21

Chapter 21: If You Know This, You Can Begin Again

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The cityscape looms above him as Izuku sprints forward. Unlike last time, he easily passes the crowd and keeps a steady lead. Robots start to appear, creeping out from between buildings, and Izuku aims for the closest one. He surges upwards and kicks the robot's head off, decapitating it with sparks of electricity and snapping wires. The head goes careening into the neighboring buildings and the body crashes to the ground.

One point.

Izuku smiles widely as he separates from the rush to look for more. It's only a single point, but he feels positively giddy. He didn't get any points before, so already he's done better than his past self.

He got a point!

As Izuku scans the area for more robots, he keeps an eye out for Iida, Aoyama and Uraraka. He wants to avoid fighting robots in the areas they're in, to ensure he won't be taking any of their points. It would be terrible if Izuku prevented them from entering the hero course when he knows they should be in it.

Time passes quickly, and slowly at the same time. He encounters bot after bot. 2 points. 1 point. 1 point. 3 points. 1 point. Each one is easy to take down after the time and training he has had in the hero course. Izuku can almost pretend he's back at UA in his own timeline, participating in just another training exercise. (But Izuku knows where those thoughts lead, so he doesn't.)

He vaults past the other examinees. They are all people he never paid attention to in the past. Most of them have flashy quirks, and yet Izuku can see where they're lacking. It's weird for him to think about it- that some of these people could've been his classmates.

Between fighting the robots to get points and glancing at the area the zero pointer will appear from, Izuku finds himself saving a couple other participants too. There's one person who almost gets crushed after their quirk exhausts while they're fighting. Another person who almost gets hit by flying parts from a robot a different examinee tore apart. Etc.

Knowing about the rescue points feels like cheating, although Izuku knows he isn't doing it for that. There are people in trouble, so he needs to help them. It's as simple as that.

When the time approaches the nine minute mark, Izuku moves toward where the zero pointer will be. The last robot he took out drops to the ground after having its control panel dented in. Now, he just needs to find his future friend before she gets hurt. He bounds up the closest building to widen his perspective. As he runs over the rooftops, Izuku scans the streets below for Uraraka.

He spots her form, panting and hunched over, already appearing physically exhausted. Good. Well- not good that she's exhausted, but good that she isn't pinned under a rock... yet. Izuku jumps down to the street below so he can convince Uraraka to move out of the way before she gets trapped by the zero pointer's rubble. Unfortunately, he doesn't get the chance.

The next second, an explosion erupts and a wall of dust obscures his vision. Izuku instinctively raises his arm to block his eyes and mentally curses himself. He can hear chunks of concrete slam into the road around him and the distant sound of screams.

It takes a few seconds for the dust cloud to clear and Izuku quickly searches for Uraraka. Maybe he wasn't too late? Maybe she wasn't hit by the initial explosion? Maybe-

But then, he hears it.

"Help." Called out weakly, in an all too familiar voice. His stomach churns.

It's the same thing as before. His friend, trapped under a pile of rocks, bleeding and afraid, while the zero pointer marches ever closer.

He is too late.

A rumble of engines catches his attention. He knows that sound. Izuku turns around just in time to see Iida sprinting in the opposite direction, far away from them. While aware that this is how things are supposed to go, he feels inexplicably hurt.

Iida is his friend. Even more than that, he is Uraraka's friend. The Iida Izuku knows wouldn't abandon his friends; he'd rush in without a second thought.

But this isn't your Iida.

Izuku shakes his head. He doesn't have time for this. He needs to save Uraraka.

Turning back to the threat at hand, Izuku assesses what would be the best action to take. While he could easily remove the rock crushing Uraraka's leg, he isn't positive they both won't be smashed under the zero pointer's next step. It might be better to just take it out like he did last time. Of course, without the whole 'rendering all his limbs useless' thing.

He runs forward, toward Uraraka and the hulking robot that is much closer than it was before.

"Slap me!" He yells. He holds out his hand, hoping that Uraraka will get the message. Izuku doesn't like to be further exhausting her quirk, but it's the quickest way to reach the height he needs without losing time hopping up buildings or the robot's own limbs.

Uraraka stares at him like he's gone crazy. But then her eyes widen and he can see when it clicks for her- what he wants her to do. She nods resolutely and reaches out her own shaky hand.

A second later, they awkwardly high-five and Izuku goes weightless. He's familiar with the feeling- he's trained with Uraraka countless times- and knows exactly what to do. One For All wraps around his limbs and pumps into his legs as he jumps skywards.

He soars into the air, past the head of the zero pointer and towards the ceiling. Izuku spins around in mid-air so his feet are first to hit the roof and he pushes off of it, hurtling himself back down at the zero pointer. Cracks spiderweb out from the impact.

He aims for center mass. Izuku needs to push the robot back more than he needs to disable it. He was lucky last time, when he took out the head, that the robot didn't fall forward. With the few changes he's seen in this future, he doesn't want to take any chances.

"Shoot Style…" Izuku yells out, turning again in the air as he raises a leg. "Manchester SMAAAAAAAASH!"

His leg slams down onto the robot, knocking it to the ground and throwing up another cloud of dust as it buries itself into the concrete. The metal dents under the pressure of his leg, giving way and cracking as he ensures that it will not get up. He hears the groan and screech of metal and the tell-tale sounds of snapping circuitry. The distinct smell of burnt rubber reaches him.

Izuku stands atop the mutilated zero pointer as the dust settles once again. It isn't until he hears the buzzer that he remembers where he is and what he's doing. Oh right- Uraraka!

He dashes towards his friend, belatedly realizing her quirk is no longer activated on him. That's to be expected; she used it so much already. Uraraka stares at him as he approaches, her eyes wide, as if she can't believe what she is seeing. She must be in shock. That's understandable too. It isn't everyday that you almost die to a robot as big as a skyscraper.

Izuku lifts the rock off of her and throws it to the side. He frowns when her leg is revealed. It's probably broken. Izuku turns to tell her this and notices that she is still looking at him in surprise.

"It's alright." He assures her with a smile, judging that she must be reacting differently to the shock and pain than last time. "Your leg is probably broken, but UA has the Youthful Heroine Recovery Girl here who can fix it up no problem! I'm going to try to wrap and splint it so we can move you- or maybe you can make yourself weightless? Oh, but you're exhausted. Should I even try to move you or would Recovery Girl-"

"Ummmm." Uraraka snaps him out of his muttering. "I, um, I think I can use my quirk, maybe?"

Izuku smiles. If that's the case, he has an idea. He rips off a portion of cloth from the hem of his shirt and holds it out to Uraraka. "Just make this float please. Oh! And thank you for letting me borrow your quirk before. That was a great help!"

Uraraka stares at him again and her cheeks look a little pinker- is she alright?! Did Izuku overlook how exhausted she was? But she said she could use her quirk…

Uraraka, despite most likely having a queasy stomach, makes the cloth weightless. Instantly, Izuku sees her gag and hold her hand to her mouth. Oh well, it's necessary so he doesn't accidentally jostle her leg.

Izuku wraps the cloth around the affected leg and watches as the weightless feeling is applied to the whole limb. Then, he bends down and scoops his friend up.

"Uwa-wa-wa-wa!" Uraraka flails a bit in his arms before her arms encircle his neck. Izuku giggles at her reaction, but actually, now that she's so close, he's starting to feel a bit embarrassed.

"Uh...you aren't hurt anywhere else, are you?" He asks, hoping his blush isn't visible on his face. Oh, Kaminari and Mina would tease him so much if they saw this!

Thankfully, Uraraka isn't looking at him. "I'm fine!" She tells him.

They walk back to where the other contestants are waiting and Izuku notices the same strange thing with Uraraka. They are all staring at the both of them, as if in shock, frozen in place.

It must be quite the surprise, seeing someone so injured from an entrance exam. Izuku doesn't know what would have happened to Uraraka had no one helped her, but the teachers certainly made it seem as if she might die. That would come as quite the shock to the examinees that thought heroism was all fun and fame.

"It's okay." Izuku informs them. "She's alright!"

It seems to break them out of their stupor. The examinees start to whisper amongst themselves and Izuku nods.

He feels relieved. He's glad he saved Uraraka from the zero pointer. He's even more glad it's under better circumstances too, where his arms and legs aren't turned to paste. And he got some takedown points during the exam! He wasn't keeping track necessarily, but he knows he's guaranteed to get in!

He chats with Uraraka while they wait for Recovery Girl to get there. She seems to be more spirited now, and is incredibly friendly, as he remembers her being, and he doesn't have to struggle for conversation topics like he did with Shinsou.

It's... nice . But, it also hurts. He's missed her. A lot. Same with all his friends, but it's different. She doesn't know him. This isn't his Uraraka who has grown exponentially, who is kind and fearless and one of his best friends. This is other Uraraka, past Uraraka. The difference isn't too great, but it's still there. And it aches. Under less crowded circumstances, Izuku would probably be crying. He's only barely managing as it is.

When Iida walks over to congratulate him on seeing the true purpose of the exam, Izuku finally does break into tears. Iida and Uraraka look frantic and ask him what's wrong, the other examinees are giving him weird looks, whispering when they think he can't hear, and Izuku's trying so hard to wipe away the tears that just. won't. stop.

He tries to tell everyone he's fine, between hiccups and sobs, but they still watch him worriedly. Izuku's not sure how to fix this, not sure he wants to. There are so many things wrong right now, and it's suffocating. He's happy to see his friends, sad that they aren't his friends. Happy to pass the test, sad that it feels like he cheated. Happy to get a chance to fix things, sad that he's stealing all of these experiences from the still missing alternate Izuku. Nothing can fix that.

Thankfully, Recovery Girl approaches them to treat Uraraka. She looks at him, tears streaming down his face, and her gaze softens.

"Do you think you could help me bring her to the clinic?" She asks, overly kind. Izuku nods and sniffles, not trusting himself to speak. Iida hesitantly offers to help, but Izuku tells him that he'll be fine on his own. Maybe it's because Iida's uncomfortable with Izuku crying, or maybe he's just really eager to get home and talk about the exam, because he backs off. Uraraka still watches him apprehensively, even when he assures her again that he's fine. He can't blame her. Even on the best of days, Izuku's still a mess.

He takes a few deep breaths, attempting to quell his tears. Uraraka strikes up conversation with him again and even makes him laugh, so it ends up working. Izuku follows behind the Youthful Heroine as they talk, despite him already knowing where the clinic is. Izuku has spent a fair amount of his time there, much to Recovery Girl's chagrin.

The clinic is as familiar to him as home, and when he enters, it looks the same as always. UA itself is exactly as he remembers it from the future, minus the dorms.

Recovery Girl directs him to lay Uraraka down on a cot, and he obliges. His friend thanks him for helping her, offering a smile, which Izuku returns. He can't wait till the UA school year finally starts.

The nurse asks him if he's fine as well and looks him over for injury before he's allowed to leave. He's not injured though, beyond the usual bumps and abrasions, and Recovery Girl can only frown at his scars and hand him a handful of gummies before sending him away.

Izuku chews on a gummy as he walks out the UA gates.

The entire way home, Izuku is in a trance. His mind replays his actions and compares them to what he went through before. He's going to pass this time too, right? He got more points than last time while doing the same thing. So he should. Yeah.

...Right?

Then, he's in front of his door. As his hand wraps around the handle to open it, it is pulled open by his mother. They stand face to face.

"So how was it?" His mother asks. She's trying to sound excited, but it's obvious she's worried it didn't go well. Izuku simply stares.

And then he bursts into tears.

He's not even sure why he's crying. He's so happy and so sad at the same time. How is that even possible?

"Izuku! I'm sorry!" His mother says, ushering him in and wrapping an arm over his shoulders. "I didn't mean to make you upset! It's okay honey, there are always other schools and-"

Izuku laughs at that and it causes his mother to pause.

"I'm okay mom." Izuku says, wiping at his eyes. "Really." He assures her when she doesn't look convinced.

She stares at him in confusion. "So...it went well?"

Izuku laughs again.

"Yeah. It went well."

Toshinori accompanies the others as they survey the destroyed robot. The metal contraption has managed to get embedded into the concrete from the force alone. That is... definitely quite the quirk.

He had watched the video footage in real time, and even he couldn't hide his awe when the young contestant took out the zero pointer. While strength enhancement quirks are rather common, it isn't often you see one with this much firepower. In fact, it reminds Toshinori of his own quirk in some ways.

A whistle breaks him from his contemplation. "He really did a number on it, I don't think I can salvage it." Power Loader says. "You sure this was from a student?"

"Indeed." Principal Nedzu replies. "We all witnessed it."

If Toshinori recalls correctly, the rat- bear- um, Principal was the only one who seemed unsurprised by the display of power. Well, he has a hard time understanding how the Principal's mind works regardless.

"And I thought the kid with explosions was impressive! Shouta, this kid has gotta be going to your class too, riiiiiight?!" Present Mic shouts.

Toshinori glances over at Eraserhead. The hero also didn't show much of a reaction when the zero pointer was destroyed. Although, just like Nedzu, not showing a reaction was normal for him as well, Toshinori supposes.

Eraserhead stares at the gaping hole in the robot's chest with a furrowed brow. He doesn't say a word.

"SHOUTA! HEY! DID YOU HEAR ME?!" Present Mic yells, enhancing the volume with his quirk. Toshinori winces and covers his ears, seeing similar reactions from the other teachers.

Eraserhead activates his quirk and uses the scarves(?) around his neck to silence the voice hero.

"Would you quit it?" He hisses. A few people laugh at the interaction as Toshinori recovers his hearing. Eraserhead releases the other man after receiving a nod.

"You didn't answer meeee. What were you thinking so hard about? Huh?"

Eraserhead glares at Present Mic. "Nothing. I'm leaving." He turns around and storms off, trailed by Present Mic who shouts after him.

Toshinori sweats. Is this- normal?

Eventually, the other teachers leave too. Only Toshinori and the Principal remain.

"You don't have to stay in that form if you don't want to." Nedzu tells him.

With a sigh, and a gush of blood, Toshinori drops his muscle form. He coughs into his hand and wipes at the liquid that drips from his lips.

"Did you need me for something?" He asks, hoping it's a no. He'll have to work alongside the Principal in the near future, but that doesn't mean he isn't intimidated by the- um, creature.

"I was just wondering what you thought." Nedzu calmly says, poking the body of the robot with a stick. He gives Toshinori an all too knowing stare.

Toshinori gulps. "It's impressive." He replies honestly. "I wouldn't expect power like that to come from a student who is not already in the hero course."

Nedzu merely hums.

In truth, Toshinori is deeply impressed, by many actions of the young boy. Not only does the child have an excellent quirk- he also didn't hesitate to save the other examinees when they were in danger.

He's perfect hero material.

Toshinori just laments the fact they hadn't ran into each other sooner. If they had, maybe Toshinori would've given him One For All.

As it is...Toshinori is still debating it. He's already been introduced to young Mirio, and there is no fault he can find in the boy his old sidekick picked for him.

There is just something about this boy, however, that feels right. Toshinori can't explain it. It's like reuniting with a long lost relative; someone he didn't know was precious to him until now. It's nonsense of course, but Toshinori can't shake it.

Oh well. That's why he's at UA anyways. With the passing on of his torch, he won't be able to do much besides impart the wisdom he's learned onto the new hero generation. And then of course, to search for the next bearer of that torch.

In the meantime, he ought to keep an eye on this boy. Yes, maybe then his choice will become clear.

Notes:

Yay!! Part 2 ft All Might!

There's something so funny to me about Izuku not realizing that people would be shook seeing him use his power lol