The Many Lives of One For All - An MHA Short Story

Chapter 9: Izuku in Charge Now

The group made their way back to Star's agency and placed the doctor inside a holding cell inside as they gathered in the kitchen area.

Star grabbed an ice pack from her freezer and placed it to her forehead. "This is so much worse now..." She sighed.

"Five high level villains loose, with five powerful, confused heroes running around while those poor people are still hooked up to that deathtrap and I have the world's worst headache! Gah!" She kicked the nearest thing to her which was a kitchen stool. It sailed across the room and hit the wall. "Trust me, kids. I want nothing more than to help those people, and anyone else in danger at this time..."

"But you are in no condition to do so." Popper spoke out. "Stars, as bad as this is, you need to rest if you are to lead us."

"If I am going to rest, I need to leave this to Deku." She said.

Everyone turned to the green-haired boy.

"M-Me?!" Izuku squawked.

"Yes." Star insisted. "I'm not blaming you for what happened, but all of these villains and heroes are connected to you. Lemillion and Uravity here will assist you however they can, not to mention Ingenium, Popper, and our Uravity."

Izuku froze up. She was right. This was his responsibility. Both as a hero, and literally as the one who summoned them all here. But his doubts froze his legs. "I-I need some air."

Uraraka reached over to him as he turned around and bolted out the front door.

Star frowned. "He overthinks too much."

"There's much about him that's still a mystery to me." Iida added. "But I stand by him. He's shown himself to be a very intelligent strategist and he knows how to use his environment and allies to advantage." He then turned to the two alternate universe possessors of One For All. "And you two can relate to him in some way too. Your powers all seem to be the same."

"We can do this." Uravity nodded.

Mirio nodded silently in agreement.

Star exhaled, putting trust in this group enough to relax herself. But then she tensed up again as they felt the ground shake for a moment.

Uraraka gulped and ran out the door. "Deku!" She called as she burst through the door and looked around. The sun was setting and light was quickly fading away in the city. In their more suburban area, the streetlights were more sparse. "Deku, where are you?!"

She walked around the side, assuming he didn't go very far, and noticed a shadow on the rooftop. Without wasting a second to climb the ladder, she instead tapped herself and floated up to the top to find Izuku sitting alone, watching the last sliver of sun slip behind the cityscape and the west coast beyond.

"Deku..." Her concern for her friend blocked out her concern for that brief quake a minute ago. "What are you doing out here? This isn't like you."

"I can't stop thinking about what my purpose is." He blurted out without looking at her. "When you asked me...why I want to be a hero. I don't know... And meeting all these different versions of myself hasn't helped. I've never felt more stretched thin."

In whatever light they still had, she noticed tear stains on his cheeks. He quickly wiped them away. Uraraka sighed and sat beside him.

"Y'know... I have doubts about my own motivations too. I want to help my parents, but..." She bit her lip. "Sometimes I want to do something for myself too."

From the tone of her voice, Izuku figured that she felt guilty, or selfish perhaps, that she would dare to think for herself instead of her family. She's so noble and selfless that it hurts. The thought made him smile. He almost laughed in fact.

"We're both kinda weird that way, huh?" She asked.

Izuku sighed. "...Yeah. Star did give me some good advice earlier today. But I don't think I'm ready for something like this."

"None of us are. But it's part of the gig." The brunette admitted. She put her hand over his shoulder, careful not to have all five fingers resting. "I believe you're ready, Deku."

Another quake quickly reminded both of them of the first one and put them in alert.

"What is that?" She asked.

"I don't know..." Izuku shook his head.

They both jumped to their feet, only for Older Shigaraki to burst over their heads from out of sight below the roof. He floated in the air and stared down at them. Something about his white hair, his twitching body, and his ghostly eyes made them freeze with fear. Both of them saw visions of their deaths. And their worst fears as their loved ones succumbed to horrible fates while they could not be there to save them. These feelings of dread that sucked out every heroic thought and instinct. The perfect tool for a dangerous villain.

Izuku barely turned his eyes to watch his best friend helplessly as Evil Deku climbed up the ladder and grab her. He laughed as he carried her away.

Older Shigaraki shook his head and turned his gaze away. He dropped down out of sight again and Izuku's fears went away instantly. He rushed to the edge only to find the street empty and silent.

"Uraraka!" He called out. "Uraraka! No!"

Activating One For All in his legs, he dropped down the three stories and landed on his feet. By the grace of the gods above, he felt no bones break or fracture that time. But he couldn't spend any time congratulating himself for that. He ran inside the agency headquarters only to find the interior completely trashed. Everyone was gone, including the villainous doctor.

"Iida! Uraraka! Stars n Stripes! Popper! Lemillion! Uravity! Anyone!" Izuku called out. He ran through and started digging through rubble with his hands.

"Hey Deku."

"AH!" He turned around to find two silhouettes peaking through the door from outside. "Show yourself!" He activated One For All in his arms, ready to fight, no matter how unprepared he felt he was.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" They ran inside with their arms up.

Deku dropped his power and lowered his fists.

Standing before him were two different versions of himself. Both were obviously older. One had a costume with his colors and trim, although it was a darker green with black. He also had some slim support gear on his arms and legs.

The other was like him, but thinner, and with a red suit with sharper details. His mask was up and looked like his but with sharp teeth instead of a friendly smile. His eye holes were also more narrow.

They pulled off their masks and revealed that they were in fact both Izuku Midoriya. The one with the dark green suit had his green hair, some slight bagging under his eyes, and a faded scar on his jawline. The one with the red suit had black hair which wasn't as curly, and his eyes were red.

"Kid, do you have any idea how to use that power?" The older green suit Deku asked him.