Takoba Municipal Beach Park
Yagi was looking at the clean beach. The place was becoming a popular date and meeting spot; he could see some young adults taking photos or talking from afar. He then noticed two familiar glowing heads, one blue and one green. "Good night, you two. Again, sorry, young Midoriya. The confidentiality contract was clear about any contact with the examinees, but you've done well, my boy."
Izuku nodded but went back to his serious look. "All- Tochinori-san, Luist and I have something to discuss with you." Then the boy touched the arm of the Number One Hero, and as Luist placed a hand on Midoriya's shoulder, the three men entered the freeze dimension.
"If it's this serious that you went to these lengths… I guess it's not something small," All Might said as he looked at the worried expressions of his two younger friends. "Go ahead. At this moment, I doubt there's something we couldn't resolve together." The hero knew that no matter what was happening, he would do all he could to help them.
Luist nodded, and with a sigh he began to explain. "This is going to be way greater than you might think. I received information that will change this world, on the same level as the dawn of quirks." The Number One Hero gasped; that sounded way too ominous. "In Japan, four more Chosen have appeared."
That made Yagi cough blood. "What!? You mean like young Midoriya and you?" That sounded even more serious than he expected.
"And not only that. The scan I made at a country level shows four Chosen Ones, that excludes Midoriya. And one of them… could be a champion of Cronomium or Diaranomium. A champion can be chosen once per universe. In my universe that occurred hundreds of cycles ago. The original three became legends, myths… folklore, even religions back in my world."
Luist explained the repercussions and the influence their figures had. "The first Green Chosen… was called by many 'Infinity', capable of controlling all the powers that can or could exist across the multiverse, with unlimited power, just like Izuku." Now the reason behind Izuku's apparently limitless use of stopped time made far more sense to all of them.
"The first Blue Chosen, the one who later married Infinity, was called by many 'Destiny' or 'History'. She was capable of writing and changing the script of any timeline. She became one with the concept of history, but she was impartial, never stopping disasters, just being a witness and sometimes writing the destiny of evil or good people." That made the Blue champion naturally neutral-aligned, like time itself.
"And… lastly… the one that people came to know as the betrayer of humanity and the 'Cursed One'… was the first Red champion. No one knows what his power was or what happened. But the one thing recorded in the books of history is that he was the brother of Infinity." As Luist said that, Midoriya felt OFA acting up inside him for some reason. "Some believe he was killed by History or sealed away in a pocket dimension."
All Might also noticed the similarities with the origin of his late quirk, a tale as old as the dawn of quirks, but he had a doubt. "Does… the Cronomium make the Chosen evil?" He was asking because even to this day some people had reservations about "villain quirks," and this could become another layer of discrimination if true.
"Not necessarily. I've met some Red Chosen ones back in my universe. Their powers sometimes involve deadly capabilities, but it all comes down to the person and their support circle. Obviously, if the person has been suffering or is filled with hate, the possibility of letting the power consume them grows… Even I could do evil things with my powers if I wanted." Luist said this so they wouldn't judge the future Red Chosen the moment they appeared. "As I can absorb any energy, I can easily absorb the electricity in a person's brain, or even the life energy of living bodies. But I don't, because I choose not to. The same applies to them."
Both earthlings understood and nodded to the facts the war hero gave them. "And what do you suggest we do?" All Might asked as he wondered what they could do with this new information.
Luist sighed and deflated a little as he continued. "I need your help, Yagi. If this world has ended up like this, it's because of my presence here, so I need to take responsibility. That said…" Luist clenched his teeth. "I need to get a hero license."
Izuku gasped. Luist had been very vocal about his displeasure with hero society in general, and his desire to live a peaceful life after a life of war. "What— For real? You want to become a pro hero?"
"It's the only way we can stop some of them before you get your provisional license. I can track these Chosen Ones and defeat them if they're a menace, or train them to keep them hidden for now." Luist was really uncomfortable with the idea of fighting again as he had in the past, but this was his fault in the first place.
The Number One Hero agreed, nodding at what the war veteran was saying. "Better to keep it that way. How many Chosen Ones are in your universe? Do they appear constantly?"
"…Now that you mention it, no. They consist of about 0.5% of the entire population of my universe, but there, they're born on different worlds and backgrounds. Here, humanity is all in one spot. If I had to guess… every nine years, the number of newly born Chosen is around eighteen individuals. And even if one of them has a child later, it doesn't mean their kid will be born Chosen.
So yeah, this year the maximum number of Chosen should be six in total, and next year more will appear." The data matched his earlier scans, which showed five Chosen in Japan counting Izuku. "Also, we have to keep this hidden from the Commission. I don't trust them."
Yagi frowned at that. Luist knew something and never shared it with him. He had hinted at this idea many times but never explained. "You're still not going to say why?"
Luist sighed. "Yagi, not now. They remind me of how M9 was, that's all." Same excuse every time. But the teen sensing the pressure intervened.
"All Might, please drop it. He has his reasons not to share, and sometimes it's better to be in the dark." The good-hearted kid didn't want his two mentors fighting over unshared secrets, after all, they both had their own.
Yagi nodded, calming down. "You're right, young Midoriya…" Then the skeletal man looked at Luist and changed the topic. "About your license—"
They kept talking and planning their next moves carefully. The future could look bleak, but the light of hope was still shining bright.
Aldera Junior High
For Bakugo Katsuki, this was infuriating. The simple idea of someone he considered as weak as Izuku passing the exam, and even surpassing him, was maddening.
"I have to say, Midoriya, the fact you passed and surpassed U.A.'s record was miraculous," the bootlicker of an adviser said as he smiled the same way he used to smile at Bakugo. To the explosive teen, this was bizarre.
"That was really it, he he," Izuku said with a modest smile. That action made Bakugo's skin crawl with fury.
"And Kacchan was awesome as well! I'm glad we're both becoming heroes together."
"Glad you don't hold any grudge, young one. I expect great things from both of you." To Bakugo, that just sounded like an order, and if they did well as heroes, it would be a great publicity stunt for this cheap school.
The two walked out, but as they approached a secluded part of the school grounds, the ash-blond boy suddenly shoved Izuku into an alleyway between two school buildings. "What dirty trick did you pull to surpass me, you shitty nerd?!" The explosive teen had to be honest, holding his childhood friend was way harder than before. The other teen was heavier than he remembered.
"Are you seriously asking this?" Izuku pushed Bakugo away while shifting into a defensive combat position. "I've been training. Is that so hard to get?"
"You? Ha! Don't make me laugh. You expect me to believe that shit?" But the posture of his childhood friend didn't lie, it wasn't sloppy. It was fierce and even professional. "I was supposed to be the only one of he-" But he was cut off by Izuku.
"Stop, Kacchan!" Izuku looked angry, frowning as he clenched his fists. "We are not enemies. We're going to be heroes, defeat bad guys and save people! If we waste time fighting, all we're doing is giving real villains the advantage!" Izuku was tired of this rival mentality. They aimed for the same thing.
Bakugo was silent, still angry with his childhood friend, but the logic behind those words was irrefutable. "Hmph… whatever. Just don't get in my way." He left, shoving his shoulder against Izuku's as he walked off.
Tatooin Shopping District
Luist was eating a dango while patrolling the market. He still had his part-time job as a security guard, even though he had finally managed to get his hero license. Thanks to All Might's agency, in only a couple of months, after some tests and a practical demonstration of his abilities, he managed to secure a way to legally fight using his powers.
And for that, he had to choose a hero name for himself. He decided to use his old code name from the war: The Energised Hero: Tormenta. Now, during his part-time job, he could use his armor as a uniform. And if he had to point out one thing he didn't like about being a hero, it was how often people stopped him now. He was already kind of famous in the district, and now that he was a pro, his local popularity was only growing.
"Mr. Tormenta! Please, can I take a photo with you and SteLL!?" His hero identity had come to light, as well as his AI companion, who publicly went by the explanation of being a mere energy construct of his "quirk" so as not to raise suspicion.
"Sure thing, kid." Even if he didn't like the attention, he was happy to make the younger kids -the ones he had watched over before- feel connected to a pro hero. SteLL floated down to be within camera range, and the three took a photo. The little boy smiled and waved goodbye as he ran back to his mother.
"You know, this isn't half as bad as I thought," the AI said with a smile, hovering at Luist's side.
"Yeah, well… at least my fans are the young kids I used to watch over." He still hadn't done any major debut feat, so he was basically an underground hero. "Hey, how is the orbital scan?"
For a couple of months, he had been gathering and buying materials online and placing them in his pocket inventory. Three days ago, he and Izuku had met to create a spaceship, or more precisely, an orbital vehicle that could stay off radar while scanning the country.
"It's still like before. The scanner shows two constant uses of Chosen power. One is overdoing it, the other appears from time to time."
SteLL's words made Luist tense. If a person, or worse, a child, was constantly using their power, it could only mean they were using it out of fear, or they were in great danger… possibly being tortured. "The priority is the one in Osaka. They might be in serious danger."
"Agreed… at least we know the location. This week we're going for them." Luist just hoped the small Chosen could endure a bit longer until he went to search for them. "…Mmh. At this hour Izuku must be arriving at U.A. Do you think his new AI will be of help? You know when he can use his suit on school."
"Hee-hee, I know so, Inko-san was so happy to be able to help her son," SteLL said, remembering how the woman had decided to scan her consciousness to create a smart AI for Izuku's Haltron 900 armor. The day Luist, Yagi, and Izuku reunited, SteLL had stayed behind at the Midoriya house to copy the mind and consciousness of Midoriya Inko.
"And I have to say, having my friend be just like me couldn't make me happier. She is a good woman and a good AI."
Practically, Izuku now had an AI mom and a real mom.
U.A 1-A classroom.
"That's a huge door…" Izuku said to himself as he looked at the large door in front of him. He opened it and walked inside. He could hear two familiar voices and noticed that it was the serious teen from the entrance exam and Bakugo in a heated argument. Then he noticed the way his childhood friend was sitting. "Kacchan! Put your leg off your desk!" Izuku said with a frown at how immature his childhood friend was acting.
"Shut the fuck up, Deku!" Bakugo snapped back.
"This isn't Aldera anymore! You can't get away with that kind of thing!" Izuku wasn't backing down, and his frown made Bakugo groan before he finally did as told. "Thank you. Was that so hard to do? Also, good morning, Kacchan."
"Go fuck yourself, shitty nerd," Bakugo snarled, keeping the furious look on his face. But he still complied with Izuku's suggestion because it made sense. Still, it didn't mean the explosive teen liked it.
Then the serious teen snapped out of his stunned state. He had been trying to make Bakugo do just that, and the green-haired glowing teen had done it in seconds. "Ah—hey, it's you. Hello. Previously I was unfairly harsh with you, I must apologize for that. My name is Tenya Iida from Soumei Junior High. Pleased to meet you."
Izuku didn't hold any grudges. He was chill about that day. "Hey, no worries, man. Everyone was nervous back then. My name is Midoriya Izuku. No need to stay in the past, man." Izuku patted the taller teen on the shoulder with a friendly smile. Then he noticed another familiar face behind Bakugo's desk. "Glad to see you here, man!"
"Yo," said the indigo-haired boy, raising a hand in greeting with a small smile.
"Ah, Midoriya-kun!" Izuku turned around to see the kind girl who had saved him. "Glad we ended up in the same class."
"Hello, Uraraka-san!" Midoriya smiled at the brunette teen. "Same here. I'm hoping we can work together to become great heroes!"
She giggled and nodded excitedly. "Yeah! This year will be great. Hey, what kind of orientation do you think they'll give us? The whole campus is enormous, it'd take forever to explore it ourselves-" But she was cut off by a giant cocoon resting on the floor of the hall.
"If you're searching for buddies, do that elsewhere," the head emerging from the cocoon said, a hand coming out with an energy drink. "This is the heroics department." The head started slurping down the entire container.
All the students in the room stayed quiet, staring at the weird sight at the entrance. Then the cocoon opened, and the man revealed his true form. "You took eight seconds to be quiet. Maybe you aren't that hopeless." Izuku focused on the man, trying to guess which hero this was. "My name is Aizawa Shouta. Pleasure to meet you. I will be your homeroom teacher." The teacher pulled a bunch of P.E. uniforms out of the cocoon — at least they looked warm, some of the kids thought. "Put these on and go to the P.E. grounds," he said before walking out of the classroom.
"What the fuck was that?" Bakugo said among the shocked class.
P.E Grounds.
For the class, the concept of having a test right out of the gate was weird. Some of them even voiced their displeasure about it. After all, they didn't know anything about the school's facilities yet, so this seemed rather overkill for a first day at any school.
"If you want to be heroes, we don't have time to waste on meaningless necessities. And you'll find that U.A. has a reputation for giving freedom — that also applies to us teachers too." Then the sleepless teacher began explaining all the activities they had done back in middle school, but this time they were expected to use their quirks. For a certain indigo-haired teen, that didn't sound very fair for those without a physical quirk, but the teacher continued explaining until he picked a student to make a demonstration, that student being Bakugo. "…Try using your quirk this time. As long as you don't exit the circle, anything you do is fine. Don't hold back."
The explosive teen readied himself, and with a mighty blast the ball was sent far away. "DIIIIE!" were the words screamed by the ash-blond.
"Really, Kacchan?" Izuku said with a deadpan expression. He sighed at how cringe that sounded. Sometimes his childhood friend tried too hard and ended up sounding edgy.
"I HEARD THAT, SHITTY DEKU!" snarled the explosive teen, but Izuku didn't take his statement back. This was embarrassing, so he just stayed quiet to avoid aggravating the situation more.
Aizawa ignored the frenemy dispute and continued with the class. "Before any progress can be made, one must know their capabilities. This is a rational metric that will show how capable you are of being heroes."
Izuku nodded as he watched the end of the exercise. It was a clever way for a teacher to know when and how they needed to help each student. But some of his classmates got too excited and treated the test as a game. It reminded him of the times he trained under Luist: the man could be really kind and cool, but when something involved the lives of others, he could be terrifying. And if this teacher was the same, that meant one thing.
"You find this fun? So you planned to spend your three years here having fun and making good memories? Then… where does becoming a hero fit in?" Everyone went dead silent as the teacher finished lecturing them. "All right then. In that case, the one student who ranks last in total points will be immediately expelled from the hero course."
Izuku could only shake his head. He suspected this would happen. And Shinso was going to be the one to take the fall if the exercise was purely physical. Midoriya walked near his friend and stopped time before placing a hand on Shinso shoulder.
"I'm done for, man!" Shinso said helplessly. "What can I do?" Midoriya shook his head, not knowing an answer.
The two sat on the floor and started an idea storm. "Oh! I know, how about you hypnotize some of the other students to help you?" That made a lot of sense. If he could pull it off, showing his quirk's capabilities would essentially save him, at least for now.
"That doesn't sound bad at all… but who? I don't want to end up as an outcast for using them." The two nodded and kept thinking until they looked at each other.
"Bro…"
"Bro…"
Both teens had a bro moment as they realized the answer was right in front of them.
"Okay, you control me each time it's your turn. Just remember to tell me to use 5% of my power. We don't want me ending up like I did at the end of the exam."
"Agreed. Thanks again, Izuku." His friend smiled at him, and they both went back to normal, both smirking about the bruh moment that was about to happen.
In fact, they were the only ones happy with this whole thing. All the other students were panicking about how unfair it was. To Izuku, though, it was really fair, if you aren't creative with your powers, you will die on the job. So, he kind of agreed with the monologue his teacher was giving. Teaching others how to overcome an obstacle was important, and if you needed to force a student to go through said obstacle in a secured environment, it was way better than letting them die by it in the field.
And then, for the rest of the trials, Izuku and Shinso's classmates were surprised by an almost humorous display:
Trial 1: The 50-meter dash.
Izuku did it twice: once on his own, and another time with Shinso sitting on his back.
[Izu = 0 seconds / Shi = 3.56 seconds]
Trial 2: Strength Test.
Izuku again did one on his own and one under Shinso's brainwashing. For his own, he stopped time, went 100% on the machine, then resumed time.
[Izu = 999 tons / Shi = 300 kilos]
Trial 3: Standing Long Jump.
Same deal: one by himself, one with Shinso on his back.
[Izu = 12 meters / Shi = 10 meters]
…Aizawa regretted telling them to use their quirks now. With each trial, he watched two problem children turn the whole exercise into a joke. Their logic was correct, yes, but it still annoyed him.
Trial 5: The Pitch.
This one was straightforward. Some kids didn't get much distance, but the two troublemakers returned, much to the teacher's displeasure.
Izuku held the ball in his hands, wondering what to do. As he thought of a good way to reach a high score, he remembered one of his trainings with Luist, and a smile formed on his face. He casually tossed the ball up, and as it fell back down in front of him, he stopped time. He started punching at 100% power, increasing the ball's momentum until he thought it was enough. When he resumed time, a loud sonic boom blew everyone to the ground, all of them holding their ears. One of the girls screamed in pain, clutching her head. Aizawa was on the ground too, holding up the rational metric, the same score Uraraka got was displayed: Infinity.
"That was really reckless, kid… but good job," Aizawa admitted. It was exceptional, yet it didn't make sense to him. He was pretty sure he had erased Izuku's quirk for a second there, but maybe the kid did it faster than he could react. The problem child was still a mystery.
"DEKU! YOU ALMOST LEFT ME DEAF!" Bakugo screamed, louder than usual as his hearing slowly returned. Same for everyone else, except Shinso, who was smiling, he had probably guessed what his friend was about to do. The two muttered a quiet "bro" to each Izuku fell under Shinso's control again. All the other teens paled, already pressing their hands to their ears as they watched the duo walk toward the circle. "NOT AGAIN! SENSEI, DO FUCKING SOMETHING!" Bakugo yelled, dreading what came next, and behold, Shinso did exactly the same thing: ordering Izuku to stop time and send the ball into space.
The entire campus heard the second sonic boom. Teachers and students in orientation were confused and alarmed to hear another one. Nezu laughed manically in his office as he watched the live stream of the P.E. grounds. All Might just sighed from a hidden corner.
Then came the revelation that the whole test was a logical ruse, to the class's collective outrage. Except Yaoyorozu Momo, who said it was obvious. Izuku didn't think so; the man had been dead serious earlier. And during previous school festivals, an entire hero class had gone missing. So, if Izuku had to guess, this wasn't a ruse, the teacher had absolutely meant it.
From there came the results: Izuku in first place, and Shinso in sixth. Both friends gave each other a thumbs up. Among the other teens, some looked at them with mild annoyance or weariness, but others genuinely felt admiration for the pair.
"That was awesome, Midoriya-kun!" Uraraka said as she approached him. "How many aspects does your quirk have? It looks really useful. You also have a pretty useful quirk," she added, looking at Shinso.
"That was really manly! You two were like a dynamic duo or something! Also, how fast did you move on the first trial? I barely noticed you were at the goal!" a spiky-haired teen said. The boy also had sharp teeth, and he was joined by a pink girl.
"Indeed, it was impressive. And hilarious too, the way you carried the other one like Luke carrying Yoda," she laughed, remembering the funny sight of one boy giving the other a piggyback ride.
Then a girl with black hair and long earlobes walked up to them. "Next time you do that, please warn us first." It wasn't a request, the girl was dead serious before walking off, and she looked really mad at them.
"She must have a hearing quirk… we should apologize to her," Izuku said to Shinso, but the latter shook his head.
"You should apologize. It was all you, bro," the indigo-haired teen said as he turned around and headed off to change his clothes.
"Traitor! Judas!" Midoriya cried at his friend's betrayal.
"Hey, Midoriya-kun. Where did you meet him?" Uraraka asked, curious about the relationship between the two boys.
"Ah, we met at the entrance exam," Izuku responded. "I saved him from a two-pointer and gave him a way to fight back."
To the three other teens, the duo seemed really close for just one interaction to have sparked a friendship like that.
"Whoa, that's so manly, a brother-in-arms kinship! Pleased to meet you, Midobro! I'm Kirishima Eijiro. It's gonna be a great year, I can feel it!" the overly hyped teen said, and Izuku could only smile at that. He didn't mind having more friends, allies were essential if he wanted more people to survive what was coming.
"Count me in, you guys! This is going to be great! Ashido Mina, also a pleasure to meet you, Midori-kun!" the pink girl said, excited to be friends with the dynamic duo group.
"I don't approve of the way you two took advantage of the system to succeed, but since Aizawa-sensei used deception like that, I see you two saw through it and displayed your abilities as best you could," Iida said as he joined the group on their way to the Locker Rooms.
After the end of the day at school, Izuku was chatting with his new friends, plus Uraraka and Shinso, who he had already known from the entrance exam. As they walked and chatted, the brunette decided to ask, "Hey, Midoriya-kun, why does that Bakugo kid call you 'Deku'?"
Izuku turned back and casually answered, "Ah, well, he used it in a mean way, like useless or good-for-nothing. You see, I'm a late bloomer, so pretty much everyone back then called me that. Nowadays it really doesn't bother me anymore, though." After all, Luist had been training him to deal with psychological issues, and his stuttering and self-deprecation had disappeared almost completely.
"So, it was an insult…" Iida muttered to himself as he thought about it.
"Aw, is that so?" Uraraka felt a bit bad for bringing that up but kept going. "It's just, you know, I kinda like the nickname 'Deku' for you. It gives me a sorta 'never give up' vibe, you know?"
Mina joined the chat. "That's a very wholesome way to see a mean thing," the pink-haired girl said as she looked at the two with a weird expression. "Why not? It can be the way Uraraka calls you." She smirked in a mysterious way.
"That's a really manly nickname, and true at that, after today," Kirishima said, agreeing with the change of meaning. Shinso just nodded, agreeing as well.
"Well… if you like it, you can call me that. So… do I call you Ura or Ochako?" he said without thinking. The whole group stopped. Mina had sparkles in her eyes, and Shinso looked at him with a Pikachu face.
Uraraka was red as a tomato as she shyly nodded. "S-sure… that will be fine."
Luist's teachings had been too successful, as Midoriya had become a little too straightforward to the point he forgot social cues. "Then it will be a pleasure to work with you from now on, Ochako." The brunette had to force herself not to blush more, especially with the looks she was receiving from some of her new friends.
The only ones who didn't get what was wrong were Iida, who was still thinking about the whole insult thing, Kirishima, who was just smiling at how manly his new friends were, and obviously Izuku, who didn't realize what he'd done until he arrived home. The young boy spent a whole day in his freeze dimension screaming into a pillow.
Osaka airspace
Luist had asked for a three-day leave, excusing himself with a hero investigation job, but that was kinda a lie, because he didn't plan to do this legally. A hero can't wait for an incompetent system to act—at least, that's his way of seeing things.
"Status report," Luist asked as he looked down at the whole region from the ship's cargo bay.
"The signal came from this part of the city," the AI said, showing a holographic map to Luist. "Apparently it's below ground. Do you want me to send some recon drones?"
"I think it's best. Better to know all we can if this is going to be a rescue mission."
Luist started getting his equipment ready: bullets stored in his digital inventory, his energy reserves fully charged, and his updated power armor in top condition.
"The reconnaissance will take a while. Better to stay calm."
"I'll be calm when they are saved. For some reason I have this feeling of… familiarity, and I don't like it." His gut was saying that the faster he worked, the better.
And he wasn't wrong, as the little kid down below was locked again in her cell after long hours of torture by the man who was experimenting on her.