The Hero Commission was still going to move Shigaraki to a more secure location, even after Izuku talked in on him, even after UA suggested they'd keep him under their supervision. Nezu had assured him he'd find a way for Izuku to continue visiting him, to continue talking to him until they worked something out with the board of directors. But until then, there was nothing Izuku could do but watch as the blue haired man was escorted to a heavily armored van at the dawn of a new day. Kacchan was there with him, holding his hand as they watched their nemesis get taken into custody. It was only a small comfort.
"He'll be fine, Izuku," Katsuki told him. "You can't expect the commission to just turn a blind eye towards the fucker that broke into one of the most prestigious hero schools of the country."
"I know," Izuku sighed. "I was just hoping he could've stayed here, like last time."
Katsuki simply squeezed his hand, offering comfort the only way he knew how. Through action. Still, it didn't make up for the look Shigaraki gave him in the brief moment they managed to make eye contact. Izuku looked away immediately, unable to take the betrayal, the anger. He was frustrated too, you know? He didn't want this to happen, either. Maybe if they'd told the commission about the future, about what they knew, they would've reacted differently. But they didn't. And so Izuku couldn't do anything but watch.
That is, until the earth started to shake, cracking open as it rumbled. Izuku stumbled and fell, taking Kacchan down with him. There was shouting, but Izuku couldn't understand what they were yelling about, not after the big blast went off and smoke and dust rushed past him, forcing the debris to cut into his skin. Izuku blinked, coughing as he crawled back up. Kacchan shielded him from the worst of it, but that just meant the ash blonde was hurt more. He had a large cut on his side, running all the way from his rib cage to his abdomen. If the dust settled in there, it could get infected.
His ears were still ringing when he ripped his shirt, unable to hear Katsuki's complaints as he wrapped up his wound. He shouldn't move around too much with a gash like that, that would only make the bleeding worse. Just as he was about to tell him that, the earth shook again, and Izuku grasped for the nearest rock to somewhat keep his balance even if he was still just sitting on his knees.
"We need to find out what's happening," Katsuki said, squinting in the direction of the commotion.
"You shouldn't move," Izuku told him, earning a glare from his boyfriend.
"You're one to talk, Deku," he grumbled, forcing himself up with the necessary wince. "Come on, let's get going."
Before they could get anywhere, a roar screeched through the air, making them freeze up. Izuku recognized that sound better than anything else. And if he was right about that, than that would mean-
"Did you really think you could just capture my successor and get away with it? You're more naive than I thought, All Might."
Izuku's breath hitched, his muscles tensing up at the sound of his voice alone. Kacchan let out something akin to a low growl, something he seemed to do subconsciously whenever he felt threatened, an instinct that had remained from their time as Nomu. This whole situation was just great, wasn't it? Of course All For One wasn't going to let them lock Shigaraki up for long. Of course he was going to use Nomu to deal with the actual dirty work while he spouted his usual bullshit.
They should've seen this coming, really. Should've known he would interfere the moment they tried to transport him somewhere else. But they didn't and now Izuku couldn't move, totally petrified by the noises alone. He hadn't even seen anything yet, the low hanging dust still clearing out, still covering up both him and Kacchan. For now. It wouldn't shield them much longer. They needed to move, get away or get involved, just something. Izuku's mind was in shambles. Couldn't think, couldn't react. He just...froze up, completely helpless.
"Ah, and what do we have here? Seems like you've brought your successor as well."
Izuku could feel his eyes on him, or, well, figuratively speaking, since he didn't have actual eyes in this form. All he could do was look aside, seeing that man stand a few meters away from him while All Might was holding back a Nomu behind him. It was one of the stronger ones, the bodies they buffed up with several strength and enhancement quirks. Maybe this one had a regeneration quirk, too. A mercy neither him nor Kacchan had been given in the past.
"I could end this all right here, right now," All For One continued as he stepped closer. "Take One For All and be done with it. It would save you from a lot of hardship, too."
"It would save me from you, you mean," Izuku breathed, staggering to his feet to glare at the man in front of him. "I won't give up on this quirk so easily."
"We'll see about that," he smirked, reaching out towards him. Before he could lay a hand on him, Katsuki shot into action, pushing Izuku back as he threw an explosion in his father's face. All For One didn't seem phased, though. No, because All Might had changed his target from the Nomu to the supervillain, which was a little more urgent than his little speech.
"Shouldn't you calm down, All Might? You're not as strong as you used to be, only fighting with embers now."
"He's still stronger than you, potato looking bastard," Katsuki growled, glaring at the man even if he was turned around right now, holding back All Might's fist with his bare hand.
"I beg to differ," he chuckled, pushing the hero back with seemingly no struggle at all. "But I didn't come here to squabble with a bunch of children."
He shifted his attention to Shigaraki for a moment and Izuku couldn't help but follow his gaze. He hadn't told Tomura about One For All during their conversation, not when he knew how horrible it had gone in the past timeline. Izuku had been right to do so, it seemed, because Shigaraki was glaring daggers at him.
"Kill him, father," he hissed. "He's a liar. Tried to trick me... He's posing as your son! He needs to die!"
"All in due time, Tomura," All For One assured him. "But he hasn't lied to you. This boy, Izuku Midoriya, is indeed my flesh and blood. A fail safe, if you will. A back-up in case things didn't work out well with my first choice."
Izuku's blood ran cold hearing that. A fail safe. A back-up. The second best option. Izuku was just a spare, a reserve, someone to replace Tomura if he started acting up. Someone to manipulate, to mold into his perfect little apprentice. A puppet to be used. The worst thing was that Izuku knew that, in other circumstances, it would've been a solid back-up plan. Most quirkless kids grew to hate the hero scene, after all. They all harbored bad feelings towards their current society and their high quirk standards. Izuku knew that all too well, knew about the discrimination first hand, knew he would've regarded his father as his savior if he'd approached him with the chance of a lifetime.
If he never met All Might, that is.
"But I guess he's not needed anymore, is he?" All For One said. "Do you feel threatened by his existence, Tomura? If so, I'll happily get rid of him for you."
"Kill him!" Shigaraki hissed. "He's a fake! He needs to die!"
"You heard him," All For One said, turning back to face Izuku. With a snap of his fingers, the Nomu was back in action, rushing towards him at full speed. Izuku tensed up, unable to move as he saw the monster barrel towards him. Fighting something like this was hard when you knew what it was like to be on the other side, when Izuku knew the Nomu, or whoever it used to be, couldn't control what they were doing. They weren't at fault, and Izuku didn't want to hurt them. That didn't mean they wouldn't hurt him, though...
Izuku was able to brace himself at the last moment, but it still hurt. A lot. Then came the second punch. Then a kick. It took some time before Izuku started defending himself. Too much time, honestly. He was supposed to be a hero, for crying out loud. His reaction time should be better than this- was better than this! It's just... Nomu. His enemy was a Nomu. The last Nomu Izuku had seen before this was Kacchan. It had been a Nomu he'd been bonded to, someone he shared a connection with, in some weird way, and that connection was preventing him from functioning the way he should, at least for a time.
But one Nomu was fine, he could deal with that, even now that he was beat up already. But his father had prepared more. Of course he had... Izuku lost track of Kacchan, of All Might, of Shigaraki. He had to do everything in his power to keep dodging and blocking the various attacks from the different Nomu. There was a buff one, but also a speedy one, and one that used something akin to poison. That or tranquilizer, Izuku wasn't sure. It was what would ultimately be his downfall, though. Because suddenly his body stopped moving, and not out of fear or shock this time around.
Then there was pain.
After that there was darkness. Painfully familiar darkness.
And then-
"Yeah, that's not gonna happen kid."
Izuku blinked, clenching his All Might plushie as he stared at the ground. He was killed. Again. Not by a hero this time, but a Nomu. Multiple Nomu. He didn't know what happened after...the attack. After All For One took Shigaraki and left, presumably. Maybe Izuku hadn't been the only casualty, either. The only thing he knew for certain was that Jikan had reversed the timeline again. He shouldn't be surprised, really. Having One For All fade from existence was far from ideal when your goal was to restore All Might to his prime... And people called him an All Might fanatic. His collection didn't weigh up against the stuff Jikan was pulling in the name of their hero.
"Izuku?"
Izuku blinked, again, noticing he was crying as he looked up to face his mom.
"It's going to be okay, sweetie," she said with a forced smile, trying her best to be strong for him. Had Garaki already told her what the toe bone meant? Had Izuku spaced out for that long? He frowned, looking away from his mom to the doctor. There was no way Izuku could stop him from creating Nomu, not in this form, not this early in his life. Izuku didn't have the necessary connections, didn't have the credibility a pro hero had. And so Tsubasa would fall. He'll go missing under mysterious circumstances and it would take years for people to know where his body ended up.
But not Izuku. Not this time. Not ever again. And not Kacchan, either. Nobody he cared about. But Kacchan cared about Tsubasa, right? Izuku knew how hard it had been on him to watch his friend, knowing what would happen, but unable to intervene. Maybe... Maybe Izuku should spare Kacchan from that fate? Maybe he won't make him remember, not right away. Maybe he could wait until the right moment. There was no rush, after all. Not in their childhood, at least. No, this was all just preparation time for their time at UA and whatever happened after that, if they could make it that far.
"Say bye to the nice man, Izuku."
"...Bye doctor," Izuku mumbled, still mulling things over in his mind. Being killed for a second time felt less traumatic, somehow. But maybe that was because his killer hadn't been someone he respected and admired. Maybe it's because Izuku didn't actually kill someone this time, too. Whatever it was, Izuku was glad he felt relatively okay. He wouldn't know what happened to the others until he brought someone else back, but that could wait, for now. If anything, time was on his side.