Jackson felt like he was being fooled.
Some otherworldly being was fucking with him. That had to be it.
Because the boy in front of him looked so much like Sanyu, yet so different. Same containment suit, same prosthetic and same skin tone, the same face, but apart from that it was all different.
His hair was longer, so much longer. Nothing like the buzz cut the kid had been forced to maintain. He was taller by a lot. Broader too. More muscle than Sanyu had been able to gain as a 15 year old.
He could be a Sanyu. He was a dead ringer in everything except hair and body type. But he couldn't be Jackson's Sanyu. He could let himself think like that.
For months after losing him he'd been consumed with the hope that the kid would show up in Queens one day with a dimpled smile and a request to stay for a while.
He'd just moved past that and started truly accepting that when Tao disappeared. The man clutched the weapon in his hand, his leather gloves creasing at the angles as he kept it steady.
So he couldn't allow himself to hope.
The boy shifted, blinking at the world around him with the same bright grey eyes as the boy Jackson had lost.
The world stood still for a moment as the pair's eyes met.
The man felt like he couldn't breathe. Like he couldn't blink. He was completely paralyzed in that moment. At the mercy of time.
"Jackson?" The boy asked. His tone was heartbreaking. So soft and hopeful. It was barely above a whisper but everyone heard it loud and clear.
Suddenly the boy's whole face morphed into a massive, ear splitting grin. His dimples appeared and his eyes crinkled every so slightly at the corner. "Jackson!" He repeated, much happier and more sure of the word. He looked astonished.
Oh fuck.
It was Sanyu.
It was his Sanyu.
Without waiting another second the man dropped the gun in his hand and sprinted for the patch of forest the boy had landed on.
He bent down and in one swift, super strength assisted movement he scooped his boy into his arms.
And he held him like at any minute he could disappear again.
What surprised him was when two strong arms reached around his neck and hugged him back. They were so firm yet trembling.
Sanyu had never felt so strong in his arms before.
The boy's body was wracked with sobs and Jackson's misty eyes soon turned teary as well. He could feel the thick fabric of his technical outfit being soaked through as Sanyu shook in his arms.
He tried shushing the boy through his own tears, but it only served to make them both sob harder. "It's okay." The man said, his voice breaking with tears. "It's okay now.".
Sanyu shook his head, burying himself deeper into the man's chest and tightening his grip on the man's clothes. "Oh, mi tesoro." Jackson cooed, ignoring the tears pouring down his own cheeks.
It didn't seem like either of them were going to let go or say another word for the foreseeable. But then there was another thud just to the left.
Tao blinked the stars out of his eyes and figured out pretty quickly what had happened. He'd known what was about to happen but he'd been unable to stop it.
Still, look at the pair right now he figured it was worth it in the end.
"Tao?" Jackson asked, confused.
"The portal is a gateway between worlds." Tao explained seamlessly, "9 months ago it sucked Sanyu into it because someone on the other end summoned a hero more powerful than All Might, the most powerful hero in their world.".
Jackson looked at the boy with wide eyes. "Another world?" He thought aloud. Slowly Sanyu turned to look the man in the eyes again, although they were now red rimmed from crying. "All by yourself..." The man realized, heartbroken.
"I wasn't by myself." Sanyu assured the man, "I had Keigo. And Tao showed up pretty soon after that.".
"Who's Keigo?" Jackson asked.
Tao pulled Sanyu's phone out of the boy's pocket. "This is Keigo." He said, pointing to a photo of the pair of them in a park he'd taken a while ago using the kid's phone.
"He has wings." The hero said, shocked. Tao grinned.
"There are more surprises than just wings in that world." He replied.
"So you're okay?" Jackson asked the boy, not quite setting him back on his feet yet. "They don't hurt you? Don't...do anything like the Six program to you?".
Sanyu shook his head. "When I showed up they rescued me, took me to the hospital, sent me home with Keigo and put me in school. To them people with powers are normal." He said, emphasizing the word.
The whole revelation about the other world was all but cast aside when Jackson heard the word school. "You're going to high school? Real high school?" He asked, overjoyed. Sanyu nodded.
It was so simple yet monumental at the same time.
In this world, that never would have happened. Sanyu would have done what Jackson did. Work as a hero all his adult life, never going to school or anything like that.
Worked to death, essentially.
But apparently not in this new world.
"I've got friends and lots of nice classmates. We went on a field trip-it ended badly but it was nice while it lasted! And we had a cultural festival! Like a real Japanese High School!" Sanyu told him excitedly.
"You're in Japan in that world?" Jackson asked, shocked. Sanyu nodded.
"I did an internship too! A hero internship, as weird as that sounds. I saved this little girl, her name's Eri. She's living at the school right now and I'm helping raise her with Mirio." Sanyu babbled, desperate to get as many details out as possible. It wasn't very coherent and he definitely should have started by explaining how quirks worked and all that, but he didn't want to.
"Who's Mirio?" Jackson asked, trying to keep up.
Suddenly Sanyu blushed bright red and Tao snickered. Jackson looked between the pair of them with a confused expression.
"My boyfriend." Sanyu confessed shyly. Jackson's eyes bugged out of his head.
"Your boyfriend?" Jackson repeated. Sanyu nodded.
The man took a moment to consider the implications of that. No-he wasn't bothered by the fact it was a boy. Sure he was shocked, but that wasn't the important part.
The important part was that Sanyu had enough agency in his life for a boyfriend. For a romantic relationship. And a good one at that if Tao was teasing him and he was acting all shy about it.
"Well is Mirio coming through that portal any time soon because I've got to give him that classic 'talking to', you know what I mean?" The man joked. Sanyu laughed.
"Well someone's coming through the portal in a second." Tao said with a smirk.
They didn't have time to prepare before Haemon fell to the ground with a thud, his warm cardigan and comfortable clothes still on. He blinked at his surroundings, shocked.
"Dr. Garaki created a portal to bring everyone from this world back to this world." Tao said, "So we're all here now. Even you.".
"Haemon?". Another voice interrupted their little meeting.
A woman with dark hair and green eyes was staring at them, open mouthed. Beside her was Yuliana and Sanyu beamed at the sight of her. She looked at him like she'd seen a ghost, but that was to be expected.
"Yuliana!" He said excitedly, wiggling his way out of Jackson's arms to hug her. She didn't move to hug him back, merely stared up at him in shock.
Up at him? Huh?
He was taller than her now.
There was something both beautiful and heartbreaking about that.
"You're not dead." She said, blunt as ever. Sanyu smiled.
"Never was." He replied with a smile of his own and one last squeeze.
The woman, presumably Vivian, had grabbed Haemon and pulled him into a strong hug, berating him for 'being gone for so long'.
"You met Haemon?" Jackson asked, surprised. Sanyu nodded.
"He appeared in my dreams on time. From then on he helped me work through my nightmares.".
Jackson smiled. "You know he was the leader of the Six after Kamaria died. Until he..." The man trailed off. Sanyu nodded. "You were supposed to lead the Six too.".
If he had been drinking something Sanyu would have choked. "I was what?".
"I was going to make you the leader once you were old enough. I wanted you to have some authority in your life. Besides, you would have been an excellent leader. I always told you that you were born to help people.".
"What we did wasn't helping people. At least not most people." Sanyu commented bitterly. Jackson pulled the boy back into a half hug.
"We're free now though." He said. There was a pause and he took a shaky breath. "It was anguish, knowing you died before you could see us free. But I guess you found freedom all on your own." .
"I tried to tell you he was fine." Haemon interrupted. Jackson rolled his eyes.
"And I was supposed to believe you? You told me that in a dream. I thought it was just my subconscious trying to make myself feel better." The man responded, before wrapping his arms around the man's neck.
Sometimes Sanyu forgot that although Jackson was his...mentor? Parental figure? That Haemon, despite their strange age difference due to Haemon not aging in the dream dimension, was Jackson's.
"I'm sorry for leaving you." Haemon said, closing his eyes and taking in the embrace.
"You'd better be." Jackson grumbled wetly.
"Alright people!" Tao called out, "Listen up because I'm only explaining this once.".
The group waited a moment after Tao finished explaining everything. The war, the portal, the current situation. All of it.
"So the new world is in danger." Jackson repeated, "Then we'll have to save it.".
"It's not that simple." Haemon dismissed.
"Why can't it be?" Sanyu asked, "The portal won't close until much later. Tao saw it. So we can take you guys into that world and it'll still be open to come back.".
Tao took a deep breath and tapped Sanyu. "Okay." He said upon returning, "It'll work. Let's do this.".
"There's six of us again." Yuliana announced bluntly. The group looked around and realized that yes, there were six of them again.
"We move out immediately then." Jackson said with a smile.
The group eyed the purple portal. Sanyu winced.
"This might hurt a bit.".
----------- -------- --------- --------- ---------- ---------- -------- ----------
"Give up!" Shigaraki shouted as he stabbed through Bakugou. "You were foolish enough to jump in front of your friend! You heroes are hopeless.".
"We're not hopeless." Aizawa interjected, erasing the villain's quirk once more.
Shigaraki almost rolled his eyes. These heroes were so persistent. Defending the ruins of Jaku city till their last breath.
"What hope could you have?" He asked angrily, "What could you possibly do? I've destroyed you.".
Aizawa took a deep breath, holding his eyes open for as long as he could. When he blinked he glanced over at a spark of light in the corner of his eye.
At first he thought he was growing faint from the blood loss, but no. It was very real.
And very much getting closer.
"Well," The teacher said plainly, "we could always do this.".
Shigaraki furrowed his brow.
"Do what?".
Before Aizawa could answer his question Sanyu slammed into Tomura, whisking him off the ground so Aizawa and the two students were alone with Endeavor and Ryukyu's bloody forms.
"That." The teacher quipped, a smile on his face.
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I'm gonna be completely honest I did tear up while writing this chapter.
Its a reunion 62 chapters in the making!
I was talking to my friend about this but I honestly think that Sanyu and Jackson are equally as tragic as characters.
I sort of nicknamed Jackson 'the little hero that couldn't' because he just couldn't.
I think sometimes even I forget that he was there first. He was the one there when Sanyu woke up from his coma and suddenly had powers. He was the one protecting him on battlefields every chance he could. And he organized everything for Sanyu after he died. Sanyu's possessions were all in his apartment.
And all Jackson's ever done was try to keep Sanyu safe. He tells him not to go after the missile, he takes him to Queens after he loses his leg because that's all he can do to keep him out of harms way while he heals and he begs Sanyu not to leave Queens and go on the mission where he eventually goes missing.
But no matter what he can't stop him. He just can't.
So I suppose as an author I made Jackson a character destined to fail but god fucking damn it he tries.
In Sanyu's mind he assigns a family title to each of the important people in his life, hence why he calls Tao his uncle too. Keigo's his uncle on all legal documents, so when they got close the title was a no-brainer. But Sanyu attached the title to Tao long before any documents were forged.
For all intents and purposes, Jackson is Sanyu's dad. He just fills that role, like Aizawa does for Shinso in most people's minds.
Now this is not at all to say that Keigo and Tao aren't Sanyu's parents. They're raising him right now, but Jackson also tried to raise him for 3 years. But under the circumstances he just couldn't. Not the way he wanted to at least.
So I really wanted to give Jackson the chance to see his kid all grown up. I just wanted him to be able to look at Sanyu as he is now, finally happy, and know that all his effort wasn't for nothing. To know that Sanyu was going to be okay and grow up happy.
To know he was going to grow up at all, really. Considering he thought Sanyu died before he ever had a chance to.
I just made myself cry all over again 😅.
Only one chapter left!
(I think)