Once More (My Hero Academia)

2: Quirkless

Izuku really just wanted to go back to sleep so he didn't need to think about anything. But of course, his mom got angry.

"You're not even sick! This is an important time in your life, you can't just skip school whenever you want to! You—"

"Ok, ok! Mom, calm down, I'm going to school." Izuku quickly went into his room and changed into his uniform before his mom could start lecturing him. The last thing he needed after apparent time travel is his mom yelling at him about the consequences of dropping out of middle school.

After a quick bite of breakfast, Izuku followed the path in his distant memory to junior high.

Along the way, he thought of the possibility of living his life again. If he couldn't find a way back, would he have to go through the exact same 2 years again? Every single moment?

Then he realized how peaceful everything was now. There were heroes patrolling the streets. People were happy. They didn't know about the league of villains yet. Or about All For One.

Right now, All Might was still the number 1 hero.

10 minutes later, Izuku arrived at his old classroom. His eyes scanned the room, looking for a single person.

His gaze landed on the boy with spiky blond hair.

There he was, leaning back in his chair, feet propped up on the desk in front of him.

"Kacchan..."

"Huh? What do you want, Deku?!" Bakugo Katsuki snapped.

Izuku opened his mouth but no sound came out.

The last time Izuku saw his childhood friend, both of them had been covered in blood, sprawled on the battlefield after the war against the villains.

Bakugo had saved Izuku's life.

It was weird seeing Bakugo from 2 years ago again. His features were younger, his shoulders narrower. It was astonishing, really, just how much experience and time could change a person. Izuku realized, even the way Kacchan looked at him would change completely after two years.

But now, all there were in those red eyes were contempt and annoyance.

"Oi, Deku! Are you ignoring me?!"

"No, sorry, never mind," Izuku said quietly.

His thoughts traveled back to the war. So many lives were lost. So many innocent people getting hurt. All because Izuku couldn't defeat Shigaraki soon enough to prevent further damage. The pain was a thousand times worse than any physical wound, and it seems like every time Izuku gets a bit stronger, his enemies get even more powerful.

But... Izuku was back. By this time, he had somewhat accepted the fact that he won't be getting back to his original time.

And that meant, all those mistakes he had made, all those lives lost because of his weakness... They could be saved.

"...Midoriya!"

The sound of his name pulled him back to reality.

"Yes?!" Izuku jerked up nervously.

The silent room burst into laughter.

"HA!" A classmate Izuku somewhat remembered sneered, "as if a quirkless nerd like you can get accepted into the UA High School."

"Wait, what were we talking about..." Izuku frowned. Then a shiver shot down his spine as he saw Bakugo get up from his seat.

Then Izuku noticed the slight twitch in Bakugo's arm.