Edited 5/17/23
TW: Suicidal intentions.
You stood at the entrance of a mountain temple untouched by time. Your eyes widened significantly in awe at the temple, white and gold stone pillars were holding up a roof covered in vines and other beautiful pieces of foliage. The place looked out of a fairytale, the ceilings were high and the floor was a cool tan stone. There were four monks posed on the sides, dressed exactly like your guide, Dao. You followed him, gripping lightly on All Might's arm in anxiousness.
"Shhh..." He offered you quiet relief, reminding you that you were going to be okay.
In the center of the furthest wall, was an arrangement of candles and tarps along the walls depicting Buddist, Confucian, and Taoist principles and words. What kind of temple was this exactly? Sitting cross-legged in the middle of a mat with incense burning on each side was an elderly man with a long white goatee. You recognized him instantly, releasing your grip on All Might and feeling as if you suddenly found family after years of being alone.
"It's been nine years (Y/n)...my have you grown into a powerful spirit. I have been waiting for you." His raspy voice echoed in the large open room. You nodded, biting your lips as you thought of what to say.
"No need to speak child, I have prophecized about this moment for many years...you have questions and I have the answers. First...you must be weary from your travels. (Y/n)...Toshinori...we have plenty of food prepared for your arrival as well as a room to accommodate you. Dao, please show them the way." You and All Might were stunned completely speechless but nevertheless, followed Dao into a hallway. There was a single room prepared with two sleeping mats and a traditional Japanese table full of food such as roasted chicken and cabbage stew.
"Please, make yourselves at home. We will talk once you both have recovered and cleaned yourselves up well. Enjoy." Dao bowed before leaving you and All Might alone.
"I uh...I guess we are able to relax now." All Might spoke. You sighed in relief, your feet aching from walking and climbing for so long.
"I guess I should check my phone to see if Katsuki needed me." You quickly checked your phone to see three missed messages from the King of Explosions.
KACCHAN (3:36PM)
This Jeanist douchebag is really fucking annoying. Look what he did to my fucking hair!
Katsuki sent a picture of him angrily taking a mirror selfie in the bathroom, his hair gelled down and parted. You started laughing uncontrollably but felt your heart soar at the sight of him sending you a picture.
"What has you in a giggle fit?" All Might asked. You clicked on the picture to make it bigger and showed it to the golden-haired hero. He stared for half a moment and started to laugh just as you did.
"Wow! Who would have thought Young Bakugo would ever look so groomed!"
"Don't tell him I showed you, he'd kill me!" You started to laugh in reply. You looked back at your phone to read the other messages.
KACCHAN (4:22PM)
You better be doing okay extra!
KACCHAN (4:24PM)
This shit is fucking boring without you here.
You gripped your phone tightly while feeling your heart pound in your chest. He was worried about you...he wanted to cheer you up so he sent you a silly picture he would never send to anyone but you...and more than that, he wanted you to know that he missed you.
Your heart was swollen with love, and that was the best motivation you had to keep going on...to keep moving forward.
~~
"I want you to answer my questions...you said you already knew what they are...so talk, tell us." You sat on a mat next to All Might at the foot of the Oracle in the main room of the temple. The Oracle, covered in jade beads and decorative cloth seemed to be a fragile old man. His raspy voice broke the silence of the room, you and All Might awaiting to hear what was so important they had to climb mountains all the way up in Hokkaido.
"(Y/n)...you are at war with yourself. You are confused because you have the heart and promise of a hero...yet you feel undeserving. You must accept the actions of the past, you must accept the loss of the village in order to move forward...or I fear you will never progress the way you should." You were quiet for a moment, looking at your knees.
"Tell me how I can let that go...I watched those murderers destroy all I ever knew. That can't simply go unpunished." Your mind flickered between images of your past and glimpses of a potential future, rage starting to ignite inside of you at the thought of those villains hurting Katsuki. You would kill them all before they could touch him.
"It's not always easy to do the right thing. Your father knew this well when he elected you to carry on our legacy. He knew the reprocussions...and he still did it for you."
...what? What did elected mean?
"I...I'm afraid I don't understand." The Oracle clearly could see you weren't exactly ready to hear the full story, but he would begin the thread so you could unravel your history yourself.
"You see...I have a quirk too. I can see prophecies and journies of the past, present, and future. Those prophecies can always change as well. I knew from the moment you were born that you were going to be the only one in the village, aside from myself, to receive a quirk."
What else about your past did you not know?
"That's why you received so much attention with the swordmasters, the agility trainers, the smithers...that is why you were always the golden child of the village. I knew that one day an evil being named All for One would rage war on us in order to find you. Your father's decisions sealed our fates, but also secured a bright future for others."
"Wait-" you quickly stood with nausea eating away at your insides from what you had just heard. "Are you saying that because I have a quirk, that I'm the reason everyone was killed? Everyone died because they were hunting me? And you knew this?!"
The agony of deep betrayal made you want to vomit and All Might tried desperately to calm you down but your lungs weren't cooperating. Each breath was sharp and the air stung as it went in. No matter how deeply you tried to breathe, you felt you were still suffocating.
"Yes. I knew."
"And all those people...there were babies slaughtered! I can't...I can't...I-" God, when did the air get so thin? You couldn't breathe. Why were you even alive? Fucking infants bled for you just to become a sorry street rat? What did you have to show for their honor and legacy aside from back stabbing drug dealers and blackmailing politicians?
"(Y/n) you have to breathe! You're going to pass out if you keep this up!" All Might warned you. He wasn't happy about hearing this news, but he was curious why you of all people were targeted. It wasn't like you were born down the street from All for One. He had to launch an attack on one of the most remote areas of the country for one single little girl.
There had to be more to it than just that.
"(Y/n), blaming yourself will go nowhere. This future was crafted with you in mind. You will understand when you are ready...but your quirk needed to be in the hands of someone capable of staying out of reach of All for One. I fear any version of the future where he steals and perfects your quirk. No amount of power can touch someone who can avoid any attack and appear anywhere in the world instantly. If he had perfected your quirk, this world would rain fire for the next millennia until humankind was nothing more than an ancient nightmare. Your father saved you...but he also saved us all. You will understand this in due time."
You remained frozen in terror at this information. It was a lot to take in at once, not to mention what your current role is at UA. All for One was somewhere out there, hunting you and the new companions you had grown to care for. He was going to rob you of life once again.
"...Can he steal a quirk from a corpse?" You asked through a quiet voice that wobbled with fresh tears. All you could think about was the Bakugo home, up in blue flames because All for One was looking for you. The waking nightmare of Katsuki bled dry had made your stomach flip. What was the point of even living if your quirk was this much of a gamble?
"(Y/n)! Don't ever say anything like that again!" All Might lectured you with a heavy voice as if the audacity of your comment left him floored.
"What's the point All Might? The reality of the situation is I'm more useful dead with my quirk forever out of reach than I am alive. My dad clearly kept me alive to avoid being captured, not to avoid death. Maybe I wasn't ever supposed to live a happy life. Or live at all."
"Don't say that!" All Might protested in a panic. Would you run from him? You knew this area better than anyone and if you really wanted to...you'd be gone before he could stop you. No matter what, he had to convince you with honest intentions that you were wrong.
"But I'm not wrong, All Might. People have died over the fact I exist. I'm not going to risk the people I care about. I'm no one special, and I'm certainly not worth the sacrifice."
All might was getting angry now over your insistence but he was having difficulty arguing against you in a manner that you would be receptive to. He could go on about the value of life and that there's people worth living for, but if you genuinely believed death was the only way to save those you cared about, then he was at a loss for words.
The Oracle predicted this. He knew the beginning, the middle, and the end. Only those that felt the pressure of the deepest trenches could become a gem.
"You know, (y/n), that sword you are carrying chooses its masters. If it did not pick the user, even All Might at his prime wouldn't be able to lift it. If you don't believe me, why don't you place it on the floor and allow Toshinori to attempt to lift it?"
You were unsure why the Oracle had to play this rudimentary game, but you had no reason to argue.
Sure enough, you placed the sheathed Masamune blade on the floor of the temple, All Might reaching for it to try and pick it up.
He couldn't even curl his fingers underneath.
He tried again in his larger form, pulling at the sword with both hands. The tension was so great that he cracked the marble beneath his feet, leaving too footprint craters in place. You couldn't believe what you were seeing.
All Might popped back in his shrunken form with beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead from the effort. But there you were... able to lift the sword with one hand as if it were nothing more than child's play.
"...why?" was the only question you asked.
"Why indeed, Young (y/n). This village has guarded this sword for 700 years, and you were the only one to ever lift it from the pedestal since the original master. So tell me, if this blade sees something in you that makes you worthy to be its master, then do you truly believe the only value you have is as a corpse?"
You had so many questions running through your head that you couldn't sort them all.
Everything the Oracle said started back with your father's decisions. What decision did he make that was so severe it led to this?
What mission did fate assign to you?
There was more to your life than you ever realized, and holding this perfectly crafted blade in your hands gave you a glimpse of insight into its purpose.
Your father didn't save you just for you to die out of reach. Your mother didn't choke on her own blood as a distraction just for you to revoke her sacrifice. This sword was proof you were appointed a task by a force greater than you, and you were capable of following through.
"I..." You didn't want to die, you wanted to live a real life without fear or hate. Deep down inside, you too wanted to make the world a better place. "I don't understand what it wants from me."
"Peace, (y/n). Spar with wooden swords and cut the wood with iron. Catch tossed stones with edges sharpened by diamond. Where there is pain, be a source of peace. You feel great turmoil and unrest because you reside in a life that festers those pains. Aim for the relief you desperately seek and you will claim the warmth of dawn."
The warmth of dawn... just as you witnessed this morning with All Might by your side. That center of solace you longed for was obtainable within yourself after all...you just had to claim it for yourself the same way All Might had for world.
"How do I start?" Dao walked forward with a knowing expression on his face, a silent observer waiting for his moment.
"Your quirk is rather juvenile at this stage. If you want to have any hope of being a worthy master, you must work harder. We have training ahead of us...follow me."
~~
Days had passed and Katsuki barely had heard a word from you. You had been training non-stop using the knowledge the Oracle had and the motivation All Might had been giving you to stay on the path of good. It was proving to be extremely difficult...but it was the most you have ever improved on with your quirk in your life. You thought you had it mastered...but it seemed that there was potential yet untapped.
Katsuki was laying down on his hotel bed, bored out of his mind and scrolling through his phone of all the pictures he had taken over the past two years of owning it. There weren't many, as he wasn't a keen photographer, but he did have a few sentimental photos. One was his acceptance letter into UA, another was the results of his quirk apprehension test...and then his favorite one was of you.
You never knew he took it, it was when you were first being tutored by the blond boy. You were gazing out of the window from your desk, hand tucked under your palm without a care in the world. For some reason, while you were zoned out, Katsuki felt the urge to snap a picture as if he was observing art in a museum. His soft spot for you did not yet fully blossom, but it was the way you looked so genuine that made him realize that maybe talking to you wasn't such a mistake after all.
He clutched his phone close to his chest, missing being with you every day. He knew that probably wasn't too healthy but honestly what did he care about that. He knew he needed you and wanted you and that was good enough for him. His phone buzzed out of nowhere and he nearly jumped up, immediately clicking on the green answer call button.
"Hello?" He spoke in the phone, trying his best to not sound too excited.
"Hey Kacchan, how's it going? Sorry I haven't said much but I wanted to call you and say hi." Katsuki's heart soared at the sound of your voice.
"Hey Extra. How's your shit going? You've been real fuckin busy."
"Yeah sorry about that. I learned a new ability with my quirk and it's been exhausting! I'm ready for the week to end...two more days right?" The blond was extremely excited about seeing you again soon, and also was curious to what the new ability was you had learned. He felt that staying with Best Jeanist had been a waste of his time. Katsuki took a deep breath before speaking.
"Extra, you're coming with me on Monday after school. We're going somewhere." A slight pause in your voice gave Katsuki concern, but instead a teasing expression made its way out.
"Aw are you asking me on a date Kacchan?"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP NO IT'S NOT! I just thought we'd go get some food or something ya goddamn Extra!" You were grinning on the other end, Katsuki starting to smile too.
"I'd love to go on a date with you Kacchan. I'll see you on Monday~" You both said your goodbyes and hung up, hearts mutually pounding. Katsuki rolled over on his bed, clutching his phone once more.
"Oh girl what the fuck did you do to me..."
To take his mind off of the feelings brewing in his heart, Katsuki turned on the TV, the nightly news being the first thing to come on. It was pretty boring for a while until the breaking news popped on.
"Police and heroes were quick on the scene to investigate the explosions seen in Hosu City. It seems that villains are looking for a target but information has yet to be processed. Please stay tuned for more updates." Katsuki scoffed in annoyance, wishing he was in Hosu to pay those villains a fucking visit. At least he'd be doing something.
At the same time that Katsuki was grumbling, you received a text message from Deku containing coordinates with no context. You were laying down, resting your eyes from a long day of training when it came through. You didn't realize the phone went off, but a knock on the door to you and All Might's room woke only you up from your short rest.
"Wake up, it's time to prove yourself Young (y/n)." You looked up to see Dao standing in the doorway with an encouraging expression on his relaxed face.
"H-huh?" You spoke. "What's going on?"
Dao remained poised. He was holding a sword that looked like any old katana from your village. It was expertly made, but nothing compared to the blade you carried.
"It's time to test the limits of your quirk training. Let's see if you have what it takes to be a hero."
You barely registered what he was saying, but another buzz of your phone alerted you that Deku had texted you. The ominous text caused your stomach to drop and you immediately understood what your mission was.
"I barely have any practice with using my quirk for long distances like this...what if it doesn't work?" You questioned in a hushed whisper for All Might's sake. Dao clearly had faith in you from how confident his poise was.
"Believe in yourself (y/n). You made it this far, why stop now?" You took a deep breath and stood up, your thick clothes feeling heavy after working your sore muscles and eyes.
"No fancy sword?" You raised an eyebrow while asking Dao about the old sword he was holding.
"You aren't ready for Masamune yet. Again, have faith."
He had a point. If that sword had some scary power attached to it, you didn't want to accidentally kill the students you were meant to protect. A regular sword would service you just fine.
You kept an eye on sleeping All Might, feeling guilty about leaving with no explanation.
"He will be fine," Dao cut in, as if reading your mind. "The Oracle wishes to speak to him in the morning anyway. Take the time you need."
Once Dao gave you what you needed, you shut the door and shuffled behind the privacy divider in the back of the room to fix your hair and change your clothes in preparation to fight.
With the limited data and service you had, yoy quickly looked up the GPS coordinates on an online maps website. You were able to obtain a ground view right where Midoriya must have been.
You took a deep breath, studying the picture and closing your eyes.
Picture the ground... the buildings... the sky... the people...
Picture yourself there...standing on the ground...feeling the chilled night air...feel the wind blowing in your face...
You opened your eyes.
And there standing in front of you were three boys from your school, an injured hero, and one villain that has avoided your hit list for far too long.