This fic was inspired by My Hero Academia: Adaptation by TSOKyoto (Please come back!)
I plummeted through an endless abyss, my mind reeling as fragments of memory flashed by like shards of broken glass. The darkness pressed in, heavy and oppressive. I'd been here before - or somewhere like it. Death had a familiar stench.
My lips curled into a sardonic grin. Figured. Make it to seventeen, survive monster attacks and rival clans, only to bite it anyway. What a goddamn joke.
Images flickered past, snapshots from a life cut short. My first kill at twelve, the blood sticky on my hands. The elders' approving nods as I mastered techniques that should've been beyond me.
I reached out, trying to grasp onto something solid, but my fingers passed through empty air. This void was starting to piss me off. If I was dead, couldn't I at least get some peace and quiet?
A hint of movement caught my eye. Something - no, someone - else was falling nearby. A boy, maybe my age, with a mop of green hair. He flailed wildly, panic clear on his freckled face.
"Oi!" I called out. "You new here too?"
The kid's head snapped towards me, eyes wide. "W-what? Who are you? Where are we?"
I snorted. "Hell if I know. Name's Toshiro. You got a name, or should I just call you 'Green'?"
"I-Izuku," he stammered. "Izuku Midoriya."
More memories swirled around us. I saw flashes of the kid's life - a loving mother, a school full of assholes, and a burning desire to be... a hero? The hell was that about?
"So what's your deal?" I asked, gesturing at the fragments of his past. "Looks like you had it pretty cushy."
Izuku flinched. "I... I just wanted to help people. To be a hero like All Might. But I'm Quirkless, so everyone said it was impossible."
I raised an eyebrow. "The fuck's a Quirk?"
Before he could answer, a pinprick of light appeared in the distance. North, if directions meant anything here. Without thinking, I reached for it. To my surprise, Izuku did the same.
Our hands brushed, and suddenly we were falling faster, hurtling towards that distant glow. Izuku yelped in alarm, but I just grit my teeth. Whatever was coming, I'd face it head-on.
"Don't piss yourself, kid," I growled. "Looks like we're in for a ride."
The light grew brighter, consuming everything. I braced myself for impact, but instead found myself standing on solid ground. We were in a featureless white expanse, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Izuku stumbled, looking around wildly. "What is this place?"
I shrugged. "Limbo, maybe? Or we're both tripping balls."
He turned to face me fully, and I got my first good look at him. Scrawny kid, with those big green eyes practically overflowing with emotion. His lower lip trembled slightly. Great. I was stuck in the afterlife with a crybaby.
"So," I said, crossing my arms. "You gonna explain what the hell a 'Quirk' is, or do I have to guess?"
Izuku blinked. "You... you really don't know? Where are you from?"
"Another world, apparently," I replied dryly. "One where we don't need fancy powers to get shit done."
His eyes widened. "Another world? That's amazing! How does your society function without Quirks? What kind of technology do you have? Are there still Heroes?"
I held up a hand. "Slow your roll, kid. One question at a time. And maybe explain your world first, yeah?"
Izuku nodded eagerly. As he launched into an explanation of Quirks and heroes, I found myself reluctantly impressed by his enthusiasm. The kid clearly knew his stuff, even if it all sounded batshit insane to me.
"So let me get this straight," I said when he finally paused for breath. "Most people in your world have some kind of superpower, and instead of using that to get filthy rich, they dress up in tights and punch bad guys?"
Izuku's brow furrowed. "Well, it's more complicated than that. Heroes are an essential part of maintaining peace and -"
I waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Noble protectors and all that jazz. But you said you don't have one of these Quirks, right? So what's your deal?"
His face fell. "I... I always dreamed of being a Hero, even without a Quirk. But everyone said it was impossible. Even All Might told me to be more realistic."
I raised an eyebrow. "All Might? The big cheese you mentioned earlier?"
Izuku nodded miserably. "He's the Symbol of Peace, the greatest Hero. I've looked up to him my whole life, but when I finally met him..." He trailed off, blinking back tears.
I sighed. Dammit. I was going soft. "Look, kid. I don't know shit about your world or these Quirks, but I do know this - anyone who tells you what you can or can't do can go fuck themselves."
Izuku's head snapped up, eyes wide. "W-what?"
"You heard me," I growled. "In my world, we didn't have fancy powers. We had to fight tooth and nail for everything. And you know what? We did just fine. Better than fine. We kicked ass and took names."
I jabbed a finger at his chest. "So if you want to be a hero, be a goddamn hero. Find a way to make it work. Use that big brain of yours to outsmart the muscle-heads. Train until you puke. Do whatever it takes."
Izuku stared at me, mouth agape. Then, slowly, a smile spread across his face. "You... you really think I could do it?"
I shrugged. "Hell if I know. But I do know that giving up without trying is for cowards and weaklings."
He straightened up, a determined glint in his eye. "You're right. I can't give up on my dream. I have to keep trying, for Mom's sake if nothing else."
I nodded approvingly. "There you go. Now you're talking like a warrior."
Izuku's smile faltered. "But... I guess it doesn't matter now, does it? We're dead."
I glanced around the empty expanse. "Maybe. Or maybe this is just a pit stop. Either way, no use crying about it."
We lapsed into silence for a moment. Then Izuku spoke up again, his voice hesitant. "Can I ask... how did you die?"
I snorted. "Stupid mistake. Got cocky in a fight, took a hit I should've dodged. You?"
He looked away, shame clear on his face. "I... I took some pills. After talking to All Might, after being told to give up on my dream... I just couldn't see the point anymore."
I felt a surge of anger. Not at the kid, but at the bastards who'd driven him to that point. "Listen up, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once. That was a dumbass move, but it doesn't define you. You fucked up. Learn from it and do better next time."
Izuku's eyes welled up with tears. "But there won't be a next time. I'm dead. I left Mom all alone, and -"
"Oi!" I barked. "What did I just say about giving up? We don't know shit about what's going on here. For all we know, we could wake up tomorrow back in the land of the living."
He wiped his eyes. "You really think so?"
I shrugged. "Stranger things have happened. And if not, well... we'll figure something out. I didn't survive seventeen years of constant warfare just to roll over and die in some cosmic waiting room."
Izuku managed a watery chuckle. "You're really different from anyone I've ever met, Toshiro."
"Yeah, well, different worlds and all that," I replied. "Speaking of which, you never did explain how the hell your society functions with everyone running around with superpowers."
His eyes lit up. "Oh! Well, it all started about two hundred years ago when the first Quirk manifested in a newborn baby in China..."
As Izuku launched into another enthusiastic explanation, I found myself actually listening. The kid had a way of making even the craziest shit sound interesting. And who knew? If we did end up back in the land of the living somehow, this info might come in handy.
Time passed strangely in the void. We could have been talking for hours or days. Izuku told me about his world, about the rise of Quirks and the hero society. In return, I shared stories of my own world - the constant battles, the monster hunts, the complex political maneuvering between clans.
"Wait," Izuku said at one point, his brow furrowed. "You mentioned wives earlier. Plural. How does that work?"
I smirked. "In my world, strong warriors often take multiple wives. Helps ensure strong bloodlines, you know?"
His face turned bright red. "O-oh. That's, um... different."
I laughed. "Relax, kid. I'm not judging your world's customs. Different strokes and all that."
As we talked, I found myself growing oddly protective of the green-haired crybaby. He was soft, yeah, but there was a core of steel underneath all that nervousness. Kid had potential, if he'd just learn to believe in himself.
Eventually, our conversation circled back to our current predicament.
"So what do you think happens now?" Izuku asked, glancing around the empty expanse.
I shrugged. "Hell if I know. But sitting around isn't gonna accomplish anything. I say we pick a direction and start walking."
He nodded hesitantly. "I guess that makes sense. But which way?"
I pointed to our right. "That way's as good as any. Let's move."
We set off across the featureless plain. As we walked, Izuku peppered me with more questions about my world, my fighting style, anything he could think of. I answered as patiently as I could, though some of his more naive questions had me rolling my eyes.
After what felt like hours of walking, a change finally appeared on the horizon. A door materialized in the distance, standing alone with no walls to support it.
"Well," I said dryly. "That's not ominous at all."
Izuku gulped. "Should we... should we go through it?"
I raised an eyebrow. "You see any other options, Green?"
He shook his head. We approached the door cautiously. It was a simple wooden affair, unremarkable except for its presence in this blank void.
I reached for the handle, then paused. "Whatever's on the other side... you ready for it?"
Izuku took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders. "I think so. And... thank you, Toshiro. For everything."
I grunted, uncomfortable with the sincerity in his voice. "Don't get sappy on me now, kid. Let's just see what's behind door number one."
With that, I turned the handle and pushed the door open. A blinding light poured out, engulfing us both. I felt a sensation of falling, of being pulled in a thousand directions at once.
The last thing I heard was Izuku's startled yelp before consciousness slipped away entirely.
I jolted awake with a gasp, my heart pounding. Sunlight streamed through unfamiliar curtains, illuminating a room I'd never seen before. I blinked, trying to orient myself.
The events in the void came rushing back. Izuku. The door. And now... where the hell was I?
I sat up, taking in my surroundings. A small, cluttered bedroom. All Might posters plastered the wallsw. A desk covered in notebooks. And when I caught sight of my reflection in a nearby mirror, I nearly fell out of the bed.
Green hair. Freckles. A face I recognized, but not as my own.
"Well," I muttered, running a hand through my - Izuku's - unruly hair. "This is gonna be interesting."
A knock at the door startled me. "Izuku?" a woman's voice called. "Are you up, sweetie? Breakfast is ready!"
I took a deep breath. Right. If I was in Izuku's body, that must be his mother. Time to see if I could pull this off.
"Coming, Mom!" I called back, trying to mimic Izuku's nervous energy. This was going to take some getting used to.
As I got out of bed, my mind raced. I was in Izuku's world now, in his body. A world of heroes and villains, of Quirks and quirkless outcasts. A world where, apparently, I was supposed to be some weak, crybaby kid with delusions of heroism.
Well, fuck that noise. If this was my second chance at life, I was going to make the most of it. Izuku wanted to be a hero? Fine. I'd show this world what a real warrior could do, with or without a fancy Quirk.
A grin spread across my face as I headed for the door. Things were about to get very interesting indeed.