Worlds Apart - Mer Izuku x Shouto

Chapter Two

Yagi was floating on the surface of the water, his gaze on the sky, but not exactly focusing on it. His mind was elsewhere. It was two years to the day that he had died. He could remember it distinctly, every second of it. 

He remembered the blinding pain of the wound he received in his chest. He remembered falling from the ship, the water around him quickly darkening to red. He remembered sinking deeper, desperately fighting for his life. He couldn't lose. Japan needed him. The world needed him. The Symbol of Peace couldn't die. Unfortunately, the blood loss and the cold water didn't care about what Japan or the world needed. 

He remembered every moment until his senses faded to blackness and death took him. 

Then he remembered an unknowable amount of time later, waking up. He was panicked, his first thought was that he had died. He looked up to see the sunlight in the water above him, and suddenly realized he was still breathing, but he was underwater. He shouldn't be alive. Breathing hurt, but it wasn't killing him. His chest still ached, but looking down, he saw scarring where the gaping wound should have been. 

But what had truly shocked him was when he looked past that to see his legs, or lack thereof. Instead there was a tail of brilliant crimson and sapphire scales that shimmered in the light of the sun defused in the water. 

He remembered the utter confusion. Then he remembered the voice of his master speaking to him through the vestiges of One for All. 

"I'd heard of things like this among the Quirkless, but I never thought it was anything more than a myth." 

All Might tried to form a response, but his body wasn't working right. He couldn't find the words to speak even if he had wanted to, he was too shocked by everything. Seeing the question in his eyes, the shadow of his teacher continued. 

"Apparently sometimes when someone is diagnosed as quirkless, it is incorrect. There have been rumors of quirkless people dying, only to be brought back in a way that makes them immune to what killed them. Supposedly it is referred to as the "Hidden Quirk", but as far as I can tell, it is incredibly rare. I heard once of someone falling to their death, only to come back as a human with wings. In your case, I guess, drowning led to... this. I didn't think it was a real thing. It looks like you have a second chance." 

Yagi remembered the way the information both seemed to hit him like a truck, but also take an eternity to sink in. 

"Two years, huh?" He blinked against the blinding sunlight. He was about to dive back to the depths when a sound caught his sensitive ears. Being a hero for years meant he was used to listening for signs of distress. He heard a cry. Rising until he was upright balancing on his tail. He scanned the water, sure that was where the sound came from. 

He saw nothing, except what looked like a tangle of seaweed. He was about to look away from it when he saw a tiny hand reach out from the water before it, and the green mess sank below the waves. A child? Shit! He immediately dove, rushing toward where he had seen the figure. 

It had been two years since he had tried to save someone. He felt the familiar rush of adrenaline. He urged himself to go faster, even as he had to dive under a particular patch of water where he had learned that there was a particularly vicious undertow. Rising up on the other side, he saw the motionless form of a little boy, his hand limply reaching toward the surface, his eyes closed, his emerald hair drifting around his pale face. 

All Might quickly grabbed him around the thin waist, and pulled the body toward his chest, cradling it as he rushed to the surface. As he pulled the child against him, a few small bubbles left the boy's mouth, but he was completely unresponsive. His skin felt icy cold, and when All Might broke the surface with him, there was no gasp, no cough, no sign of life. As quickly as he could while keeping the small head above the water, he made his way to a strip of deserted sandy beach, and laid the boy down. He really was small. He couldn't be more than five years old.