Izuku wasn't surprised when Kendo's team won, but hearing Vlad King's biased commentary together with a win for 1-B was grating for a lot of his classmates. Monoma's taunting didn't help either... Izuku knew he'd mellow out in the following years, but that didn't mean he wasn't grateful when Kendo ended it all with a chop to the head. Kyoka shot him a glance before turning back to a part of the Bakusquad, a group she'd organically become a part of over the course of the years. She blamed Denki for that.
"Have you talked to Izuku lately?"
Katsuki frowned at her, glancing back at the green head, who was happily showing his analysis to Tsu, before looking back at Kyoka.
"You do realize who you're talking to, right?" Katsuki asked, but Kyoka simply rolled her eyes. "He's my damn boyfriend, of fucking course I talk to him."
"No, but seriously," she said. "Something is up with him and I'm worried. When I went to his room the other day to get extra info on the whole rewind thing, he was crying. And he told me he's having trouble controlling his quirk, too."
She could tell this was new information by the way his face scrunched up into a frown and morphed into a glare. He marched over seconds later, pulling Izuku with him to the side. Oh great, seems like she'd just unlocked the newest loverboy drama... Speaking of loverboys-
"And you must be bummed out that you're not teaming up with your man, right?" she asked, elbowing Denki in the side. "Don't hold back against him just because you like him, got it?"
"Kyoka!" Denki whined, covering his face with his hands as it flushed red.
"Come on man, you still got the chance to impress him!" Eijirou grinned. "Flex a little. Show him how manly you are!"
"I'm not sure Oshi is into that, but thanks," Denki groaned, dragging his hands down his face. As he did, he caught the eye of Shinsou. Determined, a little competitive, and maybe a hint of admiration? He couldn't really tell, not with those tired eyes. Denki had always been pretty good at reading people, figuring out their expressions and little habits. But the way Hitoshi looked at him right now... He hadn't looked at him like that, like, ever!
"It's weird he doesn't have the whole rival thing with Izuku going on right now... Who defeated him at the sportsfest again?" Kyoka asked, following Denki's eyes towards the purple haired teen. Denki groaned even louder at that. Of course it had to be him! That's what that look meant!
"I'm never gonna get him back," he whined, earning a pat on the back from Eijirou.
"I'm sure it's not that bad."
//\\
\\//
Not that bad his ass.
Their team consisted of him, Kyoka, Tenya and Shoji. That meant they had two people who could survey the area and tell the location of others. Tenya was their main fighter, he was physically one of the strongest and also the fastest. His attacks were precise, while Denki's covered a larger range. They had a pretty good set up and a solid plan, at least Denki thought so until their opponents tore holes in it.
And now he was facing Shinsou all on his own with no way to call for help. No, if he started talking now, he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to stop himself from answering one of Shinsou's questions. Denki didn't realize how slippery Shinsou could be while he utilized his binding cloth, not getting a good hit on him with his new support item. If he couldn't hit him or get him in a good position, he couldn't attack. Of course he could just let go of his quirk and electrify everything around him, but that would leave him dumb struck, a liability to his teamates.
"Is this all you can do?" Shinsou asked. "I heard great things about the hero course... I must say I'm not impressed."
Denki gritted his teeth, jumping away as Shinsou attacked. He couldn't do anything right now! Damnit! The only thing he could do was run or hope one of his teammates would find him. But they were probably busy dealing with the others now that it became a three on four... Even now he was a liability to his team, and he hadn't even done anything yet!
"What? Are you just a one-trick-pony?" Shinsou asked. "You seemed pretty confident at the sportsfestival... But then again, those were one-on-one battles that would be over once you immobilized your opponent. Seems like you're not cut out for the long con... You'd be a useless pro hero."
"Will you just shut up for a second!" Denki exclaimed, getting frustrated. He knew that already! Everything Shinsou said was true! But Denki got better, he trained and he became a better hero, a better team player! It's just that this body didn't have the same handle on his quirk yet, and it was something he still wasn't quite used to. "I'm trying here! Yeah, I may not be cut out for this stuff but I'm trying! It's the same with you, right?! So don't go saying I'm useless!"
Shinsou was taken aback for a moment, and that was all the opening Denki needed. Shinsou wasn't paying attention to his surroundings and jumped in front of one of Denki's targets by mistake. This was his chance! Electricity crackled over his skin and Shinsou's eyes widened when he realized what was happening. He didn't have the time to dodge the hit, though. And when his body seized up and fell to the ground, Denki was quick to tie him up with his own binding cloth, making sure to cover his mouth so he wouldn't be able to talk again.
"Geez, you're really tough for someone who just started training," Denki said, earning a glare from Shinsou. "What? I'm serious dude! I think you're awesome! Your quirk is so cool~! You're going to be a great hero one day!"
Shinsou's eyes widened at that, simply watching Denki smile at him before struggling to pick him up and drag him over to the cage. He tried to speak, muted noises coming from his mouth. Hitoshi didn't understand... Where were they? This didn't look like the place they fought Jikan. Was that blast some sort of teleport ray? No, that didn't explain why he was tied up, or why Denki was looking the way he did. Then he saw the cage, decorated in a joyous theme, and it all came rushing back to him.
This life, this world... It wasn't his own. It was similar, but different. Then he remembered gathering intel and going over Jikan's files with Eraserhead. He remembered they were trying to build a machine, a weapon, something the Hero Commission wanted to see eliminated. Was this part of it? This...illusion? This alternate universe? Hitoshi really didn't know how to call it, didn't know why he was here, in this position. It didn't make any sense.
"Alright, you be good now, okay?" Denki smiled as he pulled down the part of the scarf that was covering his mouth, ready to back out of the cage. It's not like Shinsou was allowed to assist his teammates from inside the cage, so it didn't matter whether his mouth was covered or not. And it looked a little uncomfortable, and Denki didn't know how long he'd be in here, so it was only kind to remove it, right?
"Wait, don't go yet-" Hitoshi called out, making the blonde stop and look back at him. Dammit, why did he do that? He didn't even know what he wanted to say... What was he supposed to say in a situation like this?
"What's up?" Denki asked. "Want me to untie you?"
"No, that's- It's fine," Hitoshi sighed, his hands already messing with the scarf behind his back. He'd gotten tangled up in this thing more than he would like to admit, which is why he'd be able to escape this situation given enough time. "I... Your quirk is pretty cool, too, I guess..."
That made Denki's eyes light up, and Hitoshi had to suppress a smile. That idiot could be so cute sometimes...
"Thanks babe, but I really need to go and defeat the rest of your team now so bye bye!"
Hitoshi chuckled at that, managing to unwrap one of his arms by the time the electric blonde was out of sight. Of course Denki would flirt with him the moment they met, even in this universe. He'd called him babe, too, and Hitoshi remembered how embarrassed his own boyfriend had been the first time he called him that. They were both total gay disasters back then. But this Denki didn't seem to care, as if it wasn't the first time he'd called someone that. Hitoshi knew he shouldn't feel bothered by it, this wasn't his own world, hell, it could even be a dream, but that didn't mean it didn't sting. If only just a little bit.
//\\
\\//
Izuku knew Kyoka had seen more then she let on! And now Kacchan was glaring at him, demanding to know what was going on and why the hell Izuku hadn't said anything about having trouble dealing with his quirks. The truth was that he only had trouble dealing with them when his emotions got out of control. One For All was a quirk of the mind, after all, and if the user was mentally or emotionally unstable, it tended to affect the quirk in certain ways. Izuku knew Kacchan was aware of that, it had come up multiple times during their conversations about OFA.
So even if Kacchan asked him why he was having trouble controlling his quirks, he was actually asking a totally different question. Why was Izuku having trouble controlling his emotions? His feelings? And deep down the ash blonde knew the answer to that question, too. He simply wanted to hear Izuku say it, to confirm his thoughts. That was something Izuku couldn't do, though. Saying it out loud, admitting he needed help- No, he didn't want to drag Kacchan into this, didn't want anyone to get hurt because of him.
"Fucking talk to me, Deku," Katsuki hissed. "I can't read your mind, okay? I don't know what's going on in your head, so you're going to have to tell me. Just... Fuck! I hate it when you shut down like this!"
Izuku knew he wasn't being fair towards Kacchan. He knew, he really did. And he knew that if he told Kacchan right now, he'd understand. He'd understand and he'd comfort him as he cried. Izuku knew things would get better, that he'd feel better, but he just- He couldn't. As if an invisible force was holding him back, a presence that loomed over him, watched him, kept him from escaping this endless nightmare. Izuku started spiraling, starting coming up with all kinds of possible outcomes to this conversation, what would happen after, what the consequences would be.
And how could he possibly be so selfish as to drag Kacchan down with him? He didn't deserve this. No, this was something Izuku had to face alone. Something he had to do alone. No matter how much he wanted to have Kacchan, or anyone really, by his side, he couldn't. He wouldn't.
"Later," Izuku said. "We'll talk about this later, okay? I don't... I can't talk about this now, not here, not while..."
"Okay, later," Katsuki huffed. Izuku was stalling, though. They both knew that. He postponed the conversation, for now, but he knew Kacchan wouldn't back off so easily. "You can tell me anything, you know that, right?"
"Yeah," Izuku muttered, staring at the ground for a moment. Katsuki wasn't having any of it, though, gently taking his chin and forcing him to look up at him.
"Later?"
"Later."
"Okay."
With that their conversation ended. Izuku tried to get back into analyzing the battle, asking his friends what he'd missed while he was talking to Kacchan. It didn't help though, not really, not with the looming doom that hung over his head. He got so lost in his own thoughts he almost missed the second fight completely and he didn't even bother to try and pay attention to the third one. It was his turn before he realized how much time had passed.
"Are you okay, Deku-kun?" Ochako asked. "You've been spacing off for a while now."
"I'm fine," Izuku said quickly, trying to remember who they were up against. They needed to come up with a strategy if they wanted to win this thing. "Alright, uhm, Sato, we'll leave Shishida to you. He's strong, but you're stronger. He's also agile so don't give up if he dodges your hits. Just try to pace your sugar intake if you can, okay?"
"I can do that," Sato nodded.
"Okay then, uhm, let's see... Tsuburaba's quirk is Solid Air, he'll probably be focussing on shielding his teammates, but he can also lock you inside an invisible box, so we should try to take him out quickly. Don't give him the chance to breathe enough to use his quirk," Izuku continued. "What I'm most worried about are their long range fighters, Kodai and Tsunotori, since our team relies on close combat. Especially Kodai will be hard to deal with if she uses her Size quirk against us."
"They will try to keep us at a distance so we're at a disadvantage," Fumikage summarized.
"Exactly," Izuku said. "But what they don't know is that we won't be disadvantaged at all."
"What's the plan, Deku-kun?" Ochako asked, grinning. Knowing her best friend, he already had a ton of strategies ready.
"Sato will focus on Shishida, keep him busy and out of our way. I'll be the main attacker, I'll bait them out and throw them off their game by using my own long range moves. Uraraka, I need you to touch as many of Kodai's objects as possible. Everything that's usable, make it float, keep it out of her reach. Dark Shadow will shield you from the attacks I can't stop, and if any of you see the chance to attack then take out Tsuburaba first," Izuku told them. "Does everyone agree with the plan?"
There were no complaints and everyone knew what to do. Izuku just hoped he wouldn't fuck this up. He'd been slipping up in their practical classes due to the lack of sleep and he couldn't afford to make a mistake right now. Not with his role in all of this, not with Kacchan's eyes pierced on his back. He already knew something was up thanks to Kyoka, and if he messed up now, he'd definitely share his concerns with at least a few other Assembly members, if not all.
But fate is cruel, especially to Izuku.
He'd been dodging Pony's horns, flicking his fingers to send them back. Once he located the girl, he used Blackwhip to get to her, only to be blocked by a wall of air when he tried to actually hit her. And then there was Kodai, throwing stuff at him from behind, having him dodge before he could get around the air barrier and try to get another hit in. It was frustrating, but it was working. Kodai was losing amo, and since he was the bait, they were focussed on him and his teammates were spared for most of the fight.
At least, until he got hit. It was disorienting and his vision spun around for a second. That was enough for one of Pony's horns to latch onto his costume, tugging him with it and sending him flying. If he wasn't disoriented before, he definitely was now. So when he saw another piece of debris flying his way, growing exponentially in size as it did, he lashed out on instinct. Black tendrils crushed the metal pipe and threw it away, not looking whether there were people in that direction.
Izuku's breath hitched as the green sparks started to crackle on his skin, seemingly looking more like electricity then simply energy. Float acted up as well, disorienting him even more. He tried to use Blackwhip to move around, to get himself back to the ground, but for some reason the quirk wasn't reacting to him anymore. Not until Danger Sense went off, ringing loudly through his mind, and suddenly he was holding down Shishida with Blackwhip, pushing him into the concrete so hard that cracks appeared around him.
If he was here, Sato must've been defeated, Izuku noted in the back of his mind. It didn't matter though, not really, not right now. His quirk was overpowering him, and Izuku didn't know how much longer he'd be able to take this kind of strain. Tears pricked in his eyes, threatening to fall as he desperately tried to free Shishida from his crushing grip. He must be in pain, too. If it wasn't for his quirk, if it had been anyone else- Izuku closed his eyes. He didn't want to think about the what if's, but that's all his mind seemed capable of as of late.
He was definitely crying now. His tears were the only indicator of what was up and down at this point. He could hear his name being yelled, but it was faint, covered up by the ringing in his ears. His quirks were taking over in a way they had never done before and Izuku didn't know how to stop it. He was scared. So, so scared. But that only added more fuel to the raging fire that was One For All.
"You're panicking for no reason."
Suddenly the world stopped spinning. Everything just...stopped. He knew that wasn't true, it was probably just his perspective, just his adrenaline rushing and messing up his sense of time, but still. Seeing Second's wispy form in front of him in this mist- this smokescreen- It quickly became his sole point of attention, ignoring everything else that was going on around them.
"You feel like you have to do this alone, but you don't," Second continued. His voice sounded echoey, in a way. Some would describe it as eerie, but it brought Izuku a certain comfort. "Look around you, Izuku. You can't ignore the world forever."
Izuku blinked, tears still flowing from his eyes as the vestige leaned forward, a serious look on his face.
"You can't change what has been done, but you can still create a better future. Don't let one mistake mark you for the rest of your life," he told him, his form becoming more unstable as time went on. "We'll always be here for you, and so are they. It's time to let them in."
He faded away, taking all of Izuku's power with him. His quirk just stopped all of the sudden, making Izuku feel weak and dizzy as he plummeted onto the ground. And with his quirk, his vision faded away, too, pulling him into a dreamless sleep.
//\\
\\//
It was dreamless, for a while. Just the black void of unconsciousness. But then the white fog rose up and Izuku got hit on the head from behind. He instinctively reached out to it, only to find out he couldn't move his arms. He didn't have arms. His body was blurry, shrouded in a dark mess that rose up til under his nose. It reminded him of the first few times he'd entered One For All, but it didn't make any sense. Last time he was here, he'd been able to move, to talk-
"You're an absolute idiot!"
It was followed by another hit over the head and then Nana Shimura stepped past him.
"Let's just wait and see, he'll come to his senses eventually," she continued in a mocking tone. "He's smart, I said! There's no way he'll let this one thing consume him!"
She turned to glare at him, making Izuku feel small. Nana could be very intimidating without putting too much effort into it and being scolded by her wasn't something he enjoyed in the slightest.
"You're a real piece of work, Izuku Midoriya, I'll tell you that," she huffed, crossing her arms. "But Toshi likes you, he chose you, and we're stuck with you, so guess what? You're also stuck with us, and we're going to force self-care onto you whether you want it or not!"
And how was she going to do that, exactly? Izuku was well aware of the limits of the vestiges' influence. They couldn't manifest into the real world, only in his dreams, his subconscious. And if they did manifest in the real world, it was in the form of a wispy entity that couldn't be seen or heard by others, a ghost unable to interact with the world of the living. They weren't capable of influencing his choices or thoughts, they could only talk to him about it.
"You underestimate us," Nana stated. "Oh, I'll show you-"
"That's quite enough."
"But I wasn't finished with him yet!" Nana complained as Yoichi appeared next to her, seemingly coming into existence out of nothing at all. Then again, this was a dream. Everything was possible here.
"We agreed that I'll inform him on our decision," Yoichi reminded her, making her huff.
"You're not off the hook yet, understand?" she said, pointing at Izuku before vanishing in thin air. She was still looming around somewhere, though. They all were. Watching, listening.
"You can't keep going like this, Izuku," Yoichi sighed. "You put too much strain on yourself, and therefore on One For All as well. Control is a...fidgety thing. It requires a calm and collected mind, and your mind, well, I suppose I don't need to explain that part to you... And I'm sorry, I really am, because... Because the only way we are able to stop you from destroying yourself is by rejecting you, by denying you that what is already yours and taking it away."
Izuku's eyes widened when he realized what Yoichi was talking about. He wanted to protest, to tell him it wasn't necessary, that he'll get things under control, that he'll try harder, that he'll do anything- But it was too late. Yoichi vanished, taking the white mist with him, leaving Izuku alone in a black void of nothingness. And then he shot up, gasping, hissing in pain as he quickly laid down again. He really overexerted himself, didn't he..? Izuku didn't even remember half of it. It was all a blur of panic in his mind, and then Second's face, then...
His quirk. He had to use his quirk! He had to make sure he was still able to-
"Looks like you're finally awake," Recovery Girl said. "You know, for someone who claims to be a pro hero from the future, you're quite the reckless teenager."
"I... I'm sorry," Izuku said, a force of habit. "How uh, how long was I out for?"
"A couple of hours," she said, taking out her clipboard. "You really scared everyone with that act of yours! If you're having trouble with your quirk, you should've talked to All- What do you think you're doing?!"
Izuku ignored her as he pushed his legs over the edge of the bed, wanting to leave as soon as possible. He'd been out for hours, which wasn't as bad as he'd been expecting, but it still meant he'd missed out on the rest of his practical classes and time he could've spent doing the homework that was due by tomorrow. Izuku wasn't looking forward to spending his whole evening behind his desk, but it's not like he did much else these days anyway. His friends were probably worried, too. He needed to see them, tell them this wasn't a big deal, just a fluke, nothing he can't handle-
"You're not cleared yet!"
"But I-"
"No!" Recovery Girl yelled, hitting him with her cane. "Stay in bed! That's an order! I wasn't able to fully heal you because you didn't have enough energy left!"
"I'm sorry," Izuku mumbled, shielding himself from her hits as he laid back down.
"Now, are you sore anywhere?" she asked, and Izuku needed to suppress a small huff. Like she didn't just attack her own patient with a big stick!
"Everywhere," Izuku admitted. "I... I overexerted my quirk, it won't happen again."
Going by Recovery Girl's look, she didn't believe him at all. That was fair. He didn't have the best track record after all, and he probably wouldn't be able to keep that promise even if he tried to tell himself otherwise.
"You're staying here for the night, for observation," she told him. "I want to make sure that quirk of yours doesn't act up again."
"B-but I have school tomorrow, I need-" Izuku tried, only to be dismissed by Recovery Girl.
"You've been excused from your classes for a day to recover and you won't be allowed to participate in practicals until you can prove to the school that you have a handle on your quirk," Recovery Girl said. "You're a danger to yourself and everyone around you in this state. Now go back to sleep!"