"Excuse me, can you help me find my mom," Izuku questioned the receptionist.
"Name?"
"Inko Midoriya, I'm her son, Izuku Midoriya." He explained.
"Ah yes…she's with Nurse Sigewinne, here's the room number." The receptionist told him as she gave him the information. Izuku made his way to his mom, when he arrived he was relieved to find her smiling and chatting with a little girl in a nurse out.
"Um hello," Izuku greeted.
"Izuku," Inko greeted in relief.
"Hello, I'm Nurse Sigewinne," the little girl…er Nurse introduced herself.
"Hello," Izuku nervously answered. "So Mom, are you okay?" Izuku asked.
"Oh, I'm fine," Inko assured her son as she sat in her hospital bed. "Nothing happened to me, I'm just here because the medics wanted to make sure there was nothing to worry about."
"I can concur, Mrs. Midoriya is in perfect health I was just about to get the paperwork to discharge her," Sigewinne explained.
"I see," Izuku told her.
"I'll leave you two to talk while sort of the paperwork, bye bye," Sigewinne said as she headed out.
"Is she…." Izuku trailed off.
"She looks young but she's actually a very old nurse," Inko noted. "I think I recall seeing her around a few times, it seems like her quirk keeps her looking young."
"Wow…wait…that's beside the point," Izuku caught himself as he turned his attention back to his mom. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"Izuku, the nurse just told you. I'm perfectly fine, I'm uninjured." Inko told him.
"I don't mean physically mom." Izuku corrected. "I saw you were taken hostage." He explained.
"Oh, yeah…" Inko sighed. "That was scary." She somberly said. "I didn't know what would have happened to me….although I should count myself lucky…the Herrscher…she saved me." Inko told him.
Izuku felt his stomach sink as he looked at his mom's somber expression. "Oh…um…that's good to hear." He told her. "I saw that she put the villain in his place."
"She looked…very familiar," Inko noted. "I had always seen her image before on the tabloids and now in person. I couldn't help but feel she looked like someone I knew." Inko added.
"What? That's ridiculous. How would you even know her?" Izuku panicked.
"I don't know. I just know that for the briefest moment, I locked eyes with her and she seemed to recognize me." Inko noted. "It sounds crazy right, maybe I'm reading too much into this." She sighed.
"Yeah….maybe….maybe." Izuku nervously laughed as he scratched the back of his head.
"So…where's Sirin?" Inko questioned.
"Sirin….um…that's a good question," Izuku told her. "Um…about that."
"Izuku…did something happen to her?" Inko questioned worriedly. "She was fine last I saw. Izuku is she…"
"No...no…she's alive Mom….very much so," Izuku told her. "We just…we just had a bit of a fight," Izuku explained. "That's why she's not here now."
"Oh…I see." Inko noted. "What did you fight about it?"
"It's…complicated," Izuku told her.
"Izuku," Inko said sternly. "What was the fight about?" Inko firmly asked her son.
"I…I overreacted when I saw you had gotten caught up in the villain attack while she was around, and then the Herrscher came out and she almost hurt you and I may have done or said some things that hurt Sirin as a result." Izuku explained in as vague a way as he could.
"I see," Inko said. She had never expected to hear this kind of behavior from her son. "Izuku…you know what happened, it wasn't her fault. Right?" Inko asked. "Those villains that showed up, it wasn't Sirin who brought them."
"Yeah…" Izuku admitted. "Still…" She did have the power to stop them. He knew that.
"Furthermore, Sirin isn't a hero, she's never struck me as the type to try and be one. She's just a normal girl, it's wrong for you to assume that she should do anything in a situation like that. It's not her responsibility." Inko implored.
"She was right there. If it were me, I'd have rushed to save you." Izuku told her.
"Yes, and while I am grateful you would do that, if a little scared you might…that's still your choice," Inko told him. "It's her choice to not involve herself and her right to want to walk away."
"I really messed up." Izuku finally admitted. Void had made it clear that she didn't want to be involved and he had pressured her into doing so anyway and she had gotten hurt because of him. It was because of him she had been retraumatized by Endeavor. "I messed up so bad." He told Inko.
"Izuku," Inko reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I know you were worried for me, and I can't fault you for how you might have acted then. If it was me and you were in danger, I don't know how I'd react either." Inko assured him. "But the important thing is that you figure out what to do moving forward." She told him.
"She hates me, Mom," Izuku sniffled. "I finally had a friend, and I blew it so bad she now absolutely abhors me. Maybe they are right, I am pathetic, a useless quirkless Deku." He admitted.
"Izuku," Inko said sternly. "Listen to me. You are not pathetic. So, what if you made some mistakes, you could still make things right." Inko told him.
"How Mom? What do I do to fix this?"
"Man up," Inko told him. "Izuku, you're a young man and if you make a mistake you need to own up to it. A man needs to honor his responsibilities." Inko told him. "You made a mistake, you wronged that girl, and now you have to make things right."
"How? She won't even let me talk to her." Izuku told her.
"That's not for me to answer, Izuku," Inko told him. "If you truly want to make things right with her, then I'd just you find a way, no excuses," Inko told him. "Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," Izuku responded.
"Good, now let's go home," Inko told him.
"Make things right? Oh, please…what a joke?" The Herrscher huffed as she shut off her view to the outside world. "Like that idiot even understands what he did." She ranted as she roamed across the mindscape. The Herrscher then caught herself. "And I'm talking to no one,"
She sighed. She had gotten so used to the human, but it was always going to be in vain. Humans were liars and cheaters, always going to betray and hurt you. The Herrscher held out her hands and mindscape bent to her will. Before her two replicas formed, one of a white dragon and the other of a purple-haired girl, the original Sirin.
"Where was I…oh yeah, that idiot human thinks he can just make it up, but he can't." She spoke to the replicas. "After all, I know why he's doing it. He's afraid of dying, why else would he want to suck up and get back in our good graces."
The Dragon growled and whined under its breath. The Herrscher didn't understand its speech, but she didn't need to. The feelings were obvious…it didn't like how its mistress was treated.
With a weak smile, the Herrscher continued. "Yes…that's right. He shouldn't have dared mess with me. I should have known…I should have expected it. Humans can't be trusted…they can never be trusted." She continued to rant.
"Then why are you so surprised." Sirin's voice asked. The Herrscher stopped. She turned around and looked at the replica.
"What did you say?" The Herrscher walked up to Sirin.
Sirin turned to face the Herrscher, her eyes never blinking, her movements stiff and inhuman. "Why are you surprised?" The purple-haired human asked in a monotonous voice.
"I'm not…I'm not surprised." Void retorted. The replica moved forward.
"You sound surprised." It repeated. "You sound like you didn't expect it." It added.
"That's ridiculous." The Herrscher waved her hand. The replica vanished before her. "Why wouldn't I expect it? Of course, I expect it, he's human."
"Then why is it hurting you." Another voice called, this one louder. The Herrscher turned to find Benares now looking down at her. "Why does the pain of his betrayal linger…despite you expecting it?"
"I'm not hurting. I don't feel anything towards it, nothing besides annoyance that he tried it." Void defended.
"Then why…"
"SILENCE," Void dismissed the replica of Benares. "Damn dragon, was never useful to me alive and now it has to audacity to smart mouth me here." She grumbled. Well, it wasn't true, Benares was still far superior to the other creatures she once commanded. If only it had been more loyal to her rather than….
"Kiana Kaslana," Void spat in disgust. Before her, was a familiar girl with white hair and blue eyes, a face all too similar to her own smiling at her, mocking her. The Herrscher lunged at the girl, grabbing her by the throat and holding her up.
"You." She growled as she held up the girl. The one who had betrayed her first, herself. "I should have known," Void spoke. Yet the girl in hands simply dissolved into nothing, much to the Herrscher's surprise.
"Another trick?" Void wondered as she looked around the area. Go figure it would be her, her wretched other self. Humanity had taken Sirin's second life and warped and twisted it. Had Void not retained the memories, then they probably would have succeeded in their ploy.
It disgusted her to no end. The same group that had experimented on Sirin, Kiana had gone to work willingly for it. The same group, the valks, that had hunted Sirin, Kiana had aspired to be one, if not the best. The same people who were involved in killing her, Theresea and Siegfried, Kiana called them her family. The Honkai had saved her, yet Kiana sort to end it. The monsters that had helped Sirin fight back, Kiana sought to hunt.
Everything that they stood for; Kiana stood against. She was the disease that stained their soul. The sickness that always hindered and sabotaged them. Herrscher shouldn't have been surprised if it was her other half helping Izuku and interfering with the Herrscher.
"I'll find you," Void growled as she glared around. She'd get to the bottom of this annoyance. She could still feel her, no matter how faint, she would find that pest.
"Should I make dinner?" Inko asked as the Midoriya's arrived home. The trip back was thankfully uneventful. A godsend considering what's been going on with the news. Apparently, there was a fire villain loose, lighting up the better part of downtown.
For the most part, Izuku didn't have the heart to check the news to see what heroes or quirks might be on display. The memories the Herrscher had left him from her encounter with Endeavor were more than enough.
"No, you rest," Izuku told his mom. "I'll make us some ramen." He told her.
"Izuku…" Inko protested.
"Please…you are still my responsibility, as much as I am yours," Izuku told her. Inko sighed and resigned herself to the couch.
Izuku made his way to the kitchen. Opening the cupboard, he found the stash of cup noodles he kept for both him and Void. The young boy sighed as thought back to the times the Herrscher broke her intimidating persona, any time they were hungry.
Maybe she would still be willing if…
His thoughts trailed off as he watched the water boil. His mom was watching TV in the background, letting him substitute the silence with whatever noise he could get. Closing his eyes, he called to her.
"Herrscher….Void…are you there?" He called.
There was no answer.
His concentration was broken when he heard the whistling of the kettle. Sighing, he made his way over and emptied it into the two cups, letting the boiling water heat it up for a moment. As the food was being prepped, he could feel the aroma waft up into the air. He took a deep breath, waiting, hoping, he'd hear something from her, maybe a command, heck he'd even think a sarcastic insult.
No, there was nothing to be heard. True to her words she didn't even come for her favorite food. Disappointedly, he carried it to his mom and the two ate in silence. Once they were finished, he bid his mom good night as she went to bed before heading to his own room.
"How do I make things right, if I can't even talk to her?" Izuku questioned as he paced in his room. He couldn't sleep. He tried, but he just couldn't. The silence was jarring, it was too quiet now. Everything sounded too loud. If a door creaked, he heard it, if a car blew a horn, he heard it, if a bug scuttled across the floor…he heard it.
"Think Izuku, she has to still be in there." He wondered as he stared at his reflection. He hummed as he turned to the desk. Maybe it was a stupid idea, but it was all he had. He took a pen and ripped a page out of one of his new notebooks and began to write. It was slim but who knew maybe she'd read a note he'd left.
A few minutes later…. he was done. It wasn't much. He didn't know how many words it would take to apologize but he knew he didn't have enough. Still, he hoped she'd read them. Even if it was slim, it was still something. He went and placed the letter in the cupboard by the cup noodles.
"That still is not enough." He muttered as he lay back in his bed. It was eating at him, even more so now. He hadn't felt this loss ever since she drowned him in her emotions. Wait a minute…
"Of course." Izuku realized. Why was he waiting for her to come to him? Surely if they still shared and coexisted in the same body, then maybe he could go to see her on the inside. The question though was if he could…he had only entered that space once and only by chance…still…it was worth a shot.
Closing his eyes Izuku began to concentrate, focusing on his desire to find the Herrscher, to reach to her. "Come on." He told himself.
"Found you," Void yelled as she tackled the Kaslana girl. The duo tumbled into the mindscape, rolling down a hill before crashing into the forest. The Herrscher didn't care. She had finally gotten her hands on the annoying girl. "Any last words, Kaslana," Void growled as she stared at Kiana's eyes.
"Best two out of three," Kiana smiled cheekily.
"Why you,"
Poof!
She was gone. Void looked at her hands, Kiana's neck had been right there and now she was…
"Behind you!" Kiana announced startling the Herrscher.
"YOU!"
"Yes…me," Kiana laughed.
"What are you doing here? How are you even here?" Void demanded. "You won, I lost, I left, so why are you following me to another world." She grumbled. "Why can't you leave me alone?"
"Hey this wasn't my idea," Kiana raised her hands in defense.
"Really…you expect me to believe that?" Void dismissed.
"Think Void, why would Kiana follow you to another host body in another world when she has her own body and her own world to deal with." 'Kiana' asked the Herrscher.
Void stared at her for a moment, the gears turning in her head. Then as if a switched flip the Herrscher's eyes widened as the realization hit. "You're….you're not her." The Herrscher noted. "You're just a shadow of her…imprinted on the core…just like…"
"You." 'Kiana' finished. "Not so fun when the shoe is on the other foot," The copied tuna taunted.
"I'll destroy you." Void threatened.
"Like Kiana destroyed you…" The copy said. Void froze. "Face it, you can't destroy me, no more than Kiana could destroy you, I'm a part of you, just as you were a part of her," Kopiana said.
"So what, are you here to try and take over my new host? Is that it?" Void asked.
"Nope. As it stands….I'm even less of a person than you." The copy spoke. "A fragment only kept around because you still need me." She told the Herrscher.
"I don't need you." Void dismissed.
"You can say it, but that doesn't mean it's true, Void." The copy said. "Say you do destroy me, where will that leave you then…you'll be all alone again in this place." She explained.
"I like it so," Void told her.
"Is that why you made copies of Sirin and Benares to vent to?"
Void froze. The copy had seen that. It was a stupid question, of course, she saw it. That's why they had been acting weird in the first place.
"Admit Void… you're lonely…now that you've distanced yourself from your human." The Kiana copy spoke.
"So what," Void argued.
"Come now…do you really want to be?" Kopiana asked. "It's not good to be alone when you have such chaotic emotions festering inside you."
"I can handle my emotions just fine," Void told the copy. "In case you forgot, I was made out of Sirin's hate, her rage, and her sorrow. I am her trauma and her will-given form."
"That may be true…" Kopiana mused. "But that doesn't mean much in this situation now," She pointed out. "After all…Izuku didn't hurt Sirin…he hurt you."
"So…"
"You aren't Sirin." Kopiana elaborated. "Just as I am not Kiana, or Kiana isn't Sirin or Void, you aren't Sirin either. You are Void and these emotions your feeling…they belong to you."
"Shut up," Void told her.
"Tsk Tsk…temper," Kopiana said. "Besides…I'm the least of your worries…" She shifted her gaze to another figure in the distance.
"Izuku," Void noted as she saw the boy in the distance. "How'd he get in?" It then hit her. "You," Void snapped as she turned to Kopiana.
"He wants to apologize, so I let him in."
"I'm not interested in hearing it," Void told her.
"I figured…" Kopiana shrugged.
"But if he's in here…then that means…" Void disappeared, heading to the outside world.
"Hmmph….rude," Kopiana said. She didn't bother stopping the Herrscher. She needed to blow off some steam. That said, Kopiana warped to meet the young boy.
"Void?" Izuku called. "Void?" He had managed to return but there was still no sign of Void.
"She's not here," Drifter announced as she appeared before Izuku. "The moment she realized you were here she left."
"Oh," Izuku said dejectedly. "I should have known."
"You aren't worried?" Drifter questioned. "The Herrscher's out and you're here."
"I mean…she never tried to do much before, not unless she was provoked first, I don't think that changed." Izuku reasoned.
"I suppose that's fair," Drifter noted. Void was limited by the subconscious restraint of Izuku and her own mental fatigue. A person could only be angry for so long before they eventually tired out and Void was already exhausted from earlier. "So, what can I do for you?" She asked. "I take it you're trying to make amends."
"Yeah…I was a real jerk to her." Izuku admitted. "I want to set things right." He told her.
"I'm afraid that's going to take some time," Drifter told him. "There is no easy fix for what you did, especially not with someone like her. I thought you had a chance before but I severely underestimated the damage that was done."
"I still have to try," Izuku told her. "What I did to her…it wasn't fair of me…it was cruel," Izuku told Drifter. "Please…you're the only one I know who can help me."
"Look if you really want to make amends I might know where you can start…but I should warn you… it's dangerous." Drifter told him. "And even if you make it through I won't guarantee things will be better. In fact, I'm sure it could get worse, a lot worse…" Drifter noted.
"What is it?" Izuku asked her.
It was then he felt the world around them begin to shake. He almost fell over as the ground shook, only barely holding on as Drifter caught him. "It's cold." Izuku shivered. Snow had started to fall around them as they were now in a familiar part of the forest.
Izuku immediately turned around and found himself face-to-face with it. "Babylon," He whispered as he stared at the haunting tower that loomed above him.
"That's right. The Tower of Babylon," Drifter noted. "It's where the Herrscher represses every bad memory she and her previous life ever had. If you want to truly understand her, to truly understand why your actions hurt her, that's where you need to start." Drifter told him. "So…are you prepared to enter it?" She asked.
Izuku looked up at the tower and then at Drifter. "Yes…if it means getting a chance to make things right then I'll do it."
"Good luck," Drifter said as the door opened before him. She didn't waste any time and yeeted Izuku inside. "You'll need it."