Chapter Text
Tsukauchi had learned to expect the unexpected, especially in this line of work. In a criminal investigation, anything—absolutely anything—could happen. Sometimes, it was something he hoped for, a breakthrough that brought relief. Other times, it was his worst fears realized, that all his work amounted to nothing. In this case, he wanted clues—some glimmer of hope that he was making progress. But right now, all he felt was dread.
“I’m so sorry detective, but I’m not sure if Yamato will be of any use to your investigation.” The nurse informed him from the nurse’s station where she sat.
“What do you mean?” He asked.
“Well, based on all the tests we’ve performed, Yamato seems to have no recollection of his time in the villain’s base.”
Tsukauchi’s eyes widened, “Nothing? Not a single memory? Was it—was it Hex?”
He stood frozen, disbelief washing over him—one of his leads might have just collapsed beneath him.
The nurse nodded, “When he was brought in, he had all the signs of being under her quirk. And when we did further testing, we found quirk remnants that match what’s on her quirk registry.”
Tsukauchi cursed under his breath. Of course, she would have measures in place to stop any leaks—especially from someone like Yamato, who had been working as a mole this whole time. This was a direct stab through the embers of hope he had been desperately trying to keep ablaze. He truly hoped he could get something out of him—even the smallest clue. Still, he needed to see him. Perhaps, in face-to-face interaction, something useful could surface.
“Can I still see him?”
The nurse jumped at the question, “Oh, um, sure.”
“I want to try. Any information he has will be of great use to us.”
“Yes, of course,” The nurse stood up, “Follow me, I’ll take you to him.”
.
.
.
As Tsukauchi reached the door, he pushed it open and stepped into the room where Yamato was being treated. Yamato greeted him immediately with a smile, his expression warm, and from the surface, ordinary. But, after years of working as a detective, Tsukauchi knew—he could easily distinguish when someone was showing the truth and when it was all a facade.
He knew that smile was not genuine. He was hurting.
“Hello, detective,” Yamato greeted.
“Hi, Yamato,” Tsukauchi made his way over to his bed. He pulled over a stool and sat beside the young man, “How are you feeling?” He asked, pulling out a small notebook from his light jacket.
Yamato shrugged, “I guess as best as I could be. I um…can’t really remember why I am here…well I can’t remember anything if I’m being honest. There’s this large gap in my memory, it's odd. They told me that I had an accident at work that caused me to lose some of my memories,” He paused, pensive, “But I don’t know.” He looked at Tsukauchi, his brown eyes pleading, “Is that true, detective? I’ve been feeling like there is something more to what they told me. And well—you being here means that there is something more to the story.”
Tsukauchi immediately swallowed his shock, stopping himself from reacting to that falsified story. The hospital staff must’ve told him this after seeing the direness of his situation. Possibly as a way to prevent him from panicking yet ensure they weren’t destroying any evidence that could be of value to them.
“Oh yes, the accident,” Tsukauchi began.
He needed as much information as he could get from him, statements that weren’t replaced or altered in any way. Therefore, it would be best if he didn’t agree or disagree with his comments.
“According to the records you were injured at your job.”
It’s not entirely false. He was technically injured at work…being caught in the crossfire of a quirk is generally counted as a workplace injury. Although, this was no accident.
“But before I go into detail, is there anything you can remember?”
Yamato nodded a somber “no”.
“I tried, detective. I tried so hard to remember but nothing came to me. All I remember was being in my college classes and then boom, I am here. It’s like I time traveled.”
Tsukauchi sighed, bummed. Hex really did a number on the boy…if only he got to him sooner.
“Although…”
The detective sat up, his train of thought stopping.
“I don’t know if what I’m missing is gone, gone. They are all at the tip of my tongue, like if I just reach a little farther, I could grab it. So, I um—I think they are still there; I just can’t reach them for some reason. I wonder if this is part of whatever accident I had.”
Hearing this caused the wheels in Tsukauchi’s brain to turn. Could his memories still be there? Did Hex not erase them but instead locked them away somewhere in his mind? He’ll need to talk to Aizawa to see if he can get some confirmation on this matter, preferably from Shinso. If this is indeed true, then there might be a way to recover his missing memories.
But for now, there was one thing he had to prioritize: ensuring Yamato’s safety. As much as it pains him, he can’t let him know what happened at the villain’s base, he could risk him falsifying a story and overriding what is hidden. Also, if they were going to help him recover all his memories, they needed to proceed with caution. The process had to be strategic—any sudden shock could trigger a breakdown and might prompt Flux or Hex to hunt him down.
And most importantly, he wanted to move him back into society so there is that matter to worry about.
So, with that in mind, Tsukauchi stored his notebook back in his jacket and gazed at the brunette man, “What you are feeling might be because of the accident…unfortunately, I don’t have much information on the matter at this time, I just wanted to see if there was anything you could remember. But Yamato, we will work with you to see if we can recover what is missing. The staff here and my team will do what they can to help you, and I will work on all the logistic stuff in terms of what is next after you are discharged,” He stood up and slowly walked over to the door, “I apologize, but I do have to make my leave. I truly appreciate your time, Yamato.”
“Of course, and sorry I couldn’t be much help with the workplace incident stuff.”
“No, it’s alright. Even the smallest bit of information you’ve shared will be of incredible use,” Tsukauchi pulled open the door, “We’ll talk again, rest well,” He walked out and closed the door, greeting the nurse who was waiting right outside the room.
“Any luck?” She asked.
Tsukauchi sighed and nodded a slow “no”.
“Unfortunately, no, but I did get some interesting information.”
“Oh?”
“From what he told me, I don’t think he completely forgot his memories. They may be more like locked away. I suspect this may have something to do with Hex’s quirk…” Tsukauchi looked at the nurse, “Can your team investigate this? I’ll be looking into it myself and will keep you updated along the way.”
The nurse nodded and scribbled something on her tablet, “Will do. Thanks, Mr. Tsukauchi, this is very useful. We’ll do a few more tests on Mr. Yamato and do a bit more digging on Hex’s quirk. We have amazing experts in neurology and psychology here, I’m sure they can help us with this case.”
Tsukauchi smiled, “Thank you, I truly appreciate it. Well, I need to go to my next stop. Thanks for your help.”
“Thank you, detective. We appreciate all your help with these messy police stuff.” She chuckled.
“Of course, well, talk to you later,” Tsukauchi waved goodbye and left. He walked out of the ward and headed toward the elevator to reach his next destination, “Well, I hope this other guy can give me more clues, although this one is going to be tricky.”
Upon arriving, he pressed the button, and the elevator chimed almost instantly. The metal doors slid open, and Tsukauchi stepped inside. Without hesitation, he hit the button for the 15th floor.
The 15th floor…the highest level in the hospital. This is where—to his knowledge—Hex and Flux’s staff are being treated.
“Let’s hope this one leads to something.” He suspired
“Let’s hope…”
And the elevator ascended.
“He’s awake then?”
“Yes, but when he woke up and the haze from the boy’s quirk dissipated, he became very combative,” A doctor with blue hair and brown complexions spoke as the two walked, “We have him restrained and guards are stationed outside his room. I would advise you to be careful when talking to him.”
Tsukauchi nodded, confirming his understanding, “Thank you but I’ll be fine, I’ve dealt with worse. It’s imperative I speak with him. There’s a lot I must get out from him, anything to help in our search.”
“I understand,” The doctor affirmed.
Soon, they arrived at the room in question, and just as the doctor had mentioned, two police officers stood guard on either side of the door, “I am hoping you can get some information out of him. We tried but have not been very successful. Please let us know if anything comes up,” The doctor turned and walked in the opposite direction waving Tsukauchi bye. He waved back and then promptly glanced at the guards.
“Make sure to not get too close to him,” One of the guards with ragged features similar to rocky sediments explained. He gripped the door handle and pulled it open, allowing Tsukauchi to step inside first, followed closely by the two men.
“Ahhh, look who it is.”
Tsukauchi kept his gaze straight and his composure calm even if every part of him wanted to yell and expel a slew of vial words towards the person in front of him.
“One of society’s pawns,” He growled.
“That’s far enough detective,” The guard said, placing a hand in front of him to prevent him from getting any closer.
“What the hell do you want?!” He demanded pulling on the heavy-grade restraints chaining him onto the bed, the sounds of clashing metal resonating throughout the room.
“Hello, Max. I am just here to ask you a few questions.”
“Like I’ll say shit,” He bluntly blurted out.
The detective sighed, pulling out his notebook, “It’s in your best interest to cooperate. We are dealing with an active crime investigation that YOU were involved in. If you cooperate, we may look into lowering the severity of your sentence.”
The guys tsked, “So, it's either I agree to your terms, or I rot in prison, huh? Fine, I’ll play along with your little game. But first, answer me this, detective—where is that purple-haired kid? Hex’s damn brother! Where the hell is he?!”
“I will not provide you that information. He is a minor with protective rights.” Tsukauchi simply answered.
“Of course, you would say that. You are protecting a ‘so-called’ hero who made someone betray his own comrades. I don’t know if you noticed but that boy killed one of my beloved friends?! He acted like a dam villain, and here you are still pinging him as a hero,” Max explained, “You all are so delusional.”
“Onto the questions then,” Tsukauchi began, ignoring his remarks, ensuring he kept his own emotions in check, “Oh, one more thing, make sure you respond truthfully. I will know if you are lying.”
“Anything for you, dear detective,” He sarcastically added.
“We are aware that Hex and Flux relocated after the hand-off, where is the location of their new base?”
“Like hell, I know. None of us have a clue where they took off. Maybe one or two guards know the location of their other base, but good luck finding them. The only thing we were told about was the underground facility.”
TRUE
“Okay. How about the three boys, do you know where they were taken?”
Max frowned, “You guys sure are desperate. But to answer your question, no I do not,” His voice dropped slightly as if savoring his next words. “All I ever saw were the buyers. We were never told where they were being taken.” A smirk crept across his face. “But I sure hope that wherever they are, they’re having the time of their lives.”
TRUE
Tsukauchi clenched his fist, his anger rising.
Calm down, he is simply pocking you. He internally voiced.
“You said that you saw the buyers, what did they look like?”
“Oh, those guys. I didn’t get a close look at them since I was ordered to take Hex’s brother and the float girl to the waiting room. But I do know there was a woman…”
Tsuakauchi began to take notes.
“From what I could see she was pretty unassuming, but she is short with brunette hair with some deep hazel eyes.”
TRUE
He already knew this from Shinso’s description after the raid on the warehouse, but he wrote down the man’s account anyway.
“Do you know her name?”
“Yeah. Suzuki, I think.”
TRUE
Tsukauchi jolted. Immediately, he wrote the name down.
So that’s her, Suzuki.
Shinso did say that there was only one woman at the hand-off, the one interested in Midoriya, meaning that this must be who took the teenager. He looked at the hastily scribbled name on the paper, underlined with intensity. This piece of evidence was huge... just that single name could be the key to finding where the boy was being held.
“How about the other two buyers who were there? What are their names?”
The guy smirked, “No idea.”
FALSE
“My quirk detected that you are lying. As I said, it’s best that you tell me the truth or—”
“I don’t know, but I did hear Hex say one of their names, only vaguely though. I think it was Tatsuchi or Tasuku…I don’t know?”
TRUE
Tsukauchi sighed. So, he doesn’t know, he just assumes what they are based on vague recollections. But it’s still something. The detective writes down the possible names with a question mark after. With the descriptions that Shinso provided and these possible names, he could run a search and hopefully get a match.
“Well, that is everything I wanted to ask.” He closed his notepad and looked at the guy, “Thank you for your cooperation.”
“You won’t find them.” Max blurted out as Tsukauchi was led out of the room by the guards, “You really think you can find your sweet heroes, huh? Well, think again. Hex and Flux are experts on what they do and even if you do…well, they might be long gone by the time you find them. Especially Deku.”
He laughed, irritating Tsukauchi and elevating his rising fury, “Good luck, you’ll need it, detective.”
Then, Tsukauchi exited the room with the guards closing the door behind him, “We’ll find those boys,” He whispered as he headed down the hall, “I don’t care what you say, we’ll find them.” He opened his phone and peeked at the time displayed on his screen.
It’s not too late, he has enough time to question the other guards on this floor but when he turned the corner, panic suddenly ensued.
“What the hell…”
Out of nowhere, doctors, nurses, and staff ran, rushing around in a chaotic flurry, shouting rapid instructions that blurred together, making it hard to catch their words. Beeps from various hospital equipment blared, filling the space with the screeching noise of the pulsating frequency. Tsukauchi walked at a quick pace, both confused and concerned, needing to know what was happening.
Why did the atmosphere change from tranquility to one of the apocalypses?
However, blinded by what was occurring, he did not notice Aizawa approaching him. He nearly crashed into him but stopped himself just a few seconds before impact.
“Eraserhead!” Tsukauchi shouted.
“Detective!” Aizawa looked at him and then at the chaos revolving around him, “What the hell is happening?!”
“I-I don’t know! I finished questioning Max and while I was walking to question the other guards—the ones on this floor—I turned to walk down this hallway and immediately was welcomed by this chaos.” Tsukauchi explained.
“Crap! We need to find a nurse, a doctor, somebody! There could be a villain attack that—”
“Are you a hero!?”
Before the two could get any closer to the source of the calamity, a nurse stopped them in their tracks. She was terrified, in utter panic. Her breathing was rapid, and her eyes shook with horror-encased tears. Whatever this nurse witnessed must’ve been horrific, an event she must’ve never seen during her line of work…something different, something traumatizing.
“I am!” Aizawa spoke, “What’s happening!?”
“I-I…” She stuttered, her voice shaking.
“Hurry!! Before it is too late!!”
A group of three or so doctors rushed toward them, the clang of the metal cart they were pushing echoing off the sterile walls as they barreled through, shouting orders that blurred together in the chaos. The group quickly dispersed to clear a path for the rushing team. Aizawa and Tsukauchi watched in terror, eyes wide and frozen with shock.
“Why!? What the hell happened!!”
One of the doctors yelled, disappearing into the void of chaos.
“W-What happened?” Aizawa whispered, his voice hitching.
“They are dead…” The nurse spoke, barely in a whisper, her face flat and white.
“What?” Tsukauchi asked.
“T-They are dead! All of them!” She cried out, “All of them…”
“All of them?” Aizawa clarified.
*** “Yes,” She affirmed, “The criminals…they—they’re dead! They—they killed themselves!!”
Aizawa’s eyes shot wide open. His mouth went slightly agape, baffled by what he just heard.
“What…”
But…how?!
How in the hell did that happen!? They had all weapons and anything that could cause harm confiscated from them. So, how the hell did something so drastic happen to every single one of Hex’s former workers!?
“What do you mean they—how did that happen?!” Tsukauchi quickly asked, his words speeding out of his mouth in a panicked frenzy.
“They—they…”
“AHHH!!”
A scream ricocheted off the walls. High-pitched and piercing.
“You can tell us once we get there!” Aizawa interrupted, “We need to go…lead us to the location of the scene!”
Whipping away her tears, she agreed and rushed ahead with the two following closely behind her.
“Close the wound!! Hurry!!”
“CPR! Now!!”
“We need more gauze! Put pressure on the wound! Now!!”
Aizawa and Tsukauchi were not prepared for what they were witnessing. The hospital felt like a war zone, as if a catastrophe had struck Japan and funneled every injured soul into this one place. To this very floor. Doctors and nurses rushed past them, covered from head to toe in blood. Their scrubs and coats were coated in red stains and their hands—either gloved or bare—shook with pulsating adrenaline, the crimson substance dripping absentmindedly from their fingers. Their expressions were the most disturbing. They were horrified, their eyes displayed a mask of blank terror.
The nurse rapidly walked to a particular location, one of many rooms where a variety of staff were located, frantically moving through the place.
“T-This is one of them…I—” She had to stop; her voice shook with ensuing panic-laced tears, “Sorry,”
“Don’t be,” Aizawa was the first to walk in and the sight before him made his stomach coil. He had to stop himself from yelping in shock.
There, on the hospital bed was one of Hex and Flux’s guards. His entire torso was covered in blood, dyeing the hospital gown he wore in a deep red. The bed itself was caked in the crimson substance, a scene straight out of a horror movie. He squeezed his way between two doctors to get a closer look at the guy’s face. His gaze, it was completely lifeless. But the most disturbing part was his neck, it was slashed.
It was a clean cut, completed with no hesitation.
Aizawa tapped one of the doctors working on covering the man with a blanket, “What happened?”
The guy turned to stare at him, “Eraserhead…I don’t know…we all got paged for 10 code blues coming from this floor. We—we were not ready to witness a literal bloodbath.”
“It was bad…” The nurse who led Aizawa and Tsukauchi to the room spoke. The individuals in the room turned to face her, “I saw it as it happened…I walked into his room to do his regular assessment and then his eyes they—it was as if the life was drained out of them, like he went into a trance. Then—it happened so quickly. He moved his wrist to his neck and then quickly yanked it across. That’s when it happened. There was so much blood…so much. I screamed and ran out panicking and that’s when I noticed that he was not the only one.”
“It happened room after room,” Another nurse uttered, from the other side of the bed. She walked over to Aizawa and handed him something. A brown metallic bracelet, “Also, we found this.”
Aizawa grabbed it and analyzed it. Tsukauchi walked toward him, curious to see what Aizawa was holding.
“This was not on them when we searched them…it just appeared. I think—that’s what caused this.” The nurse commented, “If you look there’s a button on the back.”
The hero looked, searching for said button. Soon he found it and carefully pressed it, instantly a small dagger protruded from the object. Sharp and thin.
Tsukauchi’s eyes widened in disbelief, “Aizawa…this is Hex, isn’t it? She did this.”
“Has to be…the guard went into some kind of trance and then this happened. Hex must’ve added some kind of suggestion that collectively activated.” Aizawa explained.
“Dammit. Why—what kind of vial person will order their own men to do something like this?” Tsukauchi asked.
“Someone desperate to keep their secrets from being leaked. Not sure if they were aware of this or if they willingly agreed to do something so drastic.” Aizawa replied.
*** “What about Max? Did this happen to him?” He asked, looking at the same nurse.
“I don’t—”
“No, he is fine,” Somebody said from the door, everyone turned to look at him, “For some reason, he was the only one spared.”
“He was spared…” Tsukauchi voiced, “Is it because he was a victim of Shinso’s quirk? Could that have overridden her suggestion?” He pondered, turning to gaze at Aizawa.
“Possibly, we’ll need to ask him,” Aizawa added.
Tsukauchi expelled a large sigh, clearly troubled, “Hex was once again one step ahead of us. She knew what to do as soon as one of her men was captured. This was her fail-safe, her last resort. I’m guessing this was their fate if they left the organization…”
“Yeah…well, what’s next?” Aizawa asked, somberly looking at the covered body.
“Well, first, we need to evacuate the floor, I am sure the heroes and the police are on their way. I will need to coordinate the investigation efforts,” Tsukauchi approached a doctor standing near the entrance, “Spread the word and tell everybody to head outside. You may…cover the bodies but only let a few select doctors be with law enforcement to confirm their deaths. It’s best you all leave the scene; the heroes will help you with anything you may need.” He ordered.
“Alright, sounds good…come on,” Then one by one, the staff in the room left, leaving the covered, bloodied body on the bed.
Once everyone was out, Tsukauchi spoke, his tone quiet and upset, “I don’t know what to do, Aizawa…I was going to question them, hoping they could clarify some clues I’ve gathered from my conversation with Max but—it’s been destroyed, thanks to Hex.”
“I know. I guess we will have to work with what we have. Like I said, I will not rest until we find them, and I hope you don’t as well,” Aizawa explained, his eyes glinting with determination.
Tsukauchi walked over to the door and spoke, his back towards the hero, “I never said I won’t. I still have something; I will use what I have. This search isn’t over, I will continue searching until we find those boys, no matter what.”
Aizawa gave a brief nod and trailed behind Tsukauchi as they exited the room. Promptly, he gave him the metal bracelet, “Let’s go—we‘ll need to update the heroes and inform the police. Once that’s done, we’ll resume our search. This isn’t over yet.”
“Yeah,” Tsukauchi thought. He knew this wasn’t the end. He had evidence to pursue, like the buyer’s name, but now he had to focus on the crime scene and patch up the damage produced by this event.
As he braced for the chaos ahead, he realized his already hectic life was about to get even busier yet, he would continue fighting.
Hex gave him a fight that seemed impossible to win, but he took his first determining steps. He was not going to let her win. Especially not when kids were involved.
“Dammit! It happened! His mind it’s…”
His mind is what?
He strained to listen, desperate to catch more of the voice's words, but the chaos outside gradually muffled, fading away until it was swallowed by an eerie stillness. Now, only the rhythmic sound of his own breathing echoed in the silence, filling the nothingness of the empty air.
His awareness wavered until sleep took him, falling into a darkened chasm.
.
.
.
Wake up…
Wake up!
The words jolted him awake. He shouted, his startled yelp reverberating through the vast emptiness around him. He shot upright, cold sweat clinging to his skin, his breath coming in quick gasps. Frantically, he looked down at himself—his hero outfit still clung to him…so he was still in his vestige form. Slowly, his gaze shifted to the landscape before him.
Immediately, his eyes widened in shock.
He was back inside his mind.
But how?
Wasn’t he pulled out cause his mind was…
Crumbling…
Crumbling!
Panicked, he scrambled to his feet, heart pounding with the fear that something had gone terribly wrong. His eyes darted around, taking in his surroundings. But as soon as he looked up, dread settled in his gut as he realized the truth—everything around him was falling apart, crumbling into ruin. The sunset-like skies were falling, piece by piece, cracking and falling like shattered glass. The floor was the same, a reflective, water-like floor that rippled with every movement he took, shining the falling sky. But what was most alluring was the silence, it was eerily quiet. It wasn’t like before when flashes of memories appeared around him and reenactments manifested like a ghostly play.
Midoriya stood bewildered, unsure of how he had ended up back here. Yet, a flicker of hope sparked within him—maybe this was his chance, another shot to get his body back before what happened became permanent. Without hesitation, he took several strides forward, only to be jolted back by an invisible barrier. His face smacked hard against the unseen wall, sending him stumbling with a dull thud.
“Huh?” He wondered.
He extended his hand, feeling an odd resistance, although, nothing was there. He walked the sides, but the barriers were still there. No matter where he turned, the wall blocked his path—there was no way forward.
“Weird,” Midoriya whispered.
He started to turn and head the other way when a sudden glint of light drew his attention. His eyes snapped toward the source, and in that instant, his breath caught in his throat. A soft gasp escaped his lips as he took in the sight of the mysterious figure before him.
It’s that thing…the same figure from before. The humanoid version of himself.
“Hey!!” Midoriya shouted, almost relieved. If it was here then maybe it could do something about his strange predicament.
However, it did not turn, not even the slightest acknowledgment of his presence. Yet, there was something off, something unsettling about the way it moved. Its gaze was fixed upward as if it were searching for something hidden beyond the cracking sky, something out of reach.
“What could it be—”
Midoriya’s thoughts were interrupted when something materialized from the sky and plummeted to the ground. In an instant, the humanoid darted forward, snatching it mid-fall before it could touch the ground. Again and again, a glowing white light descended, and each time the figure caught it with desperation, clutching the luminous objects to its chest as though its very existence depended on it.
Midoriya looked, perplexed, “What is it—"
“Kacchan… Todoroki…”
He paused. He heard something, quiet and faint yet clear.
He scanned around. Who was that?
“Kacchan… Todoroki…”
Again, the names. But it wasn’t him thinking this and this sounded too clear to be a memory. But it was his voice, so it must be coming from him.
From himself.
“Kacchan…Todoroki…”
Suddenly, a light brighter than all the others dropped from the sky, its glow intensifying as it descended. The figure seemed to sense the shift and immediately darted toward the glowing orb. With haste, it caught the brilliant white sphere, then carefully set the other balls it had been holding onto the ground. The humanoid sat down and clutched the one reciting the names and one that was saying something with the voices from…Kacchan and Todoroki.
His friends.
With deliberate movements, the figure brought the orbs together. Upon touching, their light interwind and swirled, merging and transforming into a shimmering golden mist that filled the air. Slowly, the mist began to shift, coalescing until it formed a vivid, moving image—alive with motion and detail as if the orbs had birthed something beyond mere luminance.
And in that light, there was one image…one moving picture.
Kacchan and Todoroki.
“No way…” That’s when something flickered in Midoriya’s mind, “Wait—is it—”
However, before Midoriya could further pounder on this potentially life-changing situation, the world around him faded, muting into darkness.
“No! Wait!!”
He couldn’t leave!
This image of himself was doing something, he needed to investigate it. But, to his dismay, he was yanked away from the vibrant orange and yellow landscape. Instead, he found himself engulfed by an all-encompassing darkness, a void of inky blackness.
“Take me back!” He shouted, “Please!”
He wanted to go back, to do something, anything. His mind, it’s doing something, it must be fighting to keep its memories. A phenomenon that Suzuki nor Hex noticed.
Roaming memories, a trace of himself—they are still floating around in his corrupted mind, and his manifestation was doing everything it could to not succumb to its seemingly set fate.
Soon, the darkness was replaced, and a blinding light appeared right in front of him.
“I think he is waking up.”
“Ninth, can you hear us.”
Wait…was that a dream…
No…it couldn’t be…
Immediately, his entire surroundings were engulfed in a bright light. He left the darkened void and emerged into the light, still wondering about what happened.
What did he witness? Is his mind—his body—fighting in there? That even through all the odds, he, or at least his mind, is trying to regain his old self.
Maybe this is a clue…maybe this could end the fight toward his victory, a way out of this seemingly inescapable hell.
.
.
.
“Hey!”
“Hey, kid!”
“Kid, you in there?”
Midoriya blinked slowly, forcing himself out of the tantalizing pull of sleep. He squinted in an attempt to force his blurry eyes to focus on the figure looming above him.
“There you are, thank god!”
His eyelids felt weighted, heavy with sleep, but he knew he couldn’t surrender to the depths of unconsciousness. He had to fight to stay awake. Something was wrong…something happened.
His mind…it’s crumbling…and that dream. Something happened when he was in his mind and when he got forcefully pulled out. He needed to know what and why! And what that dream was all about?!
“Stop!”
He blurted out, quickly sitting up, panting and almost falling off the throne-like chair he was seated on. Somebody, however, caught him before he toppled over.
“Wow! Easy there, kid.”
As his vision began to clear, Midoriya focused on the figure who had halted his fall—it was Banjo. With a gentle touch, Banjo eased him back, ensuring he was once again seated comfortably against the chair.
“I—ow!” He doubled over. A sudden aching sensation burst from within his muscles. A soft spasming sensation coursed his body and the dull aches—evident of overused muscles—radiated through him.
“Oh, you feel pain here?” Yoichi voiced. Midoriya opened his eyes and looked at the white-haired individual. “We don’t feel pain here since we don’t have a physical body, but you do. Interesting.”
Midoriya tried to move, but a deep, relentless ache coursed through his muscles with even the slightest movement.
“I mean, it is odd that he is here in the first place,” Nana added, “Well, he is a vestige but not one like us so it would make sense that he has aspects that we don’t have.”
“Hey, Midoriya,” Yoichi crouched in front of him, “Are you okay?”
He looked at him and then at his surroundings. He was indeed back in One for All; he was no longer in his consciousness…or that dream?
Wait.
Midoriya’s eyes widened in panic.
“Suzuki! My copy! The ball! Where are they!? I need to find them! That dream!” He asked, his words spurring in a frenzy, his eyes scanning frantically, “Wait a minute…my mind! Is it okay!? The suggestion…everything started to crumble, my mind started to crumble! I heard you after I passed out, and then that dream, did it—”
“Ninth…” Yoichi secretly hides his hands behind his back, he can’t show him…not now.
“Hey, kid,” Banjo steps in and places a hand on his shoulder, jolting the panicking teenager, “Look at me,”
Midoriya did as told and gazed at him, his dread protruding from his pupils.
“Breathe, you are panicking. You need to control your breathing,” Midoriya attempted to, but he couldn’t. His breathing was shallow, making him lightheaded.
“Follow me…in…”
Midoriya took a breath, his breath hitching.
“And out…again…in.”
Midoriya followed, letting his lungs fill with as much oxygen as they could hold.
“And out,”
He exhaled sharply and instantly felt his heart settle into a calm, melodic beat.
“Better?”
“Y-Yeah.” Midoriya replied. He diverged his attention from Banjo and looked at the others surrounding him. He knew the two there with him, Yoichi and Nana, but there were two he didn’t recognize. Were they also vestiges within One for All?
“Oh, yeah, you never met them.” Yoichi commented, “Mind introducing yourself to the ninth wielder?”
“Yeah. Hi, Midoriya, I’m Shinomori. I am the fourth user of One for All. My quirk is known as Danger Sense. You haven’t unlocked this power yet, but it is one of the many powers within One for All,” A blond man with a large scar over his eye spoke. The slightly torn green jacket moved gently against the phantom breeze as he spoke.
“And I’m En, the sixth user of One for All. My quirk is known as Smokescreen which is also a power you haven’t unlocked yet. This is kind of an odd place to meet but nice to see you, ninth.” En, who wore a long red jacket that covered his mouth, spoke.
Midoriya studied the two, he definitely saw glimpses of them in the moments he had unwittingly tapped into One for All.
“Well, now that introductions are completed, we should discuss what happened while you were in your mind, ninth. As well as while you were unconscious.” Yoichi commented.
“Oh, yeah,” Everything was happening so quickly, and his still sluggish mind was having a difficult time catching up.
“While you were asleep, we took frequent trips to keep an eye out on your mind—”
Wait! Frequent trips!?
“Yoichi,” Midoriya interrupted, “How long was I—asleep?” He didn’t want to know, but he had to. He needed to know just how long he was…gone.
“About a day,” Yoichi said, “Your body is currently asleep so yeah, you were out for about a day or so.”
Midoriya slightly choked at what Yoichi just said. He clutched his heart in disbelief. He was knocked out for an entire day. He needed to see it, his mind! What happened to it?! What came of the humanoid image of him?! The anticipation was killing him.
“I need to—” He stood up, his legs wobbly, “I need to! Ah!” But unfortunately, his legs faltered. But before he could hit the floor, Banjo grabbed him.
“Careful, there. You should probably take it easy; you are still recovering from what happened in there.” The Blackwhip user urged.
Midoriya reluctantly sat back down, with Banjo assisting him. He didn’t want to remain seated, he needed to know, with his own eyes, what had come of his mind. Why his mind was crumbling from the inside and if his image was doing something if that dream was real? But his body said otherwise. So, with a defeated sigh, he relaxed back onto the chair.
“Don’t worry, ninth, we’ll explain everything. In return, you can tell us what happened since a lot of what we think are mostly speculations. Once we get your side of the story then we can better formulate our next course of action.” Yoichi explained.
Midoriya nodded, his mind swirling.
“Alright, well first, the reason why we pulled you out was because your mind was crumbling. We were scared that something would have happened to you if your mind well, broke while you were still inside.” Yoichi began, “The crumbling started when Suzuki added your false story, we suspected that something happened that caused your body to internalize the memories as true. Something must’ve happened to make your body believe that those fake events actually happened.”
Midoriya’s eyes widened. Yoichi noticed.
“I’m guessing you know why that is the case?”
The rest of the vestiges looked at him, curious.
“I-I think I do…it might be Suzuki’s quirk. She has a mental projection quirk, she can project her thoughts, consciousness, and emotions or that of others into reality, either as images, illusions, or fully materialized creations, such as objects, materials, and substances. She can also project herself into other people’s minds,” Midoriya explained, “I think that might’ve caused the crumbling, she probably made it believable for me. She could have created images and even emotions to centralize the memories.”
“You were right, Yoichi,” Nana stepped in, “There was a quirk at play.”
“Yeah, with Hex’s quirk and a quirk like Suzuki’s then it makes sense why it’s being cemented in Midoriya’s mind and destroying your memories in the process,” Yoichi pointed, “This isn’t good…the longer this body remains like that and the more memories he gets, the higher the chance that this body will be completely overtaken…including us.”
Midoriya sat up, his back straightened, “Wait, One for All, too?!” He asked, panicked.
Yoichi sighed. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and showed them to Midoriya. The green-haired teenager clasped his mouth in disbelief upon witnessing the blackened nature of his fingers.
“No…is this—is this related to the new memories?” Midoriya wondered.
Yoichi nodded, “Yes. I was hoping we would be unaffected by the suggestion, but I guess that isn’t the case. Thanks to Suzuki’s work, she will be able to bypass the limitation of the suggestion. And ultimately take control of us. If she can replace the memories and take control of One for All, then even if his will to fight comes back, he won’t be able to—or he just won’t fight cause there is nothing to fight for.”
Midoriya was horrified by what he was hearing. So, if they don’t do something, if he doesn’t take his body back, then not only will he lose his memories, but he will lose One for All. Suzuki will have full control of the quirk.
This was the worst-case scenario—One for All would be in the hands of the villains.
“No. I can’t let that happen. I can’t let Suzuki win and take over my body and One for All.” Midoriya voiced, “I can’t—I won’t!” He growled.
“We won’t let that happen either. We will fight for as long as we can. But to do that, we need to know what happened when you were inside your mind. Also, that dream you had…you were yelling something while you were asleep not too long ago,” Yoichi explained, “So, tell us what you saw, to the very details.”
Midoriya nodded, “Okay.”
So, Midoriya told them everything. How he found a version of himself and how it led him to where his will is. He explained that his will was in his unconscious and that it shouldn’t be there, to which Yoichi agreed. He understood that he needed to take it back to his consciousness where it belonged, that way he—with One for All’s will—would be able to fight the suggestion and break out of Hex and Suzuki’s control. He explained how he was able to grab his will but then Suzuki appeared. That’s when Midoriya found out that she could project herself inside other people’s minds.
When she appeared, Suzuki figured out his plan. She managed to add a suggestion to his body and with Suzuki’s quirk she manifested an evil version of himself. It attacked and he lost track of his will. Then, Suzuki left and as he was fighting the evil manifestation, the world started to shake. And before he knew it, he was back in One for All.
The vestiges listened, astonished.
“Well, for one, at least we now know how we can win. All we need to do is take your will from your unconscious to your conscious before Suzuki damages your mind even more…but—”
“There’s that evil version of yourself to worry about,” En voiced, interrupting Yoichi.
“One more thing,” Midoriya began, “I suspect she has a way of looking inside my mind since she knew about me before coming inside. So, there’s that to worry about.”
“You're right…so we have an evil version of yourself with the same or possible greater power as you and a villain with a quirk who could not only peak into your mind whenever she wants but can affect it to her liking,” Yoichi explained. He walked over to the seat beside him and sat down, pensive.
“We need to figure something out and quick,” Shinomori added, “The longer we wait, the more harm Suzuki will cause.”
“Yoichi,” Midoriya intruded. The first user turned to look at him, “That dream I had…I think it may be the clue to stopping all of this! I don’t know if it was a dream, but it felt so real—anyway, it could be a clue!”
“Oh?” Yoichi replied, “You were saying stuff in your slumber that perplexed us. Tell us what you heard, ninth and while we are on it let’s work on a plan…one that will hopefully defeat this battle.”
So, the vestiges sat down and discussed, wondering how or if they would be able to defeat this obstacle before them.