Chapter Text
15 Years in the Future
“Shouta!” Hizashi shouted down the hallway of the school. He turned a sharp corner into the teacher’s lounge, only to see Shouta curled up in the corner in his sleeping bag, angrily slurping down a juice pack. “Shouta, what are you doing in here? One of the other teachers said you left in the middle of class.”
“It’s him.” Shouta growled angrily. “Nedzu put him in my class.”
“What? What are you talking about?” Hizashi rose an eyebrow as he squatted down by his friend. Shouta grumbled profanities under his breath.
“ Bakugou Katsuki. He was put in my fucking class, ‘Zashi.” Shouta’s hands practically white-knuckled his juice, and Hizashi’s mouth pursed into a fine line. “We got our rosters for the next school year, after the entrance exam letters were sent out. Nedzu put the guy that beat Izuku until he wanted to die and then told him to into my fucking class.”
“Shouta… I know it sucks, like, a lot, but Nedzu has a plan. He always does. We can’t mess with Izuku’s timeline, you know that. It’s tomorrow. One more day, and then we can catch him and give him a better life. We’ve been working for the last 15 years to make sure he gets one, right? We can’t mess it up just to get back at Bakugou, as much as we both want to. And trust me, we both definitely want to.”
“I know… I know, Zashi, but it’s so unfair! We couldn’t do a single thing to make his life better! How can we call ourselves Heroes when there’s a child being abused that we couldn’t do anything about?” Shouta tossed the now empty juice pack into the trashcan with scary precision.
“We did do something about it. Izuku stayed with us and we gave him the ability to trust and see his own self worth. He told us we were the ones who helped him not want to die! If it weren’t for us, he would’ve gone back and never said a word to anybody, and just… let himself fall. Like you said a long time ago, we did all we could then for the Izuku we’ll see again.” Hizashi murmured, holding Shouta’s hands in his. Gold wedding bands glinted in the fluorescent light of the lounge, and Shouta looked at them.
“Do you think he’ll be mad that we got married?” He asked, and Hizashi snorted with laughter and shook his head.
“No! If anything, I think he’ll be happy for us. He knew we would be adults when he came back, he’d understand. Izuku’s a smart kid. You read his journals every other night, you should know! And besides, I think he’d be more interested in seeing how our quirks could work as a duo than the fact that we’re married.” Hizashi said, his tone light. Shouta seemed to relax his whole body as he sighed, finally calming down.
“I guess you’re right. You usually are. I should get back to class… those damn kids are always problems. I had to expel half of them the first month. At least the upcoming batch looks promising, aside from… ugh.” Shouta grumbled. “Still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I can’t believe if we’d never met Izuku, he would’ve just been allowed into U.A and Izuku would never have joined. Something is very wrong there.”
“Yeah, Aldera Jr. High is wrong for falsifying their records! Nedzu’s got a plan for them too. So come on, let’s get back to class. We’ll be there tomorrow, Shouta. We’ve got him.”
Nedzu looked at the stack of papers in his office, along with a set of thin journals and a photograph of Izuku from his school pictures. He looked like he was ready to bolt, more terrified than happy as he smiled. What kind of school made their students terrified just to take pictures? He was so ready to tear Aldera Jr. High from the ground up for negligence and falsifying reports and a boatload of other charges. Just one more day.
“Principal Nedzu?” A knock came to his office door.
“Come in, come in!” He smiled widely as Nemuri entered his office. The tall woman smiled back at him and took a seat across from his desk.
“What can I do for you, sir?” She asked, crossing her legs. “It’s kind of a surprise for you to call me in here so suddenly.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I have something I’d appreciate your help with. Do you see this boy?” He pushed the photo of Izuku across the desk to her, and her face lit up with recognition.
“Yeah! That’s the kid from the photo on Shouta’s desk! Who is he?” She asked, leaning forward curiously. Nemuri was dying to know just who Shouta’s other high school friend was. Nedzu chuckled a little.
“He’s a rather curious case we’ve been observing for a while. I’ll let Aizawa-san and Yamada-san tell you the entire story if they wish, he is their friend after all. The problem is that tomorrow, he will… ah, how do I put this gently… he will attempt to end his own life. We’ve already taken precautions and he will not be hurt, of course, but he might be in a rather fragile state when we go to retrieve him. He might have a panic attack or otherwise lash out, and I think it would be useful if you could be there, simply in case of emergency.” Nedzu explained.
“Um… how do you know he’s going to? I don’t mind helping you, sir, I’m just a little confused. If he’s told you already, shouldn’t you just get him help now, before he hurts himself?” She asked, “and besides, he’s our age now, right? Why would he contact the Principal of a high school for help, anyways?”
“That is the part of the story that is not mine to tell, unfortunately. All I can say is that he is not our age, he is a 15-year-old boy, and due to circumstances out of our control, he cannot be helped until after he makes the attempt. Shouta and Hizashi can explain the situation to you if you wish, but do not force them. All I’m asking is that you be there in case he panics.” Nedzu said firmly, a tone of voice that said he wouldn’t take an argument.
“Alright, if you say so, sir. I’ll be here tomorrow whenever you need me.”
“-want to go…!” Izuku felt like he had been pulled into nothingness.
After the blinding brightness, there was just the murky, black void. He floated, almost peacefully. Izuku remembered this place. It was where he went after he jumped. The person who sent him to the past made this space. The peaceful, quiet floating helped to calm him down from his panic attack as he’d been sucked into the portal. He was a little mad at himself. He had said he didn’t want to get emotional, and yet he had to go and say those things as he was leaving…
He supposed it didn’t matter, now.
“Hello?” He called out, finding it in him to speak this time. His voice was muffled, almost like he was underwater. It did feel like he was floating, so he supposed it made sense. “Are you there? The person that used the quirk on me?”
Oh, you’re back! The voice came again, pleasantly surprised. Looks like your month or two is up, huh? I hope you found somebody to catch you! I really, really don’t want to watch you die after all this, you know!
“I found friends!” Izuku said, with renewed confidence. “They promised to be there! Even though it’s been 15 years, they promised… I trust them!”
15 years?! Holy cow, how far back did I send you?! Well, whatever the case, if you think they’ve got you… that’s good. I told you, you didn’t deserve to die.
“It was just hard to believe… but they made me believe. I have something better waiting for me when I get back, now! I can… I can work towards my dreams because of them.” Izuku smiled, eyes watery though no tears came this time.
Ah, that’s wonderful! I’m very happy for you.
“Thank you for sending me to the past. I can’t ever thank you enough. Can I… can I meet you, after this is over? I want to thank you properly, in person.” Izuku asked, looking around as if there would be a person in front of him.
Huh? Meet me? Sure, kid, I guess so! I was just passing by, but I’ll stick around to say hi, if it’ll make you feel better. Fate works in mysterious ways. I’m glad I could be there for you. And you’re welcome, by the way! I don’t know what heartless asshole could just watch a kid jump off of a roof and never do anything about it.
“Aha… you’d be surprised…” Izuku muttered. “But in all seriousness, thank you. I think I’m ready to go back, now. I’m less scared than I was before.”
Right, I’ll open the portal for you. But listen, you’re going to be conscious this time. You might want to close your eyes, okay?
Izuku nodded and squeezed his eyes shut as tight as he could. Even with his eyes closed he could feel the blinding brightness and warmth of the portal opening up again. He felt the air rushing forward, and the voice called out.
Good luck with your friends!
Then, Izuku fell. All of his muscles tensed and he yelled out, plummeting back towards the ground like he had a month ago. He kept yelling as he opened his eyes anyways, despite the voice telling him not to. He watched the school building rush past him. As he was falling, he felt something grab him by the torso and gently slow him to a stop.
Just before he touched the ground, two pairs of arms wrapped snugly around him.
“Izuku!” Two voices cried as they hugged him close. They sounded so familiar, they had to be… he couldn’t believe it. Izuku broke down in tears again.
“Shouta! Hizashi!” He wailed, unashamed to be crying, this time. He didn’t die. They caught him. They promised, and they kept it.
“We’ve got you, Izuku, we’re here.” Hizashi’s voice, this time.
“We promised, remember? We promised. No way we’d let you fall.” Shouta’s voice. They both sounded older, but still the same as he remembered them. So kind, so gentle.
“I-I was so scared! I felt the falling, a-and you weren’t there anymore, and I…!” He sobbed and tried to get the words out. He felt Shouta’s familiar hand - a bit bigger, now - gently run through his hair like he did the first time they met.
“Shh, it’s okay. We’ve got you now. We won’t let you hurt any more.” Hizashi reassured. Izuku’s crying tapered off into hiccups and sniffles as he held onto his friends. He finally got a good look at them, now that his eyes weren’t full of tears.
Shouta was a little taller, with scruff on his chin and longer hair. He wore a scarf-like thing around his neck, which he realized was what caught him. It had been positioned in such a way as to slow his stop instead of making it sudden. Hizashi had gotten a lot taller, and his hair was a lot longer. They were still his friends, though, and they had caught him.
“Th-Th… thank you…” Izuku finally managed to get out, voice now hoarse from yelling and crying. Hizashi smiled that beaming grin at him, though he had tears in his eyes as well.
“We told you before, didn’t we? We wouldn’t forget. We could never forget you.” Shouta said, his own voice on the verge of tears. As Eraserhead, he hadn’t cried in a long time - but here, with a friend he’d promised to save many years ago, he felt like he could.
“We missed you, Izuku. We missed you so, so much.”
“Ah, Principal Nedzu! To what do I owe the honor?” A round, portly man smiled ear-to-ear, walking the halls of Aldera Jr. High with the Principal of U.A.
“Well, you see, I have a student I wish to remove from your care, and teachers who would do well to have their licenses revoked. Perhaps you might wish to step down from your own position as Principal, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I… Excuse me?”
A police officer knocked on an apartment door. It opened up to a blonde woman with sharp, red eyes. She sighed and leaned against the door frame.
“Can I help you?” she drawled, waiting for a response. The officer looked at her for just a moment, then nodded.
“Yes. You are Bakugou Mitsuki, correct? Is your son home?” he asked, and the woman stood a little straighter. She looked almost surprised, but nodded back and turned into the apartment to yell for her son. The boy stalked forward, fists curling in his pockets.
“Hah? What do you want?” He asked, much in the same tone as his mother. The officer sighed. He could tell this wasn’t going to be easy.
“We’ll have to ask you to come with us. We have a few questions for you regarding illegal quirk usage, repeated assault, and instigating an attempted suicide.” He said firmly, and the kid looked about ready to explode.
“FUCKING WHAT?!”
Izuku stood up, bright and proud in a brand new U.A uniform. He shined his shoes and straightened his tie (not that he really knew how to properly tie one), and even fixed up his backpack. A knock came on his front door, and he jumped a little in surprise. His mother smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you, sweetheart. But I know you’ll do great… maybe you’ll let me make it up to you some time? I can make katsudon.” Inko’s smile was tired, but he could tell she was trying. “I want to be better for you, Izuku. I hope you’ll let me try.”
“Of course, mom, it’s all I could ask for!” Izuku beamed, leaning in for a hug. “All I ever wanted was to sit and have dinner with you like a family again. I’m happy you want to try.”
“Well, go ahead and get the door, then!” Inko gestured to the door, and Izuku let her go so he could open the door. There was Hizashi, in casual attire, with Shouta standing behind him.
“Shouta! Hizashi!” Izuku laughed, “What are you both doing here?!”
“Well, we got special permission from Nedzu to walk you to school for today. We can’t do it all the time, but we figured we’d do it for your first day at U.A! It’s spring break for us, but it’s your first lessons with Nedzu!” Hizashi patted Izuku on the shoulder. “It’s still your first day, you know? That stuff’s important!”
“Izuku, your tie’s a mess.” Shouta huffed, coming forward to fix it for him. After a few moments it was neat again. “You tie it like this. See?”
“Thank you, I’m still a little new to all of this… but I’m so thankful I get to spend my first day with you both. If it weren’t for you both… Well, I don’t know what I’d do.” Izuku smiled, a little faltering, but then he looked at both of his friends. “You gave me a chance to live again, and I don’t know how I’d ever repay you…! I’m so glad that I have you as friends…”
Shouta ruffled Izuku’s hair.
“You don’t have to repay us, Izuku. That’s what friends are for.”
END