Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Breathe.

His breaths came in short, shallow gasps as pain flooded through his body, pulsing through the gaping hole in his abdomen. His eyes struggled to remain open, eyelids fluttering against the harsh light of the sun. His ears ring, the only sounds being his stumbling heartbeat, his short gasps, and the faint sound of a voice laughing maniacally.

He wonders if this is his end, after years and years of struggle, bloodshed and death. His end at the hands of an overpowered enemy, someone he came so close to defeating. So close till a hand touched his torso in a moment of distraction and a raspy voice had whispered, “What a slow, painful death you’ll have- not the fast ones your pitiful friends got.” What a fatal moment it was. His hand reached out to touch something, anything, but it failed in its attempt and falling still against the dust.

He thinks about his companions – a girl with pink dreadlocks, long dirtied by the trials of survival and a fierce smile, a boy with blonde hair, matted and with a vicious tongue, and another with purple hair, discoloured so much it turned brown and with a lazy smirk. He thinks about how they fought with him in the last hour, their meticulous planning for this moment failing the moment they approached their enemy. One by one, they were stuck down. Down went the boy who once walked the ground with pride, the boy who mellowed out with time, the boy who was true. Down went the girl who giggled with madness lacing her tone, the girl who built with fervour, the girl who protected. Down went the boy who held insecurities, the boy who stood up and fought, the boy who cared.

Down went he, the reject of society, he who stood up in the dark, he who f a i l e d.

Tears trickled from the corner of his eyes, the harsh light slowly being overcome by the darkening edges of his vision.

He remembered his father, his saviour, his supporter. He remembered his tired eyes, small smiles, and hidden affection and concern covered by gruff, harsh words. He remembered his father who gave him a name, a name that was his and one he treasured. He remembered his father who was the first to believe in him, his words holding no falsehoods but truths, belief and sincerity. He remembered his father, who had fallen dead to those monsters a month before, his eyes pleading for him to run before they turned blank and unseeing.

He remembered his uncle, his loud voice, his broad smile. He remembered his boisterous laughter, his energetic tales and his bright presence. He remembered his uncle, who shared quiet moments they cherished, gave random gifts and was a solid pillar of support. He remembered how that pillar fell and wrecked devastation on their family.

He remembered his brother, his snarky smile, his sarcastic voice. He remembered his brother, once harsh and violent, full of rage and desire for revenge. He remembered his brother who let him lie down near him on the days that were cold, who treated him like he was supposed to treat another. He remembered his brother and his burnt body, too far charred to recognise beyond his hair and the bracelet melted into his wrist.

He remembered his sister, her soft smile, her loving gaze. He remembered his sister, once hesitant to trust and hesitant to smile. He remembered his sister who sang to him when the days were tough and who provided enough kisses and hugs to keep them loved. He remembered his sister, whose body was snapped in half, no mercy shown to the young by the monsters that ran rampant on the desolate land.

His vision was failing him as he felt the warmth of his tears against the rapidly cooling of his body as more blood streamed from his decaying wound.

He wondered about change. What would have happened if they had made a different decision. What if they had waited till night? What if they had more items on hand? What if they had waited just a bit longer? What if. Too many what ifs entered his mind, thoroughly rendering his mind incapable to think anything else or even acknowledge the voice that was steadily growing clearer.

Breathe.

He couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t tell what was happening anymore.

He was dying, d y i n g.

His family’s smiles flashed through his mind, running like an ancient movie reel. His sister’s smile - crazed as she assembled junk into a functional machine, gentle as she fussed about their health. His brother’s smile - fake when he showed arrogance, true when he showed he loved. His brother’s smile - defensive when he first met, soft as he grew closer. His father’s smile - sharp as he protected, small with hidden fondness as he watched upon his kin. His uncle’s smile - bright as he pranced about loudly, mellower in the private comforts of home. His brother’s smile - cruel when he was hurt, kind as he tucked his siblings in bed. His sister’s  smile - strained when she didn’t know how, loving when she did. His lips trembled as tired and failed to remember his smile, failed as his conscious slowly slipped away.

Breathe.

Louder. In his head, it reverberated as his grasp on his consciousness was weakening.

H e   c o u l d n ‘ t   b r e a t h e .

Breathe, Izuku. One breath and let go.

He breathed. Once – short and shallow, but a breath nonetheless.

And,

              he

                             let

                                           go.

Come, Izuku. We have much to do.

The world went dark.

And then,

Wake up.

Chapter Text

Wake up.

Izuku’s eyes flew open to be greeted by blinding white light. Air rushed into his lungs quickly, causing him to choke on his breath. He fell into a fit of coughs, each once rattling his bones as he weakly tried to push himself into a sitting position.

“ Oh dear. Help him, would you, Caesar? ”

Who?

He felt calloused hands help him into a sitting position, making sure he was steadied before he felt the hands leave his sides. A few more coughs fell from his lips just as he managed to catch his breath. He rubbed the ache that was spreading across his chest, wincing slightly over a particularly sore area. His hand stilled as a thought entered his mind.

Wait- hadn’t he died?

“Yes, you did, actually.”

What?

He looked up at the source of the voice.

He found a man and woman standing in front of him, both clad in long, white garb. The woman looked at him with a slightly amused smile but her eyes, blue swirling around with turquoise and flecked with bronze, held sorrow and grief. She had robes that flowed elegantly, making her look ethereal, folds carefully arranged across her bodice and around her waist was a simple twisted band of gold. Her platinum blonde hair flowed down her back with a plaited crown encircling her head, delicately threaded with golden lace.

The man was stoic, no emotion sneaking through, but his eyes, warm brown and speckled with gold, were kind and understanding. His robes fell short of his ankles, showing the twisting brown sandals he donned on his feet. His robes were cinched around his waist, where a long sword in its silver adorned hilt sat on his hip. His brown hair flowed gently in waves, falling on his forehead, covering his left eyebrow and when he moved, silver spotted his hair like glitter.

“ Hello Izuku. ”

He jolted at the female voice that echoed in the white space. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Confusion over these people, confusion over how they knew his name, confusion because wasn’t he supposed to be dead?

“ Yes, I do suppose it would be confusing. ”

Can she read my thoughts?

“Yes, I can.”

Izuku cleared his throat uncomfortably before sending a cautious look at the pair.

“Right. Um, who are you? And why am I… here- wherever... this is?”

The blonde woman smiled slightly.

“I am Keia, and this is Caesar. We are the overseers.”

Izuku’s confusion was no less cleared.

“The... overseers?” He said slowly, voice clearly tinted with bewilderment.

The pair nodded. “Yes, that is us. We supervise whatever happens in the universe.” The male, Caesar, spoke.

Izuku’s brows furrowed as his mind whirred to process the information he was given. “What exactly do you do?” He wanted to know. Were their duties just to watch and not intervene? Were they able to change things? Did they just watch humanity fall under the thumb of a psychopath? Did they watch humanity crumble till it became an apocalypse? Did they watch humanity struggle and not do anything? He wanted to know if there could have been anything that could have been done to save his family.

Izuku failed to notice that with his every thought, the grief in the eyes of the overseers grew heavier, clouding and darkening their light eyes.

“We can intervene.” Keia’s voice jolted him from his thoughts. Her voice was filled with agony, weighting her tone and filling his own heart with anguish. “But it is limited to one only per lifetime, and we made the wrong decision. Unfortunately, we don’t have foresight to see if our decision has severe consequences.”

Izuku’s mind instantly clouded with anger. “You made a wrong decision‽” He said hysterically, fingers pulling at his hair. Logically, he knew the two weren’t entirely at fault but currently he was too distressed with all the loss he had suffered through to think that way. “Your wrong decision ended up with so many lives lost! I lost so many people! My dad, my uncle, my sisters, my brothers! They’re all fucking gone because of your fucking wrong decision! Your wrong decision let a maniac with dystopian dreams wreck destruction onto the land! Why the fuck don’t you overseers have fucking foresight in the first place‽ How are you allowed to even make a decision like that‽”

He was breathing hard and ragged, fingers tugging harshly at his dirtied locks. Tears poured down his face as heartache struck him fast and hard. Being constantly on the run from a lunatic never allowed for processing grief the way a person should normally do. When his uncle died, he grieved for a day and then focused on comforting his father who just lost his best friend of many years. (His world began to shatter) . When his brother died, he sobbed over his charred remains before focusing on packing up and moving. When his sister died, he screamed with his family at the unfairness of it all. When his father died-

Izuku’s breath hitched at the thought of his father. When his father ( loving, kind, quiet ) died, he didn’t process it at all. He just shed a tear, maybe two, before he was forced to plan- plan for their next move, plan to end their tormentor for once and for all ( a plan that ended in death -). When his brother ( brash, mellow, warm ) died, he barely saw him fall before the battle demanded his attention again. When his sister ( strong, passionate, protective ) died, he faltered. When his brother ( defensive, caring, snarky ) died, his world shattered completely.

Izuku  s c r e a m e d .

He screamed, pouring his pain into his voice, letting himself finally feel grief. He cried for his uncle. He cried for his brother. He cried for his sister. He cried for his father. He cried for his brother. He cried for his sister. He cried for his brother. He cried for the fallen. He cried for the turned. He cried for the lost world. He just- c r i e d .

Time was lost as Izuku grieved. He could have been crying for minutes, hours (it felt like days and years) before his cries ceased and his tears slowed down. He hiccupped, interrupted by broken sobs, wiping away the remnants of tears but only further smudging the dirt on his face. 

Eventually, his cries petered out - feeling his eyes sting and his sore throat protest at making any sound as he was reduced to sniffles -  then, leaving silence to remain.

The overseers were hesitant to break the fragile silence that had settled, but it had to be done - they had a goal to accomplish. 

“We truly apologise.” Izuku felt a flash of anger at Keia’s words before he suppressed it, too tired to feel anymore.  “I know that our words barely mean anything to you, but we’d like to offer you something.”

“What is it?” His words were sharp and cutting like a quick blade, harsh and gravelly from his crying. His eyes remained cast low, falling to his calloused hands.

“A chance for change.” Izuku lifted his head up, confused at Caesar’s words though his face remained deceptively blank. “We can’t do much to change this timeline anymore. It has gone past recovery. However, we can change the past.”

“How do you plan to do that?” His interest was piqued.

“We plan to send you back.” Keia said simply, a small smile gracing her face, the first to appear since his screaming. “We would send you back in time, though we cannot control where you end up. Sometimes, it will be years before anything will happen, sometimes right before and sometimes within the events itself. Unfortunately, it would have a restriction like many of the decisions we are allowed to make.”

Izuku’s of course it does went ignored.

“If you were to accept, your time would be limited.” Keia continued.

Her words echoed in the white space the three stood. Izuku processed the implications of her words, a dry swallow scraping against his throat.

“How long?” He rasped out, eyes focused on his hands which were covered with grime, dust and remnants of blood.

“You must seriously take it into consideration, Izuku-”

“How long,” Izuku forced his words to come out louder, interrupting Keia’s cautioning. “Will I live- if I choose this?”

“You’ll have ten years.”

Ten years - is a lot of time. You can get a lot done in a decade. Ten should be enough to complete his task. But what if it’s not?

“And if I cannot complete my task in ten years?” Izuku asked, eyes falling closed as he waited for the answer.

There was a hesitant pause. Izuku looked up, eyebrows furrowing when he found conflicted faces on the Overseers. Before he could ask what was wrong, Caesar spoke up. “ You’ll vanish.”

Izuku’s face fell into a deadpan as he struggled to process the words spoken to him. “I’m sorry. I’ll what ?” He questioned, incredulousness tinting his voice.

“You’ll vanish.” Caesar repeats. Izuku watches as he steels himself to speak again. “You won’t belong to this timeline. You shouldn’t exist, in fact, you are dead. So your living would disrupt the universe if you extend your stay. We can only allow you for so long before your existence begins to stir things into trouble.”

“Right, right. Got it.” Izuku grabbed at his hair, clutching and pulling at the soiled roots in an attempt to curb his rising hysteria. “Ten years to fix all the shit that went wrong in my time or else disappear. No pressure.”

“Izuku-” Izuku wasn’t having it, not when he could feel the panic clawing up his throat and choking him. He raised a hand, making Keia pause.  He let his eyelids fall shut, mind going over the breathing techniques his dad once taught him to calm him down after a panic attack. Attempting to clear his mind, Izuku fell into a pattern.

“Izuku, I’m here with you. Can you feel me breathing? Okay? Follow me.”

“Breathe in for 4 counts. Now, hold in for 7. That’s it, you’re doing alright. Now, exhale for 8 counts. Now, we’re gonna do this again, okay? Come on.”

In, 4. Hold, 7. Out, 8-

In, 4. Hold, 7. Out, 8-

In, 4. Hold, 7. Out, 8-

With his mind significantly calmer and free of the hysteria, Izuku went over in his mind what this deal meant to him. Ten years to live and take down the threat. What can he do in ten years? As Izuku mulls over the question, ideas start pouring in. There was nothing concrete to his thoughts, just vague constructs that hadn’t even taken foundation. There was more than he thought he could accomplish in ten years.  Ten years is better than nothing after all. All at the chance of vanishing if he doesn’t complete his job.

If he takes the deal, he could not afford to fail at all costs. He’d rather die on his term having accomplished his responsibility rather than vanishing and leaving the duty incomplete for others to suffer. It was a rather heavy burden to bear, he realised, if he took it on.

Ten years to exact change. Or accept his death and leave the world to continue to suffer.

Well , his dad did always mention how he could never leave people to suffer if he could help it.

Izuku looked up at Caesar and Keia with a determined glow in his tired viridian eyes. They already knew his answer, they could read his mind for goodness’ sake , but they waited for him to voice his answer.

“I accept your offer.”

Chapter Text

“Remember Izuku, you have ten years.”

“ We’ll send you back now. ”

“ Take care, Izuku. Change the world. ”

It was too loud. Izuku crashed to his knees, overwhelmed by the hubbub. The sounds of traffic and the honking of cars, people walking by and talking, all forming a cacophony of noise that grated on Izuku’s sensitive ears, cultivated by living in a dead-quiet dystopia. He hadn’t heard this much sound in a very long time, the most was the screaming of the monsters that plagued the dead land.

Izuku’s hands rose to cover his ears, even if it did nothing but barely muffle the sounds. He breathed in slowly, waiting as his ears adjusted to the onslaught of sound. When it became just bearable, he sighed and let his hands fall; slightly scraping the ground he was kneeling on. Izuku slowly opened his eyes, wary of the light that filtered through his eyelids. As his sight adjusted, he found himself in an alley that looked out onto a busy road, watching as so many colours and sounds passed by. He watched as life filled the streets that had been dead.

No, not dead. It technically never happened.

And didn’t that strike a chord in Izuku. It can’t happen.

Izuku let out a ragged breath as he tried to get to his feet. He stumbled slightly, feeling a little unsteady on his feet. The movement felt like it took ages to complete, and by the end, he was left panting in exertion.  Leaning against the grimy alley wall, Izuku let his head fall, trying to take in all the changes.

There’s sound. There are people. There’s life. As he shifted his head, trying to process his thoughts, white obscured his vision. Izuku was confused at the new colour. He raised a hand to touch it, slightly fascinated when he found it was his own hair. However, that brought in a new set of confusions. Why was his hair white? Was this supposed to happen? Is it a side effect of time travelling? Or stress? Or is it the power he attained? Caesar and Keia never told me about this. Or is this another thing they never knew about? Izuku let his hand fall like a deadened weight. No point in dwelling on it.

Izuku straightened and tried to get his mind into order, trying to ignore the way his brain was slowly becoming overwhelmed ( sound- sound- too many sounds- ). He needed to figure out his plan of action. First, he needs money - money and a place to live. He needed a computer. Izuku made his way out of the alley, slightly stumbling in the beginning before gaining his pace. He vaguely recognised the streets of Musutafu, feeling a faint panging of homesickness at the memory, and slowly made his way to some internet café he barely remembered.

He felt unsettled with the amount of people on the streets ( too many hearts, too many. i can’t hear- ), trying to hide in plain sight, when he realised what he was wearing as tucked his trembling hands into his pockets. It was what he was wearing the day he died, though significantly more cleaner- a thick, tattered grey hoodie over his thin white shirt that had seen better days, and thick, scuffled jeans tucked into heavy, combat boots. Drawing the hoodie over his snowy hair, he pushed the door to the café he had managed to find. As he walked in, he remembered that these things required money , which he didn’t have . He frantically checked his pockets, hoping by some fortune that Caesar and Keia would have supplied him with some coin. And by some miracle, the Overseers seem to have done him some good for once when he found a few bills in his jean pocket.

Okay, so he may or may not hold a grudge against them but- really, can you blame him?

After paying for an hour, he settled at the computer that had a clear view of the exit for a quick retreat. His eyes flickered around the room ( one window. across the room. too far. obscured by tables and chairs ) before falling back to his table top as he powered up the machine, letting his fingers settle against the smooth keyboard, waiting for the screen to turn on. His sensitive ears barely registered the soft whirring of the computer fans, instead registering the 5 heartbeats in the room. One, by the door. One, two chairs from the window. One behind. One diagonally across the right. One at the end of his row. He catalogued their positions carefully, slowly breathing out and letting the background noise fade just to the point where he wasn’t constantly bothered by it.

The computer was taking its sweet, sweet time setting up, so Izuku let his mind drift. His sister- Mei - made sure he knew at least the basics of mechanics and technology, in case he ever needed to take over her work, had constantly hounded him about it in the early days of the Apocalypse.

“Izuku!” Said male flinched at his sister’s voice that continued to screech in his ears. “How many times have I told you not to do this but that you need to do this ‽ ” The green-haired male’s face turned resigned as Mei continued to berate him on his skills (or lack thereof) in hacking, constantly shouting about his mistakes but never specifying what exactly he did wrong. Izuku could hear snickers in the background, making his eye twitch in annoyance. Oh just you wait nii-san, just you wait.

“Look MeiMei,” Izuku interjected when the pink-haired girl briefly paused to take a breath, voice strained, poorly concealing his exasperation at the situation. “I can’t do anything correctly if you don’t tell me what exactly I’m doing wrong!” A glance at his sister’s face told him that she was gearing up for another one-sided screaming match. Time to exact his revenge.

“Besides, why don’t you hound the others about this too, huh? Why only me? What can’t you hound Tou-nii about this? He’s doing nothing!” His voice changed to a nearly whiny tone, pointing an accusing finger at the scarred man that was just watching them and doing nothing. Izuku watched in barely concealed satisfaction that his plan worked as glee lit up Mei’s flaxen-coloured eyes, the crosshair pupils quickly shifting to their older brother. The male quickly straightened up to his full height, eyes blown in slight panic, hand stretched out as if that would keep Mei from getting any closer.

“Now, now Mei,” Touya started, slowly backing away from the girl who was acting like a predator cornering its prey. “You see, I’m very busy... doing... things. I have no time for hacking lessons.” His eyes shifted to the door, probably trying to calculate whether he could make it without being intercepted by his manic sister. Izuku quickly put an end to that plan as he casually slinked up to the exit behind Mei, watching with a smirk as betrayal creeped onto his brother’s face.

“Now, now Tou-nii,” Izuku reiterated his brother’s words, a mischievous light dancing in his viridian eyes. “Surely, you wouldn’t pass up hacking lessons from our beloved sister? You wouldn’t want her to be sad now would you?” A quick glance at Mei showed that she was playing along with his words, tears quickly building up in her eyes. Touya faltered, despite knowing how fake they were, just because he couldn’t stand to see his family sad.

“Especially when it’s hacking into Endeavour’s back account. Surely you wouldn’t.” Izuku continued, hiding a grin when he saw Touya pause to consider it, throwing a cautious glance at Mei, who was still building up her crocodile tears. Izuku quickly took advantage of his hesitance. “Great! Have a nice time!” Izuku exclaimed with a grin that stretched wide from ear to ear, quickly shutting the door behind him, barely catching the horror that was dawning on Touya’s face at what just happened.

He leaned against the door, putting all his weight on it, grinning as he felt the door being pushed from the other side. He heard a muffled, “Wait, no Izuku! Come back! Don’t leave me with her!” and barely covered a snort with his hand. “What was that nii-san? You’d love to stay? I’d be happy to leave you alone!” With that, he pulled the odd chair that was conveniently in the hallway for such purposes and wedged it under the door handle, watching as the door tried and failed to open.

“Izuku, you betrayer!” was the last thing he heard as he skipped along the hallway, giggles spilling from his lips, quickly becoming full-blown laughter as Touya’s anguished screams faded from range. Izuku fell to his knees, arms hugging his middle as snickered uncontrollably. By the time he was done, he was short of breath and on his side, face pressed against the slightly dusty floor with a content grin on his lips.

Izuku pushed himself up into a sitting position, looking up when he saw black-covered legs walk in front of him. His eyes found the amused face that came into his view, with sheared ebony locks falling messily over a weathered face and a soft light in their onyx eyes. “Mei again?”  Izuku let his grin widen as he nodded, his emerald locks bouncing with the motion.

It wasn’t that hacking was an inconvenient skill to learn, rather it was the opposite. During these times, while Japan was falling at its seams, there were still few shops that were open for supplies. Supplies that Mei needed to create support gear to survive. Shops meant money, which they didn’t have. So, they resorted to the next best thing. The illegality of the skill didn’t matter anymore (their morals were so skewed, they doubted it would ever revert to normal) , not when they needed everything to survive and especially when there was not even a police force to convict them of the crime.

Unfortunately, the only person who was proficient in the skill was Mei. Why she even knew how was something they never touched upon, honestly fearing the way her mind worked.

Now, Mei, by all means, is a genius. She was innovative and produced the most useful technology to work with in the field (which they all knew would have grown leaps and bounds if her education wasn’t interrupted) but, Mei was absolutely the worst teacher they have ever known. Mei would speak in technical jargon that made no sense to a beginner and when asked to explain in Layman’s terms, it would end up being, “Do this, not that, you buffoon!” It was a miracle that Izuku had even gotten this far in their lessons, though it left him with a headache each time to decipher what on earth his sister wanted him to do.

 If Mei came bounding in, shouting about her next lesson, the family scrambled away from her as fast as they possibly could, even going as far as hiding from the pink-haired female. Somehow, he always gets found first (but Izuku swears that his dad was telling Mei where he was as bribery to leave him out of her lessons) , and he gets dragged off to suffer under Mei’s poor teaching.

For the first time, he wasn’t the one stuck with her lessons.

The dark-haired man reached out a hand to pull him to his feet, Izuku quickly accepting and jumping up with a satisfied smile. “Yeah, I finally managed to get Tou-nii caught for constantly laughing at my suffering.” The man chuckled at his words, ruffling his untameable locks and mumbling a fond “ Problem children ” before he walked over to the tattered couch that had springs popping up through the faded fabric, groaning as he sunk into the cushions.

“You’re growing old, dad.” Izuku walked over to the couch as well, sinking beside the man, ignoring the one spring that was digging uncomfortably into his thigh to snuggle into his dad’s side. His father laid an arm around his shoulders and gently tugged his head onto his shoulder.

“It’s all because of you hellions I’ve collected. Each one of you, including your Uncle Zashi.” Izuku giggled slightly before tucking his head into his dad’s neck, closing eyes as he breathed the now-familiar earthy scent that clung to his skin.

“You can’t call Eri a hellion, dad. That’s, like, the utmost crime you could commit.” He muttered as he felt fingers run through his locks, blunt nails faintly scratching at his scalp. He let out a pleased hum as he felt the tension he didn’t know was there fall away from under his skin. He felt the chuckle from his dad than heard it, rumbling pleasantly in his ear. “You’re right. My bad. All of you hellions and Eri, the only angel in this patchwork family.”

“Patchwork we may be, but it’s the best patchwork ever.” Izuku mumbled as sleep was creeping up on him. Izuku could hear the smile in his dad’s voice as he finally drifted off. “Yeah, the best patchwork indeed.”

He pushed the grief he felt at the thought of his family and set to work. He spared a quick glance at the date in the corner of the screen, and then did a double-take. Running quick calculations, he realised he had been sent back 7 years from The Beginning.

Izuku paused, as he took into account what that meant.

He had no idea how old he was right now, whether he was still 23 or whether he had de-aged. A quick glance at his reflection in the monitor told him that he looked relatively the same as the last time he saw his face in some puddle after a rainstorm. Before he could spiral into the thought of how old he actually was, he pushed that thought away and focused on what had happened so far.

If he was 7 years behind The Beginning, it meant he would have been eight years old and still in the Organisation’s clutches. Seven years meant that he had until UA’s Third year graduation to take down All for One and the Paranormal Liberation Front.  Seven years also meant that it was around this time that Touya-nii would have escaped from the Flaming Garbage and be severely injured. Izuku winced and mentally started a to-do list. He’d also need to save Hitoshi, and Eri, and-

Izuku took a deep breath and forced his mind to clear up. Focus on the matter at hand now, worry about that later.

Izuku debated whether he’d have to change his name in this timeline. As much as Aizawa wasn’t common, it wasn’t rare either. It shouldn’t raise too many flags if he ever came across his father’s counterpart in this run.

“Izuku, how’d you feel about a name change?”

“A name change? Why?”

“Answer this first. How do you feel about Midoriya?”

“I don’t like it. That’s not my name.”

“And how do you feel about Aizawa?”

“… Why are you asking?”

“How’d you feel about me adopting you?”

He shook off the brief memory. Taking a deep breath and ignoring the tears prickling the corner of his eyes, Izuku decided to keep his name. He didn’t want to lose the last connection he had to his dad, even if he didn’t know who he was this time round ( and didn’t that nearly make him break down into tears? )

His first order of business was to hack into the national system and forge his identity. Then, he would hack into either Endeavour’s or All Might’s bank account (cause fuck them, he won’t feel guilty stealing their money) and shuffle some money into some offshore account, just enough to buy a property and just enough that it wasn’t noticeable (they had billions, just enough was able to keep him running for months) . Then, he would need to purchase some property under his new name, somewhere quiet yet has quick access to essential services.

A couple minutes short of his hour ending, he had forged a registry of Aizawa Izuku , with just enough money to his name and a two-story house that lay somewhere between the police station and the General Hospital. Thank goodness for Mei and her hacking lessons, despite her horrible teaching. His heart panged at the thought. He would need to do more hacking later, but for now, it was enough.

He cleared whatever he had done in the past hour, before logging off. He absentmindedly nodded at the person at the entrance, before walking back out into the busy streets, hands in his hoodie pocket, forgetting that he was in a New Time. The cacophony that was previously muffled by the glass doors hit him like a tidal wave ( a heart- no, five- seventeen? how many hearts? why so many hearts? ). Izuku’s knees threatened to buckle where he stood, hand forming white knuckles where he gripped the door handle hard. He swallowed a sob of pain, desperately trying to clear his mind (- shutupshutupshutupshutup- ), just to let the noise wash over him instead of being bowled over by it. The noise, slowly but surely, muted just till the point where he was able to stand up on his own feet, without feeling like he would collapse, and his hand was no longer clutching the door.

Izuku let a shudder pass his lips, beginning to shuffle shakily across the pavement in the direction of his new place. His head was bowed down, eyes focused on the patterned tiles on the sidewalk, absentmindedly noting that it was in one piece and not broken and dirt. He couldn’t think, not with the way his brain was going into overdrive trying to block out the clamour that was being processed, so instead he focused on just trying to breathe ( but he was drowning- how could he breathe? ) and block out everything by listening to his own heart beat ( why was it only his beating? why? where’s-? ).

He needed to figure out a way to dampen sound, like- three hours ago. Another thing on the to-do list .

Eventually ( he got lost three times before he reluctantly requested directions. he still somehow managed to get lost a further six times ), he made it to his new place ( he knows that he’s shit with directions but he’s choosing to blame keia and caesar this time ). By the time he reached, the sun had dipped down into the horizon, casting burnt oranges on the sky, and the din had died down to a muted background noise, and he could finally breathe .

He stood in front of a lacquered brown door, on top of some short steps, hand hesitating before the lock ( he didn’t want to go expecting something that isn’t there anymore ). His hand trembled, key clenched tightly within his fist, before he steeled himself in false courage and unlocked his new house. The door opened to a darkened room, light barely spilling in from the opened door.

Izuku stepped further into the house, letting the door swing shut behind him. The sound of it closing echoed softly in the empty room. It faded into the silence that seemed to be creeping on Izuku, threatening to suffocate him as his ears strained to catch some noise (- something. anything. anyone- ).

( -the only welcome noise he was waiting for was never coming. he knew- he knows- but why-? )

( he knows but he still expected. )

( no one was coming. )

His breath hitched.

It looked so lonely.

Chapter Text

• intro, memories + izuku dies
• overseers offer a deal
• izuku goes back in time
• izuku buys a house + grieves
• plan workout routine
• plan vigilante stuff
• realise no clothes
• plan to go shopping
• izuku remembers previous timeline + plans for future
• how to systematically take down an supervillain
• training
• making costume and gear
• frustrations and troubles in the process
• first venture out as vigilante + naomasa's reaction
• search for doctor (injury) and lawyer (forge adoption papers
• naomasa calls eraserhead on izuku's case + EH gets a glimpse
• naomasa POV
• EH POV
• involves timeline
• chapter spread over many days
• izuku lets eraser catch upto him
• izuku finds touya on a run
• touya POV
• (research on trauma period for abusive cases and recovery)
• touya's reocvery begins + eraser and nao worries
• touya better but still recovering
• gets adopted
• izuku restarts vigilante + reassures eraser and nao
• izuku and touya spend time + izuku does research
• izuku asks eraser to take hitoshi in when finds him - agreed
• hitoshi insight/POV
• hitoshi recovery + dadzawa
• hitoshi gets adopted + izuku asking about him
• izuku unexpectedly runs into baby!izuku
• baby!izuku POV + trauma
• baby!izuku recovery
• izuku discovering SH base
• SH take down + rescure eri
• izuku asks eraser to take in eri
• eri recovery
• dadzawa and his kids
• baby!izuku and touya recovery progress
• eri adoption
• baby!izuku adoption + name change
• more vigilante antics
• izuku engineers a meet-up between hitoshi and mikumo
• izuku comes across hawks
• izuku focuses on short-term new goal: get hawks away from HPSC
• (research how to take down a government)
• izuku requested to save the todorokis when find out vigilante's room in curiosity
• (research how to take down a corrupt person)
• hawks POV + strings cut
• shoto POV, free + meet the purple, green and white child
• todoroki reunion
• hawks adoption + fluff
• hawks finds out whole truth, angst + agrees to will
• most of the aizawas meet except izuku
• the children meet mei
• chaos and police visits
• cryptid at UA shenanigans
• mikumo meets all might
• mikumo gets reassured by family + fluff
• halfway through to UA, izuku and eraser talk about family - take care when/if they die
• izuku trains the children
• mikumo meets tenko + agrees to another meet up
• only way tenko can turn is to realise the brainwashing he grew into
• needs to learn by showing what was wrong else won't work and unsatisfactory
• izuku struggles to comprehend a good shigaraki + changes goals in case tenko turns
• izuku accidently calls aizawa "dad" - all siblings follow
• convince stain to change his way of doing things
• mikumo continues to meet tenko
• keigo slips a little + izuku explains he's from the future + reassures, not forcing ties
• doesn't detail, just mentions it was bad
• doesn't mention dying yet
• dadzawa fluff
• more chaos by children
• slime villain, izuku saves and rips into heroes
• entrance exam + letter
• first day at UA + bakugo
• bakugo POV + altercation with mikumo
• first day recap at home with all aizawas
• second day + battle training
• recap at home
• the press and the break-in
• recap at home
• usj with 1b + arrival of villains + mikumo talks to tenko
• izuku arrives as reaper because alerted by trackers' disconnect
• mikumo convinces tenko to leave villainy
• usj aftermath + recations of classmates and nao
• friendship formation with monoma
• new antics and new members
• tenko adoption
• tenko POV + recovery
• sports festival
• izuku runs into stendhal + tells him about afo trying to recruit him + failure + anger + research
• hosu filled with nomu
• more research + 1a shenanigans
• aizawa fam bonding
• izuku starts building case to tear down HSPC and hero society and implement new system
• final exams + training camp
• mikumo kidnapped + kamino
• afo given death sentence
• no more afo funding, get rid of organisation connected to HPSC
• izuku works on exposing HPSC and tearing down it's current foundations
• destro confronted + forced to see flaws of logic
• calm from action + fluff
• new rules and regulations
• izuku informs dying cause finally showing physical signs + angst + truth
• more angst and fluff
• izuku's death
• the aftermath + coping
• epilogue with the overseers