fear I feel." He admitted just as seriously. That was a heavy response he was wasn't expecting. Izuku stood stone still unsure what to do with this information. "A pro should always be ready to risk his life. Without power, can one become a hero? No, I should think not." He answered finally. Izuku felt like his world broke into a myriad of pieces. Blearily he wondered why he asked, he already had the living (?) Proof of his future self who was quite literally a hero. Or so he said. Maybe he should have stuck with that. He didn't need multiple opinions. But it would have been nice to know that he had potential. The Hero probably got asked similar questions all the time. Why couldn't he say a half thought generic, partially vague answer that meant nothing? No need to take his dreams and chuck them into a volcano.But maybe the truth no matter how harsh was the best-"....If you desire to help people.... Becoming a police officer is always an option. Those Villain custody officers are often mocked but... That too is admirable work." All Might was saying. But Izuku wasn't really listening anymore.All he could hear was 'without power, can one become a hero? No, I should think not'. ".... You need to be realistic, kid."Izuku heard a door slam and wondered if it was life slamming the door on him being a hero. He lowered his head so his hair cast a shadow over his eyes. Not dissimilar to his idol, the hero All Might. 'But you shouldn't tell an impressionable child such scathing things....' Izuku wavered. All Might had left again and this time he didn't stop him. He swallowed thickly. Dimly recalling what Kacchan said earlier. About jumping off a building and praying for a quirk in the next life. "Maybe..... Kacchan... Bakugou was ri-...." "Hey! Don't jump off the school rooftop! You have a lot of things to look forward to!" A slightly older version of his own voice yelled at him. Running up at him like his life depended on it was... Himself. "That's... Isn't that the U. A. Uniform?" He asked looking at his apparent future self. The younger though still future version of himself stopped to catch his breath. "It may not seem like it right now, but there's something special we have! Something only we can do!" "........ Something only we can do?" He asked numbly. The other Izuku nodded frantically."Don't go jumping off buildings recklessly!" "No matter what, even when everyone else doubts you. You can do it!" He hugged him. Izuku tried to ignore how this version of him dripped with sweat. 'Did he run all the way here?' "You have an unstoppable army of supporters backing you! If it gets too difficult one of us will come and help you! There's nothing wrong with relying on yourself!"The U. A. Academy (aka high school) version of himself grabbed his shoulders. Arms glowing a faint green color. "Promise me you won't give up! The dream will be real!" "I .... "He distantly thought of All Might's words. He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked into the distance."I wanna go back to square 1 of today," he whispered. "I promise," he turned to face himself but the U. A. Izuku was gone. ❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃⍟❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃Glumly walking home, though not despondent enough to try again with jumping for real, Izuku aimlessly flipped through his hero analysis book. He kept flipping through his hero analysis pages, stopping when he got to the autograph and then gradually going back to looking at his hero analysis. Curious about the clamor and crowd he looked up, figuring he was probably around just in time to see the end of a hero in action.
Somehow, he felt that watching right now wouldn't get the same joy it had elicited earlier that day.
The crowds were murmuring about what was going on, Izuku catching bits and pieces of the conflict."None of the heroes present could really help or handle the explosions from the hostage"Izuku could understand that. There were times when none of the available heroes' quirks would match up with the villain at large.Wait...Hostage? "The hostage looked like it was some kid"Izuku overheard some woman talking into her phone. "Kid? Oh no that's not a good -' Izuku thought then caught a glimpse of the sealed off area itself and realized that was the same sludge monster from earlier. Izuku almost recoiled remembering earlier when the sludge monster tried to take over his body. The one All Might had sealed in those two bottles...... Which he realized he didn't remember seeing in All Might's pants pockets after he landed on the building. He gulped nervously. 'Oh shit... It was because of me he escaped!!' he hiccupped trying to hold back tears. Maybe... Maybe the explosion quirk kid will be able to hold out until someone who can fight this arrives. He almost bit his finger as his hands flew to his mouth. 'Explosion quirk??!!' 'Ka- Can it be Kacchan??' Then as if asking fate for confirmation, he met eyes with the one person he'd been hoping wasn't there. "Kacchan..!! " Izuku froze. 'if he gets hurt- it'll be my fault --'Kacchan is important to me!Surely saving someone important wasn't something stupid..?Izuku dashed forward cursing himself for getting in All Might's way, for asking a silly question he already knew how everyone was going to reply to, for being around that slime monster. For- Leaping onto the slime monster.. person -he wasn't really worried about that now- he clawed futilely at the dark green sludge encasing itself around Kacchan- Bakugou Bakugou! His future self told him - "Why are you here...?" Kacchan groaned. He sounded defenseless, couldn't he make use of his explosions to -- ah right. Right that was clearly not effective."K-Kacchan! You looked like you were asking for help" he tried weakly.Bakugou glared and might have said something in response but All Might interrupted them. "I should practice what I preach!" All Might said back in muscular form with a powerful punch dealing with the slime monster from before. ❃❃❃❃❃❃⍟❃❃❃❃❃❃❃Kacchan... Bakugou got praised, likely for his bravery, the heroes collected the slime villain's scattered body. It was impressive he survived the punch that changed the weather and knocked Izuku and Bakugou unconscious. When the hubbub of the attack was over and he got lectured by the other heroes for the reckless thing he attempted, Izuku settled for going home. Finally. "Kacchan- Katsuki...... Bakugou... Are you okay?" Izuku asked when he was approached by the other boy. "I never asked for your help!" Bakugou spat angrily. The Sweet scent from his quirk overshadowed by the cutting words."I don't need it! Not like you could have done anything! I could've beaten him myself" He hissed. "Don't you, a quirkless failure dare pity me! Trying to win me over? I won't let you! Stupid nerd!" He snapped. Then walked away in his normal, strange way. Izuku was pretty sure he wanted to cry all over again. He wasn't going to. Not ... Not right now.Izuku clenched his fists, keeping them at his sides. 'You're angry because I couldn't do anything.' He lied to himself desperately.'I almost got myself killed and I have no valiant effort to prove it was worth it. Not even a half decent "thanks Nerd!" Or "don't do anything like that again, Nerd!"' "That's why I told you, don't do anything stupid," Eiyuu-Midoriya's voice responded.It was then he realized he'd muttered all of that out loud. He looked up at his older self. He looked tired. 'What was he doing while I was doing what I was told not to?' Between how tired his older self looked, how tired he suddenly felt, the weight of the day's events came crashing down and he teared up again."Where were you when All Might was saying all that stuff," Izuku blubbered miserably. Eiyuu-Midoriya stiffened and felt his chest tighten. '.... feelings interfering again...' He shoved them aside."I was preoccupied, there's someone important I wanted to find... I'm sorry I wasn't there," he apologized. "Do you think I needed to hear that?" Izuku sniffled.Eiyuu-Midoriya Izuku's expression darkened. "Of course not. You don't need anything less than encouragement." He replied seriously. 'and training,' he thought. "I came here because, I needed to understand again. What it is I'm doing this for," Hero Izuku muttered. "Maybe after all... there's no point..." "So much for the claim of not muttering anymore," Izuku laughed nervously, tears still falling. His future self turned toward him. Izuku gulped wondering if he heard that comment. "I'll do what should have been done from the start. I'll teach you to survive in this world." "I AM HERE!!" A familiar voice announced. Eiyuu-Midoriya stiffened like a board. Right after that determined declaration, All Might appeared again. Izuku's jolted in shock "huh??" "All Might?! Why are you here? You were surrounded by reporters-" "Shaking them off is nothing to me!! After all I'm All Mi-" he said proudly, until a cough interrupted him and with a concerning amount of spit up blood, followed by a cloud of steam the scrawny version of All Might had returned. "Kid, I've come to thank you and revise what I said earlier... I also have a proposal." "Uh-- huh?" Izuku asked timidly. But it went unheard."Without you, if I hadn't heard your story.. I'd have been nothing but fake muscles and insincerity!! So thank you!!" "Fake muscle-... What no! I was just... I mean, it was all my fault from the start! I got in the way. And I'm quirkless yet I still dared-" "Izuku, shut -" Eiyuu-Midoriya started but All Might interrupted him. "Exactly!" All Might interrupted. Startling Izuku out of a rant. "Of all the people at the scene... It was only you, timid and quirkless, who acted!! You spurred me to action!!" All Might declared, voice still carrying even though he'd shrunken down again. "Most of the top heroes show signs of greatness even as children.. many of them claim that their bodies simply moved before they could think!!"Izuku faltered unsure where the speech was going exactly. "Get to the point, you're losing him," Eiyuu-Midoriya remarked cynically from his right. "...!!" All Might glared at Eiyuu-Midoriya for interrupting him. "That's what happened to you back there, yes?" He asked referring to Izuku.Distantly Izuku could hear himself say a tearful yes in response. He always was a crybaby wasn't he?"You too, can be a hero" All Might concluded with finality.At that point, he broke down into tears.❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃⍟❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃The next morning, Izuku woke up tired and reluctant for school. As expected given what happened yesterday. But he remembered very little past Eiyuu-Midoriya's declaration and All Might's follow up declaration. Maybe he passed out crying or something? It was a pretty overwhelming day. Maybe he could ask his future self - Eiyuu-Midoriya said he had a faster way to school and to get to the roof. For what Izuku wasn't sure, he hoped it wasn't throwing him to class. As he put on his yellow backpack he wondered if it was related to his quirk. He shrugged aside that idea. He was only told he could go *back* in time, not forward.Once on the roof he realized what was going to happen as Eiyuu-Midoriya leaped off."Waaaaaaiiiiit!!?" Izuku screamed as Eiyuu-Midoriya jumped off the roof.❃❃❃❃❃❃❃⍟❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃"I'm really sorry I threw up at your feet," Izuku apologized."If I were you I'd be more sorry that you rambled for twenty minutes and are now officially late to school," Eiyuu-Midoriya remarked."But it was just so cool that you -" Izuku began. 'Yeah yeah, don't you have somewhere to go?" Eiyuu-Midoriya remarked cutting off what would have been a tirade. He didn't need to hear it all over again. ❃❃❃❃❃❃❃⍟❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃When school was over, with Kacchan-Katsuki leaving him alone (mostly) and he'd finished his homework, he stared around his room contemplating his All Might paraphernalia and merchandise.Maybe he could sell it and use the money to buy useful things, like a set of weights. "Here train yourself with this for now," his older self remarked. He was pretty sure Eiyuu-Midoriya teleported or appeared in his room. "H-huh?!" Izuku blurted as his eyes fixed on the bane of mankind. A Rubik's cube."What-- wha- do you know how long it will take to solve this??" He spluttered."The idea is to focus on returning it to it's original state. Focus on the point of origin. Relax, don't rush yourself. Rushing to get to the anticipated future is dangerous and causes problems," "This will help me use my quirk?" Izuku asked already fiddling with the cube. "It'll help you focus and concentrate on a steady point," Eiyuu-Midoriya shrugged and then left. Izuku fiddled with the cube a determined stare fixed on his gaze. "A steady point... It makes sense." He felt the cool surface in his hands. The simplicity of the colors in their individuality and the chaos at looking at the entire cube as it was with all the colors scattered. "I do after all need to be able to get back to my proper time on my own. Falling asleep just seems improper and rude to whoever I'm visiting. Or whatever I'm doing..."❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃⍟❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃Eiyuu-Midoriya came back, his search coming up empty. Wherever she was being held... She was well hidden. Though he supposed that was the point of holding someone with such a powerful quirk. Maybe a little longer.... It was alright. He would find her. His eyes fell on his younger self. The Izuku who was asleep in his pajamas, Rubik's cube still in his hand. "It's been changed at least 46 times since I gave it to him and four squares are matched already. Careful Izuku," He straightened and stood up. For a brief second, his expression looked melancholic. Then hardened into his normal determined stoicism. "the more you put in place the harder it is to finish,"His gaze didn't exactly soften but he did smile. Absently he touched his solitary Rubik's cube earring. He should get another pair instead of just wearing the one that remained after the battle. But... "...." He blinked rapidly, chasing off the fleeting temptation to feel angry at a memory resurfacing. 'I don't need to think about that now.'"It'll be time for the Exam before I know it. We'll have to get ready."