Deku's POV
Nothing really makes sense and at the same time it does. So my dreams weren't just bad dreams but memories. As sad as it is to think of Kacchan pushing me away like that, it was also comforting to know that he didn't understand those feelings very well at the beginning either. Weird enough it wasn't until I had to watch myself die that I started to get uncomfortable.
Kacchan wasn't taking it okay, he was losing it and to make matters worse, he still hasn't noticed yet! I saw him make the deal with the Lady in the Green Hood and then suddenly I was dying again. This time though the Lady in the Green Hood didn't appear.
Only moments after when she would have arrived Kacchan's quirk was going haywire and he just held me tighter. "I'm so sorry Izuku, I guess I wasn't worth saving," he whispered before there was a large explosion, far larger than any that I've ever seen him create in either life and there in the aftermath was our mostly charred bodies, what was left of them.
I tried to scream, to cry, to run over to him but I couldn't move or make a noise at all. Then I was looking at Mom and All Might, they were screaming, crying, demanding to know how this could ever be real but they only broke further into each other's arms. Not even a week later Mom was holding a positive pregnancy test in her hand, sobbing even more.
Time passed by and I was watching Aiko, the spitting image of my baby sister only instead of smiling and laughing there was so much silence and hiding. After the death of Kacchan and I, a war seemed to break out, one far worse than when we were in highschool. People had to take refuge wherever they were and mostly they were alone. Mom, Dad and Aiko ran through the streets searching for a safe place to stay the night, maybe even get some food but little Aiko slipped and caught the attention of what looked like villains, or maybe vigilantes, who came running over.
They found a place to hide until the danger was gone but it looked like Dad had far too much practice at it.
"My baby, I need you to be strong for your mother. Keep her safe for me?" Dad whispered, setting his forehead against hers so he could talk more softly.
"Daddy, I'm only six. Don't go," she whimpered and he chuckled a little. Seeing the far too old image of my broken and aged father was almost too much for me but the fact that he was still so strong left me in awe.
"You are so very much like your big brother. My baby you are so strong and I could never be more proud of you, I wish I could have told him that before… Well before," Dad chuckled softly, sadly. My heart feels like it's being ripped out of me. He really felt like that before? I mean I understand our new lives together but the first time around we didn't even meet until I was fourteen!
"Daddy, don't go," she begged but he just kissed her on the head.
"Baby girl, one day you'll understand that sometimes we have to do what we don't want in order to protect what is most important. And there is nothing more important to me now than you two," he whispered, giving her another kiss. "Be strong, I'll try to meet you at the Bakugo's in the morning, stay safe. Listen to your mother," he instructed before running out and using his hero form just long enough to get the dangerous people's attention and he started running away, the villains chasing after him.
I was forced to follow until he was forced into a dead end alleyway and he turned back around to face them.
"There really isn't a reason to do this," All Might tried to reason with them but one of them just cackled, none of them answered. One seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and stabbed Dad in his side.
"Except the one that kills All Might will have their name go down in history," he giggled before twisting the knife. "Bye-bye," he giggled and he pulled the knife out just for Dad to fall to the ground, barely making a sound. There was a lot of ugly laughing before I was again with Mom and Aiko.
"Come on baby, we have to leave now," Mom picked up little Aiko who was already larger than the one that I know at home.
"But Daddy," she cried silently and even as Mom ran carrying her they both cried, already knowing, somehow, that they wouldn't see Dad again.
Years flew by and I watched as Aiko grew up, Her quirk far stronger than it is now and she never even had OFA. I watched as she tried to save people only to have to run away herself, Mom with Auntie and Uncle while they all tried to flee but with nowhere to run to. The world was chaotic and anyone that was ever connected to a hero was hunted down, well if they weren't a villain already. Far more villains appeared that were actual victims of “heroes” themselves than I could have ever guessed and it made me feel so wronged. So disgusted.
I was forced to watch as Mom was beaten down on several occasions and it wasn't until someone would eventually point out that "Hey no, she was the mother of one of the only two good heroes," and they would let her go. Every time it was a gamble, would this villain kill her or let her go? All because of me. She managed to hide Aiko until she turned 15 but by then Mom couldn't hold on anymore and she did what Dad had. She used herself as a distraction to let Aiko get away with Auntie and Uncle.
Aiko was 17 when Uncle was murdered and it was only a couple months after that that Auntie was gone too. Aiko was alone in a world of villains.
Then I saw her meet an old woman, at least one that looked old anyway. "Girl, I can give you what you want but it will cost you," her voice cracked as if she hadn't used it in a long time. Aiko was just trying to pass her but what she said next made me feel chills. "Your family, I can give you your family back," she smirked and I can't blame Aiko for pausing but at least she didn't turn around.
"You can't bring the dead back," Aiko whispered and took another step away.
"What if you went back to before they died? I already said it would cost you but I didn't say that it would be cruel. I can teach you, your quirk is much more like mine than I originally thought but I will still pass it to you. Tell me girl, do you want to see your family? To finally meet the brother you've heard so much about?"
Aiko froze and turned around slowly, the woman cracked a grin. "I thought so, all you need to say is, I wish it," the woman waited and Aiko was clearly debating on trusting her or not but eventually she gave in.
"I wish it," she whispered and the woman started cackling.
"Very good, very very good! Now you'll be able to save the world," she grinned with crooked teeth before handing her a thick green cloak and Aiko pulled the hood up, showing me exactly the Lady in the Green Hood we have all come to know.
"We have a lot of work to do, girl. It will be hard but I will teach you and you will be able to save them all," the woman cackled some more and Aiko just nodded, her eyes going to the floor to try and hide what was clearly there.
Hope.
I opened my eyes and saw Dad crying next to me while holding a small bundle in his arms. Is that…
“Daddy?” I croaked out and he jumped, the little bundle now fussing in his arms while he tried to soothe the baby while at the same time smiling at me.
“My baby,” he whispered, the words could easily just be referring to the baby in his arms but the look in his eyes said he clearly meant me and I smiled back at him. He helped me get something to drink, using a straw like a dropper he gave me a little at a time. “Do you think you could drink if I held the cup for you?” He asked hopefully and I smiled and nodded. After I was done he used the buttons to help me sit up when I tried to sit up by myself but couldn’t.
“How long have I been out?” I asked while looking around the room. He hesitated for more than a moment but he finally gave in and told me. Three months. We’ve been in bed for three months. Well mostly, Toshi woke up last week and he was forced to go back to school yesterday while Kacchan woke up for the first time last night. Now with me all of our comas had finally ended.
“I’m sorry I worried you, I didn’t have enough time to explain and…” I paused for a moment before finishing. “I’m not allowed to say some things.”
“It’s okay my boy, I’ve made a deal with the Lady in the Green Hood, I understand how her conditions work,” he told me softly. I turned my attention to the baby in his arms.
“Is that?” I asked and he looked down again and smiled brightly.
“This is your baby brother, Kosuke, it means rising sun or hope,” he looked up and smiled at me. “Would you like to hold him? Hitoshi and Katsuki already have,” he tried to urge me on and I quickly agreed. He helped me, thanks to me being in a coma for so long he was extra careful to make sure that I actually had him before letting us go.
I cooed softly to my baby brother and I saw Dad take a picture and I can only guess that he sent it in the family chat because his phone started going off barely a moment afterwards. I could hear him telling someone on the other line that I had only been awake for roughly two minutes and so on but it wasn’t long before he hung up again and he chuckled about how Toshi was already running to our Mother so she could drive him here, skipping class.
“He probably only left two hours ago from spending the night after Katuski woke up. He didn’t even leave after he fell back asleep either,” he chuckled, careful not to startle little Kosuke.
“Ko-chan? Can you hear me? I whispered when he had started fidgeting in my arms. Dad quickly made a bottle and let me feed him and even reminded me how to burp him correctly. Kosuke had the same deep green hair as Mom and I did but when he opened his eyes they were the brightest blue. He looked confused and curious about everything but he wasn’t crying.
“Kochan? I don’t know, it sounds an awful lot like Kacchan,” he teased and I made a face at him but otherwise ignored him. Aiko had hated when we called her Aichan so much so that she threw a Kacchan sized fit over it. Hence why we only call her Aiko or princess.
“Uncle?” A little girl’s voice rang out and no it sounded nothing at all like either Aiko's or Yuki’s. I looked up to see Eri at the door holding someone’s hand. “Oh! He woke up!” She dropped the hand like a hot potato and ran inside only to see me holding the baby and slid to a stop in front of me.
“Hello Eri,” I smiled at her. “Have you met my baby brother?” I asked her and she shook her head no, carefully leaning closer without actually touching him. It took a while before I looked up to see Aizawa Sensei standing at the door, using his quirk on her just to be safe.
“Aiko is on her way now and I bet Yuki will be soon, are you going to play with them?” I asked and she shook her head no, very seriously.
“I came to see you, Big- Mr. Dekiru and Mr. Dynamight!” She quickly corrected herself and I chuckled at how much she was trying to act like an adult.
“It’s okay to call us Big Brother like you did before,” I winked at her and she smiled even brighter. It wasn’t long before not only Mom, Toshi and Aiko came running in but also Aunty and Uncle holding Yuki.
It wasn’t even a whole minute that Kacchan snapped at them all for waking him up but when he opened his eyes and saw me sitting up he almost sprang out of the bed.
“Deku, are you okay? What happened? No one would tell me how you got hurt or why,” I’m pretty sure he would have actually jumped out of the bed if he wasn’t hooked up to monitors and needles and I chuckled just a little bit.
“I’ll tell you later, I’ll be fine though. So long as you are,” I smiled at him and I saw Dad flinch but no one else seemed to notice. He must have realized that I hinted at my deal. Thanks to Kacchan's condition that he added to the end of his deal I couldn't just die in his place but she was able to work it so that our lives were now tied together. A deadly injury could now possibly be survived, split between the two of us. Cheating I know but after seeing what happens after we are gone I know that a world without Kacchan couldn't support me alone either.
“Taking all of you and Toshi’s pain was worth it to see you both awake and healthy again,” I smiled up at him and this time every Yagi in the room froze, including little Aiko.
"What did you say big brother?" She asked, confused. I turned back to her and smiled.
"I said taking all of their pain was worth it to see them awake and healthy again," I smiled sadly before turning to Kacchan. “I couldn’t let Toshi die from not getting enough poison out of his system or for Kacchan to get brain damage from his heart stopping for so long. I was offered the deal to take away their pain so that they could actually heal.” I reached out for my husband but he was too far away from me.
“When you say all the pain?” Kacchan asked before grabbing at his side, there was always a place that would hurt him seemingly out of nowhere growing up but now I understand why. It was a phantom pain, from when he was stabbed in our first life.
“Don’t worry, I’m not in pain anymore,” I whispered before yawning. “But I am tired. Geeze you would think I’ve slept enough by now,” I chuckled and asked Dad to take little Kosuke and he did. I leaned back in my bed, one arm reached out towards Kacchan even though I couldn’t reach him, Mom stepped to the side so that at the very least I could see him.
“I’m sorry, it looks like I’m going to fall asleep soon. Please don’t leave though, you can leave when you want. Just,” I paused, having trouble thinking of the words I wanted to say. “Don’t leave because of me.” I mumbled and I swear the moment my head rested against the pillow I blinked and that was that.
Sweet sleep beckoned me and I happily reached out for it. The pain from all the broken and fractured bones of my first life were gone, the pressure of somehow not being good enough to meet “The All Might’s” expectations were also gone. I feel free as a bird. Maybe I’ll float down the building later instead of taking the elevator? For some reason I just want to be free.
This craving to just do what I want and be who I want was gnawing at me and you know what? Why shouldn’t I?
Why shouldn’t I?