Once More (My Hero Academia)

27: Foresight

The feel of her trembling body, the image of her terrified expression, and her silent plea for someone to rescue her from Overhaul's grasp...

"I need to save her!"

The room was quiet, with only the sound of the ticking clock. Tick, tick...

Nighteye studied Izuku, then sighed, "You remind me so much of All Might."

Tick, tick...

"I'll help you," the hero said.

"Really? Thank you, Sir!" Izuku bowed, beaming.

But then, suddenly, Izuku a feeling of guilt clawed its way up his throat.

Sir Nighteye died saving Eri last time. If Eri was rescued earlier, did that mean Nighteye would die earlier as well?

"The speed at which your expression changed in the last two seconds could break a world record," Nighteye huffed, "What is it?"

Izuku shut his eyes close. Nighteye deserved the truth.

"Sir Nighteye..."

"Spit it out."

"You... died on this mission."

Nighteye stared at Izuku, not saying a word.

Tick, tick...

Izuku didn't dare look up, because, of course, the best way to ask for someone's help is to tell them that they would die helping.

Finally, Nighteye replied, "If it's a stupid mission, I'll know. If it's a worthwhile mission, I'll also know. I'm going to research this issue for myself, and if it's something worth giving my life for, I would."

"Sir..." Izuku felt his eyes watering.

"But I'm not going to just do whatever you say. I will only help you organize the mission once I'm a hundred percent sure it's plausible."

"I understand," Izuku nodded firmly. Then, he reached into his backpack, pulled out a notebook, and handed it to Nighteye, "this is all I remember from the rescue mission in my last life."

The hero flipped through the notes, with Izuku pointing some important details out.

"Quirk-destroying bullets...made from the body of a little girl," Sir Nighteye pushed his glasses into place, "If this is true, perhaps it is wise to start the rescue as early as possible."

The hero shut the notebook, "I'll look deeper into this later. Right now, I must find a way to research the Shie Hassaikai without raising attention. And unfortunately, a lot of these plans won't work out since you can't participate in the rescue."

"Wait, why?!"

The hero glared at Izuku, "I thought it was obvious, time traveler. You don't have a hero license. If you want to save the girl early, you can't join the mission."

"What?!" Izuku took a few steps back from the table, "Doesn't the law only restrict interns from using their quirks without their mentors? If you were there, I can fight!"

Sir Nighteye took a deep, annoyed breath. Izuku felt the lecture coming.

"No. The law states that even with pro-hero authorization, non-licensed interns may only use their quirks up to a certain extent. This 'extent' was always up to interpretation, but basically, it limited the interns to actions that didn't put any lives at stake.

"So authorizing you to lead a raid on a criminal organization that's manufacturing quirk-stopping bullets? With dozens of other pro-heroes and police officers as witnesses? Yeah, that exceeds the 'certain extent'. I don't want to get punished for you, and I don't think you want your mother to, either. If you want to make this happen, you need a license. Period."

Izuku turned away and walked to the other side of the room to calm himself. He stared at the shelf. There were rows of All Might books that Izuku wished he owned, and if he wasn't worrying about Eri, he would've just plopped down and started reading like a maniac.

"There's gotta be another way... I can't wait months till I take the provisional license exam. Then my idea would've been for nothing, and Eri..."

But then... It hit him.

"Wait..." Izuku whipped his head back towards Sir Nighteye, "The provisional license exam... Doesn't that happen twice a year? I remember there being another one around now... When's the next license exam?"

"How would I know?" Nighteye replied monotonously, "I already have my license."

Izuku tried not to roll his eyes, then looked it up on his phone. He let out a breath of relief.

"It's the end of next week! I can still make it!"

Nighteye raised an eyebrow, "You sure about that?"

"What do you mean? It's still... Oh no, no, no, wait!! The registration deadline!"

Izuku frantically scrolled to the "important dates" section on the website. "Gah! Registration closed last week."

Izuku went back to staring at the bookshelf, a hand in his hair. This was the first time that he planned something so poorly because saving Eri earlier was always a wish, not a full-out plan.

"I mean..." Sir Nighteye's mused.

"You mean...?"

"You do go to one of the most prestigious hero schools in the country. Take advantage of connections."

Izuku buried his face in his palms, "I can't believe I'm about to do this."

•••

Izuku sat nervously outside Principal Nezu's office. Thankfully, Izuku didn't need to explain a lot since Nezu already knew about his time travel.

However, Nezu said that he would have to contact the provisional license exam director to register Izuku, and it might not even work, haha.

After what seemed like forever, the principal opened the door and stepped out.

"Congrats, Midoriya," Nezu chirped, "I called the hero public safety commission, and you are now registered for the exam next week."

Izuku scrambled up and bowed in gratitude, "Thank you, principal Nezu!"

"You're very welcome, child," the principal smiled, "usually this doesn't happen, you know? Registering a single student is rare enough -- especially for U.A., where entire classes attend at a time. I think this might be the only case of late registration I know of."

"I'm really sorry for the inconvenience," Izuku worried that his decision might've made U.A. look bad. And what if he didn't even pass? He pushed the thought away.

"No worries. I'm surprised that you didn't want to take the exam with your friends, though."

"I did, but I don't think that'll be worth it, knowing that I could've saved someone instead."

Nezu nodded, "I wish you luck on your license and your mission. I hope you save that little girl."