Ticked Off [Boku No Hero Academia]

19: BACK TO THE FUTURE

"Dude, wait. Why would an imposter change 'Zuku's costume? And does anyone really cry as much as him?" It was Eijirou, and although his voice was shaking, his face was filled with a desperate sort of hope.

Kacchan jabbed a finger into his friend's chest. "Shut the fuck up. Don't fall for this shit. Who the fuck is sick enough to pretend to be Deku on the four-month anniversary of his death? I'm gonna beat him up until he-"

"Banisher's Quirk is time travel," Izuku choked out, pavement cracking under his fingers as One for All involuntarily activated. "I was sent to the past, to our first year at UA. I-... I think it's temporary. Or not? I'm not really sure. I-I've been changing things back then – d-do you k-know if anything... has..." His voice began to slur as his eyelids grew heavy and he slumped down onto the pavement. "'m... okay..."

He watched dazedly as his hand gradually became transparent, like he was a ghost. The pain spiked across his form, but not as encompassing as before. He saw Kacchan and Eijirou drop to their knees, desperately reaching out to him despite their uncertainties, but their hands phased through. Izuku tiredly offered what he hoped was a comforting smile before his eyes shut, and-

There were people looming over him. He choked in a panicked breath, reflexively activating his Quirk and automatically leaping to his feet, vanishing in a flash and reappearing across the room before he suddenly dropped onto one knee. His chest was heaving and his body was damp with sweat, while his jaw ached, his cheeks were wet with tears, and his throat felt shredded. Izuku dug his elbow into his knee, pressing his freckled face into his forearm as he tangled his fingers tightly in his hair, keeping his blurry eyes squeezed shut as he tried to regain control of his breathing.

After a little while, he felt calmer again. The ground under him was still concrete, but the room smelt a lot fresher, with a sweet, smoky tinge to it. He could hear voices, presumably belonging to the people he'd just dashed away from, and -

A hand was placed on his shoulder, and he instinctively grabbed onto the wrist, trying to power up his Quirk and fling the threat away but -

His Quirk was gone...? His Quirk... was...

He cautiously blinked open his eyes, faced with the dark and imposing figure of his teacher, who had glowing red irises and long black hair levitating around his face. Izuku sagged with relief, feeling the familiar sting of tears return to his gaze before he shook his head and scrubbed at his cheeks with a glove, firmly wiping away the dampness to try and fake composure. By the time he stood up, his expression was eerily calm in a way that didn't match his ragged appearance.

"Midoriya, are you..." Aizawa faltered for a moment in a way that was entirely unexpected. "Are you back?"

The boy cast his gaze across the room, feeling a faint string of embarrassment as he saw that literally everyone was staring worriedly at him. "Yes," he answered finally, in a tone that was far too even.

"I think we need to talk about what just happened with Nedzu," the teacher said firmly, tightening his hand on his shoulder.

"Right," Izuku agreed faintly, still reeling from apparently getting sling-shotted through time once more.

He was in too much of a daze to really notice anything. Another figure posted up on his other side, and it was comforting to be protectively flanked. When he finally glanced up, he realised they were entering Nedzu's office, and the principal didn't look particularly fazed to suddenly have three visitors. Izuku automatically sat down on one chair, folding his trembling hands in his lap and keeping his back straight while he stared ahead with a stony expression.

"Midoriya-kun, if you're feeling up to it, would you be able to tell us what happened? Yagi-kun seemed quite distressed when he called me." Nedzu's calm tone gave the illusion that nothing was wrong in the world, and the boy allowed his shoulders to loosen marginally.